ANGIE_HAUSLER BARB_LOVE BRIAN_HAMRICK BRIAN_HAUSLER CHEERLEADERS CROWD DETECTIVE END ERIC_DETERS FOOTBALL_PLAYER JUDGE MAN MEN NARRATOR NICOLE_HOWELL OPERATOR PRINCIPAL REPORTER SHEREE_PAOLELLO STEPHANIE_KASTNER SUPERINTENDANT TIFFANY_GLASGOW WOMAN YOUNG_MAN NARRATOR We know you've seen Lifetime Movies with stories of women in bad situations... WOMAN Aah! NARRATOR ...sex scandals... NARRATOR ...and shocking revelations. NARRATOR You can't get enough of them...but you wouldn't want to live one. NICOLE HOWELL No! You can't take me! No! NARRATOR Tonight on "My Life Is a Lifetime Movie," a woman's best friend sets her sights on her husband... ANGIE HAUSLER She began to come over on her own an awful lot. BRIAN HAUSLER That's when the boundary started being crossed. NARRATOR ...and devises a plan to keep him to herself for good. ANGIE HAUSLER I can't breathe. NARRATOR But, first, a story of a fantasy taken too far, when a football player claims the cheerleading coach at his high school did much more than send him a few innocent texts. BRIAN HAMRICK The Dayton high schooler says he had sex with a teacher. J.S. I, um, got behind her...and started having sex with her. NICOLE HOWELL I've always followed the rules, so when I was falsely accused of having sex with a student, all I had to do was answer one simple question to show my innocence. NICOLE HOWELL Yeah, yeah. NICOLE HOWELL But telling the truth was ultimately what landed me behind bars. NICOLE HOWELL My name is Nicole Howell, and my life is a Lifetime Movie. ERIC DETERS Teacher...student...sex. NICOLE HOWELL J.S. says he had sex with me from behind. J.S. She called me "Daddy." NICOLE HOWELL I would also initiate text messages with him. TIFFANY GLASGOW She was always on her phone. NICOLE HOWELL It totaled up to be around 700-something. ERIC DETERS There was a lot of text messages. STEPHANIE KASTNER So, if they do something good for you, like come over and have sex with you, you'll wear their number on your cheek? YOUNG MAN I saw her. I actually saw her. TIFFANY GLASGOW Can you imagine a cheerleading coach being in jail? NICOLE HOWELL And they put the handcuffs on me. JUDGE "We, the jury, find the defendant, Nicole Howell..." NICOLE HOWELL Growing up in Florence, Kentucky, is -- I mean, it's a small town. It's -- It's a great place, really -- very family-oriented. I was very involved in high school. It was a lot of fun. I was part of the dance team, creating routines, creating school spirit. I always had my future planned out. I knew that I was going to go to the University of Kentucky, I was going to come back to Florence, I was going to be a teacher. The high school that I had applied for was Dayton High School in Dayton, Kentucky. I went for an interview in June of 2008, and I was hired the same day. I thought, "This is it. This is my ultimate goal. I am so, so very, very happy." Part of taking the job meant that maybe I could make a difference. That was my ultimate goal as a teacher. ERIC DETERS She was encouraged to, "Connect, get involved, show you care, get close." NICOLE HOWELL CHEERLEADERS NICOLE HOWELL A teacher came up to me and asked me if I would like to be involved with the cheerleading squad. So I agreed to be the assistant cheerleading coach. TIFFANY GLASGOW I don't know which one was more important to her -- being a teacher or being the cheerleading coach. NICOLE HOWELL Okay, you ready to go 1, you go 2? 1...2. NICOLE HOWELL When we had cheerleading practice, it almost felt like I was one of them, like high school again. It was really, really, really nice. CHEERLEADERS NICOLE HOWELL I felt like their coach. I knew I was in charge, but on the same token, it felt relaxed. TIFFANY GLASGOW She gushed about it -- about helping the kids with their hair and getting dressed. MEN ERIC DETERS So, Nicole would find herself around football players, just like she would be the cheerleaders. NICOLE HOWELL 2, 3, and 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. NICOLE HOWELL I did have a few comments made towards me in regards to my looks. J.S. Looking good, Miss Howell. NICOLE HOWELL Thanks a lot, guys. 3, 4... NICOLE HOWELL I almost felt like I couldn't put a stop to it. Like, they're young, they're boys, they're gonna do what they want. FOOTBALL PLAYER NICOLE HOWELL At the end of my first month, I started to become closer to a lot of the students, including the football players. At that point is when I met J.S. He was a very crazy kid -- very outgoing, rambunctious. ERIC DETERS He was a ham. He liked attention. He was Mr. Popular, good football player. NICOLE HOWELL He wasn't actually in any of my classes. I just knew him from the football field, but he seemed to be making excuses to hang around me more and more often. MAN Teacher's pet. That's right. CROWD NICOLE HOWELL I attended all of the Friday-night games... NICOLE HOWELL Whoo! NICOLE HOWELL ...and text with many of the students. J.S. starts flirting with me on text. The content of those messages included, "I