00:00:11
[music] I began writing as a process of healing. The writing [music] I found really
00:00:20
helped me deal with what had happened. [music] Since as far back as I can remember,
00:00:32
I've had the [music] same dream. I'm running. I was constantly running away from
00:00:37
someone. We lived on 13 acres, so I could never get someone to hear my screams or run fast enough. I would run
00:00:44
down the hill of the front to our house across the fields. There were many mornings that I would
00:00:50
wake up after a night of running all night in my dreams, but then run [music] down the stairs to play with my younger
00:00:54
sister. We had a great time growing up together. We had that special bond that you hear people talk about. We were so
00:01:02
close. >> I didn't get to hear the answering machine until I got home [music] that
00:01:15
night. I remember there being an oddly high number of calls, but three of the messages were from my dad.
00:01:24
>> [music] >> The room was dark and she woke up. She was lying on her side and I put my head
00:01:32
to her face and just held her. It was there that she told me the worst story that I had heard in my life.
00:01:40
[music] In late August 1997, [music] I was a student at the University of Kentucky.
00:01:53
[music] It was about the second night of classes. It was a Thursday night and I went to a party with my boyfriend Chris
00:02:02
Meyer, not far from campus. It was a little bit boring. So, we packed up Chris's backpack with some beers and we
00:02:11
were going to head down to the tracks. We sat there and talked for a while. I'm not sure how long, but we got up to
00:02:35
leave um and go back to the party and we started walking along the tracks. And when we got to an electrical box beside
00:02:43
the tracks, a man came out from behind it. [music] He asked us for money. We of course said, "We don't have any money.
00:02:52
We're poor college kids." And I don't know if it was an ice pick, if it was a screwdriver, but he had it
00:03:03
on Chris really the whole time. He asked Chris to get down on his hands and knees. Uh he [music] went through
00:03:11
his backpack and didn't find anything that he wanted. Uh and I didn't realize realize it, but he was tying up Chris's
00:03:18
hands with the backpack behind his back. and he took off my belt and tied up my hands behind my back with my [music]
00:03:28
belt. And he actually pulled Chris from the tracks on the gravel into the [music] grass beside the tracks.
00:03:39
In my head, I was panicking and I was [music] like saying my last prayer and thinking I'm going to die.
00:03:48
Maybe this [music] is what I have been running from in all those dreams as a child. this horrific story that happened
00:03:54
to my sister. It was very dark and you couldn't see very well. So, it was very startling to see someone
00:04:36
come out that was crouched behind an electrical box. Chris and I were looking [music] at each
00:04:46
other, I think, in disbelief that this was actually going on. Like we we were looking at each other very [music]
00:04:51
confused, like what in the heck is happening? You know, I remember saying, "Why are
00:04:58
you doing this? What do you want? Do you want uh credit cards, ATM cards? You can
00:05:02
have our car. It's just parked down the street." You know, we were just trying to figure out what he wanted.
00:05:10
>> [music] >> And at this point, um, the our attacker [music] ripped a shirt and he gagged us.
00:05:21
I actually stuck my tongue out so that the gag wouldn't work. It just fell off. We had [music] split seconds in where
00:05:33
our attacker would go back up to the tracks and we were down in the grass and so we could talk to each other [music]
00:05:38
and um Chris and I started strategizing, you know, saying, "Okay, should I run? Can I can you get untied?" [music]
00:05:47
Um I got my hands untied. I couldn't get my feet untied. I ripped Chris's gag off
00:05:52
of his mouth. [music] Um, and so we were talking to each other, trying to figure
00:05:56
out how we were going to get away because Chris kept saying, you know, if you can get yourself untied, get away.
00:06:02
[music] Run away. And cuz he couldn't get his arms were all tied up in his backpack and he couldn't get untied.
00:06:09
[music] And I really don't know how much time passed before our attacker came down [music] carrying
00:06:18
a rock. Um, and he came over and literally just dropped it on Chris's head. [music]
00:06:29
I think at that point I went into survival mode. I um, you know, see him drop this rock on Chris's head and he
00:06:38
climbed on top of me. I realized at that point that he was going to rape me. I fought him. I tried to hit him. I tried
00:06:44
to kick him. I tried to scream. Um, that's when he took that weapon that he had and he held it to my neck and he
00:06:51
said, "Look how easily I could kill you." And that's when he stabbed me in my neck. So, I just stopped. I I was
00:06:57
like, "Okay, well, you know what's going [music] to happen is going to happen. [music]
00:07:12
I was staring at every scar he had, every [music] tattoo he had. I was thinking,
00:07:20
"Let me remember everything about you that I can >> [music] >> um because we'll get you at some point."
00:07:28
And I tried to [music] um rip off my fingernails and dig in the dirt so that if I was taken away,
00:07:34
someone would know that I had been there. I started saying, you know, what do what
00:07:39
do you where have you been? What do you need? You know, how can I help you? Um, you know, I really have a family that
00:07:45
wants to see me again. I said, do you have friends? Do [music] you have a family?
00:07:53
I was begging him, please don't hurt me. You know, [music] I will let you go. I won't tell anybody what happened here.
00:08:00
Just don't hurt me. And that's when he started hitting me. I don't remember being hit. I I was hit
00:08:09
with some sort of wooden board. Um I think I put my hand up to block it, but I was hit five or [music] six times in
00:08:14
the front of my face and then I turned over and I was hit five or six times in the back of my head.
00:08:23
[music] I'm positive that he probably knocked me unconscious and my breathing was shallow enough that he thought he
00:08:29
had killed me. >> [music] >> I I don't know how long I laid there. Um, but at some point I got up and I
00:08:42
realized that he was gone. I knew that I was injured. I knew that I was hurt. I don't think I knew what my
00:08:50
injuries were. Um, you know, I kind I realized that my mouth wasn't shutting right and I I was covered in blood.
