January 13, 2025 • 44 mins
Just after midnight on September 13, 1990, a security company in Lexington, South Carolina, received an alarm alert from 5037 Sunset Boulevard. Attempts to contact the home’s occupants failed, prompting police to investigate. What they found inside was a horrifying scene that would haunt the town for years. In a place built on tradition and close ties, the crime raised profound questions of justice, family, and forgiveness.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
The town of Lexington, which is nestled in the heart
of South Carolina, traces its roots back to the early
nineteenth century. It was named in honor of the Battle
of Lexington, and began as a modest agricultural community before
blossoming into a thriving suburban area. Today, Lexington is a
blend of old and new, where winding country roads meet,
(01:06):
bustling neighborhoods and serene lakeside views give way to growing
commercial districts. Sunset Boulevard, one of its main thoroughfares, stretches
into the town, surrounded by wooded landscapes in a mix
of small businesses and storefronts. Along this busy road, however,
stands a house that fails out of place. At five
O three seven Sunset Boulevard, a grand colonial style home
(01:30):
is tucked amid the commercial bustle, standing as an odd
relic of another era. But this house isn't just visually
out of place. In ninety ninety, something happened here that
would forever change its place in the town's memory. One night,
the quiet within its walls was shattered by a brutal crime,
(01:50):
and the events of that evening with work years of
questions and division in Lexington What truly happened behind the
front door of five three Sunset Boulevard, not just on
that night, but in the years that preceded it. In
the aftermath, profound questions were raised about justice, forgiveness, and
(02:11):
the limits of both. As the time grappled with the tragedy,
a single haunting question lingered in the air. Could anyone
ever fully understand or forgive? What had happened? It was
(02:40):
just after midnight on the thirteenth of September ninety ninety,
when a security system company in Lexington, South Carolina, received
a report the alarm at the two story brick home
at five three seven Sunset Boulevard had been blaring, but
their attempts to contact the occupants were unsuccessful. The home
belonged to Dorothy Mayfield, a forty three year old mother
(03:02):
of two daughters, twenty three year old Dana and fourteen
year old Gina. Dorothy had remarried in the past year
after her first husband, Charles, had died three years earlier
from cancer. After failing to make contact, the security system
company called the local police department. Around the same time,
(03:22):
another call came through to nine one one. It was
Dana Grant. After finishing a late shift at Lexington Medical Center,
Dana had arrived back home to find both the front
and back doors locked. She tried her key in the
front door, but it wouldn't turn something was blocking it
from the inside. Despite her repeated knocks, nobody answered. Her
(03:47):
mother and sister should have been home, but the home
remained dark and silent. Growing anxious and concerned, Dana had
walked to the nearby Amoco garage and called the police.
Minutes later, Officer to Darling was dispatched, and he picked
up Dana on his way to the Mayfield residence. As
they pulled up outside the dimly lit home, Officer Darling's
(04:09):
headlights swept across the front garden, revealing a lone figure
moving among the shadows. It was Gina standing in the
front yard, her face pale in the beams of light.
She ran up to Dana, her voice shaking as she
struggled to speak. She stammered that she had gotten into
(04:30):
a fight with Mamma and that MoMA was hurt. Officer
Darling called for backup before stepping into the home. Just
past the entryway, he discovered thick smears of blood marking
the floor as if something had been dragged through it.
(04:53):
The trail led him into the kitchen, where shreds of
clothing and more blood lay scattered across the floor. Red
splatters dotted the refrigerator and the kitchen table. Detective John
Phillips soon arrived on this scene. Recalling that night, he
later described his initial impression from the blood splatters on
(05:15):
the refrigerator, the lack of blood on the floor concerned me.
It seemed that there had been some sort of cover up.
The scene bore all the hallmarks of a brutal assault,
yet the victim, presumably Dorothy, was nowhere in sight. Following
the bloodstains, the detectives moved into the dining room, where
a still dark bundle lay on the floor. It was
(05:39):
the lifeless body of Dorothy Mayfield. She lay in a
puddle of blood, her head bearing deep, jagged gashes, and
a knife protruded from her neck, with her hand loosely
clasped around it. At first glance, it almost looked like
a suicide, with the injuries on her head and the
signs of attempted clean up. Quickly rolled that out. Detective
(06:02):
Phillips would later remark it was one of the most
violent and vicious homicides I've ever seen. As the home
was cordoned off with crime scene tape forransic experts arrived
to begin the meticulous process of documenting the scene. Every
angle and detail of Dorothy's body was photographed before she
was transported to the medical examiner's office. There, they confirmed
(06:27):
that she had died from blunt force trauma. Dorothy had
sustained at least thirteen injuries to the head with some
kind of heavy object. The knife had been stuck into
her neck after she was already deceased. The examination also
revealed defensive wounds on her right arm and left hand,
injuries that had been sustained as she tried to protect
(06:49):
herself from the relentless blows. Meanwhile, back at the home,
frantic experts continued their investigation. Signs of an attempt at
clean up were as everywhere. Blood had been mopped up
near Dorothy's body. Though a knife was embedded in her neck,
it was clear that another weapon had also been used
(07:09):
in the attack. Dorothy's head bore the brutal evidence of
repeated heavy blows, likely from some kind of blunt object.
As they expanded their search detectives entered the bedroom of
Dorothy's fourteen year old daughter, Gina. There, they noticed blood
smudges on the handle of the closet door. When they
(07:31):
opened it, they found a bloodied plastic bag inside, then
covered a candle holder coated in blood, and a few
blood silked toils. As the investigation continued inside the home,
detectives were already casting a suspicious eye on Gina. Her
(07:54):
initial statement to her sister about a fight with her
mother had raised questions, and her demeanor only heightened the
way stouts. While then it appeared stunned by the horrific
scene unfolding, Gina seemed almost energized, a probable excitement coursing
through her, as if she were running on adrenaline. As
detectives questioned her, they noted dry blood on her hands, feet,
(08:18):
and clothing. Their suspicions intensified when forensic experts informed them
of the bloody plastic bag found hidden in Gina's closet.
With mounting evidence, Gina was promptly arrested at the scene.
The contents of the plastic bag were sent for analysis.
Fingerprints lifted from the bag matched Gena's corroborating their suspicions.
(08:43):
She was taken to the police station, where Detective Phillips
conducted the first interview. In her statement, Gina claimed the
evening had spiraled out of control after her mother, who
she said was intoxicated, burst into her bedroom while she
was on the phone with her boyfriend Jack. According to Gina,
Dorothy had been drinking heavily and began yelling and accusing
(09:05):
her of disrespect. Junia recalled that her mother said we
need to have this out now, insisting on a physical confrontation.
Jana recounted Dorothy's unusual actions. She unbuttoned her shirt to
avoid ruining it as if it cost her three hundred dollars.
She then took off her rings and watch and warned
(09:27):
her daughter that she was going to beat her butt
and show her who was in charge. Trying to avoid
further escalation, Jana said she attempted to leave the bedroom
and go downstairs, but Dorothy allegedly grabbed her arm near
the top of the staircase, and in the struggle, both
of them tumbled down the steps. Jane explained, I was
(09:50):
trying to get away from her, and she kept grabbing
my arms doing this number and trying to hit me.
She hit me in the back, my shoulder. She slapped
me a couple of times. Gina claimed that in the
next moment, she saw that her mother was holding a knife.
