48 Hours Episode Re-Examines Miami Murder Case
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Earlier this summer, real estate developer Adam Kaufman was found not guilty of murdering his 33-year-old wife Lina, mother of the couple's two children.
Five years ago, Kaufman found her hunched over a magazine rack in the family bathroom.
"Help me please," Kaufman pleaded on the phone with a 911 operator. "My wife is in the bathroom dying!"
Melissa Fedowitz couldn't understand how her friend died so suddenly.
"I could not comprehend how a healthy 34-year-old woman just dies," she said.
Others couldn't either.
The confusion carried into the murder trial held in Miami.
Expert after expert was called to testify. The prosecution alleged Kaufman murdered his wife, while the defense claimed Lina had an allergic reaction from a recent spray tan.
Most baffling of all: the evidence. In fact, it continues to baffle experts today.
A few experts say Lina was choked. Others say inconsistent marks on her neck can't possibly support that claim.
The defense called its star witness, Lina's mother, Frida Aizman.
"I knew Adam was innocent..." Aizman said, "...from the very beginning."
CBS4 sat down with Aizman and Kaufman together in an interview after the trial.
How, in an era of high-tech crime investigations, could so many doctors disagree?
Erin Moriarty and the 48 Hours team combed through all the evidence and hired the Kentucky's medical examiner to review the case.
"It astounded me that you had medical experts look at the exact same evidence and reaching different conclusions," Moriarty said.
Adam's twin brother Seth said he had no doubt his brother was innocent.
Others believe Adam Kaufman got away with murder.
"After they see the 48 Hours episode, I think they will feel differently," Moriarty said. "I think they will understand what really happened."
Moriarty's 48 Hours special, "Lina's Heart", airs Saturday, October 27th at 10:00p.m. on CBS4.
