Lina's Heart

22:19We believe that this situation is unique. And Al is quite the opposite. It is improbable! He's a ball of fire. I don't have any trouble hearing, so please don't raise your voice in me. Mr. Matthewman, you may proceed. To counter Kathleen Hogue and her prosecution team, the defense attorneys have suddenly changed their strategy. They're no longer blaming Lena's death on her spray tan because there's not enough evidence to support it. Now they're attacking what they say was a botched investigation by the Aventura police. This case was assigned to a detective who had never conducted a homicide investigation.

22:59The lead investigator reported that Adam told emergency personnel conflicting stories about how he found his wife. But Adam's attorneys question those witness accounts. I've always been consistent with one story. One story that she was slumped over. You didn't tell anyone that she was over the toilet like she was throwing up? Never. Never. Absolutely not. Where was she exactly? Adam agreed to show us how he found Lena. We had a leather magazine holder rack. And where was that? Right in that corner. That was right here. When I walked in, she was on top of it. She was draped over in her head. If you turn your head to the right like that and her hair was in her face.

23:48But she wasn't on the toilet. No, it was almost like she was sitting on the toilet and then got up and this happened or was about to sit down on the toilet and this happened. But then how do Adam and his attorneys explain the suspicious injuries on Lena's neck that prosecutors say proved that she was strangled. When Lena Kaufman passed out, she fell onto a rack filled with very thick magazines. And those marks are consistent with her resting on top, falling on top of those magazines in the magazine rack. And they're inconsistent with any type of fingernails or fingers of anything of that nature.

24:26And those deep internal injuries inside Lena's neck? Al Millian blames them on the paramedics. They tried to intubate her, and they made multiple efforts. Witnesses admitted that there were three failed attempts to insert a tube down Lena's windpipe to help her breathe. If a tube is jammed into a person's throat, it could actually cause damage around the throat area. Isn't that correct? Yes, sir. And Millian admits that Adam might have caused some of the injuries himself in his desperate attempt to save Lena. I need you to do compressions, okay? Do you think when you were giving her CPR, you might have left some of these injuries?

25:13I can't tell you one way or another. I'm working on my wife.

25:22I want to believe that I wasn't rough on her. I tilt her head back. I thought I did it gently. Is it possible that I didn't? Yeah, it's possible. The other bruises and abrasions on Lena's arms and legs occurred, according to the defense, when Lena was being moved from room to room by firefighters, not from a struggle with Adam. Nothing on her body indicates that she was involved in a struggle. You would have expected to see that Adam would have had scratches on his face, on his arms, on his hands, on his wrists, none of which existed. And that bathroom would have been full of marks. That tanning spray leaves trace evidence everywhere.

26:05Crime scene technician Anna Howell admits in court she didn't find any marks on the wall. Did you swab or test the side of the wall here? No, sir, because there was nothing of evidentiary value on that. But a defense expert enhanced photos and found what appears to be traces of spray tan, where Adam says Lena had contact with the bathroom wall. A rectangular to oval-shaped mark. And then there's the magazine rack that Lena was laying on. Howell took the rack as evidence, but says lead investigator Anthony Angulo told her to leave the magazines. By the direction of Detective Angulo, the magazines were not collected.

26:51There was no evidentiary value on them. There was no blood. They were not wet. But Bill Mathewman contends there was some kind of fluid on top of the magazines, as seen in this enhanced photo. And it could have been crucial evidence. What happened to all that? That's the$10 ,000 question. Where are those magazines? They're gone. They're not there. You can't test it. We can't test them. And then a development no one expected that raises even more questions about how this case was investigated. You're friends with Detective Angulo? I'm a co-worker of his, yes. But when you've been off duty, you socialize with Detective Angulo?

27:36No, sir. But the defense knows it's not quite the truth. Good morning, everybody. You may be seated. And the following day in a stunning about face.

27:49Anna Howell admits her real relationship with the lead detective. Did you have an affair with Detective Angula? Yes, and my husband is well aware of it, sir. And I am happily married and I don't have any issues with that any longer. Did you have any idea that this crime scene technician was having a relationship with the lead detective? No, none. It wasn't about the affair. It's about the lying and the motivation for covering up. Yeah, it was very, very bad for us.

28:24But the biggest court battle is about to come. The experts say that it's not a homicide. The experts say that it's absolutely not a murder. And the experts say that it is a natural death.

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29:26Through deeply reported, narrative-driven stories, we're digging into the myths, scandals, and power structures that still shape the South, and in a lot of ways, the country itself. Follow and listen to Gone South Season 5, an Odyssey podcast. Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows.

