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1 on Apple Podcasts and will soon beadapted by Blumhouse Television into a limited series starring Renee Zellweger.
The series, produced byDatelineand NBC News in partnership with Neon Hum, debuts February 16 with two episodes.
(Check out the trailerhere.)
It needs a strong character who people are amazed by and want to hear more about.
And also things that happen that you wouldnt think could possibly happen.
Is it just coincidental that the two podcasts youve done so far have centered around crimes perpetrated by women?
[Laughs] It is, totally.
Shed always been a religious woman.
Were still investigating just how many bodies that may be.
To your point, investigations are still pending, so her story really isnt finished.
[Vallows trial for misdemeanor charges isslated for August 30.]
You dont have to see them carted off to prison.
It sounds so cold.
Its a weird thing.
Can I back up for just a second?
I didnt want to do it.
But I wasnt sure it was a good thing for us to do, necessarily.
To dive deeply into a criminal matter that a person has been involved in.
If they want their privacy, we give them their privacy.
But we find more often than not, theyre happy to do so.
That its cathartic for them.
That its a way to honor and celebrate the life that was lost.
How were all strange little ducks inside somewhere.
Ive learned lots of things about the justice system I wasnt aware of.
You just celebrated your 25th year withDateline.
I was fascinated by the study that came out years ago on this very question.
So would you say youre in between a college student and a detective?
[Laughs] Im probably the worst of those.
It was a case the Innocence Project took up and never got the result they were hoping for.
The case involved a man named Billy Wayne Cope, who lived in a small town in South Carolina.
His daughter was murdered and sexually assaulted one night, and Billy Wayne had been in the house.
He called 911, and they decided he mustve done it.
And though he denied it endlessly 666 times, his attorney would later say he eventually caved.
He was not a terribly bright man, but he was a very sweet fellow.
He was charged with the murder.
I mean, he left DNA in both of those people.
And so it was a total bogus case and he was convicted, sent away for life.
So its a very, very sad story, but one that I cant shake.
I think about it a lot.
Ive always been a fan of Dr. Seuss.
A persons a person, no matter how small and is entitled to equal justice under the law.
