A Family's Shame

Bill Lagattuta (0:00)

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Maureen Maher (0:07)

MUSIC WIND BLOWS Looking back, Molly McIntyre admits she should have paid more attention to her kids when they were young.

Molly McIntyre (0:20)

My life is entirely different than what it's ever been.

Maureen Maher (0:23)

But never in her darkest moments did she imagine what would happen when they grew up. Does a day go by when you don't think about this?

Molly McIntyre (0:30)

No.

Maureen Maher (0:31)

Twenty-six years ago, Molly's husband was killed by a drunk driver.

Molly McIntyre (0:35)

When I lost him, I lost my best friend and my partner. It was tough.

Maureen Maher (0:39)

Leaving her with two young boys to raise on her own.

Molly McIntyre (0:42)

Patrick was a year and a month to the day, and Todd was just shy of five.

Maureen Maher (0:46)

So Molly got a job, a very demanding one. Why did you want to be a cop?

Molly McIntyre (0:51)

I just loved it. I wanted to be a superhero.

Maureen Maher (0:53)

You've still got every single newspaper clipping about this. With her passion for cracking tough cases and getting bad guys off the street.

Molly McIntyre (1:01)

It was abduction and rape of a seven-year-old.

Maureen Maher (1:04)

Molly was a hero in her tight-knit community of Vero Beach, Florida. I love you, Molly McIntyre. I like you because you saved my life. Wow. But in 1997, Molly McIntyre's sense of duty and justice was put to a cruel test. It was in a murder case, and it pitted her lifelong commitment to law and order against her love for her own child.

October 7th, 315 a.m. A fire broke out in the top floor of this building.

Todd McIntyre (1:34)

I woke up to a bright light coming from my window.

Maureen Maher (1:38)

Molly's 28-year-old son, Todd, was in his apartment below, sound asleep.

Todd McIntyre (1:43)

I heard some noise outside. I thought maybe it was rain falling. It was, uh...

Sorry. It's tough.

Maureen Maher (1:50)

He tried in vain to get to his neighbor and friend, Nicole DeMott, on the floor above him.

Todd McIntyre (1:56)

By the time I saw the apartment, it was engulfed in flames. I mean, it was amazing.

Maureen Maher (2:00)

So you just had to get out?

Todd McIntyre (2:02)

Yeah.

Maureen Maher (2:03)

For your own life?

Todd McIntyre (2:04)

Absolutely.

Maureen Maher (2:05)

Not only was Nicole dead, but when Molly's fellow officers investigated...

Dee Perry (2:10)

When you opened this bag, I just relived the seed.

Maureen Maher (2:12)

the evidence held a shocking surprise.

Dee Perry (2:15)

Because it smells just like the seed.

Maureen Maher (2:17)

Nicole DeMott had been strangled before the fire was set. That was still around her neck?

Dee Perry (2:22)

Yes, it was.

Maureen Maher (2:23)

You think that was a T-shirt or...?

SPEAKER_7 (2:26)

I believe it was a T-shirt.

Maureen Maher (2:27)

Because he was at the scene, suspicion first turned to Todd.

Todd McIntyre (2:31)

My alibi was I was sleeping from 1.30, and that's when I remember going to sleep.

Maureen Maher (2:36)

How could he sleep through this, right?

Todd McIntyre (2:37)

Yeah, exactly.

Maureen Maher (2:38)

Police looked, too, at his younger brother, Patrick, who also knew Nicole and who had a troubled past.

Todd McIntyre (2:45)

Fingers started being pointed at my brother, and I started getting it from all directions, and I just didn't want to hear it because in my mind, my brother wouldn't do that. He wouldn't set that place on fire with me and sleep downstairs.

Maureen Maher (2:57)

Both Todd and Molly long had been protective of Patrick even five years ago when he was convicted of raping a woman he knew.

Molly McIntyre (3:04)

My gut instinct was this simply did not happen.

Maureen Maher (3:07)

This time, Molly's instincts were different. From the beginning, she had gnawing doubts about Patrick.

Molly McIntyre (3:14)

Maybe in the back of my mind, I may have had a suspicion that first day.

Maureen Maher (3:17)

As her colleagues investigated, Molly's own experience as a detective made her suspicious of her son's behavior and of a cut on his finger. At what point, though, do you remember thinking, oh my God, you know, Patrick may have done this?

Molly McIntyre (3:33)

It was a point of maybe an imprecise bit of recognition coming through from a subconscious type of thing, like, is this possible? In my own defenses, my own survival skills just put that away.

Maureen Maher (3:48)

The fire in Nicole's apartment was so intense, there was virtually nothing left to link Patrick, Todd or anyone else to the scene.