Transcript of Death in the Dorms Season 2: Episode 3: Marlin Barnes

Hey there, 2020 listeners. This week, we're going to be bringing you episode three of Death in the Dorms, Season Two, a true crime series from ABC News Studios. Today, we'll hear the story of Marlon Barnes, a linebacker at the University of Miami, and his childhood friend, Tim Wanneca Lumpkins, whose visit to campus unraveled into a night of shocking events that nobody saw coming.

Miami in the '90s, this is the time of hurricanes football.

He told me he was going to go to UM, and he was going to play football. Saturday morning, April 13th, I started paging him, and I just kept paging him, and he never called me.

He I had to survive a lot to get to UM. For that to happen to him on campus, it was like, That can't be true.

Everybody's scared. Nobody knows how it happened, why it happened.

The death of Marlon Barnes really rocked this program.

This was not a robbery. Somebody meant to kill the person.

He has been brutally beaten. You He's almost unrecognizable.

I just couldn't put it together. He was not that person where he would make someone want to hurt him.

Who committed this bloody double murder?

I don't know the destination, and on foot's my mode of transportation.

So if I'm not striding toward better, then tell me what the purpose is.

I feel a breakthrough coming, or is that nervousness?

I need Pepto as I take chances. Clepto, find her of the past and the future at present, but never step back unless I'm rocking retros.

Because second chances, you don't always get those. Because second chances, you don't always get those.

When I was 16, I got pregnant with Marlin. I got my GED because I had a second child while I was in high school, and a couple of events happened. Marlin was two years old at the time. Gary was 10 months when their dad was murdered. Marlin's dad got into a fight, and his friend pulled out a gun, and he shot him in the chest twice. That's what we're going to This is our Lindley City area right here. It's not easy raising your children in government housing projects. To keep my kids safe, I usually I encouraged them to have their friends come to our house. Marlin was a happy child. He had a lot of friends. The kids, they felt safe, I think, being in my home.

Marlin's house was another atmosphere for us, you know what I'm saying? But the volume was higher.

One morning, I made breakfast and I called out to the kids to come down to eat. And I had about 15 kids come down. After that, I would check the rooms and I would make enough food so that everybody could eat.

It was just amazing to me because she was a single parent, but you never could see if she was struggling. Charlie always kept a positive attitude, always told us about doing the right thing. Marlin was every bit of Charlie. He was every bit of her. Marlin used to come to my house and lead the prayer. It was like, he read the Bible, volunteered. He was different.

No matter what, he always had a good heart, Faris, helping people. When Marlin was When he was a little boy, he loved football. He would play football on the streets like with the other kids. As a child, Marlin always wanted to go to college.

I met him when we were probably the age of 11 or 12.

He was already talking about the University of Miami. And he told me that he was going to go to UM and he was going to play football. He loved the University of Miami.

We both loved the University of Miami. We watched football together.

Miami in the '90s, this is the time of Hurricane football. They had a legacy ongoing since the '80s of being just one of the top programs in the nation.

In Miami, football was the bullet we know we had, the aim at this to get us out of here. He was determined to get out the hood, man. When I seen that, I had so much respect for him.

I had to I actually end up working a second full-time job to save the money because I did not want to stay in government housing with my children. I wanted better for them, and they deserved better. I gave it my all. Marlene was probably 17 when we bought our house and we moved to Miami Gardens. The neighborhoods that we came from, they were dangerous neighborhoods. But we survived them. We came through them, and my kids, they thrived. Towards the ending of high school, he never went on any other school visits, just the University of Miami, so he was just that confident. When he started taking the exams, the ACTs, he actually took that exam, maybe maybe about seven or eight times. He couldn't get the scores that he needed to get into the University of Miami. One of his coaches from North Miami Senior High suggested that he go to a military school so that he can learn to study and get his grades up. And Marlin went to a hardgraved military academy, which is in Chatham, Virginia.

Marlin was military-minded, man. I didn't face him. That I just added to his arsenal.

He got his grades. He got the score when he took the exam. Because of his athletic ability, he was offered the scholarship to play at the University of Miami. Marlin was the first child in our family, period, to go to college. Everybody was proud, and he was the happiest kid on Earth. Marlin grew up with Earle Little. They met, I think, when they were maybe in second grade, and they were best friends. They were inseparable. The plan was that Earle and Marlin were going to go to University of Miami together.

