Forensic Files - Season 4, Episode 9 - Accident or Murder? - Full Episode 

Forensic Files will 4ever be the #1 True Crime show of all times ❤️❤️!!!!

The episodes are so well done, they can do what usually takes 40 mins in only 21 mins.

He sued in 2002 and received $2.5 million and died in 2017. At least he got to live the last 15 years as a free man.

What is really sad that their supposed friends changed their stories a couple of years later. Made me question if they blamed him for her death just because he was marrying a younger woman. Who needs enemies when you have friends like that???

I can’t tell you how many times I have almost fallen backwards down steps. Scary to think someone could be blamed for my clumsiness and go to jail when it was not murder.

the amount of time i've gone to sleep listening to this man is unnerving.

One thing I noticed with this case that the blood spatter and telephone witnesses changed their stories after the husband started dating too shortly after his wife's death.

I'm surprised no one has brought this up. Who the hell build stairs like that? No guard rail, and that huge gap in between the stairs at the wall. Like some 1800s dungeon cellar construction. Weird

My grandma passed away in a similar way. My grandpa and grandma were visiting friends and their garage door was right next to their concrete basement steps. As she went out to the garage to get something for her friend she lost her balance and screamed my grandpas name then fell. Sadly she passed from the head trauma. My grandpa was interviewed many times by the police. Thankfully their friends didn't change their story and told the truth, he was in with them visiting otherwise it could've been awful for him (which it was) since my grandma was worth a LOT of money. He clearly inherited everything but was absolutely heartbroken. We all were. I miss her to this day. He passed not long after from, what we call, a broken heart. It's sad how a tragedy can make the innocent people that were there suspects. I understand why but man, 1 incident/accident changes so many lives.

You know what’s crazy? My mom fell down the stairs when nobody was home, she bleed a lot. The first thing my dad said when we got home was that if she wasn’t conscious, people would say he beat her..

Who's seeing this in 2024???

Who knew an episode I haven’t watched existed?

I worked inside a level 3 prison in Michigan for over 5 years. My office was inside the prison yard. My job was supporting over 150 computers used by staff and prisoners inside the prison school and two Novell file servers. There is absolutely nothing worth risking me being sentenced to spend time in a prison. Life inside is boring, dangerous, structured and the food really does suck.

The townspeople's gossip and speculations played a part in him going to prison. Imagine knowing you're innocent and no one believes you. Think of all the people incarcerated for crimes they didn't commit. Now think of the ones who died in prison or were put to death before the truth was realized.

Getting charged with something I didn’t do is one of my biggest fears (like most ppl) It’s as though you are screaming, but no one can hear you.

How did that old bald guy with no money pull a 22 year old? That's the real mystery

so many questions : if she fell backwards and the bruise was on the right part of his head what explains the blood on the wall which was on the left side. Purchased a life insurance on your wife and few months later she dies very unusually must be really unfortunately lucky. Marrying another lady in the same church really soon after your wives death is the icing on the cake. and why do you clean a death scene before the police arrives. I cant believe the very person who found her death was never seen or heard from in this episode.

True. So many questions. 1. Car keys in her hands. > Even falling backwards, she may have tried to catch the wall and the keys may have been thrown after 2. Neighbor coming after the incident 3. Blood splatter by witnesses 4. Cleaning of the blood 5. Police not securing the place to avoid of it being cleaned. 6. Time the call was made.

My niece's classmate fell backwards and her head hit the twintub washing machine then fell to ground. She was still concious and still speaking. Then after an hour the doctor told the family that shes in comatose stage and two days later she passed away. She was only 18. Full of life.

Why tf would someone buy life insurance when they barely had money for the electrical bills. I think he killed his wife

Thank God he got out & back to his family ❤️🙏🏼

How do you start dating as soon as your spouse dies?

why didn't they use luminol to see where blood was... also what about phone company call log..?? this case makes no sense.........

Those stairs were not good enough for indoor use in a house.

I can't sleep without hearing forensic files. Thank you for doing this!

A few weeks ago I fall on a slippery step of a stairway. It is sudden, goes very fast, and is very violent. I was lucky to "land" flat on my back and had only acute pain in back for several days. But I believe it is indeed easy to loss your life in such event. As a matter of fact it is one of the most frequent domestic accident; we should always grab a ramp when on stair.

