NCIS probe of U.S. Marine's attempted murder in Kuwait reveals a conspiracy of secrets and lies
Produced by Kim Kennedy
For Chief Warrant Officer James "Houston" Glass, being a Marine was a calling. In the early days of the Iraq War, Houston guided supply convoys through battle fields. By early May 2003, his squadron fell back to Kuwait. One quiet night in the predawn hours of May 14, an explosion rocked the camp.
Houston Glass was nearly killed when a grenade exploded in a guard shack. He barely survived the blast, suffering severe wounds to his neck, back and legs.
NCIS Special Agent Matt Timmons was stationed in Kuwait and immediately responded. Timmons reveals they soon had doubts about it being a terror attack. As investigators dug in, they found the secret double lives of those closest to Glass, which turned the case in an unexpected direction.
"I'm really thinking, like, why did this happen here?" Timmons said. "It didn't make sense to us … there was a better opportunity and target for the terrorists to attack versus one guy in a guard shack who, at the time, wasn't even guarding anything … things didn't seem to add up to us."
The investigation took shrewd detective work to find out who would want Glass dead.
The case agents them back to the United States, where the investigation revealed a shocking conspiracy.
"Things aren't always what they appear to be, and people aren't always who they appear to be," said retired NCIS Special Agent Eric Powers.
A SURPRISE ATTACK
Kuwait, May 14, 2003. Chief Warrant Officer "Houston" Glass was fighting for his life after he was sprayed with shrapnel when a hand grenade was tossed into the guard shack he was standing in. His attacker is still unknown.
Special Agent Matt Timmons | NCIS: Houston was covered in blood. He had blood coming from his neck. He had blood coming from his arm and from his legs. It was a gory scene.
James "Houston" Glass | Marine Corp officer, retired: I am James Glass. They call me Houston.
Against staggering odds, a team of battle-tested medics were able to save Houston's life.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: He was next to a grenade when it went off.
Houston Glass: I hear a thump … It's a bright light. … I'm thrown against the edge of the bunker. … my right side, it feels like it's on fire … There's blood in my eyes. … And every time I moved, it was excruciating.
Special Agent Eric Powers | NCIS, retired: Houston stumbled out under his own power and was in a state of shock. I mean, completely disoriented.
Houston Glass: I didn't know if I was going to die or not. All I knew is I'd been attacked. And I needed to get back into the fight.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: Houston was medevac'd out of there. I believe that they needed to perform several surgeries.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith | Daughter of Houston Glass: The doctors were worried. Shrapnel is something that is very dangerous. If it gets into a vein, it can travel to your heart and that's the end of it. … it's a ticking time bomb.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: I think everybody was concerned that Houston wouldn't survive.
Houston Glass: My right arm, my right hand, my right wrist had to be reconstructed. … There was a piece of shrapnel had gone into my neck.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: I was scared … my mom told my sister and I, "Your dad got hurt. He is OK." … I do know now he wasn't OK.
Houston Glass: That grenade rolled behind a case of water bottles that had been staged in that bunker. … The water absorbed most of the impact.
Ken Lee | Military Prosecutor: By all accounts he should have been killed.
Jeremiah Sullivan | Attorney: The camp was put on high alert. Nobody knew what had happened at that point. Investigators came out.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: This is a huge deal. For the Marine Corps, for the Navy -- everybody that was there -- all the other services as well. I mean, this was a really big deal.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Air Force OSI, Army CID -- everybody had drawn the conclusion that it was a terrorist attack.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We took a look at the scene and realized that things were not adding up … we started to look to who else was in the area … The only witness that we had was Larry Framness … Chief Warrant Officer Framness.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Larry Framness had been one of Houston's friends and he was also a co-worker within their squadron. They had also been neighbors back in Yuma.
Attorney Jeremiah Sullivan would play a strategic role in this case.