I was terrified at that point because I just knew
she was going to kill me, Gina told detectives. She
(10:13):
said that she grabbed her mother's arm in an effort
to wrestle the knife away. Gana continued staring. I jerked
free of her and was backing up, and she just
looked at me and said, one of us has to go,
and then she stabbed herself right in front of my eyes.
Gina insisted that her mother's stab wound was self inflicted,
(10:34):
but Detective Phillips wasn't convinced. He'd been in the force
long enough to know that the brutal head wounds Dorothy
had sustained couldn't have been caused solely by a fold.
On the stairs, there were thirteen gashes, some of which
had penetrated the skull. Furthermore, the blade in Dorothy's knife
had been thrust in so far that it was buried
(10:56):
more than an inch into her spine. Then there was
the bloodstained candlestick holder found stashed in Gina's closet, suggesting
something far more sinister. Despite his doubts, Gina remained steadfast,
and she stuck to the same story. However, after some time,
she conceded that the struggle might have been a little
(11:17):
more violent than she had originally suggested. She claimed that
her mother had made threats against her boyfriend, Jack snarling,
I'm going to kill that little son of a bitch.
After a couple of hours of back and forth, detectives
(11:38):
told Gina what they had found in her bedroom and
that the fingerprints on the bloody plastic bag were hers.
Gina then broke down and changed her story of what
had happened that night. She said that during the altercation
with her mother, she had picked up the candlestick and
suggested that it may have struck her head. She said
(11:58):
she didn't mention it before because she was afraid she
would be blamed for her mother's death. She stated, the
only thing I withheld from you was that because I
thought that you would think that I killed her and
I didn't. Everything else is true. I swear I tried
to get some of the blood up from everywhere. I
did it because I didn't want to go to jail
(12:19):
because I didn't kill her. Gina's demeanor struck the detectives
as strange. They later recollected that she was calm and cool.
There was no sign of any emotion. Detective Phillips recalled,
if I hadn't been at the crime scene, I would
have thought that she was very believable. Midway through the interrogation,
(12:40):
Gina asked to go to the restroom. When she was
informed that she would be accompanied by a female detective,
she joked, don't worry, I don't have any body parts
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forensic analysis at the crime scene unfolded, detectives discovered an
unexpected clue, an unidentified fingerprint on the handle of the knife.
This led them to reconsider their theory of events. They
wondered if Gina had an accomplice and thought back to
what she said she'd been on the phone with her boyfriend,
(15:34):
Jack Hook when the argument with her mother unfolded. Detectives
suspected that he might have played a role in the
murder and brought him in for questioning him fingerprinting. When
his fingerprints matched those found at the crime scene, Jack
was promptly charged as an accessory to murder. After the fact, however,
(15:55):
he strongly refuted that he had been at the home
that night or had been involved in the murder and
cover up in any way. He said that he was
over at the family's home almost every single night and
that his fingerprints were probably on every single knife inside
the home. Following her own arrest and interrogation, Gina was
transferred to the juvenile wing of Lexington County Jail, where
(16:18):
she faced charges of murder. Psychological evaluation swiftly determined that
she had been of sound mind at the time of
the crime, and the brutal act appeared to be one
committed in the heat of the moment. But as the
shocking details emerged, the community struggled to make sense of
the tragedy. The news of Dorothy's murder spread rapidly through Lexington,
(16:42):
leaving the town in a state of disbelief. It was
unthinkable that such a violent act could have been committed
by Gina. A well regarded teenager and model student at
Lexington High School. Gina was known for her academic excellence.
(17:05):
She was a freshman honor student, a player on the
tennis team, and had even served as the president of
the student body the previous year at Lexington Middle School.
In the eyes of her teachers, classmates, and community, Gina
was the last person that anybody could expect to be
involved in such a horrific crime. Cassie Grace, a classmate
(17:25):
who had witnessed Gina and Jack's close relationship, expressed her disbelief,
recalling they were always holding hands every day during classes,
during breaks they were just in love. For many, Gina's
charm and positive attitude had made her an influential figure
at school, and teachers believed that she was going somewhere
in life. Charles Gatch, the principal of Lexington Middle School,
(17:49):
captured the shared shock of the community when he said
Gina was an outstanding leader and a positive student. Several
times I would ask her opinions on things, just to
get the pulse of the students. For others, like fellow
student Valerie Williams, the news simply didn't make sense, she said.
(18:10):
When I heard about it, I thought it was a
different gena grant. I just couldn't believe it was the
same Gena, but as the investigation continued, the community would
soon come to learn that Gina and her family had
been keeping a dark secret to the outside world. Dorothy
(18:39):
Mayfield appeared to have it all, two loving daughters, a
stable marriage, and a tidy, well kept home, but beneath
the facade lay a much darker reality. Dorothy battled a
longstanding alcohol addiction, which she hid from most people who
knew her. Her behavior at home was volatile, and few
(19:00):
individuals close to the family knew the truth. Gina's longtime babysitter,
Norma Braun, witnessed the difference in Jana's demeanor around her mother.
Gina seemed to walk on eggshells, always wary of Dorothy's
drinking and quick temper. As news of the murder spread,
close family members initially hesitated to disclose the painful realities
(19:21):
of Dorothy's private life, but in the days that followed
her death, pieces of the tragic puzzle began to surface.
Dorothy had started drinking heavily after her husband, Charles's death
in February of nineteen eighty seven. Charles had been an
engineer who dabbled in real estate. He provided well for
(19:42):
the family, moving them into a two hundred and seventy
thousand dollars home on Sunset Boulevard. Although Charles had passed
away from cancer, Dorothy irrationally blamed her daughters for his illness.
She forbade them from keeping his photograph or even mentioning
his name. Soon after he died, she was admitted briefly
(20:03):
to Charter Rivers Hospital, a facility for those struggling with
substance abuse and emotional disorders. Yet her time here was brief,
and her drinking resumed almost immediately upon her release. Dorothy's
alcoholism permitted the family's life nearly leading to disaster. On
several occasions. She held on a secretarial job at a
(20:26):
local bank, but she was intoxicated almost every single night
at home. Once, in a near tragic incident, she passed
out after leaving liquor bottles scattered across the home and
almost set the house on fire. On another occasion, Gina
threw away a handgun she had found underneath her mother's mattress.
(20:48):
Dorothy's brother, Curtis Dixon, said that her drinking made her vicious.
There were few people that Gina confided in, including her
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Over the Labor Day weekend before the murder, Gina told
Christy that she was afraid that her mother would one
day kill her. Christie's mother had actually called the police,
but was informed that nothing could be done unless something happened.
The night that Dorothy died, her blood alcohol level was
point three zero, perilously close to the potentially fatal threshold
(23:51):
of point three seven. Throughout these years, Dana, who was
nine years older than Gina, tried to shield her younger
sister from their mother's abuse of behavior. She kept the
refrigerator stocked, drove Gina to him from school, and tried
to ensure that Gina was never left alone in the
home with her mother. Reflecting on those turbulent years, Dana shared,
(24:14):
we thought we had this terrible secret, but that secret
had finally come spilling out. On the third of November,
both Gena Grant and Jack Hook were escorted to court,
where decision was to be made about their eligibility for bille.
