If he had wanted to go after that girl, he could have made stuff up, trumped up reports, and hidden the Rastegar tape. And he knew she was hiding something, he said. It was Lord. Her father, who lived in Californiahe and Lords mother had divorced when she was a childflew in to be with her. Who cares? He actually turned to Lord and said, I know you didnt do it. He turned back to the jury and continued, But thats not the issue in this trial. His voice got even softer. He asked her why, after finding Burnside on the floor, she had first called Jaffe but then waited seven minutes before calling 911. Raised in Ohio, Thompson spent five years in the Army, earning the rank of captain and commanding a military police unit in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. A citizen filing a lawsuit for false arrest must prove that the officer acted with malice, which is difficult to do. That she didnt mean to do it.. But Detective Dwayne Thompson. She claimed that Thompson show a reckless disregard for her rights in having Plaintiff arrested in 2010 for the shooting death of her . But after her arrest, Lord read The Count of Monte Cristo, the Alexandre Dumas novel about a wrongfully imprisoned man who seeks revenge against those responsible for his imprisonment, and she memorized one of the books famous lines: May the god of vengeance now permit me to punish the wicked! That was her goal, she said. He was wearing a T-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals. She told her parents that Thompson had brutalized her. When Thompson asked why he didnt immediately tell that story to the police, Rastegar replied that the uniformed officers who first arrived at the scene had rudely ordered him to go back to his home before he had a chance to say anything. Lord could hardly look at him. She wanted to know why they were there. Hephzibah Olivia Lord, age 36, sued Dallas homicide detective Dwayne Thompson on civil rights violation theories under 42 U.S.C. Your email address will not be published. Another detective, Dwayne Thompson, charged into the interrogation room. And, yes, she said, she had grown irritated when she heard Burnside and Jaffe talking about the birthday party. She grew up in the Dallas area and after graduating from high school, she went straight to work, leasing apartments for a large real estate company and later selling cosmetics at Neiman Marcus in NorthPark Center. Play Trailer 0:21. As Lord hugged Tittle and members of her family, Thompson stood at the defense table, his mouth open. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire. Was it possible that he thought he was about to lose the woman he loved?. Videos 1. You fing shot him! he bellowed, nearly coming out of his chair. Thompson misrepresented any of the facts that were provided by Witness Rastegar and that there were no signs of a criminal offense. Indeed, the report continued, Thompson did have probable cause to arrest Suspect Lord.. He then asked them to ride down to Dallas police headquarters in separate squad cars to give their statements. As Tatia Wilson, one of the City of Dallas attorneys representing Thompson, explained to the jury in her opening statement, Sometimes homicide detectives may make mistakes in their evaluation of the evidence. Seven minutes is a long time, Thompson told her several times on the video. But Lords attorney, Don Tittle, said the detective was wrong that police records show she called 911 immediately after trying to reach the friend. Burnsides parents say that they still cannot believe that their son took his own life. According to Thompson, Rastegar said he had been in bed during the early morning hours of May 9 when he heard screaming in Burnsides front yard. He often said that victimology was the most overlooked part of a homicide investigation even though it could help explain whether a suspect was guilty or innocent. | Store Who do you fing think you are?. What do you guys think? I loved my boyfriend.. Or maybe in the midst of the argument, Burnside had pulled the Beretta out of the kitchen drawer for a second time, handed it to Lord, and said, in an effort to be dramatic, If you hate me so much, then just shoot me. And she did. Description: Hephzibah Olivia Lord, age 36, sued Dallas homicide detective Dwayne Thompson on civil rights violation theories under 42 U.S.C. She had told Jaffe she had driven past Burnsides house before leaving and had seen crime scene investigation vehicles parked outside. Im still going to suffer for the rest of my life for this, she said. Shearin ordered Lords cellphone records and received more good news: there was no seven-minute gap in her calls. And even if he took a shortcut or two, he adds, he didnt hide or invent evidence. February 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Add a bio, trivia, and more. His blood must have dripped off her clothes. But Detective Dwayne Thompson testified Tuesday that nothing he has heard since his civil trial began last week has changed his opinion that Lord intentionally killed Burnside. Thats the exact type of case that might have been portrayed on The First 48, right? Tittle asked. John said that was impossibleJaffe would have never betrayed Michael. He also said he had seen Burnside act recklessly with a gun only two or three times over the past fifteen years. He can go so far as to lie to a suspect to try to obtain a confession. At the end of the interrogation, he had discarded her like trash.. I want him brought down.. Not only that, Sanders also pointed out Thompsons failure to read Ms. Lord her Miranda rights including specifically her right to remain silent after it was clear that Thompson considered Lord to be a suspect in a crime. The arrest was based upon Thompsons affidavit. I wasnt going to leave him, she said, her voice breaking. Hed been as tall as Thompson, with a lean, athletic build. Five years later, Lord clearly remains tormented by that conversation, haunted by