Snapped: Women Who Murder - Melanie Eam

Episode Date: June 16, 2024

The investigation of a young gamer’s murder begins with his mother’s heartbreaking 911 call but when detectives find a clue inside evidence left at the crime scene, the case turns into a multi-state search for a heartbroken suspect.Season 30 Episode 12Originally aired: December 19, 2021Watch 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.

At these family dinners, dysfunction is served. I can't have you all messing things up for my entire adult life. Oh, I'm sorry. Do we embarrass you? Dinner next Friday, everyone? Wouldn't miss for the world. Dinner with the Parents, Season 1. Stream free, only on Freevy. I'm Ted Concafe and this is a man.

The whole world knows who you two are. This summer, a mystery thought buried. Julian Norton and his lover were found dead at Hagerty's Waterhole. Comes back to the surface. Ted, you're never gonna believe this. He's been under our noses this whole time. TROPOL, premiering on Freevy and Prime Video July 25th. He was a young gamer looking for his next chance to level up in life. He did his homework,

he never snuck out, he never did drugs, he loved learning. There was definitely a boost of confidence when he got his girlfriend. Until a shocking attack would traumatize those who loved him. There was blood gushing out. I saw the knife on the floor. There is blood all over him. There's blood on the bed. There's blood everywhere. This young man saw something tragic and horrific.

I just had a really hard time wrapping my head around that my brother was murdered. A crime so violent, it would lead to an unfathomable suspect. What happened? Who attacked this individual? Is it somebody in the house? I just can't believe it. I can't believe this. What seemed like a life burning bright with potential...

If she did do this, please keep her away from me, because I'll kill her with my hands. ...would turn pitch black. What's going on? I don't know. I'm scared. Sometimes those red flags, you don't see them. Like they say, they love is blind.

and the suburb of Loxahatchee. The caller is 56-year-old Nicola Baring. 911, what's the location of your emergency? Somebody came in and stabbed my son and he's bleeding. It was immediately apparent that the female caller was in distress and she informed the 911 call taker that her son, James, was bleeding heavily. You can hear in her voice that she's very disturbed, very scared, something terrible has happened. At that point, first responders are dispatched. The deputies approached the scene, and as they're coming in the front door,

the individuals who are there are screaming for help. When police enter the home, James's mother, Nicola, her boyfriend, Guy Hand, and one of James's best friends, Jeff Jarzybkowski, are all reeling from watching James bleed uncontrollably before their eyes. The room is covered in blood. There's blood on the ground. There's blood in the hallway on the way to the room.

And there's blood on the bed. There's blood everywhere. On the floor is 21-year-old James Berry. James is suffering from a very severe stab wound to the chest. He also is suffering from a number of different sharp force injuries, both stab wounds and slice wounds. So it appears to be consistent with a stab. The deputies see the victim is bleeding profusely,

and they make every attempt to try to save the individual, save the victim. Tragically, at the scene, James succumbs to his wounds. As family members are notified of his gruesome death, shock and grief begin to set in. I did speak with my mom briefly that night. It was a very emotional conversation to hear my mom saying that James is dead.

I collapsed to the floor. I just, I lost it. I was screaming on top of my lungs, just wanting to know why my brother, why him. He was a good kid. He never put himself in dangerous situations. With a homicide investigation now open, detectives arrived to assess the scene. I traveled to the scene and I initially meet with the first responders. It wasn't a pretty picture.

It was immediately apparent that something heinous happened here. There was blood all over the floor, thick amounts of blood. And as I walked down the hallway to where the decedent was, there was blood sprayed up by the side of the walls, up on the ceiling. When detectives enter the kitchen, they find what they believe is the murder weapon. So I'm looking at the knife on the kitchen counter.