(24:37):
The prosecution presented photographs of Dorothy's skull, showing the brutal
injury she had sustained and arguing that Gena posed a
serious danger to others. Family members, however, painted a different
picture of her, describing her as a straight a student
who would never harm anybody. Despite their support, family, court
(24:58):
judge Mark Westbrook ruled the Gina was indeed a threat
and ordered her continued confinement. The case remained static until
the twenty second of January, when Gina returned to court
and a play agreement was announced. Prosecutors agreed to drop
the murder charge in exchange for Jana's admission to killing
her mother, and she pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter.
(25:23):
Her defense attorney, Jack Swirling, argued that the act was
the result of years of emotional abuse and manipulation by Dorothy.
He stated, it's a situation where the problems took their toll.
A lot of weight was put on Jana's head. What
came up was built up anger. Jack Hook also pleaded
no contest, this time to the charge of being an
(25:45):
accessory to voluntary manslaughter, although his attorney, Stephen McCormick consisted
that Jack had no part in either the murder or
the attempt to stage it. The prosecution alleged otherwise. They
argued that Jack went to Jana's home after the murder
and inserted the knife into Dorothy's neck to make it
look like a suicide. They also contended that Jack and
(26:09):
Jana's relationship had been a major source of conflict between
Gina and her mother. They said that Jack frequently snuck
into Jana's room at night and hidden her closet. Following
the pleas, Judge Frank Rogers ordered the State Department of
Youth Services to complete pre sentencing reports, moving the case
(26:29):
one step closer to its final resolution. On the first
of March, Jack Hook's sentencing arrived, and his parents made
an emotional applay for leniency. Sheila, his mother, shared the
Chenner her strange husband bore some responsibility for Jack's actions.
She said that they had allowed him freedoms that they
now regretted. She spoke so ofwfully in court, expressing her
(26:52):
desire for Jack to return home, stating he had a
lot of freedom before this. I feel he needs better control. Yes,
I would like for him to come home. However, psychologist
lower Cato's testimony painted a far more concerning picture. She
said that Jack had refused to accept blame for his
role in the murder. She said to the court room,
(27:14):
He's been given previous chances and he chose not to
take advantage of them. He appears pretty impulsive and exercises
extremely poor judgment. It was a serious offense and there
needs to be consequences. Judge Rogers agreed, stating the seriousness
of Jack's offenses couldn't be ignored. He then sentenced Jack
to an indetermined term with the State Department of Youth Services,
(27:37):
with a guideline of forty seven months, but not to
exceed his twenty first birthday. Before concluding, the judge acknowledged
the sadness of the case, stating, this is a sad case.
It was a gruesome and brutal killing. This young man
has a lot of potential, but he has a lot
to overcome. Jack simply replied, thank you. The next week,
(28:01):
it was Jani's turn to face her sentencing. She entered
the courtroom with her sister Dana by her side and
was visibly emotional. Dana had been Janis Staunch's supporter corroborating
her claims about their mother's abusive behavior during her alcohol
fueled rages. The judge Mark Westbrook showed leniency in Gina's case.
(28:24):
He wrote that Gina couldn't be kept in the State
Department of Youth Services facility for more than six months
provided she enrolled in a special program for juvenile offenders.
If she was unable to secure a place in the program,
she could be confined until the age of twenty one.
Jena expressed her gratitude for the lenient sentence, daring I
(28:45):
feel like I have a lot to deal with, but
eventually I'll be able to cope with it. She shared
her hopes of moving in with her aunt and uncle
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and envisioned to fresh start. Her dreams
included becoming a psychology lawyer and perhaps one day writing
a book about her experiences. She also hoped to council
(29:06):
children who grew up with alcoholic parents dating. It's been
hard for me to go through, but I've gotten a
lot of support from my family friends in the community.
I couldn't have made it without the support. Just a
week after Jane and Jack began serving their sentences, the
(29:29):
State Board of Juvenile Parole in the Department of Youth
Justice contested Jane's sentence. They argued that the terms set
by the judge were unlawful. Under state law, judges are
required to impose sentences allowing juvenile offenders to be confined
until they turned twenty one, similar to jack sentencing. In fact,
(29:49):
state Supreme Court rulings from nineteen seventy six. In nineteen
seventy eight emphasized that only the Parole Board could determine
when a juvenile offender might return to the community. Arline MacLean,
the board's chairwoman, explained, the board's concerns steering our appeal
is mainly based on a concern that this could set
a precedent. We also want to ensure that all children
(30:11):
are treated equally. Under these guidelines, Gina would have to
serve a one and a half to four year sentence,
with reviews every three months to assess her eligibility for release.
Following the legal back and forth, the decision was announced
in September, allowing Gena to be moved to a juvenile
correctional facility in Massachusetts to be closer to her aunt
(30:33):
and uncle. This decision brought her closer to the family
members who had supported her throughout her legal ordeal. Reflecting
on the transition, Gina was relieved and hopeful, steering I
felt like they'd send me one day, but I just
never really knew it would be today. While at the facility,
Gina disclosed that she had been experiencing recurring nightmares about
(30:55):
her mother's murder, a trauma that continued to haunt her.
She found some comfort, however, in the friendship she developed
with the other girls at the facility. Speaking about her
life at home, she described the tense environment, stating, my
goal was just to get through high school and get
out of that house. In that house, it just felt
(31:15):
like this tension was building and building. When Gena was
eventually released a few months later, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts,
to live with her aunt and uncle. By nineteen ninety two,
she had enrolled at Cambridge Ridge and Latin High School,
where she excelled academically, maintaining impressive grades that reflected her
focus and dedication to starting a new life. Gina lived
(31:40):
with her aunt and uncle until she turned sixteen years old,
when she decided to move into her own apartment. According
to her aunt and uncle. Gina was fiercely independent and
she didn't want to live under the control of others.
They described her as very mature for her age, intelligent,
and deeply self sufficient. Her lifestyle, including her active sexual life,
(32:03):
occasionally caused friction with her relatives, but Gina was determined
to make her own way. Financially, she was supported by
a modest trust fund of two hundred and sixty nine
thousand dollars, an inheritance that had been divided between her
and her sister Dana. However, Dna insisted that her younger
sister received the full amount. In April of nineteen ninety five,
(32:35):
Gina Grant's story captured the headlines once more after the
prestigious Harvard University rescinded her admission offer. On paper, Gina
seemed like the perfect candidate for any top tier institution.
With an IQ of one hundred and fifty, her status
as a National Honor Society member, and her dedication to
(32:55):
tutoring underprivileged children, Gina had already achieved impress ofccomplishments. Her
application to the university had been so outstanding that Harvard
initially offered her early admission an honor reserved for only
the most exceptional young scholars. But following their offer, Harvard
learned about Jena's past and made the controversial decision to
(33:18):
withdraw her acceptance. This came on the heels of Gina's
feature in an article in The Boston Globe, which celebrated
her resilience in academic success despite a turbulent childhood with
alcoholic appearents. The article emphasized her achievements and featured Gina's
refusal to speak about her mother's death, stating that it
(33:41):
was too painful to recount. She didn't mention once that
she had killed her. She expressed a sense of forward
looking determination, telling the reporter, I certainly have goals that
keep me focused. I have hobbies, play tennis, read a
great deal. That certainly prevents self, which is a dangerous thing.
(34:02):
It seems to lead into a cycle of non action.
