The American Greed episode ‘Deadly Gold Digger’ investigates the murder of multimillionaire divorcé Bill McLaughlin of Newport Beach, California. In December 1994, he was shot dead in his home. His live-in girlfriend Nanette Johnston (aka the Gold Digger) was stealing money from his accounts and cheating on him with former NFL linebacker Eric Naposki. Johnston and Naposki were suspects, but it took 16 years to bring them to trial. Prosecutors claimed that Johnston convinced Naposki to kill McLaughlin for his $1 million insurance policy. Naposki says he is innocent. In 2011, Naposki was found guilty of first-degree murder.
Naposki continues to appeal his conviction. Among other claims, Naposki claims the judge refused to discharge a juror who told an alternate juror that Naposki looked “creepy.” The judge said the juror was very apologetic for making a comment about his appearance in court. She acknowledged she “said, ‘I can’t see [defendant] very clearly and maybe that’s good because sometimes he looks creepy[,]’” and that she “was glad that he smiled occasionally, it brought him back to normal.” American Greed airs Mondays at 10pm on CNBC.
