00:00:12
I can't imagine anything worse. Somebody has taken one of your children and is threatening to kill him.
00:00:23
When I opened the email, it scared the hell out of me. I found the ransom demand from the people who had taken
00:00:31
Robert. We have Robert. If you hope to see him alive again, you must follow our instructions without deviation. Do not
00:00:40
speak about this to anyone, including family. >> Tom had called me. He said, "Uh, Pam, we
00:00:48
we we have a problem. Robert was kidnapped." Why? Why? Why? Why would someone take
00:00:57
Robert? >> My name is Robert Wilds and I'm from Toledo, Ohio. >> Rob had a fierce, fierce, fierce love
00:01:09
for life. My brother completely lit up when he was on the water or flying. He was most certainly an adventurer.
00:01:18
[music] >> He was very genuine. He was inspiring. Do not contact any authorities or
00:01:27
private parties. >> I first realized something was wrong when my mom called me. >> I just remember this wave just hitting
00:01:35
me of dread. >> Let's just say I've never heard my mom talk like that before. Do not go
00:01:40
anywhere. Do not open your door. Something happened to your brother. obtain an item of luggage and place in
00:01:47
it $750,000 in small, unmarked, untraceable bills. >> It was scary. Are we safe? Is he safe? Who knows?
00:01:59
These people could be coming after us, too. >> And ship it to your Lakeland facility.
00:02:05
>> Robert was working in Lakeland, Florida for our family business, National Flight
00:02:10
Services. Our company is a multi-million dollar enterprise. >> My father really did have high hopes for
00:02:17
him. [snorts] He would eventually run the company. >> I'm certain Robert knew whoever was
00:02:22
behind this plot. >> This must be completed by the evening of the 8th. No excuses, no exceptions. My
00:02:31
name is Tom Wiles. >> My name is Pamela Wilds. >> My name is Tierney Wilds. My name is
00:02:35
Audrey Wiles. >> And my son Robert has been missing since >> April 1st, 2008. Remember, we are
00:02:42
watching everything. And if you think you can outsmart us, it will cost your son his life.
00:02:54
I'm Peter Vans. Tonight on 48 hours, Ransom. When Tom Wilds first learned that his
00:03:46
son Robert had been kidnapped, he had only one objective. Get Robert back alive, no matter what the cost. We've
00:03:55
got to find a way to find him and rescue him. >> Immediately, Tom called in the FBI and
00:04:03
showed them the $750,000 ransom note mysteriously signed by a person or persons going by the name
00:04:12
Group X. >> What do you decide to do? >> We got the money. >> I understand the FBI said don't pay it.
00:04:18
Is that true? >> Yes. >> And what does your family decide to do? We want to pay it.
00:04:23
>> Audra Wilds is Tom's daughter. >> It's almost like you go from not believing it to like what do we need to
00:04:29
do to get him back right now? >> Audra and her mother Pamela helped wire the money from a bank in Toledo, Ohio,
00:04:36
to Tom, who had flown to Florida. Robert, 26 years old, was the sales manager in the Lakeland office of
00:04:45
National Flight Services, a private aircraft repair company. Rob wanted to dive right in there and be just like his
00:04:51
dad. So, he's always had an interest in the aviation [music] business. >> Audrey says Robert enjoyed working in
00:05:00
Florida because aside from being an avid pilot, he loved the water. [crying] >> You going to throw them all back in?
00:05:08
>> Yeah. >> Ever since he was young, Robert [music] had an intense interest in boating and
00:05:14
fishing. He loved being near the [music] water and the closer he was to his boat,
00:05:18
the happier he was. >> David Palmisano is one of Robert's closest friends. >> Remember one day when we hooked the tuna
00:05:25
and no sooner did we land that tuna on the deck, Robert cuts it open and he grabs a piece of fresh tuna meat out and
00:05:32
eats it and he said, "Oh, there's nothing like fresh sushi." And and that was Rob and he had a big smile on his
00:05:38
face. He's laughing about it. Robert, who spent years in militarymies and was a star athlete, was in great
00:05:48
physical condition. >> He had shoulders like King Kong. He was strong, physically very strong.
00:05:54
>> And not an easy mark for a kidnapper, which only deepened the mystery. But at
00:06:00
that point, all Tom cared about was getting back his only son. >> I wanted to be ready, and I didn't want
00:06:07
to delay. Robert had vanished on April 1st, 2008, and the kidnappers had set a deadline of
00:06:15
April 8th. The clock was ticking as Tom picked up the $750,000 that had been wired to a bank in
00:06:24
Florida. >> And where do you go with this money? Through the hotel. >> From that point on, an FBI agent was
00:06:32
glued to Tom's side. The family's personal life was being examined closely. Tom and Pamela had
00:06:40
separated years earlier, but only recently had completed a rather unique financial arrangement. Pam had
00:06:47
disassociated herself from the business. She said she would like to have is for me to give her a significant amount of
00:06:54
money that she knew would not be invested in the business. >> And was that $750,000?
00:06:59
>> And that was $750,000. The $750,000 demanded by the kidnapper or kidnappers, this group X. Did that
00:07:07
strike you as odd? >> Yes. >> FBI agent James Bushnell. >> This is kind of intriguing. So, what
00:07:15
does that suggest to you? >> That the author of the ransom note was very close to this business.
00:07:22
>> Did you ever for even a moment wonder if Tom was involved? >> Oh, no. I knew Tom wouldn't be. No.
00:07:30
The FBI wasn't so sure. [music] Agents zeroed in on Tom. After all, he was the one who had to part with $750,000.
00:07:40
And it just so happened that his company had kidnapping insurance. >> We had people travel in South America
00:07:48
quite often and want to make sure that we could come up with a ransom to get them back.
00:07:54
But the FBI could not ignore the possibility that family members, including Robert, were involved in a
00:08:01
conspiracy. Agents [music] went at Tom hard. >> Did they tell you you were a suspect?
00:08:08
>> They treated me like one. I was grilled a number of times. I was very angry. You
00:08:13
know, how could you possibly be looking at me? >> Pamela, too, came under scrutiny at what
00:08:19
she says was the worst moment of her life. agonizing. It's hard to believe. I just needed to find my son.
00:08:29
>> Agents combed through Robert's life as well. He was dating but did not have a
00:08:34
steady girlfriend. And so the spotlight shifted to the family business. Do you believe your brother felt some pressure
00:08:42
to stay in the family business? In any way, was he in a place where he didn't really want to be?
00:08:48
>> I think the pressure didn't come from my dad. I think it it came from more of
00:08:51
himself. because he loved loved loved loved his father. My father, come on. Let's pull it up.
00:09:01
>> Great man. And no child wants to disappoint their parents. And even though my dad would never, ever, ever be
00:09:09
disappointed if he decided [music] not to stay. I saw him the Sunday before he disappeared.
00:09:16
>> So just a few days. >> Just a few days. Tierney is the youngest of the Wild's three children.
00:09:22
>> Where do you think he was in his life at that moment? >> If I remember correctly, he seemed a
00:09:27
little stressed, >> but he was still in good spirits. >> In fact, Robert had told his friend
00:09:34
David that he'd recently become frustrated at work. >> He voluntarily opened up to me what was
00:09:41
happening at work, something he had never done before. And he'd mentioned he was having some personnel conflicts.
00:09:47
The FBI began looking at every current employee and some former ones. >> Tell me about Steve Lindsay.
00:09:54
>> He was a Georgia boy. Had a gift of gab. Was a good old boy. He was a good mechanic. Had a drinking problem.
00:10:04
But if you met Steve Lindsay, you'd like him. >> But when Steve's drinking got out of
00:10:10
hand, Tom fired him. >> Can't have that. This business is intolerant of alcohol and drug use.
00:10:19
>> Just a month before the disappearance, Steve had begged Tom to give him his job
00:10:24
back to no avail. >> He was pretty desperate. He was. There was no doubt about it. He needed a job.
00:10:32
>> Agents were being pulled in every direction. But there was one immediate concern. The ransom deadline. The time
00:10:41
had come to make the payoff. >> Just a week after Robert Wilds vanished, it was do or die time.
00:11:02
>> Obtain an item of luggage of the appropriate size and place in it $750,000. The kidnappers ordered Tom to put the
00:11:11
money in a box. >> Place the box unopened in your son's office. >> FBI agents rejected Tom's idea of using
00:11:21
actual money. Instead, they filled the box with coffee, making sure it weighed the same as $750,000
00:11:30
in cash. Special agent Dan Kelly. >> We did in fact have a camera which was watching the package. We were able to
00:11:39
monitor that 24 hours a day. >> Operations manager Toby Holt, whose office was next to Roberts, was
00:11:46
handpicked by Tom to help the FBI changed the camera's video tape. >> We needed a person of trust within
00:11:55
National Flight Services. >> This is the actual FBI videotape. out of sight but heavily armed. An
00:12:04
entire SWAT team clear >> similar to this one was close by. >> Did it strike you as odd that whoever
00:12:12
was behind this wanted the money brought back to what essentially would have been
00:12:17
the scene of the crime? >> Yes. It it was very odd that somebody would want money placed inside of a
00:12:24
locked building. >> Almost dumb in a way, isn't it? >> Not very smart. Everything was in place. Minutes, then
00:12:34
hours ticked by, but nothing happened. Days passed without a word from the kidnappers. What was this doing to the
00:12:50
family? >> It affected all of us very differently. I couldn't be the mother that I wanted
00:12:55
to be >> because I was really my priority was Robert at the time. >> To be honest, I felt a little neglected.
00:13:03
>> Robert's sister, Tierney Wilds. >> The repercussions left me in a pretty dark place my senior year of high
00:13:11
school. >> The Wilds had always been a loving family. >> There's mom and tea. Cut her.
00:13:22
Now that reality was shattered. >> It's kind of like removing a single piece from the puzzle. It's Robert being
00:13:31
gone. He was the glue. He wanted to keep us together. And he would hate this. My
00:13:36
mom, my dad kind of split off and went to Florida to go search for Rob. And then my sister and I were kind of left
00:13:44
behind. >> Tom and Pamela were determined to try everything. help us get our son back.
00:13:51
>> Even going on national television and offering a $250,000 reward for any tips that led to Robert's
00:14:00
whereabouts. >> We had several calls from psychics who pointed us in all kinds of different
00:14:08
directions. >> This guy called me in the middle of the night. The psychic called me in the
00:14:11
middle of night and he said, "I know where Robert is." The caller described a swampy area and said Robert was buried
00:14:18
[music] there in a shallow grave. >> We tried a helicopter the next morning went out and we're talking to this guy
00:14:24
on cell phone in a helicopter [music] and he says, "Look for a backhoe." An abandoned backhoe. Son of a gun. There's
00:14:32
an abandoned backhoe. [music] Wow. This guy, this is for real. >> Not quite. The information was later
00:14:41
found to be bogus. Deep inside, I felt [music] Robert was dead. But I think as a mom,
00:14:54
you just can't give up on your [music] kids. >> Was there a chance that Robert could
00:15:04
still be alive? Well, there was a tip that came in from Robert's barber, Janie Beard. When I first heard he was
00:15:11
missing, I said, "Oh my god, he actually did that. I can't believe he had the guts to go ahead and kidnap himself."
00:15:19
>> Janie told FBI agents that she could not recall the exact date of the conversation.
00:15:25
>> He was frustrated with his life, and I said, "Well, there's other jobs you can
00:15:29
do. What do you want to do?" And then he told me about the fishing and the captain of the boat. Janie said that
00:15:36
Robert had learned that his father carried a kidnapping insurance policy and that Robert seemed intrigued.
00:15:43
>> Said, "I could do that. I've got some plans laid out for it." The last thing he told me when he left, he turned
00:15:50
around, sound face, and says, "Please don't tell anybody. I told you all this." >> Family members [music] say there is just
00:15:58
no way Robert would ever be that selfish. >> It's just impossible. That's not the
00:16:04
type of person he was. He's not someone who would just abandon his family, abandon his friends,
00:16:10
and just pick up and leave. >> The FBI agreed and followed other potentially more important leads, like
00:16:19
the one that came [music] from Joel Vier, the owner of another airplane engine repair business. VA and Robert,
00:16:27
seen here in the blue shirt, were together the day before he disappeared. What was it like doing business with
00:16:34
Robert Wilds? >> Very nice. Very good. He wanted to bring fresh ideas to the company.
