Final Analysis

^death.

^{Eli relaxing on the deck during happier times.}

^{Susan’s dogs were of particular importance to her and the subject of contention between her and Felix.}

^{Though Susan’s relationship with Felix could at times seem normal, the years of conflict eventually became too much.}

^{One of the controversial bloody footprints found at the crime scene.}

^{While at first she would claim that her injuries were the result of her dog’s overaggressive behavior, Susan later revealed that the bruising around her eye and the small cuts to her fingers stemmed from her struggle with Felix.}

^{A police department sketch of the Polk’s Miner Road estate.}

^{My 2005 interview with Susan on Catherine Crier Live. It was during this discussion that she revealed Felix’s naval records and told her side of that fateful evening.}

^{Taken in the Polk’s pool house, this sequence of photos shows Susan’s attorneys, Dan Horowitz (with glasses) and Ivan Golde, reenacting the struggle between Felix and Susan on the night of Felix’s death.}

^{Helen Bolling speaking with reporters outside the courthouse.}

^{Prosecutor Paul Sequeira preparing to address the media.}

^{Valerie Harris making a statement to reporters in front of the courthouse. While her professional relationship with Susan was strained by Susan’s erratic behavior, ultimately Valerie’s presence was a big help to Susan as she maneuvered through one legal minefield after another.}

^{Adam and Gabriel on the set of Catherine Crier Live.}

^{Eli after learning of his mother’s verdict.}

^{After the verdict: (From left to right) Prosecutor Sequeira, Gabriel Polk, Majorie Briner, Adam Polk, Dan Briner.}

APPENDIX

^{A copy of Felix’s naval records, which Susan used during the trial.}

^{The letter written by naval doctors that details their diagnosis of Felix’s suicide attempt as a schizophrenic reaction.}

^{Felix’s 1955 suicide letter.}

^{Susan, younger, at one of the Polk’s earlier houses.}

^{Susan and Felix on a trip to Europe.}

^{Susan and her children on a trip to a California vineyard}

^{A page from the legal case of Polk v. Polk.}

^{Always an avid outdoorsman, Felix loved hiking with his boys.}

^{The police report from Felix’s death scene.}

^{Dr. Peterson’s wound chart from Felix’s autopsy. This diagrams each of the places where Susan’s knife hit Felix.}

^{The knife that Susan claimed she used when she killed her husband.}

^{A bloody footprint on the floor of the Miner Road pool house taken by Costa County Police Department. The footprints would prove a subject of great controversy during the trial as Susan used them to demonstrate procedural errors on behalf of the police department.}

^{A police photo of the Polk’s Miner Road estate}

^{The coroner’s report from Felix’s autopsy.}

^{Felix Polk’s death certificate.}

^{Taken by the police, this photo shows the edge of the pool house and the pool.}

^{The interior of the main house kitchen photographed by police during their sweep of the premises on October 15.}

^{An alternate police sketch of the Miner Road estate.}

^{A police sketch of the bloodstained chair in the living room of the pool house.}

^{A police sketch of the crime scene from overhead.}

ACKNOWLEGMENTS