00:08:58
[music] I walked about 200 yards or so maybe on the rocks um along the tracks. [music]
00:09:11
It was probably 1 2 in the morning. It was between 1 and 2. I was sitting [music] on sitting in my chair studying
00:09:28
>> and out of the corner of my eye just glimpsed something [music] go across the
00:09:31
front yard. She was covered in blood from head to toe and [music] I could not figure out
00:09:37
where all the blood had come was coming from. her her face. It it looked like [music] a boxer whenever they get cut
00:09:44
during a boxing match. At that [music] point, I brought her in and set her down on the couch and she
00:09:50
collapsed on the couch. I I thought she was going to die that there was no doubt in my mind. And she
00:10:00
started [music] she I kept losing her a little bit here and there and I just kept talking to her because I definitely
00:10:05
didn't want her to pass out, you know. You know, I was just trying to keep keep [music] her awake until the the
00:10:11
paramedics got there. >> And I did [music] keep saying to him, "My friend's still out there." I the you
00:10:17
know, like be sure they know my friend's still [music] out there. My friend's still out there.
00:10:26
[singing] [music] >> [music] >> On August 29th, 1997, I received a call at home about 3:00 in the morning that
00:10:51
there had been an attack on two students on along the railroad tracks. Uh my lieutenant asked me to come out and said
00:10:56
it was a bad one. Another [music] detective and I were sent over to the University of Kentucky Hospital to uh
00:11:11
check in on the [music] victim. Uh on the way we learned her name was Holly Dunn.
00:11:20
>> Her face was disoriented. She had a broken eye socket, a broken jaw, lots of cuts [music] across her face. Um, and
00:11:26
then of course staples of where they could just to stop the bleeding, they couldn't even, [music] you know, cut her
00:11:31
hair. They just stapled on top of her hair. [music] And even in that state of her looking
00:11:43
the way that she did, I can just remember this [music] feeling of overwhelming gratitude and love that she
00:11:50
was alive. Just feeling so thankful that she was alive and that she [music] was there. It just I have felt so guilty to
00:11:58
not be there to know that your sister is begging for her life. She is begging someone for her life and you are you're
00:12:08
sleeping. [music] I remember they weren't talking about Chris and and eventually I asked my dad.
00:12:17
I just said, "Chris is [music] dead, isn't he?" And my dad was like, "Yes, he is."
00:12:24
It was very hard to accept the fact that [music] I lived through this and Chris didn't. Um, and you know, it was just I
00:12:32
just felt like it wasn't fair that it's not fair that that I'm still alive and that Chris isn't.
00:12:40
Chris was so friendly. [music] He was very uh laidback and down to earth. He loved the outdoors. [music] He uh didn't
00:12:48
have a care in the world. I couldn't attend the funeral. Um, I was really upset about that only because I I really
00:12:56
wanted [music] to attend. I had, you know, never really got the chance to say goodbye and I wanted to, you know, have
00:13:05
that chance to to have some peace. [music] Despite her uh state, she was ready and
00:13:17
willing to to try to communicate what had happened to her. I [music] was really trying to remember
00:13:24
every detail about my attacker. And I remember hearing his accent, thinking that is a Mexican accent.
00:13:31
>> Holly described the suspect as a male, possibly Hispanic, uh 5'6, 5'8 in height. Um kind of a a wavy [music]
00:13:40
black hair. Um wearing glasses. Uh she said that uh he wasn't muscular, but he seemed somewhat wiry.
00:13:52
>> They um repaired my jaw. Uh they actually kind of just re aligned it and wired my mouth shut. Um and really that
00:14:03
was the only thing that they could fix, the broken eye socket. There was nothing
00:14:06
they could do. As soon as I could get the surgery to get my jaw wired shut and my jaw fixed, my parents took me home.
00:14:14
I definitely think that there's parts of me that wanted to retreat away. Right. Right after this attack happened, I just
00:14:20
wanted to lay in bed and not get out of bed again. Um, but you know, there's always something that's pulled me out of
00:14:28
that. My sister was my rock throughout this entire process and she doesn't maybe didn't even realize how much she
00:14:36
was helping me by what she was doing. [music] We received a lot of phone calls and a
00:14:44
lot of tips and we followed up on a lot of people who thought they had seen this
00:14:50
person. We were able [music] to establish that we had DNA sample of the suspect from
00:14:57
the rate. The sketch was the the best thing we had and the DNA evidence of course. And then we also uh entered it
00:15:04
into the uh national database for violent offenders in the hopes that maybe someday down the road there would
00:15:11
be some similarities to to other cases that uh I could become aware of to to try to track this fellow down.
00:15:19
[music] >> [music] [music] >> Yeah. In December of 1998, uh, a doctor was murdered, [music] uh, in the Houston
00:15:54
area. She was, uh, had suffered [music] both stab wounds and blunt trauma to the, uh, to the head
00:16:03
and, uh, she had was also the victim of a sexual assault. >> [music] >> And then uh pastor and his wife were
00:16:17
killed in Wymer. And uh the pastor and his [music] wife were murdered in their bed with a
00:16:28
sledgehammer that was found in a tool room there [music] at the house. When we first started working it, we
00:16:35
approached it from the standpoint of a fugitive investigation. And that was trying to learn as much as we could uh
00:16:40
about the the subject at hand. Uh we knew that we had forensic evidence, we had fingerprint evidence that linked to
00:16:48
a particular suspect and both houses were in the in the near vicinity of of railroad tracks.
00:16:57
[music] Somewhere around May or June of 1999, uh I got a call from Fia, which was the
00:17:06
uh the national database that we we put the info in. Got a call from them saying, "Listen, we've had a another
00:17:13
homicide near railroad tracks in Texas. [music] It's a loose [music] connection at best,
00:17:22
but it was near railroad tracks. And after 2 years, we hadn't had anything of substance [music] anyway. So, we chased
00:17:27
any lead. >> Detective Surell called and uh we uh compared details about [music] the the
00:17:33
cases and realized that we not only had a serial killer that was within [music] 150 mi radius of Houston, but we had one
00:17:40
that was in other states as well. They were able [music] through fingerprint analysis to have a suspect.