00:16:39
>> VA and Robert had hatched a deal to partner with Tom's company. Steve Lindsay, who VA considered a brilliant
00:16:48
mechanic, would play a key role. >> We had already organized everything and Tom shut it down.
00:16:55
>> Tom WS. Tom WS told Robert, "No way he wants part of it. As long as Steve is involved, he doesn't want any part of
00:17:03
it." >> Remember, years before Tom had fired Lindsay because of his alcoholism. >> That was his last uh hope, his last
00:17:13
chance to make something of himself. >> It was left to Va to give Lindsay, who was dead broke and desperate for money,
00:17:22
the devastating news. It's like the world just caved in on him and he just got this face of anger. I mean, the rage
00:17:32
in his face and his eyes. He said, "You know, Tom is going to know who I am. You
00:17:38
know, he'll pay for this one." >> It wasn't long before the FBI questioned VA about Robert's [music] disappearance.
00:17:46
They asked me if I knew anybody that was capable or willing to harm Robert Wilds.
00:17:53
>> And what did you say? >> I said, "Steve Lindsay. Go and talk to him." And they start calling him. He
00:18:01
does not answer. And the FBI on the radio comes out. He's on the run. I just say, "Wow."
00:18:09
Not only had Robert Wilds disappeared, but Steve Lindsay [music] had vanished, too.
00:18:23
>> The manpower supplied was significant because the case was obviously significant.
00:18:30
>> More than a week after Robert Wilds vanished, the ransom package remained untouched. Steve Lindseay was nowhere to
00:18:38
be found and the FBI was in full tilt investigation mode. >> We had dozens of individuals that were
00:18:45
out here at National Flight conducting a search. >> FBI special agents Dan Kelly and Jim
00:18:54
Bushnell recall the scene at National Flight. [music] >> So, it's not inaccurate to say every
00:18:59
inch of this building was checked out. >> Absolutely. >> Every employee was interviewed.
00:19:04
>> Absolutely. Everything outside was searched. Correct. >> Absolutely. >> And what'd you find?
00:19:09
>> Nothing. From a forensic evidentiary standpoint, Robert Wilds had vanished. >> Desperate for any real leads, agents
00:19:19
first get detailed call records of Robert's cell phone. By [music] tracking the cell towers his calls hit, they
00:19:26
figure they'll know the route the phone itself and presumably Robert was traveling. We were able to issue a
00:19:34
subpoena on the Florida Turnpike Authority and obtain video of the various toll booths on the Pulk Parkway.
00:19:42
>> The hope if Robert's phone was used while on that nearby road, perhaps Robert could be seen on the video. Agent
00:19:51
Bushnell explains what happened next. >> Tom Miles was taken to the Lakeland Police Department where they were able
00:19:57
to view the videotape and they said, "Do you recognize any of those cars?" And I
00:20:02
said, "That's Toby Holt's car, or one just like it." >> Toby Holt, the 42-year-old operations
00:20:09
manager [music] at National Flight and the FBI's pointman, chosen by Tom Wilds himself.
00:20:17
>> Toby Holt is passing through the toll plaza. His arms are in a fashion like this, which suggested what to you? That
00:20:28
he is talking on the phone. But curiously, when investigators got hold of Toby's cell phone records, they
00:20:35
showed his phone was not in use as he went through the tolls. That was enough to peique the FBI's interest.
00:20:43
>> I requested that Holt come into our offices for further interview on April the 10th.
00:20:48
>> He willingly came in without a lawyer for what turned into hours of questioning. They wanted to know where
00:20:56
was he the night Robert disappeared. He indicated [music] that he left National Flight at
00:21:02
approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening. He went to Hooters and then he subsequently
00:21:07
had dinner at Outback Steakhouse on South Florida Avenue. But the FBI found no proof whatsoever. For [music] more
00:21:16
than 4 hours that night, Toby's exact whereabouts were unsubstantiated. The FBI asked to search his car. [music]
00:21:25
He agreed. They asked if he had a gun inside. He said no. But when they looked >> under the hood of that vehicle, they
00:21:34
discovered a Sig Sauer 40 caliber firearm. >> A handgun. >> A handgun. That's correct.
00:21:39
>> Are you thinking to yourself, [music] "This could be a murder weapon?" >> That's definitely one of the thoughts
00:21:45
that crosses your mind in that circumstance. [music] Yes. >> Toby said at first he was scared to
00:21:51
admit he had a gun. He then claimed it was simply for [music] protection in bad neighborhoods. But the gun was legal and
00:21:59
there was certainly no evidence a gun was even involved in the case. But now Toby Holt was a prime suspect in the
00:22:08
disappearance and likely murder of Robert Wilds. Is the FBI telling you about what they're learning in the
00:22:14
investigation? >> No. The FBI made it very clear from the beginning that they gather information.
00:22:19
They do not disperse it. So most of what was going on I did not know. But the FBI
00:22:26
was getting to [music] know a lot about Toby. >> We discovered that he had several female
00:22:31
liaison uh outside of his marriage. [music] >> How many are we talking about? >> At least a dozen.
00:22:36
>> A dozen. >> At least. >> When his wife Beverly found out Toby was cheating with other women, she divorced
00:22:43
him. But she remains supportive to this day. >> Toby is a heartwarming, compassionate,
00:22:51
funny person and a loyal friend. But the murder is just not in Toby's character at all to do it. [music]
00:22:59
>> In fact, Toby continued to work at National Flight for Tom Wilds, who had no idea his operations manager was now
00:23:07
suspected of killing his son. But Tom eventually did fire Toby in August [music]
00:23:14
2008. >> He wasn't performing very well as the manager of that facility prior to
00:23:21
Robert's kidnapping. The FBI [music] continued to investigate other suspects, including Steve Lindseay, the alcoholic
00:23:30
mechanic once fired by Tom Wilds. He finally surfaced, claiming [music] he was wasted on alcohol and drugs during
00:23:39
the time of Robert's disappearance, [music] but he remained a suspect. Months passed and there was still no
00:23:49
DNA, no blood, no forensics at all to [music] prove what had happened to Robert, whether he was really dead or
00:23:57
maybe still alive. >> Essentially, after some months, this case had gone cold. It had gone stale.
00:24:04
That's correct. >> So, in March 2009, nearly a year after Robert vanished, the FBI called in
00:24:13
reinforcements. We just systematically went through each and everything. >> Special Agent Tommy Ray of the Florida
00:24:20
Department of Law Enforcement dove right in as part of the new Wilds task force with Lakeland Police and Pulk County
00:24:29
Sheriff's Detectives. >> We were there to kind of put the pieces together and see if we [music] couldn't
00:24:34
make a circumstantial case because there was no smoking gun on this particular disappearance. The task force zeroed in
00:24:42
on the cell tower [music] call records of Robert Wilds and Toby Holt and made an amazing [music] discovery.
00:24:50
>> These two phones are together traveling, you know, the same location. >> We're talking about Toby Holt's phone
00:24:56
and Robert Wild's phones seemingly synchronized. >> That's correct. Robert Wild's phone was
00:25:03
being utilized. Toby Holt's phone was off. >> [music] >> Tommy Ray is convinced that in this
00:25:09
photograph, Toby Holt was using Robert While's cell phone. >> For us, that was a Eureka [music]
00:25:15
moment. >> The task force concluded Toby Holt was Group X. He had used Robert's cell phone
00:25:24
to make that ransom demand and he had killed it. >> When you put them together, the pieces
00:25:31
of the puzzle, it's a very strong circumstantial case. And on December 18th, 2009, agents
00:25:38
descended on Orlando International Airport. Their focus, a flight from Bogota, Colombia. Their target,
00:25:47
passenger Toby [music] Holt. >> He walks out of the jetway. They tell him that we'll get your luggage. Don't
00:25:54
worry about it. >> I advise him that he's under arrest for first-degree murder and he's read his
00:26:01
rights. I thought I was just going to be searched because I was coming back from
00:26:03
Columbia, you know. Uh, absolutely. I had nothing to do with Robert Wild's disappearance.
00:26:21
For more than two years, Stobert Hol, known as Toby, has been locked inside this Florida jail.
00:26:29
Indicted for extortion, kidnapping, and the murder of 26-year-old Robert Wilds. >> No, I did not participate in any
00:26:39
kidnapping of Robert Wilds. Toby Holt has agreed to speak with 48 hours, but it will be under unusual circumstances.
00:26:46
Holt will be in this jail. I will be in a separate building, and we will communicate with each other through
00:26:52
remote television, cameras, and monitors. >> Toby, did you murder Robert WS? >> Absolutely not. I did not murder Robert
00:27:01
WS. >> You did not harm him in any way. >> Absolutely not. I had nothing absolutely
00:27:07
against Robert Wilds or his family. And there's Robert, our 11year-old. >> Robert's mother, Pamela Wilds, believes
00:27:16
Toby Holt is her son's killer. >> When I listen to Toby talk, I just don't I just don't take anything he says
00:27:23
seriously. I think [music] he's a sociopath. >> But Toby's former customer, Joel Vier,
00:27:33
is not at all convinced. Do you believe that Toby Holt abducted and murdered Robert Wilds?
00:27:42
>> I still don't believe that. >> He doesn't fit the the motives. There's nothing there.
00:27:49
And as this circumstantial case opens in January 2012, >> all right, >> a case with no forensic evidence, not
00:27:58
even a body, prosecutor Cass Castillo reminds jurors just who last saw Robert alive. As the evidence will demonstrate,
00:28:07
the defendant in this case, Stoolbert Holt, was the last person to be with Robert Walls.
00:28:18
Castillo says the two men did not get along and repeatedly clashed over business deals. Their email exchanges
00:28:26
sometimes got nasty, like this one about price quotes. "Thanks for throwing me under the bus," Robert wrote. Toby.
00:28:36
The prosecution calls that motive, but investigators admit they still don't know what happened.
00:28:43
>> I can't tell you what actually occurred at National Flight Services on April 1st, 2008, and it would be nothing but
00:28:51
speculation. [music] >> The prosecution says on the night of Robert's disappearance, Toby called a
00:29:00
local Home Depot. Toby admits he did call. >> So I gave them a call and see if they
00:29:06
carried mini blinds. >> Mini blinds he says needed for the office, but Toby swears he never set
00:29:13
foot in the store that night. Yet Castillo says Toby figuring out what to do with Robert Walls's corpse,
00:29:22
>> went into that store and paid cash for a box of plastic sheeting and two rolls of
00:29:28
duct tape like these. the kind of materials that would be used for what? To conceal a body. [music]
00:29:36
>> Who knows who it was that bought that? >> Toby's lawyer, assistant public defender
00:29:41
Howard Dean Garrett, says there's nothing that ties Toby to that purchase. >> There's no surveillance video. This is
00:29:49
just supposition. This is just innuendo. [music] Once again, it's an attempt to try to
00:29:54
cover up the fact that they have no evidence. >> And it's just a coincidence. >> It's just a coincidence. Is it a
00:30:02
coincidence? >> Just a coincidence that that happened. Is that right? >> You want to call it that? Yes.
00:30:07
>> For prosecutors, too many coincidences is not a coincidence. Remember, Toby's
00:30:13
whereabouts for over 4 hours the night Robert disappeared [music] were unsubstantiated.
00:30:19
But they say one fact is crystal clear. Toby Holt repeatedly used Robert's cell phone, even sending the ransom demand to
00:30:29
Tom Wilds. >> The phone was with him. He was using that phone. Every piece of evidence in
00:30:36
this case screams that that's what occurred. >> Got in my car, [music] drove all the way
00:30:43
to >> Holtz says he bluntly told investigators, "No way, no how." He was like insinuating that I had Robert or
00:30:52
his phone. I basically told him, I listen, I watch CSI. I watch 48 hours. I know you can track cell phones. Why
00:31:03
would I take Robert's cell phone with me on the trip? It just didn't make any sense.
