The Fitbit Alibi

23:01For Nicole Vander Heiden's family, every day of George Birch's murder trial is agony. Vicki, how did you get yourself to go every day to that courtroom? I don't know. God, we must have just taken our hands and let us there because, I mean, we wanted answers. Friends say it's agonizing for Doug Dietrich, too, especially once he learns that George Birch's defense team is planning to blame Nicole's murder on him. He was nervous, and I would be, too. You know, you were accused of a murder, and it's so many things going through your head. And now Doug Dietrich's testimony is critical to the prosecution.

23:46Kind of interesting that the man who you first thought might have killed his girlfriend is going to be one of the most important witnesses at this trial, right?

23:56Erin Moriarty:Right. He will be very important. Just as important would be the technology evidence, data collected from both Doug Dietrich's Fitbit and George Birch's phone. Prosecutors say that Dietrich's Fitbit shows he couldn't be the killer. The autopsy results, the DNA identification, the Google dashboard data, the records from Fitbit, that is the evidence that will drive you. You will follow that evidence and you will find the truth. Doug's Fitbit is seen here in this video captured by officers on their very first interview, the day he reported Nicole missing. Prosecutors say downloaded data showed Doug barely moved in the hours they believed Nicole was killed and left in the field.

24:46And is that based on the data that you obtained directly from Fitbit? Yes, it is. Everything that I could view directly on the device and lined up with what had previously been stated. Did you ever during this trial or have you thought much about it that how lucky it was that Doug happened to be wearing a Fitbit that night and the next morning? Yeah, that was huge in this case, I think, right there. That pretty much said he wasn't there when this all happened. On day three of the trial, Dietrich takes the stand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth? Prosecutors aim to present him as a normal guy, not the best boyfriend maybe, but an unlikely killer.

25:34Can you tell us about your family? My mother, my father, my amazing little son, Dylan. Deidre tells the jurors he and Nikki dreamed of getting married one day. And early on in the night she disappeared, they were having fun.

25:53Nikki didn't usually drink, he says, but that night they were both partying hard. What was the pace she was drinking that night? Pretty quickly. I think she had like two down and I was still on my first one. Once they got separated and Nikki went ahead to the sardine can with friends, Doug continued drinking and smoked some marijuana. Before long, Nikki sent him her first angry text, wondering where he was. Nikki's text got angrier, and she accused him of being with other women. At any point in response to those messages, did you get upset with Nikki? No, I didn't. The texts kept coming. Doug said he offered to pick her up, but her phone died.

26:45Were you concerned that Nikki was missing at that point in time? I was not concerned that she was missing. I was kind of concerned, like, why is she upset? Did you have absolutely any involvement in Nikki's disappearance or death? No, I did not. Under cross-examination, George Birch's attorney, Lee Shukert, pushed Doug on whether things at home were really as good as he said they were. Birch's lawyer shows jurors a text Doug sent to his mom 10 days before Nikki died, saying, I'm very seriously thinking about telling Nikki and the kids they have to move. So in May of 2016, though, there were times where you were seriously considering breaking up with Nikki and the kids.

27:31I never really, like, seriously thought about it like it made plans or anything like that. It was just a lie to your mom. What the jury would never hear is that several of Deidre's past girlfriends accused him of being jealous, abusive, and controlling. One girlfriend claimed that he put a tracking device on her phone so he'd always know where she was. In her barrage of angry texts to Doug that night, Nicole also accused him of being abusive. Did you hurt Nikki that night? Uh, do you mean physically or what? I, no, I mean... Did you physically beat her in the past? No, I never physically beat Nikki.

28:18Had you cheated on her in the past? No, I have not. You know, Doug is not an angel. Isn't that going to be a problem in this jury?

28:28Erin Moriarty:Doug Dietrich is not on trial. George Birch is on trial. Defense attorneys asked the babysitter, who took care of Dylan that night, to recount an odd conversation she had with Dietrich the day after Nicole died. I just asked, what happened? you know, like, what happened? And he just replied, I don't know. She hit her head, and then she just wanted to walk home. So specifically, when you had asked him what happened, he said, I don't know. She hit her head, correct? It came out of his mouth, that comment. Would the questions raised about Doug make jurors wonder if the right man was on trial? And would they buy George Burgess' stunning version of what happened that night?

29:11It was fairly dark. I saw someone standing behind me. Who was it? It was that bee tree.

29:41and start earning cash back. Do more stash, get more cash. Visit Venmo.com to learn more. Venmo stash bundle terms and exclusion supply. See terms at Venmo.me slash stash terms. Max$100 cash back per month. For years, Gone South has been a podcast about crime in the American South. But for our new season, we're widening the lens. Through 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.

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31:00It's day eight of the George Birch murder trial.

31:04Erin Moriarty:Judge, at this time the defense calls George Stephen Birch to the stand. And with it comes the testimony everyone has been waiting to hear. George Birch's version of what happened the night Nicole Vander Heiden was murdered. Let's start from the beginning. Okay. Prompted by his attorney, Birch tells jurors he's a hardworking family man with an easygoing nickname. Most people call me big country. Public defender Scott Stebbins takes Birch back to the night of the murder. Burch claims he ran into Nicole at the local bar called Richard Craniums. How were you acting towards her? I was flirting. And how was she acting towards you?

