Stay ConnectedBLAME is a true-crime, investigative series by 9NEWS in Denver, Colorado. Learn more at 9news.com/blame.
Season 2, “BLAME: Lost at Home,” is a mystery about a man who was found more than a year after he was reported missing, dead in his own home.
The first season focuses on the death of Jill Wells. Her son, only 6 years old at the time of her death, was blamed for shooting her.
If you have something for us to investigate, email blowthewhistle@9news.com.
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Follow Jeremy Jojola along as he first learns about Chuck Frary’s story with a visit to a house in a trendy Denver neighborhood. Jeremy takes us to the corner of W 50th Ave and Tennyson where he finds a home surrounded by overgrown trees and much debris. Inside is where this story begins with a big question: How does a man vanish for a whole year and then end up dead in his own living room?
Kevin Vaughan, the reporter behind the original BLAME series and Jeremy Jojola sit down and talk about what we can expect to hear in BLAME: Lost at Home
It's been three months since we wrapped up an in-depth look at the 2001 shooting death of Jill Wells, a killing her husband blamed on the couple's six-year-old son. Now, there's an update -- one public official saw our reports and took action and another is back at work, trying to answer the lingering question: Was a boy really to blame for his mother's death?
Nearly a year after 9NEWS began investigating the shooting death of Jill Wells, the potential for new developments is real. Various public officials are discussing what steps they ought to take – if any – to try to answer the most important question in the case: Was a 6-year-old really to blame?
At the center of the pursuit of the truth about the death of Jill Wells stands her son, Tanner. He is the only one who knows what he thinks about this pursuit, who knows what he has thought about all these years. Listen as he shares his thoughts on the effort to answer questions about his mother’s death. And as Dr. Max Wachtel, a forensic psychologist, discusses the fallibility of human memory. Is it possible that what Tanner remembers isn’t exactly what happened?
Everyone who has looked into Jill’s death has a theory on the case – and on the role her husband, Mike Wells, may have played in an incident that remains shrouded in mystery. For some, the suspicions took hold almost immediately. For others, the initial seeds of doubt were tremors that grew over time.
In Colorado, anyone can hold the job of county coroner – you don’t need a medical degree or any special work experience. Just as the family of Jill Wells found out how crucial the coroner can be in a death investigation, so have others in cases around the state – cases initially thought to be accidents or suicides that turned out to be something else.
In every report, every interview about Jill Wells death, her husband said she was prone on the ground, target shooting with her left index finger on the trigger. First responders to the scene say they were shocked to learn that. They’re now talking about what one described as the “Aha” moment. It’s why some of them are now talking about the case at all. Find out why on this episode of BLAME. Join the discussion https://www.facebook.com/groups/590724054462662/
Eight Episodes into BLAME and we a hearing a lot of feedback from people connected to the case. We want to hear from you too. Who should we be interviewing? Where should we look next? Have we missed something? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page 9Wants to Know or use #BLAMEpodcast.
If Tanner Wells is to believe he didn’t shoot and kill his mother, he needs to wrap his brain around the fact his own father may be to BLAME. We needed to know if what we were uncovering would be damaging to a young man who had already been through so much. We shared everything we’ve learned about the death of Jill Wells with a forensic psychologist. Should Tanner know about a system that failed his mother? Something we try to answer on this episode of BLAME.
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