This knife was no ordinary kitchen knife. This knife had a long blade, roughly 10 inches long. It was curved, very sharp. It had a white handle with grooves on it. There were no fingerprints on the handle. And because the knife was covered in blood, it was presumed that this blood was James' blood. Now that they have what they believe is the murder weapon,

detectives have to determine who had been the one to wield it. The detectives need to now try to figure out what happened, who attacked this individual. Is it somebody in the house, or is it somebody who has left the residence who was not there when the sheriffs arrived? Detectives quickly learn that James Berry was a bright light in the lives of his family. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that.

I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that.

I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to do that. James truly was a gift of God. James was always a small child, but what he lacked in size, he more than made up for in kindness. Growing up under the watchful eye of his older sister Alexandra, James roamed the property of his small family homestead. When James and I were growing up,

we had a lot of animals. We had five horses, we had a lot of animals. We had five horses, we had five dogs, we had five cats. We just ran around, played tag, had mud fights. We would go around, try to catch frogs, catch tadpoles, and James was a very adventurous kid. We did have a very good upbringing. We were blessed to be able to have that kind of lifestyle. In 2002, when James was seven, his parents split and gave the kids their choice of where to live.

Alexandra went to live with her dad. James stayed with his mom. Despite the divorce, both parents doted on their little boy, who grew into a teen any parent could be proud of. James was a little bit of a late bloomer, but he truly was your perfect son. He did his homework.

He never snuck out. He never did drugs. He loved learning. He was his homework. He never smoked out. He never did drugs. He loved learning. He was just himself. Kids always want to show off and be a cool kid and do things to impress other people, and not him. James got into video games at a very young age and has just always been a part of our lives. We just really like playing.

We always used to play all the time. He loved video games. He was a big-time gamer, and me too. I kind of grew out of it as I got older, but he never did. That was his everything. For James, video games gave him the means to meet new people. And in his senior year of high school,

he finally got up the nerve to ask out a fellow gamer named Melanie Eam. They were in the same group of friends with being gamers, because she, too, was a pretty big gamer. Melanie's parents had immigrated from Cambodia, and so she was first generation American. When I first met Melanie, I thought she was first generation American. When I first met Melanie, I thought she was a beautiful girl.

I told her I'm really excited that her and my brother are together. There was definitely a boost of confidence when James, when he got his girlfriend. He's posted more pictures. You know, he looked happy. I don't blame him. I mean, you know, you got the girl.

Life is good. I don't blame him. I mean, you know, you got the girl, life is good. I was his first girlfriend. She was shy a little bit. She had this way of talking. She had a very soft voice where like, you would have to get close to her to hear her kind of thing. I was like, oh, this girl's different.

As Melanie and James start dating, James's family members are very open and welcoming to her. So Melanie starts becoming more dependent upon James and his family and the lifestyle that they have. We brought her to various family get-togethers. Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, she was there. My mom loved her. She really did. She almost treated her as if it was her own daughter.

James and Melanie were a picture of young love. They were inseparable. They did pretty much everything together, too. They were very madly in love with each other. So much so that after two years together, once James graduated high school, Melanie dropped out. She got her GED, and then they went to Palm Beach Day College together and even took the same course together with the same teacher and everything.

It's how close their relationship was. The couple's future seemed bright. Until a sudden act of brutality on the night of November 17th, 2016 leaves James dead and everyone close to him at a loss. The loss of James to his family was devastating. His mother lost her only son and lost him in a home that she was living in.

In the home at the time is Nicola Berry, who's James' mother, a gentleman by the name of Guy Hand. And then James' best friend is also in the home, Mr. Jeffrey Jarbikowski. While those who lived with James are traumatized by what they've just witnessed, detectives try to focus on untangling the mystery of what transpired. The residents of the home are subsequently

cleared out of the home because now a criminal investigation has to begin. They need to be questioned about what happened because any one of them could potentially be a suspect. Coming up, James' friend offers heartbreaking details of his death. I was holding the blood. It was just coming out.

