Obsession

Within a few hours of being called to her home, Gainesville police had ruled out an intruder, suicide, a drug overdose.

Belinda Herndon: I thought how ironic, the person that takes care of themselves, that gripes at the rest of us either had an aneurysm, or just whatever it was.

Michelle’s family and friends were devastated... but they took some small comfort in the belief that Michelle’s death was perhaps part of God's plan.

They quickly went to work planning a memorial.

People told story after story about Michelle’s passion for people, for animals, for the planet,  and they pledged to do their part to continue her good works in her memory.

Belinda Herndon: Just a gorgeous day... little breeze, kids running around playing...the day was all Michelle. We all had a big cookout.  And then her two uncles that had never recycled a day in their life proceeded to go through three barrels of trash and recycle everything.

After coming to grips with the idea that Michelle had died of some unseen ailment, Belinda Herndon did not want to pursue a post-mortem exam.

Belinda Herndon: I asked them please not to do an autopsy.

Hoda Kotb: Why was that?

Belinda Herndon: Because Michelle, I knew Michelle didn't want to be cut on.  I couldn't bear the thought--to think my child--my child was dead but now somebody's going to cut on her.

Medical examiner doctor Martha Burt understood, but knew it was necessary.

Dr. Burt: We try to explain to the families that even though it's not something that they would like their loved one to go through, it does give us very good information that would be-- usually is helpful to them.

The autopsy of Michelle’s body revealed what everyone already knew: that Michelle was in great physical shape with no diseases.

But it also revealed a huge clue wrapped in a tiny new detail-- a detail that would blow the nearly closed case back open wide.

On Michelle’s left arm, there was a dot.  Though smaller than a freckle, Dr. Burt decided to take a closer look. 

Detective Douglas remembers the bombshell that followed.

Det. Michael Douglas: I get a phone call from the medical examiner. 

Hoda Kotb: Saying?

Det. Michael Douglas: Saying, "I found a needle puncture in Michelle Herndon's arm.  In her left arm.  And in my medical opinion, it appears to be administered by someone with a level of skill."

Hoda Kotb: A level of skill?

Det. Michael Douglas: Level of skill.

Hoda Kotb: And what did that tell you as a detective?

Det. Michael Douglas: I thought, "This is very unusual."  I said-- my first question was, are there any other needle marks?  Could Michelle be a closet junkie?  You know?  And Dr. Burt said, "No."

Hoda Kotb: Just the one.

Det. Michael Douglas: That's it.  Just the one.

Hoda Kotb: So, it was one, single pinprick? 

Det. Michael Douglas: That's it.

Hoda Kotb: So, that was going to end up being the key to the case?  This single pinprick? 

Det. Michael Douglas: Yes.

Dr. Burt said she was also bothered by the position of Michelle’s body when they found her.

Dr. Burt: The other thing that was also very unusual was the pattern of lividity, which is a settling of blood after a person dies.  And her pattern of lividity indicated that she had been placed faced down relatively soon after she died.

To her, it looked like Michelle had been "placed" with her face in her pillow... not the way she would land if she had fallen ill and collapsed.

Suddenly, Michelle Herndon’s death was not looking so natural after all. Armed with this new information, Det. Mike Douglas returned to her house.

Det. Michael Douglas: Searched her vehicle, looked in the tall grass, looked everywhere we possibly could.  And this is after scouring the house the previous day.

Hoda Kotb: So, there was a point where you discovered a crucial piece of evidence. 

Det. Michael Douglas: You say, "discovered."  I would say "stumbled."  It's--

Hoda Kotb: Stumbled? 

Det. Michael Douglas: --probably I would say--

Hoda Kotb: You stumbled? 

Det. Michael Douglas: --stumble.  is more accurate.

Hoda Kotb: Tell me about that.

Det. Michael Douglas: Laying on the ground is a clear, plastic grocery bag from Publix. 

It was a stray garbage bag, inadvertently left behind when the trash was collected earlier that day.

Det. Michael Douglas: And we poked around, picked it up and looked at it.  And lo and behold, inside it we found several bottles of pharmaceuticals and needles and a catheter. 

Hoda Kotb: Did you just think, jackpot, we found it?

Det. Michael Douglas: I didn't know what I had.  But, I drew the connection.  To me, this is wonderful.  And this is into-- and it was also just dumb luck.

Detective Douglas went on the internet to look up "propofol", the name of the drug on the vials in Michelle’s trash.

He learned that it was a fast-acting sedative that would render a person unconscious within seconds. 

Now just 24 hours after finding Michelle Herndon dead in her home, it seemed like Gainesville police had stumbled into a full-blown murder mystery.

They had a body.  They had a pinprick.  And they had needles and some empty vials of a powerful, hospital-grade anesthetic, only available to medical professionals.

All they needed to find was what the medical examiner called "the skilled hand" that delivered the injection.

Detective Douglas began re-interviewing everyone in Michelle’s life.  He had to figure out why anyone would want to harm Michelle Herndon, the cheerful do-gooder who seemed to have a kind word for everyone.

While looking for anyone who had access to the hospital and Michelle’s house, he got a description from one of Michelle’s neighbors of a man seen at her house a day or two before.

Jessica Seipel: He said that someone had spotted a small framed, you know, Caucasian person wearing glasses and do you know anybody like that?  And I was like, yeah.  My roommate fits that description.

Hoda Kotb: When you said, my roommate fits that description what was the first thing you thought right then.

Jessica Seipel: No. Way.  That's something that only--that only happens in the movies.

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