29:54There are unexplained deaths that happen in this country every day. People pass away from natural causes. And sometimes they can figure out what it is. Sometimes they can't. And yet, a seemingly healthy young woman is dead, with injuries and bruises on her neck and body. The county's chief medical examiner, testifying for the prosecution, says there can be only one conclusion. The cause of death is mechanical asphyxia. Mechanical asphyxia? Yes. And what would be the manner of death? Homicide. Homicide. Dr. Bruce Hyma tells the jury that Lena Kaufman was murdered when someone or something cut off her airway.

30:36And why would it be a homicide, Dr. Hyma? Given all of the totality of information and all of the injury, this mechanical asphyxiation could only occur at the hands of somebody else. And Dr. Hyma's opinion is backed by his former associate medical examiner, who supervised the original autopsy. Did you know you had an asphyxial death? Yes. Did you know you had a homicide? Yes. But the defense has its own medical witnesses, and they say something completely different. Was the death of Eleanor Kaufman a homicide? No. And why do you say that? The evidence does not point to that. According to Dr. John Maricini, a pathologist, Lena Kaufman died simply of undiagnosed heart failure.

31:25And these slides taken of her heart, he says, prove it. This area is where normal heart muscle used to be and something happened. There was disease here, and disease changed the tissue from this to this. He tells the jury she had myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart. My opinion is she developed at a regular heartbeat. She collapsed. That's also what Dr. Michael Bodden, the former New York City chief medical examiner, concludes. Mrs. Kaufman died of her pre-existing natural acute and chronic myocarditis. It's a shocking claim, especially since Lena Kaufman appeared to have no history of heart disease.

32:16But her husband now recalls unexplained fainting spells after they married. I remember standing at the bar in a club with her. And all of a sudden, you know, we're talking, and she just collapses straight down. And luckily, I was standing there. I caught her. Two, three seconds later, she kind of came out of it. I'm all right. I'm all right. Hi. There was a much more serious incident after Haley was born, Adam says. What's going on? Lena had been home with a toddler when she suddenly collapsed. She had called me and said, I just fainted. I just passed out and I can't get off the floor. I said, okay, I'm rushing home.

32:58I remember when I got home, she was up. She was fine. Walking around like nothing had happened. Didn't that concern you? Of course. Of course. But Adam admits Lena never sought treatment from a doctor. Why not push her to go see the doctor? Yeah. She didn't want to go. She said she was perfectly fine and life was back to normal. Do you believe that she had a history of fainting spells? No. Her friends didn't corroborate that. What's more, says Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue, none of the doctors hired by the state believe the signs of inflammation seen in Lena's heart were serious enough to kill her.

33:41Any indication she had trouble with her heart? No. Any indication she had a pre-existing medical condition? Signs of dizziness? Shortness of breath? Anything that would have caused you concern about what she had going into this? No. Nothing? Nothing at all. Did you see any signs at all in Lena Coughlin's heart that suggested she had congestive heart failure? No. Dr. Mond, so do you agree with the findings that Lena Kaufman had active inflammation in her heart and evidence of a scar?

34:08Erin Moriarty:I do not. I found nothing abnormal. How could six reputable doctors, four testifying for the prosecution and two for the defense, take a look at all the same evidence but reach such different conclusions? Was Lena Kaufman murdered or did she die of heart failure? her husband's future hangs on that answer. Does a case like this scare you? It does. Dr. Gregory Davis isn't working for either the prosecution or the defense. He's the medical examiner for the state of Kentucky, the expert we ask to look at all the evidence. As you sit here now, do you now believe you know what killed Lena Kaufman? I do.

34:54You have no question about it?

34:56Erin Moriarty:No question. She died of myocarditis that caused an acute cardiac dysrhythmia and caused her death. It was Lena's heart that killed her, not her husband, says Dr. Davis. He points to the evidence that convinces him. This pink thing is a heart cell, and these are inflammatory cells that are actually attacking and destroying that heart cell. The inflammatory cells are those small, dark ones. That is a true myocarditis, a true inflammation of the heart, where the body's own immune system is actually attacking the heart. And those injuries on Lena's neck? Sadly, says Dr. Davis, they may have been caused by Lena herself.

35:40Erin Moriarty:If she were suffering a cardiac dysrhythmia, which can cause an air hunger in a patient whose heart is rapidly failing, she feels out of breath. It can be very common for a person to grab at their own neck in that kind of scenario. I think she died a natural death. Dr. Davis is just as sure of his diagnosis as is every medical expert who testified at trial. Proof that even in this age of high-tech crime scene investigations, what is written on a death certificate is not fact, but simply one doctor's opinion. I think these are honest, good physicians, but they are interpreting these findings differently.

