Husband Hires Hitman to Murder His Wife
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Tonight, breaking news. A stunning murder-for-hire plot allegedly hatched by a former banking bigwig with a big secret. Cops say the banker even created a hit kit to help a group of thugs execute eloquent wife of 24 years so he could be with the one you are about to see, this hot blond young secretary of his. And not have to pay a lot of alimony according to cops. Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live. And you will not believe this alleged plot.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is a housewife that was living with some would think would be a dream lifestyle.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Investigators say he was part of a plan to murder his own wife.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Children just watched their father walk in shackles.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Nancy Latham accused her husband, Chris, of an affair and wanting her dead.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She lived in fear for several month now.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here is the long married couple in happier days looking like the perfect couple, fillers of the Charleston, South Carolina social set. Parents of two lovely grown daughters. Christopher Latham was earning about, are you sitting down, three-quarters of a million dollar as year as a banking executive. But then, he got into a nasty divorce battle with his wife and moved in with his younger secretary, Wendy Moore. There is the alleged banker. No longer wearing a tuxedo. That`s his mug shot. And he allegedly conspired with his girlfriend/former secretary to recruit an entire team of people to kill his wife. When cops told Mrs. Latham that her husband was trying have her rubbed out, she and the couple`s two grown daughters, you see them there, what a lovely family, they have to go into hiding for months. Listen to what the wife told the post inquiring.</s>NANCY LATHAM, WIFE OF SUSPECT: This is a man that I have known and still currently am married to. We have been married for 24 years. And how do you reconcile the idea that this person hired someone to kill you?</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think about this ex-banker`s claim that oh, it is all a big misunderstanding? Call me. 1-877-JVM-SAYS. 1-877-58 1-877- 586-7297. I want to hear from you. Straight out to the lion`s den. Jon Leiberman, investigative reporter. You have been tracking this case. What have you learned about why money is at the heart of this horror show?</s>JON LEIBERMAN, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Jane, I will tell you. This case is ugly on so many levels. But at the heart of it, it does appear is cash. One reason is because Mrs. Latham claims that if she was, indeed, killed, hired to be killed, by her estranged husband, he would have been able to keep this affair secret. Thereby keeping his $700,000 a year job. Plus, if she`s no longer in the picture, the thinking goes, he would save tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees because they were going through a contentious divorce and also, on costly alimony payments. At the moment he has to pay $8500 a month to his estranged wife. So money is in large part at the heart of this case.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, I guess what you are telling me is that the company policy was no hanky-funky between the banking executives and cute young secretaries and so, they were keeping it secretly allegedly purportedly because it would have been a violation of policy, Jon?</s>LEIBERMAN: Well, absolutely. And had he been fired, he would have lost his pension and everything. Now, as it turned out he was able to negotiate a resignation. But that was before a lot of the more salacious details came out. But as of right now, he is still able to, under this resignation agreement, collect some benefits.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Interesting. I wonder if they sent him to his jail cell. Now, Brian Silber, criminal defense attorney, I saw you shaking your head. What could you be shaking your head about?</s>BRIAN SILBER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Jane, this case is like one of the wild stories that just screams motive. You know, I don`t see how this guy is going to find his way out of this. You know, he has a reason to save his job. He has a reason to save on thousands -- hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys` fees. He has a reason to save money on alimony, on child is port, on his wealth. And he wants to hide his girlfriend?</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Rene?</s>RENE SANDLER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, what direct evidence? Direct evidence, not statements of others, what direct evidence is there that he conspired to take measures to --</s>SILBER: I don`t know, maybe the file with all of those pleadings and the woman`s --</s>LEIBERMAN: Testimony of --</s>SANDLER: He lived with his girlfriend.</s>SILBER: Testimony of the guy --</s>SANDLER: Come on.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Come on. I notice that the woman remaining silent is Judy Ho the clinical psychologist because I think she analyzing all of you on the panel. But Judy --</s>SILBER: God knows we need.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: It exclusive prime time exclusive guest. Why is it that the couples look perfect on the outside -- this couple really, they are the stereotypical pillars of the community in this gentile Charleston, South Carolina, social set. The victim, the would-be victim, thank God nothing happened to her, but the wife, she is still totally shocked over her estranged husband`s alleged plan to kill her. First, we are going listen to this from "the Post" and career.com and then I want to hear from you, your analysis.