00:31:09
>> But the state says it has [music] more than just cell phone records. It has these pictures. But even the FBI
00:31:18
questions what they truly reveal >> with that toll booth photograph. The fact is you can't tell what's in his
00:31:24
hand. That's correct. >> So it's not definitive. >> It's not definitive. There wasn't
00:31:32
anything really definitive in this case. >> I never had Robert's cell phone uh ever.
00:31:37
I could have been adjusting my glasses. I could have been scratching. I could have been taking drink cuz uh I that's
00:31:44
something I do when I'm driving is always have a a soda whatever >> like a can of Dr. Pepper which he always
00:31:52
seemed to have nearby. >> Holt says he was taking a sip of diet Dr. Pepper at that time.
00:31:58
>> Investigator Tommy Ray. >> Well, unless he was pouring it into his right ear, that's that's impossible.
00:32:05
[music] If you're like Toby Holt or millions of other Americans, when the car slows
00:32:13
down, then you can take a drink and look up. >> Now, when you left Robert on April 1st,
00:32:19
2008, where was he physically? >> He was in his office. >> Did you see or talk to him again?
00:32:26
>> No, I do not. >> Do you know what happened to him? >> No, I do not. >> Did you kill him?
00:32:30
>> No, I did not. >> Do you have any idea where he might be at this time? >> No, I do not.
00:32:36
For Holt's attorney, the state's case is just plain weak. [sighs] >> I have never tried a case or been
00:32:44
involved in a case that was so completely circumstantial. It's remarkable that the quality of the
00:32:52
evidence is so elusive. >> Are you telling me basically they have no case? >> That's my position. Yes. Yes. Except for
00:33:02
sort of innuendo and coincidence and you know where there's smoke there must be a
00:33:09
fire but sometimes there's just smoke and her defense points squarely at Steve Lindsay
00:33:17
the alcoholic engine mechanic furious at Tom Wilds for firing him. Steve Lindseay
00:33:24
said he would like to break a chair across Tom Wild's back and breach load the splinters. That's how Steve Lindsay
00:33:34
felt about Tom Wilds. I think the motive is much greater for Steve Lindsay. >> So does Joel Bayier, who heard Lindsay
00:33:43
threaten to get Tom Wilds. >> He's trying to hurt Tom as much as he can. What's the best way to hurt him? Through
00:33:53
his son. >> But Steve Lindseay [music] isn't there to clear up the mystery. In the midst of the Wilds Task Force
00:34:01
investigation [music] in 2009, he died of lung cancer. And as for friction at the office as a motive for
00:34:10
Robert's murder, Toby's lawyer calls that ridiculous. If you apply that same level of problems in the workplace,
00:34:18
well, of course, I'd like to suggest that half of the United States would be dead and the other half would have
00:34:24
killed them because that's taking place in every workplace in the United States.
00:34:29
>> Speak about this to anyone. >> After more than 75 witnesses, over 200 pieces of evidence, and two weeks of
00:34:37
trial, the case is about to be decided. The honest truth is there's no conclusive proof of anything.
00:34:46
>> Where is Robert Wilds? How did he die if indeed he's dead? Where is his body?
00:34:52
What was the mechanism? Uh where where did it take place? How did he get from national flight to wherever he is? These
00:34:59
are so many unanswered questions. And I think this is what reasonable doubt is all about. More than reasonable doubt.
00:35:06
It's just a mystery. Let's say goodbye to the camera. >> Say goodbye. Bye. >> I want to know where my brother is. This
00:35:27
is the air show. >> All the Wilds family has left are memories, videos, and voicemails.
00:35:34
>> Hey, Mom. It's Robert. I just wanted to call and thank you for >> to remind them of their beloved brother
00:35:40
and son. >> Anyway, I hope you have a good weekend and happy Easter and I'll talk to you
00:35:44
later. >> I'd give anything for to hear him again. Just touch him again. Nearly four years after Robert Wilds
00:35:59
went missing, the man accused of taking Robert from his family is about to hear his fate.
00:36:05
>> Person of the jury. Has the jury reached the verdict? >> Yes, your honor. We have.
00:36:09
>> Would you please hand that to our baiff? [music] >> The jury spent only 4 hours
00:36:13
deliberating. >> Mr. Holt, if you please rise and hear your verdict. >> It was almost an adrenaline rush. I was
00:36:20
shaking. [music] >> We the jury find as follows is to count one of the charge. The defendant is
00:36:26
guilty of manslaughter. >> Toby Holt was in fact the man to blame for Robert Wley's death.
00:36:33
>> If he was convicted on first-degree murder, he could have faced life. >> It was clearly a compromise when you
00:36:39
have one side saying he didn't do it at all and the other side saying he did it and it was kidnapping and premeditated
00:36:47
and etc. And then you get a verdict of manslaughter. That's a compromised verdict. Were you
00:36:53
disappointed that it's manslaughter and not first-degree murder? >> Not at all. >> Tommy, I appreciate all you guys.
00:37:02
>> So, like a high five moment for all the members of the task force. Felt justice
00:37:06
was served >> with the exception of finding Robert Walls. >> We gone now. Surprisingly, Toby is found not guilty
00:37:17
of kidnapping, but Robert's family knows he's going to prison. >> I'm very happy. Very happy he's he's
00:37:25
going away. So, >> I was uh basically in disbelief. There's no evidence to support the conviction.
00:37:33
And really, the I think the FBI failed to uh follow up on some unanswered questions with other people. I'm upset
00:37:42
because I'm an innocent man convicted of manslaughter. >> We're here this morning in regard to
00:37:49
State versus Stalberg Halt scheduled for sentencing. >> 6 weeks later at Toby's sentencing
00:37:57
hearing, Tom Wilds addresses the court. >> Keep this man off the street and maybe
00:38:04
some way, somehow, somewhere he'll decide to tell us where what he did what he did with Robert.
00:38:12
You know, we have a we we have a son. We don't know where he is. We want to bring
00:38:17
him home. I I wonder where my son is. I'm sorry. I'm not doing very well. >> Then it was Toby's turn to speak.
00:38:27
>> Thank you, honor. Um, as everyone else's does, my heart goes out to the Wilds family. Um,
00:38:35
I still maintain my innocence. Uh, I have from the beginning. U they're probably hoping that I'm going to tell
00:38:41
them uh where to find Robert and and I just do not have that information. >> He knows he knows what happened to my
00:38:47
brother. Why doesn't he just come out and say it? Why don't you just tell us? You know, just just tell us. What's it
00:38:52
going to hurt anybody? You're already done. >> The Wilds family isn't buying Toby's
00:38:57
story. And neither is Judge Donald Jacobson. [music] >> A young man, Robert Wilds, is dead as a
00:39:04
result of the actions of Mr. Holt. what appears to be, in my mind, a failed attempt at an extortion.
00:39:10
>> Toby is sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison for manslaughter and extortion. His ex-wife, Beverly.
00:39:18
>> Toby didn't do this. I know he didn't do this. To be taken away just because he
00:39:23
had affairs and he can't account for an alibi, I think is just ridiculous. Toby would never ever take a life.
00:39:33
Despite Toby's conviction, [music] Robert's mother still has unanswered questions.
00:39:39
>> I can't imagine just one person being a part of this. I believe there was a plot. Right now, it's a mystery. A
00:39:47
mystery to be solved. >> With Robert's body not yet found, no remains yet buried, no memorial service
00:39:57
yet held. >> Right across from me is my father, Tom WS. One yearning never dies.
00:40:03
>> Do I hope every day that he's still alive? Absolutely. I give everything I have,
00:40:14
everything I could borrow or steal or anything else to get him back. >> You have no idea
00:40:23
how awesome it would be if he just walked through the door. We would all lose it.
00:40:30
Oh my gosh. Give anything for that to happen. Do you ever dream [music] of your brother?
00:40:40
>> Yes. [gasps] All the time. One of my favorite ones [music] is of him taking me out in the boat
00:40:51
and he's smiling. He's so happy in my dreams. That's what gets me through cuz I know
00:40:58
that wherever he is, he's happy. Auburn, Alabama is home to Auburn University, which is a major football
00:41:20
school. [music] In a college town, it happens that students sometimes may go often,
00:41:27
you know, they may be missing for a little while, but they come back. Lori was a student at Auburn University,
00:41:36
and she had recently graduated. >> June 10th, 2006, which is the fateful day in [music] Lor's life.
00:41:46
>> We were going to have drinks at my house. we were going to have um rum runners, I believe, and watch a movie
00:41:51
and just kind of hang out, do girl time. She called me around 6:30 and said, [music] "I'm going to stop by the store,
00:41:58
pick up the drink mixes, and then I'll be headed to your house." And then the phone rang about 30 minutes later. It
00:42:05
rang once or twice. I answered, no one was there. >> How many times had she simply not showed
00:42:10
up and not called you? >> Never. >> My daughter was a very good person. a kind person, a loving girl, very
00:42:22
studious student. She loved sports, loved her dog. She had a little Yorkie named Peanut. That was her baby.
00:42:30
>> When did you realize that something was wrong? >> I was at work. A lady called, I believe
00:42:35
it was her boss, and she told me that I just want to tell you your daughter Lori
00:42:39
has not showed up for work, and right away bells and whistles went off. I called her, and she didn't answer her
00:42:44
phone. I called her house several times, left voicemails on her home answering machine.
00:42:50
>> You go over to her mobile home. >> The door was unlocked, which was not like her. The air condition was running.
00:42:59
Her dog, Peanut, was in the crate. We walked through the house. She wasn't there.
00:43:05
>> What are you thinking? >> Something's terribly wrong. There is no way she would have left Peanut.
00:43:10
>> This is it. It's about 4:40 a.m. 4 days after Lori is missing. The car was right
00:43:17
here, dead in the center, engulfed in flames. Was Lori in this car? Lori was not in
00:43:27
the vehicle. >> There was no trace of her whatsoever. I mean, none. >> Just vanished.
00:43:35
>> Just [music] vanished. >> And nobody knows what happened to Lorie Slazinski. I know somebody [music] that knows.
00:43:43
>> Rick Andis. >> Your daughter had no idea about his past. >> No. >> I met Rick Andis when he was 12 years
00:43:50
old. He's sitting back there in that seat behind you and I said, "Where are your
00:43:56
parents?" He looked right back at me and he says, "I killed them both. Heat. Heat.
00:44:23
[music] >> [music] [music] >> I can still see her smile. Her smile is just etched
00:44:54
in my memory. To this day, Lindsey Braun is haunted by the final call from Lorie Sllinski on
00:45:02
June 10th, 2006 when they were supposed to get together for drinks and a movie. >> That last call, did it indicate it was
00:45:11
her phone? >> She calls and it hangs up. >> Yes. >> And no one's there. >> Just no one was there. It was just dead
00:45:18
end. >> Did you call her right back? [music] >> I did. No answer. Lori and Lindsay became fast friends
00:45:26
when they met junior year at Auburn University in 2002. I remember the day I met her. We [music] just kind of
00:45:33
immediately clicked. I could just tell that she was a warm person, very friendly, just outgoing, loving, all
00:45:42
those good things. >> Lorie's family, her older brother Paul and their parents [music] Arlene and
00:45:48
Casey were actually from New York State. They headed south to rural Alabama farm
00:45:54
country when Lorie was 13 years old. >> She loved animals. We always had animals
00:45:59
in our house. >> Lorie's mother, Arlene, >> very studious student. She was a good
00:46:06
girl. >> When she enrolled in nearby Auburn University, her parents bought Lorie a
00:46:12
mobile home to live off-campus in a manicured trailer park with students. So from valadictorian of her high school
00:46:20
class, was it tough for you to see your baby girl leave the house and [music] head off to university?
00:46:26
>> Oh yeah, it was very tough. I called her every day. She's like, "Mom, this has
00:46:30
got to stop." I was like, "But you're my baby and I worry about you. Don't worry
00:46:34
about me. I'm fine." >> Lorie majored in psychology and minored in criminal justice. She graduated with
00:46:41
honors. >> There she is with mom and dad. She looks so happy there. She was she [music] was
00:46:46
over the moon happy. >> After graduation, Lori and Lindsay started working together at a local
00:46:53
mental health facility. Did you sense that she had any enemy in this world? >> No.