And the complexities of the case have only just begun. He said, Jeff, just so you know, I think it's over. Melanie Eam's mother showed up on scene and she was looking for her daughter. This was alarming because now we have James' girlfriend missing. Maybe harm had come to her as well. the They begin by speaking with the three people present in the home when detectives arrived. Nicola Berry, Guy Hand, and Jeff Jarzybkowski.

So one of the first interviews I conducted when I was on scene was with Jeff, who was in the bedroom and spending the night when this incident occurred. I fell asleep around 9.30, maybe 10 o'clock. I was sleeping on his bed. He was playing his video game. And then, I'm not sure what time it was, he woke me up when I was sleeping, and he said, Jeff, just so you know, I think it's over.

And then I was still half asleep, and I said, wait, what? And then he told me, I think it's over. I'll tell you in the morning. And then I fell back asleep. I woke up, and then I heard a loud bang and then all of a sudden he stormed in the room, hit the door, turned on the light. As he was running in, he said, Jeff, help, help.

Please get out of here, help. James fell down on the bed and was not able to say who did this to him. All he could say is, get help. and was not able to say who did this to him, all he could say is, get help. There was blood gushing out, and then I took my hands and put them on his chest. I was holding it. I didn't know what to do.

I was holding the blood. It was just coming out. And then he was still alive. Jeff says within seconds, Guy burst into the room and began attempting CPR while he and Nicola called 911. It left the room after that, and that's all that I know.

And I remember as I was walking out, I saw the knife on the floor. Where was the knife on the floor? What part of the house? I think it was on the floor. Where was the knife on the floor? What part of the house? I think it was in the hallway. According to Jeff, he had no idea how the presumed murder weapon ended up in the kitchen

or how his friend had been stabbed in the first place. It was very visible to me that he was upset. He was crying. He seemed to be very sincere, cooperative. And it just hit me that this young man saw something tragic and horrific, and he was very upset about losing his friend. Investigators next questioned James's grief-stricken mother, who recounts a typical Wednesday evening at home.

I did conduct an interview with the victim's mother, Nicola Berry, and she was very cooperative, but very upset, and she had every reason to be. I heard Jeff, I guess, about 1 o'clock, screaming, help, help, help, help. Come screaming, screaming. You were asleep when all this happened, so you don't even know if anyone came into your house. Whoever did this could have come in the house

without your knowledge. Yes. Okay. I just can't believe it. I can't believe this. They had had a family dinner. The people that were all in the house, as well as Jeff, they had a roast. And then Jeff and James were just hanging out in James' room. Really did go from an average evening in a middle-class home in Laxahatchee to waking

up to a nightmare. Finally, they speak to Guy Hand, Nicola's boyfriend who had tried to revive James prior to police arriving. It was apparent that he had close contact with James because he was covered in blood. He was shirtless. He had blood on his chest. He had blood on his hands. Guy's story matches Nicola's and Jeff's. I was woken up, and I seen Jeff,

and I seen blood on the bed and stuff, and he goes, Help, help, help. And my first thing was, what kind of prank is this? Y'all been playing these video games. So I went in there, and I said, Oh, my God, there's blood everywhere.

And I said, call 911. Guy there's blood everywhere. And I said, call 911. Guy admits to picking up the bloody knife, but swears he wasn't trying to tamper with the scene. Where did you see it on the floor exactly? What part of the house? The door here. Door to James' bedroom? Yeah.

Guy's explanation for moving the knife was that the knife was sort of out in an area where somebody could step and potentially injure themselves. So he moved the knife without really thinking about it, just for safety purposes. Much like Jeff and Nicola, Guy seems to be genuinely heartbroken over James' death. There was nothing to indicate that he was the individual that stabbed James. After conducting the interviews, detectives take a closer look at the crime scene,

searching for any evidence to point them to a suspect. No windows are broken. No doors are opened in any way. This doesn't appear to be the result of a burglary or robbery gone bad. However, on the back porch, what they see is a cell phone. It has a pink face to it. It's lying on the corner of the patio table. And the back door, which is a screen porch door,

is slightly ajar. OK, well, whose cell phone is this? I had already established through my interviews that everyone in the house who's had a cell phone, their cell phone is this? I had already established through my interviews that everyone in the house who had a cell phone, their cell phone was accounted for. I had to confirm with the victim's mother, Nicolai, that this cell phone that was found on the patio belonged to the victim's girlfriend, Melanie.

