Some evidence is indisputable. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most significant pieces of evidence that turned the tides either in favor of or against infamous defendants.
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00:00 "The gloves didn't fit. Remember these words, if it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:10 significant pieces of evidence that turned the tides either in favor of or against infamous defendants.
00:16 "I think he realized the jig was up. He never thought that he left physical evidence."
00:22 Number 10. Audio Recordings - Depp V Heard
00:27 The defamation case between Hollywood actors and former partners Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
00:31 centered around a 2018 opinion piece published in The Washington Post.
00:35 "He decided to sue his ex-wife personally over an article she wrote for The Washington Post,
00:42 and this time he was taking the fight back home."
00:45 In the article, Heard asserted that she had been a victim of domestic violence during their
00:49 marriage. However, Depp sued her, insisting that he was the one subjected to violence at her hands.
00:55 "So much of the case was put to the jury as being whether or not Johnny Depp would be the
01:01 sort of person, or is the sort of person, that would ever lay a finger against another woman."
01:06 A crucial moment during the trial was the playing of an audio recording where the couple argued
01:10 about a past physical altercation that left Depp's finger injured. On the tape,
01:15 Heard appears to acknowledge hitting Depp and berates him for complaining about it.
01:19 "But you're fine. I did not hurt you. I did not punch you. I was hitting you."
01:23 This incriminating tape likely influenced the jury's decision to hold Heard liable for defaming
01:28 Depp, quote, "with actual malice."
01:30 9. TERRI SANDERSON'S POST-INCIDENT TRAVEL - GWYNETH PALTROW SKI CRASH TRIAL
01:36 In 2023, actress and lifestyle entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow faced a civil lawsuit from
01:41 retired Utah doctor Terri Sanderson.
01:44 "Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, in court, being sued, accused of violently crashing into
01:49 a man during a family ski trip in Park City, Utah."
01:52 Sanderson alleged that in 2016, Paltrow collided with him on a ski slope,
01:57 resulting in permanent traumatic brain injury and severe emotional distress, among other things.
02:02 Paltrow's legal team challenged Sanderson's claims by presenting evidence of the numerous
02:06 vacations he took after the supposed incident, as well as social media posts depicting him in
02:11 good spirits.
02:12 "You post a lot on social media."
02:13 "Relative to other people, it didn't seem like I did, very little."
02:18 "All of these pictures are from your personal Facebook after the collision."
02:23 Although Sanderson maintained that these trips were part of his recovery,
02:26 the jury disagreed with him. They ultimately found him responsible for the accident,
02:31 and awarded Paltrow the requested $1 in damages.
02:34 "I believe she thinks she has the truth. I believe she thinks that.
02:38 But I know. I absolutely know. And I said I would not bring any falsehoods. I'm gonna
02:48 tell the truth, and I did."
02:49 8. Handwriting analysis
02:51 The Lindbergh Kidnapping Trial
02:53 The 1935 trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby
02:58 was one of the first cases hailed as "the trial of the century."
03:01 "Despite the media attention, the police investigation quickly stalled."
03:05 Hauptmann had been arrested after a significant portion of the ransom money was traced to him.
03:10 However, he claimed that the money belonged to a former business partner who owed him a debt.
03:14 "Recent transactions are dominated by 10 and 20 dollar gold certificates.
03:18 Gold certificates are discovered in his home and in his pockets."
03:23 Perhaps the most damning evidence against Hauptmann was handwriting analysis that
03:27 seemed to suggest Hauptmann had written the ransom note. During the trial,
03:31 eight handwriting experts took to the stand to testify to that.
03:34 Despite the evidence against him being largely circumstantial,
03:38 Hauptmann was convicted and sentenced to death.
03:40 "Hauptmann is found guilty and sentenced to death."
03:44 Since then, some have raised doubts about his guilt.
03:48 7. A Pajama Top
03:50 The United States v. Jeffrey R. MacDonald
03:52 In February 1970, U.S. Army Captain Jeffrey R. MacDonald reported the murders of his pregnant
03:58 wife and two daughters by four intruders. "It was Jeffrey MacDonald who made the 911 call.
04:04 He later claimed his family was attacked by four intruders."