That was like a dream come true when Bird and Marlin went to UM, and I came at the same time.

Um used to be referred to as Suntan U. We're the hurricanes, but we just call ourselves the canes for short. Um is always in the public eye because of the money and the lifestyle and the year-round summer, especially now with social media and TikTok stars like Alex Earle. We do this for the U, and it's very specific that you have to go like this. You are going to see every single came at a football game. A lot of times, these once underprivileged kids will find themselves becoming public figures and almost superstars to a degree at UM. Um actually plays at the Hard Rock Stadium, which is very much well known for being the home of the Miami Dolphins and NFL team.

It is a tradition to schlep up over to the Hard Rock Stadium, and everybody is decked out in cane gear in orange and green.

Cold as ice, fan in the everglades. Ice cold, you know the stuff they fan in my veins. I spit it how I live it, they put me in the cage. They still the brick and mortar couldn't catch it a raid.

Marlon Barnes, he was a very well-known linebacker.

And that stop made my Marlon Barnes. Nice cut-up by Phillips.

Miami Pursuit The cover still a game of about five before Davis and Louis converge.

Marlon met Ray Louis when he came to play at the University of Miami. In his third year, Marlin, Earl, Ray Louis, and another young man lived in one of the housing complexes on the UM campus. Marlin was working towards getting his liberal arts and science degree. I would go over to the University of Miami to watch him practice, and then after practice, we would spend a little time together and talk. Saturday morning, April 13th, I got a phone call from one of Marlin's ex-girlfriend's mother. She asked me about Marlin. And I told her, I said, Well, Marlin's at school. And then the next phone call that I got was from Nate Book's mother. She asked me where Marlin was, and I said, Marlin's at school. And it was like she wanted to tell me something, but she didn't. And I started having these weird feelings. And I started paging him, and I just kept paging I am, and he never called me. Saturday morning, students at this on-campus apartment Apartment building, a walk to find the area cordoned off.

The Metro Day Police Department is investigating a double homicide that occurred here today.

At this hour, there are more questions than answers.

Basically, what we want to know is how somebody to come up on a campus like this with security and get murdered like that.

The morning of April 13th, in 1996, the police and Carl Gables received a call from one of the University of Miami students by the name of Earle Little. Earle Little lived with Marlon Barnes.

Earl Little comes home, and it's about 7:30 in the morning. But he cannot get in. There's something blocking the door. When he finally gets in, he sees what's blocking the door, and it's Marlin. He has been brutally beaten. He's almost unrecognizable. Police officers arrive on the scene around 7:30 to 7:35. So one of the officers goes through the apartment, clearing the rooms, and in one of the bedrooms, he comes across a second victim. A woman. She is partially underneath the bed as if she had been drug out from underneath it before being attacked. Just like Marlin, she had been brutally beaten.

Marlin, is declared dead at the scene. When fire and rescue go into the room where the female is, she's still breathing. They call air rescue to take her to the closest hospital. They were able to identify her, however, at that time as Tim Wanneca Lumpkins. In Miami Dade County, the Miami Dade Police Department Homicide Unit handles all homicides. Sergeant Tom Romani was on call, and he took it from there. When you went inside, it was clear that this has been a brutal, brutal homicide. The blood had spattered up to the ceiling, to the walls. There's wood splinters that appear to come from something that whoever it was hit Marlin over the head with. And also there was an unshot shotgun shell that was on the ground near the body.

In Marlin's pocket, they found cash, and he still had on his chain around his neck.

It appeared to the police, based on their experience, this was not a robbery. Somebody meant to kill the person. Earl Little was questioned, and he tells them that he had lent Marlin the car. His truck the night before there was some party in Miami Beach, and he was coming to get his keys. And when he walked through the parking lot, he saw his truck, which was leaning on its side.

Outside, they searched Earle's car, where they found puncture marks in the tires, as if they had deliberately been slashed.

Once we got over to the UM campus, I saw Marlin's line her coach, Randy Shannon, and I asked him if it was true what I heard. And he said yes, and then I just lost it. I was just baffled. I was sitting there thinking who would want to hurt him because he was not that person where he would make someone want to hurt him, let alone take his life.

I heard it from my mother.

