WEBVTT 00:00:01.923 --> 00:00:04.009 narrator: The flaming ashes from a house fire 00:00:04.092 --> 00:00:06.302 reveal a horrific murder. 00:00:08.221 --> 00:00:09.764 The body was burned completely. 00:00:09.806 --> 00:00:12.684 We found the victim lying on their back. 00:00:12.726 --> 00:00:14.352 This was a homicide. 00:00:14.394 --> 00:00:17.856 narrator: The victim is a millionaire Atlanta playboy. 00:00:17.939 --> 00:00:20.567 David Coffin was an entrepreneur 00:00:20.608 --> 00:00:25.071 from a very wealthy, influential Connecticut family. 00:00:25.113 --> 00:00:26.740 narrator: Investigators close in 00:00:26.781 --> 00:00:28.324 on their main suspect. 00:00:28.366 --> 00:00:30.577 We realized he was very jealous. 00:00:30.618 --> 00:00:33.496 In my mind, I'm talking to my number one suspect. 00:00:33.580 --> 00:00:36.499 narrator: When suddenly, their case falls apart. 00:00:36.583 --> 00:00:38.710 District attorney said there was not 00:00:38.752 --> 00:00:40.962 enough evidence to go to trial. 00:00:41.004 --> 00:00:43.006 narrator: Until a task force is formed 00:00:43.048 --> 00:00:46.342 that discovers previously overlooked clues. 00:00:46.384 --> 00:00:48.636 We had phone records where he was calling Megan 00:00:48.636 --> 00:00:50.138 25 times a day. 00:00:50.180 --> 00:00:53.808 Megan had saved messages left on her answering machine. 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:57.103 And she said at that point, "I know who did it 00:00:57.145 --> 00:00:59.147 and I'm going to prove it." 00:00:59.189 --> 00:01:02.484 narrator: Will the devastated Coffin family find justice, 00:01:02.567 --> 00:01:05.570 or will the killer continue to elude the law? 00:01:05.612 --> 00:01:07.155 We thought the trial would only take 00:01:07.155 --> 00:01:08.823 two to three weeks max, 00:01:08.865 --> 00:01:12.577 but it became a slugfest struggle in that courtroom. 00:01:12.619 --> 00:01:14.871 To have someone murdered in Buckhead, 00:01:14.913 --> 00:01:17.332 their house burned down, 00:01:17.415 --> 00:01:20.043 their car burned, 00:01:20.085 --> 00:01:21.336 that was unheard of. 00:01:21.336 --> 00:01:24.631 Then when you add the possible suspect 00:01:24.672 --> 00:01:27.967 was from a prominent Buckhead family, 00:01:28.009 --> 00:01:30.053 it was lead story. 00:01:51.366 --> 00:01:54.702 narrator: Buckhead, Georgia, once the neon mecca 00:01:54.744 --> 00:01:56.830 of Atlanta's bar and nightclub scene. 00:01:56.871 --> 00:01:58.498 By the late '90s, 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:00.750 the city's wealthiest residents flood the area, 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:03.211 transforming it into an elite enclave 00:02:03.253 --> 00:02:07.215 of high-end retail, mansions, and designer high-rises. 00:02:07.257 --> 00:02:11.511 Buckhead is the quintessential 00:02:11.553 --> 00:02:13.763 hoity-toity part of town. 00:02:13.805 --> 00:02:16.266 It's where the very affluent 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:19.352 and very influential people live. 00:02:19.394 --> 00:02:22.772 The homes are exquisite. 00:02:22.814 --> 00:02:27.443 They cover acres. The lawns are beautiful. 00:02:27.485 --> 00:02:31.364 It is the crème de la crme of Atlanta. 00:02:35.743 --> 00:02:38.621 narrator: But on December 11, 1996, 00:02:38.663 --> 00:02:42.333 smoldering ash fills Buckhead's air of affluence, 00:02:42.417 --> 00:02:46.421 bringing new meaning to the phrase "money to burn." 00:02:46.462 --> 00:02:49.465 Atlanta Fire responds to a call about a house 00:02:49.549 --> 00:02:51.176 engulfed in flames. 00:02:51.217 --> 00:02:54.179 There was two cars in the driveway, 00:02:54.220 --> 00:02:56.222 totally burned. 00:02:56.306 --> 00:02:58.850 The house was a two-story house. 00:02:58.892 --> 00:03:01.227 Half of it was burnt up. 00:03:02.687 --> 00:03:06.191 Part of the back half, you could see the sky. 00:03:07.859 --> 00:03:09.736 Keep coming, keep coming! 00:03:09.819 --> 00:03:11.154 narrator: Firefighters get to work 00:03:11.237 --> 00:03:13.531 extinguishing the intense blaze, 00:03:13.573 --> 00:03:16.409 when they make a grisly discovery. 00:03:16.451 --> 00:03:20.705 Atlanta Fire Department had found a body inside the fire. 00:03:20.747 --> 00:03:22.332 We got a call on the radio, 00:03:22.415 --> 00:03:25.043 they needed a homicide investigator. 00:03:25.126 --> 00:03:27.837 I worked the morning shift from 12:00 midnight 00:03:27.837 --> 00:03:28.838 to 8:00 in the morning. 00:03:28.880 --> 00:03:30.548 I'd just arrived at the office. 00:03:30.590 --> 00:03:31.841 The call came up. 00:03:31.841 --> 00:03:34.552 The fire department brought the call in. 00:03:34.594 --> 00:03:36.429 We were kind of waiting on the fire department 00:03:36.471 --> 00:03:38.223 to put the fire out 00:03:38.306 --> 00:03:40.266 so we could actually work the scene. 00:03:41.935 --> 00:03:44.103 As you came in through the kitchen area, 00:03:44.187 --> 00:03:48.524 there was smoke everywhere, there was a body on the floor. 00:03:48.608 --> 00:03:52.946 The body was burned completely. Couldn't tell who he was. 00:03:52.987 --> 00:03:54.489 First thing that goes through your mind, 00:03:54.530 --> 00:03:55.782 "Okay, how was he killed? 00:03:55.823 --> 00:03:57.242 "Did the fire kill him? 00:03:57.283 --> 00:03:59.827 "Did he somehow or nother knock himself out, 00:03:59.869 --> 00:04:03.539 or did he do harm to himself?" 00:04:03.581 --> 00:04:05.416 You're keeping an open mind because you--at that point, 00:04:05.458 --> 00:04:07.877 you know, absolutely very little 00:04:07.961 --> 00:04:11.005 about the victim or about the crime itself. 00:04:11.047 --> 00:04:12.507 So you're just in the process 00:04:12.548 --> 00:04:15.301 of gathering your initial thoughts on the scene. 00:04:15.343 --> 00:04:18.388 narrator: The extensive damage to the house and body 00:04:18.471 --> 00:04:21.474 make it impossible to tell what happened to the victim, 00:04:21.516 --> 00:04:26.062 but certain clues at the scene create burning questions. 00:04:26.062 --> 00:04:28.564 This is a house fire with a body inside. 00:04:28.606 --> 00:04:31.192 We talked to one of the firefighters, asked him, 00:04:31.234 --> 00:04:34.070 "Okay, why do you think that this is suspicious? 00:04:34.070 --> 00:04:36.114 And he said, "Well, we found the victim 00:04:36.197 --> 00:04:38.908 lying on their back in the kitchen." 00:04:38.908 --> 00:04:42.245 In most fires, if they're not in bed, 00:04:42.328 --> 00:04:44.914 then they're trying to crawl. 00:04:44.914 --> 00:04:47.583 You'd find them face down instead of face up. 00:04:47.667 --> 00:04:49.919 The guy who was working with us, he said, 00:04:49.961 --> 00:04:51.671 "This is very strange. 