Dateline: Secrets Uncovered: Who is Joseph Campbell and where is he today?

The upcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on November 30, 2022, will delve into the murder of Tim Newman at the hands of his neighbor, Joseph Campbell. Dating back to 2013, this case shook the quaint locality of Great Falls, Montana. Interestingly, it was Campbell's wife who called the police to report the homicide, which Campbell later claimed was self-defense.

Newman was allegedly killed due to a years-long dispute concerning access to public land in his rural Montana district. This resulted in an altercation between the once-friends. Newman was found dead with two bullets in his body near a fence. The synopsis for the episode reads:

"Fences make good neighbours, but this one triggered a deadly fight. Only two men were there and the man who shot first told investigators his story. However, the crime scene was telling another story."

Campbell's trial had a lot of wrongful interpretations and varying factors, which resulted in his original trial being branded a mistrial. He was later found guilty of the homicide in his second trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, his entire term was suspended and he was put on probation. As of now, Joseph Campbell resides in the State of Montana under the watchful eye of the authorities.

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Who is Joseph Campbell, and what did he do?

Joseph Campbell was a Montana native who owned over 300 acres of the Diamond Bar. However, soon after his acquisition of the lands, the court found over 25 complaints against his strict guidelines and erratic behavior. He allegedly blocked access to public trails and streams, which affected the residents of the area.

Tim Newman was an electrician and next-door neighbor of Joseph Campbell's. They started out as friends, but soon things got bitter between them. It is unclear what really happened on the day of Tim Newman's murder, but according to Joseph's account, Tim came over looking for a fight and he was allegedly behaving erratically. Joseph also claimed that Tim was pointing a 357-caliber revolver at him.

To counter this, Joseph Campbell allegedly fired at him with his gun. He reportedly claimed that he fired the second bullet because he feared Tim would get up and try to hurt him. However, investigators alleged that Tim was first shot in the back as he was running/walking away from Joseph. This ultimately resulted in Joseph being taken into custody for murder.

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Where is Joseph Campbell now?

Despite evidence suggesting that Joseph was the culprit, the varying interpretations of the crime meant that the trial ended in a mistrial after the jury could not settle on a verdict after 13 hours of deliberation.

Joseph was sent for a retrial only months after the first. This time he was found guilty. But before the trial, Joseph changed his plea to no contest, accepting the guilt of being the triggerman. He was ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison with all of the sentence being suspended.

This meant that he would be on probation for 20 years. He was also banned from carrying or trading a firearm and was ordered to sell his property and move away from the area. He also settled the wrongful death lawsuit against him from Tim Newman's wife.

Joseph currently resides in Montana under the watchful eyes of the law.