Jeremiah Sullivan: After the explosion, Larry was the first one there to help Houston. … He was doing everything at that point to save his life.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: So, we brought Larry in. We sat him down in the far corner, and I sat next to him. And we started to go through the story -- what happened. … And, so, Larry told us, at the beginning, he's like, look, I have no idea what happened. I went out there with Houston.
Jeremiah Sullivan: Larry Framness stopped by Houston's tent at 1:30 in the morning because he needed him to assist with some sort of dispute that was going on with some Marines.
Houston Glass: I was already awake. He came in and said, "Hey, there's something I need you to help me with." I'm like, "What is it?"
Special Agent Eric Powers: Larry … explained that he needed another set of eyes. He needed an eyewitness to observe something … that was going to happen.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: Larry told us … We were going to catch these two people having an affair.
Houston Glass: "I would like for another officer to be a witness to it," so I was like sure, I was wide awake by then.
Ken Lee: He got dressed and went with Framness to this guard shack area as requested.
Jeremiah Sullivan: And they both sat in there in the middle of the night approximately 1:30, 2 o'clock in the morning, and they started talking.
Ken Lee: And time kept ticking on by and nothing was happening.
Houston Glass: He said, "Well I'm not seeing anything." And I'm like, "Yeah, me either." And he said it shouldn't take too much longer. "I tell you what. Let me go outside and take a look around and see what's going on."
Jeremiah Sullivan: Houston sat there waiting just in silence for something to happen.
Larry Framness told Special Agent Timmons he was standing outside of the guard shack, when he saw an explosion.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: And Larry, at that point, is like, I could do nothing but provide first aid. … I then ran to the tent to get help.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: That was the story that he gave us.
During the interview Timmons made some observations.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: I noticed that Larry was very fidgety. And then he was also sweating. So, one of the things that we asked Larry, was for permission for us to go take a look at his belongings. When we started going through his stuff, the first thing I noticed is I found a book that had pictures of Miss Wendy Glass.
Ken Lee: They found … communications on email from Glass's wife.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We also found a CD that also had pornographic material on it with Wendy.
Ken Lee: It revealed that Larry Framness had been romantically involved with Glass's wife, and that changed everything.
A STUNNING DISCOVERY
Larry Framness was the only witness to the grenade attack that nearly killed Houston Glass. The stunning discovery that Framness was having an affair with Houston's wife Wendy took the investigation in a whole new direction.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We found letters between Wendy and Larry. And so at that point, we put two and two together and realized that there was much more to the story.
Houston was unaware of any of that. He felt his marriage to Wendy was solid. It was a romance that began back in 1989.
Houston Glass: I was smitten right from the word go. … I was 21. She was 19. … She was a gorgeous, blonde, former beauty queen.
Houston Glass: And we were starting off a life together … I was as happy as I could be.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: My mom and my dad were both … born in Philadelphia, Mississippi … Very small town. Everybody knows everybody.
For Wendy, the marriage began with great hope.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: My mom … she wanted adventure. She wanted to see the world. … the glamour, things that she would not experience staying in Philadelphia. … it was very much a whirlwind romance. Both were very young. My sister and I came about not too long after.
Kayla and Deanna were born two years apart in 1991 and '93.
Houston Glass: Proudest moment of my life, when both of them were born … very beautiful bundles of joy.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: In reality, it was very difficult raising two children with a man that was very focused on his career.
Houston Glass: I don't think anybody ever, especially family members … don't understand up to a certain point what they're getting into. You know, it's a constant cycle of training, deploying … coming back, you know, trying to recreate that bond with your family.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: Having my dad deploy a lot, it was difficult. … I used to sleep with a shirt of his underneath my pillow … And it made me feel better. … my mom was very lonely.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: My parents did fight a lot … Loud fights, screaming matches.
Houston Glass: I didn't understand the strain that was going on with my family at the time, because I was so laser focused … I had trained for years and years and years to become a Marine … and I was ready to go.
But then came 9/11. Thousands of troops— including Houston – were ordered to go to Afghanistan. Just as he was deploying, his wife Wendy lost her mother -- known to her grandchildren as "Mawmaw."