00:47:01
>> The day that Lorie disappeared, June [music] 10th, 2006. Was anyone with Lori
00:47:06
that day? >> Rick was at her house. >> Rick was Daryl Richard Andis. When I had spoken to her, he was in the background.
00:47:15
>> Lori got to know Rick back when she was still a student. She hung out at the local bowling alley where he worked.
00:47:23
>> I didn't know much about him at all except he was her friend. >> Arlene says just before Christmas in
00:47:29
2005, Lorie asked if Rick could join them. >> She asked me, she said, "Mom, he has no
00:47:34
family. Can I invite him?" She kind of, you know, felt bad that he was going to spend Christmas alone.
00:47:40
He was friendly. Um, it's very polite. >> Lindsay says Lorie often spent time with
00:47:46
Rick, so she wasn't surprised that he had been at Lor's home the day she disappeared.
00:47:52
>> They were friends, so I I wasn't concerned. >> But now you're at home, waiting for Lori
00:47:58
to come over, >> and you went to bed that night thinking, >> you know, hope she's okay.
00:48:04
>> But the next morning, Lindsay started to worry. I called her house several times.
00:48:09
Left voicemails on her home answering machine. Hey Lori, checking on you. Are you okay? Where are you?
00:48:14
>> You went to work on that Monday, [music] right? >> Yeah. Uh, she wasn't there. In my mind,
00:48:20
something's wrong. I had Rick's number, so I did text him [music] and ask, "Have
00:48:24
you seen Lori? Where is she? I'm worried about her." Um, his conversation back was, "No, I haven't. And I'm worried
00:48:31
now, too." When Lorie didn't show up at work a second day, that's when Lindsay headed to Lor's home.
00:48:37
>> No one answered >> and found her dog, Peanut, in his crate. >> I'm an animal lover, so the very first
00:48:43
thing I did was let the dog out. >> That's when she noticed something else strange. Lorie was missing three days,
00:48:50
but the crate was spotless, and Peanut seemed happy and appeared to be wellfed, as though someone had taken care of him.
00:48:58
And there was more. One thing I remember about Peanut is he wouldn't walk on tile. So, she had these rugs in her uh
00:49:05
kitchen and he would hop on the rugs and the rugs were gone. I noticed that immediately. Her outside trash can was
00:49:11
missing. She had one that she had like yard tools [music] in and the answering machine had actually been unplugged. So,
00:49:17
those messages were not there. >> By this time, [music] Lorie's mother heard that she hadn't been showing up at
00:49:23
work. I have got to go to Auburn and see what's going on, where she is, cuz I called her and she didn't answer her
00:49:28
phone. >> She headed off on an agonizing drive, calling her husband and alerting the
00:49:34
police, finally arriving at her daughter's home. And when the police got there, what was their attitude?
00:49:40
>> Well, you know, they like she's got to be missing 48 hours. And they didn't really think a big make a big deal out
00:49:46
of it. They wanted to just think she ran away. Lor's parents could only wait for Lori
00:49:53
to walk through the door or call. And finally, the phone rang late that afternoon, but Arlene says it wasn't
00:50:02
Lori. It was her friend Rick Ennis. >> He said that Lori had gone to make a big drug deal.
00:50:09
>> What? >> Yes. And I was like, there ain't no way that my daughter would not do anything
00:50:16
like that. >> Did you tell the police what he told you? I didn't. Rick told them and the
00:50:21
police came to the trailer, bang it on the door, and they raided the mobile home and they found nothing.
00:50:28
>> Then just before dawn, that's when Lorie Slesinsk's missing car suddenly exploded
00:50:35
into a fireball on a desolate dead end outside a construction site. >> The feelings were just unbelievable of
00:50:42
fear and knowing something really bad has happened. >> Who would set her car on fire? Exactly.
00:50:49
>> And why? >> The investigation shifted from a missing person to a possible homicide.
00:51:00
Investigators dug into Rick's tip about Lorie dealing drugs, but found no evidence, none, that he was telling the
00:51:08
truth. Now, investigators started digging deeper into Rick Andis. They wanted to know if he was hiding
00:51:16
something from them. >> Did you have any sense as to why Rick Andis didn't have a family?
00:51:23
>> No, I had no idea why at all. >> Eventually, you learned. >> I did. It's beyond shocking.
00:51:51
This is my daughter Lor's trailer. >> And do you go into that trailer from time to time just [music] to connect
00:51:57
with her? Um, >> I do just go in there and think about the happier [clears throat] times.
00:52:05
This room besides the memories is also a solemn place because you believe some horrors went on in this room. Correct.
00:52:15
>> Yes. >> In the early days of the investigation back in 2006, Arlene says she became
00:52:23
suspicious of Rick Anis [music] when he told her that the night Lorie disappeared, she had gone out to make a
00:52:29
drug deal. >> And why would he be doing that, do you think? I think to take the heat off of
00:52:34
him. I was thinking this guy is lying through his teeth. >> Police suspected the same, but without
00:52:40
direct evidence linking Rick Andis to Lor's disappearance, police [music] could not make an arrest and the case
00:52:48
quickly went cold. >> Did Rick Andis stick around town? >> He was there for a couple of days, but
00:52:55
within a week after his third interview, he left town. He never came back to Auburn again.
00:53:03
>> In 2016, 10 years after Lori disappeared, Mark Whitaker, a special agent with the Alabama State Bureau of
00:53:11
Investigation, [music] started a cold case unit. He chose the disappearance of Lorie Slazinski as his
00:53:18
first case. Any estimate of how many murder cases you've been involved with in [music] your career?
00:53:23
>> Probably about a hundred. >> Where does this one rank in terms of fascination for you as an investigator?
00:53:29
That's number one. It was a very difficult case because there was no body. We don't know exactly what
00:53:37
happened and uh we don't know where she is. >> But it didn't take long for Rick Andis
00:53:46
to become Whitaker's prime suspect. >> We couldn't eliminate him. His inconsistencies [music]
00:53:52
in his statements made no sense whatsoever. We knew Lori was not a drug dealer. I mean, she vanished off the
00:53:59
face of the earth when he's the last one to ever see her. >> And when police spoke to Rick hours
00:54:05
after Lorie was reported missing, they noticed these scratches on his hands and arms.
00:54:11
>> Right here, that is a thumbrint where somebody's digging into. She's fighting
00:54:14
for her life and doing everything she can to get away from him. >> In Rick's car, there were handcuffs,
00:54:20
this knife, and cleaning supplies. And they soon learned something startling about Rick's past.
00:54:28
>> Turned into one of the most bizarre cases I've ever been associated with. >> Former Alabama State Trooper John Clark.
00:54:35
>> I was patrolling this county when I got a call. >> It was March 5th, 1993. The call from
00:54:41
dispatch said a car had gone off this very highway and struck a fence. And as my uh headlights take in the curve, I
00:54:50
see it looks like a young boy with a backpack. >> It's a 12-year-old Rick Annis, and he
00:54:58
admits he had been driving the car. Clark searches his backpack. >> The first thing I pull out is a kitchen
00:55:04
knife about that [music] long. There's some 12 gauge and some 22 caliber loose ammunition in the bottom of the bag.
00:55:11
He's sitting back there in that seat behind you. And I said, "Where are your parents?" He looks right back at me and
00:55:17
he says, "I killed them both." >> I killed them both. >> I killed them both. No tears, no
00:55:24
emotion, nothing. >> Clark then radioed for local police to get over to Andis's home.
00:55:32
>> State troopers working a wreck involving a 12year-old. >> At the time, a show called MPD, the
00:55:38
television series, was following the officers. The boys telling them that they killed his daddy and mama.
00:55:44
>> Cameras entered the home of Rick's mother and stepfather. >> On the floor of a bedroom are two dead
00:55:52
bodies. >> There is pieces of a baseball bat. And in the bedroom that has quite a bit of
00:55:58
blood on it. >> Rick's own mother, Dolly Flowers, was shot in the face and then beaten to
00:56:04
death with this baseball bat. Rick told investigators he covered her face with a
00:56:10
velvet blanket and placed a rose on her chest. >> Blood splatters on the walls. Blood
00:56:14
splatters on the door. >> Rick's stepfather, Eddie Joe Flowers, was known as Elvis for his sideburns and
00:56:22
colorful personality. Rick shot him in the face using this shotgun. Rick told cops he was mad that his
00:56:31
parents planned to move. He said he didn't want to leave his school. For two days, investigators believe he lived
00:56:39
with their bodies while continuing to go to school. Investigators say they found
00:56:44
what they describe as Andis's to-do list that included killing his three stepsisters.
00:56:52
>> So, he wanted to kill all three of you. >> Oh, yeah. I feel very blessed to be here
00:56:57
and not to be one of his victims. Donna Fur, Angela Flowers, and Tina Ston are all Eddie's daughters. Tina was 20 when
00:57:07
her dad was murdered. >> It's changed everything. My dad was my world and never getting to see him again.
00:57:17
>> The sisters say Dolly was a sweet, outgoing woman who met their father in church. Rick was the polar opposite.
00:57:26
Every time I would go and visit my dad and Dolly, they he would go into his bedroom and close himself off.
00:57:32
>> He'd come out and eat and then he'd go back in his room. >> What is the longest conversation you
00:57:36
ever had with him? >> 5 seconds maybe. >> He didn't talk to nobody. >> What did your father think of Rick?
00:57:43
>> He just said he's just a little different than than y'all were when y'all were coming up. He just thought
00:57:49
that they were in a new relationship and you know that it would he would outgrow
00:57:53
it and things would get better over time. But just 10 months after they married, the happy couple were dead.
00:58:01
>> He was 12 years old and had murdered two people, brutally murdered him. >> At age 12, Rick Andis couldn't be tried
00:58:10
as an adult. He spent 9 years in juvenile detention in Alabama and was released after he turned 21.
00:58:20
It was now up to Agent Whitaker and his team to determine whether Rick Enis had murdered again.
00:58:29
Should juveniles convicted of murder get a second chance? Chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and Twitter.
00:58:44
Agent Mark Whitaker knew what Rickis did to his parents. and his instincts told him Enis had done
00:58:53
something horrible to Lori, too. But now he had to prove it. >> The burn site that's found on [music]
00:59:01
the 14th. The car was right here facing out back toward the bowling alley. There's
00:59:07
nothing else around here at the time. There's not apartments. It's just a paved road. The blaze destroyed whatever
00:59:13
evidence there was in the car, but an investigator reported finding a tiny item on the ground nearby.
00:59:20
>> And he found a handrolled cigarette butt about right here and he collected that.
00:59:25
It was not tested. Kind of got lost in the shuffle. The case agent retired. >> Whitaker's team now submitted it for
00:59:33
testing. And there was this gas can that had been found nearby. >> It was right in this area right here. It
00:59:41
looked like one that had been missing from the bowling alley where Rick had worked.
00:59:45
>> And it's right here, 1,000 yards from the bowling alley, 30 yards from a car.
00:59:49
>> Whitaker's partner, JW Barnes, showed us something that for police tied everything together. These railroad
00:59:56
tracks. >> These are the same tracks that go right by the bowling alley. They run right
01:00:01
across the street from where L's car was found burning. I've always thought that's what Andis
01:00:07
used for transportation was walking down the railroad tracks because it's a straight shot. You're not going to be
01:00:12
seen unless you want to be seen. And those railroad tracks run by Lorie's house.
01:00:17
>> And in that house were signs of a violent struggle, says Whitaker. >> These areas you see right here that have
01:00:24
been cut out. That's where the scuff marks were. They were black just like the bottom of her shoes. And and there
01:00:29
was even some up high here. So, it's obviously there was a struggling here with somebody kicking their legs
01:00:37
probably up in the air. >> Remember, Lor's dog, Peanut, seemed happy and taken care of.
01:00:43
>> My theory is that Rick Inis stayed in the house after he had murdered Lori, I
01:00:50
believe. So, it's the only way to explain it. We don't have a cause of death, but I've always thought that he
01:00:57
strangled her. The scratches that he had all over his arm were just indicative of
01:01:02
defense wounds when you're fighting somebody. >> Whitaker says the phone in the corner of
01:01:06
the bedroom was missing its cord. >> And it was a long cord and it ran all the way through the room.
