NORFOLK, Va. — Throughout WTKR News 3’s 75 years of broadcasting, investigative journalists have shined a light in dark places, creating longstanding changes in the Hampton Roads community. We’re taking a moment to highlight some of those reports to mark the station’s milestone anniversary.
“I was the one who showed up on people's doorsteps when things had gone very wrong,” said Mike Mather, former WTKR News 3 investigative reporter from 1998 until 2015. “I just appreciate more than anything […] the number of people who trusted me with their stories, their emotions, and sometimes their jobs and livelihoods […] to tell their stories.”
Mather’s investigative reports exposed what led to the 2010 death of Norfolk police recruit John Kohn.
“At that time, the Norfolk Police Department was not transparent or forthcoming or telling the full truth about what happened,” Mather recalled.
Watch: Widow of dead Norfolk police recruit cannot sue the city
Mather’s relentless pursuit uncovered documents and a video from police academy training that revealed Kohn endured several blows to the head over several days, eventually leading to a coma and his death.
“I was very proud to get that story out, give his family some answers, and help change the way that some police recruits are trained in Norfolk and in Hampton Roads,” he said.
Mather’s reporting also exposed the failures of social workers in Virginia Beach to protect baby Braxton Taylor. The boy died in 2010 at the hands of his foster mother, but social workers failed to protect him despite noticing signs of his abuse.
“Because of our reporting, the entire system was upended in Virginia Beach to make sure that this does not happen to anybody else's child,” said Mather. “The director lost his job after our stories, and when I was done with that, I was at least confident that nobody else would suffer that same emotional loss.”
Mather’s reporting also took him out of the country several times, including a trip to Russia to track down Eddie Makdessi, a man accused of murdering his own wife.
“I got on a plane to Russia, and I went and found [Eddie Makdessi],” said Mather. “We talked. He gave me his story, and as I was walking out of the hotel, we were surrounded by Russian agents. They confiscated all of our equipment, took us back into the hotel, and interrogated us for several hours in the basement before expelling us from the country.”
Watch: “48 HOURS: NCIS” takes viewers inside Virginia Beach death investigation
Mather also journeyed to Mexico during the swine flu pandemic in 2009 to investigate the locally-based Smithfield Foods’ connection to the virus.
“In 24 hours, we tracked down the person that was called 'Patient 0'—a young boy who was the first person to get sick with swine flu,” recalled Mather.
Former WTKR News 3 investigative reporter Laurie Simmons’ reporting exposed toxic mold in local military housing.
“We really do have the power to bring light to injustice,” said Simmons. “This is the power of journalism. We are there to help.”
Simmons, who worked at WTKR News 3 from 2011 until 2014, shone a light on untreated mold in Lincoln Military Housing homes. Her reporting gained the attention of national leaders and federal prosecutors, leading to federal funding changes to address gaps in maintenance and safety in military housing.
“These men and women serve their country, and they are put in impossible positions to get deployed and be on ships and be gone all the time. The last thing they need to worry about is their family's health when they're at home,” said Simmons. “So that was really personal for me [as a former military wife] to be able to be the voice for all of these families that needed it.”
The legacy of investigative reports that take action and get results lives on at WTKR News 3.
Just this year, Margaret Kavanagh’s investigative reports inspired a state law that makes it easier for Virginians to get money the state owes them for unclaimed property.
Watch: Notices now being sent to thousands of Virginians owed money, property
Kavanagh’s reporting also uncovered evidence in a Chesapeake mother’s murder case this year that has led to a new trial.
Watch: Woman out on bond after WTKR finds evidence to get her a new trial
Last year, my own reporting exposed a troubling disciplinary record for a local dentist, whose license has now been revoked.
Watch: Board revokes Chesapeake dentist's license for 'dangerous' care after lifting previous revocation
My reporting also ended in the exoneration of a Norfolk man who spent decades in prison for a crime he did not commit, as well as the release of a Chesapeake basketball coach who has been fighting to prove his innocence in an armed robbery.
Watch: Basketball coach returns to the court while fighting armed robbery conviction
