Justice Delayed, Justice Denied

Episode # 23 - Bronwyn Richards

Hook 1

[Shaun] 

14-year-old Dion awoke to the loud sound of banging in the early morning hours of April 16th, 2010. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he heard his mom Bronwyn Richards screaming. Panicked, Dion called 9-1-1 and told them his dad was hitting his mom.

[John] 

Dion's older sister heard the banging and arguing too, but thought the house was being broken into. She climbed out a window and ran to her uncle’s nearby house for help.

North Las Vegas Police arrived quickly and discovered Bronwyn had been horrifically beaten. She was transported to UMC, but she didn't make it.

[Shaun] 

Hi and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence. I’m your host, Shaun, and with me as always, is the one and only John.

[John] 

I am the only John in the room.

[Shaun] 

When you conjure up the image of a “great person” in your mind, you probably think of someone who is civic-minded, kind, community-involved, maybe heavily involved with her church, invested in her children’s lives, and so on.  

Bronwyn Antoinette Greene Richards was all of these things and more. She was born in Pine Bluff Arkansas on July 10th, 1963 but grew up in Chicago.  

Her father was Hubert Smith Jr, born in 1936, who worked as a correctional officer in Cook County Illinois, and her mother was named Bettye Mosley Smith. She died just two years after Bronwyn’s murder, in 2012, heartbroken after losing her only daughter. 

Bronwyn’s mother was elderly and wheelchair-bound, and you won't be shocked to learn that Bronwyn was her caretaker. 

Bronwyn was an only child and graduated from Thornwood High School in 1981.

She went on to get her bachelor's degree from Virginia State University in 1986, and then her master's degree from Lesley University in 2004.

[John] 

In college, she became a member of the Delta Sigma Theta.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is a historically African-American Greek organization with a great heritage of service within the African American community. It was founded by a group of college-educated women on January 13, 1913, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

This sorority has a rich history of dedication to public service, particularly aimed at giving back to the African American community. The founding twenty-two women set a precedent for open membership, welcoming all women, regardless of their religion, race, or nationality. 

Just like Bronwyn, Delta Sigma Theta embodies a spirit of inclusivity and community service.

Bronwyn was also active in her church and was a member of the “Order of the Eastern Star” which is a charitable group associated with the Masons. This particular group is an “auxiliary group” associated with a masonic subgroup.

[Shaun]

She was also a member of the Daughters of Isis, which is now known as the “Daughters of the Imperial Court”. This one is an auxiliary organization to one of the Shriners Fraternal Orders. These two organizations are associated with the Shriners and the Masons, which are fraternal organizations that only admit men.

We also learned that you can only be a Shriner if you’re a master mason first.

I wanted to share one of the memories of Bronwyn that was shared on the National Coalition to End Domestic Violence’s facebook page. 

“Bronwyn and I are sorority sisters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. We initiated at the same time in the Spring of 1986 at Virginia State University. She is my line sister. During our initiation, Bronwyn was the designated line seamstress because of her natural design talent, sewing and designing dresses, paddles, beanies, and anything requiring creativity. She was so talented, that everyone was envious of our line items. She continued her art talent by sharing her passion as an elementary art teacher and providing her service to churches, the sorority, and community organizations”

[John]
She became an art teacher at Joseph Neal Elementary School in 1999 here in Las Vegas in the northwest part of the valley near an area called “centennial hills”. 

This fed into her need to help others and give back to the community. Joseph Neal Elementary is a “STEAM” Academy which stands for “Science”, “Technology”, “Engineering”, “Arts” and “Math”. 

STEAM is a variation on STEM curricula which adds in Arts with the idea being an added focus on creative thinking and problem solving.

Bronwyn was a mother of two, 14-year-old Dion was born in 1996, and 17-year-old Amber born in 1993. Both of them ended up testifying at the trial, but we’ll get to that.

Bobby Dale Richards was 7 years younger, born on August 30th, 1969, and worked at “Go Wireless” as a consultant. He and Bronwyn married on February 21st, 2002.

