in this situation, a suspect will often say something incriminating. [ sobbing ] in this case, she said something else. [ sobbing ] oh, god, help me. help me to explain to him. you know i didn t do it. what major overbey had hoped to happen, i think, worked against him. i think he was in hopes that she was going to say something to hurt herself incriminate herself. and what she did, she reached out to god and started begging for help to give her the strength to endure that hostile interview. the defense claimed that the fire was accidental, that jim long mistakenly filled the hot
in a panic, jean said she ran from the workshop into their home to call the fire department. at the fire scene, investigators found the remnants of the kerosene heater. but the plastic fuel can was found outside the workshop door in perfect condition, inconsistent with jean s story. and major mike overbey believed that the position of jim s body was inconsistent with most fire victims. it appeared his legs were outstretched and his arms were above his head. it appeared to me the way someone would be positioned if they had been dragged into a particular spot or carried. that was the first thing that i noticed. that they were not in a fetal-type position that you see in fires. in addition, overbey found visual evidence of pour patterns
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especially in concrete, when an accelerant such as gasoline is poured on something. you know what i mean? jean also said she called the fire department from a phone in the house, but investigators found the outside door was locked. if jean locked it on her way out, police saw this as evidence that she was in no hurry to save her husband. her husband is on fire, burning in this building. she runs outside, but she locks the door behind her. see, to me, that s very important. you think the jury s going to buy this? i can tell you right now, they won t. major overbey asked jean to take a polygraph test, and she agreed. she was asked point-blank if she poured her husband with gasoline, set him on fire. she failed that question. she failed if she was present when he was murdered. investigators discovered that
jim was angry with his wife for spending so much time in kansas each year visiting relatives. there were also rumors that jim may have been planning to leave jean. major overbey believes on the night of the fire, the couple may have been discussing a divorce, which prompted an argument. it s our theory that there s a domestic situation between mr. long and his wife. i believe that the abrasion on her chin came from him possibly slapping her. and his skull fractures, i believe, was a result of her striking him in the head with some hard object. overbey believes jean poured an accelerant on jim, set him on fire, then, inadvertently carried the fuel can out of the workshop when she left to call for help. i felt like it was a strong