Deborah Roberts talks with producer Gary Wynn about what it takes to bring the audience to the location of our stories to visualize how it unfolded: finding spaces to shoot, renting motorcycles, protecting gear from floods, and searching for those telling details that help viewers understand who a person was in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the story behind 'Unholy Matrimony'?
Hi there, everybody. It's Deborah Roberts here, and welcome to 2020 The After Show. Today, we're talking about one of our classic true crime tales that we bring you on 2020 on a regular basis. This one is a story of love, betrayal, and murder. The episode was called Unholy Matrimony.
Chapter 2: Who were Robert and Sabrina Limon?
The couple at the center of it, Robert and Sabrina Limon, they appear to be living an idyllic life with their two kids in Silver Lakes, California. And by all accounts, they were an outgoing couple. They loved to party. They'd become a part of a tight-knit group of couples who called themselves the Wolfpack.
But then Robert was found murdered in a remote industrial complex where he had been working. The illusion of their perfect marriage and life just crumbled. As authorities investigated the death, they discovered that not only did the couple have an open marriage, but Sabrina was having a full-blown relationship with a man who was much younger, a firefighter named Jonathan Hearn.
After Robert's murder, detectives decided to wiretap Sabrina and Jonathan's phones to listen in. Let's hear a clip from the show.
Chapter 3: How did wiretaps reveal Sabrina and Jonathan's relationship?
In the days, weeks, months following the murder, Jonathan and Sabrina talked a lot on the phone. And through these wiretap recordings, we catch this glimpse into what they're discussing. And they talk a lot about God. They talk a lot about faith. I want to be used for his glory.
Whatever he wants me to do. I mean, I would cut my arm off. I would shave my head. I would, if that's. Like, what God would want for me, you know? Like, I feel that. Like, whatever it is.
I do, too. I do, too.
It was quite odd. And in these conversations, Jonathan actually, at one point in time, talked about a passage in the Bible talking about David and Bathsheba.
Chapter 4: What role did faith and religion play in the murder case?
I've been reading Psalms 51. The Psalms are so good.
is a lot like you and I, Sabrina. He was someone who committed adultery. Actually, that's what Psalm 51 is about. He had an affair and then he even went on to kill the guy, like sent him into battle and pretty much had him killed off.
It's a really twisted take on religion.
Chapter 5: How did Jonathan Hearn's testimony change the trial?
Is this just a spiritual discussion or is it a roadmap to foul play? Well, police arrested Jonathan and Sabrina for the murder, but without enough evidence against her, Sabrina actually was able to walk free until that's a big until in a shocking twist. Jonathan agreed to testify against the woman who was his lover in exchange for pleading guilty to manslaughter.
And this all happened just days before the trial. Wow. It was a doozy. I reported this story with producer Gary Wynn, whom I've had the pleasure of working with for years. Gary, this is so great to have you actually in the studio to talk like this. Absolutely.
Always a treat to work with you.
You and I have worked together over the years.
Yes, I remember we did some stuff at GMA, and this was our first opportunity to work together in 2020, and what a great story.
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Chapter 6: What challenges did the production team face on location?
What a story. I remember when you came to me about it, and we, you know, Joe Reed, the senior producer, was involved in it, and we were all talking about how bizarre this story was, and also the area, you know, out in this sort of remote part of California. You and I headed out to Tehachapi. I still have trouble pronouncing it, Tehachapi. Yes.
And I remember driving through the Mojave Desert, and it was just so bizarre.
Absolutely. And you were coming from Los Angeles, and it's about 90 miles from Los Angeles. So that morning, we were going to a diner that we had rented to set up and do your interview with Detective Grantham. And coincidentally, or horribly, the night before, there was a pipe burst in the hotel. So...
All these little behind the scenes moments.
So it was kind of like a waterfall in the room. And we're like, oh, gosh, I hope we just need to get on site to make sure we're ready for Deborah. And of course, we made it and we were there. But the best part was that we'd been there several days shooting around that complex where Rob Limone had worked. And the weather was awful. It rained every day.
But then I show up.
And you brought the sunshine.
The sun came out. Yeah, you know, people often ask about how we, you know, shot our stories and what it was like on the ground. And it is sort of interesting. I mean, obviously, we're reporting on these very intense and tragic stories. But those little moments like your flood in the hotel and us, you know, and my driving there.
And, you know, literally, it looked like a moonscape when I was out there, you know, and you and I laughed a little bit about that. But This is a story that had mystery, infidelity, religion. I mean, it was one of those classics that almost felt like a TV show, right? You've got a couple who seem to have like that great marriage. But, you know, there were challenges in trying to report this, too.
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Chapter 7: How did the production team recreate the motorcycle escape?
Sure, so absolutely. The following day, during daylight hours, we came out and began canvassing the area. And upon doing so, we found this video surveillance camera right here. And this is the camera that actually captured the person walking through the complex with an exaggerated limp, walking towards the BNSF. where Rob was found dead.
You were just hoping that this would show you something. You didn't know what you were going to get.
Correct.
And he was quite a character. Not only was he thorough, but I just remember he had this sunburn on his face because he had these lines on his face. He had his sunglasses on, but that's how hot it was out where we were.
Absolutely, yeah. It was red all around, and you just saw the white streak going back above his ears.
Yeah, I noticed that as soon as we sat down. But what a police officer, though.
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Chapter 8: How did surveillance footage contribute to solving the case?
Yeah, terrific guy. And they were from Kern County, which is, you know, Bakersfield way. He really knew the area. You know, all of the detectives, him and Tommy Robbins, who we spoke to as well. Yeah, those guys just, they did not stop digging. And it was fascinating.
One of the things that our audience doesn't always know is even though they see all these like sweeping, interesting shots of the story, there's a lot going into putting all this together. And I remember you had drones out there.
So, you know, I want to talk about the clues in solving this case, but let's also talk about how we brought it to the audience because I remember being out there and you're placing me in this place and that place and trying to make sure we captured the camera. And you even had the camera rolling to take shots of us while we're out walking.
So talk about how you bring all of that together for the audience.
It really is just about trying to have as much production value as we can in every scene. So this is a scene where you are actually on where this crime happened, where there's a key piece of evidence, that camera. And that is what we try to do is bring people in there so that it's one thing to have an interview and someone's telling you about what happened.
But when we can get out there and you can actually visualize it and see and help the audience see, that makes a big difference.
In a very creative way. Well, let's get back to the story then. So, Gary, the detectives had evidence that the assailant actually fled on a motorcycle. It's a great visual, but we didn't have it. So how do you work to bring that part of the story to life?
On that road, Goodrick Road, going into where the industrial complex is, there was a business that had a camera, a surveillance camera, and they saw a motorcycle go by, which was, of course, Jonathan Hearn, as we learn later. So what we did is, okay, we need to show this motorcycle.
You know, we need to worry about the visual things, you know, trying to illustrate, you know, what this looked like. So we rented a motorcycle and, you know, we had point of view shots so that we could actually take that motorcycle on the same route that Jonathan had taken that day when the murder took place.
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