This Friday, Jan. 7, at 9 p.m., “Dateline NBC” will air the story an Oklahoma family that suffered a tragedy when robbers broke into the home of a Baptist pastor and killed him and his wife, leaving two wounded and grieving children.
According to Ashley McCollum, a publicist for NBC, the story is based on the Douglas family. Parents Richard and Marilyn were killed during a home invasion on Oct. 15, 1979. Though their son Brooks and daughter Leslie were both injured in the attack (a bullet nicked Brooks’ heart and Leslie was shot twice), they survived and spent years?trying to heal their emotional and physical pain.
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McCollum said Richard Douglas was one of the most influential Baptist pastors in?the area, and his family was known for their generosity and support of those less fortunate in the surrounding community. This attack was unprovoked, and the enormity of the crime transfixed Oklahomans across the state.
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The robbers were eventually found after they committed a string of similar robberies in Texas and Colorado. And though Brooks and Leslie had grown older, their wounds were reopened with the trials of Steve Hatch and Glen Ake when the brother and sister were required to testify. The courts went through numerous trials and appeals, and Brooks and Leslie would end up having to take the stand multiple times to eventually secure justice for their parents’ death.
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Leslie went on to college and graduate school and became a teacher and assistant principal, and?had a family and two children of her own, but her brother struggled. He eventually made it through college, took an Army ROTC commission, then went to law school and got married, but he couldn’t seem to shake the pain of his past, McCollum said.
In 1990, 11 years after the murder of his parents, Brooks decided, almost on a whim, that he would run for the Oklahoma state senate – and won. He was the youngest senator in Oklahoma history and soon found a cause close to his heart, victims’ rights. Paul Brown, a Hollywood writer and director, heard Brooks’ story and found it unique and powerful enough to turn it into a full feature film. Brooks surprised everyone again when he decided to play the part of his father in the film.
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“This story is tragic but at the same time triumphant, as Brooks and Leslie eventually find forgiveness in their hearts and are able to move on with their lives,” said McCollum.
A preview of the episode can be seen at http://on.msnbc.com/fX1YHT.