00:17:50
The suspect [music] at that point had been identified as Raphael Resendes RmIrez.
00:17:57
>> The majority of his his attacks were by surprise. Uh often the people were in
00:18:02
bed asleep uh when he was getting them. So he's like the boogeyman coming into your house. He supports the fact that
00:18:08
true evil does exist in this world. [music] to know that he was doing it again, that
00:18:16
he was more violent, that he was killing more people. I started to feel like, wow, this is a lot bigger than me. It
00:18:24
was almost like my worst nightmare coming [music] true. That was when it became a national
00:18:30
serial killer manhunt. We were driven. We had to catch him before he killed somebody else.
00:18:43
>> [music] [bell] >> We knew then we had a serial killer on the loose. We knew that he was extremely
00:19:02
violent. Uh and we had no information as to where he was. Our last clue was Texas. [music] So, it was an allout race
00:19:09
then to try to figure out where he was and get hands on him. So, everybody went to Texas.
00:19:17
From what I've come to learn of, he was a an immigrant uh transient. He he had done a lot of odd jobs um migrant work.
00:19:25
He was a prone to violence at least 20 years prior to this killing spree. He was nicknamed by the media as the
00:19:37
railroad [music] killer. And he he got that moniker just by the fact that most of his uh murders [music] happened in
00:19:44
and around railroad tracks and that that was a a mode of transportation that he used to to travel across the country.
00:19:50
>> The drag net for the suspected rail riding serial killer now stretches from Ohio to the Mexican border. As part of
00:19:57
the [music] search there, there there was actually a huge operation set up to stop trains. A bunch of Texas agencies
00:20:03
[music] participated, had helicopters in the air to fly over various train tracks. [music] Uh if they saw somebody,
00:20:10
we get the train stopped and identify anybody on it. >> The sense of urgency was
00:20:19
it was unbelievable because people were dying. He was continuing [music] to kill and he
00:20:29
was killing effortlessly. No one was stopping him. [music] He killed two women in one day, 90 m apart.
00:20:38
4 days later, he's in a different state. People were scared. >> We are here today to announce that
00:20:45
[music] Raphael Rescendes Ramirez has been elevated to the FBI's 10 most wanted list. Ramirez [music] is the
00:20:52
457th person to be placed on. >> I just got really scared because it it got so big and they still couldn't find
00:20:59
him. They didn't know where he was. And that that was, you know, a very scary time because I [music] just I knew that
00:21:05
he knew I was still alive. I felt that. So I just I was afraid. I I thought he would come back and get me.
00:21:12
I was so scared that I had to get out of the country. I signed up that day to go
00:21:17
to school in England. >> [music] >> the FBI, all the local agencies, >> there is evidence,
00:21:27
>> everybody was running leads. So, the volume was huge and you just started piecing the things together. But
00:21:33
truthfully, the the tip that made the case was a call from a family relative [music] to America's Most Wanted.
00:21:40
>> Tonight, we've got breaking news on a suspected serial killer. This is the man
00:21:44
police have been looking for. >> This is a picture of him from 1995. He has >> based on information from that phone
00:21:51
call, it led us to [music] go to New Mexico to uh speak with his sister. She hadn't been in touch with her brother,
00:21:56
but she had been in touch with someone that was in touch with her brother and uh that's where we started the
00:22:02
discussions uh about Recendes [music] and and the fact that he was tired and uh that uh that he might be willing to
00:22:11
surrender. She became the liaison [music] between United States law enforcement and the serial killer.
00:22:21
>> I believe that his uh his [music] options were limited. Uh this man had no friends. I mean, he was a loner. Uh he
00:22:30
had a high price on his head [music] and he had an entire nation, really two nations looking for him. And [music] uh
00:22:38
I think the uh amount of pressure that was put on him uh ultimately led to him to have to make a choice.
00:22:52
[music] It was early in the morning and Drew was on one side of the international bridge
00:23:02
waiting. I mean, on the Texas side and not knowing, I assume, whether he was going to show up or not, if he was going
00:23:09
to show up armed. I mean, who knew? And so then, you know, the the doubt sets in
00:23:15
like, all right, you know, [music] is this going to happen? Amount of time passed and you see a
00:23:22
pickup truck driving up, driving across the bridge and there's three people in that old pickup truck and the center
00:23:28
passenger immediately recognized as Recendis. [music] And uh that's kind of when I thought to myself, man, this is
00:23:33
really gonna happen. >> [music] >> I closed my [music] door and started crying because I was so relieved. There
00:23:59
wasn't I don't I don't want another case to prove up. I don't want another dead body. It was it was such a sense of
00:24:05
relief. >> At the time of his arrest, uh Versendis was [music] linked to six murders in
00:24:11
Texas, two in Illinois, and one in Kentucky. For 2 years, we had operated under the belief that his name was
00:24:18
[music] Raphael Recendes RmIrez. Uh we learned that he had a variety of names, but ultimately it was determined his
00:24:25
name [music] was Angel Matino Recendes. I had been waiting to see this guy. So when they walked him in,
00:24:41
it was a it was a great [music] moment. But he was so scary. He was a little guy, but wiry and strong, ropey muscles
00:24:52
on his arms and curious. He would look He'd look at everybody in there. He'd looked at me and there's nothing there.
00:25:01
There was nothing there. No humanity, no emotion. [music] It's like somebody took
00:25:07
a black magic marker and colored his eyes. They were flat black and a expressionless face
00:25:20
on December 17th, 1998 in Harris County, Texas. >> But I just buckled down [music] and just
00:25:26
decided this is going to be it's got to be about the victims and it's got to be about getting this guy [music]
00:25:31
dead. Honestly, it's got to be about convincing a jury to give him [music] the death penalty because he so richly
00:25:37
deserved it and earned it. I knew that I was going to testify and I always wanted to testify. I just wanted
00:25:52
the chance to [music] tell what had happened to us and that was my chance. [music] And I wish I could have seen his
00:26:01
face when he heard that someone was living. I wish I could have seen [music] his face when he knew she was coming to
00:26:06
testify against him. I just would love to know what he what he thought when he found that out.