would really like to be with you tonight"...or, "I would really like to take you on a date." There were times where he would text me, and I would get concerned...so I would also initiate text messages with him. TIFFANY GLASGOW She was always on her phone. NICOLE HOWELL Totaled up to be -- Over the month and a few weeks, it totaled up to be around 700-something. ERIC DETERS There was a lot of text messages. NICOLE HOWELL All of a sudden, J.S. started sending me unexpected texts. He would say things like, "I want to be with you right now and no one else." One day, one of the football players who happened to be dating one of my cheerleaders, he comes to me after school...and tells me that there is a rumor going around the school that I've had sex with him and J.S. at the same time. ERIC DETERS J.S. was telling everybody they had had a ménage à trois. NICOLE HOWELL Of course, that's completely false. I immediately turn around, go to my principal... ERIC DETERS And the principal tells her, "Don't worry about it. These things happen in high school. It will all blow over. We won't have anything to worry about." NICOLE HOWELL I went home for a weekend and didn't give it a single thought. It started out as a normal Monday morning. NICOLE HOWELL I hope everyone got through act 2 of "Romeo and Juliet." NICOLE HOWELL I have a test to give. I'm teaching "Romeo and Juliet." NICOLE HOWELL They still wanted to come together. NICOLE HOWELL The principal comes into my classroom. PRINCIPAL Can you come to the hallway? NICOLE HOWELL Just one moment. NICOLE HOWELL I asked what this was about. And he looks at me and says, "You should know." And I said, "Well, if this is about the rumors, I thought they were taken care of." And he said, "Let's just hope you didn't do anything." I have no idea what's about to happen next. Suddenly, the superintendent was standing directly in front of me. And the superintendent looks at me and says, "Did you have sex with J.S.?" And I immediately said... NICOLE HOWELL No, I never had sex with him. NICOLE HOWELL And he said... SUPERINTENDANT Well, unfortunately, he said you did. Effective immediately, you are suspended. You will have to leave the premises, and we are turning this investigation over to the Dayton police. NICOLE HOWELL We're involving the police. I'm gonna be charged -- sex offender. What just happened? I lost it. I didn't -- I didn't understand what had happened. It was way too much. I had to go get my purse and my coat. My hands were shaking. I was...so shocked that this had happened. REPORTER The teacher invited him to her Covington apartment after a football game last fall. NICOLE HOWELL The story first hit the news -- It happened two days after I had been suspended. SHEREE PAOLELLO Sex with a student. MAN It is now classified as a felony act. BRIAN HAMRICK A Dayton high schooler says he had sex with a teacher. NICOLE HOWELL And it came across as teacher accused of sex with a student. Scandal. REPORTER ...was suspended for 10 school days, until January 12th. NICOLE HOWELL I am now a sex offender in the media, and I'm already guilty. MAN Livin' in chaos. ERIC DETERS Teacher...student...sex. Everybody goes bonkers. REPORTER Sexual abuse of a student. MAN And indicated that there, indeed, had been conduct and contact between the two of them. ERIC DETERS The very allegation itself, once it becomes public, destroys your teaching career. TIFFANY GLASGOW A lot of people believed everything that they heard and called her very horrible names. You know, kind of just wanted to throw her to the wolves. People would be saying that she was a child molester and that she needed to go to jail and...how disgusting she was. NICOLE HOWELL I refused to go out in public. I stayed in my parents' house. I did not see anybody. I did not talk to my friends. There was some dark days. Very dark days. Shortly after being suspended, I got a call to come to the police station. A detective has decided to issue a warrant for my arrest. And I lost it. The detective told me I had an option to avoid jail. He will hold the warrant if I decide to take a polygraph test with a professional from the state. And immediately, I didn't even hesitate. I said, "Fine, sure. Whatever you want me to do." He sits me down in this very, very small room. He says, "Were you promised anything?" MAN Were you promised anything to take this polygraph test? NICOLE HOWELL I say, "Yes, I've been promised that if I pass this test, I will be free of charge, and everything will be done and over with." ERIC DETERS Every day across America, police will offer polygraphs to suspected criminals with the deal, "If you pass, you walk." NICOLE HOWELL He sits back, and he goes, "Oh." MAN That's not good. NICOLE HOWELL Then panic just immediately goes to my face. I'm like, "We're gonna still take this test, right?" MAN You cannot take this test anymore. NICOLE HOWELL You're not allowed to be promised anything, because the incentive will change the test. NICOLE HOWELL Wait, let's -- No. Did I say something wrong? I...Can't we just... MAN Officer? NICOLE HOWELL The detective says that, "At this point, going to arrest you and charge you for having sex with a minor, and we're going to take you into custody." MAN Right away. NICOLE HOWELL And -- And I've never felt so horrible in my life. NICOLE HOWELL I'm sorry. NICOLE HOWELL I couldn't stop it, couldn't -- couldn't get away from that moment. NICOLE HOWELL What's happening? No, you can't take me! NICOLE HOWELL And they put my hands behind my back... NICOLE HOWELL ...and they put the handcuffs on me. NICOLE HOWELL Please, let me just take the test! Please! NICOLE HOWELL I'm all alone. NICOLE HOWELL NICOLE HOWELL I just -- I tried to disappear. Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse, the real villain in my Lifetime Movie showed up. NARRATOR Coming up, Nicole must face her accuser and the evidence against her. ERIC DETERS J.S. walked up to the witness stand kind of like proud as a peacock. NARRATOR And later, another story of a fantasy taken too far, when a mother of three lay barely breathing while her neighbor tries to cover up a secret. BRIAN HAUSLER The lady is looney! My God! NICOLE HOWELL My name is Nicole Howell, and my life became a Lifetime Movie when I was thrown behind bars instead of being given permission to take a polygraph test. NICOLE HOWELL Please, let me just take the test! NICOLE HOWELL It's dirty. It's disgusting. There's this gray, concrete floor, and they take all my jewelry. They make me feel even more naked. I think it's urine in the corner, and it's just the most disgusting place I have ever been in in my entire life. And I'm just sitting there like, "How did I get here?" NICOLE HOWELL "How did I get to this point?" "Why am I here?" TIFFANY GLASGOW Could you imagine a cheerleading coach being in jail? NICOLE HOWELL I know my parents are scrambling to get my bond together. It's $10,000. They put up the bond. Everything was different after that point. I was gonna have to fight for my life. I needed someone with passion, vindication, somebody who was actually gonna stand up there and shout and scream just as much as I wanted to. So we came across the local attorney Eric Deters. He tells my stepdad, "I don't need to hear anything. I will immediately take your case. I've seen the media." BRIAN HAMRICK He had sex with a teacher. NICOLE HOWELL "I'll see you tomorrow." ERIC DETERS The reason why I'm "The Bulldog" is, my reputation is I fight like hell for my clients. It was a national story. I wanted Nicole Howell to profess her innocence from the mountaintop, to show that courage in the face. NICOLE HOWELL The Bulldog wanted me to change the public's perception. Otherwise, the rumor mill would bury us in court. ERIC DETERS We went on radio shows, television shows. ERIC DETERS Her life would be destroyed. ERIC DETERS We went on the whole circuit. NICOLE HOWELL I definitely want people to know that I'm completely innocent of this, and they will see the truth. ERIC DETERS So she practiced testifying through the cross-examination of the media. NICOLE HOWELL I felt like I had all my ducks in a row, but we didn't know what was going to happen once we got into court. ERIC DETERS The content of some of the text messages could be interpreted as sexual. She admitted that. NICOLE HOWELL The day that the trial begins, I am nervous. And I've got sweaty palms. I'm anxious. We pull up to the courthouse at 9:00, and there's media everywhere. This female prosecutor, who is just ready to rip me apart. STEPHANIE KASTNER I prosecute sexual offenses. I've done it for a while. NICOLE HOWELL She's gonna break me down. She's gonna tear my life apart. She's gonna make me look like the scum on the bottom of the shoe. STEPHANIE KASTNER I, as such, have gotten comfortable talking about sexual issues with strangers. NICOLE HOWELL I basically went with the idea that, "I have nothing to hide. Here are all of my alibis, and here's everything I have for you." The prosecutor, Stephanie Kastner, has this look on her face like she's mad and just disgusted with me as an individual. ERIC DETERS The prosecutor was an overbearing, mean, nasty prosecutor. TIFFANY GLASGOW You know, they tried to paint this awful picture of her. ERIC DETERS She wanted to get this high-profile conviction, no matter what. NICOLE HOWELL The prosecution didn't let up, and after the brutal opening remarks, they had J.S. take the stand. The sight of him was sickening. Since my suspension, I had not seen J.S. I had not talked to him. And when the trial began, on that first day, he had to testify. ERIC DETERS J.S. walked up to the witness stand kind of like proud as a peacock, cocky. Kind of had a grin on his face. You know? Kind of like, "Oh, I'm the center of attention." STEPHANIE KASTNER What school did you go to? J.S. I went to Dayton High School. STEPHANIE KASTNER What grade were you in? J.S. I was a junior. NICOLE HOWELL J.S. claims while he's on the stand that he engaged