Duty, Death, Dishonor

A Soldier Returns From War And Vanishes

(CBS) 
Prosecutors open their case forcefully, giving graphic details of the killing. But when Woodcoff takes the stand, he can’t say he actually witnessed Martinez do the stabbing.

"I saw Mr. Martinez kneeling or squatting and swinging," Woodcoff testifies. Asked if there was a human down there, he tells the court, "I did not see one. The grass is very tall."

Prosecutors are now completely dependent on Burgoyne's testimony.

Asked by Prosecutor Jackson what happened after Davis fell to the ground, Burgoyne testifies: "Navarette was talking to Martinez saying, 'You can't do it. You can't do it.' And I was looking at Davis. And I saw his shirt torn with a little hole in the side. And there was some blood on there. And I looked at Martinez. And I knew he just had the knife in his hand."

Meanwhile, the defense buys none of Burgoyne's story. Martinez' attorney Bob Wadkins tries to convince the jury that the prosecution's star witness, Jacob Burgoyne, is the real killer.

Confronted by the defense attorney, Burgoyne maintains he did not stab or kill Richard. "I was mad at him but I didn't have no knife or anything to stab him with," he testifies.

Burgoyne holds his own on the stand and he doesn’t let anyone off the hook. "I know who the killer is, I know who is involved, I know my part in it, I'm just as guilty. I'm guilty just like everyone up here is guilty. Everyone here is guilty," he testifies.

Once the prosecution rests, Navarette unexpectedly takes the stand in his own defense and immediately regrets it.

"On that night while only a few feet from where Davis was stabbed 33 times, you want this jury to believe you didn't see who stabbed Davis?" Jackson asks.

"I did not see or hear anything. Because I was in the car crying like a little girl, and I didn't see what was going on," Navarette responds on the stand.

Martinez never utters a word, and the case goes to the jury.

After only two and a half hours, the jurors return with their verdicts, finding Martinez and Navarette guilty of murdering Richard Davis. The two men are sentenced to life in prison immediately.

But Richard's parents’ ordeal isn’t over yet. Three days later, they are back in court for the sentencing of Burgoyne, who had already pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Lanny wasn't allowed to address the court when Martinez and Navarette were sentenced. But now, he finally gets his chance.

Facing Burgoyne, Lanny says on the stand: "I wanna look at his face. You murdered my son. I don't forgive you. You're nothing but a cold blooded, dirty murderer. The Lord himself doesn't forgive people like you. Whatever demon you worship won't forgive you. There's not a name in this world that's bad enough for you. If I had my way, you wouldn't be sitting here right now. You're lucky I can't get my hands on you."

Under the terms of Burgoyne's plea deal, the judge has the right to give him the maximum sentence, which he does: 20 years in prison.

The ordeal devastates Burgoyne's mother, Billie Urban. "I wish I could bring back their son. It's just changed everybody's lives, you know? We won't forget it," she says.

The following week, Woodcoff pleads guilty to concealing a death and is sentenced to five years of probation.