That indicated that she went over to the house before the murder. Detectives questioned Nicole Le Nicole Berry about Melanie Eam. They want to find out, is she the type of person that would be a suspect in this case? Nicole seems to be a little dismissive of that. Melanie is a very meek and shy person, doesn't seem like the type of person that

would be likely to do this. Shortly after the phone is located, a woman arrives at the scene looking for Melanie. A female showed up on scene and stated she was Melanie Eam's mother, and she was looking for her daughter. The mother was very concerned for her daughter because the daughter had left the house only maybe half

an hour earlier of the mother arriving on the crime scene. And she had been trying to reach her by phone phone and her daughter was not answering her cell phone. She also mentioned that her daughter had expressed her that she was upset Melanie's parents. They had gone for a walk. Upon returning home from their walk, she was gone. While Melanie's mother couldn't say for sure why her daughter was so troubled,

based on the discovery of Melanie's phone, it does appear she came to see James. This was alarming because now we have James' girlfriend missing. I was concerned about her whereabouts not only because she may had involvement, but for her own safety and health. She was a young girl.

Maybe harm had come to her as well. Coming up, a disturbing picture emerges of a young love that spirals out of control. She hates me. She despises me because I know her for what she is and she's severely mentally unstable. And a text message points to a heartbreaking motive. His last words to my father were, it's gonna hurt a lot. ["The Last Supper"]

In 2001, less than a month after the 9-11 attacks, the US and allied forces invaded Afghanistan. The goal was simple, hunt down Al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, and unseat the Taliban government that sheltered him. But even though the Taliban was quickly removed, negotiating an end to the war turned out to be a much bigger challenge. Despite some of the world's best negotiators working tirelessly for peace, all sides were never able to come to a negotiated agreement, and in 2021, 20 years after being ousted from power, the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan.

So why did some of the world's smartest and most experienced negotiators fail for 20 years to mediate a peace deal in Afghanistan? The Afghan Impasse, a special seven-episode edition of The Negotiators, a podcast from Doha Debates and Foreign Policy, looks back on the players, politics, and strategies that contributed to one of the biggest failures in modern peace negotiations. You can listen to The Negotiators, the Afghan impasse, exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. I'm Rachel Martin. You probably know how interview podcasts with famous people usually go. There's a host, a guest, and a light Q&A, but on Wild Card, we have ripped up the

typical script. It's a new podcast from NPR where I invite actors a guest, and a light Q&A, but on Wild Card, we have ripped up the typical script. It's a new podcast from NPR where I invite actors, artists, and comedians to play a game using a special deck of cards to talk about some of life's biggest questions. Listen to Wild Card wherever you get your podcasts, only from NPR. In the hours after James Berry bled to death on his bedroom floor, investigators have discovered that his girlfriend, Melanie Eam, is missing. While the search for Melanie is underway, detectives receive word from another member

of James's family. I was informed that the decedent's father had arrived from a town probably 40 minutes away, and he had some very valuable information which he shared with me. James's father calls the detective and relays a text exchange between father and son on the night of the murder. The basis of these text messages were that the son was expressing his concern over ending a relationship with his girlfriend. And his father was just giving him the advice that most fathers would give. Son wasn't panicking, and he didn't express any fear

of any reprisal, he just wanted to end a relationship. Felt it was time to move on. The night of the breakup, his last words to my father were, it's going to hurt a lot. Having now obtained a search warrant for Melanie's phone, Detective Oliver looks for any correspondence with James that evening. I was able to find a software on the phone that

showed text messages through a gaming application between Melanie and the victim that had happened several hours before the 911 call came in. At 9.08 PM on November 16, three hours and 45 minutes before his mother's 911 call, James sent a message to Melanie. There was a message from James on this application to Melanie that he wanted to end the relationship.