To be honest, I didn't even hear what my mother said when I asked her how. I remember hanging up the phone, and I remember later asking what happened, and she said, Ted, I told you already.

Brace yourself, you made it. Off in the hood, what many of us get fated? Because I done been through it all, but I ain't fed up. It's best you start from the bottom before you head up. Hearing it, it was like, damn, man. He had a survived a lot, you know what I'm saying? To get to U-M, For that to happen to him on campus, it was like, damn, that can't be true. Coming from the projects, it's like a blessing and a curse. We know a lot of people are going to die, a lot of people are going to go to prison, and some of us are going to make it. But when Marlin got murdered, everything just was stuck.

Um is a virtually pretty safe campus. The incident brought a lot of panic to students.

A packed room at the Student Union tonight filled with shaken students and their concerns.

A terrible crime has happened on this campus, and we can't deny that.

Everybody's scared. Nobody knows how it happened, why it happened.

There was a lot of heartache and a lot of confusion as to why something this violent would happen to people.

The case was all over the place. Tv, radio. They were talking about the case.

The woman found blood jump inside this campus apartment, died on her way to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Her name is Tim Wahnika Lumpkins.

Tim Wahnika Lumpkins, she was a longtime friend of Marlins. She was not somebody who went to school at UM. They had known each other when they were kids.

They were good friends in high school. They played basketball a lot together, and they continued that friendship through till the 1990s.

Tim Wanneca attended North Miami Senior High School, where Marlin went. They were friends. Once, I came home from work, and Tim Waneca was there with him, but she was pregnant. And when I saw her, I thought that she was pregnant from Marlin, and I panicked. At that time, we called her T for short. And I asked him, Is T your girlfriend? And he said, No. He said he didn't have a girlfriend. And It was not his baby.

She was beautiful. She was smart, intelligent. At the time of her death, she was a single mother. She had a daughter.

Police notified her grandmother this afternoon.

I said, Now you all got the wrong person. I said, Now, that's not a little bitch.

I hope they find who did this, and I hope they do.

I hope justice prevails.

Investigators really needed to piece together what happened that night and which one of them was being targeted.

The first thing that was suggested was that they call all of the players and bring them in and explain what had happened and see if they knew anything.

Through a meeting with Marlin's teammates, they found out that on the night of Friday, April 12, 1996, Marlin was invited to attend a VIP party at Salvation Club being hosted by a Dolphins football player, and he invited Tim Wahnika Lumpkins to join him. They went to the club alone, driving Earl Little's car that Marlin had asked to borrow. Also at the party, they linked up with Shubaka, who was a teammate of Marlin's, and then they all left together. But when they got outside, they found that the tires of Earle's car had been slashed. Shubaka got a ride home with a friend, and Marlin and Tim Wanneca waited for a tow truck to come and pick them up.

One of the things that came up when talking to the team was that Tim Wanneca had been the girlfriend of somebody by the name of LeBron Dennis.

Lebron and Tim Wanneca had actually been living together up until about a week prior to the crime taking place.

That gave a direction to this case. So Detective Romani was at the school, and then somebody told him that LeBron Dennis, whose name had come up when they met with the football players, had showed up at his office.

The fact that LeBron Dennis showed up on his own accord to be interviewed by police was very interesting. It's something that you typically don't see.

Detective Romani had a court reporter come in, and he He took a statement from LeBron Dennis asking him, did he know anything about the deaths of these two people? He basically said, I didn't have anything to do with it. I lived with her. I loved her. We have a baby together.

Lebron told investigators that LeBron and Tim Wendake had been on and off for five years, but they had a three-year-old daughter together. That a week prior to the crime taking place, Tim Wanneca had moved out because she had come home late after what he believed was hanging out with Marlin Barnes. And a fight broke out. So she moved out, taking her daughter to her grandmother's house. Lebron was extremely cooperative with the investigators and willing to get still photos of his arms and his face to prove that he had no injuries. He was even willing to give them any information that they needed in regards to his car and where he was that night.

He said that first he went to a bachelor party at 11:30 at night. Later on, he went down to the same party where Marlin and Tuanica were. He doesn't see them there. He stays there a while, and then he comes home and goes to sleep.