If the whole case rested on the timeline of events, couldn’t they have looked at phone records to understand when the victim was on the phone to get friend?

That recreation falling down the stairs was silly; that man guided the woman down the stairs knowing beforehand where the wounds were on the guy's wife...

Still my favorite series of all time!

no photographs of the body/blood ? and then friends clean up the evidence ! what a friggin circus, Eh

No luminol for blood spatter ?

There’s something else that wasn’t mentioned in this case. And it should have been checked. Why was the person that discovered his wife not questioned. Doesn’t it seem like perfect timing for him to arrive just after she fell? I can easily picture her running up the stairs and this guy scaring the 💩 out of her!!!! This making her fall backwards! Maybe it was accidental, but it was already proven that her husband was still at the gas station when she hung up with her friend. It just seems very odd, this person just happened to show up when everything happened. Odd indeed!!!

These so called 'friends' are disgusting. I hope they have sleepless nights because of what they did to this poor man and his kids.

Wow! Well, this is my favourite FF yet now!..What an amazing job by everyone to, granted, 6 years late, see that justice is served!..✌🏼🇨🇦

No luminol test? Seriously? They arrest a man without a test? They always do one.

I wish this series covered more cases where the wrongfully imprisoned are released, and not just murder cases where someone does something dreadful and goes to jail forever.

Through all that tumbling down the stairs, she still had her car keys in her hand.

A few years ago I fell down four basement stairs carrying a few two by fours and I never let go the two by fours. I guess you would still hold to your keys

Im not 100% convinced he did not push her. But there is enough doubt to set him free. Purchasing life insurance 2 months prior to a freak accident looks very suspicious.

That defence attorney's Monty Python hair do is hysterical.

Between the 22 year old whirlwind romance and the new life insurance policy. Sorry, I'm not buying this story.

Wrongfully accused with his wife death, spent 6yrs in prison, his lawyer & team made an excellent job to free this man..

I feel so sorry for his children they truly love their dad. 😢😢

Why would someone clean the scene before the police examined it!

Just because you kiss someone goodbye doesn't mean you didn't push him down the stairs hello after the phone is hung up your return and throw it down the stairs. I'm still not convinced

He seem like a very nice man, I can see a good soul through his eyes, poor guy was in Prison for 6 years!??

That was a sad story. I am glad the truth was uncovered finally. It was priceless seeing how happy the girls were to have their Dad back ❤️ Rest in peace Janet 🌹💓

How come the police or his lawyers did not check the phone records and compare it to gas station’s receipts?

If this incident had happened today, the case would be solved within MINUTES!! They didn’t keep phone records stored back then and there were almost no security cameras anywhere. In today’s world they would have the phone records of the exact second the phone call ended along with security footage on video of her husband in numerous places at the same time the phone call ended. He would have been a suspect for maybe 15 minutes before he was cleared for good!

Who in the WORLD buys a life insurance policy when finances are so tight your power keeps getting shut off. It would be an insane thing to do.

How did a guy like clayton pull a 22 year old girl?! Also the actress playing his wife looks in her mid 50s not 35 that's for sure

As mama used to say. There's no fool like an old fool. These men and woman who think someone 30 years younger wants them is bizarre. Use common sense people

He could of had someone push her, sometimes people dont have to do it, just pay some one, you dummies.

Did his young wife stick with him thru all that? And who is this male neighbor who comes over and just walks in the house like he lives there, 10 minutes after the husband leaves?

Why would you charge him like that when he wasn't even at the scene at the time it happened? That still doesn't make any sense to me, man. If there's a confirmed alibi that the husband was somewhere else at the time of death, and he wasn't actually at the crime scene, why would you ever charge him? This episode perplexed me, first time seeing it, back then.

