as though he meant to be there with his car in gear, his emergency brake on, and casually dressed in flip-flops. sounds like he was there to meet someone. that was the only thing that really made sense to us. josh mankiewicz: but who? the detective hope russell douglas widow, brenna douglas, might shed some light on that. but that night, when he told her the father of her two children had been murdered, the detective says he got a strange feeling. i never try to judge how people are going to react when i tell them things. but her response wasn t what i expected. as in not emotional enough? she wasn t shocked, at least not visually shocked. it was a bit matter of fact. and that did leave us, at least, wondering when we walked out of the house, yes. josh mankiewicz: and so brenna douglas, as the wives of murdered men often do, became a person of interest. the domestic situation seemed unsettled. they were separated.
hire a lawyer. one of the detectives seemed a little strong armed. and i said, you know, you also need to get an attorney for all of your business affairs. let me see if i can find somebody for you. josh mankiewicz: the financial picture for brenna and the children was murky. russell and brenna had filed for bankruptcy a few years earlier. and though brenna owned her own hair salon in this upscale shopping center, russell had handled the business end of things. if there was a bright spot during those dismal days, it was that russell douglas did have some life insurance. i think, when it comes down to it, he had a total of three life insurance policies each one a couple hundred thousand dollars, i want to say. josh mankiewicz: in fact, the face value of those policies was more than half a million dollars. that money would come in handy, particularly since brenna was under pressure to buy the house she d been renting from a woman who used to work at her hair salon.
detectives they say those themes come up all the time. all the time. any of that seem to fit? we did find that russell had several hundred thousand dollars in life insurance on him. obviously, like you said, money is a motive. love is a motive. pride is a motive. josh mankiewicz: for the detective, those factors seemed to point in the direction of russell s wife, brenna douglas. not only had she been cheated on and publicly humiliated by russell, but she was the main beneficiary of three life insurance policies he d taken out on himself. the problem was, brenna s alibi was solid. there were plenty of people who could confirm that they had been with her at the time russell douglas was killed. the detective knew he needed a break. and in july 2004, exactly seven months to the day after the murder of russell douglas, he got one. i was actually out canvassing and interviewing again.
and i m thinking, so, is this another drama filled call from brenna that they had another argument or something? and what bob had done is just repeated the words that brenna had given him, was that russell had been killed. and then all i could do is just go sit down and just sit there for a while. josh mankiewicz: russell s sister, holly, got the same call from russell s wife. she instantly assumed russell s personal troubles were to blame. my first thought was that he probably committed suicide. so i was in shock, and then realized i needed to get over to the island for brenna and the kids. josh mankiewicz: an alaskan bush pilot delivered the news in person to russell s father, jim who was in the wilderness hunting and unreachable by phone. he said, your son s dead. and i had to say, of course, which one? and, russell and i mean, he didn t know a whole lot about anything other than he knew it was important to get me out of there. josh mankiewicz: russell s brother,
the tipster who had led them to florida was something other than a crackpot with an axe to grind. when we first landed in florida, we met with bill hill. confirmed the story. we wanted to meet him face-to-face, obviously. what was his mood? he was a bit nervous. i think he was still in that mode where he knew he was turning in his best friend. josh mankiewicz: once again, bill hill told the detectives what he knew that his best friend, jim huden, had told him he d killed a man in whidbey island. and that huden s girlfriend, peggy thomas, had helped set up the whole thing with the knowledge of the victim s wife. it was a compelling story, but with no murder weapon or any other physical evidence connecting him to the murder of russell douglas. the detectives were no closer to being able to make an arrest. the next day we decide we have no cards other than to just go talk to jim huden. and see what he ll say to us.