It's true that you can acknowledge that bad things happen
and that things are awful, But to feel I'm a victim,
that's just not good. However, following the article's publication, Harvard
received an anonymous letter containing newspaper clippings from the case
involving Gina's mother's death. The revelation shocked the admissions board,
(34:27):
and Harvard's decision to retract its offer delivered a devastating
blow to Gina. Addressing the setback, she said, I deal
with this tragedy every day on a personal level. It
serves no good purpose for anyone else to dredge up
the pain of my childhood. I'm especially distressed that my
college career may now be in jeopardy. Although Harvard's application
(34:49):
asks whether an applicant has ever been on probation, Gina's attorney,
Margaret Burnham, argued that she was not legally required to
disclose details of an incident that occurred when she was
a juce. Her former attorney, Jack Swirling, also expressed his
disappointment in Harvard's decision, stating I was upset for Gina
(35:10):
because I knew she had worked day and night to
put the past behind her and achieve her goals. She
is someone who can make a significant contribution to society.
Family members also rallied to Jina's defense, with her uncle
Curtis asserting Gina's never been punished, not at all, but
she didn't deserve to be punished. She's always been a
model person. She just had to overcome a tragedy. The
(35:34):
situation stirred a fierce debate, with critics questioning whether Jane's
achievements should be enough to overlook her history, while supporters
argued that she deserved a fresh start after enduring such
hardship and successfully rebuilding her life. The case became a
lightning rod for discussions about second chances, redemption, and the
way that once past should carry in shaping their future. Yet,
(35:57):
despite the support that Jana received from friends and family,
not everybody was convinced that her past was truly behind her.
Marlene MacLean, the chairwoman of the South Carolina Juvenile Parole Board,
expressed concerns about Jane's failure to take full responsibility for
her mother's death. This was a sentiment that was shared
(36:18):
by many who questioned her remorse. Who Aker, a former
treatment supervisor at the State Department of Juvenile Justice, added,
we knew she needed to break through denial. It was
never a question about her mind, it was about what
was in her heart. Prosecutor Donnie Myers echoed this perspective,
(36:39):
emphasizing that true rehabilitation couldn't begin without remorse, which he
felt was lacking. He stated, remorse was kind of non
existent on her part. It was a brutal crime. He
added that while Gina was undeniably intelligent, being intelligent can
indicate a little deviousness. Stephen mc cormick, jack Hook's former
(37:02):
defense attorney, also felt that Gina received lenient treatment. He said,
she hasn't learned to think the system supported her in
not taking any responsibility for what she's done. She's got
a great deal, and the public gave her that deal.
McCormick highlighted the disparity in sentencing, revealing that Jack had
(37:23):
served twice as long as Jina and that the legal
system had affected him deeply. Upon release, Jack had reconnected
with former peers from juvenile detention, and he soon found
himself back in prison for burglary. Reflecting on his son's
troubled life, Jack's father, Fred commented, seems that's the way
(37:43):
his luck's been running ever since that night. As the
case gained more and more media attention, Lexington Sheriff James
met who had been involved in the investigation, voiced his
disappointment that Jina hadn't been tried as an adult. He
argued that if an older person had killed Dorothy, there
would have been no discussion about their future because that
(38:07):
person would be imprisoned doing life or sitting on death
row waiting to be executed. He stated. Due to the
lack of a trial, many details of Gina and Jack's
case had remained undisclosed. However, Prosecutor Myers now revealed that
around a month before her mother's death, Gene had fabricated
a story about being kidnapped, a claim that he intended
(38:29):
to use as evidence had the case gone to trial.
According to Gene's report, a man abducted her from a
football field and drove her around for six hours, but
police quickly dismissed the story, suspecting instead that she had
actually been out with her boyfriend Jack. Prosecutor Myers argued,
no one will ever convince me that the killing wasn't
(38:51):
because of that boyfriend. They said, emotional abuse, that her
mother was constantly on her. Well, goddamn, her mother was
on her to keep away away from that boy. In
Gena's defense, however, attorney Jack Swirling said that he dismissed
the relevance of the kidnapping story. He said that clearly
the judge didn't believe it either, since he handed down
(39:14):
a very lenient sentence. The Harvard controversy raged on, with
a group of students rallying behind Gina and demanding her acceptance.
Daniel Cohen remarked, the story here is more than the
admission of one girl to Harvard. It's a story about
what does the juvenile system mean? Is it a system
to punish or rehabilitate? Eventually, the Harvard crimson revealed additional
(39:39):
information about Jane's application, claiming that she had lied about
the circumstances of her parents' deaths. When asked about becoming
an orphan at fourteen, Gina reportedly said that her mother
had died in a car accident. However, Gene's attorney, Margaret Burnham,
denied these claims, insisting that Gina had never lied to
(39:59):
any the interviewer and accused the newspaper of tarnishing her reputation.
She said, after having done the wrong thing by rejecting her,
the university noise trying to cover up its tracks by
throwing dirt in her direction. The following month, Jack Hook
permitted an interview with The Boston Herald from behind bars.
(40:20):
He expressed that he couldn't return to life as it
had been before. I was no longer Jack Hook. I
was the shadow of gena grant he set. He revealed
that after his arrest, Jina was prepared to testify that
it was actually him who had killed Dorothy. Gina had
given three different versions of her mother's death and had
(40:41):
finally told detectives that it was actually Jack who was responsible.
She said that while she was fighting with her mother,
Jack had come in through the back door. Her mother
had picked up a knife and she was waving it
just a few inches away from Jana's face. Gina had
said to detectives, I was just trying to make her
drop it, and I was still yelling, and I saw
(41:04):
him run off into the den area and then come back.
I remember seeing his hand raised with the crystal thing
the candlestick in his hand. I saw him hit her
once in the back of the head, and then I
just turned away. However, Gina seemingly had a change of heart.
Weeks later. She said that she blamed Jack at the
advice of her defense attorney, who suggested that she do
(41:27):
so to avoid prison. During his interview from behind bars,
Jack sounded bitter as he said for her to say
I'd done it. There must be something wrong. I don't know.
I reckon I was in love with her, I was young.
I was confused. He questioned why, if the abuse was
so severe, Dana hadn't told someone or gotten herself and
(41:50):
her sister out of the home. After their arrest, Jack
never heard from Gena again, although he had held out
hope that one day she would reach out to him.
He wanted an explanation of what had happened and how
he became entangled in it, but that explanation never came.
