Snapped: Women Who Murder - Lorraine Hunter

Episode Date: January 1, 2023

Truck driver is found shot to death in the cab of his semi; detectives in California follow a trail of deceit to uncover a killer who will stop at nothing to walk free.Season 26, Episode 22Originally aired: January 26, 2020Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wonder East Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Two childhood classmates reconnect later in life and find love. He had a nice personality. Just go along with everybody.

She became everything that he thought that he was missing. They seem genuinely happy. But gunshots in the dead of night would tear them apart. There was blood dripping down through the truck. I knew he was dead. How was Insta? The search for a killer leads investigators down a twisting path of deception. There were no suspects.

We didn't always gonna happen. Until an unlikely witness breaks the case wide open. She told us it had been weighing on her conscious that this person had been murdered. As a killer is revealed, investigators discover there may be more than one victim. He got shot in the back, but he didn't identify who it was that shot him. He agreed to kill her. Whatever's done in the dark is always going to come to the light.

November 4, 2009. Just after sunrise, Supervisor Don Moore is starting his morning routine at a trucking company in Fontana, California. It was a normal work day. I came in that morning at five o'clock, and as I did every morning, checked on everybody to make sure they were there were supposed to be. He goes on the computer and checks what each driver's doing

to make sure that everything's going fine. 56-year-old Albert Thomas should already be on the move. Albert was a dependable, very responsible individual who worked for me and he was never late. That morning Albert had an early delivery there down the street from where he lived. He didn't make the delivery, which is how to place for Albert. When I pulled up Albert's truck and saw the truck hadn't started, that's when I got concerned.

Don is not the only one concerned. The rain hunter called Don Moore at the office, frantically asking Don if he knew where her husband Albert was. Don told her that he didn't, however, he could track him down, because there was a GPS device that was located inside of the truck. Don was kind of worried, so he asked me if I would go out there and see if I could find him. So I got in my truck and I bobped out there in case his truck was broke down. A half hour later, Richard arrives at the GPS location in Marino Valley, California.

So that's when I seen his truck there. So closer I'm getting him, things looked out of place. His driver's side door was wide open. I went through the open driver's door and I was thinking something was up. He was right behind the driver's seat. He was on his knees and he was all the way forward, pitched forward so his back was kind of flat.

As soon as I seen him, I knew he was dead. Because I don't know how you know that, but you know that. That was instant. And that's when I called 911. Albert Thomas began life a world away from sunny Southern California. The first time I've ever seen a person in a car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car you know, just go along with everybody, just all around nice guy. Albert found love early in life

when he met Helen Thomas. They kinda met riding the school bus together. They dated throughout their high school years. She got pregnant with me while she was still in high school. And then after she had me, and she finished school, they married. At first, Albert supported his new family with a factory job.

He had a great work ethic, nose to the grindstone. He was the breadwinner, and he did that well. After working some years, he decided to go to truck driving school, and he did truck driving throughout his life. Albert worked for me as a local truck driver. He always, you know, was smiled, was dependable, always at work.

You never had to worry about Albert. He was at home for weeks at a time, but he was just a good father, a great provider. While truck driving was profitable, over 20 years on the road eventually cost Albert his marriage. Mom and dad eventually separated after being together for a lot of years,

and naturally that was painful, but understandable. After the heartbreak of his divorce, Albert happened to run into an old acquaintance, Lorraine Hunter. Lorraine became everything that, you know, he thought that he was missing. Albert and Lorraine knew each other from childhood, but they lost touch when Lorraine's family moved

to the West Coast. She had spent the majority of her childhood growing up in California. She was quiet, you know, reserved, kind of went with the flow. She would mingle, but she was still kind of quiet. She did have an eye for men. Throughout her 20s, Lorraine bounced from relationship to relationship in search of love.

