Episode One — A View to Kill

On a stormy night in April 1993, Gwinnett County police officer Michael Chapel's life changed forever.

Within hours of the murder of Emogene Thompson, Chapel went from respected police officer, Marine veteran, husband, and father to accused killer. The case would become one of the most sensational murder prosecutions in Georgia—and send Chapel to prison for life.

But more than three decades later, questions that never went away have become harder to ignore.

In the premiere of A Thin Blue Crime, the people who knew Chapel before the headlines tell the story of the man they knew, the accusations that quickly surrounded him, the trial that convicted him, and the small group of people who refused to accept that the case was over.

Then, years after the conviction, an investigation that began almost by accident starts uncovering evidence, witnesses, and contradictions buried in a case everyone else had left behind.

And for the first time, you'll hear from a man who says he was there the night Emogene Thompson was murdered—and saw what happened.

This is where the story begins.

Emogene Thompson

2/11/1940 - 4/15/1993

Emogene's Granddaughters

Evidence Files:

"Me, I'm the street guy."

Michael Chapel listens to habeas

eye-witness testimony.

Evidence Files:

Greg Chapel Trial & Sentencing Testimony

State of Georgia vs. Michael Harold Chapel

Superior Court of Gwinnett County

1995 Criminal Jury Trial

Greg Chapel takes the stand

September 1, 1995

Direct Examination by Mr. Moore

Q. Would you state your name, please?

GREG CHAPEL:

Greg Chapel.

Q. Would you spell your last name for the court reporter?

GREG CHAPEL:

C-h-a-p-e-l.

Q. Now, Mr. Chapel, are you related to Mike Chapel?

GREG CHAPEL:

Yes, I am.

Q. And how are you related?

GREG CHAPEL:

He's my brother.

— Combined Testimony, pp. 1671–1672

Brothers in Law Enforcement

Q. And how long have you been a deputy sheriff?

GREG CHAPEL:

Since 1989, about six years.

Q. And were you in law enforcement prior to that?

GREG CHAPEL:

No, I was in the military. I was a fireman.

Q. Which branch of the military did you serve in?

GREG CHAPEL:

Air Force.

Q. And is Mike Chapel older or younger than you?

GREG CHAPEL:

He's my older brother.

Q. Now, in your duties as police -- in your police work, have you ever had occasion to work with Mike?

GREG CHAPEL:

Many times.

— Combined Testimony, p. 1672

“Mike was severely bleeding"

Q. There was an incident back in 1993 where he was injured. Do you recall that incident?

GREG CHAPEL:

Yes, I do.

Q. Okay. Would you tell the jury what happened then?

GREG CHAPEL:

It was late. I believe it was raining that night, and I was working my zone, which was Buford, as a warrant deputy, warrant service. I usually work by myself.

A call went out that there was a guy riding through the stadium pointing a gun, supposedly pointing a gun at the crowd. We were on the same radio frequency at the time, and I heard Mike put out the call that he was behind the vehicle, the suspect's vehicle at the time, and a chase ensued.

I was headed to his -- I was listening to Mike on the radio, and the radio dispatcher put out the call, and I was headed towards Mike's direction. He finally got the car stopped up -- I believe it was the Housing Authority up on Circle View. I got there just -- it couldn't have been 15, 20 seconds later, and I noticed the driver's side window had been smashed, and Mike was bleeding severely from his right hand.

Q. Did you administer first aid?

GREG CHAPEL:

Yes, I did.

Q. And what did you do?

GREG CHAPEL:

I immediately went to my car, got out my first aid kit, which are in all the patrol cars in our division, got out my first aid kit and started wrapping his hand up. He was bleeding pretty good, like on your hand.

Q. Okay. And what kind of -- what patrol car was he driving at that time?

GREG CHAPEL:

Well, he was driving the new one. I was still driving the old one. I was giving him a hard time about that.

Q. Okay. So he was driving Unit 197, that new 1992 Ford Crown Victoria?

GREG CHAPEL:

Yeah. Yes, sir.

Q. Based on what you observed, do you have an opinion as to whether he may have gotten blood in his patrol car?

GREG CHAPEL:

Well, the way it was bleeding, from my experience with -- you know, yeah, there was a lot of blood and it was bound to get there.

— Combined Testimony, pp. 1672–1673

During the Sentencing Phase

“Just Don't take my brother from me."

After Michael Chapel was convicted, the case moved into the sentencing phase. Greg Chapel was called to testify as the jury considered whether his brother would be sentenced to death.

The following exchange is heard in the archival courtroom footage featured in Episode One.

Elizabeth Villa Rogan, Defense Attorney:

Greg, you are aware of the jury's verdict in this case?

GREG CHAPEL:

Yes, I am.

ROGAN:

And are you aware of the decision they have to make now?

GREG CHAPEL:

Yes.

ROGAN:

Is there anything you would like to say to the jury with regard to the decision they have to make?

GREG CHAPEL:

Just don't take my brother from me.

— Archival sentencing audio featured in A Thin Blue Crime, Episode One

Source notes:

The trial testimony reproduced above is taken verbatim from the 1995 trial transcript contained in Testimony Combined, Combined Pages 1671–1673. Formatting, headings, speaker identification and excerpt arrangement have been added for readability; the quoted testimony has not been rewritten.

The sentencing exchange is reproduced verbatim from the archival courtroom audio used in A Thin Blue Crime — Episode One. Elizabeth Villa Rogan was defense counsel during the sentencing phase.

Evidence Files:

Philip Sullivan

Philip Sullivan Obituary | Star Tribune

https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/0000413769/

I have researched the final chapter in Philip's notable career. In his 60's after serving his country admirably in three branches of the military and retirement as a technology executive, Mr. Sullivan was called on to serve jury duty in a notorious murder trial in Gwinnett County Georgia.

After hearing the case, which convinced him that former police officer, Michael Chapel, stood falsely accused, Mr. Sullivan learned he was an alternate juror and would not deliberate. His fellow jurors described themselves as blinded and confused yet they shocked Mr. Sullivan by finding Chapel guilty of the heinous crime and sentencing him to two life terms plus five years.

Mr. Sullivan called it a grave miscarriage of justice and he spent the better part of the next twenty-five years investigating, documenting, and advocating for an innocent man that he had never met before the trial.

I have written a book and am participating in a podcast to make known the truth of the case of the State of Georgia v. Michael Harold Chapel. My own investigation, documentation, and advocacy stands on the shoulders of a great man, a patriot, a concerned citizen, Philip Raymond Sullivan, may he rest in peace.

The infamous pamphlet; the foundation of the early fight for Justice in the Michael Chapel saga.

Philip's letter to Michael Chapel; the beginning salvo in the battle that would consume the rest of Philip's life.

Evidence Files: Henry Ball's (bottom left) family - Deborah Ann Bourgeois (top right)

Evidence Files: Michael Chapel, Eren Chapel, Chelsea Chapel @ Home in Lawrenceville, GA - Photo by: Deborah Ann

A THIN BLUE CRIME

The documents. The testimony. The actual factuals.