Tag: survivor

On a beach in Fiji competing on “Survivor,” the reality show that, like “48 Hours,” airs on CBS, Joe Hunter’s grief over the death of his sister Joanna came out in full force.

JOE HUNTER (“Survivor” season 48): I miss you so much. I just miss you so much. 

JOE HUNTER (“Survivor” season 48): I am so sorry for the things I said. … And I never got the chance to say “I love you.” So, “I love you.”

Joe is still grappling with how she died.

DISPATCHER: 911, What’s your emergency?

CHURCH MEMBER: … I think someone’s dead. 

A 911 call was made on Oct. 6, 2011 at 9:25 p.m. in Vacaville, California.

CHURCH MEMBER:  My pastor just came out of the house, and he’s really, really upset and he told me to call the cops. He thinks his wife’s dead …

DISPATCHER: What’s his name?

CHURCH MEMBER:  His name is Mark Lewis.

DISPATCHER: Can I talk to Mark?

DISPATCHER: … Can you tell me what happened?

MARK LEWIS: I have no clue what happened …

MARK LEWIS:  Oh, I don’t want to talk about it. … I don’t want to talk about what she looks like.

THE SCENE AT JOANNA’S HOUSE

It was a terrible sight. Mark Lewis’ 36-year-old wife Joanna hanging inside a bedroom closet.

MARK LEWIS (to 911): Send somebody out here quick.

DISPATCHER: Mark, they’re on the way, honey.

14 minutes later, at 9:39 p.m., according to the Solano County Sheriff’s report, a deputy was on the scene. 

Captain Jackson Harris reviewed the case with “48 Hours.”

Capt. Jackson Harris: He cut her down … tried to find any signs of life. … There were not any signs of life that were there, unfortunately.

A bathrobe sash had been the noose. The deputy’s report said, “he did not observe any signs of a struggle.” There was an open suitcase and a note.

Capt. Jackson Harris: I believe the note said, take care of the dogs.

Had Joanna taken her own life? Mark Lewis, the 36-year-old pastor of The Fellowship Baptist Church, was handcuffed, placed in the back of a patrol car, and briefly questioned.

Capt. Jackson Harris: He provided a statement.

He said his wife “did not appear to be depressed,” “has no history of mental illness” and “has never attempted suicide.”

Natalie Morales | “48 Hours” correspondent: The husband is saying … my wife did this out of the blue. …

Capt. Jackson Harris: That — that was his statement that he provided … people commit suicide for a variety of reasons. Some people keep it to themselves … some people tell the world.

In the report, Lewis said he last saw his wife at 1 p.m. And the church member who called 911, said he and Mark had been outside the house playing basketball and talking about their faith starting at 3 p.m., until Mark went inside and found Joanna dead.

Joanna’s mother, Patricia Hunter, knew nothing of what was unfolding at her daughter’s house that night. She wasn’t called. A day later, a deacon from the church, went to see her.

Patricia Hunter: He said, “Joanna is dead.” … What?

At around the same time, Joe, a Sacramento, California, firefighter, was taken aside by the captain of his firehouse.

Joe Hunter: He said, “your sister’s gone.”

First, the gut punch.

Joe Hunter:  I dropped to my knees.

And then, almost instantly, one thought, one name: Mark Lewis.

Patricia Hunter: What did he do to her?

Joe Hunter: I knew. I knew he did it.

Patricia Hunter: And I fell to the ground screaming, crying.

Joe Hunter: Half of me died right there.

A few weeks later when Patricia and her late husband spoke to an officer, he showed her the note.

Patricia Hunter: I actually laughed. And I said, “That’s not a suicide note.” … She was leaving him. And that was her note to him, take care of the dogs. I can’t take them.

A HISTORY OF ABUSE AND RESTRAINING ORDERS

Joanna had tried to leave Lewis many times before, says Patricia. There was a history of abuse and a cycle that began not long after the couple started seeing each other in high school. At 17, Patricia says, Joanna came home with a black eye.

Patricia Hunter: And I begged her. I said, let’s go to the hospital. Let’s go to the police … and she said, “no, mom, no.”

At 20, Joanna documented Lewis “choking” her and got a restraining order against him. Even so, Joanna returned to him.

At 21, after she reported that Lewis “grabbed my neck and twisted it,” Joanna got another restraining order.

