(foreboding music)
(dramatic music)
- Every attempt to revive her on scene was taken.
We transported her to the hospital
where a doctor declared her deceased.
The victim was identified as 38 year old Samira Frasch.
- Hello.
Yeah. (crowd noise)
- I think all of her family was back overseas.
Samira would tell me stories of how she was a model
in Madagascar and France,
did a little bit of acting,
did a little bit of singing, music videos.
So I heard some great stories of her life
before she moved to this country.
(gentle music)
They fell in love.
They wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
He flew her to Vegas, had a quick wedding,
it was a beautiful wedding, it was a small affair.
She had always dreamed of coming to America
and being a part of this life.
(foreboding music)
- She was murdered.
Shortly after Mrs. Frasch's body was found
in the swimming pool,
Mr. Frasch was located at their residence
in Panama City, Florida.
So about 2, 2 1/2 hours away from the crime scene.
(dramatic music)
The medical examiner was able to author a report.
It appeared she was struck with something
on one side of her head
and then was still alive when she was placed into the pool
because there was water in her lungs
indicating that she was attempting to inhale
once she was placed in the pool.
But those findings did not include a time of death,
that's because the temperature of the pool,
it was quite cold,
interfered with the decomposition
of the body in such a way
that the experts were not able to determine
how long it had been since she'd been murdered.
(solemn music)
- [Judge] Everybody be seated, please.
- The defense makes a good case saying that
Adam left around eight o'clock in the morning
and if you can't give us a time of death
then he's not guilty.
- [Attorney] Okay, can you explain how body temperature
would've impacted your conclusion?
- When a person dies you no longer maintain
your internal body temperature the way we
warm blooded animals do under normal circumstances.
That factor is complicated in this instance
because she's in a cold body of water
so that will accelerate the time course
of the cooling of her body.
- [Attorney] Was there an actual body temperature
of Mrs. Frasch at the time she was recovered?
- No, there was no body temperature measured
when she was recovered.
- [Attorney] And what was the last factor that you?
- It was the wrinkling of the fingers and toes.
- [Attorney] And how was that significant?
- The absence of any such wrinkling of the fingers or toes
speaks to the likelihood that she has been immersed
for a relatively short period of time.
- Good morning again. - Morning, sir.
- I was definitely excited to cross examine Dr. Arden
because he was so certain in his conclusion
and when there were a lot of things
that he needed to accept could undermine that conclusion.
You need a reading of Mrs. Frasch's body
to make any sort of, I guess,
determination about how far she's gone from 98.6,
which is a living person, correct?
- We have one attempt to measure her body temperature.
The thermometer did not register.
- So I guess you don't have any data then, correct?
- Incorrect.
We have data that the body temperature
was not high enough to register on that thermometer.
That puts you at about 80 or below.
- [Adrian] Okay, can you say-
- I don't have an exact measurement,
I said that already, but I do have data.
(solemn music)
- His theory was that Samira Frasch's body
had not been in the pool for a very long time,
which placed Adam Frasch in Panama City
because if he can put Adam Frasch in Panama City
based on his believed time of death
Adam Frasch is not guilty of murder.
So our strategy going in was to negate the defense theory
that she had recently gone into the pool
and it was some unknown person that had done it,
even though there was no exact time of death
that could be nailed down,
that the other evidence pointed to Adam Frasch
having been the cause of death.
(solemn music)
- [Juror] State of Florida versus Adam Frasch,
we the jury find as follows, as to the indictment,
the defendant is guilty of first degree murder.
(foreboding music)
- It's sombering, but you're grateful
because he is being held accountable for his actions
and for what he did to Samira Frasch.
(solemn music continues)
- When I found out that Adam was found guilty
it brought a sense of peace to my mind
that finally Samira received the justice that she deserved.