for gun magazines. has even trained police swat teams. but has no criminal record. and, insisted browne, he isn t a murderer. still, he must have done something to mark stover, didn t he? well, here s where it all began to get tricky. if stover was really dead, said john henry browne, and if the prosecution could prove oakes killed him, then and only then, oakes might provide an explanation. through the legal fog, a little hint came popping out. the prosecution had already indicated it would introduce into evidence a bulletproof vest found in michael oakes suv. now, attorney browne seemed to be suggesting that vest would be important to any claim the defense might decide to make. and just to make things clear, your honor, it s not just the vest. it s a bullet that was found in the vest. keith morrison: coming up, very different
[ bleep ] hits the fan in the next 24 to 48 hours, they have my name. there s a 50-50 shot of getting questioned. if he gets questioned he s guaranteed a trial and if he gets a trial there is no one that s gonna stick up for him and he s pretty much going to prison and he said looking at felony 10 to 15 years. reporter: so big trouble, he told jennifer. there was evasive action to take, work to be done. he was really concerned about getting pulled over with the things in his vehicle. um, he wanted to get them home and get them sterilized. and he said if anyone sees this now, i m going in right away. going in, meaning he would be arrested right away he felt? right. reporter: and if all that wasn t incriminating enough, here was the capper. jennifer told police the story of how their marriage fell apart. it happened in spring of 2008, said jennifer. then-husband michiel told her about a phone call from someone named john.
are baseless and unfair. mark stover was a domestic violence terrorist. john henry browne closed with a powerful recitation of his theme, that mark stover was the bad guy. but even so, he said, oakes didn t want or plan to kill him. you don t premeditate up just to the point of shooting somebody. you premeditate the entire scenario. and what happened after this tragic event is absurd. he has absolutely no plan. none. and if there s no plan afterwards, i think it leads you to the conclusion that there was no plan beforehand. keith morrison: really? here was the prosecutor s closing. i will say this. the more charitable view of motive would be that miss opdycke and mr. oakes, perhaps they really did fear for their safety for some reason.
as the prosecution put on its case against michiel oakes, rolled out chapter and verse of the evidence pointing to oakes as the murderer of dog whisperer mark stover, browne said practically nothing. why? strategy, said john henry browne. we put them through the task of putting on a lot of evidence. and it was just kind of boring them. and so we wanted to be the people who brought light into this case. keith morrison: so what was the light in this case, the secret twist? the evidence shows and demonstrates beyond any shadow of a doubt for any reasonable person that mark stover was a domestic violence terrorist. keith morrison: terrorist? the villain was not his client, michiel oakes, said browne, but the victim, mark stover. remember, mark s friends and clients had nothing but good
if they hired me, i wouldn t be wearing my timex. ok? you know, that s ridiculous. keith morrison: john henry browne settled into a local hotel and set to work, deconstructing the prevailing public view of defendant, michael oakes. keith morrison: here in court, browne sucked up the attention. john henry browne: and i would suggest counsel come to trial and she ll find out. keith morrison: naturally flamboyant. john henry browne: i don t think i have a dog in this fight. keith morrison: while the client seemed to disappear into the woodwork behind him. a client who, said john henry browne, was not at all the villain the prosecution seemed determined to portray. john henry browne: what we have is a man who, has on his own, raised very successfully four children. keith morrison: it became, shall we say, a theme. michael oakes, single father of four, grandfather of one. well-spoken, mild mannered, but certainly not any ordinary salesman or consultant. oakes, browne admitted, is a recogniz