With a broad smile on his face, the Court TV reporter who was emceeing the videotaped interview with Donna called it, “The murder-for-hire trial . . . that had more twists and turns and shady characters than
Pulp Fiction.
” This “deadly three-ring circus,” the announcer added, was loaded with high drama like what one only sees in Hollywood.
As for Donna Trapani, what can be said about this Court TV interview? Well, while wearing a neatly pressed pumpkin-orange prison jumpsuit, she once again rambled her way through what she referred to as the “facts,” giving Court TV only one good grab it could use to lure viewers into what was, in the end, a worthless interview.
“I hated him—and I still do,” Donna said, referring to George Fulton, the man who, when all was said and done, found himself still at the center of the murder of his wife.
Leaving the court that day, George, who had not donned a mustache for quite some time now, was seen shaking his head in great disbelief. Not at the outcome. He was glad that his wife’s murderers were convicted and would pay their debts. But more so, one source noted, at being duped so badly. It wasn’t until the preliminary exam, according to that same source, when George Fulton had finally believed that his once-treasured Donna—“my life and my love”—had planned the murder of his wife.
And here was a jury and judge now affirming that undeniable
fact.
Epilogue
S
OMEONE WHO KNEW
Donna Trapani very well once told me that Donna was the type of woman to either end up someone’s bitch within the first few weeks of being behind bars, catering to that inmate’s every need, or literally running the prison herself.
As of this writing, the latter seems to be at least somewhat true.
Same as I do in all of the cases I cover, I wrote to the major players here as well.
Kevin Ouellette never answered. He had spoken his peace, apparently, and that was it—the guy was going to let his testimony and interviews with the police speak for themselves.
Patrick Alexander was a different story. Patrick sent me what was a rather hilarious return missive. I should say that there was a part of me that expected this. Nonetheless, Patrick did his best to explain himself. The letter, to my great surprise and pleasure, like the one I would soon receive from Donna, was typed. I always appreciate it when inmates type their responses. It beats the chicken scratch I routinely receive.
Patrick told me it had taken him some time to respond (several weeks, actually) because he had thought long and hard about talking with me. He had finally come to a few conclusions he wanted to share.
This should be good,
I thought while reading the opening of his letter.
Patrick did not disappoint. He said, number one, he would “not give [me] permission to use [his] name in [my] book.” His “main reason” for this was that he wanted to know more about how I was “going to spin the story.” Yes,
spin
the story. (He must have been watching lots of
The O’Reilly Factor.
) He said he had no problem corresponding with me, but he would have a hard time remembering various aspects of his case because he did not have any of the documents. He had been given copies of his court papers but, he added, “over the course of being locked up,” he had lost all of them. Of course, he wanted me to “attain” these documents for him and send copies to the prison.
Next he apologized for asking the question before he let it rip, warning me that he was a “human being” and “
must
ask” (emphasis added). He wanted to know if there was “any possibility” for him to “get paid for helping” me with the book.
Sure, the check’s in the mail, Pat.
Once again, the very thing that had landed the guy in prison—greed—was there pushing Patrick Alexander to act.
I never responded to this admitted murderer. What’s the point? A guy who had pled to a murder charge in open court on the record who thinks I cannot use his name without his permission is not someone I need to be involved with. Plus, he asked for money. How could I ever trust the man’s integrity? Truth be told, Patrick Alexander gave the police an entire narrative and testified in two trials. There was plenty of information about him, his crimes, and his role in Gail’s murder.
I wrote to Sybil Padgett and Donna Trapani, separately. They are housed in the same facility.
Sybil did not respond.
When Donna wrote me back, I realized why Sybil had not responded.
Donna opened her letter by apologizing for not writing sooner, but she wanted me to know that she had been “spending every waking hour” preparing to meet “deadlines for appeals.” This is what I admire about convicted murderers: the fact that they never give up on the appeal process; that tenacity to always believe, around every corner, that freedom awaits, if only they say the right thing and
appeal
to the right judge.