He didn't want to hurt Melanie's feelings with breaking up. So I think that's also part of the reason why he broke up with her through a game chat versus in person. James tries to be compassionate and say, I think it's best for us if we separate. I think that we will do better on our own. They're also able to see Melanie's reaction. The messages clearly indicate that she is quite distraught and upset over that relationship ending.

After leaving the crime scene and returning home, just before dawn, detectives are on the run over that relationship ending. After leaving the crime scene and returning home, just before dawn, detectives interview both of Melanie's parents about the evening of the murder and their daughter's state of mind. She lived a normal life, it appeared, prior to this incident. They last saw their daughter 45 minutes before the murder. And they said that she was upset.

And the father had told me that he saw his daughter leaving at a high rate of speed in a white Toyota, which was her car that he owned, but she utilized. The night of the murder, detectives also start canvassing the neighborhood to see if there's any witnesses, any neighbors that saw anything. They make contact with a neighbor

who had seen a white Toyota speed out of the neighborhood and also indicated that she had surveillance video so that the detectives could observe the vehicle themselves. The greatest concern for detectives is the time stamp on the video. Upon viewing it, it looked like this white Toyota had arrived just before the murder and fled the scene just before the 911 call. We put a bow out with Melanie's picture and the picture of a car similar to that.

Now that police are less concerned that Melanie is missing and more concerned that she is on the run, they need to dive deeper into the details of her relationship with James, and they start with his closest friend, Jeff. Jeff tells them that James has tried to break up with Melanie before and that Melanie has not accepted it. Jeff says he saw the first signs of trouble

when he moved in with James and his family in 2014. Some of the red flags that Jeff noticed was the clinginess, the controllingness with James and with Melanie always having to be there, and she would get very upset if James wanted to hang out with his friends. She would guilt trip him and make him feel bad. When it's your first girlfriend, it's your first love,

you know, those red flags, you don't see them there, you know, like they say, love is blind. Jeff describes Melanie as a very volatile person, a vindictive person, and somebody who may, in fact, be the person who did this to James. Jeff had attempted to speak with James about Miss Eam, and her behaviors were not that of a normal girlfriend. Sort of tried to alert James that this may be, in fact,

a bad relationship, that he might want to distance himself. She hates me. She despises me because I'm the only one that will tell James to break up with her because I know her for what she is, and she's severely mentally unstable. And it seems jealousy was just the tip of the iceberg. Jeff alleges that less than a year before the murder, Melanie vengefully lashed out after one

of her fights with James. Jeff had a saltwater aquarium at the home worth a couple of thousand dollars. We believe that Melanie got a half of gallon of bleach, and she poured it into the fish tank. Jeff tells investigators he believed Melanie poured bleach into a rather high into the fish tank. Jeff tells investigators he believed Melanie poured bleach into a rather high-end fish tank that belonged to Jeff, killing a lot of these fish and destroying its property.

So Jeff's description of Melanie is one of quite the volatile person. And then he was able to get back to work. Jeff was very irate, very upset, so upset that he packed his stuff and moved out. Melanie showed no remorse, no regard, and just simply admitted to killing the fish, which then led to my brother and her breaking up. Despite James' attempt to end their relationship,

Melanie refused to let him go. Jeff does tell detectives that he, Melanie refused to let him go. Jeff does tell detectives that Melanie has, in the past, attempted to kind of manipulate the situation by threatening harm to herself in an attempt to maintain that relationship with James. James told me about a year ago that Melanie actually was severely upset at him one day, with James. James told me about a year ago that Melanie actually

was severely upset at him one day. And then she just all of a sudden had like a crazy like psycho look. And she grabbed a knife. And she threatened to kill herself in front of James. And James said that if he wasn't restraining her, the knife was in her hand. And he was holding her hand.

