LA Forensics
Close Encounter
S1 • E3 Apr 14, 2006 30m
Chatsworth, California. A rural suburb in LA's sprawling San Fernando Valley. Still rugged and rural in parts, it's best known as a place where some of Hollywood's "B" westerns were shot. But in 1998 it also became known as the site of one of LA's most intriguing murder stories. On a warm spring evening, the body of 32 year-old Joel Shanbrom was discovered by his mother-in-law when she returned home from dinner. He was on the couch and appeared to have been shot. Joel's wife Jennifer was hiding with her 3 year-old son in the 2nd story bathroom. She is terrified and tells investigators that she fled there after hearing a gunshot. She also claims to have heard loud arguing and a struggle just before the shots were fired. Was her husband's death the result of a home invasion robbery or did he know his killers?