While Gina may not have gotten into Harvard, she was
(42:12):
eventually accepted by Tuft's University. The school stated she paid
her penalty. That's supposed to be enough under our system. Yet,
even as she moved forward with her life, opinions on
Gina remained deeply divided. Some viewed her as a product
of her circumstances, deserving of a second chance, while others
(42:35):
saw her as somebody who had escaped justice. As Jana
stepped into a new chapter, the shadows of her past lingered,
leaving many to ponder the complexities of accountability, rehabilitation, and
the choices that define us. Well. Bestie's that is it
(43:18):
for this episode of Morbidology. As always, thank you so
much for listening, and i'd like to say a massive
thank you to my new supporter up on Patreon. Can
this The link to Patreon is in the show notes
if you'd like to join, and you can join for
as little as one dollar a month. As you all know,
Morbidology is just a one woman team, so the support
up on there seriously goes such a long way, and
(43:39):
I genuinely am eternally grateful. If you'd like to support
the show in another way, please consider leave me mere
rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else
you may be listening. Remember to check us out at
morbidology dot com for more information about this episode and
to read some true crime articles. Until next time, take
care of your selves, Stacis, and have an amazing week
The town of Lexington, which is nestled in the heart
of South Carolina, traces its roots back to the early
nineteenth century. It was named in honor of the Battle
of Lexington, and began as a modest agricultural community before
blossoming into a thriving suburban area. Today, Lexington is a
blend of old and new, where winding country roads meet,
(01:06):
bustling neighborhoods and serene lakeside views give way to growing
commercial districts. Sunset Boulevard, one of its main thoroughfares, stretches
into the town, surrounded by wooded landscapes in a mix
of small businesses and storefronts. Along this busy road, however,
stands a house that fails out of place. At five
O three seven Sunset Boulevard, a grand colonial style home
(01:30):
is tucked amid the commercial bustle, standing as an odd
relic of another era. But this house isn't just visually
out of place. In ninety ninety, something happened here that
would forever change its place in the town's memory. One night,
the quiet within its walls was shattered by a brutal crime,
(01:50):
and the events of that evening with work years of
questions and division in Lexington What truly happened behind the
front door of five three Sunset Boulevard, not just on
that night, but in the years that preceded it. In
the aftermath, profound questions were raised about justice, forgiveness, and
(02:11):
the limits of both. As the time grappled with the tragedy,
a single haunting question lingered in the air. Could anyone
ever fully understand or forgive? What had happened? It was
(02:40):
just after midnight on the thirteenth of September ninety ninety,
when a security system company in Lexington, South Carolina, received
a report the alarm at the two story brick home
at five three seven Sunset Boulevard had been blaring, but
their attempts to contact the occupants were unsuccessful. The home
belonged to Dorothy Mayfield, a forty three year old mother
(03:02):
of two daughters, twenty three year old Dana and fourteen
year old Gina. Dorothy had remarried in the past year
after her first husband, Charles, had died three years earlier
from cancer. After failing to make contact, the security system
company called the local police department. Around the same time,
(03:22):
another call came through to nine one one. It was
Dana Grant. After finishing a late shift at Lexington Medical Center,
Dana had arrived back home to find both the front
and back doors locked. She tried her key in the
front door, but it wouldn't turn something was blocking it
from the inside. Despite her repeated knocks, nobody answered. Her
(03:47):
mother and sister should have been home, but the home
remained dark and silent. Growing anxious and concerned, Dana had
walked to the nearby Amoco garage and called the police.
Minutes later, Officer to Darling was dispatched, and he picked
up Dana on his way to the Mayfield residence. As
they pulled up outside the dimly lit home, Officer Darling's
(04:09):
headlights swept across the front garden, revealing a lone figure
moving among the shadows. It was Gina standing in the
front yard, her face pale in the beams of light.
She ran up to Dana, her voice shaking as she
struggled to speak. She stammered that she had gotten into
(04:30):
a fight with Mamma and that MoMA was hurt. Officer
Darling called for backup before stepping into the home. Just
past the entryway, he discovered thick smears of blood marking
the floor as if something had been dragged through it.
(04:53):
The trail led him into the kitchen, where shreds of
clothing and more blood lay scattered across the floor. Red
splatters dotted the refrigerator and the kitchen table. Detective John
Phillips soon arrived on this scene. Recalling that night, he
later described his initial impression from the blood splatters on
(05:15):
the refrigerator, the lack of blood on the floor concerned me.
It seemed that there had been some sort of cover up.
The scene bore all the hallmarks of a brutal assault,
yet the victim, presumably Dorothy, was nowhere in sight. Following
the bloodstains, the detectives moved into the dining room, where
a still dark bundle lay on the floor. It was
(05:39):
the lifeless body of Dorothy Mayfield. She lay in a
puddle of blood, her head bearing deep, jagged gashes, and
a knife protruded from her neck, with her hand loosely
clasped around it. At first glance, it almost looked like
a suicide, with the injuries on her head and the
signs of attempted clean up. Quickly rolled that out. Detective
(06:02):
Phillips would later remark it was one of the most
violent and vicious homicides I've ever seen. As the home
was cordoned off with crime scene tape forransic experts arrived
to begin the meticulous process of documenting the scene. Every
angle and detail of Dorothy's body was photographed before she
was transported to the medical examiner's office. There, they confirmed
(06:27):
that she had died from blunt force trauma. Dorothy had
sustained at least thirteen injuries to the head with some
kind of heavy object. The knife had been stuck into
her neck after she was already deceased. The examination also
revealed defensive wounds on her right arm and left hand,
injuries that had been sustained as she tried to protect
(06:49):
herself from the relentless blows. Meanwhile, back at the home,
frantic experts continued their investigation. Signs of an attempt at
clean up were as everywhere. Blood had been mopped up
near Dorothy's body. Though a knife was embedded in her neck,
it was clear that another weapon had also been used
(07:09):
in the attack. Dorothy's head bore the brutal evidence of
repeated heavy blows, likely from some kind of blunt object.
As they expanded their search detectives entered the bedroom of
Dorothy's fourteen year old daughter, Gina. There, they noticed blood
smudges on the handle of the closet door. When they
(07:31):
opened it, they found a bloodied plastic bag inside, then
covered a candle holder coated in blood, and a few
blood silked toils. As the investigation continued inside the home,
detectives were already casting a suspicious eye on Gina. Her
(07:54):
initial statement to her sister about a fight with her
mother had raised questions, and her demeanor only heightened the
way stouts. While then it appeared stunned by the horrific
scene unfolding, Gina seemed almost energized, a probable excitement coursing
through her, as if she were running on adrenaline. As
detectives questioned her, they noted dry blood on her hands, feet,
(08:18):
and clothing. Their suspicions intensified when forensic experts informed them
of the bloody plastic bag found hidden in Gina's closet.
With mounting evidence, Gina was promptly arrested at the scene.
The contents of the plastic bag were sent for analysis.
Fingerprints lifted from the bag matched Gena's corroborating their suspicions.
(08:43):
She was taken to the police station, where Detective Phillips
conducted the first interview. In her statement, Gina claimed the
evening had spiraled out of control after her mother, who
she said was intoxicated, burst into her bedroom while she
was on the phone with her boyfriend Jack. According to Gina,
Dorothy had been drinking heavily and began yelling and accusing
(09:05):
her of disrespect. Junia recalled that her mother said we
need to have this out now, insisting on a physical confrontation.
Jana recounted Dorothy's unusual actions. She unbuttoned her shirt to
avoid ruining it as if it cost her three hundred dollars.
She then took off her rings and watch and warned
(09:27):
her daughter that she was going to beat her butt
and show her who was in charge. Trying to avoid
further escalation, Jana said she attempted to leave the bedroom
and go downstairs, but Dorothy allegedly grabbed her arm near
the top of the staircase, and in the struggle, both
of them tumbled down the steps. Jane explained, I was
(09:50):
trying to get away from her, and she kept grabbing
my arms doing this number and trying to hit me.
She hit me in the back, my shoulder. She slapped
me a couple of times. Gina claimed that in the
next moment, she saw that her mother was holding a knife.
I was terrified at that point because I just knew
she was going to kill me, Gina told detectives. She
(10:13):
said that she grabbed her mother's arm in an effort
to wrestle the knife away. Gana continued staring. I jerked
free of her and was backing up, and she just
looked at me and said, one of us has to go,
and then she stabbed herself right in front of my eyes.
