The door two over. >> Uh, yeah. Yeah. Put your hands up. Do it now. Both hands. >> Both hands. >> This is 76-year-old Wayne Mahar. Police were called to his trailer after a neighbor reported gunfire only to find a man dead outside his property. Is there a pulse? Number. He came in and I shot him. Unless Wayne is claiming that he acted in self-defense, but his recounting of the events raises concerns to the detectives. How long have you wanted to kill this guy? >> You're making me a bad guy. Come on, step outside. >> You don't get it, do you? She's dead. Okay, now you get it. But despite all the evidence pointing at him, Wayne would not face any charges and walk free because someone was hiding a truth that changed everything. On October 4th, in the afternoon, police were called to a trailer park in Blaine, Washington after reports of gunfire. They arrived quickly, heavily armed, but unaware they were approaching the home of a former officer. Let's move up to this house. Do come to me. Come to me. Hi. Stay over here. Are they outside? I think they went back. Okay. And it's it's on the side. I think the door two over. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And what? There's a guy laying on the ground right here. 13. There he is. He's right there. >> Put your hands up. Do it now. Both hands. Yes, he's right there. >> No, he's he's on the ground on the other side of this. Get these guys here. Do not move. >> Okay, you guys ready? >> Yep. The white one. >> Okay. Come to you, bud. Stop right there. Turn around, >> sir. I'm going to put you in handcuffs real quick so we can all figure it out. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Appreciate that. >> Appreciate it. Put your hands behind your back for me. >> Holding cover here. >> Get a good 273. Welcome. Send aid in. Scene secure. Okay, we'll get to that, sir. As officers cautiously approach and detain Wayne, others detain his wife, Sandra Mahar, who will later provide crucial information about what led to the shooting. But for now, officers focus on the victim lying on the grass, checking for signs of life. Stay in your house, sir. Sir, are you okay? Can you hear me? Can you hear me, sir? You want to help me? Yeah. We need um victim suspect suspect. >> So um two suspects. >> Well, just got home. >> Yeah, she just got home. I think has been shooter. Is there a pulse? No, there was hair. >> As the officers performed CPR on the unidentified victim while waiting for medics, it soon became clear it was already too late to save him. With the scene secured and the victim confirmed dead, >> police sit Wayne down for an interview. He claimed he was attacked first, >> but his refusal to give Claire details made it seem as if he was holding something back. Let's sit there for just a moment. Okay, figure out what's going on. I'll figure out Okay, Wayne. Yeah, just for a few minutes. Have a seat. See? Yeah, he attacked us. Okay, and we'll get to all that. Just want you to relax for a minute. Okay. He he come through our house and I I didn't feel like I was so shocked. He He's been attacked. He's attacked us more than one. I was really upset. So, I I got my uh 12 gauge, which which is very beautiful. Okay. It's a 1912. Okay. It's a It's a piece of work. Okay. You know, you can look down the barrel. It's beautiful shotgun. And was he saying anything to you today? Yeah, he was. Yeah, he was attacking. He's just He was dishonor. He was going to do this. He's going to do that. Okay. Do you recall specifically what he was going to do? Yeah. He was just on us just attacking us, basically. Okay. Wayne doesn't seem to grasp the weight of his actions. He praises the shotgun he used to kill his neighbor, showing a clear disconnect between the gravity of the situation and his own perception. Detectives don't realize it yet, but this detachment will ultimately lead to Wayne walking free. For now, though, officers continued their attempt at getting more details, only to get more shocking answers. Wayne, has he ever physically attacked you? Yes. When? On several occasions, he was just, "Yeah, we're going to get you." "Yeah, we're going to get you." So, that's that. That'd be like a verbal attack. Has he ever physically put his hands on you? Uh, he hasn't really attacked me. Okay. Physically at all. Just threatening. Yeah. You don't want to go. Okay. And I I don't want to I don't want to have Wow. What is that? Oh, it's just our tape to keep people from walking around here. Oh, God. I'm sorry. You brought your guys out. That's what we do. It's okay. Where Where were you standing when you shot? I was right here. Okay. Nope. Don't want you to fall. Oh, just right here. Okay. No, it's right here. Okay. He's over here. He's coming up and he's kind of old. [ __ ] Gotcha. Hi, honey. That's my wife. Yeah, Sandy. Yeah, same. God. Why? Why is all these guys here? Well, cuz what happened? Takes a few people to investigate. Yeah. Well, you're more than welcome to come in the house if you want. >> You want to come in? >> I can't just right now because detectives are in charge and they tell me when it was okay to go inside. Okay. As Wayne struggled to answer questions, his shifting stories and inability to explain how his neighbor posed an immediate threat cast further doubt on his claim of self-defense and raised the possibility that the shooting was intentional. But Wayne's behavior didn't come across as malicious or deceptive. And to officers, something wasn't adding up. And that's when he would mention something very interesting. Tell me, I'll tell you what. 50 years ago, I was a police officer. Okay. Where at America's Georgia, America's G. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Back in those days. Whole whole different world. It's been a while. It's been God. It's been a long time. Wayne says that he once served as a police officer and fought in the Vietnam War as a US Air Force soldier. At first, it seems like a minor detail, but this background and the impact it had on him would prove crucial in understanding the events that unfolded. Back at the scene, the victim was soon identified as 66-year-old Vincent Reese, who lived alone in the trailer park. With no one in Vince's household to question, officers instead turned to Wayne's wife, Sandra, hoping she could provide new insight into what could have happened. And it was through her account along with what they would later learn about the deceased victim that the possibility of self-defense was reconsidered. So, just kind of give me a rundown of what happened here this afternoon. I uh I came home just as all everybody showed up and the neighbor lady's daughter said she saw heard a gunshot. And I saw him over there and my husband told me that he came up on the deck and threatened him. And this is Vincent that came up on the deck. Did he say what Vincent said to him? They're going to kill him and stuff. He's he's been doing that for the last what how many years? Okay. So what what's the beef between Vincent and and and Wayne? He Wayne stands up to him and he doesn't like that. He tells him to go away. Okay. And then this guy that was here, Matt Ruff, the homeless guy, he come up to the door one day and asked if he had guns. And I says, "I don't know why." He goes, "Cuz he's threatened to kill you and your husband and anybody around here. Any idea what prompted Vince to come up on the porch today?" Okay. Has he done that before? He's been all over. Yeah. He was up there one day throwing 5:00 in the morning, throwing rocks off of it. And then did Wayne say where he was standing at when he shot? Uh, he was there. He came. Vince was up on the deck yelling about he's going to do something to him. So, he came out and he said he shut up. All right. Well, he I've told everybody he has PTSD. He's had a stroke. He's had two seizures and I think he had another stroke. And all he's been doing lately is talking about his past since when he was a police officer in Georgia. Okay. and all the stuff he did back then. With Sandra's statement, the case became far more open-ended than it first appeared. She explained that Wayne struggled with PTSD, which can cause someone to misinterpret danger and overreact. But she also claimed that Vincent had threatened to kill both of them and showed a pattern of hostility towards them for years, in which case Wayne's use of self-defense might have been justified. Still, there were serious inconsistencies. Sandra claimed Vincent was standing on Wayne's porch when the shot was fired, but his body was actually found beside the house. Had he been on the porch, it could have looked like he was threatening Wayne, supporting a claim of self-defense. But being further away suggested he posed no immediate danger, making it appear more like a deliberate killing. Wayne was then transported to the police station for a formal interrogation to hopefully clear everything up and finally learn the truth behind what had happened. And it was there that officers would begin to piece everything together, realizing they had overlooked the most important detail of the case, one that would make Wayne look guilty at first, but lead him to somehow walking free. This this business with that guy I killed, he asked for it. Okay. And we're talking about Vincent today. Vincent, I'm sorry, but I He just attacked me several times. Okay. He said, "You guys should I'll tell you what. You guys should have a a a volume of him." Yeah, we do. We do. As a matter of fact, this is part of it right here. So, I've been I've been reading up on that. He's attacked us for a long time, and this was the last straw. I'm sorry, but no, I'm not sorry. Why don't we start with what happened? About what time did everything get going today? Well, he was attacking. Just making sure that he was uh making sure that he could do something about my car or whatever. And he just keeps on he keeps on keeping on. But I don't I don't understand that. Can you explain that a little bit to me today? What what that means? It keeps irritating us. Me and my wife. Me and Sandra. Yeah. Today. What? What? What? You said that? that today is the uh the straw that broke the camel's back. What happened today? I'm not not really clear about it. So, okay. I'm just I'm I'm telling you the truth. I just it just I don't feel very good. You know, I I say prayer every day. I feel just spiritual. Okay. Okay. As the detective tries to establish a timeline of events, Wayne's answers are vague, off topic, and at times disconnected, making it unclear whether he's deliberately avoiding the truth or if something else is at play. Either way, it was only the beginning of an interrogation that would grow more complicated with every statement. Has the Has your wife had some run-ins with uh with this guy, too? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Very. So, well, if you guys look back on stuff that he's done, the you'll find out that there's a whole bunch of stuff that he's done to us. Okay. Did he when he attacked you? Did was how did he attack you, sir? Oh, just I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that and he's going to he's you know, he's there's my my column there that I built myself. That column, you saw that column because t push push it over. You know, I'm I I'm a very nice guy. you know, you guys would hang out with me. We we play guitar, looked at Teleer. As Wayne casually shifted from describing the attack to blankly staring at the officers while drumming his fingers on the table, it became clear he wasn't just being evasive. His behavior pointed to possible cognitive issues. These issues would slowly become even more apparent as the interrogation went on, with his composure ultimately breaking