In November 2006, Dallas detectives investigated the murder of a twenty-nine-year-old mother of four, found burned beyond recognition in her car behind a remote warehouse. Detectives soon discovered that the victim’s former boyfriend and father of her infant son, had been stalking her for months, leading up to her death. After tracking down two homeless witnesses and finding a piece of crucial evidence, police were able to charge James Bartley with capital murder. The Dallas DA’s office was responsible for bringing the case to a close. In order to do that successfully, the prosecutor and her investigator had to keep close tabs on their key homeless witnesses for years, while the cased awaited trial. When Bartley finally stood trial in 2009, the prosecution worried the jury wouldn’t believe the testimony of two homeless crack addicts and find the evidence insufficient to prove Bartley guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