In 1996, when she was 22, Joanna was hospitalized with a sprained neck. Mark Lewis was convicted on a domestic violence charge and according to court documents, sentenced to 36 months in the Solano County Jail.

Again, she returned to the relationship.

Patricia Hunter: She told me that he had reached out to her from jail … Would she come visit him? She did. She fell right back into it.

Joanna was 25 when she married Lewis without telling anyone in her family.

Patricia Hunter: I had to tell my husband, and we just held each other and sobbed because we knew now it would be that much harder to help her and get her out.

Their worry continued over the next decade, but Joanna wouldn’t open up to them.

Natalie Morales: You said you feared for your daughter, but did you ever think he would be capable of killing her?

Patricia Hunter: Absolutely.

That is what Patricia believed. Law enforcement at the scene came to the opposite conclusion.

Capt. Jackson Harris: There is no evidence on her body that another person used force to have killed her.

No homicide investigators were called to the house, the bedroom was not treated as a crime scene, no fingerprints taken, no DNA tested and no phones collected.

After his statement, Mark Lewis was released. Lewis was not asked about his history of abuse or about his prior conviction.

That information was more than 15 years old, says Harris, and not available to the deputy in the field.

The next day, an external autopsy determined the ligature marks on Joanna’s neck were consistent with suicide.

A month later, when the toxicology report came back clean, the case was closed. And so began the tug-of-war between the family and the sheriff’s department that would go on for years to come.

Patricia Hunter: From this moment, when we couldn’t get anyone to listen to us and act on it, we are going to work to get justice for Joanna.

Natalie Morales: Do you think she was ever suicidal?

Joe Hunter: You know … I’m sure she got in many dark places, but in no way, shape, or form, was she capable of that mindset because I know my sister deep down just wanted to leave.

And in the year before she died, Joanna almost saved herself, says Joe. Almost.

Joe Hunter: My mom called me and said, “Joanna’s coming home.” I said, “Oh, really?” “Yeah, she’s done.” And I said, “she’s really, really done this time?” … And I thought, man, like we got her back. We win.

Patricia Hunter: Within two weeks, mom, I — I’m going back. And I thought she meant to get more things. … And she said, no, mom, I have to go back to stay.

Joe Hunter: My mom begged her not to go back. … on her knees, begging her. … And my mom said, OK, well, I’ll drive you.

Natalie Morales: How much do you think of that moment and that drive, taking her back?

Patricia Hunter: All the time.

Patricia Hunter: On the way over … I was sobbing and I said, honey … I’m afraid if you go back, I’ll never see you again.

Joe Hunter: And we never saw her again.

A FAMILY’S ANGUISH 

Joe Hunter: Joanna … was the perfect person. … She was the life of the party, but she was also at the same time … probably the most compassionate, warm person I’ve ever known.

From the minute he was born, Joanna relished being Joe’s big sister.

Patricia Hunter: She thought Joseph was her gift. … Someone gave her this adorable little boy and he belonged to her.

Joe Hunter: I always tried to be in charge, but she wouldn’t let that happen. … Anybody that called the house … they had to go through Joanna first. … “and you wanna talk to my brother? Why?” (laughs) … She protected me a lot. … we were the perfect team.

Mark Lewis, the son of a local preacher, was Joanna’s first boyfriend. At the start, Joe didn’t think he had anything to worry about.

Joe Hunter: The first, maybe six to eight months, she seemed really happy.

But after the abuse began, Joe confronted Mark more than once.

Joe Hunter: After physically going after him … him then taking it out on her. … I had to back off a little bit from my sister. … I had been screaming at her for so long, two years straight. … I hate this guy, leave this guy, please stop. … I thought I’m gonna lose her for good. … So, I’m just gonna listen. … And then I really got the deep, deep, deep, dark secrets that she wasn’t even telling my parents.

And Joanna showed him her wounds.

Joe Hunter: She finally showed me … the massive indentations from him strangling her … you could just see clearly each outline of each finger.

Mark Lewis had grown more powerful and influential at the Fellowship Baptist Church. He was on his way to becoming pastor.

After they married, Patricia says she went to Lewis with her fears.

Patricia Hunter: And I said to him … how do I know in this moment that you will never lay a hand on her again? … And I’ll never forget. He kind of sneered, half smile and he looked at me and said, when she’s a better woman and a better Christian, you won’t have to worry about that.