in a sexual relationship with me after a certain amount of time of exchanging phone calls and text messages. He says that we had sex four to six times. J.S. I started to take my clothes off, and then she helped me. STEPHANIE KASTNER What did you do after you were both completely naked and on the bed? J.S. I-I put a condom on. NICOLE HOWELL He also claims that I provided alcohol during our sexual encounters. He claims that we were in certain sexual positions. J.S. I, um, got behind her...and started having sex with her. NICOLE HOWELL I would exclaim certain sexual remarks and that he's seen my body completely naked. J.S. She was on her knees, like -- like, on all fours, and I was behind her. NICOLE HOWELL He's being asked how big my nipples are. Very, very, very embarrassing, intimate things. STEPHANIE KASTNER Did your position ever change? J.S. Yes. STEPHANIE KASTNER How did it change? J.S. I laid on my back, and she got on top. NICOLE HOWELL The most demoralizing thing that J.S. says while he's on the stand is that he had sex with me from behind. STEPHANIE KASTNER Did you all say anything in the course of having sexual intercourse? J.S. She called me "Daddy." NICOLE HOWELL I am so appalled. I want to just scream in his face and be like, "Do you know what you've just done?" Listening to him say those dirty, filthy, disgusting things about me and lie, I could not hide how angry I was at him. And he wouldn't look at me. That was the other thing. "Look at me. If you're gonna accuse me of something, you look me in the eye and you say what you need to say." And then the prosecution had a whole lineup of characters to attack me -- another student... YOUNG MAN I solemnly swear to tell the truth. MAN Very good. MAN Did he -- Did he tell you who he was going to see? YOUNG MAN He told me it was Miss Howell. I saw her. I actually saw her. NICOLE HOWELL ...the detective who originally questioned me... STEPHANIE KASTNER Did Miss Howell ever tell you that she had texted James Sullivan and there was sexual innuendo or sexual banter? DETECTIVE Banter, yes. She did. STEPHANIE KASTNER She did? DETECTIVE She did. NICOLE HOWELL ...and my principal. MAN Did tell you they had sex? PRINCIPAL That's correct. NICOLE HOWELL At this moment, I am feeling like...I've just been...ripped apart. I talked to my attorney, and we decided, at that point, it was time for me to take the stand and tell my story. I was ready for the truth to finally be heard. NARRATOR Coming up, will Nicole be silenced after she and the prosecutor go at it in court? NICOLE HOWELL I don't know if you're hearing me correctly -- STEPHANIE KASTNER I'm hearing you correctly. NICOLE HOWELL No, I don't think that you are, because -- STEPHANIE KASTNER I have a simple question. You answer my questions. What did James Sullivan do specifically to get his number on your cheek? NICOLE HOWELL He did absolutely nothing, and I did absolutely nothing to him. NARRATOR And then, in our next real Lifetime Movie, a woman's neighbor gets too close for comfort. BRIAN HAUSLER There was a time that I'd taken a shower and I was walking around my room in my drawers, and she just came up and she was actually just standing there, looking at me, like, watching me. ANGIE HAUSLER It just became uncomfortable. NICOLE HOWELL My name is Nicole Howell, and my life became a Lifetime Movie when I had to testify on my own behalf that I did not have sex with a student. It all came down to me and my attorney. I knew this moment could make or break my life. It was nerve-racking. I was sweating. I was shaking, nervous. My mouth was dry. But I also knew that this was it. This was my one shot. ERIC DETERS When you have sex with your boyfriend, do you call him "Daddy"? NICOLE HOWELL Uh, no. It's weird. NICOLE HOWELL Eric Deters' questions to me on the stand gave me a better opportunity to express myself and to tell the truth. ERIC DETERS Did you ever explicitly respond sexually? NICOLE HOWELL No, I never blatantly, like I mentioned before, said anything in that nature, as far as, "I would like to do this to you," or, "I want to -- you know, I want you to come over and do this with me." I would never, ever say that to any student. NICOLE HOWELL And they were asking questions like, "Did you ever have sex with J.S.? Would you ever have sex with J.S.?" And it was good, because I was able to give them my gut reaction, which is, of course, "no" every time. ERIC DETERS Did you have sex with James Sullivan after the Brossart football game on October 24th? NICOLE HOWELL No. ERIC DETERS Did you have sex with James Sullivan on October 31st after the Newport game? NICOLE HOWELL No. ERIC DETERS Did you have sex with James Sullivan after the November 7th game? NICOLE HOWELL No. ERIC DETERS Did you have sex with James Sullivan on November the 14th? NICOLE HOWELL No. NICOLE HOWELL We attacked J.S.'s credibility, and the crowning achievement was when Eric Deters asked me to do something highly unusual. My attorney asked me to describe parts