00:04:51.713 --> 00:04:55.049 "I bet you... 00:04:55.091 --> 00:04:56.342 "listen, you gon' find a gun 00:04:56.426 --> 00:04:58.261 somewhere right around this body." 00:04:58.261 --> 00:05:01.306 narrator: As detectives dissect the smoldering scene, 00:05:01.347 --> 00:05:05.601 they eventually uncover a game-changing clue. 00:05:06.644 --> 00:05:08.813 Sure enough, when everything was cleaned up, 00:05:08.896 --> 00:05:11.941 it was, like, a 9-millimeter was there by the body. 00:05:14.110 --> 00:05:15.611 This was a homicide. 00:05:15.653 --> 00:05:19.115 narrator: As the case turns from accident to murder, 00:05:19.115 --> 00:05:21.868 investigators take the 9-millimeter handgun 00:05:21.951 --> 00:05:24.287 for testing and quickly shift gears 00:05:24.287 --> 00:05:29.125 to gather information on this brutally slain victim. 00:05:29.167 --> 00:05:30.835 People who knew the subject 00:05:30.877 --> 00:05:32.837 who lived there were showing up. 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:35.798 It was on the news that this residence was on fire. 00:05:35.840 --> 00:05:38.259 narrator: As the homeowner's acquaintances turn up 00:05:38.301 --> 00:05:40.720 at the house, investigators are able 00:05:40.762 --> 00:05:42.889 to quickly identify the victim 00:05:42.972 --> 00:05:45.850 and meet someone very close to him. 00:05:45.892 --> 00:05:48.811 Megan Lee arrived on scene and advised that-- 00:05:48.853 --> 00:05:51.606 that she had been dating the subject that lived there. 00:05:51.647 --> 00:05:54.567 It was her boyfriend's house, David Coffin's house. 00:05:56.402 --> 00:05:59.530 narrator: Detectives learn David Coffin is a well-known 00:05:59.614 --> 00:06:02.992 41-year-old entrepreneur living alone in Buckhead 00:06:03.076 --> 00:06:06.829 and heir to the Coffin family's $23 million fortune, 00:06:06.871 --> 00:06:10.166 stemming from the aerospace and automotive industries. 00:06:10.249 --> 00:06:13.711 David Coffin moved here from Connecticut 00:06:13.753 --> 00:06:15.463 as an entrepreneur. 00:06:15.505 --> 00:06:19.425 His family had a firm called the Dexter Company, 00:06:19.467 --> 00:06:21.719 and it was over 200 years old. 00:06:21.761 --> 00:06:24.013 As a matter of fact, it's thought to be 00:06:24.013 --> 00:06:28.101 the oldest business on the New York Stock Exchange. 00:06:28.184 --> 00:06:31.687 And David moves here to be known 00:06:31.729 --> 00:06:35.066 for what he did versus what his family has done. 00:06:36.484 --> 00:06:41.948 He was very soft-spoken and down-to-earth. 00:06:42.031 --> 00:06:44.826 From the time I met David, I just fell for him. 00:06:44.909 --> 00:06:48.663 We were together from then on for quite some time. 00:06:48.704 --> 00:06:52.166 And it was great. We did everything together. 00:06:52.208 --> 00:06:55.420 When we broke up, we always remained friends. 00:06:55.461 --> 00:06:57.046 Hello, Linda. It's David. 00:06:57.046 --> 00:07:00.049 and hope I talk to you soon. 00:07:00.049 --> 00:07:03.052 Take care. Bye-bye. 00:07:03.052 --> 00:07:06.514 We were always in touch. 00:07:06.556 --> 00:07:08.766 David Coffin, because of his wealth 00:07:08.808 --> 00:07:12.228 and his good looks and his personality, 00:07:12.311 --> 00:07:14.564 there were a lot of women who were chasing him. 00:07:16.357 --> 00:07:20.695 But he really seemed to be kind of playing the field. 00:07:20.736 --> 00:07:23.990 No one had really connected him to anyone 00:07:24.073 --> 00:07:28.995 as a solid, long-standing girlfriend 00:07:29.078 --> 00:07:32.415 until Megan Lee came along. 00:07:32.498 --> 00:07:34.750 narrator: Police immediately dig for more information 00:07:34.792 --> 00:07:37.211 on David Coffin from his girlfriend, Megan, 00:07:37.253 --> 00:07:39.005 who was at the scene. 00:07:39.088 --> 00:07:41.674 Megan was very upset. 00:07:41.716 --> 00:07:43.426 She was crying. 00:07:43.509 --> 00:07:46.429 She said she'd seen him Monday afternoon. 00:07:46.512 --> 00:07:48.097 Called him several times on Tuesday 00:07:48.097 --> 00:07:50.516 and could never get him on the phone, 00:07:50.600 --> 00:07:52.977 and that was unusual because they talked 00:07:53.019 --> 00:07:54.854 several times each day. 00:07:57.815 --> 00:08:00.943 Then we got a call from two officers 00:08:00.943 --> 00:08:03.946 that there was another fire 00:08:03.946 --> 00:08:07.241 at another house on Battleview. 00:08:07.283 --> 00:08:08.451 So we said, "Well, let's go there 00:08:08.493 --> 00:08:10.453 and see that other scene." 00:08:10.495 --> 00:08:12.914 narrator: With two fires on the same Tuesday night 00:08:12.955 --> 00:08:15.750 in this upscale community, detectives believe 00:08:15.791 --> 00:08:17.752 an arsonist could be on the loose 00:08:17.793 --> 00:08:20.588 targeting the wealthy estates of Buckhead. 00:08:20.630 --> 00:08:23.549 So we left the fire scene, went to Battleview Drive, 00:08:23.591 --> 00:08:25.968 probably a mile and a half or so away 00:08:25.968 --> 00:08:27.595 from David Coffin's residence. 00:08:27.595 --> 00:08:29.347 narrator: By the time detectives arrive 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:30.973 at the second residence, 00:08:31.015 --> 00:08:33.226 the small house fire has been extinguished 00:08:33.309 --> 00:08:35.061 by the firefighters and the homeowner, 00:08:35.144 --> 00:08:37.021 Scott Davis. 00:08:37.063 --> 00:08:39.732 Scott had told us when we were at his house, 00:08:39.774 --> 00:08:42.318 about midnight, he was in bed reading, 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:45.071 and his dog started barking. 00:08:45.154 --> 00:08:46.280 He looked out and it looked like 00:08:46.322 --> 00:08:48.658 the back of his house was on fire. 00:08:48.741 --> 00:08:53.538 So he grabbed his shotgun, ran out the backyard, 00:08:53.579 --> 00:08:56.666 sees the subject as he jumped over the fence, 00:08:56.666 --> 00:08:58.334 turned around, and shot at him, 00:08:58.376 --> 00:09:02.296 so Davis fired his shotgun five times at the subject 00:09:02.338 --> 00:09:05.341 as the subject was running away. 00:09:05.424 --> 00:09:07.343 narrator: Could this gun-toting arsonist 00:09:07.426 --> 00:09:10.972 be the same man who killed David Coffin? 00:09:11.013 --> 00:09:14.225 Scott then tells police of another terrifying incident 00:09:14.308 --> 00:09:16.060 he had earlier that day. 00:09:16.143 --> 00:09:19.188 He said that he had been to the gym earlier in the day, 00:09:19.188 --> 00:09:20.523 and when he'd come home, 00:09:20.565 --> 00:09:22.358 he got out of his car 00:09:22.358 --> 00:09:27.071 and somebody bust out of his laundry room, 00:09:27.154 --> 00:09:29.532 pepper sprayed him. 00:09:29.574 --> 00:09:33.035 The guy took off running, ran away. 00:09:33.035 --> 00:09:35.371 Mr. Davis called the police, filed a police report, 00:09:35.413 --> 00:09:39.667 and explained that the subject had also stolen 00:09:39.709 --> 00:09:44.630 some clothes, a gas can, and some tools. 