There are many issues in this case. 1: Any caring husband with a wife and young kid/s would have installed handrails on a staircase. 2: Why he took out life insurance on the wife? He is the breadwinner of the family. 3: It should be mandatory for the police to take photographs of the scene and obtain phone records from the telephone company. Even if it appears to be an accident. 4: The defence lawyer reasoning is ridiculous. Anyone trying to make a homicide ‘look’ like an accident, will want someone else to find the victim. Second defence lawyer reasoning is equally ridiculous. There will be no defence wounds to the hands/arms if someone suddenly pushes you. 5: Worst of all is the forensic specialist with the Peter-Pan idea. He pulled that suspended girl to land exactly where that chalk (supposed blood) was. The computerise simulation is 'better' but this means heavy bruising on the person's bottom or back area. Why didn't it reduce the impact to the head? Did the coroner check for that? 6: A neighbour was knocking on the door soon after the incident but no neighbour/s saw “when (at what time) the husband drove from the house that morning”. 7: The wife was found alive albeit just barely, I would give some credibility to the husband. 8: The 'evidence' being cleaned soon after!! 9: Money was scarce as to not pay for utilities but after, there was money for the second wedding.

The way you show her falling down shows clearly a push. When I slip on the stairs on my way up, I fall mostly forward and go hard on my face. That lady got pushed.

If it was a fall, the victims' hand should instinctively move back and take the fall, maybe also get injured from the keys she was holding..

She may not have been bludgeoned but it's also very possible that she was pushed down the stairs. Assuming the phone call was closer to ending at 7:40, a push down the stairs could in no way be ruled out.

Did the neighbors and friends get sued for perjury and providing false testimonies? How high and mighty they might have felt when they judged Clayton just because he married too soon. And what about the prosecution? Going to trial without solid evidence and with just rumors and gossips.

Janice looked older than 35 years old wow. And her husband was falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. But having a relationship with a younger woman whom he married shortly after his wife died., certainly raised red flags to investigators, besides having financial difficulties. Hmmm……maybe Investigators and the prosecutor were too quick to judge this man. Granted that by marrying someone so quick after the death of his wife and the financial problems he had plus the life insurance, are the typical seasons for killing someone for investigators. But at least he won a lawsuit but unfortunately died 15 later after being freed. May both of them Janice and her husband Rest In Peace. At least, the daughters inherited his money. Good for them.

This case didn't sit well with me. I always said it had to be the neighbor.

I still have a problem with her keys being in her hand like that after falling. Whenever I've fell the first thing up & out is my hands & arms trying to catch myself somehow. Here they're saying she did a trust fall, straight back without dropping her keys or reaching out to stop herself at all. Then, they want you to believe she would have put up her arms/hands(re no defensive sounds) if being attacked? But what if she was just pushed hard?

It is still suspicious that he took out a life insurance policy 2 months prior. He could of pushed her. The telephone call with the neighbor could of happened earlier than she realized. The life insurance thing seems real sketchy.

I wonder why the police couldn't check the phone call records to corroborate what time and how long the two ladies spoke to each other.

That's creepy why investigators hadn't spread the luminol to follow the missing blood trail since the crime scene was cleaned , i had a hunch that there is a missing link somewhere It's look like a homicide for me.

Small town gossip is brutal. My nephew died in a accident, but his fiance's father hired a P.I. because of all the crazy gossip. In high school I had a couple of crazy incidents. Appendicitis morphed into losing an eye playing field hockey. I got frostbite on my feet after snow closed a road on weekend. The story turned into a first grader losing toes waiting on a bus.

Original witness testimony: "There's no way he could have." Two years later: "I remember now seeing him drive a tank over her."

It doesn’t really make sense for her to have her car keys on her hands after that FALL tho. Like when someone falls especially from the stairs the first thing they do is try to hold onto something. For example when you fall you don’t keep on holding something on ur hands. You open your hands

It's terrifying that you can have a fatal injury just by falling down the stairs.

I wonder why they ruled out the neighbour who reported the accident

Hmmm...still not sure justice has been served in this case. James Lockyer is one of the best criminal defence lawyers in Canada--it's quite possible that played as big a role in getting this guy off as his alleged innocence did. This is one of those cases where I wonder if a murderer got away with it...

I mean something that isn't really mentioned that I feel is a plausible scenario is simply him pushing her and her falling back. He could have pushed her to knock her off her footing and he was lucky that it was ultimately fatal. Even though she didn't die until a few hours later he may have looked at her and thought it killed her and left so as to not be present at the scene and so as not to disturb the scene and contaminate it. Not sure what his plan would have then been if she had survived. He also could have done it in such a way that it might not have seemed intentional to Janice. I feel the life insurance being taken out only a few months before her death is always a suspicious thing.