of my body that no one would be able to know were there... ERIC DETERS I'd like to bring the witness around to the front of the jury to show the tattoos and the skin graft on her back. NICOLE HOWELL ...unless I had sex with him or was intimate or was naked with them. JUDGE Well, again, as long as it's appropriate. ERIC DETERS It is. It's appropriate. There's gonna be nothing inappropriate. NICOLE HOWELL I stood up at that point...and showed the jury my skin graft that was clearly noticeable and clearly placed in a position where you would feel it or see it if you had sex with me. ERIC DETERS There is not a man alive who's lived, young or old, that would miss that in the dark. NICOLE HOWELL My attorney and I had done our best, and I was feeling really confident, like we had turned this thing around, but I still had to face the prosecution. And for the next four hours, I am grilled -- just brutally grilled. STEPHANIE KASTNER And you would use that as a motivation to your students, "If you do good, I'll wear your number on my cheek?" NICOLE HOWELL Right, for the -- STEPHANIE KASTNER Isn't that what you said? NICOLE HOWELL For the students that I taught, yes. STEPHANIE KASTNER But you didn't teach James Sullivan? NICOLE HOWELL Right, nor did I the other students that I wore their numbers. It was obviously something that caught on. Once the students that I taught numbers were on my cheek, the other football players would say, "Well, why don't you wear my number?" And I'll say, "Well, we'll see. I'll rotate." STEPHANIE KASTNER So, if they do something good for you, like come over and have sex with you, you'll wear their number on your cheek? ERIC DETERS Objection. Argumentative. NICOLE HOWELL No. TIFFANY GLASGOW They would ask the same question like five different times. STEPHANIE KASTNER You had no influence over James Sullivan's grades? NICOLE HOWELL No, I didn't. STEPHANIE KASTNER You had no influence over James Sullivan's performance at school? NICOLE HOWELL No, I didn't. STEPHANIE KASTNER His eligibility for football? NICOLE HOWELL No. STEPHANIE KASTNER So, what I am confused about is that you're acting as though it was a reward for male students to get their number on your cheek. NICOLE HOWELL It felt really, really, really raunchy when she was asking me those questions, which just broke me down even more. NICOLE HOWELL I would have, you know, a number here, a number here, a number here -- that sort of thing -- and they don't always have to be my students. STEPHANIE KASTNER So, what did James -- What did James Sullivan do that was so good that he got his number on your cheek? NICOLE HOWELL I don't know if you're hearing me correctly -- STEPHANIE KASTNER I'm hearing you correctly. NICOLE HOWELL No, I don't think that you are, because -- STEPHANIE KASTNER I have a simple question. You answer my questions. What did James Sullivan do specifically to get his number on your cheek? NICOLE HOWELL He did absolutely nothing, and I did absolutely nothing to him. STEPHANIE KASTNER All right. NICOLE HOWELL She is picking a fight with me and trying to make me look bad at every turn. They were asking me if I had ever touched J.S. in his private areas. NICOLE HOWELL No. NICOLE HOWELL They had asked me if I had ever been naked with him. NICOLE HOWELL No. NICOLE HOWELL She's asking me if my private parts are shaved. STEPHANIE KASTNER Are they shaved? NICOLE HOWELL She's asking me how often I shower. These are things I don't want complete strangers knowing. When J.S. starts texting me, it starts off very slow -- a text message here or there. STEPHANIE KASTNER James sends you all of these horrific texts. "I'm outside. Let me in. I want to..." NICOLE HOWELL I did not dismiss, like I should have, his approaches to me, but I certainly did not reciprocate. After the prosecution rested, it felt like things could go either way. I was scared and uncertain. We took a recess, and the jury went to another room to deliberate. ERIC DETERS It is excruciating to wait for a jury's decision. NICOLE HOWELL There's no way that I'm going to be able to breathe or live if I am convicted of a crime that I did not do. It took them only an hour to come back with a verdict. At this point, I was not feeling like things were going well at all. This moment could make or break my life. ERIC DETERS The jury files in, and you're a nervous wreck. NICOLE HOWELL There's nothing left but whatever is on that piece of paper. I am about to either walk out that door and be a free woman or I'm about to spend five years in jail for something I didn't do. NARRATOR Coming up, the verdict is read. JUDGE "We, the jury, find the defendant, Nicole Howell..." NARRATOR And then, in a second story of a fantasy gone too far...will a mother of three be rescued? BRIAN HAUSLER I had no idea it was that serious. OPERATOR You don't need to talk to me but stay on the phone, ok? NICOLE HOWELL My name is Nicole Howell, and my life became a Lifetime Movie when my fate rested in the hands of 12 