Gina insisted that her mother's stab wound was self inflicted,
(10:34):
but Detective Phillips wasn't convinced. He'd been in the force
long enough to know that the brutal head wounds Dorothy
had sustained couldn't have been caused solely by a fold.
On the stairs, there were thirteen gashes, some of which
had penetrated the skull. Furthermore, the blade in Dorothy's knife
had been thrust in so far that it was buried
(10:56):
more than an inch into her spine. Then there was
the bloodstained candlestick holder found stashed in Gina's closet, suggesting
something far more sinister. Despite his doubts, Gina remained steadfast,
and she stuck to the same story. However, after some time,
she conceded that the struggle might have been a little
(11:17):
more violent than she had originally suggested. She claimed that
her mother had made threats against her boyfriend, Jack snarling,
I'm going to kill that little son of a bitch.
After a couple of hours of back and forth, detectives
(11:38):
told Gina what they had found in her bedroom and
that the fingerprints on the bloody plastic bag were hers.
Gina then broke down and changed her story of what
had happened that night. She said that during the altercation
with her mother, she had picked up the candlestick and
suggested that it may have struck her head. She said
(11:58):
she didn't mention it before because she was afraid she
would be blamed for her mother's death. She stated, the
only thing I withheld from you was that because I
thought that you would think that I killed her and
I didn't. Everything else is true. I swear I tried
to get some of the blood up from everywhere. I
did it because I didn't want to go to jail
(12:19):
because I didn't kill her. Gina's demeanor struck the detectives
as strange. They later recollected that she was calm and cool.
There was no sign of any emotion. Detective Phillips recalled,
if I hadn't been at the crime scene, I would
have thought that she was very believable. Midway through the interrogation,
(12:40):
Gina asked to go to the restroom. When she was
informed that she would be accompanied by a female detective,
she joked, don't worry, I don't have any body parts
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(15:13):
forensic analysis at the crime scene unfolded, detectives discovered an
unexpected clue, an unidentified fingerprint on the handle of the knife.
This led them to reconsider their theory of events. They
wondered if Gina had an accomplice and thought back to
what she said she'd been on the phone with her boyfriend,
(15:34):
Jack Hook when the argument with her mother unfolded. Detectives
suspected that he might have played a role in the
murder and brought him in for questioning him fingerprinting. When
his fingerprints matched those found at the crime scene, Jack
was promptly charged as an accessory to murder. After the fact, however,
(15:55):
he strongly refuted that he had been at the home
that night or had been involved in the murder and
cover up in any way. He said that he was
over at the family's home almost every single night and
that his fingerprints were probably on every single knife inside
the home. Following her own arrest and interrogation, Gina was
transferred to the juvenile wing of Lexington County Jail, where
(16:18):
she faced charges of murder. Psychological evaluation swiftly determined that
she had been of sound mind at the time of
the crime, and the brutal act appeared to be one
committed in the heat of the moment. But as the
shocking details emerged, the community struggled to make sense of
the tragedy. The news of Dorothy's murder spread rapidly through Lexington,
(16:42):
leaving the town in a state of disbelief. It was
unthinkable that such a violent act could have been committed
by Gina. A well regarded teenager and model student at
Lexington High School. Gina was known for her academic excellence.
(17:05):
She was a freshman honor student, a player on the
tennis team, and had even served as the president of
the student body the previous year at Lexington Middle School.
In the eyes of her teachers, classmates, and community, Gina
was the last person that anybody could expect to be
involved in such a horrific crime. Cassie Grace, a classmate
(17:25):
who had witnessed Gina and Jack's close relationship, expressed her disbelief,
recalling they were always holding hands every day during classes,
during breaks they were just in love. For many, Gina's
charm and positive attitude had made her an influential figure
at school, and teachers believed that she was going somewhere
in life. Charles Gatch, the principal of Lexington Middle School,
(17:49):
captured the shared shock of the community when he said
Gina was an outstanding leader and a positive student. Several
times I would ask her opinions on things, just to
get the pulse of the students. For others, like fellow
student Valerie Williams, the news simply didn't make sense, she said.
(18:10):
When I heard about it, I thought it was a
different gena grant. I just couldn't believe it was the
same Gena, but as the investigation continued, the community would
soon come to learn that Gina and her family had
been keeping a dark secret to the outside world. Dorothy
(18:39):
Mayfield appeared to have it all, two loving daughters, a
stable marriage, and a tidy, well kept home, but beneath
the facade lay a much darker reality. Dorothy battled a
longstanding alcohol addiction, which she hid from most people who
knew her. Her behavior at home was volatile, and few
(19:00):
individuals close to the family knew the truth. Gina's longtime babysitter,
Norma Braun, witnessed the difference in Jana's demeanor around her mother.
Gina seemed to walk on eggshells, always wary of Dorothy's
drinking and quick temper. As news of the murder spread,
close family members initially hesitated to disclose the painful realities
(19:21):
of Dorothy's private life, but in the days that followed
her death, pieces of the tragic puzzle began to surface.
Dorothy had started drinking heavily after her husband, Charles's death
in February of nineteen eighty seven. Charles had been an
engineer who dabbled in real estate. He provided well for
(19:42):
the family, moving them into a two hundred and seventy
thousand dollars home on Sunset Boulevard. Although Charles had passed
away from cancer, Dorothy irrationally blamed her daughters for his illness.
She forbade them from keeping his photograph or even mentioning
his name. Soon after he died, she was admitted briefly
(20:03):
to Charter Rivers Hospital, a facility for those struggling with
substance abuse and emotional disorders. Yet her time here was brief,
and her drinking resumed almost immediately upon her release. Dorothy's
alcoholism permitted the family's life nearly leading to disaster. On
several occasions. She held on a secretarial job at a
(20:26):
local bank, but she was intoxicated almost every single night
at home. Once, in a near tragic incident, she passed
out after leaving liquor bottles scattered across the home and
almost set the house on fire. On another occasion, Gina
threw away a handgun she had found underneath her mother's mattress.
(20:48):
Dorothy's brother, Curtis Dixon, said that her drinking made her vicious.
There were few people that Gina confided in, including her
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Over the Labor Day weekend before the murder, Gina told
Christy that she was afraid that her mother would one
day kill her. Christie's mother had actually called the police,
but was informed that nothing could be done unless something happened.
The night that Dorothy died, her blood alcohol level was
point three zero, perilously close to the potentially fatal threshold
(23:51):
of point three seven. Throughout these years, Dana, who was
nine years older than Gina, tried to shield her younger
sister from their mother's abuse of behavior. She kept the
refrigerator stocked, drove Gina to him from school, and tried
to ensure that Gina was never left alone in the
home with her mother. Reflecting on those turbulent years, Dana shared,
(24:14):
we thought we had this terrible secret, but that secret
had finally come spilling out. On the third of November,
both Gena Grant and Jack Hook were escorted to court,
where decision was to be made about their eligibility for bille.
(24:37):
The prosecution presented photographs of Dorothy's skull, showing the brutal
injury she had sustained and arguing that Gena posed a
serious danger to others. Family members, however, painted a different
picture of her, describing her as a straight a student
who would never harm anybody. Despite their support, family, court
(24:58):
judge Mark Westbrook ruled the Gina was indeed a threat
and ordered her continued confinement. The case remained static until
the twenty second of January, when Gina returned to court
and a play agreement was announced. Prosecutors agreed to drop
the murder charge in exchange for Jana's admission to killing
her mother, and she pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter.
