WEDDING DAY EXECUTION: He Killed for a $150,000 Policy That Didn’t Even Exist
Once upon a time, Rob Harris and Terresa Mloud are piecing together the perfect little family. >> They were happy, you know, hugging, kissing all the time. >> Her wedding was going to be a big all out blown out wedding. >> But their plans are laid to rest by a bullet one cold January night. >> That’s when he noticed an individual coming out of the darkness.
I just remember my grandmother going hysterical, just crying so loud. >> In my mind, it’s just swarming. Don’t know what’s going to come next. >> For this couple, the honeymoon is over. Terresa Mloud is radiant as she models her wedding dress for her mom, best friend, [music] and future in-laws. The bubbly 27-year-old’s first marriage didn’t work out, but she learned her lesson, grew, and moved on.
And now with her engagement to Rob Harris, she’s marrying into a great family. >> We were really close. All of us got close together. You know, [music] Thanksgiving dinners, we were one place or the other. >> Marriage is something interesting. It is an institution that bridges two families. She [music] liked his family. She liked the bridge that was being created.
Um, this was all security [music] and it felt good to Teresa. Everyone’s so excited, especially seeing her in that dress. >> It’s all going to be perfect. >> I’m going to get it. I’m going to get it. I’m going to get it. >> Teresa was um everything was always the biggest, the best. Her wedding [music] was going to be a big, you know, all out blown out wedding.
>> So, keep both hands on the wheel. >> Good. >> Rob Harris is the one who’ll make it happen. Tall and handsome, [music] the 23-year-old is the strong, quiet type. >> Good right there. >> The pair both grew up by the Chesapeake Bay. >> And now they’re ready to get hitched in the little waterfront town of [music] Pasadena, Maryland, just outside Baltimore.
But before the wedding bells can sound, a quiet night echoes with gunshots. And police respond to a call about a double shooting. The scene is a small parking lot in Baltimore surrounded by a ball field, a cemetery, and a sleepy neighborhood. >> A violent crime almost does not exist in this neighborhood. >> Except perhaps tonight.
>> All right. What’s going on? Come here. We got two gunshot victims. We got a male. >> The victims, the two young lovers. >> What’s your name, sir? >> Robert Harris is in pain and in shock. Shot once in the leg. He says a man with a gun came out of nowhere, demanded their valuables and started shooting >> and then he shot Teresa.
>> Terresa Mloud has been shot multiple times in the hand and back. How could this couple be in their safe middle class bubble one moment and a world of pain the next? Teresa and her brother Ronald grow up without a father, but with a loving mom in the Baltimore suburbs. In 1986, she falls for a charming iron worker and gets pregnant.
But things start to go bad before she even walks down the aisle. >> My sister had arrived at the church, went to get out of the car, and closed her hand in the car door, and it was her ring finger. The bride’s hand is so swollen the groom can’t even get the ring on. >> Everybody says that that was a sign right there, you know, not to go through with it.
>> It turns out he’s unfaithful. So Teresa divorces him and in 1988 takes her little boy Ricky back home to grandma. She’s determined to make [music] a new life for herself and her son. >> Ricky [music] um definitely was the love of Teresa’s life. I mean, he could do no wrong. >> I love you. >> I love you, too.
>> And he was a very good, [music] well-mannered little boy. Um but he was definitely the love of Trace’s life. Teresa puts in long hours as a doctor’s office manager while studying to be a licensed practical nurse. >> My mother was a very hard worker. I remember coming home from school and her having her head in the books.
>> It’s tough, but it’s worth it. Hey, >> mothers are superheroes and they will [music] do whatever it takes to see a better outcome for their children. And definitely Teresa was one of those mothers cuz she’d been raised by a single mother herself. >> Rob Harris also grows up near Baltimore as a part of a tight-knit family.
He’s well-rounded, a high school jock who also knows his way around computer systems. Handsome and polite, he’s a hit with the ladies. But none seems special enough to settle down with until one night in June 1992 when he sees a girl on the dance floor. >> She loved to dance. She would she would get out there and just tear her floor up all night long and she just she was a very outgoing person.
cuties. >> Hi. Hello. >> That’s the night Teresa meets Rob. A friend of a friend. >> You go. I [laughter] don’t want to. Why don’t you >> Oh, thank you. Wow. What a gentleman. >> Hello. >> I’m Teresa. >> Hi, Rob. How are you? >> Nice to meet you. >> He was very nice. He was calm. He was very [music] quiet.