00:09:44.672 --> 00:09:46.215 The subject also had a gun in his hand. 00:09:46.257 --> 00:09:47.550 He threatened to shoot Mr. Davis 00:09:47.633 --> 00:09:49.385 if he didn't stay away from Megan. 00:09:52.513 --> 00:09:54.390 narrator: Megan, the detectives learn, 00:09:54.390 --> 00:09:56.809 is none other than Megan Lee, 00:09:56.851 --> 00:09:59.478 David Coffin's grieving girlfriend. 00:09:59.562 --> 00:10:01.856 She was still legally married to Scott Davis, 00:10:01.897 --> 00:10:03.899 and she was trying to get divorced. 00:10:03.983 --> 00:10:06.152 That catches your attention a little bit. 00:10:08.613 --> 00:10:13.034 David Coffin had the looks, he had the family background, 00:10:13.075 --> 00:10:15.411 he already had the money, 00:10:15.453 --> 00:10:18.497 and then he had Megan. 00:10:18.581 --> 00:10:23.336 And that was what set him off. 00:10:23.377 --> 00:10:24.920 Mr. Coffin's residence, 00:10:25.004 --> 00:10:28.758 the weekend before his death, had been burglarized. 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.594 They had taken a 9-millimeter handgun 00:10:31.636 --> 00:10:35.014 that just happened to be the same gun 00:10:35.056 --> 00:10:36.223 found at the crime scene. 00:10:43.981 --> 00:10:46.651 narrator: Atlanta PD investigators are responding 00:10:46.692 --> 00:10:49.278 to the brutal death of Buckhead entrepreneur 00:10:49.278 --> 00:10:51.322 David Coffin when they learn 00:10:51.364 --> 00:10:53.199 Coffin's girlfriend is involved 00:10:53.282 --> 00:10:57.286 with another apparent arson victim, Scott Davis. 00:10:57.286 --> 00:11:01.165 Megan met Scott Davis when she was a student 00:11:01.207 --> 00:11:03.000 at the University of Georgia. 00:11:03.042 --> 00:11:04.877 They dated for, like, five years, 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.672 and then they finally got married. 00:11:09.882 --> 00:11:13.511 Scott Davis was a rich young man, 00:11:13.594 --> 00:11:15.221 come from money. 00:11:15.262 --> 00:11:18.933 Scott Davis comes from a prominent Atlanta family. 00:11:18.974 --> 00:11:22.812 His father, most of all, is known in all media 00:11:22.853 --> 00:11:24.647 and all lawyers 00:11:24.689 --> 00:11:28.150 because he was the forensic psychiatrist 00:11:28.234 --> 00:11:32.530 that everyone used in murder cases. 00:11:32.571 --> 00:11:35.658 So his father was well-known, 00:11:35.658 --> 00:11:38.577 not only in government, 00:11:38.661 --> 00:11:43.708 but in politics, in social standing. 00:11:43.749 --> 00:11:45.251 They were important people. 00:11:45.292 --> 00:11:49.338 We learned from Megan, Scott was very controlling. 00:11:49.338 --> 00:11:53.342 And I think Megan was one not to be controlled. 00:11:53.384 --> 00:11:56.512 But Megan didn't come from the type of background 00:11:56.554 --> 00:11:58.139 that Scott did. 00:11:58.180 --> 00:12:02.268 Scott kind of use that against Megan a lot of times 00:12:02.351 --> 00:12:05.271 in their relationship, controlled her by that. 00:12:05.354 --> 00:12:07.690 So after two years, she filed her divorce, 00:12:07.773 --> 00:12:10.234 and that was that. 00:12:10.276 --> 00:12:12.194 She was in the process of getting a divorce 00:12:12.236 --> 00:12:14.238 and was going by Megan Lee, 00:12:14.280 --> 00:12:17.867 trying to shake her married name, Davis. 00:12:17.950 --> 00:12:19.368 narrator: The investigators learn 00:12:19.410 --> 00:12:21.912 that just as Megan's divorce gets underway, 00:12:21.996 --> 00:12:23.873 she meets David Coffin. 00:12:23.873 --> 00:12:26.709 Everyone said it seemed they were getting to be 00:12:26.709 --> 00:12:28.586 very, very serious. 00:12:28.627 --> 00:12:30.004 And everyone was shocked 00:12:30.045 --> 00:12:34.383 because David had everything at his fingertips. 00:12:34.425 --> 00:12:37.136 Everyone wondered, why would he date 00:12:37.178 --> 00:12:38.512 this particular young woman 00:12:38.554 --> 00:12:41.640 who, at that time, was going through a divorce. 00:12:41.724 --> 00:12:43.476 But he was interested to the point 00:12:43.517 --> 00:12:48.022 of where they thought he might end up marrying her. 00:12:48.063 --> 00:12:50.065 The only thing I knew about Megan 00:12:50.107 --> 00:12:52.234 is what he would tell me. 00:12:52.234 --> 00:12:53.986 And he was really crazy about her. 00:12:53.986 --> 00:12:58.073 David Coffin had the looks, he had the family background, 00:12:58.115 --> 00:13:03.370 he already had the money, and then he had Megan. 00:13:04.455 --> 00:13:08.292 Scott told her, you know, "We're still married. 00:13:08.375 --> 00:13:10.085 "You can't date anyone else. 00:13:10.127 --> 00:13:12.463 You can't be intimate with anyone else." 00:13:12.546 --> 00:13:16.008 But then she said she was intimate with David, 00:13:16.050 --> 00:13:18.719 and that's when all hell broke loose. 00:13:22.348 --> 00:13:27.895 That's when he started calling, writing the letters, 00:13:27.895 --> 00:13:30.064 where he begged her to come back. 00:13:30.064 --> 00:13:32.691 And then the phone calls. 00:13:32.733 --> 00:13:34.652 It was as if she was 00:13:34.735 --> 00:13:37.029 the only thing in life for him. 00:13:39.156 --> 00:13:40.574 It was obvious 00:13:40.574 --> 00:13:45.830 that he literally had lost all reason 00:13:45.871 --> 00:13:47.998 when it came to Megan 00:13:48.040 --> 00:13:51.460 and her relationship with David Coffin. 00:13:51.502 --> 00:13:53.420 narrator: Is Scott the jealous ex 00:13:53.420 --> 00:13:55.214 he appears to be? 00:13:55.256 --> 00:13:58.175 As the crime scene unit continues to dig for evidence 00:13:58.217 --> 00:13:59.844 at the Coffin residence, 00:13:59.885 --> 00:14:01.762 Megan reveals to investigators 00:14:01.846 --> 00:14:04.098 that a bizarre incident occurred 00:14:04.181 --> 00:14:06.767 only five days before David's death. 00:14:06.767 --> 00:14:10.855 David Coffin spent the weekend 00:14:10.896 --> 00:14:14.191 with Megan in her condo. 00:14:14.233 --> 00:14:16.610 When David goes home 00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:18.946 after spending time with Megan, 00:14:18.946 --> 00:14:21.866 his house has been broken into. 00:14:21.949 --> 00:14:25.786 They had taken some computers, some watches, 00:14:25.786 --> 00:14:28.122 and a Porsche, and a firearm, 00:14:28.205 --> 00:14:31.250 which was a Taurus 9-millimeter handgun. 00:14:31.292 --> 00:14:34.503 narrator: A 9-millimeter handgun is the same type 00:14:34.545 --> 00:14:37.715 police discovered next to Coffin's body. 00:14:37.756 --> 00:14:41.093 Could this stolen handgun be the same one 00:14:41.135 --> 00:14:42.595 that killed David Coffin? 00:14:42.636 --> 00:14:45.222 And could this robbery be connected 00:14:45.306 --> 00:14:48.893 to the robbery at Scott Davis' house? 00:14:48.934 --> 00:14:52.229 As investigators wait on the autopsy report, 00:14:52.313 --> 00:14:54.690 they begin to dig for any information 00:14:54.773 --> 00:14:59.653 on David's Porsche, stolen a week before his death. 