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: Having Mawmaw go was unexpected. Nobody was prepared. … Mom could call in the dead of the night, Mawmaw would be there for her … she was devastated. … It was very difficult because she was -- she was just a wonderful woman [in tears].
Houston Glass: I was torn. … I could of told the Marine Corps, "I've got to go home. I have got to be with my wife." … But I didn't make that request. My wife needed me … But I also had a job to do.
Houston Glass: It was a turning point.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: She needed dad to be there. Dad couldn't. … And mom was crushed.
Houston Glass: I felt my wife had enough support with her sister at home to be able to get through this. Unfortunately, I was mistaken.
Wendy was devastated about losing her mother and angry at Houston.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Wendy was very needy. She needed somebody … to console her. And Larry was more than willing to be that person.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: Larry Framness. He was a neighbor down the street. My sister and I used to play with his two daughters who were around our age. … You never had any inkling of mistrust, because he was a like a wallflower. … He was just there. And he was there for my mom.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: I didn't see or have any questions or concerns … He just didn't give off that vibe.
Special Agent Eric Powers: It started out as friendship and … quickly turned into a sexual relationship.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: Now as an adult, I do realize that it was odd he was coming around so often. … If my husband had somebody come around like that I would think something's up.
Special Agent Eric Powers: So, six months later, in the spring of 2002, Houston comes home from that deployment.
Houston Glass: I knew my wife was devastated by what had happened to her mother. But I thought our relationship was on strong footing.
What happened next caught Houston by surprise.
Houston Glass: My commanding officer called me in and tell me … that Larry was having an affair with my wife. I trusted my wife completely.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Houston does not believe this. He does not want to believe this. And he objects to the entire investigation.
In the military, adultery is a crime; all claims are investigated.
Houston Glass: So, I told him emphatically no, that there was nothing … So, they dropped … the investigation. … My wife and I were getting along just fine. Nothing -- I was clueless.
A month later --
Houston Glass: I came home … during my lunch break and my wife was not downstairs. … So, I started walking up the stairs and my wife opened the bedroom door … She had a shocked expression on her face. … Things started clicking a little bit. I pushed past her, opened the door and there was Larry on the other side of the bed.
Houston Glass: I was enraged, and I knew I was not in the right mind to lay my hands on him … It was devastating. … She told me that it was a one-time thing and it didn't mean anything. And I could have gone directly to the command and informed them that I had caught them together.
Houston Glass: They would have probably court martial him and they would have kicked Wendy off base. … And I was so scared of losing my girls … I want to keep that family unit together.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: He wanted the perfect family. He wanted a house with a picket fence kind of life
Houston made a deal with them.
Houston Glass: They could not see each other. …They were done, and everything was good.
But it wasn't good, and it wasn't over. In Kuwait one year later, in the hours after the attack on Houston, Larry Framness was starting to look like a suspect.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We believed that Larry wasn't telling us the whole story.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: You know, NCIS, we go through a lot of training … You don't have to interrogate too many people to understand that when people lie, they act a little differently than when they're telling the truth.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: When Larry sat there in the interview chair … His hands were fidgeting. He's sweating. I could see the heartbeat in his neck.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We ran through the story several times with Larry. And there were little variants in what he was saying each time.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: So, we've got to get past the fact that you're telling us that you didn't do this, because we know you did. We just need to know why. So, at that point, Larry breaks down and he puts his head in his hands. And he starts shaking his head back and forth. He said, "I did it. I threw the grenade."
Houston Glass: That night … my commanding officer … came to see me and they were gathered around the bed and I asked them, "Did you catch the people that did this?" Because I still thought it was an attack. … They looked at me and said it was Larry. The world fell out from underneath me at that point. I realized then that everything I had hoped for, the future -- everything was gone.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We had Larry. We know that he did it. But what was Wendy's involvement? Did she know? Was she plotting with Larry to kill Houston? Was this the plan all along?
