Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson hunts for a band of carjacking killers that are terrorizing a neighborhood. In a typical suicide, he said, when someone shoots himself in the temple, he points the gun straight at his head and the bullet travels through the brain and exits in a line roughly parallel to the floor. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. He remains convinced that he got a raw deal at the civil trial and that Tittle played the video of his interrogation of Lord only to plant in jurors minds the idea that he was an intimidating black man taking advantage of a grieving, attractive white woman. She needed pills to go to sleep. He was wearing a T-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals. What he needed was irrefutable evidence pointing to Lords involvement in the shooting. Basically she said, I know the kind of stuff that goes on in Vegas, Jaffe told Thompson. | Advertising But as the case made its way through the courts, she maintained her innocenceand claimed Thompson was the one who should go to prison. Jurors in a civil trial on Thursday got to watch a dramatic video of that tense and aggressive interrogation of Lord, who is now suing Thompson for false arrest in a federal civil trial. (Thompson still hadnt told anyone outside his office about the discrepancy.) It found that two particles characteristic of primer gunshot residue had been discovered on the back of Burnsides right hand and that one particle characteristic of primer gunshot residue had been discovered on the back of Lords left hand. But Detective Dwayne Thompson. When she flew back to Dallas, she went straight to Shearins office. Yes you did! Do I want to know an answer? Every day, dozens of times a day, I think about that talk and how I wish I could take it all back, she told me. Between sobs, Lord begged to be taken to Parkland to be with her boyfriend. Videos 1. Why did you let my son bleed to death on his own kitchen floor? 3. Lord seemed shocked. He called the tone and line of questioning a formula for a false confession. And Sanders questioned why Thompson did not read Lord her right to remain silent after the point in which he clearly considered her a murder suspect during the interview. There was no sign that he had struggled with an assailantno bruises or scratches on his skin, no scuffed knuckles. He says he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that he got the goods on Lordand she not only avoided prosecution, she made a lot of money. Required fields are marked *. Lord was accused of murder countless times, and she always denied it. You [expletive] shot him! He was the life of the party.. In early May, word spread that the departments Public Integrity Unit had launched an investigation of Thompsons work on the Lord case. Yes you did!. In the taped interrogation, the detective asks Lord some general questions about what happened on the night that her boyfriend died then Thompson changed things up. And now you have this thing where he was spending a lot of money on his friend, but he didnt spend near as much money on your birthday. On the floor was a pool of blood along with bloody towels. . He was convinced Thompson had misled him, and on September 22, Quinton changed the cause of Burnsides death to undetermined. Quintons new ruling was definitely a boost for Lords case, but it was hardly enough to guarantee an acquittal. The day after the shooting, he had checked the records and discovered that there was no seven-minute gap on Lords cellphone between the calls to Jaffe and 911. When Thompson took the stand, he seemed utterly likable as he described his history as a detective. In fact, when Tittle asked Thompson, Is it still your belief that Olivia Lord murdered Michael Burnside? the detective didnt hesitate. If he had wanted to go after that girl, he could have made stuff up, trumped up reports, and hidden the Rastegar tape. The detectives in charge of the investigation had concluded that there was no evidence to substantiate that Det. Shearin called a friend in the homicide unit to ask about Thompson, whom he had never met. Shearin was outraged. Thompsons interrogation of Lord was videotaped. She glanced around the dining room. All prosecutors know that almost every murder case contains inconsistent and sometimes contradictory evidence. He had on a dark fedora, a dark suit, a white shirt with a tie, and dress shoes. Lord was slumped over in a chair, still wearing her blood-stained clothes. The arrest was based upon Thompsons affidavit. Lundberg paused again. Then U.S. district judge Barbara Lynn gaveled the court to order. Thompson sat in another chair and asked about Burnside. In truth, she had called 911 seconds after she had tried to reach Jaffe. According to Lord, he became obnoxious and sarcastic, which often happened when he drank. Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson and the homicide team investigate the brutal double murders of two friends shot and burned beyond recognition in the trunk of a car. Thompson thanked John and told him he would be back in touch. Theres no way my son shot himself,John said. . On May 11, 2011, in the case of Texas v. Lord, the grand jury returned a no bill. 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He eventually learned about my arrest, and he was so bothered by what he read that he never called me again. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. He called Jaffe, who had also turned against Lord, to see if he could help him locate her. Im not even sure the word accident was used. He said he later surmised that Lord had shot Burnside because he had heard a story going around the neighborhood that Burnside had been shot in the back of the head, which would suggest he had been murdered. Thats the exact type of case that might have been portrayed on The First 48, right? Tittle asked. Shearin paid a visit to Reade Quinton, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Burnside, to ask him why, just prior to Lords arrest, he had changed his ruling about the cause of death from pending to homicide. Quinton replied that Thompson had informed him about the statement made by Rastegar. Mitchell eventually told Shearin that she was willing to dismiss the charges against Lord. Sometimes I want to walk inside, thinking he will be there. She was wearing a blue T-shirt and gray sweatpants, her knees stained with blood. For her part, Lord said that she would gladly give up any money in return for Thompsons being sent to prison. The report could be interpreted several ways: Maybe, as Shearin believed, after Burnside had pulled the trigger, some of the gunshot residue had been transferred onto Lord when she held him in the kitchen. She was arrested in 2010 for the . When Michael Burnside was found dead in his Dallas home after an argument with his girlfriend, detective Dwayne Thompson decided that the victim's girlfriend, Olivia Lord, had pulled the trigger. When he wasnt solving murders, Thompson restored sports cars and tooled around in a black Corvette convertible. Burnside died from a gun shot wound from a 9 mm Beretta handgun. They couldnt get the dishwasher installed because of a broken valve, which sent water all over the floor, so they took a break. He told the jurors that he didnt believe that Lord had shot Burnside. But Detective Thompson couldnt or wouldnt accept that. Tittle said that Thompson allowed a screenplay [of the shooting] in his mind to take over. And thats a dangerous, dangerous thing if youre a homicide detective with the Dallas Police Department., Lord took the stand and was overcome with emotion as she described her love for Burnside. He said when he came up to Lord in the yard, she fell to her knees and said something to the effect of Hes dying. Rastegar told Lundberg, I got the impression she was trying to tell me it was accidental. Im willing to accept that Mikey might have totally screwed up. If you have or may be questioned by the police, know your rights. Thompson wanted to find out if Lord, under such heated questioning, would crack. The way Lord had described it, she and Burnside were deeply in love, and they had been talking about marriage. Dont worry about it. Although the couple appeared to be joking, said Jaffe, you could tell they were serious., At that point, Jaffe said, he decided to leave, and when he returned after getting the frantic phone call from Lord, he found her in the front yard. I loved my boyfriend.. In this trial, Lord was definitely the underdog. When Shearin called Lord with the news, she thanked him for all he had done for her, but then she said something else. | Articles Strapped around. Jaffe was sitting in a plastic chair next to a small table pushed against a wall. Thompson did his best to defend himself. He wasnt stressed-out, Thompson said. And who knows? For several seconds, the courtroom was quiet except for Lords muffled sobs. Its difficult to go out in public without thinking someone is saying, Theres the girl who killed her boyfriend., Right at that moment, a waiter walked up, clearly taken with her, and asked if she was ready to order. Jaffe said he had sped back to Burnsides home, arriving at the same time as the paramedics. (As he said in one interview for The First 48, Bringing stuff back to life is whats up, Jack.) He taught classes at the Dallas Police Academy, and a private training agency hired him to lead seminars on detective work around the country. In his opinion, it was perfectly plausible that in the heat of the argument with Burnside, she had taken his pistol, slipped up behind him, and pulled the trigger. 1983 claiming that she was wrongfully arrested for a killing that she did not commit, which landed her in jail for nine days. Thompson, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has been a homicide detective since 2006. He had on a dark fedora, a dark suit, a white shirt with a tie, and dress shoes. He was so compelling in front of the cameracajoling witnesses to open up and then lashing out at a suspectthat he looked like a television actor playing a detective. Jaffe told him that Mikey was a good ol boy who liked hunting and fishing. But Love also acknowledges that he is bewildered at the idea of Burnside shooting himself. I believe that with all my heart.. After being honorably discharged, in 1991, while stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he joined the Dallas police. People drink all the time who own guns, Thompson said. He took her to dinner, and the date lasted the entire weekend. | Link Errors Nor did Burnsides parents invite her to the reception. City attorneys are defending him, saying he acted in good faith and without malice. In the video, Rastegar initially seemed to confirm what he had supposedly told Thompson and Lundberg on the porch. And whats really frightening is that Thompson could come back after me, plant some new fake evidence, and arrest me for murder again. And if the young man had shot himself, wouldnt the gun have landed closer to his body? Thompson, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has been a homicide detective since 2006. In August, three months after the shooting, Shearin requested an examining trial, a legal procedure in which a police officer must appear in a magistrates court to lay out the probable cause for the arrest of a suspect in a felony case. She helped him with his finances, reminding him to pay his bills and to keep his spending in line. And a handful of Burnsides friends have reunited with Lord, saying they now believe that she had nothing to do with his death. Her fight for justice here began around 3 years ago and ended with last weeks jury verdict. A Shooting on Spring Grove Ave: When Michael Burnside was found dead in his Dallas home in 2010, detective Dwayne Thompson decided that the victim's girlfriend had pulled the trigger. It was so hard for us to believe that she was doing this, said Jaffe. The day after the verdict, Thompson was placed on desk duty. Although she had her own apartment, she was planning to move in with him as soon as he finished remodeling the house. When Quinton studied the gunshot residue report, he concluded that the trace amounts of residue on Lord did not necessarily indicate handling or firing the weapon. But he couldnt say for sure that she didnt fire the Beretta. Tittle then had the jurors watch Thompsons interview with Lord and Lundbergs interview with Rastegar. A light drizzle was falling in the early morning hours of May 9, 2010, when detective Dwayne Thompsonpulled up in front of a modest home on Spring Grove Avenue, in a tree-lined neighborhood in North Dallas. But those mistakes do not amount to malice., Tittle, however, wasted no time going on the attack, telling the jury in his opening statement, There is not and was not a shred of credible evidence to suggest that Olivia Lord had anything to do with Michaels death. At the least, she said, she wanted to make sure his actions were publicly documented so that he could never do to someone else what he had done to her. Of course not, she said. I had the impression that she told me that [Burnside] had nothing to do with it and she did it. But he refused to say, like he had said on his porch, that he had definitely heard Lord confess to the shooting. Thompson, Andie - Thony, Steve > Thompson, Dorothya - Thompson, Elexus > Thompson, Dwanna - Thompson, Dweese > Thompson, Dwayne 1-25 of 112 Contacts Contact Name Why the bottles of cleaning products and the bloody towels? Its psychological pressure as opposed to physical force, however many believe that the result, coercion, can be the same even though no blows are struck. Reddit - Dive into anything. Raised in Ohio, Thompson spent five years in the Army, earning the rank of captain and commanding a military police unit in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. Whats more, he said, Thompson had left out of the affidavit the fact that Burnside, who was right-handed, had been shot at point-blank range in his right temple, which would give a judge another reason to believe he had committed suicide. The officer shrugged. Thompson left the room, walked down the hall, and opened the door to another interview room. 1983 claiming that she was wrongfully arrested for a killing that she did not commit, which landed her in jail for nine days. Why try to make money off Michaels death?. There were too many unanswered questions, he said. Was there a chance he was involved in the shooting? Bring on the Shiplap? 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