Joe Hunter: My sister started saying comments that he would make to her like, hey, we can help save you. Because you’re half black, we can help fix that through religion. Because of your hair and the way you look, we can fix that with religion. … And you just think, how dare you?

Pastor Lewis, to hear former church members tell it, was a commanding and a demanding presence with fiery sermons and an insistence on loyalty.

Jacob Cantrell: Very energetic, get up there and screaming and sweating … that was his style.

Jacob Cantrell become a deacon there.

Jacob Cantrell: I looked up to him … he was a … mentor … only to find out that I was a pawn.

In hindsight, Cantrell says, Pastor Lewis had too much control over him.

Jacob Cantrell: I couldn’t go to my mom and dad’s house … without asking Mark permission. … I was brainwashed. … he manipulated me for many years and it — it — it — it twisted my brain up.

MARK LEWIS (preaching in church): There’s no accidents with God.

Jacob Cantrell: He can talk his way out of anything including Miss Joanna’s death.

Natalie Morales: Now, you feel that way?

Jacob Cantrell: Now, I feel that way.

Daryl Snedeker: I came to the conclusion that it was probably the closest thing to a cult that I had ever experienced.

Natalie Morales: And he was the leader …

Daryl Snedeker: The leader.

Daryl Snedaker was a deputy in the Solano County Sheriff’s Office and a member of the church at the time of Joanna’s death. He wasn’t involved in the investigation back then. At the church, he says, it didn’t take long for him to lose all faith in the place and the pastor.

Natalie Morales: Was there a fear then amongst the people who attended the church, did they fear Mark Lewis?

Daryl Snedeker: I think the people that were his puppets, I think they acted out of fear a lot.

Natalie Morales: You did whatever he asked then?

Jacob Cantrell: Unfortunately. … You don’t question him.

MARK LEWIS (preaching in church):  It’s important that you listen up!

MARK LEWIS (preaching in church): What would you do if you caused your pastor to quit cause you wouldn’t obey? What would you do if you caused your Sunday School teacher to quit cause you wouldn’t obey?

Daryl Snedeker: It’s disheartening. It’s shocking.

Joe already knew  Lewis all too well and the years after Joanna’s death were filled with anguish and frustration.

Joe Hunter: No one was listening to us, no one was believing this.

There were still so many questions about what happened that night. Why didn’t Lewis cut Joanna down or try to administer CPR? And Joe found it particularly hard to believe Lewis was actually playing basketball for six straight hours.

Joe Hunter: You never went inside to use the restroom, get a glass of water … playing basketball for this obscene amount of time … is absurd to me.

But all their attempts to get the sheriff’s office to take another look at Lewis were getting no results — until Patricia got a knock on the door.

Patricia Hunter: It was … a reporter asking if we had heard about what had happened with him. I had no idea what he was talking about.

It was 2014. Joanna had been dead a little more than two years. Pastor Mark Lewis had been arrested — accused of violence against another woman.

Natalie Morales: Do you feel lucky to be alive?

Sarah Nottingham: Oh yeah.

SARAH NOTTINGHAM’S HARROWING NIGHT

On that crisp fall day in 2011 when Pastor Mark Lewis said he found his wife dead, he never called Joanna’s family. He did call Sarah Nottingham.

Sarah Nottingham: He had asked if I heard what happened, he sounded upset. He was crying. 

At the time, Nottingham says, she believed in her pastor — Joanna had died by suicide. Sarah says she and Lewis became friends, then began dating about a year after Joanna’s death.

Sarah Nottingham: At first, it was somewhat exciting thinking that … I’m seeing a side of this person that no one else is seeing.

Eventually, Nottingham says another side of Mark Lewis began to emerge.

Sarah Nottingham: A lot of … extreme manipulation, a lot of gaslighting, and a lot of verbal abuse, um, some physical. … A push or a shove. … And it was just more and more.

And then, she says, she discovered that Lewis had been sending inappropriate text messages to an underage girl.

Sarah Nottingham: You know, I’m just like, I’ve had enough, like, I’m done. And he said, I’m not ready for it to be over. … I would just keep telling him, you know, this is, it’s over, we’re done.

Lewis grabbed her, she says, and tightly wrapped his arms around her.