01:01:12
>> And what do you think that cord was used for? >> I think it was used to bound her
01:01:16
>> to tie her up. >> Yes, sir. >> Could it have been used to strangle her? >> Sure. That phone core was missing.
01:01:22
>> That's not the only thing that was missing. There were those three rugs in the kitchen. They were kind of
01:01:28
strategically put out so that Peanut, Lor's dog, could hop through the Lenovo and be back on carpet.
01:01:35
>> The rugs turned up, he says. A few years later, >> Andis had a former roommate who reached
01:01:42
out to law enforcement and told them, "Hey, there's this guy left behind three rugs." Peter, I want to show you
01:01:48
something else. Lori had a table set up about right here. And on this table days
01:01:53
before Lori went missing, a love letter was left here for her from Rick. >> People who knew Lori said Andis wanted
01:02:01
to be more than just a friend. Police say Andis told a buddy that Lorie rejected him
01:02:08
>> and he was devastated by that. >> So, do you believe this rejection may have been a motive for murder?
01:02:14
>> I think that's what sent him over the edge. I I absolutely do. Despite the mounting evidence, Agent
01:02:23
Whitaker still needed something more that tied and directly to the crime scene. >> As far as I'm concerned, he is
01:02:31
investigating this case like Lori is his own daughter. I mean, he has a picture of Lori in his house.
01:02:37
>> I've had it in my closet. It make me think about her every day when I was getting ready for work. When I would put
01:02:42
my ties on, I would just remember what I was supposed to be doing every single day.
01:02:48
And then >> it's like 1:00 in the morning and JW calls me. >> JW Barnes found exactly what they needed
01:02:56
in the case files collecting dust for 10 years. >> He goes, "I just found a report that was
01:03:02
in an envelope that hadn't been opened." >> Whitaker could hardly believe it. When
01:03:08
Lorie disappeared in 2006, police collected evidence from her trailer. But by the time the results came in, no one
01:03:16
followed up. The report contained critical evidence. Rick's DNA was identified in semen found on Lor's bed
01:03:24
sheet and in blood on the interior of the front door. [music] And it turned out his blood was also found on one of
01:03:32
the rugs investigators say [music] were in Lor's kitchen. You got his blood on a
01:03:37
rug here. You've got his seaman back there. You got his blood on a door. Most people's blood is not inside somebody
01:03:44
else's home as unless something really bad had happened. >> 12 years after Lorie disappeared, there
01:03:53
was now enough evidence to charge Rick Andis with [music] her murder. But by this time, Rick Andis was happily
01:04:01
engaged to school librarian Elena Atkinson and living 500 miles away in Virginia.
01:04:10
He was designing and building portable living structures called yurts for Sharon Mley's company. Mley liked Andis
01:04:18
from the moment they met. >> He was just so open and friendly and had a great sense of humor.
01:04:26
>> But on August 6th, 2018, Rick's birthday, Mley saw a task force of lawmen arrive.
01:04:33
>> Walking out of the woods. They were hiding behind trees. They had the place surrounded.
01:04:39
It was a highlight of my career to make the phone call to Arlene and Casey Slinski that morning to tell them that
01:04:47
we just took Rick in [music] custody for Lor's murder. >> Was this kind of a bittersweet moment
01:04:54
for you? >> Most definitely. Yes. I guess psychologically I never accepted the fact that she really was gone and I
01:05:03
cried big time. Yeah. Later that month, Andis appeared before an Alabama judge with Lorie's parents
01:05:13
facing him. >> I guess he kind of seemed surprised that we were there. >> What did you want him to know?
01:05:21
>> We finally got you. You're not going to get away with this. >> News of Andis's arrest quickly spread.
01:05:28
>> I read it and I'm like thinking to myself, it's Rick. Terry Booth says he was friends with Rick [music] and
01:05:35
suddenly remembered a conversation he had with him years earlier at a bar when he asked him why he left Alabama.
01:05:44
>> What did he say? >> He just mainly said I had to get rid of a and I'm thinking this guy's just
01:05:51
messing around with me. >> But that changed when he learned of Rick's arrest. >> And it was real. He wasn't joking. I
01:05:58
couldn't sleep the whole night. He called Whitaker's task force >> and it was just unbelievable what Andis
01:06:05
had told him. >> But the most explosive news of all came later and incredibly while Whitaker was
01:06:12
with Andis at another court hearing. >> An investigator from Auburn PD comes up to me and tells me, "You're not going to
01:06:17
believe this. That hand ruled cigarette butt next to the car has his DNA on it. I wanted to do a somersault courtroom,
01:06:25
but I couldn't." Everyone now was prepared to [music] go to trial, but the courts quickly ground
01:06:31
to a halt because of the pandemic and Arlene Slazinski suffered more losses. First her son to cancer and then her
01:06:41
husband Casey to co >> got to call him. I think he better come. When I got there he was gone. [gasps]
01:06:52
>> You lose your daughter. You lose your son and then you lose your husband. How
01:06:58
do you go on with all this? >> I guess my faith, my friends, family, >> and I just did not want to die not
01:07:07
knowing what happened to my daughter or seeing justice being done. >> But Rick [music] Enis was determined to
01:07:15
prove police had it all wrong. And he wasn't the only one fighting to prove his innocence. They have the wrong
01:07:23
person. There's There's no way. >> His fiance, Elena Atkinson. >> Do you believe Rick had anything to do
01:07:31
with Lor's disappearance with her death? >> No, I do not. You, not only do I believe
01:07:37
Rick is innocent, I believe that he would have given his life for Lori if he had been there. That's the kind of
01:07:44
person he is. And she believes that despite the fact that she knows Rick murdered his mother and stepfather when
01:07:53
he was 12. People would wonder, "Why is it hard for you to believe that he could
01:07:57
kill again?" >> She says Rick told her something about what happened with his mother, something
01:08:03
that convinced her he had nothing to do with what happened to Lorie. Rick Enis is one of the most
01:08:28
compassionate, [music] generous, kind people that I've ever known. >> Elena Atkinson has been in love with
01:08:36
Rick Enis for four years. >> I love his intelligence. I always joke with him and tell him I fell in love
01:08:44
with his brain first. [snorts] >> But just two months into their romance, Elena, an amateur genealogologist, was
01:08:52
researching Rick's ancestry when she stumbled upon news that he had killed his mother and stepfather.
01:08:59
>> My first thought was, what in the world happened in his home life that pushed
01:09:06
him to that point? Rick would tell her something she didn't see in any article. >> Rick, it's Peter Vans with 48 hours.
01:09:16
>> Reached by phone, Rick told us what he insists happened. >> I was molested by my mother.
01:09:24
>> Rick says his mother sexually abused him and he snapped. >> I exploded and the result was that I I
01:09:33
took my mother's life and then I took my stuff out. But remember, back then he told authorities he killed his parents
01:09:40
because he didn't want to move. >> I was deeply ashamed about my mother molesting me and I had a really hard
01:09:49
time talking about it. >> Still, we could find no evidence to corroborate Rick's abuse allegation.
01:09:56
>> You know, I Rick, I have to tell you, obviously I I have no idea what happened. Uh, a skeptic would say you've
01:10:04
conveniently accused the mother that you murdered of molesting you and she can't
01:10:09
defend herself. You understand how that's difficult for some to believe? >> Well, I mean, it it's something that I
01:10:16
worked through with a a psychiatrist. What I did when I was 12 is the greatest regret of my life.
01:10:25
>> Rick insists he's no longer that angry 12year-old. Now 41, Rick Andis would stand trial for yet another murder.
01:10:34
>> I never murdered Lorie Swinski. She was a very close, dear [clears throat] friend of mine. I never would have hurt
01:10:41
her. >> Prosecutor Jessica Ventiieri is sure that is a lie. But at trial, she wouldn't be allowed to tell the jury
01:10:50
anything about Rick's past. This is by far the most complicated case of my career.
01:10:59
>> He becomes a sales. >> Ventiary's first hurdle was convincing the jury that Lorie was in fact dead.
01:11:07
She called Lorie's mother, Arlene, to the stand. >> Did she make contact with you after her
01:11:12
brother died? >> No. >> Have you ever received a birthday card? >> No. >> A Mother's Day card?
01:11:20
Have you ever heard from your daughter [snorts] in any way since that Thursday before she
01:11:27
disappeared? [music] >> No, ma'am. >> Lindsay Braun was next, seemingly setting up a motive, telling the jury
01:11:35
that Lorie rejected Rick. >> She told me about a letter that he had written her.
01:11:42
>> Was it a love letter? >> Yes. She told me that she wasn't interested him in him that way.
01:11:47
and Terry Booth would take the stand to recount that troubling remark he said Rick made.
01:11:53
>> Yeah, just triangle that she was a white piece of trailer park trash. >> The district attorney built her case
01:12:02
with testimony about the scuff marks on the wall and the blood in Lor's trailer,
01:12:07
Rick's seaman on her bed, and the cigarette butt with Rick's DNA found near Lorie's scorched car.
01:12:16
But they've got problems with this evidence. >> But defense attorney William Watley
01:12:20
claimed that handrolled cigarette was planted, arguing police could have taken it from Rick's home.
01:12:28
>> That cigarette butt didn't come from Bernie. >> The defense suggested Lorie was
01:12:32
responsible for her own disappearance. They portrayed her as a drug dealer. >> You knew that Lori had grown marijuana?
01:12:41
>> Yes. Lindsay insisted, however, that it was only for Lor's personal use >> for herself for so she shouldn't have to
01:12:49
purchase any. >> But to drive home their points, Watley called Rick Andis himself to the stand.
01:12:56
>> Spent a lot of time with her. >> Rick insisted he had no reason to hurt Lori.
01:13:02
>> Did you write a letter to Lori? >> Um, yes sir, I did. I I asked her if she wanted to date. It would have been
01:13:11
a month or two before she went missing. I'm not certain. >> But even though she turned him down,
01:13:19
[music] Rick says they were still intimate. >> Now, did you ever have sex with Lori?
01:13:26
>> Um, yes, sir. >> So, what about what he [music] said to Terry Booth? Andis says it never
01:13:33
happened. >> Did you ever go out drinking with Terry Booth? >> Yes, sir. >> Did you tell Terry Booth that you
01:13:38
strangled someone? Yes, sir. Rick, >> I want to show you some photographs here. >> And those rugs given to police by his
01:13:46
former roommate. >> Rick claims they were not from Lor's trailer. >> Where did you get these rugs?
01:13:54
>> Target. >> Did you get any of those from Laura? >> Yes, sir. >> Rick says Lori was fine when he left her
01:14:02
that Saturday. He says he headed off to sell some weed and he claims she was off
01:14:08
to do the same. >> The last time you saw Lori, did you have any kind of an argument with her?
01:14:13
>> No, sir. >> Did you break into Lor's trailer that Saturday? >> I did not. >> Did you kidnap Lori?
01:14:21
>> No, sir. >> Did you kill Lori? >> I I did not. >> Did you burn Lor's car? >> No, sir. So, what about the knife,
01:14:30
handcuffs, and cleaning items in his car? Rick says it had nothing to do with Lori. He was moving things from his
01:14:37
apartment. And those scratches on him back in 2006, police say he had no [music] explanation. But at the trial,
01:14:47
he had an answer. >> I I got them from playing with my dog. >> Ventiary barely [music] made it to the
01:14:53
podium to start her cross-examination. >> Is there anything black and blame on the
01:14:58
ball. >> Ventiary questioned Rick about that blood on Lor's door. >> Blood in Lor's trailer has your DNA in
01:15:06
it. How did that get there? >> I have no idea. >> And the question Vintier really wanted
01:15:13
an answer for, she never got. >> Where did you drop Lor's body? >> I didn't tell Lor's body anywhere.
01:15:21
>> Who did? >> I have no idea. Both sides had their final chance to persuade the jury. Defense attorney
01:15:30
Watley told the jurors there wasn't any evidence that a crime had even been committed.