Donna thanked me for my “interest in [her] case.” She did wonder, however, why I was interested. She was “open to the matter” of being interviewed, but wanted to know what had sparked my interest in her case. She claimed to be “hurt severely,” as well as her “family” by all the “mass media” coverage that took place during her trial. She blamed the media for her father’s death. She said Charlie, her ex-husband, regretted what he had told the media and was “still angry” about her “affair and wanted revenge at the time.”
Revenge?
What in the world was this crazy woman insinuating now? After all these years, was she going to blame Gail’s murder on her ex-husband, Charlie?
Donna went on to say she and Charlie had “resolved everything” between them in 2003, and, sadly, Charlie died of cancer in 2009.
Ah, there she goes—blame the dead guy. If possible, they all try it.
Donna next wanted to know how I would portray her in the book. She had “moved on.” She could “never” speak to me on the telephone because “all conversations are recorded.”
Then came a point where Donna told me, in not so many words, how she still, to this day, controls Sybil Padgett. Donna said she
knew
I had written to her “codefendant, Padgett,” so she was not sure, she continued, if my request to interview her was about Donna or Sybil.
I wrote back. My response is worth printing here, in part—namely, because I never heard from Donna again after sending the letter:
Dear Donna:
Your case interests me because I like to write about families and their struggles.... I would portray Gail’s murder and this case—and you—as the truth emerges and I investigate the case from top to bottom, and interview all of the players involved. . . . I report the truth as I [discover] it. I didn’t find “mass media” coverage of your case; in fact, there is not a lot of newspaper reporting out there today. What “mass media” are you referring to? If you have any of those stories, send them along, and we can discuss them.
I am so sorry to hear about your ex-husband’s death. I call cancer the most deadly serial killer in the world!
You have nothing to fear from recorded phone calls. What, possibly, could the prison be interested in with you talking to me? So what if they record the calls! If you want me to tell your story, the truth is nothing to be afraid of sharing with anyone who wants to listen....
Hope to hear from you soon....
Donna Trapani’s and Sybil Padgett’s appeals were denied. I am sure they will continue to appeal all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, as Donna contended in her letter to me. But let’s be fair here. As the appeals court ruled:
The evidence was sufficient to support . . . [their] convictions.
It’s over, ladies. Accept defeat and move on.
I think I can speak for Gail here when I say, “Ask for forgiveness and repent.”
Emily Fulton wanted readers to know a few things about her father. The person she talked about in this book, Emily wanted to be clear, is not the same man she knows today.
“He did get help and is a better person now,” Emily said of her father. “I know that my dad is not perfect, but he is a lot better than he was so long ago when all of that stuff was happening. My dad . . . is not dark (from an energy standpoint) like he was and he is actually quite nice to be around.”
George Fulton remarried in 2004. George refused to talk to me. He said, through Emily, that he is writing his own book and would rather put all of this behind him. I have nothing against George Fulton or the decisions he made. In keeping with the metaphor of the book, George’s mistakes are his cross to carry. Things happen, I understand. Marriages—within the Christian community or not—go through ups and downs, fail and survive. The sad part of this, in my opinion, is that George never realized (until it was too late) that he had brought an unstable, crazy woman, with obsessive personality disorders, into the marriage in meeting and hooking up with Donna Trapani. He would have never done so, I believe, had he known the type of woman Donna was.
Then again, what’s that old cliché?
You play with fire . . .
I am indebted to Emily Fulton for sharing her side of this story with me. Emily is a courageous young woman who deserves credit for standing up for her mother. Emily asked me if she could share a few memories about her father and say some things about his life today and what she has learned from this tragedy.
“The first memory of my father,” Emily told me, “was watching him jump over a chain-link fence that enclosed our neighbors’ backyards. . . .”
It was the sound of his daughter crying that sent George into action.
“I was around four years old and had been riding on a bike with my older sister when I fell onto the pavement.”
George was outside and heard Emily’s plea for help. “I must have howled quite loudly for him to hear me. . . . My sister had deserted me, leaving me alone in my pain, as I am sure she was scared she would get into trouble. I was a sorry mess, with bloody knees, lying in the middle of the street, when my dad came along and scooped me up and carried me home. He sat me on the toilet, and then my mom proceeded to clean and bandage my knees. I still have scars today from that fall, but I vividly remember feeling that my dad was my hero and his presence meant that everything was going to be okay—I was safe.”