Though she never really found it, she was blessed with two sons along the way. Raidil is Lorraine Hunter's oldest son, and she also has another son by the name of Tramane. At age 31, the single mother's long quest for love finally came to an end when she met 39-year-old Alan Brown. Alan was a truck driver, and he made good money. Alan was described as a calm, collected person.

good money. Alan was described as a calm collected person. Over the course of 10 years, Lorraine and Alan had their ups and downs. Lorraine complained often about how they were struggling financially. During a break in the relationship, Lorraine had a fling that led to a pregnancy. Rihanna was born July 22, 1993, and LA. Lorraine was, she was very, very protective of Rihanna. As they always did, Lorraine and Alan found their way back to each other. And Alan helped raise Rihanna as his own. Lorraine Hunter and Alan Brown were raising three children,

Heradelle, Tramaine, and then Rihanna, who was just a baby. ... Tragically, just three years later, their life together was cut short. March of 1996, Alan Brown was shot to death. And they were never able to apprehend or identify a suspect. He had gotten killed doing a car jacking.

When things started going bad for Lorraine, she was still trying to give her kids the world, you know, as best as she could. With her two sons now grown and out of the world, you know, as best as she could. With her two sons now grown and out of the home, Lorraine found herself raising Brianna without the support of a partner. Lorraine gratefully accepted help from friends. She never had a job.

She basically had nothing. My parents talked it over and, you know, care and decisions they would help out. They moved in with my parents. My parents talked it over and you know, hearing the decisions they would help about. They moved in with my parents. She was good at cooking and sewing and baking. She used to make cakes for my dad. He loved.

She was able to help out. She picked up really quick. She was smart. Three years after Alan's death, a trip back home to Mississippi changed everything. It was there that Lorraine reconnected with Albert Thomas for the first time in decades. She was gone, you know, a couple weeks.

And when she came back, she basically had a beautiful ring. She was engaged to Albert. She had him relocate and come to California. Once Albert moved to California, life seemed really, really good for them. You know, they seemed genuinely happy. Albert strived to give his new family a happy life. They could marry in a small chapel in Marina Valley.

We looked after him, he worked hard. He worked two jobs so that they could have money. He worked, she didn't. He had a good heart. He was a loving father. He was a good provider. Albert grew to love Lorraine's daughter, Brianna, as if she were his own.

He gave her the world. He took excellent care of her. Brianna never wanted for anything. A shared new beginning promised a happy and prosperous future. But on November 4, 2009, after more than 10 years together, tragedy strikes Lorraine and Albert's life when 911 dispatchers receive a frantic early morning call. I called him and said that somebody's been killed. They were out there pretty quick.

A lot of people started showing up and they started taping off the area. First responders quickly secure the scene. I was shook up. It's a memory that will never go away. It's a part where you have a ache in your heart about it, because it was a good friend that somebody did this to. I'll never forget it. Coming up, a gruesome crime scene offers few answers. It was quite a lot of blood.

There was a blood trail coming out of the door of the truck. And investigators piece together a helpless victim's horrifying final moments. He was shot to death in a kneeling position. It was an execution. In the early hours of November 4, 2009, first responders cordoned off the scene of a brutal homicide in a Marino Valley, California parking lot. 56-year-old Albert Thomas has been found shot dead in the cab of his semi-truck.

The scene is secured by patrol officers. The only people that went into the truck initially was the first responding officer who determined that he was deceased. A deceased body cannot be removed by anybody except for the corner. Can't even be touched. The corner is dispatched to the scene

while police begin to process the surrounding area. Patrol officers start fanning out, looking to identify things that would be of evidentiary value, and they're marking those before the corner gets there. There are dozens of shoe prints in the dirt field in and around the area of the truck. The Sheriff's Department went about the business

of trying to photograph those chuprints for the potential of, hopefully, cross-referencing the patterns on the bottom of the shoes with a potential suspect at a later time. On the outside of the truck, there was quite a lot of blood dripping out of the cap onto the running board of the truck on the outside. There was blood coming down the the truck on the inside.

There was blood coming down the fuel tank from the inside. When I got there, the police was everywhere. They had all, they had their motor home out there. There was a lot of police department, fire department was there. It was all taped off. Once the corner arrives, then entry was made into the vehicle. He was actually found right behind both of the seats.

Albert was wearing a red jumpsuit. I believe it had a stripe, but he was found on all fours with his head tucked inside of a small closet that was inside of the truck. The thing that really stands out about that crime scene is the way in which he died. He was shot to death, and he was shot to death in a kneeling position.

It was an execution. After the body is transported to the morgue, investigators pick over the truck interior with a fine-toothed comb. There were some personal belongings that were on the floor in and around where his body was found. There were no shell casings found.