He seemed to be a decent person. >> I didn’t know you had friends like this. Rob balances her energy with a lowkey [music] mellowess. >> It’s very common that opposite personality [music] types attract. So, I’m sure he liked that she could be on [music] stage when they were out. And she probably perceived his quietness as quiet strength.
>> He was a big lacrosse player in high school and he’s still in great shape. Teresa notices. [laughter] Love blooms fast. >> Really fast. Within 6 months, Rob moves in. >> I thought, you know, well, he comes from a good family. I’m going to, you know, I’ll go along with this. >> Thank you. >> There you go. >> Also going along is little Ricky.
He loves having another guy around the house. >> Okay, I’m spighty. >> See you, buddy. Rob participated in a lot of Ricky’s sports activities [music] and would go to a lot of his games and stuff. He had a pretty good relationship, >> but now Rob is recovering from a gunshot wound that missed his femoral artery by less than an inch.
And Teresa, I get a phone call. It was Rob’s mother and she said there’s been an accident. Teresa suffered six bullet wounds, five of them in her back at point blank range. She doesn’t make it. Now Grandma has to tell Teresa’s little boy. What’s wrong? Is mama gone? >> I just remember my grandmother going hysterical, just crying so loud.
[snorts and laughter] >> So right. >> All he could say to me [music] was, “I’ll be good. I’ll be good.” >> It’s all right, Ricky. It’s going [laughter] to be >> I begged and begging, you know. told her I’d be good. I thought, hey, if I if I kept saying it so many times that it would it would bring her back. All I could do was hug him and hold him.
The person who took this little boy’s mother away from him is still on the loose. To find the killer, cops scour the ball field, the parking lot, and surrounding neighborhood. >> As we canvas the area and we started walking the path to where we was told the suspect fled, there’s a fence there that has a hole cut open in it.
Just before going through the fence, a uniform officer looked on the ground and he saw a gold necklace. It’s the only thing the gunman took. Did someone really put six bullets into Theresa Mloud for a piece of jewelry that he later dropped? Or is there another reason the young mother died? Something far more sinister than a mugging gone wrong.
>> Just before Terresa Mloud is [music] to marry her fianceé, Rob Harris, tragedy tears the young couple apart. >> [snorts] >> Baltimore police are [music] trying to determine who killed Teresa and shot Rob in the thigh. >> The story is big news. >> The people in the quiet neighborhood called Violetville are turning on their TVs and locking their doors >> for this area.
Just looking at the crime map and knowing the area of [music] Violetville to hear gunshots coming from that area, that’s not common. That’s not normal. >> So far, they only have one witness to the deadly assault, Rob Harris. When his gunshot wound is stabilized, detectives ask him to come in to give a full statement. >> So, let’s start from the beginning.
Can you tell me what happened? Rob tells the police they pulled into the secluded parking lot because he wanted to give Teresa a surprise. A gold necklace he’s hidden in the trunk. >> As he went back to the driver’s area of the vehicle. >> So, I got a surprise for you. >> Don’t move. >> That’s when he noticed an individual coming out of the darkness from the baseball field area.
>> Get out of the car. He says the man snatched Teresa’s necklace and without warning shot Rob. >> When he screamed for Teresa’s pocketbook, she hesitated. >> Get on your knee. >> Hand me a purse. >> Please. I don’t have anything. >> So he fired again and again, then vanished. [sighs] >> This guy, he came out of the woods over here this way.
>> How tall was he? Rob describes the shooter as a tall, thin African-Amean male wearing a camouflage jacket. But he doesn’t remember anything else. It all happens so fast. By dawn the next day, the search for the killer continues. And that morning, word of the tragedy carves its way through Rob and Teresa’s families.
>> Your mom is here. She wants to talk to you. What’s wrong, Mom? I >> just Baby, I I just need to talk to you for a few minutes. Why don’t you take a seat on the little bit there? Okay. >> What’s wrong? >> They sat me down. And they uh basically said, you know, there was an accident. >> Teresa’s been shot. >> What do you mean she’s been shot? You know, at this point, you know, things are getting serious and you know, in my mind, it’s just [music] swarming.