I actually worked with LeBrent Dennis at Dural Golf Resort & Spa. Shared an interest as far as UN football, and Sometimes we would sit at the same table in the cafeteria. I knew that LeBrent and Temunica were a couple, and I knew that Marlin and Temunica were friends, but I never thought of it being any issues between any of them whatsoever.

Lebron was a person of interest because of the relationship that he had with Tim Wanneca, and they shared a daughter. But he was very open with investigators, and he was able to have his alibi confirmed by not only his friends, but his roommate.

So Detective Romani really had no legal basis to keep him based on what he knew. It became important to go around the area at Club Salvation and see if there were anybody working that may have seen any of them there at that time.

After canvassing the surrounding area, investigators met with a gas station attendant at an Amco that was just blocks away from Club Salvation. In the early morning hours of April 13th, the gas station attendant saw a gray Nissan in the parking lot of her gas station with a man inside of it.

He was just sitting in the car for hours. He was covering his face so you couldn't see his face. She did notice there was no tag on the back of the car, and she told him he had to leave. He did not leave, so she called the police, and they showed up, and he took off. And then the police left, and he came back again. At some point, he started walking away, and she saw him go towards the Ford Explorer. When Marlin and Tim Waneke got into the tow truck and they loaded the car, she noticed that the guy in the gray Nissan at the same time left the area.

According to the tow truck driver, he dropped them off at Marlin's apartment between 5:30 and 6:30 AM.

It became clear that the cars were an issue in this case, and maybe would lead us to who was the person who had killed Marlin and Temuanica.

There were no defined suspects. However, the only person that kept coming up was LeBron Dennis.

The gas station attendant in this case was a very helpful witness. The The detectives showed her a picture of LeBron Dennis's car, and she said, No, that's not the car that was there.

This great Nissan was something that was important to the case, but this was going to prove to be a very challenging lead to see through.

There was a lot of media coverage surrounding the deaths of Marlin and Temunica.

We have suffered an unspeakable tragedy on this campus.

Enormous sadness for this university family.

They all showed up, eager to take their first look at the UN campus.

But what these visiting freshmen parents and transfers didn't bargain for was a visit to a campus where just yesterday, two people were beaten to death.

Next year, I'm moving into the apartment area, and my mother's really concerned about whether something like this can happen to me. Word had gotten around very quickly, and I just couldn't talk to anybody. I couldn't deal at that point. When the detectives came to my home, they wanted to know if Marlin had any enemies, if he had gotten to any fights or arguments that I know of. And And the answer was no. There was nothing I could tell them because Marlin was... He was a great kid.

Marlin was a positive guy in the community. He didn't stand for the violence. He wasn't for violence.

I couldn't think of anyone that would have wanted to bring him any harm whatsoever.

Investigators did as much legwork as they possibly could when it came to finding their suspect, and this Greeny sign. A friend of Marlin's from Scott's Project explained to investigators something that they had not heard before, and it was the fact that Marlin was involved in the Right Track Foundation. The purpose of the Right Track was to inspire children from low-income areas such as Scott's Project, where Marlin grew up, to leave the gangs behind and not break down in fear, giving into these gangs that were recruiting them.

When Marlene and Earle and these kids, when they were in college, they came back to the community and they got these kids that they took under their wings to take them off the streets to keep them from getting in trouble and stuff like that.

The Right Track program had thousands of kids. They were joining them from Lincolnfield to all projects. It was real popular.

Investigators started questioning if this could have possibly pissed a lot of the gangs in the area off because this was their recruiting grounds. Was anyone angry about the fact that Marlin was there? Many of the gangs in the area actually had it as an initiation protocol that you would have to beat someone into a closed casket funeral.

I told Ms. Charlie May how the gangs think one of the superior mobs would be a close casting.

Whoever had done this was willing to get up close and personal with their victims and brutally attack them at a very close close range. So investigators had to find a way to prove if this motive was true. Was there a gang member that had targeted Marlin and wanted him gone? Marlon Barnes was a linebacker for the University of Miami, beaten to death a week ago. He was only 22.

The death of Marlon Barnes really rocked this program. Everything change. We didn't know as a team what was going to happen.

For every other guy we've seen drafted today, it really is a joyous day. It is for Ray Lewis, but he really has been robbed of the opportunity to enjoy that. Today at one o'clock Eastern time in North Miami, Ray attended the funeral of one of his former roommates, his close friend Marlon Barnes. In an outpouring In the spring of love, community members joined hands and came together to remember a son, a teammate, and a friend.