PLOTTING HOUSTON'S DEATH
Houston Glass: I knew my world had changed. … I realized that her and Larry had never called off their affair and that he had tried to kill me.
Houston Glass was crushed by the betrayal – and stunned when he learned Larry Framness had admitted to throwing the grenade. Now, NCIS agents had to determine if Houston's wife Wendy had conspired with Framness, whose explanation for the attack was bizarre, to say the least.
Ken Lee | Military prosecutor: In his initial statement -- his interrogation … He said he was just playing a joke on Glass.
Special Agent Matt Timmons | NCIS: He was gonna throw the grenade near the guard shack. And that was going be a big joke that, that Houston would be scared out of his wits. … That didn't make any sense to us at all. But Larry stuck with that.
Ken Lee: I, frankly, didn't believe it for a second. …For someone to think that it would be funny … to detonate a live grenade in a situation like that is simply preposterous.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We believed that Larry wasn't telling us the whole story. And as soon as we found these photographs, we realized … he's involved with the victim's wife.
That's when NCIS agents paid a visit to Wendy in Yuma, Arizona.
Special Agent Eric Powers | NCIS, retired: Clearly, Wendy knew that she was in trouble when we showed up at her doorstep.
Special Agent Eric Powers: She was emotional. … We asked for permission to search her home. … we start noticing, in plain view, items that belong to Larry, that are stamped with Larry's name. His bills are in her home. … A burned letter in the grill, that was from Larry to Wendy.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: They found that Wendy had been actually burning documents in her backyard. … Wendy seem to be destroying evidence at that point.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: She was caught. They were caught. And she was about to lose everything.
Special Agent Eric Powers: It became pretty evident that something more than just an adulterous affair had occurred. And while we were searching her computer at the house, emails referring to a plan A, plan B popped up which pegged the meter.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Plan A initially … was to murder Houston in the Laguna mountains.
It was an elaborate and well-researched plot beginning in August 2002.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Over the course of the next couple months, they begin driving into the Laguna mountains searching for a location where they would actually drive him off a cliff … I believe on four occasions they scouted the hills until they finally found a spot.
Two months later --
Jeremiah Sullivan | Attorney: In November -- Houston was returning from Kuwait. And he had a long, 16-hour flight back. And Wendy surprised him at the airport.
Houston Glass: My wife picked me up from the San Diego airport. We went to have dinner with some friends and … my wife kept asked me if I wanted her to buy me a drink. I was very tired at the time. I'd just flown … halfway around the world and I really didn't want to drink too much.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Wendy and Larry believed that Houston would return with absolutely no tolerance whatsoever to alcohol because he'd been deployed to a country where the consumption of alcohol was prohibited.
That night, Houston only had a couple of beers.
Houston Glass: And she told me that she had a surprise for me. … she had rented a cabin … up in the Laguna Mountains for a nice romantic weekend. … to work on our marriage, and to be with each other and spend quality time. And it was great. … After dinner we drove up into the mountains and she kept asking if she wanted us to stop and get some beer or get something. And I said. "No, no. I'm good."
Ken Lee: Larry Framness actually physically drove up there to be nearby … where Wendy was with Houston Glass
Special Agent Eric Powers: So, the plan was that Wendy would notify Larry that Houston was intoxicated and passed out. … together they would load Houston into the vehicle. Wendy would drive the vehicle. Larry would follow her. … they'd park -- and then they'd place Houston in the driver seat with his foot on the accelerator and then Houston would fly over the edge of this cliff.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: He didn't get drunk enough to pass out. So their plan went awry. Wendy actually stepped out of the cabin and went over to Larry who was hiding in the bushes to tell him it's not going to work tonight.
Special Agent Eric Powers: The plan was to try it again tomorrow, the next day.
Houston Glass: The next day she yet again asked if she wanted [to] buy some beer. I said. "Sure. Buy a six pack or so a beer."
Special Agent Matt Timmons: We did find on the searches within their computers that they were searching things like Rohypnol and GHB -- you know, drugs that could actually knock somebody out.
Houston Glass: The backup plan was to give me … a muscle relaxer and it would help me go to sleep. At that point, I was so jet lagged, I took it. And it did not work
Ken Lee: It never got to the point where he lost consciousness. So, they were unable to go through with the plan.
Houston Glass: What I know now is that Larry and her … were plotting to kill me.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: It threw me for a loop. … I didn't see mom as this murderer, this black widow, this temptress. I saw her as this woman who would wake us up in the morning with omelets and watch "Little House on the Prairie."
Special Agent Eric Powers: In my interviews of Wendy, there was always an element of the girl next door … And then when you would read the email … then you realize that there were two sides of that coin. And one was very dark.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Larry had an apartment off base … We obtained a search warrant to go into his apartment.
Special Agent Eric Powers: We were dumbfounded. … We couldn't believe that so much incriminatory information was right there.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: These people, they planned on killing Houston. And they didn't just plan one thing. They planned multiple things. … They tried to drown him in a bathtub.
They were going to push him off a cliff in a truck. He was going finish him in Iraq. And then lastly, they threw a hand grenade. This really was the Wile E. Coyote of criminals.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Wendy knew that if she could slip him a date rape drug or a roofie, he would pass out in the tub and they could cause him to drown.
Special Agent Eric Powers: The particularly sinister part of this plot was they were going to use Wendy's children to discover his lifeless body in the bathtub. … As a parent of two children myself, when that -- [Powers pauses, his eyes well with tears] -- it was troubling to say the least.
NCIS found more references to plan A and B.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: Plan A was to kill Houston and plan B was just for her to divorce him.
… And what we found in most of correspondence was "don't forget about plan A."
Special Agent Eric Powers: Plan A mutated and eventually became murdering him in a combat zone.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: So, with Larry, after we got done interviewing him … he was placed in custody and transferred to California where he's placed in the Miramar Brig.
Special Agent Eric Powers: On June 5 … Wendy … agreed to surrender herself. … We placed her in hand irons and transported her to the U.S. Marshal's Office in Yuma, Ariz., where she was taken into custody.
Wendy Glass made bail and was placed in her sister's custody in Mississippi. Wendy said the murder plot was Larry Framness' idea.
Ken Lee: Wendy did turn on Larry Framness rather quickly.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Larry was left holding the bag.
But Framness would claim Wendy was the mastermind.
Jeremiah Sullivan: Larry was a tool in Wendy's tool box.
FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: My dad was going through a lot, because I know it had to been rough.
Houston Glass, still in pain after weeks at a military hospital, returned home to Yuma, Arizona.
Houston Glass: I was angry. … I kept reliving that night over and over and over again. And to this day I can still vividly tell you what it felt like, what it smelled like, the dust that was in the air … every minute little detail.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: I'm sure the whole base had eyes on him, sympathetic eyes, and that's not a good feeling.
Houston Glass: I mean, you feel like everybody's staring at you. … It was a struggle just to get up and put on my uniform and go to work every day.
By July 2003, two months after confessing, Larry Framness was awaiting a military hearing which would determine whether the case would go to trial.
With Wendy's cooperation, military prosecutor Kenneth Lee pressed for attempted murder.
Ken Lee: We already had the statements from Wendy Glass that she had given to NCIS. … how she and Larry Framness had planned to try to kill Houston Glass on previous occasions
Special Agent Eric Powers: Certainly, the emails were fairly conclusive. I mean, when you're talking about a plan A, plan B, that's your conspiracy. I mean, the overt acts, it was all there.
Framness' lawyer, Jeremiah Sullivan, says Wendy tried to manipulate his client into thinking she was in danger.
Jeremiah Sullivan: For the course of the investigation, Wendy was adamant that Houston was physically and emotionally abusive to her over a period of years.
Even while in custody, Framness believed Wendy was in peril:
Brig calls audio:
WENDY GLASS: If he sees me, he's going to be mad.
LARRY FRAMNESS: Here's what you do, OK honey? … Right now, as soon as I hang up the phone … You call family services. You hear that?
WENDY GLASS: Yeah.
LARRY FRAMNESS: You call them right now. You tell them that your spouse is on the way back today, that he has threatened you, that you are terrified, and you don't want to be alone with him.
Ken Lee: From those conversations, it somehow in a twisted way made a transition to a plan to kill Houston Glass.
Ken Lee: There's very limited provisions under the law when you can justifiably kill another human being. Having a bad marriage and being bitter about your marriage clearly is not one of them.
Houston Glass: They tried to imply that I was abusing my wife. … They told me this was going to happen, that they were trying to get underneath my skin and make me show that I could be angry.
Ken Lee: There was no evidence of Houston being abusive to Wendy.
Jeremiah Sullivan: No police reports … no medical reports, no injuries, no independent witnesses.
Ken Lee: The most important testimony was from Chief Officer Glass himself … who described the explosion. …He still had bandages on him and you could see scars. … It was a very tense moment when … Houston Glass came into the room to testify -- to take his place on the stand. And I do recall this vividly -- is that he turned and stared down Larry Framness with intense anger in his eyes, and it seemed like it was forever.
Houston Glass: I wanted nothing more than to jump over that wooden railing and just choke him to death. … but I kept my composure. I answered the questions to the best of my ability and just tamped those feelings down.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: This wasn't just about, you know, getting rid of Houston. This is also about getting money.
At the hearing, Framness's attorney made the case that Wendy's motives had little to do with love.
Jeremiah Sullivan: She was able to manipulate him into getting what she wanted, which was money.
Special Agent Eric Powers: The financial motive was obvious from the beginning.
Jeremiah Sullivan: We know that Houston had an insurance policy, which essentially every service member gets for about $250,000, plus there was another $100,000 policy. But Wendy Glass wanted more.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Wendy had attempted to purchase another $50,000 of life insurance on Houston. Should he pass in a combat zone, it would be multiplied by three, so it'd be another $150,000.
But with the nation at war, the insurance agent would not write up that policy.
Jeremiah Sullivan: Nobody was giving her insurance … She even went to an advance cash place … And the agent vividly remembered Wendy Glass saying that if her husband was killed in combat, that she'd be one rich bitch.
But it was the discovery of this handwritten ledger of potential insurance payouts that clinched the charge of conspiracy.
Special Agent Eric Powers: When we found the ledger in both of their handwriting with the exact amounts of the payouts for the life insurance policies … the dream sheet of items they wanted to buy with that money, it seemed childish and very evil.
Special Agent Eric Powers: That's when it hit me.
Larry Framness did not testify during the four-day hearing, but Wendy, as part of her deal, testified against Framness, detailing numerous plans to kill her husband. Both denied that the motive was money.
Houston Glass: The judge bangs his gavel, says he finds cause to proceed with a court-martial. Immediately afterwards, Larry's defense attorney stands up, says, "Judge we would like to change our plea to guilty."
Jeremiah Sullivan: In order to avoid life without the possibility parole, Larry accepted the responsibility and pled guilty at his court martial.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: Larry was convicted of attempted murder, dereliction of duty and adultery. And he was sentenced to life in prison.
As part of the plea deal, Larry Framness would be eligible for parole after 25 years. Months later, in a federal court in Phoenix, Wendy would have an unlikely ally.
Houston Glass: I loved her very much. I loved her with all my heart.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: I thought Houston was crazy to still want to be with the person that tried to kill him.
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER
Special Agent Matt Timmons: … everything the investigation showed, showed that Wendy was intent on killing her husband.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: My mom was an accomplice to attempted murder.
Special Agent Eric Powers: It's safe to say that there were two sides to Wendy.
Jeremiah Sullivan: Wendy Glass was prosecuted in the federal district court in Arizona. And she entered a plea to a conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced on that.
During the sentencing hearing in September 2004, the judge weighed Wendy's role in the Kuwait grenade attack. Agents had phone records which showed a call to Houston Glass just before the attack.
Special Agent Matt Timmons: Wendy was really involved from the beginning … Wendy called Houston and woke him up.
Jeremiah Sullivan: She called him at 1:30 in the morning to ensure that … there'd be no problems.
Jeremiah Sullivan: She knew exactly what she was doing.
Ken Lee: Wendy Glass had asked the judge, in her plea, for as lenient a sentence as possible.
The judge was having none of it.
Jeremiah Sullivan: The judge responded that her actions resulted in utter chaos … Over in Kuwait … they had to lock down the base. … It impacted every Marine on that base.
Ken Lee: And based on that, he was not willing to reduce her sentence.
At sentencing, the courtroom was stunned when Houston took the witness stand.
Houston Glass: I asked for leniency. … I was scared. I wanted my kids … to have their mother in their life. … I knew she was going to jail … I was trying to minimize that.
Houston Glass: I felt guilty believe it or not … I wasn't always the best husband. I wasn't always the best father.
Jeremiah Sullivan: I think it just illustrates the powers of Wendy Glass. And she was able to continue to manipulate Houston even after she tried to kill him three times. … He was convinced that she could still be a good mom for the kids. And I think Houston's heart was in the right place. But … I don't think she should be on PTA.
Houston Glass: The prosecutor likened me to an abused spouse, which on hindsight is completely 100% true.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Ultimately, Wendy was sentenced to 87 months in prison and five years of probation … for her involvement in the conspiracy to kill her husband.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith [in tears]: We were shuffled so much after she left. We were at that age where we were almost teenagers going through a lot, needing a warm, loving mom beside us, and we didn't have it.
Houston Glass: I was … a single father of two teenage girls. I was scared out of my mind
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: I don't really remember too much about what we were told when mom went away, just that she did something bad.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: I found out later when I did my own research she was in prison! … I was at the school library … I put in my mom and dad's name and here pops this article.
The first one I read is Nancy Grace's.
(Nancy Grace video)
NANCY GRACE: How is it that a guy you`re sleeping with could convince you to try to kill the father of your children?
WENDY GLASS: It came from a lot of depression. My mom had died. Houston refused to be there for me when my mom died.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: It just threw me through a roller coaster of emotions. I was angry, I was upset, like, this is my family they're talking about. This is my life. … My sister and I were extremely angry at mom … If she hadn't have done what she did, trying to kill my dad … my sister and I wouldn't have grown up in a uncertain home not knowing who was there to help us, who really loved us.
Houston Glass: It was very difficult, a very trying time for all of us.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: I went to see her several times in prison … that image of her and the orange jumpsuit, looking frail, just will forever stay with me. She cried. She missed us growing up [Deanna cries]. … But that was the price you pay for what you do.
Houston Glass: I finally admitted that I had to have help. I talked to some very good therapists and some very good doctors who really helped me get through this and work some of these issues out in my head.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: The day that we picked my mom up from Tallahassee Federal Prison, it was awkward. … I hadn't had her in my life in so long. …I don't know who this person is anymore. And I didn't really know what to feel.
Wendy was released in April 2011; she's now remarried. Larry Framness could be eligible for parole in 2029. James "Houston" Glass has also remarried.
Houston Glass: Wendy and I are civil with each other. But it's always awkward. … How do you get past it? You really can't.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: I wish my parents would have just divorced like normal people and hated each other. That would have made my life so much easier.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: It was hard to rebuild that bridge and that bond, but once we did, it was like she never left. … All I could do is move forward and forgive her.
Houston Glass: It's still a healing process. And that healing process will never end.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: It matters that it was another Marine. It was his brother-in-arms, and he stabbed him in the back.
Special Agent Eric Powers: Our members are brothers and sisters. We are very, very close. We're all forged from the same fire.
Deanna Mechell Glass Smith: When you're related to somebody who has actually served, it's a deeper meaning because you know they go overseas, they could not come back. … My father was prepared to die, not just for his family, for -- but for his country, for everybody. … I will always hold pride in being his daughter.