So this is one of those things as an investigator is just thinking is where to shell casings. It's one of two things happened. The most common, it's the gun was revolver. And revolved was to only jack the cases. And the other thing that could happen is that they pick them up and take them with them.

While the search for a murder weapon continues, detectives turn their attention to Albert's co-workers to learn more about their victim. I told them who I was, and then they brought me into the motor home with Richard, and then that's when I started talking to the police department. Both me and him had to talk with the detectives,

and they had to obviously roll me out as a suspect, I guess, so they took pictures of my shoes and all this stuff. They asked questions on everything that happened that morning. They were just asking, oh, did he work for me? Why Albert's truck was there? He routinely parked his truck in this big, dark lot because it was only a couple blocks from where he lived.

You could almost actually see his truck from the balcony of his apartment. Detectives ask Albert's coworker, Richard, if anything seemed out of place in Albert's cab when he discovered his body. I didn't notice in the truck because Albert kept his truck nice and neat on the inside. It was a mess.

Didn't look like he kept it. He kept it immaculate. So somebody did that. It wasn't him. The first thing you think is robbery, and the way he was found could have definitely been a robbery. But a careful examination of the truck cab's contents doesn't reveal anything to support that theory.

Nothing notable was missing from the truck. As far as the robbery, which you're thinking at the beginning, that sort of drifted away pretty quick. If Albert wasn't the victim of a robbery or hijacking, was his execution-style murder something more personal? His co-workers say it's highly unlikely. I couldn't understand why anybody would do this to this man. He was just too easy going and too caring for somebody to want to do that. Riverside County homicide detective

Ken Patterson visits Albert's wife Lorraine at their apartment not far from the crime scene. I didn't go in and I never do going in and say, hey, your husband's dead. That's not how you make notification. So I just started querying her as to her relationship to Albert. Also at the apartment is Lorraine's 16-year-old daughter, Brianna. Can noted that when he interacted with both Lorraine and Brianna,

that they both appeared to be really upset, really emotional. I started talking to her when's the last time you saw him? What was he wearing? She told Ken Patterson that the last time that she saw Albert was the night before on November 3, 2009. Albert held two jobs. She told me he was a truck driver, and he worked at an auto-part store.

A truck driver was his main job. He would leave early in the morning to do local jobs. Detective Patterson tactfully briefed Lorraine on the situation. I did tell her that his truck had been found and that we did find a deceased body inside the truck. But I did tell her that I could not at that point in time say that it was Albert because the autopsy hadn't been performed, but I was pretty sure that's who it was.

The news brings Lorraine to tears. She did cry. She explains, I've been trying to call Albert, I didn't know where he was, I called his company, I asked him where Albert was, they couldn't tell me. Can also ask some basic questions to try to get any other information that could be pertinent to the investigation. We just covered all the basics and then I departed and told her that I would be back. Police hope legwork on the streets will provide answers. Patrol officers

start fanning out in the neighborhood and seeing if there's any witnesses looking for any type of surveillance cameras or any cameras that might have saw something. The Sheriff's Department talked to neighbors and people who worked in the area to see if anyone saw anything on the night of November 3rd, 2009, or the morning of November 4th, 2009. We were in Akendor's talking to witnesses. We were on foot covering, you know, miles and miles around the area to see if we could find any evidence

to try and figure out exactly what happened. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find any witnesses who saw anything. happen. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find any witnesses who saw anything. After hitting dead end after dead end, police reached out to the public. They didn't have any suspects in custody. They put out their phone number and the wheat tip hotline in order to try to generate some kind of response from the public. But at the time, very threadbare information. This isn't a case that was solved in 48 hours. This isn't a case that was solved in a week. There was no evidence. Coming up, another brutal murder conjures up

familiar circumstances. He got shot in the back, but he didn't identify who it was the shot. And detectives uncover a startling position with a big payout. If the insured was murdered, the proceeds from that policy upon his death with double. Hey, listener. It is me, Jason Bateman. I want to tell you that we've struck podcast gold in our new episode with David Letterman available four weeks early on

one Dree Plus. It's like a late night talk show hangout, but with a smart list twist. We are diving deep into David Letterman's incredible career in the moments that shaped him into the beloved icon he is today. Our interview with David Letterman was reported live in Brooklyn in front of thousands of our biggest fans from our smart list tour. This is the fourth of 10 interviews with new episodes releasing every Thursday. We're talking with celebrities and icons