Every time that I was down, he was always there to pick me up, my teammate, and everyone else that knew.

More than a thousand family members and friends turned out today to show what impact Marlin Barnes made on his community. Someone who will also be missed by many is 22-year-old Tim Wanneca Tompkins, who was with Barnes when she was beaten to death.

And for those students who have lingering questions about the campus murders, UM has set up a rumor control hotline. For a few weeks, no one was arrested for their murders. And at At that point, I'm still trying to figure out, why have I lost my kid?

As the investigation continued, the police learned that somebody had set a gray Nissan on fire. That was the same description as the gas station attendant had given them.

Investigators took a photograph of the car and took it back to the gas station attendant who confirmed that this was the car she saw in the early morning hours of April 13th.

It turned out that it's registered to Wateesha Wallace.

Investigators The investigators were able to track down Watisha Wallace, and they brought her in for an interview.

So Watisha Wallace, who's had her car burned, she turned out to be a girlfriend of LeBron Dennis. Police became aware that Watisha had burned the car on purpose.

At this point, investigators had a positive ID on the car and the connection to LeBron with this car. And though they had somewhat of an alibi, it was confirmed by his roommate, which was actually his cousin, Caroline. But it was not enough to take to trial. They needed some forensic evidence that could tie LeBron Dennis to Marlene Barnes's apartment.

The police have a line that people can call in if they want to report something about any crime. 1-800-227-03. There was a person who reported to the tip line that LeBron Dennis was responsible for the murders of Tim Wanaeca and Marlene. She said that we should be talking to Joseph Stuart. Joseph Stuart knew LeBron Dennis.

Joseph worked with me at Dural, and LeBron Dennis also worked at the Dural Golf Resort and spa.

When they went to speak to Joseph Stuart, he said that he did not do anything to kill either one of those people. But he did give LeBron a shotgun that belonged to his mother.

April seventh was when he gave it to LeBron. It wasn't until April 13th that Joseph heard from LeBron again. Joseph receives a call from LeBron telling him that he had returned the shotgun to his mother's house in the bushes outside of the home. When Joseph picks up the bag, it is much heavier than it was when he gave it to LeBron. He opens it up, And inside, he finds a black hoodie, black sweat pants, black boots, a knife, and the shotgun that is now extremely damaged. Joseph tells LeBron that he wants nothing to do with whatever he has done. According to Joseph, LeBron responds saying, Don't worry, they would never think to come here. I just had to do what I had to do, and I didn't even drive my own car. Investigators bring Joseph M to be interviewed on April 29th. In this interview with Joseph, investigators asked him where he had dumped the shotgun and the knife that he gave to LeBron.

He was able to show them where he threw them down in the sewers. So when the police got their divers to go down there, they found the gun and the duffle bag. That was huge in terms of moving forward with this investigation.

There were large chunks of wood missing. The trigger guard was gone.

One of the most important pieces of evidence they found was an unshot shotgun shell that was on the ground near the body.

They discovered large splinters of wood and another piece of metal lying nearby. In addition to this, there was what looked to be a shotgun trigger guard.

The police felt like they had enough to arrest LeBron Dennis.

The very next day, after recovering the murder weapon, investigators arrested LeBron Dennis for the murders of Tim Wanneca Lumpkins and Marlon Barnes.

Listen to me a moment. The public defend that-When Detective Romani called me and told me that it was LeBranc Dennis, I was surprised. I worked with this guy, I used to talk to him about my son. I just couldn't put it together. It was hard.

Through interviews with people that knew them, investigators were able to piece together a timeline of the weeks and days leading up to the murder.

It started with Tim Wanneca came home late the day of Marlin's birthday, that was April sixth, and LeBron got angry with her and lost his temper, and then she moved out. She wasn't going to put up with his anger and how he treated her. And when she left, Marlin got all the boxes and stuff and was taking him to the grandmother because the grandmother was taking care of the little one.

Lebron believed that Tim Anika had gone to stay with Marlin.