31:48Somewhat the same, pretty much. Flirting back and forth with each other. According to Burch, they continued flirting until closing time, around 2.30. And just as the Google dashboard evidence showed, he drove Nicole the eight miles to her house and pulled up to the curb across the street. We sat there and talked for a few minutes.

32:11Erin Moriarty:Okay, what happened after that? Started just pulling around, messing around a little bit, started kissing. Birch then detailed what he says was consensual sex. Nicole was in the back seat and Birch, too big to fit in the back seat with her, stood just outside the rear passenger door. I was standing outside the blazer. Nikki's family and friends had to sit there silently and listen. Anyone who knew Nicole knew that there was nothing that she would ever do. That was not her. But it's what Burch says happened to him while he says he was having sex that was perhaps the most difficult to accept. He says he was knocked out.

32:57The next thing that I remember, apart from us having intercourse, was literally waking up on the ground outside the truck. Did you hear anything? The first thing I heard was, don't even think about it. Bert said he turned and saw someone standing behind him holding a gun. At that point, did you know who that individual was? Never seen him before in my life. Do you know who that individual is now? Now I do. Who was it? It was Doug Dietrich. Birch says he saw Nicole laying on the pavement. I didn't know if she was alive. There was a lot of blood. The 6 '7", 250-pound Birch said Dietrich told him to put Nicole's body in the blazer and then drive to the field.

33:50Dietrich, he said, ordered him at gunpoint to carry Nicole's body down an embankment. That's when I turned and with everything I had, I lunged at him and pushed him as hard as I possibly could. Birch said he ran back to the blazer and headed for home, throwing Nicole's clothes out the window on the way. The next day, he met up with friends and went fishing. You didn't call 911? No, sir. But he didn't tell anyone else either. You don't tell them people. People get killed all the time where I'm from for that. As Birch told his story, two women were in the courtroom listening to every word. They have traveled more than a thousand miles to be here every day.

34:39We just wanted him to see our face every day and know that we haven't forgotten what he did, and we've never forgotten Joey. Joey is Joey White. It's Joey and Audrey. In 1997, he was murdered in Newport News, Virginia. The man accused of killing him, neighborhood rival George Birch. But this jury will never hear about it. He was out on bond when he killed Joey. Shana Stowe was Joey White's fiancee and the mother of his child. I'm 16. Joey's 22 there. He was my first love. He was it. Carla Rhodes is Joey's sister. I miss him a lot. Birch testified at that trial, too. He looked at us, laughed at us the whole time, smirked.

35:33And what happened? Not guilty. It was shocking when they said not guilty. Neither was surprised that Birch had been accused of another murder. I'm not shocked at all. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if he's killed other people. Look what he did. I mean, it's brutal. When it was finally District Attorney David Lasse's turn to cross-examine Burch, he had one thing in mind. To show how ridiculous his story was. And he says he had plenty to work with, like Burch's claim that Nicole would have agreed to have sex in the car. So, Nicole would rather have sex with you in front of her neighbor's home, with your butt hanging out the door of the car, than ask the babysitter to go home?

36:20Sir, I don't know. I wasn't the one making decisions. And if Birch was hit hard enough to knock him out, why didn't anyone see bumps or bruises on his head when he went fishing the next day? I'm 6 '7", so it's hard for someone to see the top of my head. And why would Dietrich murder Nicole and let Birch get away? So rather than just beating you or killing you in the middle of the street, he decided to enlist you a total stranger to help him dispose of the body of his girlfriend. I don't know what his plans were. At one point, Lise pushes Birch on a possible motive. What really happened was you drove Nicole home, fully expecting that you were going to have sex, right?

37:11I was hoping that we would. And when you get there and it becomes clear that Nikki isn't going to have sex with you, When she attempts to go into her house and leave your vehicle, that's when your mood changes, right? No, sir. That's when things get aggressive, don't they? Not at all. That's when you grab that cord and strangle her, don't you? No, sir, not at all. That's when Nikki gets slammed on the ground repeatedly when she's trying to run toward her house. None of that is true. And Burch loses his cool when Lasse presses him on an inconsistency in his story. So clear this up for me. You're backing down the embankment with Nicole's body in a fireman's carry position, right?

37:52No. What are you doing? I told you before, and I will say it one more time for you, sir. I was carrying her over to this area. I think there was a big turn when you saw him lose his temper. I think we both said, well, there's the real Steve Birch coming out. Not George, not big country. This is how we know him. You're assaulted. You're held at gunpoint. you carried the mangled body of a woman to her final resting place and the next day you're going fishing with your buddy with a smile on your face and not a care in the world. I wouldn't say not a care in the world. That definitely would not be something I would say.

38:30Who will the jury believe? No further questions.