Don’t don’t know what’s going to come out of my mom’s mouth next. >> No. No, >> no, I know. [laughter] >> No, baby. >> I just uh I just lost it. I just uh stood up, started screaming. >> It’s one thing to lose a family member or loved one after a long painful [music] illness or because of old age, but to have a loved one ripped from your life through violence is traumatic to everybody associated with it.
It brings up a survivor’s guilt. Why didn’t it happen to me? Why did it have to happen to her? It leaves us grieving and an empty hole lies forever. >> The day after the shooting, Rob can finally see young Ricky again, the boy he considers his son. I remember walking in the door and uh he was sitting on uh the couch.
You know, I ran to him and he hugged me. >> I’m so sorry. And uh he told me that he was so sorry and that uh that he loved me and that you know it was going to be all right. You know we were going to be fine. >> Wow. These are gorgeous. >> As Teresa and Rob start dating, everything is fine. >> She wanted a husband, but she’s such a good mother.
She’s not going to choose a guy unless he’s into children. Rob was in some ways the perfect partner because [music] he fulfilled her needs and her son’s needs. He was equally involved with both of them. >> Maybe Rob is the foundation [music] she’s looking for. >> Rob did come from a wonderful family and he was surrounded by love, raised, [music] you know, in a good home, you know, went to good schools, you know, graduated, did everything he was supposed to do in life.
including meeting a nice girl his family would embrace. What do >> you think of these burgers here? >> There would be cookouts and we’d go to parties. I mean, they got to be very close with [music] the family. >> I often tell young women, [music] when you’re dating a guy, you should also have a few dates with his parents so that you can understand really what their family dynamics are because they’re going to be yours soon enough.
>> Everyone loves everyone. The two families become one. And the two bringing them together, shy Rob and bubbly Teresa, couldn’t be happier. >> The relationship [music] was very good. You know, they were getting along. They were happy. You know, hugging, kissing all the time. >> There he is. >> After 3 years of living together, Teresa starts hinting about marriage.
>> Look at that. That’s gorgeous. >> Oh, I should try it on. >> Don’t you think? Oh my gosh, that’s beautiful. Let’s go inside. >> She wanted to have a home, a mother and a father [music] for Ricky. >> No, we got those dinner. >> Come on, Mom. This is boring. Let’s go to that toy store over there. >> Oh, okay.
>> Good. Very good. >> And the way Ricky and Rob love each other. >> It looks like it’s going to work. >> Fingers, [music] thumb around there. >> One of my friends asked me, you know, is that your dad? And you know, I believe I said yes. >> Boom. Excellent. Good boy. >> It was all coming together. >> Remember that wrist.
>> But now it’s all torn apart. Police haven’t found any more witnesses in the secluded area. Although they do find one piece of the puzzle, an empty magazine from a Glock 9 mm. Yet who fired it remains a mystery. So far they’re stumped. >> During an investigation of this nature, you look at the 911 calls that come in before and after to see to make sure you don’t overlook anything.
>> One call is odd but promising. >> There was a call with a black male who was reported to be undressed uh and running the neighborhood. A mugger too high to hold on to a victim’s necklace might also be someone who’d streak through a neighborhood. It’s a strange lead, but one they need to follow because a little boy wants answers and deserves to know who stole his mommy away.
After one marriage gone bad, Terresa Mloud falls for Rob Harris. >> Boom. Excellent. Good. >> Who has become the dad her son never had. >> Look at that. >> She wants to be with him forever. But wedding plans soon become funeral arrangements. Family and friends are sick with grief. The family is more horrified when the autopsy reveals details of the shooting.
>> One shot went into the palm of her hand when her hands were out in front of her begging, >> “Please, I don’t have anything.” >> And uh the bullet came out her elbow. >> She was trying to stop the bullets. It’s terrifying. Tragic. Police have a tip about someone who fits the shooter’s description seen streaking through the neighborhood after the murder.
Is he just a derelch unrelated to the case? Or is he the man who killed a young couple’s dreams? >> Wow, look at the size of that cow. >> After living together 3 years, Teresa really wants to make it official. Rob’s reluctant at first, but he does love being with her and Ricky. >> The three just seem to fit.
>> Wow, look at that. >> So, Rob starts to think it might be time. [music] >> And so on Thanksgiving 1995, he decides there’s no sense in holding back any longer. >> Here you go. >> Oh, thank you. [music] Did you get everything? Maybe you should check. >> And he brings home an amazing diamond ring. A [music] $10,000 rock.