00:26:34
I don't have things [music] that I think about all the time. I can't [music] forget about Chris being hit, the rock
00:26:46
hitting him. That really [music] is probably the part that I try the hardest and and can't
00:26:54
forget. She was definitely our star witness. She was our only living witness. Nobody else could speak out against him
00:27:10
in first person. This is what happened to me. This is what he did to me. We didn't have anybody else.
00:27:27
I can't comment. >> Well, if what we know about him is true, he is everyone's worst nightmare.
00:27:33
>> Trial started in May of 2000. It was held here in Houston. [music] He was so different at trial.
00:27:44
I guess sitting in jail, [music] he got fat. He got the jailhouse power. It grew
00:27:50
his hair greasy. There was not a shred of humanity about this man. He did not deserve to live
00:27:58
among us. I wanted to put [music] him down. >> Prescendes faces capital murder charges
00:28:03
in the stabbing death of Dr. Claudia Benton. >> She had been sexually assaulted,
00:28:08
stabbed, beaten in the head. He was only charged with one because that's all you
00:28:12
need to get the death penalty. He ultimately plead not guilty by reason of insanity. The evidence was
00:28:21
overwhelming as to his guilt. So that was really his only out was the insanity [music] defense.
00:28:27
We knew we were battling with the jury not wanting to believe that [music] someone could do these horrible things
00:28:32
to people and be sane. A lot of people did not want to believe. You have to be crazy to do that to somebody. You'd have
00:28:38
to be crazy. [music] >> The jury reached a verdict after many hours of deliberation.
00:28:46
>> Mr. Rosendez, would you please rise? It was pretty nail-biting. >> We need a jury find a defendant unheld.
00:28:52
Matarino Rosendez guilty of capital murder is charged in the indictment. >> I actually got involved during the
00:29:01
penalty phase of the trial. That's, [music] you know, when they say whether he gets the death penalty or life in
00:29:07
prison. [music] >> We're going to tell you about the people, the people who've been murdered, most of
00:29:13
whom murdered in their own homes. I knew that I wanted Holly to testify last. So,
00:29:18
by the time she took the stand, the jury had heard the gruesome details of all the other murders that we had solved at
00:29:26
that point. It was a horror show. Heads beaten to a pulp, knives put all the way
00:29:32
through the body. That's how much force was used. Just horrific [music] violence.
00:29:39
>> We were the last of the cases [music] presented. I testified as to the evidence at the scene, presented the
00:29:44
pictures, and then lastly, uh, Holly testified as the only surviving victim. [music]
00:29:52
>> I flew into Houston with my family the night before I was going to testify, [music]
00:29:58
and I woke up during the middle of the night screaming and crying. [music] I talk about the trial as the hardest
00:30:08
day of my life. What I was most worried about, [music] I think, when I testified was seeing him
00:30:14
again. >> I cannot imagine the amount of courage [music] she had to to marshall to come
00:30:18
into that courtroom to walk in and face him. >> She told me, "Don't look at him. Look at
00:30:25
me. I'll be right in front of you. Look at your family. They'll be right behind [music] me. He'll be off to your left.
00:30:31
Just do not look at him." The first question was, "What did you do last weekend?" [music] And so I was
00:30:39
like, I graduated from college. It felt good for me to be able to say, you know, I graduated from college
00:30:45
[music] in front of the guy who basically could have ruined my life and destroyed it. And not that he cared, cuz
00:30:51
I don't think he did. For me to be able to say, "You didn't destroy me. I'm still here. I'm still
00:30:58
strong. I'm still the same person I was." It felt good. It felt, you know, like I I finally had my chance.
00:31:08
I told all the details of what I knew, what I remembered and cried through the entire testimony. I was crying. The all
00:31:17
the jury was crying. >> Sometimes you don't always have the human picture. There's no victim to
00:31:23
stand in front of you to tell you what they experienced, what they went through. Holly gave that to Chris and
00:31:29
all the others that have been murdered. She was able to give a real live person to to give them a real feeling of the
00:31:36
brutality of this man. They got to the moment in the trial when they say, "Is the person who attacked
00:31:45
you in the courtroom today?" I [music] hadn't looked at him yet. I knew he was there. I said, "Yes."
00:31:54
I wanted it to be the last thing that jury heard and the last thing they saw was Holly Dunn sitting on that witness
00:32:01
stand saying, "That's [music] the man." They said, "Well, [music] could you tell
00:32:07
us what he's wearing?" And I turned and looked at him. It was surreal. I I said, "He's wearing
00:32:15
a white button-down shirt." I mean, I literally I felt my hearing going into my head. He had like this smug look on
00:32:22
his face and I I mean I I was so close to figning when I looked at him again that I mean I don't know how I didn't.
00:32:31
[music] It was devastating and and it was the best part of our case. I mean she basically [music]
00:32:39
from his perspective came back from the grave to nail him. Should we give him some points? Because
00:32:49
Holly didn't die. >> The jury did find that he was a future danger to society. [music] So, the judge
00:32:56
sentenced him to death. >> I felt, I guess, relieved. I mean, it [music] just felt good to know he would
00:33:03
never be able to hurt anyone ever again. After the trial, [music] Rosendez was sent to death row in Huntsville, Texas.
00:33:13
He was not tried for any other crimes. He had gotten the ultimate penalty. When the last appeal [music] was denied,
00:33:19
he was put to death in June 2006. [screaming] I chose not to attend the execution.
00:33:35
Send represented all those angry feelings that I had and I decided to stay with my family. I had already seen
00:33:42
one person die in front of me and I did not need to see [music] another. I read an account of the execution
00:33:55
[music] and it said that right before they injected him, his feet were shaking under the sheet.
