If You Only Knew by M. William Phelps

Author:M. William Phelps [Phelps, M. W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 54

THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER OF 2001 motions were filed and dates assigned as lawyers on both sides argued the legalities of each case. By August 1, 2001, Billie Jean’s trial date had been set for October 29, a decision that set off a litany of court filings by the state and her attorneys.

As Vonlee sat in jail and thought about her future and how a first-degree murder conviction might land her in prison for the rest of her life, she considered that maybe it was time to play “let’s make a deal.” Why not? Vonlee had felt, all along, that she’d had nothing to do with Don’s death—if anything, she had tried to stop her aunt from killing him. Yes, Vonlee knew, she had shared in the cover-up afterward, but she was not a murderer. And as she thought about her aunt, spoke to family members back home in Tennessee, Vonlee believed Billie Jean had set out from the moment she showed up at the Waffle House to manipulate her into helping to kill Don.

With Billie Jean’s trial date set, Vonlee decided to enter into plea-bargaining negotiations.

“They want you to prove that you had nothing to do with the murder,” Vonlee’s attorney explained after speaking with the prosecutor’s office. The thought was that the state had zilch against Billie Jean without Vonlee’s testimony. Billie Jean was going to walk if Vonlee wasn’t a state’s witness testifying against her.

“How?” Vonlee wanted to know.

“Lie detector test.”

Vonlee and her attorney, Richard Lustig, met with Don Zimmerman and a polygraph specialist at the John Nichols Law Enforcement Complex, where the examination was set to take place. The test was going to be based on what was an “official statement” Vonlee would subsequently make to the prosecutor’s office, or the PO. This was common practice. After she gave a statement of the facts, the lie detector test would determine the “veracity,” a report claimed, of Vonlee’s involvement in the death of Don Rogers based on that statement she had given. The test would, effectively, tell the PO if Vonlee was going to be a good witness. Putting a liar on the stand, someone who had taken part in a murder, was not a good idea for any prosecution. It would backfire. Accusations would be tossed at Vonlee and she’d crack. But, if she was telling the truth and had nothing whatsoever to do with Don’s murder, placing the onus on Billie Jean as the mastermind and sole offender, Vonlee would be a strong witness in the end. She would presumably make the state’s case against Billie Jean Rogers.

The deal Richard Lustig brokered was for the first-degree murder charge to be dropped to manslaughter. Vonlee had reached a plea bargain with the PO that involved her spending “seven to fifteen years” (the actual number would be up to a judge) behind bars for manslaughter, providing she testified truthfully against Billie Jean after passing a lie detector test. For Vonlee, this seemed fair because she did feel as though she had taken part in the cover-up.

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