>> Is this what I think it is? >> Oh my god. >> Told you I get you right. >> Oh yes, you did. >> It was humongous. It was big. >> Wow. [sighs] >> Do you want to try it on? >> Mhm. >> This is what she wanted. [music] She lived with him all these three years because she wanted to get married. This was so important to her.
Now it [music] was finally happening. >> Oh, I love you. >> But the sad truth, the ring is actually on a loan from a jeweler friend. >> I can’t wait to show everybody. >> Until Rob can raise the cash to put it on her finger for keeps. >> Look, it won’t be forever. I’ll get it right back. >> After the holiday, he has to ask Teresa to give it back so he can return it.
>> I’m sorry, but you know I’ll get it right back. [sighs] >> Okay. Well, she kind of, I guess, hated to part with it, [music] but I mean, I think she understood that anything like that should be in a vault and not on a finger. >> I understand. >> The engagement ring might have been on her finger only a couple days, but it’s a sweet gesture.
I’m sure she felt disappointed, but she tried to act like she understood because she was not about to lose him. She now more than ever wanted [music] to marry him because he dangled a ring in front of her. >> I think this one’s gonna be my favorite. >> Ring or not, Teresa moves on with the arrangements. >> Wow, that’s really chocolate.
>> It’s really good. >> She asked [music] me, of course, would I be in the wedding? And I said yes. >> Rob’s mom and two sisters join Teresa and her maid of honor to plan. >> She’s going to make the most of this and have fun with the women she loves. Teresa wanted a black and white wedding. Um, she was going to wear her hair up.
She even went and had it done [music] um like at the shop just to see what if she liked it. >> She’s determined to have a perfect wedding. >> It’s the one thing the normally frugal single mom wants to go all out on. >> Thank you. >> That’s 12 bucks. But Rob has a bit of a habit of going all out too often. Even though Teresa is the one bringing home most of the bacon.
>> Hey Rob, how’s it going, man? >> I knew you were coming in tonight. >> Hey, Rob. >> Yeah, all of us are here. >> Oh, what’s going on, bro? Hey, how’s it going, man? >> What’s happening, man? >> How you doing? >> Hey, you guys want some drinks? >> Yeah. >> All right, man. >> I got this one. >> Yeah, thanks. >> A relationship thrives and does well if both people continue to put into it.
put into love, work, energy, time, and treasure. >> Time to party, man. >> Right. >> And if one person’s putting all the treasure and the other person’s sending it out, this is not healthy for the relationship. >> The year before the wedding, Rob takes a job as a manager at an auto shop. >> Look, not now. >> It’s long hours in a business he’d like to buy into.
>> You’re always tired, >> but he’s still not pulling in enough to pay for his lifestyle. >> You’re working. working to make money for us. >> What are you a volunteer? Because all your checks bounce. >> He starts bouncing checks. >> Your rent bounce, utilities bounce. >> The money problems take their toll. >> When are you going to write a decent check? >> And when it comes to murder, >> money is always a possible motive.
>> It’s not uncommon for law enforcement to first look at the husband or the fiance or the boyfriend. Police learned Teresa did have $150,000 in life insurance policies, but Rob wouldn’t see any cash upon her death. >> She had set them up so that her mother would actually be the beneficiary for the benefit of her son, Ricky.
>> So, who shot Ricky’s mom and why? >> What you got under there? As Ricky and Rob try to come to grips with the loss. >> I miss her, too. Okay. Come here, buddy. >> The whole family prays for answers. >> I’m going to take care of you. Okay. >> Soon, an anonymous call about a bizarre confession will shed a shocking new light on what happened that dark evening.
>> What are you doing? >> Let’s get married. >> Yes. Just as Theresa Mloud is about to take love to the next level with Rob Harris, she dies horribly on the cold ground of a deserted parking lot. Police have no leads. They never do find the guy who [music] stre the neighborhood that night.
Then 2 days after the shooting, they get the [music] tip they’ve been waiting for from an anonymous caller. >> The lady said, “I have information about a murder.” Uh, she was very nervous. This is the first break I had. >> She says the guy she knows admitted to [music] her and some friends that he was the shooter. >> Hey, did you hear about the murder down the street at the ballpark? >> Oh, yeah.