00:14:59.653 --> 00:15:02.656 On Wednesday, the DeKalb County Fire Department 00:15:02.698 --> 00:15:06.118 find a Porsche on fire 00:15:06.160 --> 00:15:08.370 in Brookhaven, 00:15:08.412 --> 00:15:11.999 which is not far from Buckhead, 00:15:12.082 --> 00:15:14.293 and that they had put it out 00:15:14.335 --> 00:15:17.004 before much damage was done to it. 00:15:17.087 --> 00:15:19.131 And that Porsche had belonged to Mr. Coffin. 00:15:19.173 --> 00:15:20.674 narrator: The fact that David's car 00:15:20.716 --> 00:15:22.259 was not just stolen, 00:15:22.301 --> 00:15:24.428 but burned, tells investigators 00:15:24.511 --> 00:15:27.598 someone was clearly targeting him. 00:15:27.640 --> 00:15:31.268 Was the burglary connected to David's murder? 00:15:31.310 --> 00:15:34.271 Less than 24 hours after the brutal killing, 00:15:34.313 --> 00:15:38.192 the medical examiner reveals the autopsy findings. 00:15:38.233 --> 00:15:40.194 We learned from the Fulton County 00:15:40.235 --> 00:15:41.820 Medical Examiner's Office that 00:15:41.862 --> 00:15:46.241 Mr. Coffin had died from a gunshot wound to the head. 00:15:46.283 --> 00:15:49.828 Also found on the crime scene next to Mr. Coffin 00:15:49.870 --> 00:15:53.749 was a Taurus 9-millimeter, which just happened to be 00:15:53.791 --> 00:15:55.918 the same Taurus 9-millimeter 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:58.879 that was stolen in the burglary. 00:15:58.921 --> 00:16:02.091 So now you know who committed the burglary 00:16:02.132 --> 00:16:04.969 committed the murder, 'cause you steal a gun 00:16:05.010 --> 00:16:07.429 and you go back and you kill the victim with his own gun. 00:16:07.471 --> 00:16:09.181 narrator: After learning about the connection 00:16:09.223 --> 00:16:11.475 between the burglary and the murder, 00:16:11.558 --> 00:16:13.185 detectives shift their focus 00:16:13.227 --> 00:16:15.229 to the other supposed victim that night, 00:16:15.270 --> 00:16:17.147 and possible suspect, 00:16:17.189 --> 00:16:20.567 Megan's estranged husband, Scott Davis. 00:16:20.609 --> 00:16:23.612 So we asked Mr. Davis to come to the office 00:16:23.654 --> 00:16:24.947 to give us a statement. 00:16:37.334 --> 00:16:38.419 He was calm. 00:16:38.502 --> 00:16:40.546 He was carrying on the conversation. 00:16:40.587 --> 00:16:42.423 He wasn't nervous. 00:16:42.423 --> 00:16:44.133 This guy was very bright. 00:16:44.174 --> 00:16:45.259 He was not angry. 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:46.427 He was not bent out of shape 00:16:46.427 --> 00:16:48.095 because we were talking to him. 00:17:13.120 --> 00:17:14.329 As I'm talking to him, 00:17:14.371 --> 00:17:16.123 these inconsistencies popped up, 00:17:16.165 --> 00:17:18.459 things that are not logical. 00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:21.795 It's not logical for a person to run across a backyard 00:17:21.795 --> 00:17:25.299 with a fire can, clothes, mace, tools, and a gun. 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:27.384 It's just not logical. 00:17:27.468 --> 00:17:29.636 We asked him the question about his wife. 00:17:45.152 --> 00:17:48.489 We realized that Scott was very jealous. 00:17:48.572 --> 00:17:51.617 In his mind, he thinks that she still wanted to be with him. 00:18:01.794 --> 00:18:03.837 narrator: As the investigation into the death 00:18:03.837 --> 00:18:05.714 of David Coffin continues, 00:18:05.798 --> 00:18:08.092 authorities' suspicions are rising 00:18:08.133 --> 00:18:10.135 as they interrogate Megan Lee's 00:18:10.177 --> 00:18:13.680 estranged husband, Scott Davis. 00:18:13.722 --> 00:18:15.849 Scott said Megan was just going through this 00:18:15.933 --> 00:18:17.684 right now, that "she really loves me 00:18:17.726 --> 00:18:19.520 and she really wants to be with me." 00:18:19.561 --> 00:18:22.314 That's why he was fighting the--the divorce. 00:18:41.667 --> 00:18:43.210 narrator: Once Scott Davis admits 00:18:43.210 --> 00:18:46.171 to a tumultuous relationship with Megan Lee, 00:18:46.213 --> 00:18:50.259 detectives probe deeper to uncover a possible motive. 00:19:35.053 --> 00:19:36.930 narrator: As the interrogation continues, 00:19:37.014 --> 00:19:39.808 investigators begin to question Scott Davis 00:19:39.850 --> 00:19:42.227 about his knowledge of David Coffin's murder, 00:19:42.269 --> 00:19:45.772 when he makes a shocking revelation. 00:19:45.814 --> 00:19:48.025 During the process of going over the facts 00:19:48.108 --> 00:19:49.568 of what happened to him, 00:19:49.610 --> 00:19:51.653 and we were in there a couple hours, 00:19:51.695 --> 00:19:54.573 and Mr. Davis says, 00:19:54.615 --> 00:19:57.701 you know, that Mr. Coffin had been shot. 00:19:57.743 --> 00:20:00.829 And I'm like, "Really?" 00:20:05.834 --> 00:20:08.295 narrator: David Coffin's cause of death has not yet 00:20:08.378 --> 00:20:12.341 been released to the public, so how did Scott Davis know 00:20:12.424 --> 00:20:15.052 that David wasn't killed by the fire? 00:20:15.093 --> 00:20:16.887 I said, "How do you know that?" 00:20:16.929 --> 00:20:18.472 Mr. Davis had said that Megan had told him 00:20:18.472 --> 00:20:21.266 that Mr. Coffin had been shot. 00:20:33.987 --> 00:20:37.866 So we called Megan, said, "Hey, 00:20:37.950 --> 00:20:39.660 did you say anything about David being shot?" 00:20:39.701 --> 00:20:42.412 She goes, "Oh, my God, is that how he died?" 00:20:42.454 --> 00:20:43.997 Like, "I don't know." 00:20:44.081 --> 00:20:46.166 She goes, "I don't know. I don't know how he died." 00:20:46.166 --> 00:20:47.834 narrator: The investigators return 00:20:47.876 --> 00:20:49.336 to the interrogation room 00:20:49.336 --> 00:20:52.631 to confront Scott Davis with Megan's denial. 00:21:01.014 --> 00:21:02.349 So I went and confronted Scott 00:21:02.349 --> 00:21:04.017 and said, "Hey, Megan says she never said"-- 00:21:04.017 --> 00:21:06.603 "Oh, well, Greg Foster must have told that to me then." 00:21:06.645 --> 00:21:09.189 Greg Foster was a friend, 00:21:09.231 --> 00:21:12.859 a mutual friend of the Coffins 00:21:12.901 --> 00:21:16.530 and, I think, Scott Davis as well and Megan. 00:21:16.613 --> 00:21:18.949 I think they were all kind of friends. 00:21:18.991 --> 00:21:22.202 So, okay, checked Greg Foster. 00:21:22.286 --> 00:21:25.038 "Did you tell Scott that David had been shot?" 00:21:25.122 --> 00:21:28.292 He said, "No, I don't know how he died." 00:21:42.306 --> 00:21:44.641 narrator: As Scott tries to pass off blame, 00:21:44.725 --> 00:21:47.019 detectives are getting more suspicious 00:21:47.060 --> 00:21:50.063 but don't have any evidence against him. 00:21:50.147 --> 00:21:52.357 Police take Scott back to his house 00:21:52.399 --> 00:21:54.860 to gather more information about the intruder 00:21:54.901 --> 00:21:59.281 he claims tried to harm him and burn down his house. 