04:07 Despite evidence implicating MacDonald, the Army dismissed the case,
04:11 but it was later reopened in civilian court. The prosecution focused on MacDonald's pajama top,
04:16 which he claimed to have used as a defense, burying 48 holes allegedly from an ice pack.
04:22 "Jeffrey MacDonald has always maintained his innocence. Although his case has had more time
04:26 in court than just about any other criminal case in American history,
04:29 no new evidence, including DNA, has validated his claim."
04:34 However, investigators found the holes too neat to have occurred during motion,
04:38 suggesting that the cloth was stationary, likely covering his wife's body when the punctures
04:42 occurred. They demonstrated that if the pajama was folded correctly, the 48 holes could have
04:47 been made by 21 thrusts, the exact number of wounds on MacDonald's wife.
04:52 "The FBI had also found that there was no evidence of a break-in,
04:57 and all the weapons in the assault had come from the house."
05:01 Consequently, MacDonald was convicted of the murders.
05:04 6. Video of Gage Grosskreutz Holding Gun - The Trial of Kyle Rittenhouse
05:09 The Kyle Rittenhouse case was a highly controversial one that ignited intense
05:13 political debates. In August 2021, Rittenhouse shot three men during a
05:18 protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
05:21 "In court today, jurors for the first time hearing from the man who was shot by Kyle
05:25 Rittenhouse and survived."
05:27 Two of the men died, while the third, Gage Grosskreutz, sustained severe injuries.
05:32 Rittenhouse argued that he was safeguarding local businesses from violence, and only fired
05:37 in self-defense after the men drew their guns on him. When Grosskreutz took the stand at trial,
05:42 he was confronted with footage showing him pointing his gun at Rittenhouse.
05:45 "What was going through your mind?"
05:47 "That I was gonna die."
05:49 Although Grosskreutz admitted to being armed, he insisted that he had no intention of shooting
05:54 Rittenhouse. Nevertheless, the jury sided with the defendant's self-defense plea and acquitted
05:59 him of all charges.
06:00 "We the jury find the defendant, Kyle H. Rittenhouse, not guilty."
06:05 "Kyle Rittenhouse trembling with emotion as the court clerk read the jury's verdict."
06:11 5. Incriminating Text Messages - The Alex Jones Defamation Trial
06:16 For years, Alex Jones spread falsehoods about the tragic Sandy Hook shooting,
06:20 suggesting that it was staged and accusing victims and their families of being actors.
06:24 As a result, many affected families sued Jones for defamation and won.
06:29 "Robert Parker weeps in a Connecticut courtroom after a jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex
06:34 Jones to pay him $120 million in damages for repeatedly claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook
06:41 Elementary School shooting was a hoax."
06:43 During his deposition, Jones had claimed that he couldn't find any text messages on his phone
06:48 about the incident. However, at trial, it was revealed that Jones' own lawyers had accidentally
06:54 sent two years' worth of text messages related to Sandy Hook to the lawyer representing one
06:58 of the victim's parents.
06:59 "As of two days ago, it fell free and clear into my possession, and that is how I know
07:04 you lied to me when you said you didn't have text messages about Sandy Hook. Did you know that?"
07:08 Needless to say, this came as a rude shock to him. In the end, Jones was ordered to pay
07:14 the family nearly $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
07:18 "After a resounding rebuke, the InfoWars host was ordered to pay an additional $45.2
07:24 million in punitive damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim."
07:29 4. Falsified Documents - The United States v. Holmes
07:33 Through her company Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes promised to revolutionize blood testing by using
07:38 just a few drops of blood to detect several ailments.
07:41 "The goal is to empower the individual. We believe strongly that the future of healthcare
07:46 is in enabling the individual to have the information that they need
07:50 to take ownership of their health."
07:52 However, these claims were inaccurate, and Holmes attempted to validate them by forging
07:57 documents to sway investors. Two particular sets of these documents played pivotal roles in her
08:02 trial. The first, a counterfeit endorsement from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, falsely suggested
08:08 that they had endorsed Theranos' technology.
08:10 "Remember those logos that Elizabeth Holmes admitted she put on pharmaceutical company
08:17 lab reports and then sent to prospective business partners like Walgreens? It was
08:22 Pfizer and Schering-Plau. Well, it turns out she did more than just add the logos."