[Shaun]

Bobby Richards had quite a criminal history even before he lived in Las Vegas and before he had met Bronwyn. 

He previously lived in Tennessee and had more than his share of trouble with the law

• He was arrested in 1999 for felony theft (merchandise valued over $500), and also had a felony conviction for forgery for which he received 2 years probation
• in 2000 he was arrested for passing bad checks
• In September of 2000, he was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic battery and a felony burglary charge
  • He ended up pleading to aggravated criminal trespassing and domestic battery with bodily injury and was sentenced to 11 months for this.
• In 2007 he was again arrested for domestic battery, this time in Las Vegas, and found guilty in 2008. This one was another misdemeanor, and he was sentenced to batterer’s treatment and to perform community service

[John]
That list doesn't even touch his criminal history closer to 2010. We’ll get to that in a minute, but you'll quickly see that it all demonstrates an escalating pattern of abuse and a combination of both controlling behavior and an utter disregard for Bronwyn’s happiness or safety. 

They ended up separating closer to 2010, but as early as 2005, Bobby was having affairs and was heavily involved with a girlfriend named Kim. 

Kim’s daughter Tatianya testified to the relationship starting in 2005 or 2006, during their marriage. 

He couldn't let Bronwyn just be free, but he also didn't want to be married to her. It seems like he was just an extremely controlling and abusive man.

Bronwyn knew that Bobby was having affairs. We know that because there was testimony in the trial from her friends stating that Bronwyn was very open about what she was going through. She told them he was having an affair, and that there was abuse in the relationship, but it seems like no one knew the deadly extent of his capacity for violence.

Bronwyn also started seeing someone new, who she was very excited about. Friends said she was suddenly excited at the idea of a future with him. One night in early April 2010 an incident occurred where Bronwyn was staying with her new boyfriend and mistakenly dialed Bobby in the middle of the night.

One of the prosecutors recounted that Bobby took the call, heard a man snoring, and sat in bed listening to it for 2 hours.

[Shaun]

Finally, Bronwyn told Bobby she wanted a divorce. She wanted to just move on. That made sense since they were separated and both seeing other people. Bobby was, in fact, living with his girlfriend Kim and her daughter Tatianya in April of 2010. 

Given what you know about Bobby, you might have guessed that he did not like this plan. Bobby was a control freak, and while he thought it was perfectly fine to have affairs and be living with someone else, he just couldn't let Bronwyn go. He couldn't stand her being happy.

That brings us to April 16th, 2010. At around 5:39 am, Bronwyn was returning home from caring for her Mother. She often stayed over at her Mom’s house to care for her and then returned home to get ready for work. 

This time though, Bobby was waiting for her with a baseball bat.

As we started with, at 5:39 am Dion awoke to the sounds of loud banging and screaming. His sister Amber heard it too. She thought someone was breaking into their home, and knowing that Bronwyn wasn't home at the time she climbed out the window to go get help from her uncle who lived nearby.

Dion, terrified, called 911. The 911 call was recorded of course, and played during the trial. The first thing he said to the 911 dispatcher was “My dad was hitting my mom, and my mom was screaming and it woke me up” (note his “dad” here is Bobby. Bobby and his mother had been married since he was very young so it's not that hard to imagine he’d call Bobby “dad”)

[John]

The North Las Vegas police arrived quickly, and found Bronwyn on the front stoop of her house, with her keys in the door, mortally wounded with horrible head and facial injuries, but alive. She was transported to UMC, and she didn't make it. 

Bronwyn was formally identified by her uncle Larry Moseley who said “I saw her body, and I can tell you it's a site I will never forget. It was one of the most graphic things I've ever seen in my life”

While police were talking to Dion and Amber, who showed up at the scene at 6:15 am? None other than Bobby Richards. At that point, the Police brought all three of them back to the station for interviews. 

Dion reiterated what he told 9-1-1, that he had heard Bobby beating his mom and although he had not witnessed the attack firsthand, he knew who was responsible.