Sarah Nottingham: It was meant to be threatening. He squeezed me tight and told me, “You’ve created a monster.”

Nottingham and her two young children were living with her parents in Vacaville as the pastor’s threats, she says, became more frequent and frightening. 

Sarah Nottingham (outside her former home): The first time … my car was vandalized, it was actually parked here (pointing at the driveway).

Sarah Nottingham: He had, either himself or had somebody, smash my windshield in on my car.

Nottingham was granted an order of protection against Lewis. But it did not stop what happened next in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, 2014.

Sarah Nottingham: It was three something in the morning. And I woke up to our um fire alarm going off … and there was um smoke filling the hallway. And I checked on my kids.

A Molotov cocktail had crashed through her parents’ bedroom window.

Sarah Nottingham: We were able to put the fire out ourselves. … I had never seen my dad run so fast out the door, trying to see if he could see anybody.

Vacaville Police pulled over a U-Haul van within minutes, arresting the driver and two passengers. The trio quickly confessed, telling police they were hired to firebomb Sarah Nottingham’s house — hired by the pastor, Mark Lewis. He was questioned by local reporters.

MARK LEWIS (KVOR news report): I never — I never gave them any money to do anything bad.

Lewis was arrested, charged with arson, conspiracy, and stalking.

MARK LEWIS (KVOR news report): A lot of people are going to … throw accusations out there. But until the facts come out, why don’t we just wait and see how that goes and let the court decide.

SARAH NOTTINGHAM (KOVR news report): I’m living in a nightmare. My kids are so scared. My — my son knows that this is, this is a pastor, his previous pastor that is threatening his mommy and his family.

Natalie Morales: What do you think you and your family survived at that time?

Sarah Nottingham: Ultimately, death. … When the police came into the house, one of them said this is attempted murder and that’s exactly what it was, nothing less.

Surviving the attack, Nottingham says, helped answer a lingering question about Joanna.

Natalie Morales: How do you see her death?

Sarah Nottingham: By him. … There’s just not a doubt in my mind.

By January 2015, Lewis’ thundering sermons that echoed in the Fellowship Baptist Church were a distant memory as he sat silently in a Solano County courtroom. Lewis’ trial had begun for stalking Sarah Nottingham and hiring people to firebomb her parents’ home.

Joe Hunter: I hear about the arson charge. I hear about the stalking. … But I also feel that he needs to be convicted … for what he did to my sister.

On day three of Lewis’ arson and stalking trial, he changed his plea from not guilty to no contest — meaning he would not dispute the charges against him but also would not acknowledge guilt. Lewis was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Natalie Morales: How important was that development then in allowing you to then go back to the sheriff’s office and demand that they reopen the case?

Patricia Hunter: It was huge, because there was — it isn’t often that you read about a pastor hiring people to firebomb someone’s house. … Because of media pressure, we felt that now is the time where we can go back and say, “Look at Joanna’s case. Reopen it.”

The Solano County Sheriff’s Office did reopen the case in 2014. Remember the churchgoer who called 911 the night Joanna died? His name is Andrew Alvarado. Back then he told authorities that he had played basketball with Pastor Mark Lewis for about six hours. Detectives decided to reinterview him and recorded the call.

DETECTIVE MEHL (phone call): Was anyone else playing basketball with you?

ANDREW ALVARADO: Yeah, a couple other … teenagers.

This time, investigators learned a new detail.

ANDREW ALVARADO (phone call): I left to go drop them off. I guess I had to go eat dinner or whatever.

He had actually left the church grounds during those six hours to drive the teenagers home, he says, and wasn’t sure what the pastor was doing while he was gone. “48 Hours” repeatedly reached out to Alvarado but never heard back.

Natalie Morales: So there were gaps of time when he was not with Mark Lewis.

Capt. Jackson Harris: Right. … That still does not change the fact that … the lack of evidence on her body does not show a second person involved in her death.

Mark Lewis was not questioned during the reinvestigation.

Capt. Jackson Harris: He … … exercised his constitutional right to have his attorney, who did not allow him to speak to us.

The sheriff’s office had another forensic pathologist look at Joanna’s case. Dr. Scott Luzi agreed with the original coroner: suicide. The case was closed again. And then in 2015, the county district attorney’s office announced its own investigation, which included DNA testing on Joanna’s bathrobe sash. The results? Her DNA was found on the sash along with an unknown male — not Mark Lewis.

