“Breakdown Season 6: A Jury of His Peers” has won the American Bar Association’s 2018 Silver Gavel Award. In The Atlanta Journal-Constitution podcast, editor-in-chief Kevin Riley gained extraordinary access to the key figures in the investigation of the murders of two young Atlanta men: Reggie Coicou and Quincy “Fat” Wytche. Both died in a sudden outburst of gunfire outside an Atlanta Burger King in 2016.
As the newsroom's top editor, Riley doesn't usually get involved in the coverage a murder case. But for this podcast, Riley teamed with longtime "Breakdown" host and legal affairs writer Bill Rankin to sift through thousands of pages of investigatory files and hours of video and audio tape. Together, the two break down the murder case and its aftermath. You can listen to the episodes at the links below, or go to the iTunes store to binge listen the entire series.
More information on the case:
- The AJC’s original breaking-news article on the shootings
- Video: WSB’s original breaking-news report of the shootings
- Photos: Images from Season 6 of ‘Breakdown’
- Document: Read the indictment
- Document: Juror questionnaire
- Document: Instructions to the jury
- Video: Surveillance footage from the Valero service station and Burger King parking lot
- Video: Mother of shooting victim gets her say at sentencing
PREVIEW: Introducing Season 6 and a double homicide in northwest Atlanta.
EPISODE 1: A Jury of His Peers: AJC editor-in-chief Kevin Riley gains extraordinary access to key players in the double homicide of Reggie Coicou and Quincy “Fat” Wytche.
EPISODE 2: Voice of a Killer? First contact: An Atlanta homicide investigator goes to the home of the man who has emerged as his suspect. The man lives with his mother, and the detective winds up interviewing both. A year later, AJC Editor-in-Chief Kevin Riley gets his first indication that he will become deeply engaged in the outcome of this double homicide investigation.
EPISODE 3: A Trial by Jury Nicholas Benton’s murder trial gets underway. The state puts on a formidable case — albeit with some big holes in it — and then rests. Here comes the defense, and the jury can’t wait to hear what Nick Benton will say when he gets to the stand.
EPISODE 4: Deliberation The jury elects a foreman and begins its deliberations. The cellphone evidence is strong, but jurors are concerned about the lack of physical evidence: no murder weapon, no getaway car, no fingerprints, no DNA. And the state’s star witness may or may not be believable.
EPISODE 5: Verdict The jury in the double-murder case of Nicholas Betnon could not hang the verdict on any single piece of evidence or testimony. That is, nothing that came up in court was so compelling that it enabled the jury to declare “builty” or “not guilty.” But what about something that came up outside of court? AJC Editor Kevin Riley wraps up his insider’s account of being foreman on teh jury in a murder trial.
