There was a 4 hour CBS mini-series movie about the New Life Community Church in Sayville and how its elder, the evil Dr. Reza, shot and killed a woman in her sleep. The murder was typical for the area. The murderer said he was under a "Delusion," got more and more crazy, and then shot a family member in her sleep, just like what happened to the DeFeos in nearby Amityville. The killing was extremely violent, he shot and strangled her in her bed.
Although CBS billed the movie as "True Life" the names were changed when the Killer Robert Reza with the backing of Sayville residents threatened CBS. CBS left the script alone except for the names. Stephen Siegel, of Smithtown, was one of the writers, and according to Newsday he said, CBS "hired me specifically to develop the real life story," and "brought a lot of intimidation in the form of [members of] the church congregation" on the mistress not to testify. CBS said, "This true crime love story is based on the chilling story of a woman's murder that consumes a small town..." Actress Katie Boland, who played Elly in the movie, also starred in "Salem Witch Trials." What made the movie so interesting was how so many people in the village rallied around and supported the crazed killer.
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Olympia Dukakis as the mother. |
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John Bourgeois as the Reverend. |
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Marcia Gay Harden as the Mistress. She played the Church organ, and the organ of Dr. Reza. |
From cbs.com:
This true crime love story is based on the chilling story of a
woman's murder that consumes a small town and its church community after
the woman's influential and respected husband is deemed the primary suspect -
and his ex-mistress reveals their formerly clandestine affair. The continuing
investigation tests the resilience of the bond between the mistress and her
estranged husband -- as the jailed suspect attempts to discredit and implicate
them before the trial.
Feeling suffocated by a marriage in which she feels increasingly unappreciated
and misunderstood, Jenny Moran (Harden) finds herself in secret awe of the
family life and upscale lifestyle of the successful Dr. Stephen Carrow
(Williams) who worships at the church where she is employed as an organist.
When Jenny innocently chooses to bring her ailing father to the highly regarded
Stephen for a consultation, she quickly finds herself relishing the newfound
attention of the charming doctor. Their relationship continues and intensifies
after her father's death. Soon, Jenny shocks her husband, Matt (Gary Basaraba),
her children and mother (Dukakis) by leaving home. At Stephen's urging she even
agrees to accuse Matt of abuse. Calling Jenny's move a part of God's plan,
Stephen begins an illicit affair with the adoring Jenny -- and tells her
he will soon leave his wife.
When Stephen's wife is fatally shot at home, his alibi is quickly disproved --
and he ends up confessing to the murder. But his temporary insanity plea is in
jeopardy when the shocked Jenny dutifully informs the police of their affair.
Vehemently denying the liaison, Stephen challenges Jenny's mental health -- and
begins a campaign, with the help of his devoted church circle, to discredit and
humiliate her. Despite Jenny's disloyalty and her continued resistance to return
to him, Matt cannot bear to see how emotionally fragile Jenny has become -- and
vows to protect her from the church members who will stop at nothing to get
Stephen acquitted.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m4PRN/2001_Dec_17/80858749/p1/article.jhtml
From Newsday:
2002 Newsday, Inc.
February 8, 2002 Friday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. A12
Murder, They Rewrote;
CBS changes names, places in retelling of Reza case
Here we go again: Another sensational Long Island murder is about to become the
basis of another television miniseries, this one focusing on the 1990 murder of
Bayport resident Marilyn Reza.
Viewers who studied Newsday or watched Court TV a decade ago will recall the
particulars of this murder, but CBS' "Guilty Hearts" - airing Sunday and
Wednesday - will not make it easy. The TV movie uses fictional names for both
Robert Reza, the pulmonary specialist who was convicted in 1992 of the murder of
his wife, as well as other key figures in the case. In addition, the miniseries
is set in Illinois. Reza was tried and eventually convicted in State Supreme
Court in Riverhead, while Kathy Senese, his onetime mistress who became a star
witness against him, had first met Reza in a Sayville church where she was an
organist. Stephen Siegel, a Smithtown resident who co-wrote the screenplay, said
yesterday that Reza's lawyer had threatened legal action against CBS; a
spokeswoman for the network confirmed the names had been changed "for legal
reasons." Siegel, 40, an adjunct instructor in screenwriting at New York
University, said CBS "hired me specifically to develop the real life story," and
added that in his research, he discovered that Reza - serving 25 years to life
in an upstate prison - "brought a lot of intimidation in the form of [members
of] the church congregation" on Senese not to testify. Reza, an elder at
Sayville's New Community Church, was highly regarded there, though his efforts
to force Senese not to testify failed.
In the telefilm, a person named Jenny Moran (Marcia Gay Harden) becomes
infatuated with Stephen Carrow (Treat Williams). He later murders his wife, is
caught and pleads temporary insanity.
The murder case: Senese became infatuated with Reza, who treated her father for
cancer in 1985, and their affair began in 1990. She briefly left her husband and
then returned after Reza's arrest. Reza later confessed that he had strangled
and shot his wife of 22 years as she slept in her bed on Dec. 12, 1990. He also
pleaded insanity.
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