Natalie Morales: Was anything done to investigate that further, to … could it have been anybody else associated with Mark Lewis?

Capt. Jackson Harris: That DNA that was collected from there, my understanding is that it was entered into the DNA — I believe it’s called CODIS, the database.

CODIS is the FBI’s criminal DNA database.

Capt. Jackson Harris: It did not come up with a hit.

Captain Harris says the anonymous male DNA has never been identified.

Daryl Snedeker: They should find out whose DNA is on that damn — on that — on that robe.

Daryl Snedeker, former church member and retired Solano County deputy sheriff, says things were missed.

Daryl Snedeker: Based on what I know today, the totality of the circumstances … … I think they did fail that family. And I think if they didn’t follow up and find out whose male DNA is on that night robe, that’s a catastrophic failure right there.

And a team of experts was about to come forward for the Hunter family, offering help and hope.

Dr. Bill Smock: This is a homicide. There is no question.

QUESTIONING THE INVESTIGATION

Dr. Bill Smock is sure that Joanna Hunter was murdered and says he can prove it.

Dr. Bill Smock: Every injury will tell you a story if you take the time to analyze it.

In 2023, Smock was hired by the Solano County Sheriff’s Department to look at the case. He is a medical doctor, who, by his count, has reviewed thousands of autopsies and examined forensic evidence for police departments across the country.

Smock also has been an expert witness in high profile cases — including testifying against Derek Chauvin in the 2021 George Floyd murder trial.

Dr. Bill Smock: What I’ve spent 40 years doing is analyzing injuries, reconstructing how injuries occur.

And where the Solano County Sheriff’s Department saw a bathrobe sash, a note and a suicide, Smock saw something else: something new.

Dr. Bill Smock: There was a braided nylon marine rope three feet from Joanna. … The murder weapon was there in the room with Joanna. … When you look at the photos of the mark that was created on her neck, the only thing in that closet that could have created that was the marine rope.

But because he was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, no one outside the sheriff’s office saw Smock’s report.

Dr. Bill Smock: I could not talk to the family … I could only talk to the lieutenant at Solano County regarding my findings.

Here was everything the Hunters had been looking for … but they did not even know the rope existed. Or how Smock made his determination. Smock was eventually released from the NDA and was able to show “48 Hours” using mannequins and red paint.

Smock says Joanna’s neck had two different ligature marks — one is from the sash and one is from the marine rope.

Dr. Bill Smock: We’re gonna apply the rope … and see what type of imprint it creates. … You’ll notice along the edge that there’s a distinct fabric imprint, which is the type of fabric imprint we saw on Joanna’s neck.

Bill Smock: She was dead —

Natalie Morales:  When the bathrobe —

Bill Smock: — when the bathrobe sash was applied to her neck.

Bill Smock: Joanna’s scene was staged. She was killed with a rope, and then to make it look like a suicide, she was hung up by the bathrobe sash after she was already dead.

Casey Gwynn: Domestic violence homicides are the number one staged murders in America.  

Casey Gwinn was sure Joanna’s case was what he calls a hidden homicide. He and Gael Strack are the co-founders of Alliance for HOPE International, an advocacy group for survivors of domestic violence and their families.

Casey Gwynn: If you kill a total stranger … Nobody knows who you are … but if you kill your wife or you kill your girlfriend, everybody is gonna be looking at you as a suspect. … You have to make it look like something else.

When they took up the Hunters’ cause, they believed that Joanna’s history of neck injuries told them they were looking at a strangulation.

Casey Gwynn: The fact is that if you strangle a woman one time in an intimate relationship, she’s 750 percent more likely to be killed by you.

Smock, who works for Alliance for HOPE, confirmed their suspicion.

But when the sheriff’s office agreed to hire Smock, it also commissioned another review. This one by Dr. Brian Peterson, a pathologist and former president of the National Association of Medical Examiners. He disputed Smock’s findings.

“I see neither injuries nor toxicology findings that would support the physical involvement of another person,” the report said.

And after hiring Smock —

Capt. Jackson Harris: Especially in hindsight, I completely disagree with qualifications.

— the sheriff’s office took issue with the fact that Smock is not a forensic pathologist.