38:50Morning, everyone. Be seated. Does the state have any rebuttal witnesses? The prosecution got one last chance to present witnesses to rebut the story George Birch told the jury. During George Birch's testimony, he specifically said, if I recall, that they were having sex. Her pants were off already at that point. So during the rebuttal, we brought those pants to enter into evidence and make sure they were viewed. If she had been disrobed in her car, how do those clothes get not just bloody, but dirty and hairy? Those clothes are filthy, and they're demonstrative of being worn during a struggle.

39:30Carefully and respectfully, Sergeants Brian Slinger and Rick Glopnow unwrapped and displayed the pants that Nicole wore the night she died, found blood-soaked and muddy on the highway.

39:43Erin Moriarty:It goes to George's credibility, which is zero, that this was not a consensual act. She fought, escaped the vehicle. He bludgeoned her, strangled her, and with her clothes on, and then transported her body to the scene. His story was a lie. He disrobed her at the scene and forgot her socks. And then the final arguments. Go right ahead. Thank you. The prosecution reminded jurors of the weight of evidence against George Birch. Whose DNA is on her sock? Who's with Nikki at the four key areas of Brown County? Their explanation is ridiculous. It's insulting to your intelligence. While the defense hoped to plant doubt.

40:27Justice for Nicole is not going to be delivered by a wrongful conviction of George Birch. Doug Dietrich had the motive, the opportunity, and the connection to this crime. The man that met this woman in a bar and admitted, admitted by his own account to dumping her body in that field looks like this the next day. Who does that? Ladies and gentlemen, the bailiffs will escort you to the jury room. Good luck. What was the feeling in the courtroom as the case went to the jury? It was very tense.

41:09And I was surprised that I think 45 minutes later, I mean, not even an hour later, the jury had a question. The jury asked to see the bloody wire used to strangle Nicole, as well as cords found in Doug Dietrich's garage, to see if they were possibly a match.

41:29Erin Moriarty:You know, the fact that they're thinking about that is telling me, okay, are they actually believing George Birch's story here? It really made me wonder where this was going to go. After a nine-day trial and more than 50 witnesses, the jury took just over three hours to reach a verdict. I just had this horrible feeling I was coming back not guilty. It just was really hard. I could not breathe. And you could feel everybody was, like, shaking. We, the jury, find the defendant, George Stephen Birch, guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, is charged in the information. It is signed by our foreperson and dated this first day of March, 2018.

42:12Everybody was just like, oh my God, thank God. He was guilty. Thank God. What sticks out in my mind was the gasp, hearing that from the family and knowing the relief that they had at that moment. That'll stick with me. In a good way, right? Absolutely. I know Joey was there for this. It's just 20 years later. It was his 20-year anniversary of his death in October. It's just... Trying to get upset. Could you see Doug Dietry? Doug Dietry, I think, was relieved. Doug Dietry was holding his mother. Doug wasn't even on trial in this case, but he was finally free of any suspicion. Doug, what's your reaction?

42:58So what you found from this case is that this technology can do more than connect someone to a crime. It can actually exonerate a person.

43:07Erin Moriarty:Absolutely, yeah. I feel bad that he sat in jail for 18, 19 days. I mean, technology is very important, and our goal is to exonerate people just as it is to find them guilty. If we didn't have these Google data locations on George's phone, if we didn't have the Fitbit, Would it be Doug Dietry sitting in prison as opposed to George Birch?

43:36Back in court two months after the verdict, the judge speaks to George Birch before sentencing him, while Doug Dietry and his mother look on. This family is destroyed. It's ruined. It'll never be like this again. In a state with no death penalty, the sentence is as harsh as possible. Life without parole. This is a crime that I believe merit the death penalty, and for that you have to die in prison. It is what the families wanted, and yet this is no time for celebration. To Vicki, to the Dietrich family, prayers and support of this community are with you. Good luck and God bless. This court is in recess.

44:30The only comfort for Nicole's family is that George Birch can never destroy lives again. When they convicted George of being guilty, it was a feeling of happiness, but yet still, somewhat of a realization that she's actually gone now. It was hard. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your daughter? Her big smile. Her big, gorgeous smile. She just radiates. She just does. She's always happy. What do you all tell her children? Nicole is looking over them all the time in that she loves them, and she'll see them again. And every night, I know Tyler and Michaela always say a prayer and talk to their mom and say goodnight.

45:15We gained an angel. We lost a breath of fresh air. The memory lives on through the stories we share, things we never forget. And she's okay. She's okay.

45:29Erin Moriarty:I love you. I should have passion for life, for living. She had good morals. What more can a mom ask for?

45:44In 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld George Birch's conviction.

46:08blackmails their own mates. We're a crime family.

46:11Erin Moriarty:Don't be silly. We're just a bit complicated, like the Beckons. Can you keep a secret? New series, now streaming on Paramount+. I'm back. I'm really back. School Spirits returns. Why am I here? I'm not dead, right? This place is an absolute death trap. We need to get out of here. Now. School Spirits, new season now streaming, only on Paramount+.