jurors. There's no way that I'm going to be able to breathe or live if I am convicted of a crime that I did not do. The judge asks the jury if this is the verdict they would like to hand. And they say, "Yes." And I'm never gonna forget the moment he said..."Nicole Howell, we find you... JUDGE Not guilty. NICOLE HOWELL NICOLE HOWELL I lost it. I had no more fight in me. And when I heard that, I just -- I just let go of everything. ERIC DETERS And when they announce the verdict of "not guilty," it's just one big exhale. NICOLE HOWELL My attorney's holding me really tight, and he's got this silly grin. He's crying. My attorney cried. My parents are yelling. My stepdad's hooting and hollering, and everybody's hugging each other. The judge is asking people to be quiet, and I'm just like, "Is -- Is this it? That's it? It's We're done?" It was the best moment I've ever had in my entire life. NICOLE HOWELL I am not guilty. I'm innocent. NICOLE HOWELL The media is insane. They are just -- There's probably like 15 cameras on me, all at once, asking me questions. "How do you feel? What are you gonna do next?" Duh-duh-duh-duh. NICOLE HOWELL It has been an emotional roller coaster. You saw most of it today, and I just cannot believe that it's all over. I-I-I don't even think I realize how much it's all over right now. It's done. I don't have to worry about it anymore. ERIC DETERS It's just unbelievable. And, you know, I -- I might be The Bulldog, but I cry easy. NICOLE HOWELL I have never seen J.S. since the trial, and I don't care to ever see him again. If I were to change anything, it would be my style of teaching. I would have definitely had my guard up. I've never seen any of the cheerleaders or the football players or the -- the teachers, even. I decided that no good can come from revisiting for any reason. I feel what happened here was a witch hunt. NICOLE HOWELL Every time I thought, "Wow. This can't get any worse," it did. NICOLE HOWELL Believe it or not, still, to this day, even though I've been cleared of all charges, no one will ever hire me as a teacher. TIFFANY GLASGOW You know, she wants to get married and have a family, and there for a while, those things, she didn't care about. NICOLE HOWELL Didn't find a really good place in love and enjoying life until I met my current boyfriend. I just realize there's really no rush to try to figure it all out. NARRATOR Being falsely accused of sexual abuse is pretty dramatic, but just wait till you meet Angie. Her story is definitely one hard pill to swallow. ANGIE HAUSLER Despite being a city girl, I had settled into our new suburban town, even making friends with all our neighbors until one in particular turned out to have a hidden agenda that would change my life forever. My name is Angie Hausler, and my life is a Lifetime Movie. I was born and raised on the south side of St. Louis. My dad was out of town all the time, and my mother was at work all the time, so we did a lot of taking care of ourselves. At 15, I had a good job at a bank, my own car. Was pretty successful. I was not looking for love. BRIAN HAUSLER Once I seen her, I fell in love with her, and we just hit it right off. ANGIE HAUSLER After the first date, we were pretty much inseparable. We met in March and moved in together by June. I was pretty much head over heels for Brian. BRIAN HAUSLER She became pregnant, and it was unexpected, so her main thing was she always wanted to be married before she had her baby. In the delivery room... ANGIE HAUSLER I was like, "Hold everything. I don't care if it's an emergency or not. Call the preacher." And he literally came to the hospital and married us in labor and delivery. BRIAN HAUSLER It was really cool. BARB LOVE After being together four years, they had three kids, and they moved out of the city and moved to Bonne Terre. Bonne Terre is a small, country-type town. It's great to raise kids in. BRIAN HAUSLER We really liked the neighbors. They were really friendly, really different from the city. ANGIE HAUSLER It was pretty isolated, from what I was used to. But, soon, I fell in love with the town. My kids were thriving in their new environment. After about three months, my daughter began dating our neighbor's son James. James was always polite, and I invited James' family for supper, and that was the first time I met Tina and her husband, Joe. BRIAN HAUSLER Tina laid on a really hard story on her husband on how they both worked at the meat company, and, you know, they ate bologna and hot dogs every day. And -- And Angie's such a gracious, nice person. Next thing you know, we're basically having them over for dinner every day. ANGIE HAUSLER It's pretty much how we began to hang around. BRIAN HAUSLER The relationship grew from there. BARB LOVE You know, they -- they took care of each other's families. ANGIE HAUSLER Tina became one of my closest friends. She and her husband became close with Brian, too. BRIAN HAUSLER We'd go out to the garage, we'd drink a beer, and just chill out