01:15:37
>> There's no evidence that Laura's kidnapped. There's no evidence that she was forcefully taken against her will.
01:15:44
>> Ventiary attacked Rick's defense. >> They just sit there and say, "Do their client
01:15:52
about anything. It is. >> Ventiary insisted that the volume of evidence against Rick Annis was
01:16:09
overwhelming, even if police still couldn't find Lor's remains. And she reminded the jury that Lori
01:16:19
would never just take off. She would never ever ever lay peanut on. Never. >> After 7 days of testimony, it was now up
01:16:35
to the jury to decide. >> I'm terrified. I only get one shot at this, but you just never know what a
01:16:42
juryy's going to do. >> Do you believe Rick Enis is a changed man? See more of the investigation into
01:16:51
Lor's disappearance at 48 hours.com. >> All right, then. Ladies and gentlemen, During this case, you hand to the B,
01:17:10
please, ma'am. >> When the jury came back into the courtroom, did you look at their faces?
01:17:16
>> Yes, I did. It was very hard to read their faces. I still wasn't sure what the verdict was
01:17:23
going to be. >> The police stand. >> Nearly 16 years after Lorie Sllinski vanished, the jury reached a verdict
01:17:30
during their second day of deliberations. >> We, the jury, find defendant Daryl Richard Inennis guilty of the offense of
01:17:41
capital murder. >> Guilty of the murder of Lorie Sllinski. Give me a sense of what that meant to
01:17:49
you. >> Sheer relief, joy that he was finally convicted and would never get to do this
01:17:57
to anyone else again. >> I'm thrilled that we were able to bring justice for Lorie after such a long
01:18:05
time. >> Immediately following the jury's verdict, DA Venti went to Arlene with a
01:18:11
proposal. Rick was now facing a possible death sentence, but that would trigger years of appeals and legal wrangling. To
01:18:19
spare Arlene all that, Ventiary suggested offering Rick life without parole. Arlene agreed.
01:18:27
>> It says the court that you be imprisoned in the penitentiary of the state of Alabama for a term of life without the
01:18:32
possibility of parole. >> Elena Atkinson was stunned. just complete shock, disbelief.
01:18:45
I was devastated. >> She was so certain Rick would be exonerated, she'd made plans to
01:18:51
celebrate. A celebration Rick told us that he would be part of. >> I thought that we were going to go and
01:18:58
have a nice dinner and that I was going to get to start my life over. Arlene headed home to savor the
01:19:16
bittersweet victory. >> After this verdict, did you have a conversation with Lori?
01:19:22
>> I did. I just said, "Lori, justice has finally come. We've waited for this for a long
01:19:29
time and I hope you're all celebrating in heaven with the entire family and I wish you were all here to see this
01:19:37
day. >> This tragic murder, the ripple effects across your family is just incredible.
01:19:51
>> It has left a very large void in my life. I was getting ready to retire. I mean, I could have been enjoying my
01:19:59
grandchildren possibly. Um, just spending time with my daughter who I loved. This is Lori at her trailer and Peanut
01:20:11
who she absolutely adored and vice versa. We brought Peanut home with us and he stayed with us till he was, I guess,
01:20:22
about [music] 16 years old and he died. Every time we mentioned Lor's name, he it would I don't care where he was in
01:20:29
the house, it was like he just heard her name and he'd run in there like, "Where
01:20:33
is she?" It just [music] totally amazed me. That he he never forgot her. Never. Did you ever think that 6 years ago we
01:20:46
would be here today? With her husband and both her children gone, this tragic story has brought new friendships into
01:20:55
Arlene's life. >> Mark Whitaker is my hero. Him and his wife are like family to me now. This was
01:21:02
on her graduation day. Casey, her and me. >> That's a great photo. >> And this was her a month before she
01:21:09
disappeared at her cousin Jennifer's wedding with her cousin Thomas. >> Wow. Not a care in the world.
01:21:16
>> Nope. She's one of the bravest women that I've I've ever met. >> You showing all these to me just makes
01:21:21
everything more real for me. >> Beautiful girl. Thanks for sharing those with me.
01:21:28
>> You're welcome. >> I could tell she seems to be happier now. >> I can't thank you enough for it. It was
01:21:34
just wonderful. I love you, too. You're >> one tough lady. Well, A wife and mother was said to have gone
01:21:55
for a bike ride and never returned. >> The initial thought is kidnapped. >> She had used a spy pen to make secret
01:22:02
recordings. >> It's like James Bond. >> Would they help solve the case? >> Nothing is what it seems.
01:22:08
>> 48 hours Saturday on CBS. My name is Reggie Reed. Salonia Reed is my mother and Reginal
01:22:34
Reed Senior is my [music] father. My mother, she was the love of my life, my first love. and I was her everything.
01:22:44
It was very rare I wasn't [music] by her side. >> Take me back and tell me what you
01:22:52
remember about that day. >> That day we went to the mall. That's one of the things to do in Hammond. Just go
01:23:00
to the mall. Even though if you're not buying anything, window shop, if you will. went to the mall, came home,
01:23:08
and my mom went out and she never came home. >> My beeper went off and it was Reginal.
01:23:18
And he asked me, "Had I seen Salonia?" And I said, "No, not since yesterday." >> I was a patrol officer for the Ham
01:23:27
Police Department. I was dispatched to a missing [music] person's call on Apple Street in Hammond, Louisiana. The
01:23:35
complainant, Reginal Reed, explained to me that his wife had left home the night
01:23:41
before and had not returned and he was concerned and wanted to file a missing person's report. I had received a
01:23:49
description of the car from Reginald that I started to drive up Range Road and I noticed the car.
01:24:00
Walked up to the car and noticed Salonia's body inside the car. It was very, very, very obvious that she was
01:24:11
deceased. >> Salonia was 26 years old at the time. When I watched the crime scene video and
01:24:19
saw Salon's body in that car, immediately I was sad. I was mad. It was pretty apparent to me right away that
01:24:26
whoever did this homicide hated this woman. >> So I called Regina back. I says, "Regina, have you heard anything?" He
01:24:37
told me, he said, "Yes." He said they found her in her car. And he said that she was dead.
01:24:46
And that was >> I was interviewed after she was murdered as a six-year-old. >> Okay. Can you tell me your name? What's
01:24:59
your name? >> When I watch that video over and over again. >> Okay. The day before Sunday, what would
01:25:07
you do? What I see is a a six-year-old boy [music] that that life has been ch changed.
01:25:20
He doesn't understand the magnitude of it yet. >> And you're asking me, you trying to find
01:25:34
out who killed my mother. Do you remember seeing her living? >> You did. >> Anytime a young woman Salon's age is
01:25:44
killed the way she's killed, I think most people right away would assume the husband did it, right? And that's the
01:25:49
easy way. That's the stereotypical way. But it's also not out of the realm of possibility that this was some killing
01:25:56
for another reason. >> From that day on, my life changed forever. It just begs a question why.
01:26:20
[music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> After my mother was murdered, things moved fast.
01:27:00
couldn't really understand like why would somebody kill her? Like what did she do?
01:27:05
>> It's been decades since Reggie Reed Jr. last saw his mother Salonia. >> I feel like I missed out on a huge part
01:27:13
of life that I'll never get back. >> Reggie was only 6 years old on August 22nd, [music] 1987.
01:27:22
One of the last things he remembers is his mother buying him a chocolate chip cookie here at the Hammond Square Mall
01:27:28
in Louisiana. He told police his mother kissed him when she left the house later that
01:27:33
night. But the rest, he says, is a blur. When you [music] think about that, what
01:27:41
does that feel like? >> When I think about how my mother's life was shortened and how my experience was
01:27:48
shortened, I feel empty. Somebody says to you, "Who is Salonia?" What do you say?
01:27:56
>> Someone asked me, "Who is Salonia?" I would say, "You looking at her. Because based on
01:28:14
the description, the memories and what things people have shared. When I look in the mirror, I see my
01:28:24
mother. >> Reggie's memories are at the heart of the memoir he's written about his
01:28:29
mother's murder. The day my mother never Came home. >> Within these pages, you will find the
01:28:35
memories of a six-year-old boy whose mother was murdered. [music] a 15-year-old young man searching for his
01:28:42
place in the world without the guidance and encouragement of his mother. The night my mother went out and never came
01:28:49
home, life for me and my father basically flipped upside down. Charles Muse, now retired, was the
01:29:03
police officer who found Salonia's body after taking the initial missing person's [music] report from her
01:29:09
husband, Reginald Reed. Salonia's body was in between the bucket seats of the car with her torso over
01:29:20
into the back seat of the car. She had 16 pinpoint like stab wounds in her upper torso, shoulder, and neck. Her
01:29:31
blouse had been torn off. Her pants had been removed from her. >> She had been sexually assaulted as well.
01:29:37
>> Louisiana State Police Lieutenant Barry Ward would eventually be assigned to the
01:29:42
case years later. He was only 16 years old when Salonia was murdered. >> In 1987, I was a sophomore in Marshall
01:29:49
County High School in Western Kentucky. When he eventually did pick up the case file, he took note of the lack of blood
01:29:56
in the car. >> It would suggest that she was murdered in another location and then transported
01:30:02
to where her body was later discovered at the John's Curb Market. >> That market was about 1 and 1/2 miles
01:30:09
from the Reed House on Apple Street. At the scene, officer Muse noticed something else about Salonia's naked
01:30:16
body. I did see a substance uh that had been placed on the body. It was a white liquid type substance on
01:30:28
her torso and stomach area. >> Police believe the white lotion may have spelled out a word, but if there was a
01:30:36
message, it had become illeible in the Louisiana heat. >> The windows were rolled up. It was
01:30:42
August at the time. It was very hot out. Detectives bagged any potential evidence, including the butt of a
01:30:49
cigarette. A Winston cigarette. >> Police canvased the area, but Ward says they didn't find any eyewitnesses or a
01:31:01
murder weapon. >> The following day, on Monday the 24th, a neighbor went to his mailbox and
01:31:08
discovered a crucifix and a screwdriver. Given the [music] nature of Salonia's injuries, police at first believed the
01:31:16
screwdriver might be the murder weapon, [music] even though it had no visible blood on it.
01:31:23
It was early in the investigation, and detectives looked at all the angles, including Salonia's job at Citizens
01:31:31
National Bank. >> She was a teller in the commercial section. She was described as being
01:31:37
polite, kind, had a nice smile. Here she is taking part in a community fashion show just one week before her
01:31:46
murder. >> Salonia and Reginald, who was a Marine and later a car salesman, met during
01:31:57
their high school years. Salonia was known for being devoted to little Reggie, as everyone called him. But the
01:32:04
night she disappeared, she left the six-year-old at home with his father. According to what Reginald told police,
01:32:10
>> he and his son, uh, Reginald Jr. were going to stay and play video games while
01:32:14
she went out to a local bar with her girlfriend. >> Officer Muse interviewed that friend who
01:32:20
denied she and Selonia had plans that night. Regginald told police he suspected Salonia had a boyfriend and admitted he
01:32:30
and his wife had personal differences, [music] but Ward says the police found no evidence of an affair. Based on the
01:32:37
research that I had conducted, her co-workers, the people that knew her [music] said that she just went to work
01:32:43
and came home, that she was always seen with her little boy. >> The day after her body was found,
01:32:50
investigators searched the family home on Apple Street. >> The chief of police said that when he
01:32:55
went in, it smelled like bleach in the house. >> [music] >> Detectives looked for evidence that
01:32:59
Salonia may have been killed there, but all they found was [music] a freshly vacuumed carpet and the gold clasp of a
01:33:06
necklace. Reginald gave investigators permission to interview little Reggie, the only
01:33:13
other person in the home the night of the murder. In this police video, a detective questions Reggie as his father
01:33:20
fidgets with a bean bag intended for his son. >> Tell me what you remember about that
01:33:25
knife. >> Reggie Jr. became his father's alibi. The boy said he and his father played
01:33:30
video games and then slept together in the same sofa bed on that August night. >> Did anybody come over?
01:33:38
>> Did anybody leave? >> Everybody stay home that night. >> When little Reggie agrees that everybody
01:33:48
stayed home, his father looks at him. Everybody, everybody stay home that night.