The girl, she died, but the guy’s okay. >> I can’t believe it happened in this neighborhood. So freaky. >> I can believe it. >> What do you mean? >> I shot that woman. >> Okay, >> give me a beer. >> Get your own beer. Right. >> She gives an address for the man across the street from the park the suspect ran through. >> Well, now it has caught my attention.
She said that the person that was responsible for this was a guy named Russell Bril. I asked describe Russell Bril. >> He’s tall like the shooter Rob Harris described, but he’s white. Uh although he’s not a black male, but yet he is a person of interest because he could have been involved with this crime with a black male >> door.
>> So from that we went to the address that she provided us. >> Hey, do you know Russell Bril? >> Yeah, that’s me. >> Hey, I need you to come down to the station. I need to talk to you about an incident that occurred the other night. >> Russell Bril is a known lowife from the neighborhood.
A wannabe gangster who has the word thug tattooed on his neck. Russell Brill was by his own account really a hustler. Uh he would sell guns, he would sell drugs. Anything that came into his possession and he could make a dollar from, he would sell it. Just a few months earlier, in the fall of 1995, the talk was not of killers and witnesses, but wedding venues and flower arrangements.
Rob’s family is delighted they’ll be gaining such a wonderful daughter-in-law. >> They were all for the wedding. >> They liked Teresa. Couldn’t help but like Teresa. She was bubbly and if she could do something for you, she’d do it. >> The bride to be had spent the [music] last 10 years utterly devoted to Ricky.
Now she’s going to share that loving duty with Rob. I was happy about them getting married. He was good to me. He he treated me good. You know, he would go out and spend time with me and uh and eventually, you know, I just started calling him dad. >> But the young couple’s money problems remain. >> Hey, Mom. >> Hey.
>> Hey. I wanted to ask you a favor. >> A favor? What’s up? >> Teresa [music] would ask me a lot of times, “Mom, can you pay the loan? can you pay the electric bill? [music] I would say, can’t Rob help pay some of this? She say, he doesn’t have any money. >> Does he have a job? Isn’t he working? >> And I would ask her, [music] you know, uh, where is his money? If he’s working, where is his money? What’s he doing with it? >> All right.
How much is it? >> Teresa probably thought on some level that Rob was building and it wouldn’t always be this way. This was temporary. >> She believes Rob is working hard trying to buy into the auto shop he manages. She’s totally supportive, >> actually taking out loans and giving the money to Rob in the leadup to the wedding.
>> I’m go with the guys for some beers. >> Okay, have fun. >> I’m a I’m a little short. Can I borrow 40 bucks? >> Yeah, that’s fine. >> But not everyone is thrilled about that wedding. I I [music] wanted to be happy for her, but when you see somebody’s being used and it’s it’s a close friend of [music] yours, you just don’t I didn’t have the feeling there that I should have had for her being my best friend and her getting married.
>> He was taking advantage of for the [music] fact that I’m he’s supposed to be helping her pay the bills and his checks are bouncing and then in return her checks are bouncing which is causing her more money. >> Hey. >> Hey, how are you? Good. And Rob starts making bad choices for a family man with a gun he says he needs for protection at work.
>> Is that loaded? >> Robert Harris, by his own admission, would sometimes come in [music] at the end of the day, leave his gun on the living room coffee table out where young Ricky could get it. >> Get it off the table. You >> That was a problem for [music] Teresa. >> Oh, it’s fine. >> No, it’s not.
You can’t just leave a gun in front of a kid in my house. Are you crazy? >> My guns before. He’s not going to do anything with it. No, you can’t just leave them out here. >> Lay them out on the table. >> And uh, you know, at the time I just I thought that was the coolest thing. You know, I didn’t know any better. >> Perfectly people. >> His male ego, his bravado was more important than his urge to protect a child. It was ego. Look at me.
I could be an involved dad and oh, I’ll leave a Glock on the table. Teresa’s brother also starts hearing about the nights Rob goes out alone. Oh, >> welcome back. >> Thank you. >> It turns out there’s another woman, >> Tequila. >> I had approached my sister and told her that he was cheating on her and she said, “I don’t want to hear it.
” You know, she would just tell me that I don’t believe you or she, you know, it’s not your business. She just didn’t want to hear it from nobody. Teresa was hurt by her first relationship, her first marriage that ended up in infidelity. And when rumors started to surface that Rob was unfaithful, she went into complete denial. She couldn’t even believe it.