</s>LATHAM: It was difficult to see him walk in shackles because, again, going through this situation that`s almost surreal. You can tell yourself that even though you suspect he is involved, well, he hasn`t been arrested so maybe he hasn`t. You know, you can almost compartmentalize those peelings. But to know that he`s arrested, the U.S. attorney`s office must have what they need to warrant an arrest.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look at this so-called perfect family. Dr. Judy, how can they look so perfect on the outside and have all of this stuff going on behind closed doors?</s>DOCTOR JUDY HO, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well Jane, these types of high- powered couples, they are very centered on self-presentation. Their presentation to the world. And, in fact, that`s probably one of the motives for why he would hatch a plot like this. Because he is trying to protect his wealth, his reputation, who he is in the community, who he is at work. And oftentimes these couples, you know, they have to present themselves to the public as everything is great but when they go home, that`s where everything is falling apart. And so I`m sure that the wife right now is in disbelief.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me say this. I don`t want to mix the two of them up. I mean, she is the victim and he is the alleged conspirator who was ring leading this cloud. We have a very special primetime exclusive guest with us tonight. O`Neill Cannon, the -- the would-be victim. This lady`s father luckily, the police told her about this plot and she went into hiding with her two adult daughters and she`s fine tonight. So I`m happy to be able to report that, sir. But Mr. Cannon, tell us your reaction, when you heard about this extraordinary plot which is something out of a movie, honestly, it reminds me of some of these thrillers, what was your reaction when you heard about it, sir?</s>O`NEIL CANNON, NANCY LATHAM`S FATHER (via phone): It was very hard to believe. I couldn`t believe it to start with. I felt that -- you know, he had nothing to do with it. I thought -- the girl, the girlfriend. After they did all the investigations and all of this stuff, it is hard for me to believe had a somebody would want to kill his wife and children. I just can`t believe that. You know. I got two lovely granddaughters. And I just -- they are my life. I just can`t see anybody trying to take their life.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: How has it impacted the two adult daughters? Your daughter, Nancy Latham, seems very strong. And there she is. She seems like a resolute woman that can handle anything. But these two adult daughters of hers and this alleged daughter, there you see the family going into court and the two younger women there, the daughters, I mean, how are they reacting to the fact that their dad, according to cops, wanted to run out their mom?</s>CANNON: It is very hard on the children. They didn`t want to leave -- granddaughter come home and they all had to stay together. One couldn`t go anywhere without all three going. They all had to go together and it was a hardship on them. They didn`t have any freedom. And they just -- it feels like for two months, they all have been locked up the same way. Didn`t have any freedom whatsoever.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m so happy that these women, even though they are traumatized are OK. Because, unfortunately, having done this job for quite a while, sometimes these plots become real. And I want to go to Matt Yelverton, the attorney for Nancy Latham out of Charleston, South Carolina. This is a shocker. Was there any sense that this man who is one of the pillars of the community until this happened was capable of something like this? I mean, he -- look at him. He looks like the banking executive he was. Making three-quarters of a million dollars. People trusted him with their money.</s>MATT YELVERTON, NANCY LATHAM`S ATTORNEY: Jane, there was no history to suggest that Mr. Latham would be involved in this type of conspiracy. I will say that having handled some higher-end divorces in my career that I`m rarely surprised by the steps people will take to preserve their assets or they would consider their entitle -- what they are entitled to. While he didn`t have a history of this, I`m not surprised that this happened given my experience.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Really? Well, I`m shocked. Never shocks me when people are accused of doing what they get involved with. David, Washington, your question or thought? David Washington?</s>DAVID, CALLER, WASHINGTON: Yes. I would just -- was thinking that in this day and age, divorces, people that have been married 20,25 years, statistics say that they are skyrocketing. But what an extreme to take it to? I mean if you are a guy making three-quarters after million dollar as year, you could have gone the legal route. I mean, you know, more of -- morally very questionable to fall in love with your secretary after 24 years of marriage to someone. But I mean, why do something that might put you in jail for life? Why go to such an extreme and instead of just taking the legal route --</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Take a look at her. That could be the reason why. He has a very cute secretary. I mean -- that`s her mug shot. And she looks pretty good in the mug shot. So, imagine she cleans up very nicely. And unfortunately, sometimes men don`t think up here, if you know what I mean. They are thinking with another part of their anatomy. Stay right there. We are just getting started because there are alleged co-conspirators and there is even -- according to cops, a hit kit. And we are going to tell you what was in the hit kit and what a handwriting analyst said about who put it together. Stay right there. More on the other side.</s>LATHAM: This is a man that I have known and still currently married to, we have been married for 24 years. And how do you reconcile the idea that this person hired someone to kill you?