A Son's Pursuit of Justice

19:28Troy Roberts:Nancy had married Michael Wolfe just a year after he and Barbara divorced. And when Michael drank, he would oftentimes talk about David Jackson. I really think his conscience was killing him. It was bothering him. He told Nancy that when he was married to Barbara, she and her father Harry had come to him. They came to him about wanting to get rid of David. Nancy says Michael believed if he didn't agree to kill David, Barbara would leave him. So they hatched a plan. First, Barbara would pretend she wanted to rekindle her relationship with David. David's mother, Judy, remembers that shortly before he disappeared, her son was excited by the idea.

20:13And he said, and guess what else? And I said, what? He said, she told me that she loved me. That's the first time she said that.

20:20Troy Roberts:Then using fake IDs, Barbara and Michael would fly to Florida from Arizona. Barbara would call David to lure him to a location where he would be killed. Barbara contacted David. She let him believe that maybe there was a chance of them getting back together. And he was supposed to meet her at a motel 6. When David arrived at the motel, Wolf was hiding with a gun in the bathroom. He came out and he shot David. Okay. He told me he was so drunk, he had to get so drunk to do it. And Nancy says Barbara was right there when it happened. Barbara was in the hotel room. They might tell you that she was in the hotel room when he fired the gun and killed David.

21:10She was there. They took his car to the airport, left his car at the airport. Then everything was okay and they put in for the adoption for the little boy.

21:26Troy Roberts:Finally, Detective Velasquez had enough to arrest Michael Wolfe for David Jackson's murder. Almost 16 years after David went missing, police slapped the cuffs on Michael Wolfe. They escort him over to the sidewalk. He's laying down on the sidewalk. I said, Michael Wolfe? And he said, yes. So I'm Detective Velasquez with the Pembroke Pines Police Department. And I'm damn glad to meet you. And he looked at me with such shock. How good did that feel? Phenomenal. Phenomenal. But that was just the beginning of the detective's good fortune. Michael Wolfe had other ex-wives, six of them. And Nancy Graham wasn't the only one he confided in.

22:07Troy Roberts:There was also Carol Larson. And what did Carol Larson tell you? She proceeds to tell me that he started disclosing things to her, but he never would tell a name. He would say that I murdered someone, Barbara was involved, Her father was involved. This is how we did it. He told her that he used a silencer. Couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it he had told Carol, too. So that really shocked me. And the story that Carol told was filled with even more gruesome details, including how Barbara tried to use a stun gun on David to knock him out before Wolf could shoot him. But even with this information, the detective still couldn't arrest Barbara.

22:51Troy Roberts:What I don't understand is that the two ex-wives also shared with you that Barbara and her father were involved in this plot. Why weren't they arrested immediately, too? It's hearsay at that point. And that meant what Nancy and Carol had heard about Barbara and her father from Wolf was inadmissible in court. Complicating matters, Harry was no longer alive to question, dying of cancer in 1998. So the detective focused her attention on putting Wolf behind bars. At Wolf's trial, Nancy and Carol would be star witnesses, and Nancy would come face to face with David's family for the first time. Looking at his mother and his brother, it was hard.

23:39Troy Roberts:Nancy was filled with guilt for not turning Michael in years ago, but then David's mother embraced her. She came up to me and she hugged me and she thanked me. I told her I'm so sorry for not coming earlier. I'm sorry. That was hard. And it made me feel so little. So I can't imagine going that long. not knowing where your child was. After a week-long trial, it took the jury less than an hour to convict Michael Wolfe of David Jackson's murder. Within days, Wolfe, facing life in prison, announced he was ready to talk. Believing he would get a deal, Wolfe changed his story and promised to give prosecutors evidence that would put Barbara away for the rest of her life.

24:43Troy Roberts:Are you prepared to tell me the truth today? Oh, yes.

24:54I realized that I'm taking the fall for everybody here. I wasn't the one that came up with this idea.

