Clear & Convincing - Episode 15 - State of New York v. Stacey Castor

On August 22, 2005, Castor’s husband, David, died in what was initially believed to be a suicide.  Aspects of the scene bothered detectives and they hesitated to close the case.  Stacey’s fingerprints were found on a glass of anti-freeze found on the bedside table and a turkey baster with trace amounts of anti-freeze and David’s DNA on the tip was found hidden in a trash can in the kitchen.  Surveillance of David’s grave and Stacey’s phone conversations gave police probable cause to exhume the body of Stacey’s first husband, Michael Wallace, who died suddenly on January 11, 2000.  Shortly after the exhumation, with rumors of the findings making the rounds, Stacey’s oldest daughter Ashley was found unresponsive in her bedroom, with a conveniently placed “suicide note” in which Ashley exonerated her mother and admitted to killing her father, Michael Wallace and step-father David Castor.  We’ll talk about the case against Castor, the evidence proving that she killed two husbands and attempted to kill her daughter, her trial and direct appeal.  We’ll also talk about Castor’s post-conviction claim in state court and her sudden death in June of 2016.