Amber explained how when she heard the banging she thought someone was breaking into the house, so she kicked out her sunscreen, climbed out the window, and headed to her uncle’s house. 

While she was running she said she turned back and saw what she thought was Bobby’s SUV. She also told them that once she got to her uncle’s house, she called Bobby, but he didn’t answer. One of the things that came out at trial was that he had left his phone at home. The cellphone tower ping records showed its location there and his phone showed the missed call from Amber.

Bobby denied having killed her but was arrested given the evidence at hand. He was charged with first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, and bail was set at $1,000,000. The weapon was determined to be a baseball bat by forensic analysis, and the bat was never recovered.

The Police served a warrant on Kim Baylor’s home, Bobby’s girlfriend whom he lived with as a part of the investigation. In the course of the search, the police found a paper car mat crumpled up in the kitchen trash.

Typically you see those when you’re getting your car serviced, the oil changed, etc. For example, if you get your oil changed at Jiffy Lube, sometimes you'll find one left behind.

This wasn't an ordinary paper floor mat though. This one had SEVERAL blood stains on it. Can you guess whose blood those were determined to be? 

We’ll talk a little more about this in the trial section, but what Tatianya claims was that she got her car detailed, inside and out, on April 16th, and she threw away the mat in the trash. 

Of course, the prosecution argued that the timing of that car detailing was highly suspicious.

[Shaun] 

Richards’ first trial date was set for November 1st, 2010. Looking back through the court records for this case  – it’s just a story of continuances and motions and more motions and more continuances. Trial dates were set and then vacated by the judge over and over again.

The actual jury trial did not begin until February 18, 2016 – nearly six years after Bronwyn was murdered. 

Her kids who were 14 and 18 were now young adults at 20 and 24. 

[John] 

It's hard to imagine what it was like for her kids and family during that time. According to the prosecution team, they had a really hard time with Dion moving out of state. Bronwyn’s mother, Bettye, was very involved with the case but sadly died in 2012 before the trial had even begun. 

In fact, she died the very day one of the pre-trial meetings took place.

Her brother Larry told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she had died of a “broken heart.”  

[Shaun]

The jury trial was presided over by District Judge Richard Scotti, in the 8th Judicial District in Clark County. The trial lasted 7 days. 

The DAs assigned to the case were Elizabeth Mercer and Marc DiGiacomo. 

Amber and Dion both testified in court. Amber testified about hearing loud banging noises from the front of the house early on the morning of the murder, which really frightened her. 

Thinking it was someone attempting to break into the house, she broke the sunshade screen over her bedroom window to escape and ran down the street. As she ran, she saw that her stepfather's car was parked in front of the house. She recognized it as his vehicle because he consistently parked in the same spot whenever he visited.

Richards’ attorney pointed out on cross-examination that she was running away from the house and would have had to look back behind her to see and identify that car as she was “running for her life.”.

[John] 

Interestingly, the Defense leaned heavily into Dion’s testimony in order to raise reasonable doubt about Richards’ guilt. Dion was only 14 years old when his mother was killed and he heard the whole thing. 

His testimony confirmed what the jury heard on the 911 call from the morning of the murder, which was that he explicitly identified that his dad was fighting with his mom, hitting his mom, and that he heard loud banging, and her screaming. 

In the courtroom, they played the video of Dion’s interview with the police, and it’s really heartbreaking to watch. He starts backtracking and saying that he’s not sure it was Bobby. He also told police that he didn’t want to be responsible for his dad going to jail and that he was unsure about where he would live if that happened. 

Of course, for the defense, Dion not being sure if Richards was the perpetrator and either making Dion out to be a liar or even just a kid who was “confused” could be very helpful for Richards’ case. 

The defense used this “changing story” to imply that Dion was at best a confused kid, or at worst, a liar

When the defense attorney asked Dion why he would first say it was his dad, and then later say he wasn’t sure that it was him, Dion testified that he didn’t want to believe it was his dad, and that he didn’t want to put his dad in jail (because where would he live? What would happen to him?)

[Shaun]

It’s impossible to overstate how traumatizing and painful the whole ordeal was for him. It’s evident if you watch him as a young teen trying to explain things to the detectives. – alone by the way – no other adult or family member was with him –He was obviously emotional, direct, and insistent, almost panicked and pleading with the police to listen to him that he was wrong about it being his dad.   

During the trial, as a young adult trying to talk about the worst day of his life, his demeanor is serious, sad, and reserved.

—-

One of the key witnesses in the trial was Tatianya Baylor, daughter of Bobby Richards’ girlfriend, Kim. Bobby was living with them at the time of the murder. Taianya testified that her mom had been dating Richards for 4 or 5 years before the murder occurred.

The prosecution believed that Bobby had driven Tatianya’s car to Bronwyn’s house on the day of the murder. Their reasoning was based on 2 important facts. Tatianya testified that she looked out the window of her home the morning of the crime around 6 AM and she noticed her car had been moved. It was in a different spot than she had left it the night before. 

When Bobby went to Bronwyn’s house that morning after Amber tried to call him, he was captured on surveillance footage leaving the gated community where he lived with Kim, in his own car. That was the only time his vehicle was seen leaving the parking lot that morning. 

The prosecution believed he used Tatianya’s car to travel to the home much earlier in the morning, was back at Kim’s house by 6 am, and then left again in his own car to go back to Bronwyn’s house. 

He was really working to cover his tracks, driving the 7 miles back and forth and switching cars, which points to premeditation and first-degree murder. 

Also, as we talked about earlier, Tatianya got her car detailed the day of the crime.  Detectives found that paper floor protector mat in the kitchen garbage of her and her mom’s house that had Bronwyn’s blood on it. 

Tatianya testified that she got the car detailed because it was dirty with dog hair and it needed to be cleaned. She denied having anything to do with covering up Bronwyn’s murder. 

[John] 

The paper floor mat itself was also a key piece of evidence.The blood on the floor mat was what I would describe as a few smudges in a couple of different places.. 

Kenton Wong, a forensic scientist, testified about these blood marks, and Richards’ attorney questioned him about the nature of this evidence and he said it was unlikely they were caused by a bat. The shape of the transfer in that case would be expected to be linear.

I find that to be a really weird argument for the defense to make. Simply saying the blood stains weren't caused by a bat only eliminates one item. What we didn’t hear during his testimony is what items could have been responsible for the transfer. 

The important fact was that the blood on the mat was Bronwyn’s. it’s just not clear how it got there… but to be clear, her blood was in the kitchen trash at Bobby’s home 7 miles from the crime scene.

We have a lot more to say about this blood transfer and the floor mat, and we’re going to get into that more in this week’s swing shift episode to avoid too much conjecture.

Another important piece of evidence in this case was the analysis of the DNA collected from a patio chair that was in Bronwyn’s Courtyard. During the trial, the prosecution had an expert testify about the results. 

The expert testified “This is a partial profile, but it's so partial that it's too limited for me to be able to make any conclusions or comparisons to an individual.” Some of the data in the report was marked in red indicating “data that's below that threshold where our laboratory would make comparisons.” 

The information on the report which was marked in black, indicated a DNA profile was recovered from the scene, but  “it wasn't enough for me to be able to make a comparison to a known individual.”

Of course, the DNA was analyzed in 2010-2011, but if it was retested today it’s possible they could have gotten more conclusive results 

In any event, the testimony about the DNA is important later on, so just keep that in mind. It was deemed inconclusive by the expert. Not very helpful to the prosecution.

[Shaun]

During the trial, there was extensive testimony about the domestic violence Bronwyn had endured during her relationship with Richards. 

One of the reasons why it took such a long time to get the trial started in this case was that there were a lot of pretrial motions about Bobby Richards’ criminal history and the abuse he inflicted on Bronwyn. These “prior bad acts” as they are known in the justice system CAN be brought up in trial if the evidence is clear that they occurred. 

The court also looks at how important and relevant the evidence is, and if the significance of the evidence is not outweighed by the prejudice it may have on the jury. 

The court can’t let the evidence in just to make the defendant look like a bad person by sharing every bad thing they ever did; the bad act has to have the purpose of proving a fact about the crime alleged in the current case. 

There were 5 events in early 2010 that the defense tried to get excluded from the trial. Only 1 of the abusive events was ruled to be inadmissible. That event, which occurred in February 2010, was excluded because the court found that there were 2 differing accounts of what specifically happened. 

The facts in the court documents were that on that day in February 2010, Bobby Richards took Bronwyn’s car without asking. 

Bettye's wheelchair was in the back of the car, and as we mentioned, Bettye needed her wheelchair. Bronwyn borrowed Amber’s car to go look for her car. I’m not sure exactly where she “found” it but I’m comfortable assuming it was at Bobby’s girlfriend’s house. Bronwyn could not get inside the car because Bobby had the keys. She confronted Bobby, and, according to the court records, he became “physically violent” with her. That is all the detail in the record, and as I said, there were 2 different accounts of what happened that day, so the court excluded testimony about this incident from coming into the trial. 

[John]

4 other individual events were declared admissible during the trial, and several of Bronwyn’s friends testified about the abuse that she suffered at the hands of her husband. 

Her friend Dacia (da-see-uh) testified that one day in January 2010, She’d seen welts on Bronwyn’s face and around her mouth and asked her what had happened. Bronwyn told her that the night before, Bobby had smothered her with a pillow. He had pressed the pillow down on her face so hard that it left marks. She said she was screaming and fighting him and eventually, he let her up. 

Dr. Debra Ramos, another friend of Bronwyn’s and a member of some of the same civic organizations as Bronwyn, testified that on January 21, 2010, Bronwyn attended a meeting at her house for one of the groups that they belonged to.

The meeting included the members completing a training class. Before the training was over, Bronwyn said she needed to leave. She asked Bronwyn why she needed to go. It seemed strange to her that Bronwyn would want to leave before the meeting was over and that she would miss out on the training. 

Bronwyn told her that Bobby would “kill her if she was late, so she just had to leave”. 

The next day, January 22nd, she saw Bronwyn crying. She opened the collar of her shirt and showed her that her neck was swollen with black and blue strangulation marks. 

Bronwyn told her that Bobby had strangled her the night before because she was late picking him up at the airport.  

Dr. Ramos told her that she should call the police and report him, but Bronwyn refused. 

[Shaun]

Our audience knows, as we’ve talked before how strangulation is a key indicator of future homicide. So far, we’ve discussed 2 incidents of strangulation and smothering, and as John said earlier, it’s obvious that Bobby Richards’ violence towards Bronwyn was escalating. 

I also want to add here that during the trial, the prosecution did offer testimony from an expert in the areas of domestic violence, trauma, and relationship dynamics to aid the jury in understanding Bronwyn’s experience. 

As we noted, two additional crimes happened in the early part of April, within a week of Bronwyn’s murder, that her friends testified to during the trial.

On April 10th, Bronwyn hosted a party at her home to celebrate Dr. Ramos’s birthday.  Bobby was at the house as well. After the party, Bronwyn planned to head to her mom’s place to care for her overnight.

As the party was winding down, Dr. Ramos was the last guest to leave. She told Bronwyn that she’d wait outside for her. Bronwyn didn’t come outside after several minutes, so Dr. Ramos called her and asked her what was taking her so long. Bronwyn said “he won’t let me leave” – Bobby insisted that Bronwyn promise to him that she would return to the house later that night. She did, and he finally let her go. 

My instinct tells me that Dr. Ramos knowing everything she knew about Bobby at this point, made her nervous to leave Bronwyn alone with him, and it seems to me that she waited outside to make sure he would let her leave and she could leave safely. 

The exact date of this final incident is not documented, but according to the court records and trial testimony, it happened within a week to 10 days before the murder. 

Bronwyn spent the night at her mother’s house, caring for her, and she came back to her home very early in the morning to get ready for work. When she got to the house, Bobby was in the courtyard, holding a baseball bat.

Richards confronted her and told her if she left him, he would beat her. She told him that she didn’t need this and that they should just get a divorce. Bobby then dragged her inside the house and hit her with the bat. He then shoved her into the bedroom and sexually assaulted her. 

Bronwyn called Dr. Ramos shortly after that, crying, and told her what had happened. But she just took a shower and didn’t pursue any criminal charges. She told multiple other friends about this incident. 

Evidence also indicated that Amber had seen him in the courtyard with the bat. 

[John]

Erica Johnson was a friend and a long-time coworker of Bronwyn’s and was also an instructional aid in her class.

Erica testified about the sexual assault as well. She said that Bronwyn had told her what happened just a few hours after the attack. She said that once it was all over, she’d just taken a shower, got herself ready for the day, and went to work as usual. 

Obviously, after hearing an account like that of such a violent and disturbing attack, Erica was understandably horrified and concerned.

She also testified that on the morning of April 16th, she expected to see Bronwyn at their school for morning duty which would have entailed supervising the kids at drop-off and making sure everyone got into their classrooms to start the day, but Bronwyn didn't show up, which wasn't like her

She checked her phone over and over, growing more concerned. 

20 minutes into the school day,  the school principal came to Erica and asked her if she had heard from Bronwyn. At that point, she knew she had to leave and go check on her. She told the principal she had to go and she grabbed her purse and left the school. 

She drove to Bronwyn’s quickly and got there in a hurry.  When she turned the corner onto Bronwyn’s street, she saw the yellow crime scene tape, and immediately knew what happened.

Erica said she got out of her car and screamed “He did it!’ 

One of the detectives came over to her and asked her, “Who did it?” and her reply was, “her husband.”

When the prosecutor asked her how she knew Richards had done it, she replied because “he had violated her” and “He’s the only one, she had no enemies, She had no one that would do (something) that would require yellow tape around her house.”

[Shaun]

Bobby Richards chose not to take the stand during the trial. As was observed by John when we watched recaps of the trial and by Bronwyn’s friends during the whole ordeal, Richards was emotionless, stone-faced during any moment of the trial. He showed no emotion.

[John]

He had no reactions that I saw, at any time. Occasionally he would smirk, but that’s it. It was a little scary to watch, he seems like a man that needs to be in prison.

[Shaun]

During closing arguments, DA Elizabeth Mercer reviewed the evidence with the jury. She showed them the test results from the DNA collected from the crime scene and from Bobby Richards and indicated to the jury where the profiles lined up. 

DA DiGiacomo talked about the history of violence that the defendant had inflicted upon Bronwyn and told the jury there was both circumstantial and direct evidence to support a guilty verdict. He also demonstrated with a metal bat for the jury how violent the attack had been. How Richards must have knocked Brownyn down and continued to beat her while she lay on the ground of the courtyard.  

Richards’ attorney indicated to the jury that there was insufficient evidence to convict her client, and even said, QUOTE “You may hate my client– but you are bound by the law.” 

[John]

Judge Richard Scotti gave the jurors 13 pages of instructions. The options for a verdict were:

1. First degree murder
2. First degree murder with a deadly weapon
3. Second Degree murder
4. Second degree murder with a deadly weapon, or 
5. Not Guilty

The jury began their deliberations on Friday, February 26th, 2016, but they didn’t reach a verdict by the end of the day. They finally did reach a verdict on Monday, February 29th

The foreperson of the jury read the verdict to the court: Guilty of “Murder in the First Degree - with a deadly weapon”

He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole 

During sentencing, Judge Scotti said, “The court finds this is a despicable, evil, horrendous crime.”  and he sentenced him to an additional 8 to 20-year consecutive prison term for the use of a deadly weapon.

After he imposed the sentence, Judge Scotti called for a 15-minute recess and had Richards removed from his courtroom by the bailiff because he said he didn’t want him in there anymore. 

[Shaun]

You would think that would be the end of the story, but unfortunately, not this time.