like the Great, Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Mark Cuban, Jimmy Kimmel, so many more. Join us for an unforgettable conversation that will have you laughing pondering and quite possibly contemplating growing a beard like Letterman's. I know I have. You can listen to these episodes four weeks early in ad free on Wundry Plus, find Wundry Plus in the Wundry app or on Apple podcasts. Homicide detectives in Riverside County, California are determined to solve the

execution-style murder of 56-year-old truck driver Albert Thomas. Essentially, all we knew at the time was whether it'd been a homicide and got knows where it happened before, OK? The M.E.'s post-mortem exam tells police more about the crime and the type of weapon used. Bullet fragments from a 38 caliber revolver were found in his body.

When he performed the autopsy, he opined that Albert had been shot twice in the back of the head, and then also twice in the back. If a gun is located, ballistics can connect the bullet fragments to that weapon. Nothing in the autopsy report indicates Albert's thought is killer. It leaves kind of a raw taste in your mouth when you hear about someone being shot in the back

and not being given an opportunity to at least beg for their life or try to shield themselves. With still no clear direction on a suspect, detectives dig deeper into the victim's personal life Investigator Patterson was talking to family members of Albert trying to wrap his head around Information about Albert who he was and any other information that might be pertinent to the investigation Albert's close-knit Mississippi family is still reeling from the news of his death. I can remember just trying to run away, thinking,

I'm not hearing this, as is it happening? And I remember looking at my husband and just shaking my head because I could not believe that my father was gone. Katina Thomas revealed to investigator Patterson that she was aware that Lorraine Hunter's first husband had been murdered back in 1996. And so from there, investigator Patterson obtained reports related to that murder investigation and began the process of trying to connect the dots. In March of 1996, Alan Brown, truck driver was shot to death and the city of Inglewood.

On that day, Alan and Lorraine were visiting a niece. They left the residence there in Inglewood and then went to Alan's vehicle. Lorraine indicated that she told Alan that there was a clicking sound or some sort of sound that was coming from the hood. He did get out to check the oil because something was wrong, and this is when he was shot. She heard a pop and turned around, and he was on the ground, but there was no one else around. When police arrived, Alan told police

that he got shot in the back, but he didn't identify who it was that shot him. Alan was then taken to the hospital and treated for a few days for his shotgun wound to the back, but he subsequently died in the hospital. As he digs deeper into the case file, Detective Patterson uncovers one interesting detail. After Alan Brown's murder,

a Lorraine Hunter collected approximately $312,000 in life insurance proceeds. The investigation into Alan Brown's death proved inconclusive at the time. Just from the information that I obtained, it looked like a solvable case, but it wasn't. It was left open. The circumstances surrounding Allen's death

raised suspicions for the family of Lorraine's second husband, Albert. When I spoke with Mr. Thomas's sister and daughter from Mississippi, they told me that they suspected Lorraine had killed her first husband. Detective Patterson goes straight to Albert's workplace to inquire about Albert's life insurance. Albert Thomas' boss confirmed to me that Mr. Thomas actually had life insurance policies. That life insurance policy on its face was worth approximately

225,000. But there is a contingency to the life insurance policy that noted that if the insured Albert Thomas was murdered, the proceeds from that policy upon his death would double. The existence of this hefty insurance payout is particularly surprising news. Detective Paterson, when he talked to Lorraine the first time, she told him that she wasn't

aware of any life insurance policies. OK, so I have $450,000 with a life insurance, but yet Lorraine Hunter says he has no life insurance. But according to Don Moore, insurance money was very much on the reins' mind in the hours after Albert's murder. I'm told by Albert Thomas' boss that he had spoken to Albert's wife told her that morning that yes, there was life insurance policies.

In the fact she was calling about life insurance so quickly, just stunned me. I mean, personally, myself, that's the last thing I'm thinking about. Detective Patterson puts the insurance question to Lorraine a second time. We're going back to Lorraine's house. Actually, I asked her again, I said, do you recall any life insurance policies that Albert had? And I told her that I'd talked to his box.

