Oil, Money... and Murder
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Bill Kurtis
Bill Kurtis
Cullen Davis
Richard Haynes
Dan Bailey
Pat Brennan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Documentary about how immense wealth can change the outcome of a trial. On August 2, 1976, gunshots ripped through an exclusive Fort Worth mansion, killing two people, including a 12-year-old girl. Survivors and eyewitnesses told the same story: Cullen Davis, a well-known Texan millionaire, invaded the mansion bent on murdering everyone inside. But from the moment Davis's name was mentioned as the murderer, what seemed to be an open-and-shut case became a legal nightmare for prosecutors. Davis had more money to spend on his defense than the State. And, despite the incriminating and corroborative statements from three eyewitnesses who said they had watched the oilman open fire that night, he was acquitted. Nine months after his acquittal, Davis was jailed again, accused of hiring a hit-man to murder the judge in his divorce case. This time, the entire murder-for-hire deal was captured on tape by the FBI. But wealth won Davis an acquittal once again.