She was in love with Rob. It was going to be the traditional marriage that she had envisioned. It was going to work this time. And she was not going to hear about any cheating stories. The stories are true, but when she hears them, Teresa doesn’t confront Rob. She gets mad at her brother for spreading rumors.
When Ronald comes over to try to patch things up with Teresa, >> look, I told you you weren’t allowed over here. >> Rob won’t have it. >> I’m talking. You’re pushing. >> Stop it. >> I basically told Rob that he was a cheater. He was a liar. He was a deceiver. And uh you know, he was going to get what’s coming to him sooner or later. Get out of here. Go.
>> Rob pulls his gun. >> I thought he was going to shoot me when he first pulled it out. >> He drops it. >> Oh, you’re a big man now. >> But it’s never far from his hands. >> Get out of here. >> JUST GO HOME. STOP IT. >> Teresa is furious, but once again, it’s at her brother. >> Get out. Let’s go. >> She tells Ronald to leave and never come back.
>> And it hurts me knowing that she died and we never got a chance to reconcile that, you know, straighten that out. Make it good. >> This is ridiculous. Another bounce check. Dana is also worried about her friend. She talked to Teresa just hours before the shooting. >> Teresa >> and [music] just kind of told her, “You need to open your eyes.
” >> You see what he’s doing? He’s spending your money going out of the bar late at night. I think you should rethink this marriage. >> She got >> upset with me and [music] she accused me of being jealous of her relationship with Rob and the [music] fact that they were going to get married. rethink this marriage.
>> I’m just looking out for you. >> No, you’re not. You’re just jealous because you’re not getting married and I am. That’s all it is. >> I guess she [music] was trying to say that I was jealous because that’s what I wanted and that’s what she was doing. >> Rob clearly had an ability to manipulate people.
Somehow Rob was able to convince her that they were telling lies about him [music] and he was able to keep her close. You’re unbelievable. She loved Rob and she was unable [music] to see that all these conflicts around her were red flags >> trying to solve Teresa’s murder. Detectives interrogate Russell Bril. >> You’re here today because someone told the police that you shot that lady >> and they’re surprised when suddenly he admits he did do it.
>> Shot him. Russell’s statement was he made Teresa get out of the car. >> Get out of the car. >> Grabbed the necklace from her. >> Stop it. >> Get out. >> Shot multiple times. And then he turned and shot Rob and fled. That was his initial story. >> Case closed. Right. Wrong. >> I’ll be right back.
It’s Russell Bril’s second story that truly stuns the cops and reveals the ultimate betrayal and the real truth about who killed Theresa Mloud. >> What are you doing >> and why? >> No, sir. You’re admitting [music] you shot him? >> Suspect Russell Bril surprises police when he first admits >> Yeah, both of them. >> He shot Theresa Mloud and Rob Harris.
He gives up the murder weapon, a Glock 9 mm, which matches the bullets and magazine found at the scene. But it’s not at all the end of the story. >> I’ll be right back. >> In fact, this is where things take a most bizarre turn. >> We ran the serial number and the weapon came back registered to Robert Harris, the other victim in this investigation.
The gun is Rob’s. >> I know the gun that was used was registered to Robert Harris. >> When pressed, Bril admits he hadn’t told the whole truth. >> No, it was his idea. >> In fact, Rob Harris actually set up the attack on his fiance, hiring Bril as the hitman. >> Why did you say you help him? >> Look, I was afraid to tell the truth.
I’m afraid of Rob. Bril first took the blame because he’s terrified what Rob will do to him if he rats him out. >> Get out of car. >> The African-Amean shooter Rob originally described never existed. >> Don’t Don’t shoot me. >> It’s a complete lie. >> The motive cash. It turns out weeks before the murder. >> Yeah, like I said, I just want to put him on, you know, the life insurance policy.
Bob encouraged Teresa to make a change in her life insurance. >> We’re getting [music] married. So >> Teresa called the insurance agent while Rob was present. >> Okay. Yeah, that sounds perfect. >> She asked the insurance agent to change the beneficiary to Robert Harris. >> Okay. >> Rob thinks he’s getting $150,000. It’s enough to start a new life with the other woman who doesn’t even know he’s engaged.
appeared the driving force was American greed. Just greed just to be able to do the things he wanted to do. Now he going to put his plan of action in place. >> According to Russell Bril, Robert Harris knew Russell Bril was short on money and was looking to see if he was interested in doing this murder for hire.