for the night -- just friends hanging out all the time. BARB LOVE Angie always liked these big fountain Dr Peppers from the gas station right down the street from them. BRIAN HAUSLER That was my thing for Angie, was every day I was coming home from work, I would get her the fountain Dr Pepper. Well, since Tina was always off earlier, she started going by and getting Angela's fountain Dr Pepper. ANGIE HAUSLER I thought, "Aww, that's sweet. You know, that's thoughtful and everything." As things went, though, the husband started staying home, and she began to come over on her own an awful lot. One day, Tina told us she was leaving her husband. Up until that point, she really didn't have anything negative to say about the marriage, so we were really blown away by that. She had dug her way so far into our world, I didn't see the boundary she was crossing. BRIAN HAUSLER After a while, instead of Tina hanging out with Angela, she'd grab a beer and come out there and hang out with me. Then that's when the boundary started being crossed. You know, she was there. She wouldn't leave. There was a time that I'd taken a shower and I was walking around my room in my drawers, and she just came up and she was actually just standing there, looking at me, like, watching me. ANGIE HAUSLER By Christmas, some odd things were happening. I wasn't feeling well. I wasn't feeling up to myself. It really started with just being tired and flulike symptoms. I was gaining weight without a reason, and I noticed that my energy was really running out. The more that I would really feel bad, she would, you know, come and be my buddy, my pal, and try to help out. BARB LOVE When Angie first started getting sick, they were just testing her for everything that they could think of. Nobody had a clue to what was going on. Tina was over there quite a bit. BRIAN HAUSLER Angie started asking, "I don't see why Tina's coming over here all the time and offering to do the dishes and offering to help me and offering to watch the kids all the time." And I was like, "Well, you're sick, hon. You know, she's just trying to help you out." ANGIE HAUSLER You have private moments with your children -- the things that Mommy does, you know, and, you know, you're their caregiver. Hayley-Bayley was something that we called the baby. When she started calling her that, it was, like -- You know, that was something kind of private that we had done as a family. And I don't know. It just...became uncomfortable. The doctors wouldn't diagnose me with anything. They were trying all sorts of medications. None were helping. Over many months, I started to feel helpless about my condition. And then, one day...I was sitting in the chair in the family room downstairs, just generally not feeling good. Brian was doing some work outside on the patio. Tina came over and said, you know, "How are you feeling?" and everything. And I said, "Oh, still alive, but, you know, not too well." And she offered me antibiotics. First instinct is, you know, "Oh, thank you, but no." You know? And she said, "You never know. It might help." And then you think, "Well, you never know, it might help." You know? Maybe -- Maybe I will feel better. And she handed me two. I put one in my mouth and -- and swallowed it, but I put the other one on the table. Within a matter of minutes, just really started feeling bad. I couldn't breathe. I said, "Please go get Brian." She went up and didn't come back, and I collapsed on the floor and pulled the phone down and dialed 911. OPERATOR 911, what is your emergency? ANGIE HAUSLER I can't breathe. ANGIE HAUSLER ANGIE HAUSLER It was like the air was being sucked out of the room. OPERATOR What's your name, ma'am? ANGIE HAUSLER Angie. ANGIE HAUSLER OPERATOR Is there anybody there with you? ANGIE HAUSLER I don't know where they is. ANGIE HAUSLER And then I distinctly remember her coming down those stairs and watching me. The look on her face said it all. NARRATOR Up next, while Angie lay there taking her last breath, she wondered, "Was it Brian, was it Tina, or was it both?" ANGIE HAUSLER My name is Angie Hausler, and my life became a Lifetime Movie when I swallowed a pill that my neighbor suggested I take. ANGIE HAUSLER I can't breathe. ANGIE HAUSLER ANGIE HAUSLER I was left on the ground alone, and the only person helping me was a voice on the other end of the line. ANGIE HAUSLER OPERATOR Ok, they're already on the way. You don't need to talk to me but stay on the phone, ok? ANGIE HAUSLER Uh-huh. ANGIE HAUSLER BRIAN HAUSLER Tina ended up coming out of the back door and said, "Angie said she isn't feeling good." And I said, "Okay, tell her I'll be in in a minute." I had no idea it was that serious. I found Angela collapsed on the floor. I just -- I dropped down on my knees and started shaking her and saying, "Angie, what's wrong, what's wrong?" And she wasn't conscious. So I reached over to pick up the phone and heard a dispatcher. OPERATOR Hi, we have an ambulance on the way to help her, okay? BRIAN