08:28 The second set of documents presented inflated revenue projections of $40 million
08:32 through purported contracts with drug companies, which were later proven to be bogus.
08:37 These documents were all the jury needed to convict Holmes of fraud
08:40 and sentence her to over 11 years in prison.
08:43 "Today, she entered the minimum security federal women's prison camp located in Bryan, Texas."
08:49 3. Kennel Video
08:51 The murder trial of Alec Murdoch
08:53 A member of South Carolina's prominent Murdoch family, Alec Murdoch became the prime suspect
08:58 after his wife Maggie and their son Paul were killed in June 2021. For several months,
09:03 Murdoch claimed that he was not present when the murders took place.
09:06 "Murdoch claimed he didn't go to the family's kennels that night
09:10 until he found his wife and son's bodies."
09:13 But an unexpected source, his own son Paul, unknowingly helped secure a guilty verdict
09:18 from beyond the grave. Moments before his tragic death, Paul made a video in the family's dog
09:23 kennel, which captured Murdoch's voice, thus shattering his supposed alibi.
09:27 "Prosecutors playing that video for him again in court."
09:31 "Can you point out Alec Murdoch, the person whose voice you recognize in this video,
09:35 in this courtroom, please?"
09:36 "Standing right there in a gray jacket."
09:37 Prosecutors presented this incriminating footage in court,
09:40 following which Murdoch changed his story but still maintained his innocence. However,
09:45 the jury was already convinced. They deliberated for less than three hours
09:49 before returning a guilty verdict.
09:51 "I sentence you to prison for murdering him for the rest of your natural life.
09:58 Those sentences will run consecutive."
10:02 2. Bite Marks
10:04 Ted Bundy's first murder trial
10:06 Throughout the 1970s, Ted Bundy reigned terror on women in the U.S., claiming the lives of at
10:12 least 30 individuals. Although he had killed several victims prior, Bundy's first murder
10:17 trial was for the 1978 deaths of Margaret Elizabeth Bowman and Lisa Janet Levy, two Florida
10:22 State University students. "There was no doubt that when he was arrested, he was fearful of what
10:27 was coming. We had strong belief that he had committed the sorority sister murders."
10:33 Before taking her life, Bundy had bitten deeply into Levy's flesh, leaving a very visible bite
10:39 mark. This would become key physical evidence during his trial. Two forensic odontologists
10:44 seemingly matched the bite impressions to castings of Bundy's teeth, which they presented to the jury.
10:49 "Whoever made this mark in the skin, in the flesh, had crooked teeth."
10:54 While this evidence was crucial in securing Bundy's conviction, bite mark analysis has
10:59 since been proven as unreliable and shown to have resulted in several wrongful convictions.
11:04 "People that were board certified did not agree about what a bite mark was. If a science isn't
11:11 a science, and it's not reproducible, and it's not reliable, courts of law should not allow it in,
11:18 period."
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11:33 1. "Bloodied Gloves" - The People vs. O.J. Simpson
11:39 "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
11:42 Those were the famous words uttered by Johnny Cochran, one of O.J. Simpson's defense lawyers
11:46 during his 1995 murder trial. Simpson stood accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown
11:51 Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. At the crime scene, detectives found a pair of
11:56 bloodied gloves, which they believed Simpson had worn during the murders.
12:00 "Your Honor, at this time, the people would ask that Mr. Simpson step forward and try on
12:05 the glove recovered at Bundy as well as the glove recovered at Rockingham."
12:08 Lead prosecutor Marsha Clark rejected the idea of Simpson trying on the gloves in court,
12:12 but her assistant prosecutor Christopher Darden proceeded with it, anticipating a, quote,
12:17 "big moment." His expectations were dashed, however, when the gloves didn't seem to fit
12:22 Simpson's hands. The jury later adhered to Cochran's words, and infamously acquitted
12:27 Simpson of the murders.
12:28 "Back in the courtroom, Simpson smiled, and his attorneys were obviously pleased and relieved.
12:33 The prosecution team sat stone-faced."
12:36 Do you think any of these cases would have had a different outcome without these smoking
12:39 guns of evidence? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
12:43 Alec Murdoch's alibi potentially destroyed by his son's own video.
12:48 [music]