00:34:02
And I hoped that he experienced some of the fear just that Holly did. I that gave me a small sense of
00:34:14
satisfaction that that he was scared. [music] I definitely feel like I have another
00:34:35
opportunity at [music] life. I want to live it to the fullest. [singing] I can't explain how this changes you. I
00:34:47
am [music] a stronger person because of it. I'm my whole life focused changed because of it. I'm um a different person
00:34:55
today because this happened. I knew that I had to heal physically first and then I had to deal with Chris
00:35:07
dying. I had to deal with myself almost dying and then I had to deal with being [music] raped.
00:35:17
Your brain works in amazing ways and it kind of sort of let me deal with each thing as I could.
00:35:26
[music] In 1997, I met Jacob Pendleton at uh the outdoor store that I was working at. He was the first guy that I
00:35:34
dated after the attack. [music] He just like reintroduced me to the world. I don't think Jacob even knows like how
00:35:46
much he helped me. There'd be days that I would literally cry to him and he would just listen to
00:35:52
me and, you know, really wouldn't judge me at all, which was great [music] [music]
00:36:06
to see Holly happy, married. It it is wonderful. [music] She has led our family in how we have recovered from
00:36:14
this. It could have gone a completely different way where our family [music] was devastated by this and instead, you
00:36:20
know, we are just so happy for how she has led her life. >> Please welcome Holly.
00:36:28
[applause] >> It was August 28th, 1997, the second day of classes [music] at the University of
00:36:36
Kentucky. I started speaking about 2 years after the attack. He said, "Look how easily I could kill you." [music]
00:36:43
And then he raped me. >> To me, it felt like part of my healing process to talk about it and to cry
00:36:49
about it and to be emotional because for so long I had to kind of detach emotion
00:36:55
from it. >> The way that I went on with my life was I had to forgive [music] him and look
00:36:59
for the good that could come from this. >> When I was speaking, I didn't have to
00:37:03
worry about that. I could work through my emotions and and that really helped me in my healing process.
00:37:11
[applause] Being a survivor is one thing, but helping other survivors and knowing how
00:37:17
to do that in a professional manner was another thing. Holly's House is a child and adult
00:37:26
advocacy center [music] in Evansville, Indiana that provides a safe reporting location for victims of intimate crimes.
00:37:32
We opened on September 2nd of 2008 and we have served over 300 victims since that time.
00:37:39
>> How are things? >> They've been pretty [music] steady. >> Holly is a hero because she did not let
00:37:45
what happened to her destroy her. She decided to make it her reason to live or her reason to help people.
00:37:54
>> How are you? >> Fine. It's important to me for victims to [music] be supported. For them to
00:37:59
know that they're not going through what has happened to them alone. I get support through victims that come
00:38:05
through Holly's House. I feel like through helping others, they're helping me. We sort of [music] do it together.
00:38:18
This case for me has become one that I have looked back on many times. I keep a little bit of a reminder on my desk. A
00:38:25
rock from our crime scene [music] and a railroad spike that I got from down in Texas.
00:38:31
Not so much as a reminder of the largest case at work, but more a reminder that if you stick with a case and follow up
00:38:39
on everything that you [music] can be successful. So, be determined. Don't give up.
00:38:45
I've stayed in touch with Holly [music] since it began. She's really just an amazing person individually. She is the
00:38:53
model of Survivor. >> I remember Chris in a lot of ways. >> I like to keep things around me that
00:39:04
remind me of him. I'm [crying] lucky enough to have my amazing husband and have [music] Chris be a part of our
00:39:12
lives. >> What was that? I think to [music] get over my survivor's guilt that I had, I had to
00:39:25
know that I live my life not just for me and not just for Chris. I'm living my life for all of Brundes's
00:39:35
victims, for all of them. and that I have to or I want to be the best person I can be
00:39:46
and live the best life I can because they didn't get that chance and I did. So, I want to live for them. I want them
00:39:54
to be remembered. I want them to [snorts] and I want I would want them to be proud of, you know, me.
00:40:08
Heat. [music] Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> July 1997. Man's been shot. Johnny Versace.
00:41:04
[music] There's something inherently sexy in a Versace design. [music] There is a flamboyance that is contained
00:41:19
and [music] controlled. [music] The clothes we wear sent a message about how the world perceives us. It's a real
00:41:29
wow factor. I'm Tim Gun and I [music] am the mentor on Project Runway. The Versace customer was not faint of heart.
00:41:40
One of the most iconic Versace pieces was the gown that he made for Elizabeth Hurley. Two stars were born with that
00:41:47
dress. Princess Diana wanted a a whole new look for the world and [music] Courtney loved it also. I
00:41:54
mean, he took her from trashy to sophisticated. >> Versace helped put Miami on the
00:42:00
international map. My name is Tara Solomon and I am the Miami Herald's former nightlife
00:42:08
correspondent. Versace brought his entire world of fabulosity. And while he may have had homes all
00:42:18
around the world, he came to Miami Beach to relax. Do you remember where you were when you
00:42:26
heard that Versace had been murdered? >> Oh, I remember profoundly. I opened up my computer and it flashed before me
00:42:34
that Jenny Versace had been murdered. I was stunned. >> When Versace was killed, there was pure
00:42:42
pandemonium. On that particular morning, Johnny Versace decided to go over to the
00:42:49
news cafe and it was on his return home approaching the [music] door. He was he was shot and killed
00:42:57
>> and all of a sudden we hear bang bang two shots. >> 116 shot please immediately please.
00:43:05
>> Do you remember where roughly he was? >> He was right right here. >> And there was obviously blood. Yes,
00:43:11
plenty of blood. If you mention Johnny Versace, um people still don't remember those names of the
00:43:19
first few people that were killed. >> There was uh the homicide of Jeff Trail and David Matson.
00:43:30
There was the murder of Lee Miglin. Then there was the murder of William Reese. We have what we typically call a spree
00:43:41
killer. This wasn't a haphazard crime. Mr. Versace was targeted. >> [music] >> World famous fashion designer Giani
00:44:20
Versace fatally shot >> gunned down outside his mansion in Miami Beach, Florida.
00:44:24
>> Turned into a gruesome crime scene early this morning. 5 days before he was [music] murdered,
00:44:33
Johnny Versace and his partner Antonio Demoiko had arrived at Kasa Kazarina, their lavish Miami Beach retreat. They'd
00:44:42
been in Paris and New York. Versace could not have known it, but his killer was already in town.
