The Dateline episode “Suspicion in Silver City” investigates the 2014 murder of 23-year-old Cassy Brooks Farrington in Silver City, New Mexico. Keith Morrison interviews Cassy’s parents, Darlene and Chuck Brooks, who describe their daughter as a “very driven and motivated” teenager.
She lettered in five sports in high school (volleyball, basketball, track, softball, poms), was a member of the National Honor Society and aspired to become a doctor. But at the age of 16, Cassy became pregnant. In the span of just one month, Cassy delivered her baby (a boy named Tristan), graduated from high school, got married and moved out of her parents’ house in Pima, Arizona. She and her husband, Bradley Scott Farrington, moved to Silver City where Farrington became a police officer and they had another child (a girl named Lila). When the couple later separated, the Farringtons entered a long custody battle over their two children.
On March 24, 2014, Cassy was found dead in the trailer where she lived with her then boyfriend David Berry. Her body was found face-down in a bathtub which was full of water. Her body had been beaten and bruised. Strangulation marks were found on her neck. Her estranged husband was charged with her murder. There were no eyewitnesses nor any DNA found but several people testified that Cassy Farrington told them she was scared her husband would try to kill her.
During the murder trial on August 15, 2018, the judge was informed that one of the jurors “was falling asleep” while testimony was presented in court. Prosecutor George Zsoka asked the judge to do an on camera review with the juror. The judge met with the juror and the attorneys, and “after just a few minutes, the courtroom was reopened, the jury reseated and the trial resumed.”
The next day, on August 16, after a five-hour deliberation, the jury found Bradley Farrington guilty of first-degree murder. In September, Farrington was sentenced to life in prison. After the verdict was read, one juror (who asked not to be named) told the local newspaper: “This particular jury was very, very good,” he said. “We were all very engaged. We were all asking a lot of questions. We weren’t all in agreement in the beginning, but the process actually worked — the system worked in this case — we were able to have a very calm but intelligent conversation about all the evidence in this case.” Dateline airs Fridays at 10 pm on NBC.