Harris also took issue with Smock’s methods.

Capt. Jackson Harris: This is not someone who has their body weight hanging … This is simply draped over a mannequin. That is not how she was killed.

Smock sent “48 Hours” his contract with the sheriff’s office, which requested his “opinion as to the cause and manner of her death.”  He also told us the sheriff’s position was “disingenuous” …  because “I didn’t agree with what they wanted me to say.” 

Natalie Morales: So, Bill Smock’s report, are you completely discounting everything that he reports in it?

Capt. Jackson Harris: I’m — I’m disputing his conclusion that it was a homicide.

And so, what Dr. Smock called the murder weapon was never examined.

Natalie Morales: But where is the rope?

Capt. Jackson Harris: I don’t have the rope. I don’t know. … We also don’t have —

Natalie Morales: It wasn’t tested.

Capt. Jackson Harris:  —  every electrical cord that was there. We didn’t go through the garage to look for absolutely everything. …

Natalie Morales: What was missed? What about the history of domestic abuse, was that missed?

Capt. Jackson Harris: I don’t think it was missed.

Because three different forensic pathologists — and three separate reviews starting with the original corners report in 2011, the 2014 reinvestigation, and Dr. Peterson in 2024 – all found suicide, Harris maintains that even if they had initially taken the domestic violence into account, nothing would have changed.

Capt. Jackson Harris: And other than creating a hypothetical situation that Mark murdered her, there is no evidence to support that. …

Capt. Jackson Harris: The prior incidents of domestic violence, those were — I’m — I’m — those were not considered at the time of the death. You’re right. But that doesn’t mean that they were the cause of death.

Natalie Morales: Knowing all that you know now though, you said … You would’ve called Mark Lewis’s past into question and you would’ve investigated it differently.

Capt. Jackson Harris: If I — if I could rewind knowing what I know now about Mark Lewis, yes, this would be a totally different investigation.

But there is no rewinding, says Harris.

Natalie Morales: So is this still an open case now?

Capt. Jackson Harris: No, it’s closed.

Strack and Gwinn’s experience with Joanna’s case led them to create a checklist of 10 factors to be considered by law enforcement. They had begun drafting a new law — a law that included the red flags that could signal a homicide. Among them:

Gael Strack: The first one is someone dies prematurely. Well, Joanna was 36 years old. The second one, the scene looked like a suicide or an accident. … Prior history of domestic violence. … prior history of strangulation. … The partner is the last person to see the victim alive.

Casey Gwinn: We’ve never had a case with all 10 that wasn’t a homicide. Joanna Hunter had all 10 factors.

Mark Lewis has not been charged with any crime relating to the death of Joanna. After serving five years for the firebombing of Sarah Nottingham’s house, he was released on parole.

He currently lives in Arizona, works for a plumbing and drain cleaning company, and has married again. “48 Hours” tried to reach Lewis repeatedly and received no response.

So, after suiting up with hidden cameras we decided to go in person.

ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE: JOANNA’S LEGACY

Casey Gwinn: It is our earnest intention that one day, pastor Mark Lewis will be charged with first-degree murder in the death of Joanna Hunter.

With hidden cameras rolling, there was Mark Lewis.

NATALIE MORALES (hidden camera): Mark Lewis? Hi, I’m Natalie Morales with “48 Hours.”  We’ve been trying to reach you.

MARK LEWIS: Oh no, it’s all good.

NATALIE MORALES: We’ve sent you a couple of letters and correspondence. … Would you be willing to speak to us on camera, sir?

MARK LEWIS: No.

NATALIE MORALES: Did you have anything to do with your late wife Joanna Hunter’s death, Mark Lewis?

MARK LEWIS: (turns his back and walks inside home)

NATALIE MORALES: Mark, please … We want your side of the story, Mark …

NATALIE MORALES: People would really like to hear your side of the story. … We’ve tried to reach you many ways.

With Lewis inside the house, we approached his father-in-law in the garage.

NATALIE MORALES: Hello sir … I’m just wondering if you have any concerns about your daughter’s own safety given his past history with domestic violence? His late wife was found hanging to death.

FATHER-IN-LAW: I — I know the whole story.

NATALIE MORALES: Yes.

FATHER-IN-LAW: I know the whole story. …

NATALIE MORALES: Did you know his late wife, Joanna Hunter?