00:44:54
Ocean Drive. The 911 call came in about 8:45 the morning of July 15th, 1997, just as Carlos Noriega, then a
00:45:04
lieutenant with the Miami Beach Police Department, was heading to work. >> I drove over to the scene and
00:45:14
encountered an area just flooded with police officers. There was uh evidence at the front
00:45:21
steps. There was blood. There was uh clothing. Giani Versace was an icon. You have a
00:45:31
worldrenowned fashion designer, a celebrity who was tragically killed. This was all hands on deck.
00:45:36
>> Yeah. You don't want to screw this case up. >> Exactly. >> It all happened in broad daylight.
00:45:43
Versace had gone out alone to a local cafe to buy magazines and then he walked home as [music] he was putting the key
00:45:54
in the door lock and he was shot twice once in the face point black ridge and the other one was behind the left ear in
00:46:02
the neck and that was a through and through shot. >> Noriega believes the gunman approached
00:46:07
Versace from behind or from the side. I believe he was shadowing him. It was a very strategically timed, strategically
00:46:17
placed attack uh to to kill Giani Versace. >> The question was who would want to kill
00:46:23
him? >> One of the first motives that we felt was a possibility was that it was a
00:46:29
contract hit organized crime mafia if you will uh because there was a dead bird found next to the body.
00:46:36
>> Is that a sign that to to us that's a sign of a mafia hit? But the bird, it turned out, was in the wrong place at
00:46:43
the wrong time. Hit by a fragment from [music] a bullet that killed Versace. And that left police with not much to go
00:46:51
on. But not for long. They got a break from Lazero Quintanana, who was a friend of
00:46:59
Versace. >> He used to call me Lazaretta. >> Lazero was at the mansion that morning.
00:47:05
He was in the dining room with Antonio when he heard the shots. >> Antonio got up and he went to the window
00:47:13
that faces the gate to enter the mansion and he yelled out, "No, no." And I ran out.
00:47:21
>> You came here? >> I came here. Johnny was right here. >> Versace was already dead on the front
00:47:28
steps. >> And then Antonio came and he was he's crying and he was destroyed. He was destroyed
00:47:36
and he's he's who did this? Who did this? And there was there was a lady standing here and she's pointing but she
00:47:43
couldn't speak and Jonah said go get him. So I went after him. >> Lazero followed the gunman.
00:47:51
>> We're talking this pace real fast. >> I yelled, "You bastard. Why did you do this? Why did you do this?"
00:47:57
>> He makes a left turn. >> As he makes the left turn. Yes, he makes the left turn. And we're still going.
00:48:02
We're still going all the way through. He turns over to the right and car is coming so I couldn't get across. Car
00:48:09
stops. >> Uhhuh. >> And they yell, "He's got a gun." He stops right across here.
00:48:14
>> Yeah. >> At the alley. And that's when he's pointing the gun at me. >> Show me how he pointed the gun at you if
00:48:19
I'm you. >> So he didn't even look at you. >> No. Never looked at >> You never saw his face.
00:48:24
>> I never saw his face. >> But you saw his clothes. >> Yes. The shooter cut through this alley while
00:48:30
Lazero raced around the corner. He [music] remembered seeing a police officer there earlier.
00:48:35
>> I reached him and I said to him, "Mr. Versace has just been shot." >> Were you calm? Were or were you?
00:48:41
>> No. >> No. >> No. A friend of mine was just shot. Nor was I calm. I was nervous. I was upset.
00:48:49
>> You came down this street with the police officer. >> I did. Luckily, he came upon some men in
00:48:54
front of this building and asked them if they saw a man running >> and they pointed they pointed to the
00:49:00
garage. >> They said he went in here. >> He went in here. So, that's when I told
00:49:03
the officer, I said, "He's in there. Go get him. Go get him." And then we heard over the radio the commotion and and
00:49:10
Okay, now there is a manh hunt. When police searched the 13th Street garage, they discovered a pile of
00:49:17
clothes, a gray t-shirt and black shorts, just what Lazero had seen the shooter wearing. He had obviously changed
00:49:28
clothes. When he walked out of this garage just shortly after the murder, nobody knew who the shooter was. Nobody
00:49:34
knew what he looked like. Nobody knew what he was wearing. He was able to just vanish. But he left a mountain of
00:49:41
evidence for investigators. Next to that pile of clothes was a truck that had been reported stolen in New Jersey. And
00:49:50
inside the truck were documents with a name. >> I mean, he left his identification in
00:49:56
the truck. That's correct. He had his passport, um, ID, a whole lot of items that connected him right away.
00:50:04
101. >> By 12 noon, some 3 hours after Johnny Versace was murdered, police had a
00:50:10
suspect. His name, Andrew Kunanan. And as it turned out, the Miami Beach Police Department was not the only one
00:50:21
looking for him. [music] In Milan, Italy today, those who knew and admired Johnny Versace said goodbye
00:50:48
to the murdered fashion designer. One week after Johnny Versace was murdered, celebrities and friends from
00:50:57
around the world gathered inside this Gothic cathedral in Milan, Italy for his funeral. I saw Versace's funeral on
00:51:07
television and I cried. It was It was hard. It was tough. >> Princess Diana was there at the funeral.
00:51:14
Sting Trudy Elton >> in Miami, not far from where he was murdered, there was a small intimate
00:51:28
service to celebrate the designer's life. >> The flowers left on the steps of Versace's opulent mansion served as one
00:51:41
somber reminder of what had happened. that we consider Andrew Kunan to be armed and to be extremely dangerous.