It's Marlin, Marlin, Marlin, and he's lost control of himself. He went to salvation for that party. I think he waited for Marlin to come out. He just couldn't control himself. He slashed the tires. He followed the tow truck, and he seized the car car sees the building they get into. So he brought that shotgun. He knew they were on the third floor.

When LeBron got inside, when the shotgun did not work, he was so committed to ending both Tim Waneca and Marlin's lives that night that he brutally beat their faces in with the butt of the shotgun so badly that he broke it.

For my son or my children to help other people in an abusive relationship, it was the norm for them to do that because that's how they grew up. When I was told that he moved her to get her a Out of the abusive relationship, I was not surprised because I had done the same thing for someone years before. In the media coverage, it was portrayed as though Marlene and Temunica were a couple behind LeBranca's back. They were friends, and he was lending a helping hand to someone that asked him for help. He did exactly what I would have done. And with that being said, he lost his life for it.

On May eighth, LeBron Dennis was indicted for two counts of first-degree murder, one count of burglary, assault and battery while armed, and criminal mischief. The district attorney determined that the murder of Marlyn Barnes and Tim Wanneca Lumpkins was absolutely premeditated. Lebron Dennis contacted Joseph about retrieving a gun on April seventh, which was days prior to the murder taking place.

That was a very, very painful time for my family and me.

When I did meet with Charlie, she was very, very upset. I told her we were going to have the best lawyers, the best witnesses, but no matter what happens to him, Marlin is still gone.

Lebrent Dennis took a lot from me. Not only did he take my son, but he took the life out of me for a very long time. And LeBrent Dennis needs to pay for that. The trial started. I was there every single day. My family was there every day. One thing about Charlie, she doesn't miss a court date. The trial was hard. I didn't look at any of the pictures. I didn't want to see them. I listened to the testimony that everybody gave. His defense was that Joseph could have been the one that committed the murders because it was his shotgun. I mean, it was heart-wrenching to hear that. I think the trial lasted five or six weeks, and then the jurors went out to deliberate.

On October 28, 1998, the jury came back with a vote of guilty on all charges judges. Because this was a homicide case where the state was seeking the death penalty, there was a second phase called a penalty phase.

And the jury recommended the death penalty, an 11 to 1 vote.

Judgment, judgment, The courtroom exploded. Judgment day is rolling round.

He jumped up. He was furious. He was screaming. The corrections officers grabbed him.

The verdict and the sentencing was justified. He got exactly what he deserved. Judgment, judgment, judgment. Oh, how The Supreme Court overturned the sentencing in all death penalty cases where the outcome is not 12 and 0. I felt like, Okay, we're being murdered again. Lebrandt He chose to kill my kid. He nearly killed my family, but we survived it. We're going back to court to have the death penalty reinstated. That's what we're fighting for now. I don't want people to just dwell on the way my son passed because I do enough of that for everybody. I try to remember the person that he was, the happy person that he was.

Each time that these guys even consider giving up, they have to think about Marlon Barnes. The guy was just voted Most Improved Football to play on our team a couple of weeks before he even merged. Marlin was like a fire cracker.

And no room that time.

That stop made by Marlin Barnes.

He's a hard worker, and that's what we've been doing, working hard, and it's for him. Put something down in history that says this was dedicated to Marlon Barnes. A new stars at large, straight from God. I know times are hard, but only you can save you. So what you going to do with the life God gave you?

He wanted to go to the NFL.

I'm sure he would have went. First-round pick, New York Jack select, Marlin' Bar. You know what I'm saying? Everybody would, Yeah, boy, boy. You know what I'm saying? The world never gets to see Marlin'.

What I would like to say to the parents out there, teach your kids the right way. I don't regret the fact that I taught my kids to care about other people, and it may have caused Marlin his life, but that was a choice that his killer made.

Girls jump in when I wanted, roll a double Dutch break down beats from James Digger, and now you double. You could feel the rimes, rimes like a Philla bubble, but skills flow thunderous, flip-style torturous. The kids don't care.

This is Deborah Roberts. Come back next week to hear the story of a first-year student at Louisiana State University who's search for friendship and brotherhood at his new school ultimately caused him his life. Death in the Dorms was produced by ABC News Studios with the Intellectual Property Corporation, and Yes, Like a River for Hulu Originals. You can find the entire series streaming on Hulu. And of course, tune in to ABC on Friday nights at 9 for all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening.