A shot in the dark

(Opening statement of trial)
Prosecutor Chris Hicks: Chaz Higgs is a calculated murderer who used his trade to accomplish his goal of getting rid of his wife.

Chaz Higgs' trial began in June in this Reno courtroom. It would be the very first murder case for prosecutor Christopher Hicks, who along with veteran district attorney Tom Barb hoped to convince the jury that Chaz Higgs had deliberately killed his wife, Nevada state controller Kathy Augustine, by injecting her with a lethal drug.

Christopher Hicks: He took the time to load up a syringe full of
a devastating drug. He took the time to plan that and then to inject his wife with it. And then to stand there while she basically suffocated.

To prove their case, prosecutors first had to show that succinylcholine killed Kathy Augustine.

The FBI toxicologist who tested Kathy's urine said she had no doubt that succinylcholine was in her system at the time of her death.

Toxicologist: I ran this urine sample three times. I found the drug there all three times.

Based on the FBI's findings, a pathologist determined the cause of death.

Pathologist: It is my opinion that Kathy Augustine died from succinylcholine toxicity.

But if the drug was in her body, how -- and when -- did it get there? The pathologist pointed to a mark on Kathy's left hip as a possible injection site and said there was no evidence that it had occurred in the course of Kathy's hospital treatment.

Therefore, the prosecutors argued, the mark must have happened before Kathy went to the hospital.

As for the early theory that Kathy had suffered a heart attack, the prosecutors attempted to knock that down by putting a cardiologist on the stand.

Cardiologist: You can say those arteries are perfectly normal. This is not what you'd expect of if someone were having a heart attack.

The prosecutors may have established succinylcholine as the cause of death, but they still needed to connect Chaz Higgs to the murder weapon. The big hurdle? There was no "smoking gun" -- no hard evidence linking Higgs to the drug.

Tom Barb: We wished we had the syringe. And we wished we had the bottle of succinylcholine … But we didn't. So you go with what you have.

What prosecutors did have, they argued, was proof that Chaz knew what succinylcholine was and how to use it.

Detective David Jenkins told the jury about a startling discovery: a stack of index cards and on top were some instructions for using succinylcholine.

Prosecutor: Do you know where it was found?
Det. Jenkins: In the motor vehicle Mr. Higgs was operating.

And several nurses testified that Chaz Higgs had ample access to succinylcholine as a critical care nurse.

Prosecutor: Was that drug readily available to the nurses in the emergency room?
Nurse: Yes it was.

Chaz may have had access to the drug, but why would he want to kill his wife?

Friends always thought the two were kind of an odd couple, but prosecutors were about to show that cracks in the marriage ran far deeper than they imagined -- and that Chaz Higgs was a long way from a loving husband.

Chris Hicks: This is a guy who does not care whatsoever about his wife. He hates her. And it's evident by his actions.

A series of Chaz's co-workers took the stand. They all had the same story: Chaz could not stop talking about how much he hated his wife.

Prosecution: What did he say, you can say it?
Winifred Baker: "Bitch."

Tina Carbone: The only word I heard Chaz say was that she was a bitch.

Katherine Almaraz: He said to me, I actually remember it because it was so vivid, that if I didn't have a daughter in Las Vegas I would kill my wife and throw her down a mine shaft.

And prosecutors said that Chaz demonstrated that same contempt for Kathy on the morning of her collapse.

(911 tape)
Higgs: Something's wrong with my wife. She's not breathing.

Prosecutors argued he was too calm.

(911 call)
Higgs: If you come in the housing development, umm, immediately turn right, and then the road will veer around to the left…

They said his actions in the ambulance were a far cry from the way a truly concerned husband would react.

Ambulance driver: We had a newspaper sitting on the dashboard and during the ride back he grabbed one of the sections of the newspaper and started flipping thru the pages.

And if he truly cared for, and wanted to help his wife, prosecutors argued, he would have acted differently when he found Kathy that morning.

When emergency responders arrived at the scene, they were surprised to find Chaz standing on the sidewalk, not frantically administering CPR. Even more alarming, Kathy was still on the bed. That was strange, said prosecutors, because standard procedure says you always put a victim on a hard surface to perform CPR -- something a registered nurse like Chaz Higgs should have known.

Nurse: You cant get a good compression on a bed. You need a hard surface.

Chris Hicks: We believe he sat there and waited until she was dead, and then called 911 so he could come off as the grieving husband. Which he did horribly at.

But some of the most dramatic testimony was yet to come. As prosecutors neared the end of their case, some startling new evidence came to light: e-mails from a woman named Linda Ramirez.

Ramirez used to work with Chaz, and it turns out while Chaz and Kathy were still married he began a flirtatious relationship with Ramirez.

(Prosecutor Chris Hicks reads in court)
"There's so much I want to tell you..."

Prosecutor Christopher Hicks read some of those emails to the court...

(Prosecutor Chris Hicks reads in court)
"You've touched my heart and I want to be with you"

And in those emails, there were some disturbing comments about Kathy.

(Prosecutor Chris Hicks reads in court)
"I hate this woman and I will make her break. So it is my quest in life to drive this bitch crazy and it is working. I will be free. And I will be with you. That is what I want. You have my heart, Chaz."

Chris Hicks: Those emails showed that he could care less about her.

Tom Barb: He didn't love anybody but himself.

In the end, prosecutors say he acted on that hate. As proof they offered up the conversation he had with Kim Ramey, the nurse who worked with Chaz the day before Kathy went into the hospital.

Ramey said she and Chaz were discussing that case in the news in which a husband had stabbed his wife to death. Ramey said Chaz told her the guy did it all wrong:

Ramey: If you want to get rid of someone you just hit them with a little sux because they cant trace it post-mortem.
Prosecution: What was your response to him?
Ramey: I said Chaz, I said wow, that's too much anger to carry around.

The prosecutors felt confident about their case, but now it was the defense's turn. Chaz Higgs would have the chance to tell the jury his side of the story.