And she was threatening to literally stab herself. Apparently, from what he told me, she left the house at that point in time, and then she came back a couple hours later, and everything's back to normal. If James wasn't there, she had nobody to talk to. So she just wanted him around all the time. It was just obsession, controlling, and just toxic.

After learning she'd threatened to inflict serious self-harm over the prospect of losing James, Melanie's family tried to put some distance between the couple. Melanie took some time away from James, went up to Maryland, and stayed with family members up there. It seemed that things between James and went up to Maryland and stayed with family members up there. It seemed that things between James and Melanie were officially over. Until a social media post in August of 2016 suggested otherwise.

I was messaging James on Facebook one day and I had asked him, why your status doesn't say single, something on those lines. And he had mentioned that him and Melanie are back together. James and Melanie were just separated for a couple months. It shocked everyone. James loved her and wanted to make things work. They were only back together for about three months

prior to the murder. I hope to God if she did do this, please keep her away from me, because I'll kill her with my hand. With the troubling stories about her behavior and proof she had been at the scene the night James was stabbed, the signs point to Melanie Eam as the primary suspect. But could detectives get to her in time? I did have a thought in my head that this young

lady had already fled from the scene and she has contacts outside of the country so there was a likelihood that I would never have the opportunity to apprehend her. Coming up, police strategize a surprisingly successful ruse. Hi, Melanie. This is our call to make sure that you are okay. I'm just wondering, when should I go in for the questioning? A witness to a crime would not say, oh, are you here to question me?

That is something that a suspect would say, a suspect who knows that they're guilty. Investigators in Palm Beach, Florida are searching for 20-year-old Melanie Eam, the prime suspect in the stabbing death of 21-year-old James Berry. A statewide bolo has been issued on Melanie's vehicle, and detectives are in luck when they receive word

from their counterparts at the highway patrol. We received information from the Turnpike authorities that Melanie Eames' vehicle was caught going through a Turnpike plaza within 50 minutes of the murder. Upon viewing the information, including the photograph provided to me by the Florida Turnpike Authority, it was a priority to locate and interview Melanie.

Once they get a sense of her direction, police are able to trace her digital footprint. Investigators are able to see that her credit card is being used at gas stations and ATMs heading up northward, which would indicate a direction that's consistent with the Maryland area. I went back to the cell phone belonging to Melanie and started looking through for any contacts, names, or phone

numbers of anyone that lived up in Maryland. And I was able to find a phone number which was called by Melanie several hours before the incident. The number belongs to Melanie's cousin. And in order to keep Melanie from fleeing, Detective Oliver dials the number and leaves a vague message. I didn't want to give the cousin a clue, like she was wanted in a murder.

I didn't want them to try to hide her. I just wanted to say there was an incident that occurred here, and we need to talk to her, make sure she's safe. A few hours later, Melanie's cousin, Mangle Onk, calls back from Silver Spring, Maryland. Mangle just says that Melanie's here. and the police were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car.

And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. And then they were able to get her out of the car. authorities in Maryland requesting their assistance and going over to the residence and seeing if the white Toyota was actually there.

Less than 48 hours after the murder, officers arrive at Mongols' residence. It's the second house. You can see the back of the house from here. It's this house. The officers only say they're there for a wellness check on Melanie. Hello. How are you doing?

Is the owner of the Corolla in the home? Yeah, she's here. Okay. We're just concerned about her. We got a call from somebody back at Florida. She's just concerned about her. Officers have only been speaking with her cousin for a few minutes when Melanie emerges from the home. Hi, Melanie.

We just got a call to make sure that you are OK. Do you have any questions for us, Melanie? Um, I'm just wondering, when should I go in for the question? A witness to a crime would not say, oh, are you here to question me? That is something that a suspect would say, a suspect who knows that they're guilty. What's going on, Melanie?

