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Investigation Discovery's See No Evil season 6 reaired its third episode on January 17, focusing on the 2013 murder of Josh Richards.
The 2013 nightclub shooting of Josh Richards brought the community in Appleton to a standstill as people considered the act to be an example of gun violence. However, the Appleton Police Department suspected four individuals from surveillance footage and narrowed it down to Chong Lee. They also believed Josh to be a target per witness statements of an alleged bar brawl.
While Chong Lee was sentenced to life in prison, he had filed for a wrongful conviction owing to mishandling of evidence. However, the court decided to uphold the conviction in 2018.
The synposis of the episode, titled Run for the Door, reads:
"Josh Richards is shot execution style in the middle of a nightclub in Appleton, Wisconsin. When detectives delve deeper into the investigation, they discover a camera has the potential to reveal the identity of a killer."
Witness intimidation, wrongful conviction appeal, and other details of Josh Richards' murder
1) Josh Richards was celebrating the launch of his business when he was shot
Josh Richards had been celebrating the launch of his business of turning old school buses into party buses with his friends on December 7, 2013. The business partners had taken out one of their buses with passengers for $10 per head.
All of them traveled from Green Bay to nearby Appleton, where they went club-hopping. Josh and Brittany ended up at the popular nightclub, Luna Lounge, where Josh suffered a gunshot to his head around 1:50 am in the night.
2) The police had suspected three individuals before they turned to Chong Lee as the prime suspect
Josh's friend Galen went to Luna Lounge to have Josh picked up when she noticed a crowd outside the nightclub. People were exiting the club, and police cars and emergency services were parked at the entrance where Josh Richards' unresponsive body lay. He was declared dead the following day.
The crime scene had barely any evidence apart from a spent .25 calibre shell casing. The Appleton Police Department used witness statements in addition to surveillance footage from the entrance of the club and the traffic cameras to identify four individuals - Joe Thor, Paul Lee, Chong Lee and Phong Lee.
The police apprehended and questioned Joe Thor, Paul Lee, and Phong Lee, who left the club immediately after the shooting. They shifted their suspicion to Paul Lee's brother Chong Lee when information about him confessing to pulling the trigger poured in as addition to Paul Lee's statement.
3) Chong Lee had allegedly tried to intimidate witnesses
When the Appleton Police Department spoke to witnesses, most of them informed investigators about their unwillingness to be part of the investigation - including the trio who were first spotted running out of Luna Lounge. The authorities later found out that Chong Lee had allegedly been threatening witnesses.
Chong Lee was additionally charged with four counts of felony intimidation of a witness. However, the jury dropped two counts of felony intimidation of a witness during his trial.
4) Chong Lee is presently serving a life sentence
Chong Lee was arrested and convicted of the charge of first-degree intentional homicide by use of a dangerous weapon. He did not plead guilty to his charges, which led to a trial by jury. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 34 years.
Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider said during the hearing:
"...This case, evidence and testimony shows you, was an intentional act by this defendant. Someone who was not involved in the fight (prior to the shooting). Someone who intentionally walked into Luna, sees his brother involved in a fight. Someone who had intentionally removed that gun, intentionally raised the gun to the victim's head, intentionally pulled the trigger on a near-contact shot."
5) Lee had filed for a wrongful conviction in 2018
Chong Lee and his defence team had filed for wrongful conviction in 2018 after he was convicted for the 2013 nightclub shooting of Josh Richards in Appleton. The defence attorney Evan Weitz told the Outagamie County jury that Chong Lee was an innocent man who had become the main accused due to wrong steps taken on the investigators' behalf.
The Appleton Police Department had allegedly destroyed crucial evidence of the interviews with Joe Thor, Paul Lee, and Phong Lee. The defence additionally argued that the police had worked under pressure to have a suspect by any means, per Post-Crescent News.