A month after his sentence began, Bobby Richards filed an appeal as youd expect.. 

Richards raised two main issues: One was that the District Court should have made a limiting instruction to the jury on the prior bad act evidence that was introduced at trial. And second, that there had been prosecutorial misconduct by Elizabeth Mercer during the closing arguments. 

The appellate court found that the trial court had a duty to give a limiting instruction to the jury regarding the prior bad acts before the evidence was introduced. The instruction was to inform the jury that this evidence can be considered for specific purposes, like demonstrating motive or intent, but not as direct proof of guilt in the crime charged. 

So basically if you introduce a “prior bad act” such as the rape a week before, the jury needs to be told that this act can be used to establish motive, but it CANNOT be used as evidence in another crime because they’re separate crimes.

Usually, it's the prosecutor who asks for this explanation, but the appellate court said it was the District court's job to make sure it happened. Because the explanation about the bad acts evidence didn't happen before it was presented, especially the evidence about past domestic violence and sexual assault, it could have unfairly affected the jury's decision.

The second issue had to do with how Elizabeth Mercer presented the DNA evidence during her closing arguments. She made claims about the DNA evidence found on a patio chair at the crime scene that suggested it matched Richards' DNA, even though the State's expert witness had testified that the DNA profile was too partial and limited for conclusive comparison. 

During closing, DA Mercer displayed the DNA results on a PowerPoint slide up on a screen for the jurors. She had the results from the DNA found on the patio chair and Bobby Richards’ DNA profile side by side. She then began circling numbers that were similar in each of the results – including numbers that were marked in red - which was data the expert said was below that threshold where the laboratory would make comparisons. 

She then argued QUOTE “[h]ow do we know that it was the defendant [sitting in the chair]? Well, look at the DNA profile that [the expert] developed with regard to that swab. It might not have met her recording requirements, but all those numbers circled in yellow, that's the defendant's DNA.” UNQUOTE

The Appellate court found that this argument asked the jury to make a judgment that even the expert witness stated could not be made from the evidence, which was inconsistent with the expert's testimony. DA Mercer misrepresented the evidence to the jury.

For both of these reasons, the Appellate Court reversed the guilty verdict and sent the case back to the District Court in December of 2018 – almost 9 years since Bronwyn was murdered, moving the prosecution back to square one. 

[John]

Before we get into what happened when the case went back to the District Court, we want to talk about how Elizabeth Mercer got admonished by the Appellate Court in 2019 for another instance of misrepresenting DNA evidence. 

Alexander Seiver was on trial for armed robbery and burglary. During the crime, the assailant (allegedly Seiver) had covered his face with 3 articles of clothing to hide his identity. DNA testing on the clothing was inconclusive according to the DNA expert who testified. 

As with Bronwyn’s case, Mercer told the jury during closing that “the defendant's DNA was on all three of those items.”

Like Richards, Seiver had his conviction reversed and sent back to the district court. 

The Appellate Court wrote “we admonish prosecutor Elizabeth A. Mercer for her egregious and manifestly improper statements to the jury, which were magnified by the visual aid used during closing argument. This is the second case, of which we are aware, where Mercer flagrantly misled a jury regarding DNA evidence…. The record shows that Mercer knew that the inference she was urging the jury to make was not supportable…Consequently, we refer Mercer to the State Bar of Nevada for such disciplinary investigations or proceedings as are deemed warranted.”

According to the Nevada State Bar website, Elizabeth Mercer is still an attorney working at the Clark County DA’s office and she has no disciplinary actions on her record.

[Shaun]

Richards remained in custody, and in early 2019, preparation for his second trial got underway. He had two new defense attorneys: P. David Westbrook and Deborah Westbrook who is now on the Bench of the Nevada Court of Appeals, but at the time they both were public defenders. David has been a public defender for more than 20 years. 

While other DAs did participate in the case, the primary attorneys were still Marc DiGiacomo and Elizabeth Mercer. 

Similar to his first trial, there were multiple motions made in the case that had to be ruled on before the trial could start. Twice trial dates were set and then were later vacated. 