00:51:50
>> The police activity was another. >> They were tracking every lead they could, hunting for Johnny Versace's
00:51:59
suspected killer, 27year-old Andrew Kunanan. >> You had a very good suspect. >> Michael Band was the prosecutor assigned
00:52:08
to this case. And our first step was to go out into community with pictures of Canadan and start beating the bushes and
00:52:17
looking for this guy, looking to figure out, is this the guy? >> Authorities were starting to learn all
00:52:26
about Andrew Kunanan. 3 months before Versace's murder, Kunanan was living in San Diego and his
00:52:35
life was, to say the least, complicated. >> I thought he'd be a very successful businessman or maybe in, you know, the
00:52:43
fashion industry or something star quality like. >> Back in the 80s, Robert Erenss remembers
00:52:50
his seventh grade classmate Andrew Kunanan as a good-looking kid with a keen fashion sense. I remember Andrew
00:52:58
[music] would put dimes in his penny loafers. It was always that little extra something that made him sort of stand
00:53:04
out and get noticed. Andrew sort of had this air about him that I thought was kind of beyond his years at that time.
00:53:12
According to Erands, Andrew Kunanan grew up in a workingclass San Diego suburb and did not share much about his home
00:53:21
life. I had no idea who his mom was, his dad, whether he had brothers or sisters.
00:53:27
I had no idea who was half Filipino. >> Andrew's father, Modesto, was a former Navy man turned stockbroker. He and
00:53:36
Andrew's mother, Maryanne, raised four children together. But Andrew stood out. He had a genius IQ. So he enrolled in
00:53:47
the pricey and prestigious Bishop School in the Tony Beach enclave of La Hoya. >> When I heard that he was going to La
00:53:56
Hoya and transferring to Bishops, I thought, well, you've got to have money. It's a private school.
00:54:02
>> The class of 1987 mentioned Andrew Kunanan as most [music] likely to be remembered.
00:54:10
He chose a quote from King Louis X 15th to accompany his senior photo. A premo luge
00:54:19
after me. The deluge. Turns out those words could have been an omen. A year after Andrew's high school
00:54:27
graduation, his father was facing embezzlement charges. He fled the country, leaving his family abandoned
00:54:35
and broke. He was openly gay in high school and very flamboyant. And >> when 48 hours first spoke to Nicole
00:54:45
Murray Ramirez back in 1997, he knew Andrew Kunanan. Today, he still remembers Kunanan as the young man who
00:54:54
didn't have a job, but was a big spender and an even bigger talker. >> Andrew Cananan was basically known in
00:55:02
the gay community's night life and the bar scene. He would walk in with entourage and
00:55:10
always pay for the bill. He wanted the illusion that it was his money. He tried to brag that he came from a Filipino
00:55:16
family and he knew the Mald Marcos. >> Michael Williams owned a local restaurant and knew Andrew Kunanan. He
00:55:26
also knew where Kunanan really got all that money. >> He had a very wealthy older partner who really provided for
00:55:35
him. How much older? >> I would say probably by 40 years. >> What did you make of that relationship?
00:55:43
>> I stopped trying to figure that out. I was like, you know, here's this young,
00:55:48
attractive, good-looking guy with this extremely older man. I mean, I can't imagine what the connection was there.
00:56:00
>> I would imagine that you had an idea what the connection was there. I did. You know,
00:56:06
>> Michael Williams was introduced to Andrew through their mutual friend, a young Anson named Jeff Trail.
00:56:14
>> Andrew was very pretentious, loud, you know, always had to be the center of the the party.
00:56:23
[music] Jeff was opposite of that. Jeff was pretty conservative and quiet, always helping people.
00:56:33
Trail was an Annapolis graduate and a Gulf War veteran living in San Diego. He was also gay as out as was possible.
00:56:43
>> Tonight on [music] 48 hours, the battle over homosexuals in the military. >> In 1993, when he appeared in Silhouette
00:56:52
for a 48 hours interview, he talked to us about issues affecting gay people in the military.
00:56:58
>> We're not here to be feared. We just want to do our jobs. That's all we're asking for.
00:57:04
>> While Trail and Kunanan were friends, to the best of anybody's knowledge, that is
00:57:09
all they were. >> Jeff was always had the contagious personality that where you just wanted
00:57:15
to be around him. And I think that, you know, in a way, Andrew wanted that in his life. So surrounding himself around
00:57:23
Jeff, he always seemed very happy and and up. >> You did not like Andrew. >> No.
00:57:31
For reasons known only to Cananan, he sometimes used the name Andrew Dilva. [music] That's how Michael Williams knew
00:57:38
him. And he would soon learn a lot more about Andrew. Who he was and what he would do would
00:57:47
change the life of Michael Williams and end the lives of five innocent victims. Tracing Andrew Kunanan's blood soaked
00:58:04
path to Johnny Versace's front door means following a series of unexplainable events
00:58:13
punctuated with unfathomable viciousness. None of the dots are easily connected except in the mind of the murderer.
00:58:25
The road begins with Jeff Trail. >> He just had that charisma about him. >> It was Trail who befriended Andrew
00:58:35
Kunanan. And Michael Williams believes his friend knew Kenan had lived a dangerous life.
00:58:42
>> Andrew had a past of dealing drugs. He had a past of prostitution. [music] And I really think that Jeff was trying
00:58:50
to pull him out of that. Williams says Jeff Trail had left the Navy and was training to join the
00:58:58
California Highway Patrol. And then suddenly, and with no explanation, in the fall of 1996,
00:59:06
Trail moved to Minneapolis. The day that he got in the car to leave, I said, "Please be safe." And he reached under
00:59:15
the seat and he he pulled out his handgun and he said, "I'm going to be safe. I've got this
00:59:24
Around that same time, Jeff Trail's friend Andrew Kunanan was struggling. According to Nicole Murray Ramirez,
00:59:32
>> he was not good-looking anymore. He had to have looked in the mirror and saw what I saw, which was a a six going down
00:59:39
to a four. What was left for his life? >> Kunanan had gained weight and given away
00:59:46
much of his expensive [music] designer wardrobe. >> He had dabbled into drugs. He was now an
00:59:52
older young man with average looks. >> On top of that, his older, wealthy partner broke up with him.