36:25Erin Moriarty:And I know that can be scary because people's lives are on the line based upon these interpretations. But even if all these doctors can't agree, 12 jurors are going to have to.

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37:26Two weeks into the trial, a surprising witness for the defense. Your Honor, at this time we would call Ms. Freda Heisman. Lena Kaufman's mother. Do you swear from the testimony about the girl will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

37:43Erin Moriarty:Yes. Do you love Adam? Like my own son. Do you support him? I'm here. I really believe that he is not guilty. He is not guilty. He has nothing to do with this. Frida Eisman is Adam's best hope. The fact that she was willing to come in there and testify for Adam and support Adam in front of that jury was critical for us. Critical because attorney Bill Mathewman says she backs up Adam's claims that Lena had undiagnosed health problems that caused her death. She had a habit, let's see, to faint, yes. According to Frida, Lena suffered fainting spells as a child. So what did you think? Was it just normal that she would faint occasionally?

38:34Erin Moriarty:No, of course it's not normal, but it was when she was little. We went to the doctors, of course, and they didn't find anything. Now, Frida believes the reason her daughter asked her to take care of her children was because Lena knew she was ill. But prosecutors say there are no records Lena ever consulted a doctor about fainting spells. Was Lena ever taken by ambulance to the hospital in response to any one of these episodes she had? No. So the fainting spells that you observed in Lena were a long time ago, not close to her death? Yes. If she thought Adam killed her daughter, why would she testify for him?

39:12She has no idea what's going on between Adam and her daughter. She's never really seen the injuries to her daughter, or, you know, she only knows what the Kaufman family has told her. Adam Kaufman is not guilty. In closing arguments, the defense emphasizes Frida's unwavering belief in her son-in-law. Frida Eismann lost her daughter. Frida still supports Adam, loves him like a son, knows he's innocent. But the prosecution questions her motive for testifying. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Eismann has two beautiful grandchildren. What do you think would happen if she didn't support her? Do you think for a second she would be seeing her grandchildren?

39:58Do you think she's going to go against him? Are you accusing me of advice?

40:06Frida's outburst angers the judge. All right, I'm not going to have any outbursts from the audience. You can have a seat outside. Who orders her to leave the courtroom. If there was a side of you that thought that Adam did have something to do with your daughter's death, would you have still defended him in court? Of course not. Even to keep a father for?

40:27Erin Moriarty:Of course not. What father he can be if he can do this to a mom to this kid? So what father he can be? Of course not. On June 5, 2012, after a month-long trial, the case goes to the jury and the waiting begins. It's a scary, scary, scary thing. Adam's biggest fear? That his children, who have already lost their mother, will now lose him. Every morning I leave and I go to work or the kids go to school and, you know, you hug the kids and you kiss the kids. And you know you're going to see them. This morning was different.

41:23That hug and kiss was different. After eight agonizing hours, the jury reaches a verdict. Okay, please bring the jurors. It was definitely that feeling of, okay, here it is, here we go. Madam Clerk, please come. And I stood up in between Al and Bill and put my head down and just thought of my kids. We the jury in Miami-Dade County, Florida find as follows. The defendant is not guilty, so say we all, for a person, Bernard W.H. Jennings. All I heard was not guilty. And I felt Bill grab me and Al grab me and I could hear the family crying and I'm like, is this it? Is it over? The defendant is discharged at this time and free to go.

42:23Thank you. The man, branded as a killer for more than three years, is acquitted of his wife's murder. And it was amazing. It was unbelievable. It was pretty overwhelming. It was overwhelming. For prosecutors, it's a crushing defeat. Even though you're acquitted, aren't there still some people who wonder? Did you have anything to do with your wife's death? Of course there's people out there that are going to sit and wonder. People that matter know the truth. And that's all I care about. Freedom! Adam is now trying to get his life and his reputation back. Has it occurred to you that you might not be sitting here if it wasn't for Lena's mom coming forward and testifying?

43:12Absolutely. She probably saved your life? Yeah, yeah, I think so. Saved by Lena's mom, Adam says, and Lena herself. I believe she was a big part of this entire process. She was watching over it. In the end, Lena's heart saved my life.

43:48When beloved family patriarch Gary Ferris went missing, his family looked everywhere on their property until they came across something horrifying. It's a homicide. Absolutely. The blame game in this family went round and round. This is Blood is Thicker, the Ferris Wheel. I would don't see how anyone can look at this story and think they were happy. Blood is Thicker, the Ferris Wheel is available on Amazon Music. Follow the show on Amazon Music for more future episodes.