coming up, as the trial begins, the prosecution makes a surprise announcement. it s a bombshell in the case. when death and the dentist continues. to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we re paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we ve established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf s wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i m glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i m still here and so is bp.
jennifer s fingerprints were not found on the gun. whenever i try a criminal case and we ask the officers on the stand, did you fingerprint the gun, the inevitable response is how difficult it is to raise fingerprints from a firearm. why no gunpowder on jennifer s hands? with regard to gunshot residue, it is incredibly unreliable, particularly where there is a thick tuft of hair. as for the bullet angle, the prosecution argued would be nearly impossible in a suicide, the defense said it was possible and in fact found another case involving a self-inflicted wound that was nearly identical. and while the prosecution argued cell phone records placed bart near his home around 2:00 a.m. when jennifer died, the defense said those records don t prove anything because no one really knows the exact time of death. they don t know when jennifer corbin died, and that was an interesting aspect of our case.
protect himself. and he knew i had guns, asked me if i had one, and i had gotten one a while back, traded it for a used lawnmower, and i just told him he could have it. so he came down here and got it. you ve now tied that gun to bart corbin. we put it directly in his hands on november the 30th, 2004. how big is that? it s a bombshell in the case. and i went up and told the defense attorneys and at that point, i don t think i could have told them anything worse. i think stunned amazement was the reaction i got. it was pretty devastating coming as late as it did. it sort of dispels all of the scientific consistent with suicide and homicide stuff. jennifer s mother was in the courtroom and could tell something happened, but prosecutor danny porter wouldn t say a word. so i go to lunch, and on my way back in from lunch i m coming up the escalator and danny s standing in the hall. and i said, what s going on? and he said, i can t talk about it. i can t tell you anything.
yeah, hi, i m sorry. this is jennifer corbin. i called there a few minutes ago about my husband taking off with some of my possessions and he s probably going to take them and use them as evidence against me. we re in the process of going through a divorce. what s more, the prosecutor had not directly tied bart corbin to the gun used in his wife s death, a major weakness in the case against him. all of which the defense contended added up to reasonable doubt for a jury. as the trial approached, jennifer s family braced for the possibility her reputation would be tarnished in the courtroom. but they said they weren t concerned about the e-mails. she was exceptionally lonely. she just wanted a friend. somebody. and she had had a marriage that was void for years. he was having an affair. she just was dying for some companionship, and she found someone that listened to her. and somehow it gave her comfort.
that would be critical to the case. but a weapons check could only trace it to a gun dealer in alabama way back in 1957, years before bart was born. the d.a. did know bart had a friend in troy, alabama, named richard wilson. so i dispatched investigators to alabama for the first time on december the 15th of 2004 to talk to richard wilson in troy, alabama. he initially says that the only thing he knows is that he had talked to bart and learned that jennifer had died. and he tells us he doesn t know anything about a gun. investigators also used bart s cell phone records to map his movements on that fatal night. bart said he was at his brother s house around 2:00 a.m., jennifer s estimated time of death. but cell phone records put him right near the house where jennifer died.