Showdown in the Bedroom

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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George Parnham (0:15)

It's about what's happening that moment, that day, in that room.

Judge James Shoemake (0:20)

There are only two people who know what happened in that room that night, and one of them is deceased.

Jamie Hill (0:28)

It was November 14th of 2006 That night was probably the hardest night of my life.

I believe my dad was shot in cold blood.

Judge James Shoemake (0:41)

It was this complex relationship between husband and wife.

There was violence from time to time. It was clearly a dysfunctional relationship at best.

Charlene Hill (0:55)

That night in the bedroom, Danny was like a lethal weapon, getting ready to come at you. I didn't know how to stop him.

Jamie Hill (1:03)

My mom is the only person with the gun, and you don't calm somebody down by pulling a gun out of a drawer.

George Parnham (1:10)

Take a look at that room. Put yourself in that position. Where was she gonna go?

He's taller than her. He outweighs her. She knows precisely what Danny is capable of.

Judge James Shoemake (1:25)

She did not completely cow to him, either, and she knew how to push his buttons.

Jamie Hill (1:32)

My dad loved that woman.

Lester Phipps (1:35)

He was gonna kill me that night.

George Parnham (1:39)

Charlene wouldn't have made two steps to the door. She never would have made the door, and he had been on her like that. And she would have been dead, plain and simple.

Jamie Hill (1:49)

She's beautiful.

You want to believe everything she says. She could convince you this guy is purple.

Charlene Hill (1:57)

I just wanted to stop. I didn't want to kill him.

Jamie Hill (2:02)

Poor, abused, lonely woman? No, no.

Intelligent instigator that's money hungry? Yeah, I believe so.

Judge James Shoemake (2:11)

It was a difficult case. You're here because you fired a gun that killed Annie Hill.

A very dramatic ending and a trough full of surprises.

SPEAKER_7 (2:25)

Showdown in the bedroom, tonight's 48 Hours Mystery.

Jamie Hill (2:42)

He was a very calm, loving person, and he was an awesome dad.

That was my best friend. It's just really hard. Every day it's a struggle without my dad here.

Richard Schlesinger (2:56)

More than five years after her father, Danny Hill, was shot to death, Jamie Hill still has questions for the person who pulled the trigger. Her own mother, Charlene Hill.

Jamie Hill (3:10)

None of it made sense at all. Why don't you get a divorce?

Why don't you, you know, just do something besides murder?

SPEAKER_9 (3:18)

Murder.

Charlene Hill (3:21)

I relived that night so many times.

Charlene Hill (3:25)

My mind replaced that night. Do I wish I could change it? Oh, God.

Richard Schlesinger (3:34)

That night, a 25-year marriage came to a sudden and violent ending in a showdown in the bedroom. We've built a full-scale replica of that room to try to solve the mystery of how and why Charlene Hill shot her husband Danny. Nothing is what it seemed in this case. Not the characters, not their motives. We've been following it since it began. The case went to trial not once, but twice.

And nobody could ever have expected how it ended.

Before she took his life in that room, they built a life together.

Charlene Hill (4:12)

I loved Danny. Danny will always be a part of me.

Richard Schlesinger (4:16)

They raised three children, made millions with their landscaping and storage businesses near Houston, and made plans to retire to their ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

Charlene Hill (4:28)

We were looking at building our house right here. It's rough knowing that this was our dream and he's gone.

Richard Schlesinger (4:36)

But there were two sides to Danny Hill. While Jamie talks about the loving father, Charlene remembers the man who could also suddenly turn violent.

Charlene Hill (4:48)

He punched me.

Richard Schlesinger (4:49)

Punched you?

Charlene Hill (4:50)

Yeah.

Richard Schlesinger (4:51)

Hard?

Charlene Hill (4:52)

Oh, yeah.

Richard Schlesinger (4:53)

Where would he punch you?

Charlene Hill (4:56)

Well, at that time, he punched me in the face.

Richard Schlesinger (4:59)

And according to Charlene, that wasn't the worst of it. Early in their marriage, she says Danny discovered she was planning to leave him.

Charlene Hill (5:09)

After knocking me around, he tied me to a chair and poured gasoline on me and stood there with the lighter and told me if I ever tried to leave, he'd kill me.

Richard Schlesinger (5:26)

Over the years, Charlene's calls to 911 and trips to the emergency room were well documented. But she always refused to press charges.