Woman lying on a bed with a plastic bag over her headWhat happened?

Investigation Day 1

Friday night, a man called 911 after he and his stepdaughter found his wife dead in their home. Initial indications at the scene suggested a possible suicide.

After the detectives examined the master bedroom where the body was, they sat down with George O'Connor to find out more about how he came to find his wife's body.

Investigation Day 2

While investigators worked to learn more about the late Veronica Smith, the Oxford Weekly Planet broke the news to the community.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy talked with Veronica's daughter, Haley, about her life with her mom and the events of the last 24 hours.

Later on, Veronica's sister, Liz, drove up to meet with the detectives.

Investigation Day 3

CSU sent over a preliminary list of evidence collected from the scene along with some photos.

That afternoon, investigators wrapped up their canvass of nearby residents of the Smith/O'Connor neighborhood.

Following up on what they heard from Veronica's husband and sister, investigators spoke to people who'd spent time with them the night Veronica died.

Investigation Day 4

The next day, the detectives went to the Yoknapatawpha Gastroenterology Center to talk to Veronica's co-workers. First, they sat down with Dr. Hilton Burns, one of the partners.

Next, they met with the other partner, Dr. James Mendoza.

After speaking with the partners, the detectives talked to the other employees at Veronica's practice.

Meanwhile, investigators talked to Veronica's friends to find out more about where Veronica was the evening she died and what her mood was like.

Investigation Day 5

The next morning, the detectives met with Veronica's brother-in-law and former boyfriend, Dr. Michael O'Connor.

Before their next interview, Detectives Armstrong and Murphy reviewed Veronica's cell phone records and a map of locations relevant to the investigation.

A little later, Will Sands, a longtime friend of the department, came in to tell the detectives about his interactions with Veronica the evening she died.

Meanwhile, investigators followed up on the conversations with Veronica's partners to verify where Dr. Burns and Dr. Mendoza were the night Veronica died.

Investigation Day 6

Investigators also looked into where Dr. O'Connor was the night his sister-in-law died.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy met with Veronica's attorney to find out more about the malpractice lawsuit.

Later, they talked to Veronica's ex-husband, Wallace Smith by video chat.

That afternoon, they went over to the hospital to talk to people there who'd worked with Veronica, and they met a doctor who seemed to have some inside knowledge.

Then they went back to the sheriff's department for a formal interview with an assistant administrator from the hospital.

Investigation Day 7

The next morning, the detectives asked the hospital's head surgical nurse to come in to talk about her working relationship with Dr. Smith.

After the detectives talked to Ruthie Foreman, investigators went to the hospital to speak to her co-workers about her and her activities the night Veronica Smith died.

Meanwhile, other investigators reviewed the harassing text messages Veronica had been receiving.

Detectives in New York spoke to Wallace Smith's neighbors about his whereabouts the night Veronica died.

Back in Yoknapatawpha county, investigators went back and talked to Veronica's neighbors again in light of new information.

Investigation Day 8

The detectives started the morning talking to Kenneth Lemmons' attorney since they'd been unable to reach Mr. Lemmons himself.

Then they reviewed the incident report from Veronica's 911 call reporting that her tires had been slashed.

That afternoon, Mr. Lemmons agreed to come in and talk about his lawsuit against Veronica.

After Mr. Lemmons left, the detectives located a copy of his wife's obituary.

Investigation Day 9

The next morning, they met with Dwight Kramer's wife to find out more about his activities the night Veronica died.

Later, investigators tried to determine whether any employees at the Malco theater had seen Kenneth Lemmons the night Veronica died.

Investigation Day 10

First thing in the morning, the detectives talked to the man who towed Veronica's car and repaired the tires.

When they finished, the detectives learned that the crime lab had sent over a summary of some of their preliminary findings from the scene.

They also reviewed a map that other YCSD investigators had created showing where that prepaid cell phone was each time it sent a text message to Veronica.

In light of what they'd learned so far about the harassing text messages, the detectives asked CSU to take another look at the exterior of the Smith residence.

After lunch, the coroner filed a summary report of their autopsy findings, which prompted Detectives Armstrong and Murphy to meet with a fellow detective to learn more about one item of particular interest in that report.

Later, the detectives talked to Veronica's brother-in-law again to find out what he knew about that same question.

Investigation Day 11

The next morning, the detectives asked Veronica's husband to clarify some things they've learned during the investigation.

While they were waiting for their next interviewee to arrive, the detectives looked over the purchase information and usage details for that prepaid cell phone.

Then as Billy Lee arrived at the sheriff's department to talk to the detectives again, other investigators were at Billee's Auto Service to speak to his employees.

That afternoon, the detectives had Dwight Kramer come in again to find out whether the hospital could have any connection to the unexpected finding in Veronica's autopsy.

Next, the detectives intended to speak with Kenneth Lemmons but ended up talking to his attorney instead.

Investigation Day 12

The detectives spent the first part of the day obtaining several search warrants, the first of which they executed that afternoon.

Investigation Day 13

The next day, the detectives split up to search two locations at the same time.

Investigation Day 14

After conducting another search, the detectives reviewed a report from Patrol on some light surveillance they'd requested.

Investigation Day 15

After seeing Patrol's report, the detectives searched the subject's residence.

Meanwhile, the local media reported on unrelated arrests involving a substance of interest.

Investigation Day 16

The next day, the detectives executed the remaining two search warrants they'd gotten.

While the detectives were searching, other YCSD investigators put together a summary of alibi statuses and a timeline of Veronica's last day.

Investigation Day 17

While they were waiting for the forensics on the evidence from the searches, the detectives sat down again with a person of interest to try to clear up some questions about their actions.

Investigation Day 18

After reviewing the crime lab's preliminary findings on the search evidence, the detectives knew what they had to do.

They made an arrest that same day.

Investigation Day 19

The next afternoon, the detectives talked to the suspect in custody while the local media broke the news of the arrest to the public.


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