Thinking about it all these days, it’s hard for Emily to imagine how this same man could have caused his family so much pain.
What went wrong?
Emily asks herself.
“We are all human and complex creatures and each of us has unique hidden pains that will consume us if we do not heal them in a healthy manner. I think that my dad was suffering from depression from the death of his father at an early age and he lacked the knowledge to be able to process these emotions. This is not to justify his actions, but simply call attention to the fact that our hidden pains can destroy our lives, as well as the lives of those around us, if we neglect to heal those wounds. . . .”
I asked Emily if her family had moved on from her mother’s murder.
“Yes,” she explained, asking the question: “Do we still love and have a relationship with our father?”
That is the same question any reader of this book will ask.
“It has been a process,” Emily said, “but yes.”
I asked, had the fabric of her family been torn apart by irreversible damage?
“Perhaps in some ways,” she added, “but we are each healing our pain in our own way and exploring the new opportunities life has in store for us. Through my mother’s life and even within my own struggles, I realized there are many things that can derail us from experiencing the fulfilling lives each of us deserves. Many times I often think if my mom had only reached out for help that perhaps things could have been different. It often lays heavy on my heart that my mom essentially gave up everything for us kids and sort of lost herself amid the chaos of my father’s actions and never fulfilled her
own
dreams.
“Life is a journey and the path that I chose to take to rebuild my life after this tragedy was to empower women to achieve their full potential. It is my deepest desire to share the lessons I have learned and to help women find their own path, so that no woman has to struggle alone like my mom did. This is my life’s purpose now, and I feel blessed that my mom, through her death, has left this gift with me to share. . . .”
I would like to thank Colette Thatcher, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Administration Division; Cheryl C. Robbins (what a help Cheryl was!), Oakland County Sheriff ’s Office, Investigative & Forensic Services Division; Prosecutor Paul Walton; Lieutenant James A’Hearn; Christopher Wundrach; Lynn Erickson; Thomas Tabin (you have no idea how much help you were); and reader Diane Dixon, who sent me the story idea long, long ago.
There are the usual suspects, of course. (You know who you are!) Thank you to all of you for everything you do to advance my career and see that these books get into the hands of my readers.
I also want to thank Elena Siviero, who runs the M. William Phelps Fan Club on FaceBook. I know it takes time to do those things and I greatly appreciate Elena volunteering. Please sign up on the fan club page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=52752001614
Kensington Publishing Corp.—Laurie Parkin, the Zacharius family, in particular, and my editor, Michaela Hamilton, along with Doug Mendini, and every other employee who works on my books—has been there with me for over ten years and fifteen books now, supporting me, and always trying to figure out ways to reach more readers. I am both indebted and grateful for having such a great team of publishing people behind me.
Copyeditor Stephanie Finnegan always makes me look smarter than I am.
An immense thanks to Andrew “Fazz” Farrell, Anita Bezjak, Therese Hegarty, Geoff Fitzpatrick, Julie Haire, Elizabeth Daley, Jo Telfer, Milena Gozzo, Jeremy Adair, Alex Barry, Nathan Brand and everyone else at Beyond Productions who have believed in me all these years, as well as my DARK MINDS road crew: Colette “Coco” Sandstedt, Geoff Thomas, Peter Heap, Paddy, Jared Transfield, and, of course, John Kelly. Of course, thank you to everyone else that works on the show (I know I have forgotten someone and I apologize); along with my producers at Investigation Discovery (ID): Jeanie Vink and Sucheta Sachdev. A special shout out to Henry Schleiff, President and General Manager of ID, who has been behind my show since day one. You are all some of the most professional and passionate people I have ever worked with. I am so lucky to have you on my side. I am grateful for everyone working on the series—you are all wonderful people, some of the most gracious I have
ever
worked with, on top of being great friends. I look forward to the road ahead and where we’re going to take DARK MINDS!