00:21:59.364 --> 00:22:01.658 Took him back home and he started telling me 00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:03.368 what the guy had done. 00:22:03.410 --> 00:22:05.412 The guy fired a weapon at him. 00:22:05.495 --> 00:22:08.248 Didn't find any projectiles 00:22:08.248 --> 00:22:10.917 of the pistol the guy told me he had. 00:22:10.959 --> 00:22:13.587 I saw that on Scott Davis' patio, 00:22:13.628 --> 00:22:15.380 where the fire had been started, 00:22:15.422 --> 00:22:19.384 and there were shotgun shells around on the ground. 00:22:19.426 --> 00:22:24.348 Scott says that the guy who attacked him shot at him. 00:22:25.682 --> 00:22:30.354 And he says, "I shot back at him with my shotgun." 00:22:30.395 --> 00:22:32.230 I said okay, sort of start to get up on the roof, 00:22:32.272 --> 00:22:33.690 look to see if we can find that round. 00:22:33.774 --> 00:22:35.734 And Scott says, "No, no, 00:22:35.776 --> 00:22:37.402 the round went over my head." 00:22:37.444 --> 00:22:39.237 I'm like, "How'd you know it went over your head?" 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:40.947 "Well, I heard it." 00:22:40.989 --> 00:22:42.824 I've been shot at a few times. 00:22:42.866 --> 00:22:44.284 I don't know where the bullets went. 00:22:44.284 --> 00:22:45.285 Couldn't tell you. 00:22:47.287 --> 00:22:48.705 At this point, this isn't making 00:22:48.789 --> 00:22:49.998 a whole lot of sense to me. 00:22:50.082 --> 00:22:53.794 We went to the fence and we saw 00:22:53.794 --> 00:22:56.505 no part of any clothes or anything. 00:22:56.546 --> 00:22:58.799 And we saw nothing where the guy might have 00:22:58.840 --> 00:23:00.717 torn off some pants 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:03.136 or any type of fabric or something. 00:23:03.136 --> 00:23:06.473 narrator: As Scott's intruder story begins to fall apart, 00:23:06.556 --> 00:23:09.893 police talk to his neighbors to see if anyone can confirm 00:23:09.935 --> 00:23:12.229 his account of the incident. 00:23:12.312 --> 00:23:16.149 There's a lady next door to Scott Davis' house. 00:23:16.191 --> 00:23:18.610 She says she's always walking her dog out there, 00:23:18.652 --> 00:23:21.822 and that she heard shots, 00:23:21.905 --> 00:23:24.699 but she did not hear no pistol shots. 00:23:24.783 --> 00:23:25.784 I said, "Well, how do you know?" 00:23:25.826 --> 00:23:26.827 She said, "Well, I go to the range 00:23:26.910 --> 00:23:27.994 "all the time and shoot. 00:23:27.994 --> 00:23:29.704 "I have a pistol that I shoot with. 00:23:29.788 --> 00:23:32.958 "These were shotguns, and I saw no one out there 00:23:32.999 --> 00:23:34.501 because my dog would have barked." 00:23:34.543 --> 00:23:36.753 Scott tells you there were six shots fired. 00:23:36.837 --> 00:23:39.005 Bad guy fires one, Scott fires five. 00:23:39.047 --> 00:23:40.507 You go talk to the neighbors, 00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:44.052 every neighbor says, "I only heard five shots. 00:23:44.136 --> 00:23:45.595 There wasn't a sixth shot." 00:23:45.637 --> 00:23:49.599 In my mind, I'm talking to my--my number one suspect. 00:23:59.776 --> 00:24:01.736 narrator: Less than two days 00:24:01.778 --> 00:24:03.572 after David Coffin's brutal murder, 00:24:03.613 --> 00:24:07.659 Atlanta PD has zeroed in on the deadly love triangle 00:24:07.701 --> 00:24:10.996 between Coffin, his girlfriend, Megan Lee, 00:24:11.037 --> 00:24:12.956 and their new prime suspect, 00:24:12.998 --> 00:24:17.043 Megan's estranged husband, Scott Davis. 00:24:17.085 --> 00:24:19.379 It did not take Sherlock Holmes 00:24:19.379 --> 00:24:22.340 or even Columbo to solve this. 00:24:22.382 --> 00:24:24.885 I'm not some miraculous, incredible, 00:24:24.885 --> 00:24:27.637 world-great homicide detective. 00:24:27.721 --> 00:24:31.224 I just--you just look at this and you go, "Okay." 00:24:31.266 --> 00:24:34.728 You know, it's a neon sign, 00:24:34.769 --> 00:24:36.897 just flashing at you. 00:24:36.980 --> 00:24:38.565 narrator: With a clear motive 00:24:38.565 --> 00:24:40.400 and a string of lies uncovered, 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.196 investigators are convinced Megan Lee's ex, Scott Davis, 00:24:44.237 --> 00:24:47.949 is the killer and decide to make their move. 00:24:47.991 --> 00:24:50.660 At that point, we got enough to get a warrant now. 00:24:50.702 --> 00:24:53.663 So we got the warrant. Scott had hired an attorney. 00:24:53.705 --> 00:24:54.915 I called his attorney and said, 00:24:54.956 --> 00:24:56.416 "Hey, we've got the warrant for Scott, 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:59.419 so I need him to turn himself in." 00:24:59.503 --> 00:25:02.130 And he did. 00:25:02.214 --> 00:25:03.715 narrator: Davis is arrested 00:25:03.757 --> 00:25:06.134 and charged with Coffin's murder, 00:25:06.218 --> 00:25:09.971 setting off an old money Southern blood feud. 00:25:10.013 --> 00:25:12.349 To have someone murdered in Buckhead, 00:25:12.432 --> 00:25:15.101 their house burned down, 00:25:15.143 --> 00:25:17.354 their car burned, 00:25:17.437 --> 00:25:20.023 that was unheard of. 00:25:20.065 --> 00:25:23.443 Then when you add that the possible suspect 00:25:23.485 --> 00:25:27.739 was from a prominent Buckhead family, 00:25:27.781 --> 00:25:32.118 a doctor who was well-known in the community, 00:25:32.202 --> 00:25:33.954 it was lead story. 00:25:36.206 --> 00:25:41.461 You had two powerful families duking it out, 00:25:41.503 --> 00:25:44.506 because the Coffins wanted to prove 00:25:44.548 --> 00:25:47.133 that their son had been murdered 00:25:47.175 --> 00:25:52.013 by the soon-to-be ex-husband of their son's girlfriend. 00:25:53.265 --> 00:25:56.977 And then you had the family over here saying, 00:25:57.018 --> 00:26:01.982 "This is our town, our son, and he didn't do it." 00:26:02.023 --> 00:26:04.484 So you've got what you never see: 00:26:04.568 --> 00:26:06.945 two very wealthy families 00:26:06.987 --> 00:26:08.780 standing toe to toe, 00:26:08.822 --> 00:26:12.033 trying to protect their loved one. 00:26:13.493 --> 00:26:14.911 narrator: As the prominent families 00:26:14.995 --> 00:26:16.997 prepare to face off in court, 00:26:17.038 --> 00:26:19.833 the Fulton County DA must determine 00:26:19.874 --> 00:26:21.835 if the case is strong enough 00:26:21.835 --> 00:26:24.379 to get an indictment from a grand jury. 00:26:24.421 --> 00:26:28.008 We had only circumstantial evidence on him. 00:26:28.091 --> 00:26:30.343 The fire destroyed all the other evidence. 