25:02Troy Roberts:Within days of his conviction for the murder of David Jackson, Michael Wolfe announced he wanted to now tell police the truth. Barbara and her father Harry were deeply involved in killing David. He and Barbara both had a very large part in organizing and setting this thing up. Who was the mastermind of this plot? I would say it was Harry. Wolf says Barbara's father, Harry, was consumed with hatred for David. And Barbara herself fueled the fire, making terrible accusations. What did she tell you about David? That he had beat her and he was abusive to his son. It was a story that Barbara repeated often.

25:48Troy Roberts:Detective Velasquez says Barbara told her terrible things that David did to little Johnny. She said David put a cigarette out in his palm, that if you shave John's head, you could probably see scars and marks. John says he heard the stories from his mother as well. Did she ever say that your father was abusive to you? She told me that, but she told me that I also went to counselors to see why I acted certain ways when I was a child. Did you hear stories about being burned with cigarettes? Yes. But Barbara never filed any charges to support the allegations. Did you ever see any signs of physical abuse?

26:27Troy Roberts:No, I didn't. No, I didn't. I've given that a lot of thoughts since. Today, Wolf believes it was part of Barbara's plan to motivate him to help kill David. I think that was all just a story. Back in 1988, Wolf says he would have done anything for Barbara. He was head over heels in love with her. She was 21, I was 41. Was that appealing? Of course, I was probably middle-aged crazy. But yeah, that was a drawing card for me, definitely. And in spite of her stories about David's abusive ways, Wolfe says Barbara seemed okay with the idea that David would visit little Johnny. The problem was Harry. Harry said, the only way I want to see David is face up in a box of Fred Hunter's, which is a funeral home.

27:13He said that more than once. And Barbara said he wants to do something to David. He wants to get rid of David. He had asked Barbara to ask me if I knew anybody who would do it, like a hitman or a killer or something. and I finally told him that I would take care of that. Why did you agree to kill David Jackson? I thought I could do that, keep peace in the family, keep the family together, this type of thing, yeah. I didn't want to lose Barbara. I thought we had a family together, and I thought that's the way it would be.

27:47Troy Roberts:Wolf says Harry, who lived in Florida, picked a motel near Fort Lauderdale where they could murder David. And to get David to the motel, Barbara made a date with him. That was part of the ploy. That's how you were going to get David to the motel room. At the time, Wolf was working in Tucson, Arizona. He says he and Barbara used two expired driver's licenses in other people's names to fly to Fort Lauderdale. I told Harry. I gave him the names. He made the reservations for us under those names. I gave one to Barbara. I kept one, and we went to the airport, picked up our tickets. And she knew why she was flying to Fort Lauderdale?

28:28Troy Roberts:Of course. She knew she was flying to Fort Lauderdale to kill David. Right. Yeah, that was it. Before they arrived, Harry dug what would be David's grave. We flew in on the 25th, the day that David disappeared. Harry had already had the whole dug. He had motel reservations made. He picked us up at the airport. went to his house. He had the stun gun. Showed Barbara how to use it because he felt it would be easier to knock David out first and then go away with him. Then they headed to the motel. Michael doesn't remember exactly where it was or which one, but police believe it was this Motel 6. Once in the room, Michael says Barbara phoned David.

29:18She called his apartment. Under the pretense? Under the pretense that she was in town. she wanted to meet him at the motel. So he arrives at the motel room, and what happens? Well, I'm in the bathroom.

29:31Troy Roberts:Wolf says he was drinking heavily when David arrived. I hear the front door of the knock. She opens the door. There was some chatter between the two of them, and then I hear this click, click, click, click, click. It's a loud snapping from the stun gun. The stun gun was about that long and about that big around. It didn't work. I came out and I had the pistol wrapped in a towel. Well, she looked at me and I could tell she was scared. He looked at me and that's when he said, what the hell's going on? Wolf says that's when he shot David. Where was he struck? The side of the head, right here above the ear.