HAUSLER Okay. OPERATOR Can you stay right with her? BRIAN HAUSLER Yes. ANGIE HAUSLER Finally, the ambulance arrived and rushed me to the hospital. BRIAN HAUSLER I got there, the doctor said, "Look, there's some indication that she's losing oxygen in her blood. She's in critical condition right now." ANGIE HAUSLER Apparently, I was blue. They discovered I had 20% oxygen going to my brain. BRIAN HAUSLER The head doctor said, "Look, something ain't adding up. We think she might have came in contact with some type of poisoning." ANGIE HAUSLER And I said, "Well, you know, I did take an antibiotic from Tina. There's a pill still there. She gave me two. I only took one." BRIAN HAUSLER So, I'm on my way back home to get the pill, and we actually see Tina's van lights coming on, and she pulls up to the driveway. I didn't want to tip her off, so I'm walking around the house, collecting medicines, cleaners. And she's -- she's walking back and forth in the foyer, asking if she can help, and I'm like, "No, I got it, no, I got it." That's when she finally said, "Brian, I got something to ask you, but I-I-I need you not to ask any questions whatsoever." And then she opened up a medicine bottle. She says, "Did you find any medicine like this?" I'm like, "Yeah, actually, I got one right here." She says, "Trade me the one that you have for one of these in the bottle." And I says, "Okay, Tina, what's going on? Tina, my wife is dying in the hospital. If you know something, you got to tell me." And she says, "I put something in her medicine to make her sick." I just dropped everything. I was outraged. I-I kind of remember grabbing her and calling the sheriff's department. OPERATOR 911, what's your emergency? BRIAN HAUSLER Yeah, my wife's friend gave her medicine. I just left the hospital and the hospital said that they think she was poisoned...and they had me bring up a pill but when I mentioned it to her friend, her friend asked for it back and I said, "why?" and she told me she put some kind of medicine in there that is used to cure meat from where she works at, because she thought that I was unhappy. The lady is looney! My God! That's like attempted murder! She just admitted it to me. OPERATOR I'll have an officer come out, okay? BRIAN HAUSLER Thank you. OPERATOR You're welcome. BRIAN HAUSLER So I started cussing at her, "Get the 'F' out of my house. And expect the cops to be at your house." Then, I immediately call the hospital and tell the doctor what Tina just told me. ANGIE HAUSLER There's really no words to describe how I felt -- the betrayal of it. And you go back, and she held my babies. MAN Don't let me down. ANGIE HAUSLER Those things will haunt you to the end of your days...that...you let someone that close. BARB LOVE It was so surreal -- everything that was happening. It was just shock. BRIAN HAUSLER They arrested Tina, and she confessed to everything. And then they asked if Tina and I had had sexual relations. And I'm like, "Well, no." He says, well, she indicated that we had sex in my driveway. ANGIE HAUSLER I literally was laying in my hospital bed, and...I saw on Fox News, "Woman poisoned in Bonne Terre. Story at 6:00," or, you know. I thought, "Holy crud." REPORTER Police say Tina confessed, telling detectives she was trying to put Angie in the hospital to get time alone with Brian Hausler. BRIAN HAUSLER We do believe, since Angela started getting sick with flulike symptoms, and that was about the time that Tina started bringing Angela her fountain sodas, that we believe that she was putting small amounts in Angela's fountain Dr Peppers. The news went global. I started going places, and people started saying, "Hey, ain't you the guy that had an affair, and your -- your affair lady tried killing your wife?" And it actually came to the point to where Angela's mother and sister truly thought that I had something to do with trying to kill Angela. ANGIE HAUSLER Just didn't feel safe even picking up a thing of toothpaste. You don't know what's been tampered with. Nothing is safe. BRIAN HAUSLER There was always that feeling, to me, that she thought that I might have had something to do with it. You know, I may have led Tina on -- not purposely. I'm a very nice guy, and...I tend to -- I look at it as being nice to people. But I have been told, "Wow. You're a big flirt." I'm not a flirt. I'm a nice guy. If you're a good-looking lady, you're good-looking. I'm gonna tell you. ANGIE HAUSLER I don't know that I'll ever have all the answers. I don't know that I'll ever know that she got to that place on her own. BRIAN HAUSLER Angie had decided to move out, and now we're divorced. ANGIE HAUSLER I don't carry hatred for her. Uh, sounds silly. BRIAN HAUSLER Angie still has continued headaches, stomach problems, and it's all from the result of the poisoning. ANGIE HAUSLER Things happen in life. Quitting's not an option. I've always been a believer that if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. And...I came back swinging.