Murder Under the Friday Night Lights Recap for Dirty Little Lies

This week’s episode of Murder Under the Friday Night Lights is titled Dirty Little Lies. It takes place in Polk County, Texas in 1985 and tells the story of the tragic murder of Billy Mac Fleming.

On April 22nd, 1985, a man was picking berries in a remote area called the Big Thicket, when he discovered a very decomposed man’s body. This was not a place people frequented, so it was a huge shock. He called 911 and police came to assess the crime scene. There was no ID on the body, but there was a coach’s whistle on his neck. The man was also not wearing any shoes and had wounds on his body. There was also a class ring for Stephen F Austin State University on his person with the initials BMF and the year 1973.

The victim was quickly identified as Billy Mac Fleming. He was said to have been shot in the head execution style. He was a football coach who had been reported missing by Kenneth Voytek, the school superintendent ten days prior.

Billy Mac had no known enemies, but an anonymous letter showed up at the school for the superintendent just a month prior to the murder. It claimed that Billy Mac had been spotted in compromising positions with someone named Laura Nugent during school hours. She was the school secretary, and it was inferred that the two were having an affair.

Lonny, a former football player, describes the area of Daisetta as a sleepy town, as does fellow former football player Corey. They talk about football was a way of life in the area and everyone was super into the sport.

Billy Mac was a football coach at the junior high school and would help prepare players for varsity level football. He and his wife Lynda would move to the area for this job, with him convincing her that the move would do them good. While Billy Mac was an outsider at first, he immediately won people over with his charismatic ways. He would become a father figure to many, including Corey, giving him the number 50 for the team.

The first order of business was to figure out who wrote the letter accusing Billy and Laura of having an affair. There were also other letters sent to Billy Mac and Lynda, but nobody knew who sent them.

The day after the murder a former assistant coach named Thomas recalls getting the news of Billy Mac’s death. Lonny recalls everyone being scared to death after the news broke. The media got hold of the news and talked about the alleged affair between Billy Mac and Laura.

Laura herself was described as a quiet, sweet woman. She admitted to dating Billy Mac, who was actually separated from Lynda at the time and living in his own place. The two had planned on getting married after Billy Mac and Lynda’s divorce was finalized.

On the day of Billy Mac’s death, he was to have dinner with Laura and her parents, but he never showed up. She went to look for him, but he was not home. His car was still at the school, so after not hearing from him, she reported him missing to the school.

At this time, Lynda had also called to see if she was the beneficiary of Billy’s life insurance, which was worth $50,ooo. She was indeed still on there and since the divorce was not yet finalized, everything went to her.

Lonny recalls thinking there was something going on between Billy Mac and Laura but stayed out of it because he was just a kid. Corey echoes these thoughts.

Everyone, including Laura and Lynda were looked at as suspects. Lynda claimed that Billy Mac would not show up for counseling, but sometimes come over for sex, making her feel used. She also recalled getting the letter and showing it to him, which included a motel receipt. There were also mentions of pictures in the letter.

Lynda was a suspect, but was cleared when she gave an alibi. She gave them the name Doug Duncan, who was a friend of Billy Mac’s that was known for using drugs. He had also disappeared under suspicious circumstances. This, along with cocaine found at Billy Mac’s house made him a suspect, especially since Billy Mac’s shoes were off, something that was done with drug cartels.

Despite this turn of events, people had a hard time believing it.

The motel clerk was questioned about the letters and Laura/Billy Mac affair. The school brought in a yearbook to see if the clerk knew who asked for the receipts (and possibly wrote the letters). They had identified the person as Hurley Fontenot, who was the principal at the school where Laura and Billy Mac worked. This took the case in a whole new direction.

Hurley is then brought in for questioning and claimed that Billy Mac told him he was leaving work around 2:50pm and he would see him Monday. He also admitted to dating Laura occasionally. She had wanted to marry him, but he was not ready. However, he was upset to learn that Laura moved on with Billy Mac. He claims he was upset but denied mailing the letters or going to the motel to seek information. He also reminds the police that he got letters himself.

As for his alibi, Hurley claimed he went to get his daughter from the airport, but she never showed. Thinking there was a mix up with their plans, he had gone to his sister’s house for the night.

Everyone in town was shocked that he was a suspect since he was a well-respected member of the community.

Hurley would go on to be indicted in the case and released on $50,000 bond. Sources claimed he borrowed a truck from the school and that blood was found underneath. There was a great debate in the town as to whether or not he did it.

Hurley hired Dick DeGuerin as his defense attorney, who was one of the best in the nation. The case went to trial despite the fact that the letters were not fingerprinted and people still believed Hurley was innocent. Many still believed Doug was involved.

It was also pointed out that the evidence against Hurley was circumstantial, right down to the blood found. His wife claimed that it was due to her heavy period.

Hurley was ultimately acquitted of the murder. Lynda and Laura were left in a state of shock. Others believed he was innocent, while some wondered if he could have done it.

Billy Mac’s loved ones still hope to find out who did this and if Hurley was actually the killer.