His defense attorneys attempted to have the evidence excluded about the attack and sexual assault. They did not want the jury to hear that a week before the murder, Bobby was seen sitting outside her house with a bat waiting for her to come home in the early morning, and then attacked and raped her. The judge denied that request. 

The defense attorneys also made a motion regarding the DNA testing. Las Vegas Metro police were preparing to retest the DNA gathered from the patio chair. However, the remaining DNA sample was so small, it would be used up completely by the testing. As there could only be one test run on the DNA – no other expert or lab could perform their own test – the defense argued that their expert should be allowed to observe the testing. There were some hoops Metro required the expert to go through before being allowed in their lab. The attorneys went back and forth on the issue, but she was eventually permitted to observe the testing.

[John]

The results of that test are unknown, but I suspect they were not favorable to Richards because, on August 24, 2021, Richards took an Alford Plea.  

I wanted to talk a little bit more about the Alford plea because it's interesting and you may have heard the term. 

Michael Peterson, the man accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson by pushing her down a staircase) ended up taking an Alford plea. The story of Kathleen’s murder was made into a miniseries starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, so listeners may be familiar with that case. 

Alex Murdaugh also took an Alford plea after he was convicted of the murders of his wife and his son for one of the many non-murder-related charges he had faced. 

A defendant who takes an Alford plea maintains they are innocent, but they acknowledge that the evidence against them would likely lead to a conviction. Strategically, an Alford Plea is used to avoid the risk of a harsher sentence at trial. 

It’s a lot like the similar “no contest” plea. 

A defendant who pleads “no contest” is not admitting their guilt BUT they are not denying it either. They’re just agreeing not to fight the charges. 

This one is commonly used as a strategy to mitigate legal exposure in related civil litigation, as it avoids creating an official record of admission to the guilt that could be used against the defendant in a civil case.

On November 12, 2021, Bobby Richards was sentenced to 14 to 40 years. He had already been in custody for more than 11 years. 

Although he had a parole hearing in 2024, he was thankfully denied, but he could be granted parole as soon as 2027. 

His release date is scheduled for September 6, 2031, and at that time he’ll be 61 years old. 

He was originally sentenced to life without parole with an extra 8 to 20 years for murder with a deadly weapon. What we ended up with is him serving about 20 years for the horrific murder of Bronwyn, all because of that appeal

[Shaun]

This story is about Bronwyn and as always, we want to put the focus back on her and the amazing life she led and how much she was able to give to her friends, family, and community during her lifetime. 

She was known for being an artist and for being an incredibly talented and creative person. She made her loved ones personalized clothing and accessories. 

In 2011, several of her Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters traveled to Carson City, Nevada to testify in favor of a Nevada state senate bill that would empower Nevada’s attorney general to create task forces to examine fatal domestic violence cases. It was passed and signed into law in 2011. 

Her spirit & love for others lives on in her children and in the nonprofit Bee Fabulous Moments, which was created in her honor. 

They chose the peacock as the symbol for their agency because they said it represents Bronwyn – she was bold, feisty, and always flaunting her fabulousness. She lived life without limits. 

The mission of Bee Fabulous is to provide services and resources to women and children impacted by domestic violence, by creating a fabulous moment that can offer encouragement, comfort, and refuge.

[John]

On the Bee Fabulous website (which we’ll share), you can nominate a woman who has experienced domestic violence or the child of a victim to receive a “Moment” from the nonprofit, such as a spa day or a trip to an amusement park. Bee Fabulous Moments is located in Maryland, and we’ll make sure their website is in the show notes so you can check them out. 

If you're interested in giving back to survivors in your local community, reach out to an organization near you and see how you can help. Donations of money, items, or your time are appreciated by these agencies. 

If you’re enjoying these stories, we’d appreciate you taking the time to rate us or review us on whatever platform you’re listening on. And if you have any comments or suggestions, you can email us at questions@sinsandsurvivors.com. 

[Shaun]

Thanks again for listening and remember what happens here, happens everywhere.