Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
When 33-year-old Caitlin Spence called 911, she said she had just found her boyfriend, Kirby Carpenter, outside their home — after two days of not hearing from him.
That discovery launched an investigation that quickly spiraled far beyond a missing-person call.
Within weeks, Kirby’s girlfriend Caitlin, and her parents Jeff and Karen Spence, were all charged in connection with the case.
But when the case reached trial, only one person actually faced a jury:
Jeffrey Spence.
In this video, I break down:
The timeline leading up to Kirby’s discovery
Why investigators focused on the Spence family
Caitlin’s testimony against her own father
The plea deals offered to Caitlin and Karen
And the surprise result from the deadlocked jury — 6 to 6.
A retrial is already planned, and the stakes could not be higher.
This video contains legal analysis of publicly available testimony and court filings.
All individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
👍 If you want more deep-dive trial coverage, tap LIKE so YouTube knows to show you similar videos.
Enjoying the content? Join us by becoming a channel member!
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MODERATORS: Many thanks to marlonmaastricht, mamapinks and denisepelton, the best mods anywhere.
OUTRO: by MarlonMaastricht
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All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
When 33-year-old Caitlin Spence called 911, she said she had just found her boyfriend, Kirby Carpenter, outside their home — after two days of not hearing from him.
That discovery launched an investigation that quickly spiraled far beyond a missing-person call.
Within weeks, Kirby’s girlfriend Caitlin, and her parents Jeff and Karen Spence, were all charged in connection with the case.
But when the case reached trial, only one person actually faced a jury:
Jeffrey Spence.
In this video, I break down:
The timeline leading up to Kirby’s discovery
Why investigators focused on the Spence family
Caitlin’s testimony against her own father
The plea deals offered to Caitlin and Karen
And the surprise result from the deadlocked jury — 6 to 6.
A retrial is already planned, and the stakes could not be higher.
This video contains legal analysis of publicly available testimony and court filings.
All individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
👍 If you want more deep-dive trial coverage, tap LIKE so YouTube knows to show you similar videos.
Enjoying the content? Join us by becoming a channel member!
youtube.com/@harvardlawyerlee
Venmo: @LawyerLeeW
PayPal: @LawyerLeeW
TWITTER: LawyerLeeW
MODERATORS: Many thanks to marlonmaastricht, mamapinks and denisepelton, the best mods anywhere.
OUTRO: by MarlonMaastricht
WHAT I USE TO STREAM: STREAMYARD. You can preload exhibits and video and it works for meetings as well as YouTube livestreams. Affiliate link: streamyard.com/?fpr=lee59
All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).