00:26:30.427 --> 00:26:31.886 I like to have a little bit more 00:26:31.970 --> 00:26:34.514 than circumstantial evidence, 00:26:34.556 --> 00:26:37.350 but that's all we had. 00:26:37.392 --> 00:26:40.478 The physical evidence is not that great, 00:26:40.520 --> 00:26:44.983 but there are a lot of people in prison for a lot of years, 00:26:45.025 --> 00:26:47.652 I mean, convicted, and there's no doubt of their guilt 00:26:47.694 --> 00:26:49.237 based on circumstantial evidence, 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.864 and that's what this case was. 00:26:52.282 --> 00:26:54.367 I get called to the ADA's office 00:26:54.451 --> 00:26:55.702 who's handling the case. 00:26:55.785 --> 00:26:57.203 He advises me that they're not gonna present it 00:26:57.203 --> 00:26:59.080 to a grand jury-- they don't think it's enough. 00:27:01.833 --> 00:27:04.127 District Attorney Paul Howard 00:27:04.210 --> 00:27:07.005 looked into the case, but said 00:27:07.047 --> 00:27:10.383 there was not enough evidence to go to trial. 00:27:10.467 --> 00:27:12.886 And so the charges were dropped. 00:27:14.846 --> 00:27:18.558 I was mad. I was mad. 00:27:20.852 --> 00:27:24.022 And to have to make that phone call 00:27:24.064 --> 00:27:26.358 to the Coffin family... 00:27:35.784 --> 00:27:36.910 Was one of the hardest phone calls 00:27:36.910 --> 00:27:38.703 I ever had to make in my life, 00:27:38.745 --> 00:27:41.665 tell 'em that they were letting him go. 00:27:42.749 --> 00:27:46.503 You get angry when you feel like somebody's guilty 00:27:46.544 --> 00:27:49.422 and, all of a sudden, the case goes away. 00:27:53.677 --> 00:27:57.138 narrator: As the years pass, no new evidence is found, 00:27:57.180 --> 00:28:00.058 and eventually, the case goes cold. 00:28:00.100 --> 00:28:02.268 As everyone moves on with their lives, 00:28:02.268 --> 00:28:05.146 Megan Lee starts a new life in Australia, 00:28:05.188 --> 00:28:08.858 while Scott Davis relocates to California. 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:10.443 After Scott Davis was released, 00:28:10.443 --> 00:28:13.988 he ended up moving to Palo Alto, California, 00:28:14.072 --> 00:28:16.199 but what was happening in Atlanta 00:28:16.241 --> 00:28:21.037 during that time period is that the District Attorney-- 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:22.372 the same Paul Howard who had, 00:28:22.414 --> 00:28:24.541 years before, dropped the charges 00:28:24.582 --> 00:28:28.294 for lack of evidence-- had set up a cold case squad. 00:28:30.130 --> 00:28:31.840 The assistant district attorney 00:28:31.881 --> 00:28:34.801 who was over that was a bulldog. 00:28:36.302 --> 00:28:39.305 So in 2004, the district attorney 00:28:39.305 --> 00:28:43.768 of Fulton County formed a multi-agency cold case squad, 00:28:43.810 --> 00:28:45.478 and it was the first of its kind 00:28:45.562 --> 00:28:46.896 in the state of Georgia. 00:28:46.938 --> 00:28:51.484 Our goal was to look at cases that were unsolved 00:28:51.568 --> 00:28:54.404 and attempt to identify the perpetrators. 00:28:54.446 --> 00:28:57.699 And the first case she looked into 00:28:57.741 --> 00:28:59.993 was the David Coffin murder. 00:29:00.034 --> 00:29:01.911 Megan provided the evidence. 00:29:01.953 --> 00:29:04.497 He was calling Megan 25 times a day. 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:07.041 So in his own voice, 00:29:07.083 --> 00:29:11.212 you could hear him plaintively begging her to come back. 00:29:11.254 --> 00:29:13.465 I went out to California and we made the arrest. 00:29:13.506 --> 00:29:17.677 This became a slugfest struggle in that courtroom. 00:29:24.768 --> 00:29:27.061 narrator: Almost a decade has passed 00:29:27.103 --> 00:29:29.397 since the horrific murder of David Coffin, 00:29:29.439 --> 00:29:31.357 when a cold case unit is assigned 00:29:31.357 --> 00:29:32.984 to reexamine the case 00:29:33.026 --> 00:29:36.696 and hopefully bring justice for the Coffin family. 00:29:38.031 --> 00:29:40.867 Assistant District Attorney Sheila Ross 00:29:40.867 --> 00:29:44.287 was given the Coffin case. 00:29:44.329 --> 00:29:46.206 She was determined. 00:29:46.289 --> 00:29:47.999 narrator: As Sheila Ross digs deeper 00:29:48.041 --> 00:29:49.834 into the David Coffin case, 00:29:49.876 --> 00:29:53.463 she realizes the countless obstacles she is facing. 00:29:53.505 --> 00:29:55.548 I saw what we had and I was like, 00:29:55.590 --> 00:29:57.008 "Wow, this looks a little thin." 00:29:57.050 --> 00:29:59.719 This is a case where you have no witnesses. 00:29:59.719 --> 00:30:04.390 The first thing I had to do was just build a timeline. 00:30:04.432 --> 00:30:07.519 What are the things that we know we can prove, 00:30:07.560 --> 00:30:10.980 and what's in between there, and how do we fill those gaps? 00:30:11.064 --> 00:30:14.442 There's a lot of hunting and gathering of documents. 00:30:14.484 --> 00:30:16.402 Then we fanned out from there 00:30:16.444 --> 00:30:19.113 and started interviewing witnesses. 00:30:19.155 --> 00:30:21.783 One of the first witnesses 00:30:21.866 --> 00:30:25.161 that I wanted to talk to was Megan. 00:30:25.203 --> 00:30:27.580 She was scared of Scott Davis. 00:30:29.833 --> 00:30:32.585 They did interview a lot of people 00:30:32.585 --> 00:30:35.588 to give an image of what Scott was like 00:30:35.588 --> 00:30:37.090 and what David was like. 00:30:37.131 --> 00:30:40.385 Time is not your friend when you are a prosecutor. 00:30:40.426 --> 00:30:42.762 Witnesses, their memories fade, 00:30:42.762 --> 00:30:45.765 which did not benefit the prosecution. 00:30:47.767 --> 00:30:49.561 narrator: Ross digs into the case 00:30:49.602 --> 00:30:53.189 and starts to reevaluate some evidence from Megan Lee 00:30:53.231 --> 00:30:58.111 to show just how intense Scott's jealousy really was. 00:30:58.194 --> 00:31:01.823 The thing you do have are the letters to Megan, 00:31:01.865 --> 00:31:04.284 because she had those. 00:31:04.325 --> 00:31:06.286 She provided the evidence. 00:31:06.327 --> 00:31:09.247 One of the letters is that if she was having * 00:31:09.289 --> 00:31:12.458 with another man, that meant the relationship could never 00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:14.377 be on track again, 00:31:14.460 --> 00:31:16.796 because they were still married. 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:21.259 So she kept that, and I'm so glad she did. 00:31:21.301 --> 00:31:26.139 You know, I'm sure she kept it for her own safety. 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:28.474 We had phone records where he was calling Megan 00:31:28.516 --> 00:31:30.143 25 times a day. 00:31:30.184 --> 00:31:32.186 Megan had saved messages 00:31:32.228 --> 00:31:34.522 left on her answering machine from Scott Davis. 00:31:34.564 --> 00:31:37.984 So in his own voice, you could hear him 00:31:37.984 --> 00:31:41.779 plaintively begging her to come back. 00:31:41.821 --> 00:31:43.531 narrator: As DA office investigators 00:31:43.573 --> 00:31:46.868 reexamine the evidence from the original investigation, 00:31:46.910 --> 00:31:50.705 they uncover a disturbing new revelation. 