and his demeanor turning aggressive. But for the moment, just as things were beginning to look bad for Wayne, he would make a claim that directed serious allegations towards Vincent. Allegations that could tip the scales in Wayne's favor. Was he drunk today? I'm not sure. Okay. He looks like he's got some alcohol issues. That's why I ask. He is a meth. That is what it is. And he has he has put that in our house, too. Okay. We felt it. Yeah. Yeah. But he has these he has he has these girls. Yep. You know, dark dark girls. And he brings them into his house. The guy is a pervert. Okay. Okay, we got that straight. Yeah. Do you have a category of what's going on? Yeah. Did you ever see what he is? I have. Yeah. Yeah. He's got He's got all kinds of contacts. I mean, yeah. There you go. Look at this. It's Yeah. There's a pretty lengthy There's a piece of work there. Oh, he is. Geez, he's got two pages. Yeah, two pages of arrests conduct. I mean, he's he's clearly pissed you off. Oh, to no end. Yeah, I'm surprised I didn't break his jaw. Yeah, Wayne's accusations against Vincent, backed by Vincent's long criminal record, briefly made his self-defense claims seem plausible. Vincent's past included drug offenses and violent behavior. details that gave some weight to Wayne's story. But just as he had something working in his favor, he would undermine it again with his own statements. Sounds like you deserved it in your mind. Yes. Yes, I do. Yeah. How does Sandy feel? How's she doing, Sandra? She says I'm going to jail. Okay. How long have you wanted to kill this guy? How long do I want to kill this guy? Yeah. How long have you felt this way? Lot. Lot. Yeah, he's [ __ ] up our car. Yep. And and Yeah. What do you think? Quite a while. Yeah. Well, what if I do? What if I did that to you? Oh, yeah. I'd be pissed. You'd be pissed, wouldn't you? Absolutely. Yeah. He's harassed us. Harass me and my wife and you guys. You're making me the bad guy. No, man. I'm making you the bad guy, Wayne. Just want to understand. We both want to understand why. why you did it today and not in the past. You uh you had a you made a comment to a neighbor today. You you told a neighbor today what happened. Do you remember that talking to a neighbor? Yeah, a neighbor over here. I don't know what side, but they asked you what happened or why you shot him and you said, "Well, he's an ad." Do you remember that? Well, you you attacked me. I know, but we're we're still trying to figure out what exactly you you actually did or he did to attack you. How did you feel threatened? Cuz he was threatening me. But but what did he say? What did he say? Let's pretend. Okay. Well, let's pretend we've got a a Ring camera that that's one of your relative or I'm sorry, one of your neighbors may have that we can we can access and look at. What What would we see? What would we hear? He was on the attack. Okay. He's going to show me how bad he is. Is that what he said? Yeah. Okay. With those statements, Wayne only incriminated himself further, offering nothing that supported his claim of self-defense. In one last attempt to break through, detectives pushed him harder. And what followed made it clear they weren't just dealing with a suspect, but with a failing mind. How do you How do you want this to What do you want to happen after all this? Do you think there should be any accountability for your actions tonight? My accountability? Yeah. That I shot him? Yeah. No, I feel bad about it. I haven't killed anybody lately. So, what do you want to do with me? Well, I want I want to understand, Wayne. I really I really want to understand. I really want you to explain. I just want to go to bed. I I get it. I'm probably exhausted. Yep. I'm tired. I'm 70. I'll be 77 coming up. Mhm. And I'm the guy that can still get. You guys want to duke it out or show you something? you. Well, let me ask you this. You bring up a good point. Why not just duke it out with this guy today? What? Just go beat him up? Yeah. No, I don't. He attacked me. No, no, no. I know he got you. But why not? Why he's attack? You want to just hit him? I should have just beat him up. Yeah. No, cuz he was attacking me. It was no beat it up. He was attacking you. I don't get it. Do you? I don't. I don't. Well, you come on. He was attacking me like he was going to go for my car. Go, go, go, go. He's He's on the attack. Yeah. The guy got shot. He's dead. Okay, now you get it. I get it. All right. God, what you guys think or what? We've been sitting there talking about how what a badass you are. I am a badass, right? Want to see a badass? I see it. Oh, man. I see it. Come on. Come on. Step outside. You know, you can handle yourself pretty well, Wayne. Yeah, I'm a badass. What are you going to do? Throw me in jail some more? With that, the interrogation ended. Later examinations confirmed that in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder and a history of strokes, Wayne also suffered from dementia, a condition that explained both his confusion and aggression. Forensic analysis showed that Vincent had been shot from about 30 ft away, consistent with his body being found beside his own house. This suggested Wayne fired from his porch while Vincent was still outside. For years, Vincent had reportedly bullied Wayne, creating a constant source of conflict between the two men. combined with Wayne's background in the military and law enforcement where he had been trained to react quickly to potential threats. His cognitive decline caused him to respond as if Vincent was an immediate danger. Believing he was under serious threat, he went back inside, grabbed his shotgun, and fired. It wasn't driven by malice. In his mind, he didn't fully grasp the wrongfulness of his actions. In the end, Wayne was declared unfit for trial, sent for treatment, and ultimately released under supervision.