30:12He started to fall and he went down slowly. His head was leaning back like this and fluid was running out of the wound. Harry came in and said, he's not dead. You have to shoot him in the heart. I said, shoot him in the heart. I just picked up the gun and shot him in the head again. It was somewhere around in here again.

30:41And I checked David. He was gone. He was not breathing, no pulse. His eyes were fixed. and we put him in the blankets, rolled him up, and put him in the back of Harry's car. Harry backed up to the door.

30:58Troy Roberts:Wolf says he, Harry, and Barbara then drove to the gravesite. David's head had rolled, I guess, and hit something in the back of the car. And she says, oh, this is so sick. And Harry says, what you wanted? And I felt nobody said anything else. And then we all three buried him. We went back to the room, cleaned up the room. All of us did. It was about a year later, he says, when Harry called. A Walmart was going to be built on the site where they had secretly buried David. Wolf needed to remove David's remains, so he flew back to Florida. I rode over to where the construction site was. I saw three white things sticking up out of the ground like this.

31:51Bones. That's what they were. I said, that looks like rib bones.

31:56Troy Roberts:I still get chills when I think about it. But that night, Wolf didn't find these bones, which later led to the identification of David. I was able to pull up the rib bones and the spinal column and the pelvic bone came all up with it. I stuck it in a garbage bag. But you couldn't find the skull? No. Where do you think the skull is? I think it still has to be there. So what did you do with the remains? Well, we put them in the back of Harry's car, drove back to the house, and Harry took the bag and set it out for the garbage. They were coming by to pick it up the next day. Pretty macabre. Yeah.

32:43Troy Roberts:A few months later, the adoption of little Johnny was final. Then Barbara made a decision. She left me. And then asked for child support. You feel that Harry Britton and his daughter Barbara set you up to take the fall for this? Yes. I realized I was the one that pulled the trigger. I understand that, you know. But still, for her part, she's out walking free, and I find that hard to believe. Do you think she's just as culpable as you are for the murder of David Jackson? Yes. I did not kill David. It had nothing to do with it. I did not even have knowledge of it. I mean, I loved him. I still loved him.

33:28I still loved David. I just... We had this special love.

33:33Troy Roberts:So Michael Wolfe is a liar. Yes. But police didn't think so. One month after Wolfe's confession, Barbara Britton was under arrest and charged with the murder of David Jackson. Unable to make bail, she spent the next three years in jail, awaiting trial.

34:04I just cannot believe that I'm sitting here innocent and now, you know, I'm gone through all this. I just really can't believe it.

34:14Troy Roberts:Despite the tearful pleas proclaiming her innocence, Barbara Britton was now preparing to stand trial for the murder of her ex-husband, David Jackson, almost 22 years after his disappearance. I don't think Barbara's guilty of anything. Barbara's defense attorney, Keith Seltzer. And there's no evidence to prove otherwise. She's just not that type of person. But David's mother, Judy, says she knows exactly what kind of person Barbara is. She's a sociopath. She has no feelings. If she wants something, she will get it. That's how she is. It's all about Barbie. She calls me a lot of things. You know, it's her son.

34:58Being a mother, I'd probably call a person things and names too.

35:02Troy Roberts:While awaiting her trial, Barbara's son John, who had told police he suspected his mother was hiding information about his father, now says he never thought his mother was guilty of anything. I didn't believe at any point of any time that she was capable or even would, if could, do this. Barbara admits her relationship with David was at times strained, but adamantly denies she was the source of stories alleging that David abused Johnny. So let me just be clear, Barbara. Did you ever tell Johnny that when he was younger, David burnt him with cigarettes? No. So as far as you know, David did not mistreat your son?

35:45As far as I know and what I want to believe, no, because that was David. That was the man that I loved. That's the father of my baby.