>> How’d you like to make 20 grand? >> $20,000. >> 20 grand. Russell Bril initially was shocked. >> Rob offers him $20,000. [music] Brill’s never killed before, but 20 grand is 20 grand. >> It’s easy money. >> You got everything worked out. >> I got everything planned. All you got to do is shoot her. >> You’re going to do it, right? >> Robert Harris told Russell that they were going to have to make it look like a robbery.
>> All right, I’ll do it. This is all you need. that Russell Bril was going to have to shoot and kill Teresa. >> I’ll talk to you later. >> All right. >> And that Russell Brill was in fact going to have to shoot Robert Harris to make the robbery look real. >> They set up a place to do it, a secluded parking lot, and they pick a date, January 26th.
That night, Rob tells Teresa he’s getting a necklace for her. But the open trunk is really a signal for Brill. >> Russell Bril’s testimony was very compelling. Russell testified how >> Get out of the car, lady. >> Teresa was pleading for her life, how she was terrified and she was crying. Please. >> Russell said when it was really happening, he knew looking at her, >> please don’t you.
>> He didn’t know this woman. He hadn’t done anything to him. That the reality set in that he was going to take this lady’s life for no reason at all. The human side of Russell set in. It was at [music] that point that he turned to Robert Harris and said, “I can’t do this, Rob. I can’t do it, man. What are you talking about?” >> For one brief moment, she glimpses the truth. Her fiance wants her killed.
>> You know this guy. >> And if the hit man won’t do it, he will. >> At that point, Robert Harris got very angry. He walked over, took the gun from Russell Bril, shot Teresa, shot her repeatedly, and in fact shot her at such close range that there were contact wounds in her back. Rob had to look in the eye, the woman who he lived with, who he made love to for 3 years, and shoot her stone cold dead. This was a man with no feeling.
At that point, Robert Harris gave the gun back to Russell Bril and said, “Now finish the job. Shoot me. Shoot me. >> You ready? Do it.” >> At trial, prosecutors reveal a surprise about the insurance money motive. Yeah, like I said, >> when Teresa made that call in front of Rob, the agent wanted to make it as simple as possible for Teresa, not something to worry about when there’s a wedding to plan.
>> He said, “Do me a favor. Wait until after the wedding. Everything will calm down. We’ll be able to put your correct legal name on everything else. Let’s wait until after you’re married to [music] change the designation of the beneficiary.” >> All right, >> Teresa ended the phone call. >> It’s done.
and made Rob believe that the change has now taken place. >> You’re on the policy. >> Oh, yeah. >> Which becomes instrumental to Rob. >> The ultimate irony, Rob Harris doesn’t get a scent. >> At trial, he tries to convince the jury he was only selling the Glock to Brill that night, saying Bril didn’t want to pay. So, Bril shot both him and Teresa.
The jury doesn’t fall for it. They find him guilty. >> I just hadn’t overcome a rage, you know, being 10. I just I’ve never, you know, felt it like anything like that before. I guess just because I cared about him and uh looked at him as a father, you know, someone special in my life. And I just kept thinking about when I walked in the house and hugged him, what he was thinking.
You know, he’s sitting there hugging me and telling me that he’s sorry and everything was going to be all right. But in the back of his mind, you know, he murdered my mother. Just I just remember keep think I keep thinking about that. I still think about it today. The trauma of losing a parent [music] at a young age is one of the worst traumas that can ever happen to a human being.
But then to find out that their death came at the hand of the other adult that they trusted is the deepest sense of [music] betrayal. >> Robert Harris is sentenced to life without parole. Never did I expect to hear that Rob Harris murdered my sister, murdered his [music] fiance. Never in a million years. Personally, I think jail’s too [music] good for him.
I think they ought to just put him in a room with me and Teresa’s son and let us deal with him. >> For cooperating with police, Russell Bril draws a lesser sentence of 30 years. I think about all the time how much different my life would be with my mother here. you know, just all the things she’s gonna miss. You know, my my kid, my marriage, uh my wife, you know, just it just hurts.
>> Teresa never got the wedding she dreamed of, but her son does. He marries the love of his life in 2012.