00:31:50.747 --> 00:31:55.126 He also hires a PI to follow her. 00:31:55.168 --> 00:31:57.378 He asked the PI for what? 00:31:57.420 --> 00:31:59.255 David Coffin's address, 00:31:59.297 --> 00:32:03.468 the day before David Coffin's home was burglarized. 00:32:03.509 --> 00:32:05.762 He says himself, if anyone he knows 00:32:05.845 --> 00:32:08.389 is sleeping with Megan, he will kill him. 00:32:08.431 --> 00:32:12.060 A few weeks later, David Coffin is dead. 00:32:12.143 --> 00:32:15.229 narrator: With the discovery of Scott Davis' actions 00:32:15.271 --> 00:32:16.981 shortly before the murder, 00:32:17.023 --> 00:32:21.027 prosecutors examine the case under a new light. 00:32:21.027 --> 00:32:23.237 He then calls the Atlanta Police Department 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:26.324 twice on the night that David's body is discovered 00:32:26.366 --> 00:32:30.370 and says that a man asking about Megan had attacked him. 00:32:31.704 --> 00:32:33.039 These aren't coincidences. 00:32:33.122 --> 00:32:36.042 This is evidence that we got from Scott Davis 00:32:36.042 --> 00:32:38.586 or we got from Scott Davis leaving messages 00:32:38.628 --> 00:32:40.797 or we got from phone records left behind 00:32:40.838 --> 00:32:42.882 when Scott Davis was making calls. 00:32:42.882 --> 00:32:44.884 So I would say that the best evidence 00:32:44.884 --> 00:32:47.136 the state had was Scott Davis himself. 00:32:49.263 --> 00:32:52.183 It's Scott Davis's own behavior 00:32:52.225 --> 00:32:56.062 that is the strongest evidence of his guilt. 00:32:57.438 --> 00:33:00.483 From him telling Detective Chambers 00:33:00.525 --> 00:33:02.318 that David had been shot. 00:33:02.360 --> 00:33:06.364 His motive for killing David Coffin 00:33:06.406 --> 00:33:09.117 was to win Megan back. 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:13.705 And she said at that point, "I know who did it 00:33:13.746 --> 00:33:15.331 and I'm going to prove it." 00:33:17.083 --> 00:33:19.002 It's a circumstantial evidence case, 00:33:19.043 --> 00:33:20.753 and that's the key to understanding this case. 00:33:20.837 --> 00:33:23.589 And circumstantial evidence isn't necessarily worse 00:33:23.673 --> 00:33:25.133 than direct evidence, just different 00:33:25.174 --> 00:33:27.510 than direct evidence, but it takes a lot longer 00:33:27.593 --> 00:33:29.512 to connect the dots and put it together. 00:33:29.595 --> 00:33:32.473 And it took us a long time 00:33:32.515 --> 00:33:34.517 to look at all the circumstances 00:33:34.600 --> 00:33:37.311 surrounding the murder of David Coffin, 00:33:37.353 --> 00:33:40.648 to come to the only reasonable conclusion, 00:33:40.690 --> 00:33:43.484 which is that Scott Davis killed him. 00:33:45.028 --> 00:33:50.158 They think Scott Davis came to see him 00:33:50.199 --> 00:33:52.618 that night of the 9th, 00:33:52.660 --> 00:33:55.413 to tell him to stay away from Megan, 00:33:55.455 --> 00:33:59.542 and that there obviously was some kind of argument 00:33:59.584 --> 00:34:01.878 that ended in gunfire. 00:34:04.630 --> 00:34:07.842 For this particular case, we got to a point 00:34:07.884 --> 00:34:10.011 where we have talked to everybody, 00:34:10.053 --> 00:34:14.390 where we had searched everywhere, 00:34:14.474 --> 00:34:18.269 where we had turned every stone. 00:34:18.311 --> 00:34:20.646 We tried new investigative techniques. 00:34:20.730 --> 00:34:22.940 We tried old investigative techniques. 00:34:22.982 --> 00:34:27.278 We had just gone through everything 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:30.823 and we got to the point where there was nothing else 00:34:30.907 --> 00:34:32.492 for us to do. 00:34:32.533 --> 00:34:35.119 We sat down, me, the investigators, 00:34:35.161 --> 00:34:37.830 and just said, "Is there anything else we can do? 00:34:37.872 --> 00:34:39.957 "Is there anything we forgot to do? 00:34:39.999 --> 00:34:41.876 Is this as good as it gets?" 00:34:41.959 --> 00:34:43.711 And everybody reached the conclusion 00:34:43.753 --> 00:34:45.463 that this was as good as it gets 00:34:45.505 --> 00:34:47.465 and that our work was done. 00:34:47.507 --> 00:34:48.758 And we were gonna present this case 00:34:48.841 --> 00:34:50.593 to a Fulton County grand jury, 00:34:50.676 --> 00:34:53.930 and then they could decide what to do with it from there. 00:34:53.971 --> 00:34:56.474 narrator: Despite no new physical evidence, 00:34:56.516 --> 00:34:59.310 on November 23, 2005, 00:34:59.352 --> 00:35:02.355 nine years after David Coffin's murder, 00:35:02.438 --> 00:35:05.441 the DA decides to present their case. 00:35:05.483 --> 00:35:07.568 Meanwhile, Scott Davis is 00:35:07.610 --> 00:35:09.320 living peacefully in California 00:35:09.362 --> 00:35:12.156 when the Fulton County grand jury decides 00:35:12.198 --> 00:35:14.283 to indict him. 00:35:14.325 --> 00:35:17.370 In 2005, Scott Davis is arrested 00:35:17.370 --> 00:35:18.704 in Palo Alto, California, 00:35:18.788 --> 00:35:20.832 brought back to Atlanta, Georgia, 00:35:20.873 --> 00:35:24.710 to stand trial for the murder of David Coffin. 00:35:24.794 --> 00:35:29.048 And this time, the charges are not dropped. 00:35:29.090 --> 00:35:31.008 When I went out to California and we made 00:35:31.050 --> 00:35:33.052 the arrest of Scott, the look on his face 00:35:33.136 --> 00:35:36.097 when he first saw me was priceless. 00:35:36.139 --> 00:35:39.684 He was shocked that I was there. 00:35:39.725 --> 00:35:41.227 That was nice. 00:35:41.227 --> 00:35:44.063 narrator: Scott Davis is brought back to Atlanta 00:35:44.147 --> 00:35:47.233 to face charges of malice and felony murder, 00:35:47.233 --> 00:35:49.944 with a possibility of life in prison, 00:35:50.027 --> 00:35:53.072 while his family comes to his rescue. 00:35:53.156 --> 00:35:57.577 His family puts up $1 million bail, 00:35:57.618 --> 00:36:00.788 so he's a free man until his trial. 00:36:00.830 --> 00:36:06.252 Again, money and influence came into play. 00:36:06.335 --> 00:36:08.337 narrator: As the trial date approaches, 00:36:08.379 --> 00:36:11.799 Sheila Ross and the cold case squad build their case, 00:36:11.841 --> 00:36:14.218 knowing they're in for a serious fight 00:36:14.260 --> 00:36:17.597 against the prestigious Davis defense team. 00:36:17.597 --> 00:36:21.767 I was really thrilled. It was like, it's about time! 00:36:21.767 --> 00:36:24.145 I was very happy for his father. 00:36:24.187 --> 00:36:26.397 The Coffin family came in for the trial. 00:36:26.439 --> 00:36:29.775 We thought the trial would only take two to three weeks max, 00:36:29.859 --> 00:36:32.445 but they ended up staying seven weeks 00:36:32.486 --> 00:36:36.782 because this became a slugfest struggle in that courtroom. 