(25:23):
Her defense attorney, Jack Swirling, argued that the act was
the result of years of emotional abuse and manipulation by Dorothy.
He stated, it's a situation where the problems took their toll.
A lot of weight was put on Jana's head. What
came up was built up anger. Jack Hook also pleaded
no contest, this time to the charge of being an
(25:45):
accessory to voluntary manslaughter, although his attorney, Stephen McCormick consisted
that Jack had no part in either the murder or
the attempt to stage it. The prosecution alleged otherwise. They
argued that Jack went to Jana's home after the murder
and inserted the knife into Dorothy's neck to make it
look like a suicide. They also contended that Jack and
(26:09):
Jana's relationship had been a major source of conflict between
Gina and her mother. They said that Jack frequently snuck
into Jana's room at night and hidden her closet. Following
the pleas, Judge Frank Rogers ordered the State Department of
Youth Services to complete pre sentencing reports, moving the case
(26:29):
one step closer to its final resolution. On the first
of March, Jack Hook's sentencing arrived, and his parents made
an emotional applay for leniency. Sheila, his mother, shared the
Chenner her strange husband bore some responsibility for Jack's actions.
She said that they had allowed him freedoms that they
now regretted. She spoke so ofwfully in court, expressing her
(26:52):
desire for Jack to return home, stating he had a
lot of freedom before this. I feel he needs better control. Yes,
I would like for him to come home. However, psychologist
lower Cato's testimony painted a far more concerning picture. She
said that Jack had refused to accept blame for his
role in the murder. She said to the court room,
(27:14):
He's been given previous chances and he chose not to
take advantage of them. He appears pretty impulsive and exercises
extremely poor judgment. It was a serious offense and there
needs to be consequences. Judge Rogers agreed, stating the seriousness
of Jack's offenses couldn't be ignored. He then sentenced Jack
to an indetermined term with the State Department of Youth Services,
(27:37):
with a guideline of forty seven months, but not to
exceed his twenty first birthday. Before concluding, the judge acknowledged
the sadness of the case, stating, this is a sad case.
It was a gruesome and brutal killing. This young man
has a lot of potential, but he has a lot
to overcome. Jack simply replied, thank you. The next week,
(28:01):
it was Jani's turn to face her sentencing. She entered
the courtroom with her sister Dana by her side and
was visibly emotional. Dana had been Janis Staunch's supporter corroborating
her claims about their mother's abusive behavior during her alcohol
fueled rages. The judge Mark Westbrook showed leniency in Gina's case.
(28:24):
He wrote that Gina couldn't be kept in the State
Department of Youth Services facility for more than six months
provided she enrolled in a special program for juvenile offenders.
If she was unable to secure a place in the program,
she could be confined until the age of twenty one.
Jena expressed her gratitude for the lenient sentence, daring I
(28:45):
feel like I have a lot to deal with, but
eventually I'll be able to cope with it. She shared
her hopes of moving in with her aunt and uncle
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and envisioned to fresh start. Her dreams
included becoming a psychology lawyer and perhaps one day writing
a book about her experiences. She also hoped to council
(29:06):
children who grew up with alcoholic parents dating. It's been
hard for me to go through, but I've gotten a
lot of support from my family friends in the community.
I couldn't have made it without the support. Just a
week after Jane and Jack began serving their sentences, the
(29:29):
State Board of Juvenile Parole in the Department of Youth
Justice contested Jane's sentence. They argued that the terms set
by the judge were unlawful. Under state law, judges are
required to impose sentences allowing juvenile offenders to be confined
until they turned twenty one, similar to jack sentencing. In fact,
(29:49):
state Supreme Court rulings from nineteen seventy six. In nineteen
seventy eight emphasized that only the Parole Board could determine
when a juvenile offender might return to the community. Arline MacLean,
the board's chairwoman, explained, the board's concerns steering our appeal
is mainly based on a concern that this could set
a precedent. We also want to ensure that all children
(30:11):
are treated equally. Under these guidelines, Gina would have to
serve a one and a half to four year sentence,
with reviews every three months to assess her eligibility for release.
Following the legal back and forth, the decision was announced
in September, allowing Gena to be moved to a juvenile
correctional facility in Massachusetts to be closer to her aunt
(30:33):
and uncle. This decision brought her closer to the family
members who had supported her throughout her legal ordeal. Reflecting
on the transition, Gina was relieved and hopeful, steering I
felt like they'd send me one day, but I just
never really knew it would be today. While at the facility,
Gina disclosed that she had been experiencing recurring nightmares about
(30:55):
her mother's murder, a trauma that continued to haunt her.
She found some comfort, however, in the friendship she developed
with the other girls at the facility. Speaking about her
life at home, she described the tense environment, stating, my
goal was just to get through high school and get
out of that house. In that house, it just felt
(31:15):
like this tension was building and building. When Gena was
eventually released a few months later, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts,
to live with her aunt and uncle. By nineteen ninety two,
she had enrolled at Cambridge Ridge and Latin High School,
where she excelled academically, maintaining impressive grades that reflected her
focus and dedication to starting a new life. Gina lived
(31:40):
with her aunt and uncle until she turned sixteen years old,
when she decided to move into her own apartment. According
to her aunt and uncle. Gina was fiercely independent and
she didn't want to live under the control of others.
They described her as very mature for her age, intelligent,
and deeply self sufficient. Her lifestyle, including her active sexual life,
(32:03):
occasionally caused friction with her relatives, but Gina was determined
to make her own way. Financially, she was supported by
a modest trust fund of two hundred and sixty nine
thousand dollars, an inheritance that had been divided between her
and her sister Dana. However, Dna insisted that her younger
sister received the full amount. In April of nineteen ninety five,
(32:35):
Gina Grant's story captured the headlines once more after the
prestigious Harvard University rescinded her admission offer. On paper, Gina
seemed like the perfect candidate for any top tier institution.
With an IQ of one hundred and fifty, her status
as a National Honor Society member, and her dedication to
(32:55):
tutoring underprivileged children, Gina had already achieved impress ofccomplishments. Her
application to the university had been so outstanding that Harvard
initially offered her early admission an honor reserved for only
the most exceptional young scholars. But following their offer, Harvard
learned about Jena's past and made the controversial decision to
(33:18):
withdraw her acceptance. This came on the heels of Gina's
feature in an article in The Boston Globe, which celebrated
her resilience in academic success despite a turbulent childhood with
alcoholic appearents. The article emphasized her achievements and featured Gina's
refusal to speak about her mother's death, stating that it
(33:41):
was too painful to recount. She didn't mention once that
she had killed her. She expressed a sense of forward
looking determination, telling the reporter, I certainly have goals that
keep me focused. I have hobbies, play tennis, read a
great deal. That certainly prevents self, which is a dangerous thing.
(34:02):
It seems to lead into a cycle of non action.