the idea that she might have said something that pushed her boyfriend into committing an impulsive act that no one could have imagined him doing. At the least, she said, she wanted to make sure his actions were publicly documented so that he could never do to someone else what he had done to her. W.D. And Im a person who thinks your behavior tonight doesnt add up. He pointed his finger at her. Join Facebook to connect with Dwayne Thompson and others you may know. He insisted that what Rastegar told him in the homicide office was the same and consistent with what he said out on the porch. And its going to come out.. She liked pampering him, waiting on him hand and foot so that he could focus on building his company. Tittle then asked about Rastegar. . Thompson left the room, walked down the hall, and opened the door to another interview room. The Reid method has been challenged as being primed for pushing people to give false confessions and many argue that it should not be used by law enforcement agencies. Lundberg then brought up the trajectory of the bullet through Burnsides brain. He stabbed the photo of the victim with his index finger. Believe me, she adored Michael with all of her heart. Or he mistakenly pulled the trigger thinking the Beretta was unloaded., Jaffe shook his head. Dressed in one of his dark suits, Thompson strode toward his seat. In August, three months after the shooting, Shearin requested an examining trial, a legal procedure in which a police officer must appear in a magistrates court to lay out the probable cause for the arrest of a suspect in a felony case. He said that Michael had called earlier in the week, telling his mother, Cindi, that he was looking forward to coming over to their home for lunch on May 9, which was Mothers Day. Basically she said, I know the kind of stuff that goes on in Vegas, Jaffe told Thompson. Sometimes he would think [a gun] was unloaded and he would swing it around, you know, not trying to hurt anybody, just being stupid. He asked Thompson if he had told one of Burnsides friends that this was the case of a lifetimethe kind of case that could make him famous. See full summary . Tittle maintains that Thompson never considered the idea that Burnside may have accidentally shot himself, despite evidence that he was drunk at the time and had a history of being reckless with firearms. City attorneys are defending him, saying he acted in good faith and without malice. You said he was upset and he hollers and starts getting destructive, and the thing is, you said he gets scary. A Dallas County grand jury declined to indict Hephzibah Olivia Lord on a murder charge in connection with the 2010 death of Michael Burnside in his home. And if the young man had shot himself, wouldnt the gun have landed closer to his body? Yes. Shearin questioned Lord about the drops of blood around the house. By the end of the interview, Thompson had returned from his lecture and walked into the room. Thompson sat in another chair and asked about Burnside. Toward the end of the year, he finally saw the video recording of Rastegars interview at police headquarters. But when she realized how serious his injury wasI think I saw a spot on his head, she saidshe called 911 several times. Edit. Thats what you did! he told a stunned and confused Lord, who protested her innocence. She glanced around the dining room. Im trying to figure out how to move on with my life, she said recently, sitting at a back table at an Italian restaurant in North Dallas. Were missing something, he said to her. | Privacy Statement. You shot him!, Olivia, youre not telling me the truth., Youre arguing about a goddamn birthday party, and he says, Im so upset about the goddamn birthday party that Im going to kill myself? Thompson said, his voice growing louder. The detective was 47 years old and built like a linebacker at six feet two inches and 230 pounds. Can you possibly understand how I feel?. I dont work cases for the sexiness of them, Thompson snapped. He asked her again about what she was doing during that seven-minute gap between phone calls in the house that night. I wasnt going to leave him. But Lord insisted he had a good heart. The officer looked at the notes he had jotted down. Maybe he got dramatic and put the gun to his own head and said to Olivia, To hell with all this, Im just going to end it now. And then, accidentally, he pulled the trigger. Reddit - Dive into anything. Lord glanced at Thompson and he glanced back. Lord was accused of murder countless times, and she always denied it. By that time, Lord was working as a loan officer, and although they were both romantically involved with other people, they were clearly attracted to each other. You were very disappointed. Jaffe called Thompson back the next day and said that he had reached Lord. Anonymous A 9mm Beretta was also on the floor about five feet from where Burnsides body had been. And in Cleveland, an argument among friends spins out of control when one of them makes a deadly decision. Ive talked to her many, many times, and if she is lying about what happened, shes a hell of an actress, said one friend, Eric Love. In his lectures, he often told other officers that to find out why a killing had taken place, it was as important to study the life of the victimvictimology, he called itas it was to study the behavior of the criminal. However, the police may or may not let the person know about this right (remember the experts concerns that Thompson had not told Lord about her right to a lawyer). You think they are going to accept this bullshit you are giving me?, For the next hour, Thompson continued to berate Lord, trying to get her to crack. Lord hired Don Tittle, a high-profile Dallas lawyer who specializes in civil rights litigation, to file a lawsuit against Thompson, which he did in late 2011. Testimony continues Friday, during which Lord may take the witness stand. 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