35:55Troy Roberts:Barbara says it was her father, Harry, who believed David was hurting little Johnny. But she never imagined he would help kill David. That is, until now. Wolf's story has made her wonder. I'll never know if he did it. He took it to the grave with him when he passed away. Detective Donna Velasquez isn't buying any of it. She is sure Barbara is a cold-blooded killer. I guess the question is why? Why was David Jackson killed? She never wanted to share child custody with him. She wanted to have John all to herself. And I'm a firm believer that she groomed Michael Wolfe to be a part of this. To Detective Velasquez, the case against Barbara was rock solid.

36:43Troy Roberts:That is, until Barbara's attorney, Keith Seltzer, dropped a bombshell at a bond hearing. Mr. Seltzer came into the courtroom, and he was holding a piece of paper, and he presented it to the judge. He said, Judge, he says, I can show you my client was in Arizona at the time of this homicide. She wasn't in Fort Lauderdale. Seltzer says phone records showed someone had called Barbara's apartment in Tucson on the night David disappeared in Florida. The call lasted four minutes. So the question became, who answered it? Somebody had to be in Arizona to answer that phone. and we believe it was Barbara.

37:19Troy Roberts:Michael Wolfe calls it nonsense. He says that phone call was planned to help establish an alibi. Harry said it would be a good idea to call out there, let the answering machine pick up. It would look like somebody was out there and we weren't in Florida at all. But Seltzer says the Wolfe's didn't own an answering machine. I don't believe a single word that Michael Wolfe says. Especially, Seltzer says, because Wolfe was looking for a deal. But Wolf's credibility would take a huge hit when a former cellmate came forward saying Wolf had told him that he was trying to frame Barbara for the murder.

37:56And Barbara didn't have any idea he was going to shoot him.

37:59Troy Roberts:That's right. That's when prosecutors made a stunning decision. We were ultimately offered a plea bargain to a reduced charge because the state attorney's office recognized that there was not a likelihood of them obtaining a conviction for first-degree murder. We're here this afternoon on the state of Florida versus Barbara Britton. In order to avoid prison, the deal called for Barbara to plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. She would only admit to making a call to David to arrange a meeting with her father, but not on the day of the murder. In the later part of June 1988, I told David that my father wanted to meet with him.

38:41I did not make that phone call that day or that one that took him to the so-called hotel that everybody's saying about. Now, I will tell you, I knew that my dad wanted to talk to him, and that's what I said.

38:55Troy Roberts:How would they manage to get David to come to the hotel with actual help? I don't know. Okay, I really don't. I wish I could tell you. It's just really, it boggles the mind that your father and Michael Wolfe would kill the father of your son without telling you. Boggles people's mind. Well, how do you think I'm feeling? I have questions. But there's one question Barbara is forced to answer. So then on the one count that is before us today, Ms. Britton, how do you plead? Guilty.

39:37I looked up and I said, God, David, we got justice. She finally said she's guilty. If she wants to minimize it, that's fine. God knows and David knows. And I know in my heart she lured David to the motel to murder him, to get him out of her son's life.

39:59Troy Roberts:For David's brother Mark, seeing Barbara avoid prison was heartbreaking. She got away with murder, but I still believe in karma, and eventually she'll get hers. She'll have to live her own hell someday. You know, we lived it for a long time. Barbara insists she's been living in her own hell for some time now, and for almost two and a half years, she was forced to wear a court-ordered ankle bracelet that tracked her every move and reminded her of David's death.

40:35Judy wears a bracelet of her own, but one she treasures and she never wants to take off.

40:41Troy Roberts:It holds David's ashes. They're in both ends, some of the ashes, and then I have our birthstones on each end. I mean, he gives me strength. That brings me just everything. I mean, God picked me out of all the mothers that have missing children, and he picked me to give me my child back. I know he's here with me right now. I got no doubts about it. And that's what he was saying. Mom, I'm here. You know, I'll keep you going. I'll keep you strong.

41:22Michael Wolfe's life sentence was not reduced. He remains in a Florida prison.