She said, oh yes, it wasn't a defensive thing, it wasn't your accusing me of anything, it was just, oh yes. Okay, I recall now. An absent-minded omission doesn't make Lorraine a murderer. I told her I would be getting back in touch with her. We always explain that, you know, the investigation is ongoing. And is we're going to try to figure out what would happen. Investigators dig deeper into Albert and Lorraine's assets. They had life insurance policies in addition to the one that he already had

through his trucking company. And the entire amount, I believe, summed up to just over a million in addition to the one that he already had through his trucking company. And the entire amount, I believe, summed up to just over a million dollars. It appeared to me she obviously kept that from me. So now, red flags are starting to go up. So this made detectives patissons suspicious. So he put a hole in the death certificate

at the coroner's office. So she wasn't able to collect any of the insurance policies without the death certificate. I go back to Lorraine, and I want to see if she wants to voluntarily take a polygraph test. She agreed to it, said fine and dandy, set up a date and time, which was the following day. I show up, she's not there.

Doesn't answer the door, doesn't answer her phone. Obviously, she's avoiding this. It doesn't answer the door, it doesn't answer her phone. Obviously, she's avoiding this. She's avoiding me. I can't get a hold of her for a week. I get a letter in the mail from an attorney saying he's her attorney and to leave her alone and to quit contacting her. I'm like, hmm, okay.

As much as Detective Patterson hates to admit it, the investigation has hit a roadblock. Because there were no witnesses, and because there was no physical evidence that could support further investigation of a suspect, the case was suspended. It was still being actively worked by the Sheriff's Department. However, there were no suspects.

In so many words, the case went cold. For now, Riverside County Hom Homicides caseload pushes Albert Thomas's murder to the backburner. It's agonizing. You're in Mississippi. You talk to a detective and they tell you, you know, they're gonna keep you posted and they do as much as they can and you call every day starting out

and then every week and then eventually you're not able to get anyone on the phone. You want to just not have hope anymore. But I chose to believe that the people responsible for his death would eventually be brought to justice. Then, on October 6, 2011, almost two years into the investigation of Albert's death, a surprise twist brings new life to the case. Riverside County deputies respond to a shoplifting call involving a teenage girl.

She had been arrested on a misdemeanors shoplifting charge. She asked if she could speak to an detective. She indicated to the arresting officer for her shoplifting that she had information about Albert Thomas' death. Coming up, an unexpected confession brings detectives within striking distance. She admitted to being present when

I was shopping. And lifting a veil of lies puts an informant in jeopardy. Well, the only reason that this could be happening is somebody's a snitch and you're the one. MUSIC October 6, 2011, nearly two years after the unsolved murder of California trucker Albert Thomas. Riverside County deputies responding

to a routine shoplifting call are surprised when the teen girl they take into custody makes an unusual request. She asks specifically to speak with the detective that was involved in Albert Thomas's death. Detective Ken Patterson takes a seat in an interview room opposite the girl, Shanice Hunter. I told her I was the primary investigator

and I was the one investigating Albert's death and she just... she came out with it. Shanice told us that it had been weighing on her conscious for almost two years. The fact that she was the first person to be the first and she just, she came out with it. She and Ease told us that it had been weighing on her conscious for almost two years. The fact that this person had been murdered and that she knew exactly who was responsible for it. She said that the thing that prevented her from saying something sooner

is the fact that she didn't want to be disloyal to her family. Lorraine was an aunt, and Brianna was a cousin. She was told in between the family, bond, and the fact that what I'm to have was shouldn't have happened. She tells me that Lorraine and Brianna both were involved in Albert Steff. The day before Mr. Thomas was killed, she actually walked into Lorraine's apartment,

and Brianna was sitting inside the apartment, holding her revolver. She knew that it startled them when she walked in. They pretty much tell her to leave. She said that she overheard Brianna say something to the effect of, or you sure we have to do this to her mother Lorraine. And Shini said at that time, Lorraine told her daughter Brianna,

yes, he's going to leave us us and we don't have any money. According to Sheney's, later that night, Lorraine, Brianna, and Albert went on a family walk. They'd always exercised. They'd go walk together. He had a walking stick. And Sheney said the three of them left with a walking stick.