Peter Thomas was the best

She was only 35 she looks like she was 65

I can sit here and watch forensic files all day and not get bored. This shit is interesting

Is there a law that people buying a life insurance policy must prove they have informed those whose life is being insured before the policy is authorized? Be very suspicious if your spouse or partner is the beneficiary of a new policy on your life.

Even though the friends cleaned up the blood, why wasn't luminol used to show where the blood was?. The timeline means it's not likely he killed his wife, but without proper investigation the case wouldn't have had relevant information to solve it. Something could have been placed across the top step to trip her when he wasn't there; given that the friends were allowed to clean the scene before photos could be taken, it's not impossible to think a trip line could have been removed before police eventually arrived at some point. It'd be a pretty clever way to do it too, as long as there were no trip lines marked in Janice's feet/legs; and with a tight timeline, he would be able to have an alibi as long as the line could be removed quickly.

Herb Macdonell (bless his soul) is the best and all of the legal team. I am in awe that a play was the hint of a re-enactment. Just so strange and interesting.

What happened with the second wife. Did she leave him while he was in prison? Curious that wasn't mentioned in the episode and no one seems to have asked about that in the comments.

This is very unfair! Autopsy must be done without photos and videos from police. Such a beautiful daughters they have.

When I was a kid growing up in Nova Scotia, being sent to “Shelburne” meant being incarcerated in juvenile detention. (Because that was where “juvi” was located..) A threat heard anytime a kid was being bad.

6:17 I am shocked that they showed the autopsy photos. You just don’t see that nowadays. I am so sorry for her family members that have to see this. But as a nurse, i have to admit that with 100% all due respect,it is interesting and helps add to the investigation from our point of view as an audience

How about pushing On the top of the staircase.? Getting life insurance 2months before she died, and marrying younger woman after are still doubtful.. Edit: when you accidentally fall on a staircase and you knew you are about to fall, we human have an adrenaline rush, so we might grab the staircase handle, hold the corner wall or twist our body while falling for less injury.. unlike when there is a surprise full force pushing on the top of the staircase,.. hmmmm just my thoughts.

I think he did it, anything that does with money is always guilty. Kinda weird he did that 2 months before her death and is in debt plus remarried 8 months later. Guessing he push her down the steps

Kind of interesting the girls had already left for school that morning, when, Clayton, a teacher in the school system was still at home and had time to help out with the laundry before leaving for work. In every school I know of, the teachers arrive PRIOR to the start of the school day.

Why was she still holding her keys

I dont believe he didnt do it! Too suspicious because he remarried quickly

Wait wtf was the neighbor at there house wth

A couple of questions: 1) Were there any phone records to support or refute the phone call time? 2) Couldn’t she have been pushed down the stairs (therefore no defensive wounds)? 3) Was the neighbor who arrived to find her, ever a suspect (who could have pushed her down the stairs)? 4) Wouldn’t most people going upstairs fall FORWARD not BACKWARDS?

How could they lock up a person without any evidence at the first place? Beyond me.

I should hold a seminar on how to fall down stairs so it doesn't look like a murder. Students must supply their own helmet and car keys.

Two months after he applied for life insurance his wife is dead what a coincidence 🙄🙄🙄🤔🤔🤔

Proving we can never know when we will take our last breath or how. We aren't guaranteed 5 minutes from now let alone years.

Honestly, I can't help to think this is a murder. With a fall like that her keys would be thrown. Looks like it was placed nicely in her hand. Not saying the ex husband did it but somebody did I believe.

If they thought he murdered her, the prosecution should have an explainatation for the type of wounds, the kind of weapon and the manner of attack. How strange was the original decision. The man is one of the lucky ones to get out after such a trial.

Darla is such a natural beauty!! So sad about her loss. 🦅

I also thought I'd watched all episodes but lately I get pleasantly surprised🤗👌

Wait! There were a lot a loose ends there! Not saying the conclusion was wrong but who was the neighbor that just walked in? What happened to the second wife?

Oh nooooo!! Why did I look up Forensic Files on here?! I'll be stuck here a while...