I don't know. I'm scared. Okay. What are you scared about? I love you, Melanie. Okay. Thank you. Maryland police keep tabs on Melanie until the evening of November 18th, to the suspect. And that's what we're doing. We're trying to get them to know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that

we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that

we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that

we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not going to let them know that we're not Without some corrobative evidence, either an eyewitness to the murder or a confession by the suspect, it takes a lot to prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt. With the case against Melanie largely circumstantial, detectives are working towards something more concrete like a confession. I informed her that I was from Palm Beach County, Florida. I was a detective.

I just wanted to ask her some questions. Can I be provided with the lawyer's request or anything? At this point, she wasn't under arrest. The interview was being conducted in her dwelling, and she was clearly told she wasn't under arrest. Knowing the law and from my experience, I flat out told her, we just want to talk to you.

We want to hear your side of the story. At which point, several minutes later, we were able to sit down at a kitchen table, and Melanie proceeded to answer several questions regarding the incident. We need your side of the story. We have everything. Do you understand?

And this is your opportunity to give your side of the story an explanation of what happened. You don't want to come off as somebody who's a callous, cold-hearted individual. You're not known to that. You're known to be a sweet, innocent woman. So this is your opportunity right now. I've seen it all the way up and forth

and it's given me this opportunity. I know you like James, and he loved you. He was just trying to express to you. He was just trying to move on. You know what he said? No, I didn't. That's why I married him. Tell me what he said. What did he say?

He said for months that he didn't actually love me. Melanie says when she received the message from James ending their relationship, she cried for several hours before driving over to confront him. And during the drive, her sadness turned to rage. She admitted to going over there just to confront James. And during the course of being in the house with James, she was so upset when she heard that he didn't love her anymore that she reached for a knife that was inside of a drawer and went after him.

that she reached for a knife that was inside of a drawer and went after him. During the course of this interview, she mentioned that she had blood on her shirt, being James's blood, and that the shirt was still with her in her possession. So I asked her, would you mind providing me that t-shirt? She cooperated, walked downstairs the basement, we followed her, and she provided me

with the shirt she was wearing when she stabbed James. Detective Oliver elects during the statement of Miss Eam not to merandize her. The statement is taken while she is not in custody. She has entered the home of her cousin. She's not in handcuffs. I wanted to make sure I ran these facts by a state attorney from my county before I drafted a probable cause

affidavit and arrested her. So I told Melanie, I'm leaving. Thank you for your cooperation. At 8.30 the next morning, Maryland police officers returned to Mongols' house and arrested Melanie for second-degree murder. Melanie was taken to custody and later extradited out of Maryland

and brought down to Florida to face the charges. Coming up, when Melanee gets her day in court, her attorney calls foul. She asked for an attorney. In fact, she asked for an attorney three times. Each time it was denied. Will Melanee Eam get away with murder on a technicality? It becomes very much more a circumstantial case

rather than a direct evidence case. After Melanie Eam is arrested for the stabbing death of her 21-year-old boyfriend, James Berry, her defense team files a pretrial motion to have her confession thrown out. Detective Oliver makes the determination because she's not in custody, she is not entitled to her Miranda warnings,

nor is she entitled to attorney at that time. Legally, he's not compelled to cease the interview at that time because she's never taken into custody. I made that motion basing it on the fact that she asked for an attorney. In fact, she asked for an attorney three times. Each time, it was denied, so as far as I was concerned when this case started,

I wanted the confession eliminated from the trial. The confession that she provided was a pivotal piece of evidence. And if it had been suppressed, the complexity of the case certainly changes at that point. Then it becomes very much more a circumstantial case rather than a circumstantial and a direct evidence case. It takes the judge an agonizing month to make his decision.

Ultimately, both the trial court and the appellate court ruled that, no, she was not in custody at the time, that she was questioned. And therefore, detectives were not required to cease the interview or to provide an attorney under the protections of Miranda. provide an attorney under the protections of Miranda. When Melanie's trial gets underway in 2018, prosecutors lay out what they believe happened

the night of November 17, 2016. And it all started when James decided to end things with Melanie once and for all. The evidence is clear that she went to the Berry residence James decided to end things with Melanie once and for all. The evidence is clear that she went to the Berry residence that night in order to try to salvage that relationship with James. It did not go well.