Several hours passed. Also, she gets a phone call. It's Brianna telling her, hey, go get mom's car keys, get the car, and freaking come over across from the school and pick us up. Sheney's then described how she drove both Lorraine and Brianna back to Lorraine's apartment. And once they got there, Lorraine instructed

Brianna to take off her clothes. And then Lorraine took those clothes, washed them, and then instructed Rihanna to take them out to the trash dumps around side, indicating to both of them that it would be okay because the trash collection was going to happen the next day. Shanese's interview has broken the case wide open, but to secure an arrest warrant and a conviction,

investigators will need more. I need to get one of them to admit to it is what I need to happen. That investigators go to a Indiana school in San Bernardino to wait to pick her up and had Shanese agreed to wear a wire and go in to talk to Lorraine as this is happening. Shinesh agreed to wear a wire and go in to talk to Lorraine as this is happening.

So I'm in Marina Valley with Shinesh and Lorraine. Investigators are picking up Brianna and San Bernardino all at the same time because we needed to be coordinated. So Shinesh goes in and tells Lorraine, hey, they're arresting Brianna for killing Albert. And basically what Lorraine tells Shinesese is, well, the only reason that this could be happening is somebody is a freaking snitch and you're the one.

So she's like, we're leaving. As detectives apprehensively monitor the conversation, officers are ready to swoop in. This could be a situation that could be bad, because we really suspect that Lorraine killed Albert. And so Lorraine and Shanice are now leaving. They basically come down the stairs, there's nothing else really said, and we arrested her.

Because we couldn't let her get anywhere else, because we didn't know what was going to happen. Lorraine is transported to Marino Valley police headquarters, unaware that detectives have already begun questioning her 18-year-old daughter, Brianna. I first spoke with Brianna, and Brianna ultimately admits that her mom shot Albert. She said she saw her mother pointed at Albert's back

and then fire the weapon twice. Detectives confront Lorraine with Brianna's accusation. She's told that she can save her daughter if she admits to shooting Albert. I told Lorraine I knew that she's the one that killed me. But she never admitted to it to me. Never tried to save her daughter. Nothing. Lorraine to save her daughter. Nothing.

Lorraine could have cared less. After interviews at the Marineville Valley Police Department, I ultimately arrested them for the murder of Albert. Both of them were charged with first-degree murder, also conspiracy to commit murder, and then the rain was charged with the special circumstances alleging that the murder was committed while lying in wait, and then also that she did it for financial gain.

Finally, Detective Patterson can make a few long-awaited phone calls. Before he even said his name, I recognized his voice. Detective Kim Patterson, he said, I recognized his voice, the technical competitor. He said, I'm calling you to notify you that an arrest has been made in the case of Albert Thomas. And I fell to my knees and I cried. But when he told me it was Lorraine, I thought to myself, oh, my gosh.

And then he said, and Brianna Hunter, and I thought, oh my lord. Even though charges have been filed, police must work to gather more evidence against Lorraine and Brianna. Shanice was interviewed several times after Lorraine and Brianna were arrested for Albert's murder. And during the course of those interviews, Shinesse revealed to my investigator, Paul Edwards,

that Lorraine Hunter obtained the gun from a friend of hers who went to church with Lorraine, and then kept the possession of it for at least a couple of months, and then later returned it. Investigators quickly obtain a search warrant for the friend's apartment. Upon the execution of that search warrant, a 38-calibre revolver was found hidden in a drawer in the bedroom. I booked an ambulance in the DA's office,

and they did the send it to the DOJ for ballistics. The results confirm the bullet fragments found during Albert's autopsy are a match. Again, I recovered Westigan. We used to kill a poptos. Coming up, a complete picture of the crime emerges. Whatever's done in the dark is always going to come to the light.

And a calculating killer plots to up the body count. She wanted her dead, and she was willing to pay money to do it. Prosecutors preparing to try Lorraine Hunter for the brutal execution-style slaying of her husband, Albert, are counting on Lorraine's daughter and accomplice Brianna for answers. Although we had worked up the case and there was a lot of evidence implicating both Brianna and Lorraine, of course we wanted to know more details. But before they can reach an agreement with Brianna's lawyer,

there is yet another stunning development in the case. There was a lot of evidence implicating both Brianna's lawyer, there is yet another stunning development in the case. There were several letters we intercepted from Lorraine to Brianna. But in the letters that she sent to Brianna, she was trying to sway Brianna from test-finding against her. In the lead up to trial, Lorraine's cellmate comes forward with more shocking information. She tells authorities, Lurene is trying to hire an assassin