01:33:59
>> Don't be afraid. Just, you know, when she don't be, don't don't be afraid. >> Just we just talking.
01:34:10
>> She She ask you just a few more questions. >> You What's the matter, baby? >> He said he want to talk no more.
01:34:16
>> Oh, you don't want to talk no more? >> Just the emotional Yeah. >> part of it. Okay, that's all right.
01:34:21
Look, didn't I tell you before that I'm I'm your friend? [crying] >> Oh, he's here, baby.
01:34:30
>> Okay, darling. I won't talk no more. You don't have to. >> I just can't imagine what it's like as a
01:34:36
six-year-old to have to sit there and looking at that, it's still hard to believe that that's me.
01:34:47
Watching that video just brings back so so many questions and and pain because I see me crying.
01:34:59
In the aftermath of Salonia's murder, her family came forward with more information. Some of it directed at one
01:35:06
of Regginal's friends, Jimmy Ray Barnes. Turns out Barnes smoked Winston cigarettes, the same brand found in
01:35:14
Salonia's car. And Salonia's sister, Gwen Smith, said that Salonia did not like Jimmy Ray. [music]
01:35:21
>> Apparently, she knew Jimmy Ray's voice because she started screaming, "Come inside. I don't trust him." So, she was
01:35:28
scared of him. In the days after Salonia's murder, there was one name police [music] kept
01:35:50
hearing. Jimmy Ray Barnes, a friend of Regginal Senior. >> Jimmy Ray Barnes was an acquaintance of
01:35:56
Regginal Reed. He hung out with him. He worked with him. >> Lieutenant Ward learned about a
01:36:02
disturbing incident at a local [music] beach where Salonia was swimming with little Reggie just days before the
01:36:07
murder. >> They were on inner tubes. Jimmy flipped [snorts] Salonia over. She didn't feel that it was a playful thing.
01:36:15
She felt that it was uh deliberate and intentional. Uh she was not a good swimmer [music] and uh she said she
01:36:22
struggled to make it to the bank. >> The next night, her sister Gwen said Salonia became frightened when a
01:36:29
relative who was visiting Salonia spotted Jimmy Ray Barnes near her home. >> And she said Salon went into hysterics
01:36:38
like, "No, no, don't go out there. Don't go out there." And within a few moments,
01:36:43
Jimmy Ray Barnes walked around the corner of the house. Jimmy told her that he was checking on Stonia
01:36:50
and she ran him off. Ward would learn that Jimmy Ray along with Reginald came under even more
01:36:57
scrutiny 2 days after the murder. A witness came forward to say she had seen two men around John's Curb Market on the
01:37:05
night Selonia was murdered. >> She became suspicious and later wrote down on a piece of scrap paper the
01:37:10
license plate. As it turns out, that was the vehicle that Reginal Reed was known
01:37:15
to um operate in. That was his car. >> Some two weeks later, police assembled this photo array and showed it to the
01:37:24
witness. >> The witness identified the driver as Reginal Reed and the passenger as Jimmy
01:37:30
Ray Barnes. >> Jimmy Ray was given a polygraph test and police at the time said he passed. But
01:37:37
it wasn't long before Jimmy Ray left Hammond. Reginald denied having anything to do
01:37:43
with Salonia's murder, but neighbors told police the marriage was trouble. Family members say Salonia had accused
01:37:50
her husband of physical abuse, and there was talk of divorce. The police continued investigating, but
01:37:58
prosecutors never brought the case to a grand jury. >> There's a lot of circumstantial evidence
01:38:03
in 1987 that pointed to Reginal [music] Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes. Um, as far as
01:38:08
a a smoking gun, it it it was not there [music] at that time. >> I started feeling like nothing was going
01:38:15
to be done about her murder and we would not get justice. >> Time passed and Reginal [music]
01:38:24
continued to live in Hammond. He even ran for mayor in 1998. >> Ariel Reggie Reed, number eight. You can
01:38:32
count on me. Thank you. He lost that race, but he and little Reggie stayed in the family home, [music] which today has
01:38:40
fallen into disrepair. >> So, this is it. >> What's it like for you to just come back
01:38:46
here? I know you don't like to, but what does it feel like? >> I feel numb. Yeah, I feel numb. This is
01:38:53
where it all started. You know, this is the halls I used to run. This is the TV room. This was the TV room. When you
01:39:03
were playing Nintendo with your father the night that your mother was murdered, was that here?
01:39:09
>> That was in Israel. >> Reggie went on to attend college and later got an MBA. He moved out of
01:39:17
Hammond and began working for a pharmaceutical company. There were no new developments on his mother's murder
01:39:24
until 2011 when Lieutenant Barry Ward of the Louisiana State Police [music] got involved. After I started interacting
01:39:31
with Selonia's family, her sisters, I realized how important it was. >> Before Barry Ward came into the picture,
01:39:39
I just felt like nobody cared about Salonia's case. >> This was just the last opportunity I
01:39:46
felt before more witnesses passed away that we would have a chance to find justice for this terrible crime that
01:39:52
happened to Sloania. As far as Ward could determine, the crucifix and screwdriver found within
01:39:59
days of the murder led nowhere. But the detective was drawn to several life insurance policies Regginal had taken
01:40:06
out on Salonia that paid out more than $700,000. Some of those policies were taken out
01:40:14
the same month that Salonia was murdered. Ward wanted to reinter Reggie Jr. in 2012. Reggie [music] was 31 years old
01:40:24
and living in Texas. Ward sent a Texas Ranger to begin the questioning. >> He told me why he was here and it was to
01:40:33
discuss my mother's murder. >> And the ranger then told Reggie something he said he'd never heard
01:40:41
before. >> He was not aware that his father was a suspect in the murder of his mother.
01:40:47
>> I was like, where is this coming from? Like it's been over three decades. You
01:40:53
talking about my dad like killed my mom. I'm like seriously I remember asking is
01:40:58
there any new evidence that was surfaced and it was nothing new. >> It's true that the insurance [music]
01:41:06
policies had been discovered by the original detectives, but Lieutenant Ward had organized them in a way that he felt
01:41:12
was damning. The Texas Ranger asked Reggie about those policies. He showed me a graph, a timeline that showed these
01:41:20
insurance policies that [music] were taken out close to her death. >> Did you all of a sudden [music] say, "I
01:41:27
need to get to the bottom of this." Or what? >> It was eye opening cuz I'm like, "Well,
01:41:33
that doesn't look good. I got to learn what like what's all this?" >> Reggie struggled to make sense of it
01:41:41
all. I did talk to my dad about it over the phone and his response was he he took our policies on everyone.
01:41:51
>> Reggie said he finds it hard to square what the investigation revealed with the
01:41:55
loving father who raised him. >> I look back I'm like, man, he really he really did do some great stuff for me.
01:42:04
He was a great provider. Ward [music] took a deep dive into the case file and focused on that Winston
01:42:11
cigarette butt found in Salonia's car. He sent it out for DNA testing, something that was not widely available
01:42:18
in 1987. There was a match [music] in the National Crime DNA database, Cotus, but
01:42:25
not to Jimmy Ray. >> It came back to a man by the name of Billy Ray Barnes. Billy Ray was Jimmy
01:42:34
Ray's identical twin brother. And the DNA supervisor had another surprise. He let me know that identical twins share
01:42:42
identical DNA. >> Lieutenant Ward decided he had to interview Jimmy Ray. And it turned out
01:42:49
that Jimmy Ray had been holding on to some key information all these years. Jimmy Ray Barnes did tell me that
01:42:58
Reginal Reed offered him $50,000 [music] to quote unquote knock off his wife. In July 2012, Lieutenant Barry Ward went
01:43:22
on the hunt for Jimmy Ray Barnes, who had become a prime suspect in the Salonia Reed murder case after his DNA
01:43:29
was linked to the crime scene. Ward found Barnes in the Atlanta area, where he said Barnes told him he'd fled
01:43:37
Hammond because he was afraid of Reginal Reed. Barnes said back then he'd been shot at three times and hit once in the
01:43:45
neck. Barnes suspected the shooter was Reginal, but had no proof. >> Jimmy said he was known to carry a gun,
01:43:53
but you fast forward 25 now 30 years, Reginald Reed was now an old man. >> We on
01:44:01
>> Barnes was ready to talk about Reed without a lawyer. >> I ain't got nothing to
01:44:06
>> Barnes told Ward that a few days before Selonia was killed, Reed asked him if he
01:44:12
would quote, "Knock off his wife. Reginald asked you if you would quote by your term knock off his wife and that
01:44:20
that mean you took that to mean to kill her to murder her. >> What was your response to that?
01:44:25
>> Hell no. >> Did he discuss any money with you? >> Yeah, he had he discussed money.
01:44:31
>> Ward pressed Barnes to tell him how much money. >> More than 5,000? >> Yeah. >> More than 10,000?
01:44:37
>> Yeah. >> More than 50,000. >> 50,000. >> He offered you $50,000. Is is that is
01:44:43
that a guess or is that the amount he offered? That >> was the amount he offered.
01:44:46
>> But Barnes told Ward that he would not repeat the story in court. >> I don't trust the law no more.
01:44:53
>> Ward [music] confronted Barnes about that polygraph test from the original case file. Barnes allegedly had passed
01:45:00
that polygraph, but Ward [music] suspected Jimmy Ray secretly had asked his identical twin, Billy Ray, to take
01:45:07
that test. I talked to Billy and he said he took that polygraph test and if Billy looked like you and was
01:45:17
questioned over a murder that you took part in and he doesn't know anything about it, he's probably going to pass
01:45:22
that polygraph test. Would that be fair to say? >> I don't know. I'm not going to answer
01:45:27
that cuz I know I'm the one who took the polygraph test. >> Ward believed he had a solid case to
01:45:34
finally bring charges. He had Jimmy Ray's DNA connected to the crime scene and his videotape statement about Reggie
01:45:42
offering him $50,000 to kill Salonia, but Ward said prosecutors always wanted more.
01:45:50
>> I would get phone calls through the years from prosecutors who had asked me to rein family members, find out
01:45:56
additional information, test more evidence. [music] It was busy work. Then in 2018, a newly hired prosecutor,
01:46:07
Taylor Anthony, got assigned the case. Why reopen a 35year-old case? What was the trigger?
01:46:14
>> Well, why reopen it? It's an interesting question. This was a case to me right
01:46:18
away when I looked at it that there was a story to be told. >> Anthony was impressed by all the
01:46:24
investigative work done by Lieutenant Ward. So, he reached out. But Ward told Anthony he was too busy and that he felt
01:46:32
he'd been let down by other prosecutors. >> My initial response was to just get this
01:46:37
guy off the phone. >> He said, "Look, I've already poured hundreds of man hours into that case and
01:46:41
y'all didn't do anything." And he said, "You're wasting your time, kid. Have a nice life," basically.
01:46:47
>> But Anthony was undeterred and promised War that this time things would be different. I
01:46:53
>> think he saw what I saw. I think that made all the difference in the world. Like Ward, Anthony was sure Jimmy Ray
01:47:01
Barnes knew a lot more. So he and Ward took a road trip to Atlanta. >> We're able to locate Jimmy. He was
01:47:08
staying in a camper at his employer's place. We pulled up early in the morning when the sun was coming up and he was
01:47:15
coming out of this camper putting a belt in his pants and he said, "Uh, hey, who
01:47:20
y'all looking for?" I said, "You, Jimmy." And he goes, "Oh, you again." But this time, the new prosecutor had
01:47:26
with him an agreement approved by a judge giving Barnes complete immunity if he testified to everything he knew about
01:47:35
Salonia's murder. So to the lay person, you offered him a deal. >> So I offered him what I would say would
01:47:41
be the golden ticket. >> But Barnes rejected the offer. >> He did not trust me. He did not believe
01:47:46
me. He did not want to talk to us. Ward and Anthony were about to drive back to Louisiana when Barnes said
01:47:53
something that took them by surprise. >> As Barry and I were getting back in the
01:47:57
car, Jim Ray Barnes came over to us and he said, "I want you boys to know that I'm the key to it all." And he said, "If
01:48:04
you think you can indict me for murder, then do it." >> Anthony was quick to take him up on that
01:48:10
challenge. A couple of weeks later, grand jury in Tansville Parish returned seconddegree murder indictments for both
01:48:16
Reginald Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes. Immediately, we went to Regginald's home. I knocked on the door, identified
01:48:25
who I was, and that I had an arrest warrant for him for the murder of his wife. He really had no emotion.