It deteriorated either into rage or a fight between the two of them. And Melanie Eames snapped. She lost it and committed the act of murder against Mr. Berry. But the defense has their own strategy, shocking James's family and friends by pointing the finger at Nicola Berry's boyfriend, Guy Hand.

My job is to find reasonable doubt to the state's scenario. And Guy picked up the murder weapon from the bedroom floor, covered in blood, and he took it to the kitchen, I would assume, to be washed. It doesn't really make sense, does it? Guy Hand not only goes through the ordeal of being a witness, Guy Hand is also being accused of being the actual murderer, of being the person who stabbed his stepson. helped my scenario. I'm confused about what you want. What is your question now? Did you wash your hand

before you were questioned by the police? Yes, did you just say that? The defense even went so far as to suggest that Nicole Berry, the biological mother of James Berry, was covering up for Guy Hand, who was not James' biological father. It tortured logic. Nicola Berry, Guy Hand, and Jeff Jarzybkowski

were never charged in the murder of James Berry. However, after two days of deliberations, the jury informs the judge that they can't reach a unanimous decision on Melanie's guilt. We do require all jurors, in this case all six jurors, to come to the same verdict. Not only must all six jurors agree that she's guilty, but agree that she's guilty of the same crime.

Ultimately, they were not able to come to a unanimous decision as to the type of crime she was guilty of. The jury all agreed that Melanie had something to do with the murder. They just couldn't determine if it was first or second degree. Some of the jurors may have felt that she was guilty of a lesser included crime of manslaughter. When the jury did return and say

that they were not unanimous and that it would be a hung jury. The family is frustrated because they know that they will have to go through this again. Five months later, in September of 2018, prosecutors present the same case the second time around, with one slight adjustment to their strategy. One of the things that does change is the way prosecutors look at the case. and the court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder.

The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. The court ruled that the defendant was guilty of murder. are prepared emotionally to handle such awful questions. After her second trial, the jury did deliberate, and they returned a verdict of guilty as charged for the crime of second degree

murder with a weapon. Melanie Eam is sentenced to 50 years in prison, the maximum penalty allowed in Florida. But for James's family and friends, the nightmare endures. My mom will never be the same. Jeff is also very traumatized from the event. He'll never be the same. Not even a 50-year sentence can take away our pain.

James will be remembered as a kind-hearted soul, you know. And there needs to be more people like that. Because if there was more people like James, I promise you, there would be more as a kind-hearted soul, you know. And there needs to be more people like that. Because if there was more people like James, I promise you there would be a whole better world, less murders, less heartache out there. That was my baby brother, you know. And I feel like I failed him in a way, too,

because I wasn't there to protect him. And I want people to remember James as a perfect son, as a perfect individual, because he truly was. I will help continue to carry on his legacy. He still is impacting many lives on a daily basis. His story truly has impacted a lot of people. Melanie Eam is currently housed at the Florida Women's Reception Center in Ocala, Florida. She is scheduled to be released on March 30th, 2065. She'll be 68

years old. Alexandra Barry has started a Facebook support group called Siblings of Murdered Siblings, which now has over 1,400 members. which now has over 1,400 members. Nancy's love story could have been ripped right out of the pages of one of her own novels. She was a romance mystery writer who happens to be married to a chef. But this story didn't end with a happily ever after. When I stepped into the kitchen, I could see that Chef Brophy was on the ground and I heard somebody say, call 911. As writers, we'd written our share of murder mysteries.

So when suspicion turned to Dan's wife, Nancy, we weren't that surprised. The first person they look at would be the spouse. We understand that's usually the way they do it. But we began to wonder, had Nancy gotten so wrapped up in her own novels... There are murders in all of the books. ...that she was playing them out in real life? Follow Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus.