Surprise from Nevada man on trial
Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:03 AM by Dateline Editor
Filed Under:
Crime, Behind The Scenes
By Karen Epstein, Dateline Producer
There are certain days when you’re covering a trial that you don’t want to miss. June 26, 2007 was one of those days.
At about 8:45 a.m., I bolted up the stairs of the Washoe County Courthouse in Reno, Nev., to the second floor courtroom of Judge Steven Kosach. I knew the media would be clamoring for seats, and I wanted a good one. It was supposed to be a big day in the trial of Chaz Higgs. The day before, Higgs had taken the stand in his own defense, and now it was the prosecution’s turn to cross-examine him. Little did I know that there was about to be a dramatic twist in this case no one could have expected.
The sudden death of Nevada State Controller Kathy Augustine caught the eye of Dateline NBC producers as soon as it hit the papers. Had it been a heart attack, as was initially reported, or could it be something more sinister? Rumors flew throughout the state.
Kathy Augustine had certainly made her share of enemies during her political career. She was accused of violating state ethics rules by forcing employees to work on her 2002 election campaign on state time, and had been the first official in Nevada history to be impeached. Soon enough, though, those rumors hit closer to home and police started investigating Kathy’s fourth husband, a Registered Nurse named Chaz Higgs (couple pictured in photo).
Higgs was charged with killing his wife by injecting her with a paralytic drug called succinylcholine. I learned a lot about this drug by covering this case, and it’s absolutely horrifying. Used properly, it is an important medical tool that aids in intubation. Used improperly, the drug paralyzes your internal organs, essentially suffocating you. From what we learned during the trial, you can still hear and even smell but can’t move or breathe. Terrifying.
On direct examination, Chaz Higgs insisted he did not, and would not, kill his wife. Which brings me back to June 26 -– the day he was supposed to face cross-examination by the prosecutor. When I approached the courtroom, everyone was buzzing and whispering. I knew something was not right. A local reporter ran up to me with the scoop: it turns out, in the middle of the night, Chaz Higgs had slit his wrists.
Chaz Higgs survived, but, was it a true suicide attempt? A ploy for sympathy? No one knew for sure. Higgs’ Attorney David Houston told reporters that his client had told his story, cleared his name, and now he wanted to die. Kathy’s brother, Phil Alfano, called it all an act. The judge revoked Higgs’ bail and put the trial on hold. Ironically, July 26 was the day Dateline was supposed to interview Chaz Higgs, but now we had lost our chance.
Would there be a mistrial? Or, if the trial continued, would the alleged suicide attempt help, or hurt, Chaz Higgs’ case?
We’d have to wait and see.
"A Shot in the Dark" airs Dateline NBC on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at 10 p.m. ET/9 C.