01:48:34
The date was June 21st, 2019, more than 30 years after Salonia's murder. >> When Reginal was arrested,
01:48:46
it was like it's like a burden just my chest like a burden was lifted off. I got a call that my father was indicted
01:48:58
for seconddegree murder and conspiracy along with a codefendant for my mother's murder.
01:49:08
>> Reggie [music] Jr. put up his father's $250,000 bail bond. >> My dad being my rock for so many years,
01:49:17
I felt the need to try to help him. Now that you are both adults, did you ever ask him those questions that you have
01:49:23
that you're questioning even now as we sit here? >> Yeah, I asked him. I asked him and he he
01:49:29
he maintains his innocence. >> Sitting in another Hammond jail cell was Jimmy Ray Barnes. He now had a lawyer
01:49:38
and asked to speak with Detective Barry Ward and Taylor Anthony. So Barry and I went and met with him again, and in
01:49:44
exchange for him telling us everything he knew, he was offered a deal to plead to accessory after the fact to murder
01:49:50
and was given a 5-year prison sentence. >> The homicide trial of Reginal Reed was
01:49:55
scheduled for November 2022, and Jimmy Ray had agreed to testify. Reggie Jr. hoped to hear never before revealed
01:50:03
details of what had happened to his mother. >> I want to know what happened. In November 2022, the murder trial of
01:50:25
Regginal Reed began in Ameat, Louisiana. Reed was represented by the mother and daughter defense team of Vanessa
01:50:35
Williams and Latoya William Simon. What makes you think that he did not murder Salonia?
01:50:42
>> Their entire case is circumstantial. >> William Simon says the state's case was
01:50:46
weak. There was no murder weapon. No fingerprints or DNA tying Reed to Salonia's homicide.
01:50:54
>> I was confused as to how they were really going to prove their case. There's no direct evidence.
01:51:00
>> But prosecutor Taylor Anthony believed his prosecution would deliver justice to
01:51:06
Salonia. The reason I became a prosecutor is to fight for people like this. I see a
01:51:11
woman whose body has been desecrated, violated, mutilated, and nobody spoke up for her and fought for her. And there's
01:51:17
a quote that I love, and it goes, "The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for
01:51:24
them. And that's my job." Anthony told jurors about the $700,000 from the insurance policies on Salonia's
01:51:33
life. So, what was your theory once you put all these pieces together? >> My theory was that Salon and Regginald
01:51:40
were in a marriage that was about to come to an end. There was a history of abuse and that Salonia was tired of it
01:51:48
and she was ready to leave Reginald. I think he was angry and he saw an opportunity for some money. I think
01:51:54
that's why he killed this woman. the case that they're presenting, which is [music] this man takes out all these
01:52:00
life insurance policies on a young, healthy 26-y old woman. What is his rationale for having done that?
01:52:06
>> But they're missing the biggest part of it. It wasn't just on her, was on himself. It was on the child. It was
01:52:13
family policies. So, it's not like he just went and took out policies on Salonia only. Prosecutor Anthony was
01:52:20
frank with jurors, telling them that the state would not produce a murder weapon
01:52:24
or the exact location where Salonia was stabbed. He focused on what the prosecution did have, including that
01:52:31
white lotion found on Salonia's body. >> Later, police were able to find a bottle
01:52:35
of lotion in the Reed household that matched that type of lotion that was on her body. The prosecutor also showed
01:52:42
jurors a photograph of some scratches on Reed's neck taken on the day Salonia's body was found.
01:52:48
>> They wanted to take photographs of his neck, and he was very hesitant. [music]
01:52:51
>> Anthony said Reed told police two different stories about how he got those scratches, but after forensic testing,
01:52:58
it was determined that none of Reed's DNA was found under Salonia's fingernails.
01:53:04
>> They believe that the killer is Mr. Reginal Reed. Anything that goes to contradict that, they're going to
01:53:10
completely block out. >> William Simon pointed to Jimmy Ray's long criminal record of arrests.
01:53:15
>> It couldn't be introduced at trial. And the reason why his criminal rap sheet
01:53:19
couldn't be introduced at trial is because these aren't convictions. >> But William Simon says Jimmy Ray's
01:53:24
arrests were for violent crimes. >> False imprisonment and aggravated assault, aggravated battery with a
01:53:30
dangerous weapon, murder. These are things that the jury had a right to know, but because of the law, they
01:53:35
didn't [music] find out. Jimmy Ray Barnes ultimately took the stand as part of his plea agreement.
01:53:43
>> Jimmy, will you please tell me >> there were no cameras in the courtroom. So, this recording is taken from
01:53:49
Barnes's police interview conducted by Ward before the trial. He told the same story when he testified.
01:53:57
On the night of the murder, Barnes said he promised to meet Reed in the parking area outside John's Curb Market where
01:54:04
Salonia's body had been found. >> Oh, when I got there, he was getting out of the blue car. The blue car was parked
01:54:10
there. >> Barn said Reginald asked for his help in moving Salonia's body. >> I said, "No, I wasn't I wasn't getting
01:54:17
involved in that and he wanted me to move the body and I didn't want to move and I didn't move the body." Barnes says
01:54:22
that Salonia was fully clothed when he saw her and sitting in the passenger seat.
01:54:27
>> I did see the body in there and uh I panic. >> My understanding after the fact is that
01:54:33
Jimmy Ray Barnes talked to Reggie and said, "Where's the money? You told me $50,000." He says he never got a penny
01:54:39
of it. Prosecutor Anthony contends that after the men drove away, Reed returned and
01:54:46
staged the crime scene, stripping off Selonia's clothes, covering her with that white lotion, and leaving other
01:54:53
evidence to make it appear as a sex crime. >> And what does your dad say to that?
01:54:59
>> He say it's completely BS. You say it's it's no way. We were at home playing Nintendo.
01:55:07
William Simon had her own theory of what happened that night. >> All of the information that we've
01:55:12
received about Jimmy Ray Barnes is that he was borderline obsessed with Salonia.
01:55:16
I believe that maybe he encountered her, tried to make a passer, that was rejected, and that's where you see that
01:55:22
anger, that rage, that hatred. Sitting through the trial, Reggie admitted that the relentless focus on
01:55:30
his mother's murder was upsetting, especially as he watched that crime scene video, which he had never seen
01:55:37
before. >> And it really struck a card by just seeing my mother there um lifeless
01:55:48
and just alone and dead. Regginal Reed never took the stand and after less than a week of
01:55:58
testimony, the case went to the jury. Reggie Jr. braced for the verdict. As a prosecutor, when the jury
01:56:22
deliberates, it's painstaking. You're just waiting and waiting and waiting. >> Some of Regginal Reed's brothers and
01:56:29
sisters were waiting as well. Kennedy Reed, Belinda Reed Cox, and Claude Reed. >> Claude, you don't believe your brother
01:56:37
murdered Salonia? >> No, I don't. I don't believe Reggie did that. >> My brother is not a murderer. He's not.
01:56:46
>> But on this day, November 18th, 2022, Reginald Reed was found guilty of seconddegree murder after the jury
01:56:55
deliberated for just over 3 hours. >> When he was found guilty, I feel like he died without dying.
01:57:04
And I saw myself at that same six-year-old crying out for my dad as I did in that
01:57:13
video. [crying] >> And I just wanted to end. >> Reggie tried to recapture the moment his
01:57:23
father was found guilty in his book. >> My father grabbed me up into a big hug. I wanted to stay there forever. He
01:57:31
pulled back for a moment, looked me in the eyes, and kissed me on the forehead. We embraced once more and then they took
01:57:39
him away from me. >> I wanted to tell him, "I'm sorry for the loss of your mother. I'm sorry for your
01:57:47
father going to prison." I can't even imagine the grieving process that he's got to gone through.
01:57:52
>> Reggie says sitting through the trial was excruciating, but when it was over,
01:57:58
he still wanted answers. >> That's where I passed from. Lieutenant Ward has told you that one of his
01:58:08
theories is that your mother may have been killed in this room. >> In this room.
01:58:13
>> I just go back thinking of the manner and the way which she was killed. If she was killed here,
01:58:22
how is that possible that they couldn't find anything? >> I mean, it's >> Where was I?
01:58:29
>> Did you leave the house after I fell asleep? questions Reggie cannot answer because
01:58:36
he simply cannot remember. On January 30th, 2023, everyone piled back into the same courtroom where
01:58:46
Reginal Reed was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He did not offer any kind of explanation
01:58:55
or statement and said nothing. You know, I want justice, but I didn't [music] think justice was going to come
01:59:02
at the price of my dad going to prison for life. >> So, my question is, [music] do you
01:59:11
believe that your father murdered your mother? >> I don't know. Another question. Do I think my dad had
01:59:22
some involvement? Maybe. I don't know though. I don't know. So that's where I'm just It's like a
01:59:31
tugof-war game. Just knowing the type of father he is. I can't just turn a page and just look at [music] my father as a
01:59:45
complete monster. >> Salonia's sister, Gwen Smith, always believe Reginal was Salonia's killer.
01:59:54
Although she and Reggie Jr. are estranged. [music] She still worries about him. >> I just kind of feel bad for him, you
02:00:01
know, because his mom was taken away from him when he was a little boy. >> What do you want people to know about
02:00:12
this case? If you could sum it [music] up for me. >> I know one thing. My brother did not
02:00:17
commit this murder. For Barry Ward, who worked on the Salonia Reed case for a decade, the
02:00:24
conviction was just, and he appreciates that Jimmy Ray Barnes agreed to testify.
02:00:29
>> Jimmy Ray Barnes was the key. >> Barnes served his sentence for being an accessory [music] after the fact to
02:00:35
murder. He was freed from prison and shortly after on January 27th, 2024, he was killed in a car accident.
02:00:45
He was in Hammond to attend the funeral of his identical twin. >> There are several cases throughout my
02:00:57
career that stick out to me and this is probably the the main one. >> Charles Muse, the Hammond police officer
02:01:07
who found Salonia's body, is pleased he got to see the outcome of the case. I mean, her death, you know, didn't just
02:01:15
go in vain. I find some peace in that. You say that you wish you would have gotten to know her better, but then you
02:01:27
realize too, you [music] must, that she's living through you, that she's here because you're here.
02:01:35
>> Absolutely. And I think about that she's in a place where she's consistently watching over me.
02:01:47
>> As for Reggie's father, he calls Reggie from a Louisiana state prison once or
02:01:52
twice a week. >> This call is not private. It will be recorded and may be monitored.
02:02:00
>> Hey Re. >> Hey. >> How you doing, man? >> Good. How are you? A 48 hours producer
02:02:05
was present during a recent call. >> Do you think you got a fair trial? >> No, of course not. Of course not. Was no
02:02:14
evidence. >> What you got to tell us about your son? >> Oh, remarkable. I thank the Lord for him
02:02:22
every day that he was able to understand some something that was going on, but that I would never leave him
02:02:32
>> these days. Reggie has his own family. His son, Lean, is nearly the age he was
02:02:38
when Selonia was killed. And they often play games just as Reggie did with his father.
02:02:46
And in January 2024, Reggie and his wife Paula were blessed with a baby girl. When our daughter was born, we both
02:02:57
agreed there's no other name that we should name her except Salonia. You know, give that name
02:03:06
an opportunity to live life and be recognized [music] in a positive way. >> Wow. It's beautiful.
02:03:28
Something happened at the house. >> We are very worried about your dad. >> A daughter's forbidden love.
02:03:34
>> There's blood everywhere. >> Turns deadly. >> We found several murder plans. >> Who's the mastermind of all of this?
02:03:41
>> Where were you? >> 48 hours is all new CBS next Saturday, 10:9 central and streaming on Paramount
02:03:47
Plus.