00:36:47.960 --> 00:36:50.421 narrator: Ten years after the gruesome murder 00:36:50.463 --> 00:36:51.672 of David Coffin, 00:36:51.714 --> 00:36:53.382 Fulton County prosecutors 00:36:53.424 --> 00:36:55.593 and Scott Davis' defense attorneys 00:36:55.635 --> 00:36:58.387 present their cases to a jury. 00:36:58.429 --> 00:37:02.308 Will prosecutors finally be able to secure the conviction, 00:37:02.308 --> 00:37:05.728 despite the lack of physical evidence? 00:37:05.811 --> 00:37:08.773 Megan came from Australia with her husband. 00:37:08.814 --> 00:37:12.735 She felt it was important to come back to Atlanta 00:37:12.818 --> 00:37:18.032 to testify because she felt she owed it to David Coffin 00:37:18.074 --> 00:37:21.410 because of the kind of man he was 00:37:21.452 --> 00:37:23.829 and how he had treated her. 00:37:23.829 --> 00:37:27.833 She felt she owed a debt to his family. 00:37:27.917 --> 00:37:30.336 Megan was the first witness called by the state 00:37:30.378 --> 00:37:32.672 because she established the motive. 00:37:34.006 --> 00:37:37.051 Megan is the motive. Megan is the Helen of Troy. 00:37:37.093 --> 00:37:39.345 Megan is the reason why Scott Davis 00:37:39.387 --> 00:37:42.098 killed David Coffin. 00:37:42.139 --> 00:37:43.557 So Megan did testify. 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:47.687 She was on the stand for over a day. 00:37:47.687 --> 00:37:50.856 She told the court and the jury 00:37:50.856 --> 00:37:52.483 about her relationship with Scott, 00:37:52.525 --> 00:37:53.859 their impending divorce, 00:37:53.859 --> 00:37:56.779 and about Scott's behavior towards her 00:37:56.862 --> 00:37:59.365 after she began dating David Coffin. 00:37:59.365 --> 00:38:01.367 He kept on saying, "I know David's there. 00:38:01.450 --> 00:38:02.868 I know David's there." 00:38:02.868 --> 00:38:05.079 - And was David there? - Yes, he was. 00:38:05.162 --> 00:38:08.499 We had phone records where he was calling Megan 00:38:08.541 --> 00:38:10.543 25 times a day. 00:38:10.584 --> 00:38:14.422 Megan had saved recorded messages 00:38:14.505 --> 00:38:16.674 left on her answering machine from Scott Davis. 00:38:16.716 --> 00:38:20.553 So in his own voice, you could hear him 00:38:20.553 --> 00:38:23.139 plaintively begging her to come back. 00:38:29.729 --> 00:38:31.897 He did not commit these crimes. 00:38:31.897 --> 00:38:33.357 narrator: When they get their turn, 00:38:33.399 --> 00:38:35.026 Scott's defense team relies 00:38:35.067 --> 00:38:38.904 on the classic tactic of attacking the victim. 00:38:39.864 --> 00:38:42.742 David's family attended the trial from start to finish. 00:38:42.783 --> 00:38:46.620 It was very, very difficult for them 00:38:46.662 --> 00:38:48.748 to watch a lot of it. 00:38:48.789 --> 00:38:52.752 Some of the tactics that the very high paid, 00:38:52.793 --> 00:38:55.087 very talented defense team used 00:38:55.087 --> 00:38:58.090 to attempt to assassinate David's character 00:38:58.174 --> 00:39:01.761 was very hard for his family to take. 00:39:01.802 --> 00:39:03.929 narrator: Five weeks into the trial, 00:39:03.971 --> 00:39:07.099 Scott's father tries a last-ditch effort 00:39:07.141 --> 00:39:08.726 to save his son. 00:39:08.768 --> 00:39:11.228 Dr. Davis took the stand and said, 00:39:11.270 --> 00:39:14.231 the night of Coffin's murder, 00:39:14.273 --> 00:39:17.026 that Scott had been with him. 00:39:17.109 --> 00:39:19.945 He came over to my house. It was about 6:30. 00:39:19.945 --> 00:39:22.615 - I was-- - I remember I was watching the news. 00:39:22.698 --> 00:39:25.117 The first time you ever told anyone in law enforcement 00:39:25.117 --> 00:39:29.288 that your son was at your home on Saturday, December 7th, 00:39:29.372 --> 00:39:31.832 is as you sit here today before this jury. 00:39:31.874 --> 00:39:33.709 Isn't that correct, Dr. Davis? 00:39:33.751 --> 00:39:35.336 Correct. 00:39:35.378 --> 00:39:38.547 When Scott was first arrested in 1996, 00:39:38.589 --> 00:39:41.592 his father never mentioned 00:39:41.634 --> 00:39:42.927 that his son had been with him. 00:39:42.968 --> 00:39:45.137 And there had been plenty of opportunity 00:39:45.179 --> 00:39:47.890 for his father to say that. 00:39:47.932 --> 00:39:49.683 Dr. Davis lost 00:39:49.767 --> 00:39:53.646 all of his credibility in this case. 00:39:54.647 --> 00:39:56.482 narrator: The defense rests 00:39:56.482 --> 00:39:59.318 and the jury begins deliberations. 00:39:59.318 --> 00:40:02.363 Four days pass with no word. 00:40:04.323 --> 00:40:05.783 I had no idea what to expect. 00:40:05.825 --> 00:40:07.868 I don't think I've ever had a jury out that long. 00:40:07.952 --> 00:40:11.997 So we prepped the Coffin family for the worst. 00:40:11.997 --> 00:40:13.916 We did everything we could, 00:40:13.999 --> 00:40:17.169 left it all on the dance floor, we fought the good fight. 00:40:17.211 --> 00:40:19.713 There was really nothing else we could have done 00:40:19.755 --> 00:40:23.592 to try to bring justice for them or their family. 00:40:23.634 --> 00:40:25.803 narrator: Finally, on the fifth day, 00:40:25.845 --> 00:40:28.180 the jury reaches a verdict. 00:40:28.180 --> 00:40:30.766 Defendant, please rise. 00:40:30.808 --> 00:40:33.352 The State of Georgia versus Scott Winfield Davis. 00:40:33.436 --> 00:40:35.646 We the jury find Scott Davis... 00:40:38.357 --> 00:40:39.775 Guilty. 00:40:42.153 --> 00:40:45.030 The jury rendered a verdict 00:40:45.072 --> 00:40:47.491 of guilty on all counts. 00:40:51.662 --> 00:40:55.291 The cornerstone of his conviction was Megan. 00:40:55.374 --> 00:40:59.044 Megan's testimony was--was it. 00:40:59.086 --> 00:41:03.215 Her honesty, her pain, 00:41:03.257 --> 00:41:05.718 and the jury believed her. 00:41:07.887 --> 00:41:09.722 There are really two things I'll never forget. 00:41:09.722 --> 00:41:11.849 One was Megan crying on the witness stand 00:41:11.891 --> 00:41:13.767 in the way that she did. - Sorry. 00:41:13.809 --> 00:41:15.936 You could feel the toll 00:41:15.978 --> 00:41:18.147 that this has taken on her personally. 00:41:20.357 --> 00:41:23.819 The other thing I'll remember is just locking eyes 00:41:23.861 --> 00:41:26.697 with David Coffin Sr. after that guilty verdict. 00:41:26.739 --> 00:41:29.700 She gave peace to David Coffin Sr. 00:41:29.742 --> 00:41:31.577 He died knowing 00:41:31.577 --> 00:41:35.080 that his son's murderer was behind bars. 00:41:37.082 --> 00:41:40.252 There's not a greater feeling in the world, 00:41:40.294 --> 00:41:43.005 to me as a homicide detective, 00:41:43.088 --> 00:41:47.009 to be able to go to the victim's family 00:41:47.051 --> 00:41:48.802 and say, "I got him. 00:41:48.886 --> 00:41:51.889 I got the person who's killed your loved one." 00:41:51.931 --> 00:41:54.892 There's not a better feeling in this world. 00:41:54.934 --> 00:41:58.437 narrator: Scott Davis is sentenced to life in prison, 00:41:58.479 --> 00:42:02.942 though no amount of justice will bring back the life taken 00:42:02.983 --> 00:42:06.445 from David Coffin's family and friends.