FATHER-IN-LAW: Yes, I did.

NATALIE MORALES: Did you go to the church?

FATHER-IN-LAW: Yeah, I did.

NATALIE MORALES: You did.

FATHER-IN-LAW: OK, look —

NATALIE MORALES: I know, I know this is a difficult situation.

FATHER-IN-LAW: Well, actually, you know, I think this is really unnecessary. I really have nothing more to say.

NATALIE MORALES: I appreciate that, but I hope you understand there are a lot of questions still that the Hunter family would like to have answers to. And so I’m here simply doing my job giving your son-in-law a chance to answer some questions.

FATHER-IN-LAW: I can feel for them. But there’s really no more to say about it. It’s over. It’s done.

Mark Lewis was moving on with his new family, while his previous one was aching for answers.

Joe Hunter: For years, I was just trying to get to the next hour … to the next minute, because the pain was unbearable at times.

The Hunters, so accustomed to grief, were thrilled when Senate Bill 989 – Joanna’s Law – became California State law on Jan. 1, 2025, passing unanimously. 

Patricia Hunter: Joanna’s Law … gave us a sense of, we’ve done something wonderful for Joanna.

Joanna’s Law requires investigators responding to reported suicides, drug overdoses or fatal accidents to check for a history of domestic violence.

Patricia Hunter: If there is a documented history of domestic violence, to assume that this is a suspicious death.

Joe Hunter: And that they … treat that scene like a homicide.

Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack, who helped write Joanna’s Law, are using her case to spotlight the connection between suspicious deaths and domestic violence. 

At a conference in Denver, they’re guiding law enforcement officers on how to identify those 10 red flags that could reveal hidden homicides.

CASEY GWINN (to attendees in a packed conference room): How many of you believe that this case should have a complete independent homicide investigation? Raise your hand. (Every hand goes up.)

“48 Hours” has learned the California Department of Justice has agreed to review the Solano County D.A.’s decision not to bring criminal charges related to Joanna’s death. The Hunters hope that will move the case forward.

Kayte Hunter: I look at it this way. Nothing can be kept in the dark forever.

Joe’s wife, Kayte, is a sideline reporter for the Sacramento Kings, and a former player in the WNBA. She experienced domestic violence herself in a teenage relationship.

Natalie Morales: have you talked to your daughter about domestic abuse?

Kayte Hunter: In the most basic form. She’s 6 right now. But we talk to her about … how you treat others and how you should be treated. And that will evolve over time.

Kayte Hunter: But it’s also conversations that we have with Jojo, with our son, because it is our responsibility to also teach him what is acceptable behavior and treatment of women. Period.

JOE HUNTER (in “Survivor” talking to Joanna): I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you from that monster.

Joe’s tribute to Joanna on “Survivor” season 48 moved millions. This spring, he’ll compete again in a landmark season 50 to celebrate the game, which will also keep attention on his sister’s case.

Kayte Hunter: In advocating for his sister, he’s advocating for other victims, other women. … And our daughter’s gonna be so proud of it, our son.

Patricia Hunter: And she gives us so much love. Every day, I feel it.

For as long as she’s able, Patricia will tell Joanna’s story – often at the Sacramento Family Justice Center – a resource for survivors of domestic violence. 

Joe Hunter: So when we talk about her, I just try to light the room up with her.

They hope Joanna’s Law — and Joanna’s light — will help save lives and shine the way forward for survivors of domestic violence.

Joe Hunter: She fought from the beginning to her last breath. So no matter how hard it gets, never give up. That’s her legacy.

RESOURCES:

“48 HOURS” POST MORTEM PODCAST

Correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Natalie Morales discuss “Survivor” contestant Joe Hunter’s mission to raise awareness about his sister, Joanna, who was found dead in her California home in 2011. Joe and his family believe that Joanna’s husband, Mark Lewis, killed her and staged it to look like a suicide. But the Solano County Sheriff’s office says Joanna was not murdered. Mark Lewis has never been charged with any crime relating to her death.  

Produced by Mary Murphy and Mead Stone. Michelle Fanucci is the development producer. Emily Wichick Hourihane is the field producer. Greg Fisher is the development producer. Doreen Schechter, Atticus Brady, Mead Stone are the editors. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Jusy Tygard is the executive producer.