"He said that he was pushing the door so hard to try and close it that he pushed the door through the frame and broke the door off the hinges. And when that happened, he says that Barbara rushed into the bedroom where he was brandishing a cocked pistol in her right hand." — Britt
"And by the way, the very right hand, which, oh by the way, she physically couldn't have pulled a gun on him with, according to her daughter." — Britt
"The victim was 59 years old. The skin of her right hand, according to her family doctor, was atrophied, tightly drawn and very, very thin." — Ashley Flowers
The episode begins by recounting the 1974 homicide of Judge Lewis A. Sysler in Washington D.C., who was shot while opening his door. Detective Bobby Moore investigated and concluded it was a case of mistaken identity, stemming from a group's misguided attempt to find a perpetrator of a sexual assault. The individuals involved were apprehended, with Mary Harris convicted of conspiracy, felony murder, and attempted burglary. The unknown assailant responsible for the original assault was never identified.
The narrative then shifts to Detective Bobby Moore's personal life, revealing that during his investigation into Judge Sysler's death, he met and later married the victim's wife, Barbara Sysler. The couple relocated to Fremont, Indiana, where Bobby became the town marshal. Their marriage deteriorated, marked by conflict and an impending divorce. Tragically, just days before their divorce was to be finalized in 1988, Barbara was shot and killed in their home. Bobby claimed self-defense, stating Barbara attacked him with a gun. However, discrepancies in witness accounts, crime scene evidence, and Barbara's daughter's testimony raised significant doubts. Despite Bobby's claims and subsequent legal proceedings, the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence for a conviction, and charges were dismissed.
The story takes a further tragic turn five months after Barbara's death, on the exact anniversary of her shooting, when Bobby Moore himself is murdered. Shot in front of his new home, the circumstances suggest a planned attack. Investigators quickly focus on Barbara's son, Samuel Sysler, who had recently been dismissed from the Indiana State Police and was allegedly seen in the vicinity prior to Bobby's death. While Samuel was a person of interest, with rumors of him purchasing a rifle and ammunition matching those used in Bobby's murder, and having previously made vengeful comments about Bobby, no definitive evidence connected him to the crime. The case remains unsolved, leaving Bobby Moore as one of Indiana's unresolved police shooting victims, with Captain Kevin Smith, who knew both Bobby and Samuel, determined to uncover the truth.