Peter Van Sant and 48 HOURS investigate the death of a businessman with a taste for bondage and the overriding question of whether he was killed by an intruder, someone he loved or by his own hand in 'Temptation in Texas' to be broadcast May 3, 2014 on the CBS Television Network.
The investigation into what happened would uncover a web of strained relationships, allegations of extramarital affairs and plenty of potential suspects – many of whom feared the victim, Greg Williams. It's also a case that was upended when the key witness, the victim's wife, Michele Williams, changed her version of events, including in an interview with 48 HOURS.
What is known for sure is that on Oct. 13, 2011, Greg Williams was shot dead in his home in a wealthy Dallas-Ft Worth suburb. How it happened is up for debate. In the early morning hours, Michele, called police and said her husband had been shot by an intruder, who had smashed her in the face with a wrench. Michele also said she saw someone running from the house.
Greg was known as a driven businessman with a big heart, but could also be a jerk too, say those who knew him.
'Greg treated me like a queen,' Michele tells Van Sant. 'I was his princess.' Michele says her husband put her on a pedestal in a way no man ever did before. 'He showed me a world that, before him, I had no means to have,' she says.
'I think I hated him the most,' says Lee O'Brien, Michele's oldest son from a previous relationship. Lee worked for Greg at his computer consulting business. 'He could cut you down. He could belittle you to the point where you would almost question yourself. And he did that to everyone.'
But who would want him dead? That's what police wanted to know. They also wanted to know why the weapon used – a gun owned by Greg – and the wrench Michele said she was hit with, were wiped clean of fingerprints.
The allegations, infighting and intrigue were too delicious to ignore for Claire St. Amant, managing editor of the website Culture Map Dallas, and a CBS News consultant. 'It is a tangled web of lies and relationships,' says Amant. 'Lots of sex, lots of betrayal, lots of affairs.'
Indeed, there were the allegations of affairs and Michele says Greg was into the bondage/domination scene so much he opened a club called 24/7. 'He wanted a dominant woman,' she says. 'He wanted to be submissive in that world because he was so dominant in the rest of the world.'
Shortly after Greg's death Michele told investigators from the Keller Police Department two different versions of what happened, changing her story from an intruder killing her husband to Greg taking his own life. She eventually agreed to plead guilty to charges of tampering with evidence and deadly conduct, admitting the gun was in her hands when Greg was shot. But in her interview with Peter Van Sant she drops a bombshell. 'Did you murder your husband, Greg?' Van Sant asks Michele. 'No, I did not,' Michele says.
And when she tells Van Sant she only pleaded guilty as a way to avoid a long term – and that an intruder did kill Greg - the case takes another bizarre turn and the legal fireworks begin—this time inside the Tarrant County courthouse.
Who is telling the truth? Even Michele's sister doesn't believe what she says about anything. 'If she's talking, she's usually lying,' says Michele's older sister, Laura. Van Sant and the 48 HOURS team piece together the death of Greg Williams and the investigation into what happened through interviews with Michele; her sons, Lee and Andrew; her sister, Laura; Michele's current boyfriend, Gene Wallis; and Greg Williams' ex-wife, Kathy Williams.
Tune is Saturday at 10 p.m. on WUSA9.