to keep the prosecution's other witness, her own niece, Silent Forgloin. That's when police launch a plot of their own. Deputy sent an undercover deputy. I am... ...so I have a meeting with Lorraine in the jail, and he intended to be eight men. The center-car officer had several conversations that were recorded with Lorraine Hunter, or Lorraine Hunter, in fact, confirmed that she wanted her niece, Shanice dead, and that

she was willing to pay money to do it. She felt that if Shanice was eliminated as a witness that her and her daughter would walk free. You agreed to kill Shanice for Lorraine? The undercover officer told Lorraine that he would need more information about Shanice, namely address and pictures. From there, Lorraine Hunter started calling several family members asking them to send her pictures of Shanice.

That investigation was concluded, and our office filed a separate case against Lorraine Hunter for solicitation for murder. For a chance at a lesser sentence, Brianna signals she's ready to do business with the state. If we find that the information is credible, then we'll consider giving an offer of leniency to that codependent if they agree to cooperate in the investigation and in the prosecution of the other codependent. And that's what happened in this case. Brianna's attorney indicated that she

was willing to talk to us to fill in all the blanks, and what she revealed to us in that interview was powerful. Brianna sits down with state attorneys on September 19, 2013. She says in the year leading up to the murder, her mother was obsessed with money. According to Brianna, Lorraine was upset and frustrated quite often with Albert because he wasn't making enough money. Brianna says that Albert's two jobs and a company insurance package

wouldn't assure Lorraine of a bright enough financial future. Brianna told us that Lorraine not only had them fill out life insurance applications for several companies, but that she personally witnessed Lorraine's forage Albert signature. Brianna reveals her mother had tried to cash in several times. She had attempted three other times to try to kill Albert and it was just the wrong time to many people around.

And on November 3rd, 2009, Lorraine finally had the right opportunity. She let us through the night in question when Albert was murdered. They walked to the truck and Albert told that Brianna, that he bought a sweatshirt and he was in the truck. So they all got in the truck. Albert got in the back and he was kneeling on the floor,

trying to get the sweatshirt out of a small cabinet or closet. And at this point, Lorraine was in the passenger seat, and Brianna was in the driver's seat. And Lorraine managed to get around into the back and was standing behind, Albert. And she shot him in the back. shot him in the back. Lorraine's trial begins in June 2017. Prosecutors begin their case with a glimpse of Lorraine and Albert's disintegrating marriage.

That relationship wasn't that good. They were married, they slept in separate bedrooms, they argued them on money a lot. Albert had made a decision that he was actually going to leave Lorraine because he couldn't do it anymore. He was working himself to death. But the most damning testimony occurs when cooperating witness Brianna takes the stand. Most memorable part of the trial was Brianna Hunter,

and sitting across from her mom, basically less than 15 feet away, and detailing all of what her mother did in trying to eventually kill Albert Thomas. The jury announces their verdict on August 21st, 2017. The jury rendered a guilty verdict for her first remurder, a guilty verdict for conspiracy to commit murder, and they also found true both of those special allegations. She went on through the penalty phase,

and the jury recommended the death penalty, and Judge Fisher was supportive of that. He imposed the death sentence on the rain hunter in December of 2017. Brianna's cooperation keeps her from joining Lorraine on death row. Brianna Hunter entered the plea agreement with the Riverside County District of Toronto's office. She pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted murder and one count of voluntary manslaughter.

She received a total sentence of 18 years and nine months. I really think that Albert and Brianna had a good relationship, but mom drug her into this. I saw emotions in her. I mean tears. After more than eight years of grief and anger, Lorraine's conviction gives Albert's family the justice they've prayed for. We cried.

We were pleased. We were relieved. And that's where closure actually came. Albert is being remembered as a great man, a great husband, an awesome father, an awesome bad father, coworker, friend, just all around human being. I have forgiven Rihanna, I have forgiven Lorraine. I don't want hatred in my heart toward anyone, because in that case, you're no better than that person that committed the crime. In March 2019, California's governor imposed a moratorium on the death penalty,

temporarily suspending executions in the state. Brianna will be eligible for parole in December 2024. She will be 31 years old. No charges were ever filed in the investigation into Allen Brown's 1996 murder. The case remains open. Come.