It's true that you can acknowledge that bad things happen
and that things are awful, But to feel I'm a victim,
that's just not good. However, following the article's publication, Harvard
received an anonymous letter containing newspaper clippings from the case
involving Gina's mother's death. The revelation shocked the admissions board,
(34:27):
and Harvard's decision to retract its offer delivered a devastating
blow to Gina. Addressing the setback, she said, I deal
with this tragedy every day on a personal level. It
serves no good purpose for anyone else to dredge up
the pain of my childhood. I'm especially distressed that my
college career may now be in jeopardy. Although Harvard's application
(34:49):
asks whether an applicant has ever been on probation, Gina's attorney,
Margaret Burnham, argued that she was not legally required to
disclose details of an incident that occurred when she was
a juce. Her former attorney, Jack Swirling, also expressed his
disappointment in Harvard's decision, stating I was upset for Gina
(35:10):
because I knew she had worked day and night to
put the past behind her and achieve her goals. She
is someone who can make a significant contribution to society.
Family members also rallied to Jina's defense, with her uncle
Curtis asserting Gina's never been punished, not at all, but
she didn't deserve to be punished. She's always been a
model person. She just had to overcome a tragedy. The
(35:34):
situation stirred a fierce debate, with critics questioning whether Jane's
achievements should be enough to overlook her history, while supporters
argued that she deserved a fresh start after enduring such
hardship and successfully rebuilding her life. The case became a
lightning rod for discussions about second chances, redemption, and the
way that once past should carry in shaping their future. Yet,
(35:57):
despite the support that Jana received from friends and family,
not everybody was convinced that her past was truly behind her.
Marlene MacLean, the chairwoman of the South Carolina Juvenile Parole Board,
expressed concerns about Jane's failure to take full responsibility for
her mother's death. This was a sentiment that was shared
(36:18):
by many who questioned her remorse. Who Aker, a former
treatment supervisor at the State Department of Juvenile Justice, added,
we knew she needed to break through denial. It was
never a question about her mind, it was about what
was in her heart. Prosecutor Donnie Myers echoed this perspective,
(36:39):
emphasizing that true rehabilitation couldn't begin without remorse, which he
felt was lacking. He stated, remorse was kind of non
existent on her part. It was a brutal crime. He
added that while Gina was undeniably intelligent, being intelligent can
indicate a little deviousness. Stephen mc cormick, jack Hook's former
(37:02):
defense attorney, also felt that Gina received lenient treatment. He said,
she hasn't learned to think the system supported her in
not taking any responsibility for what she's done. She's got
a great deal, and the public gave her that deal.
McCormick highlighted the disparity in sentencing, revealing that Jack had
(37:23):
served twice as long as Jina and that the legal
system had affected him deeply. Upon release, Jack had reconnected
with former peers from juvenile detention, and he soon found
himself back in prison for burglary. Reflecting on his son's
troubled life, Jack's father, Fred commented, seems that's the way
(37:43):
his luck's been running ever since that night. As the
case gained more and more media attention, Lexington Sheriff James
met who had been involved in the investigation, voiced his
disappointment that Jina hadn't been tried as an adult. He
argued that if an older person had killed Dorothy, there
would have been no discussion about their future because that
(38:07):
person would be imprisoned doing life or sitting on death
row waiting to be executed. He stated. Due to the
lack of a trial, many details of Gina and Jack's
case had remained undisclosed. However, Prosecutor Myers now revealed that
around a month before her mother's death, Gene had fabricated
a story about being kidnapped, a claim that he intended
(38:29):
to use as evidence had the case gone to trial.
According to Gene's report, a man abducted her from a
football field and drove her around for six hours, but
police quickly dismissed the story, suspecting instead that she had
actually been out with her boyfriend Jack. Prosecutor Myers argued,
no one will ever convince me that the killing wasn't
(38:51):
because of that boyfriend. They said, emotional abuse, that her
mother was constantly on her. Well, goddamn, her mother was
on her to keep away away from that boy. In
Gena's defense, however, attorney Jack Swirling said that he dismissed
the relevance of the kidnapping story. He said that clearly
the judge didn't believe it either, since he handed down
(39:14):
a very lenient sentence. The Harvard controversy raged on, with
a group of students rallying behind Gina and demanding her acceptance.
Daniel Cohen remarked, the story here is more than the
admission of one girl to Harvard. It's a story about
what does the juvenile system mean? Is it a system
to punish or rehabilitate? Eventually, the Harvard crimson revealed additional
(39:39):
information about Jane's application, claiming that she had lied about
the circumstances of her parents' deaths. When asked about becoming
an orphan at fourteen, Gina reportedly said that her mother
had died in a car accident. However, Gene's attorney, Margaret Burnham,
denied these claims, insisting that Gina had never lied to
(39:59):
any the interviewer and accused the newspaper of tarnishing her reputation.
She said, after having done the wrong thing by rejecting her,
the university noise trying to cover up its tracks by
throwing dirt in her direction. The following month, Jack Hook
permitted an interview with The Boston Herald from behind bars.
(40:20):
He expressed that he couldn't return to life as it
had been before. I was no longer Jack Hook. I
was the shadow of gena grant he set. He revealed
that after his arrest, Jina was prepared to testify that
it was actually him who had killed Dorothy. Gina had
given three different versions of her mother's death and had
(40:41):
finally told detectives that it was actually Jack who was responsible.
She said that while she was fighting with her mother,
Jack had come in through the back door. Her mother
had picked up a knife and she was waving it
just a few inches away from Jana's face. Gina had
said to detectives, I was just trying to make her
drop it, and I was still yelling, and I saw
(41:04):
him run off into the den area and then come back.
I remember seeing his hand raised with the crystal thing
the candlestick in his hand. I saw him hit her
once in the back of the head, and then I
just turned away. However, Gina seemingly had a change of heart.
Weeks later. She said that she blamed Jack at the
advice of her defense attorney, who suggested that she do
(41:27):
so to avoid prison. During his interview from behind bars,
Jack sounded bitter as he said for her to say
I'd done it. There must be something wrong. I don't know.
I reckon I was in love with her, I was young.
I was confused. He questioned why, if the abuse was
so severe, Dana hadn't told someone or gotten herself and
(41:50):
her sister out of the home. After their arrest, Jack
never heard from Gena again, although he had held out
hope that one day she would reach out to him.
He wanted an explanation of what had happened and how
he became entangled in it, but that explanation never came.
While Gina may not have gotten into Harvard, she was
(42:12):
eventually accepted by Tuft's University. The school stated she paid
her penalty. That's supposed to be enough under our system. Yet,
even as she moved forward with her life, opinions on
Gina remained deeply divided. Some viewed her as a product
of her circumstances, deserving of a second chance, while others
(42:35):
saw her as somebody who had escaped justice. As Jana
stepped into a new chapter, the shadows of her past lingered,
leaving many to ponder the complexities of accountability, rehabilitation, and
the choices that define us. Well. Bestie's that is it
(43:18):
for this episode of Morbidology. As always, thank you so
much for listening, and i'd like to say a massive
thank you to my new supporter up on Patreon. Can
this The link to Patreon is in the show notes
if you'd like to join, and you can join for
as little as one dollar a month. As you all know,
Morbidology is just a one woman team, so the support
up on there seriously goes such a long way, and
(43:39):
I genuinely am eternally grateful. If you'd like to support
the show in another way, please consider leave me mere
rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else
you may be listening. Remember to check us out at
morbidology dot com for more information about this episode and
to read some true crime articles. Until next time, take
care of your selves, Stacis, and have an amazing week
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