01:00:01
>> I surmise that Andrew one day woke up after his older boyfriend broke up the relationship and what's next? How was he
01:00:11
going to live? >> He lost the money, the mansion, and all that went with it. >> He lived off other people. He also was
01:00:20
someone who was revengeful. >> Former FBI profiler Mary Elano Tulle. >> This is not someone that you break up
01:00:28
with easily because when you're grandiose and you're the center of the world, people don't break up with you.
01:00:37
>> And then for reasons Kunanannon never fully explained, on Friday, April 25th,
01:00:43
1997, he went to Minneapolis. He flew from San Diego on a one-way ticket. >> Do you think that he went up to
01:00:53
Minneapolis with murder on his mind? >> Yes, I think that he did. >> Kunanana knew people in Minneapolis.
01:01:03
Jeff Trail was there and Michael Williams thinks something happened between the two of them.
01:01:11
>> I called to check on Jeff and he was just really depressed. It alarmed me. We've never had a conversation like
01:01:18
that. I uh I asked him, "Have you spoken to Andrew?" And he said, "Uh, no, and I'll never speak to him again."
01:01:40
That's odd. Kunanan knew somebody else in Minneapolis, a 33-year-old architect named David Madson. Kunanan and Madson
01:01:50
had had a relationship. >> He loved to laugh. >> I just got a little lunch. Okay.
01:01:56
>> And he always had big energy. >> Julie Hland was David Madson's friend and coworker.
01:02:04
>> He liked problem solving. We talked about world issues. He was a downto- earthth person.
01:02:13
>> Did David ever mention Andrew Cananan? >> Um, yes, he did. I think he had a fling
01:02:19
with Andrew. Um, I don't think it was anything serious because there were other people in his life that he cared
01:02:26
about more. He didn't care about Andrew um that much really. >> But according to Kunanan's friends,
01:02:33
Andrew believed David was the love of his life. Julie Hlin didn't talk to David Madson
01:02:42
over the weekend. On Monday, she was surprised when he didn't show up at work. And by Tuesday, everyone was
01:02:50
worried. >> I called them, went to voice messaging, and um a couple of my co-workers went to
01:02:57
his house over lunch hour on Tuesday. Um heard his dog barking in the apartment.
01:03:06
She didn't know it, but Kunanan's killing spree had already started. >> It was noticeable as soon as you'd open
01:03:14
the door and walk in. Nobody made any effort to try and conceal it or hide it. >> When retired Minneapolis homicide
01:03:22
detective Dale Bars arrived at Madson's apartment, what he saw was gruesome. There was a bloody body wrapped in a
01:03:32
rug. I thought he was dead that day. I pretty much cried the whole night and then later we found out that um it
01:03:46
wasn't David's body in the the carpet. >> How did you feel when you heard that? >> Um [gasps]
01:03:54
shocked. But then oh, what happened? The body in David Madson's apartment was Jeff Trail. He had been beaten to
01:04:05
death with a hammer. And not far from the body, police found a duffel bag with a name on it. Andrew Kunanan.
01:04:14
>> This is the travel bag that we believe uh Andrew Kunanan brought to Minneapolis
01:04:18
on April 25th. >> But where was Andrew Kunanan and where was David Madson? The trail stayed cold
01:04:28
for just 4 days. [music] And then on Saturday morning, two fishermen found the body of a young man
01:04:35
on the shores of East Rush Lake, about an hour north of Minneapolis. It was David Madson. He'd been shot in the
01:04:43
head. >> We learned that David died pretty soon after Jeff Trail. >> Oh my gosh. you know, to be in the
01:04:56
situation that David's in with this crazy person, you know, and how scary for him. I'm sure he tried to calm
01:05:05
Andrew down, you know. I I mean, I'm sure there was survival mode going on, like how do you
01:05:12
diffuse this situation? But he obviously failed at that. Um, and he lost his life because of that.
01:05:23
Ballistic tests showed the bullets used to kill Madson came from a 40 caliber gun like the one Jeff Trail had taken to
01:05:31
Minneapolis. Police believe Kunanan took that gun. >> Presumably, when you were able to link
01:05:38
Madson's death to Trail's death, that changed the whole investigation. >> And now we're down to Where's Andrew?
01:05:46
There were tire tracks near Madson's body and his car, a red Jeep, was missing. [music] But it would not stay
01:05:54
missing for long. >> 72-year-old Lee Miglin was found tortured and stabbed to death in the
01:05:59
garage of his mansion on Chicago's Gold Coast. >> On the morning of May 3rd, 1997, Steven
01:06:08
and Barbara Byer found the body of their neighbor, Lee Miglin. He was a wealthy real estate developer.
01:06:15
>> I can still picture it today. I could see the points of his shoes and I said,
01:06:21
"It is right there." I mean, it was absolutely um chilling. >> Inside Lee Miglin's townhouse, there was
01:06:31
some money and other things missing, and there was evidence the killer had stayed
01:06:36
a while. Police photos show he had shaved and taken a bath. debris in the kitchen sink. Uh melted ice cream coming
01:06:45
out of their containers. Then in uh Lee's library, finding this uh large ham uh sliced sitting on his desk. That was
01:06:55
plenty to recognize that uh something very very bad had gone on. [music] >> Around the corner from the murder scene,
01:07:03
police would discover David Madson's red Jeep. But now Lee Migglin's green Lexus
01:07:09
was missing. To this day, police do not know what, if any, connection Kunanan had to Miglin, but they feared Kunanan
01:07:19
would strike again. [music] [music] >> I do know it's not a random act of violence. A nationwide man hunt is still
01:07:40
underway for Kunan. >> After Andrew Kunanan murdered Jeff Trail, David Madson, and Lee Migglin,
01:07:48
the gay community was terrified, especially in San Diego. >> I think everybody was in a state of
01:07:55
shock. I think some people were in a state of fear. People didn't answer their doors. People
01:08:04
that knew him the most stayed other places. >> Michael Williams relocated to Scottdale,
01:08:13
Arizona. >> Everybody was on very high alert >> cuz he didn't know where he was going to
01:08:18
strike again. >> Yeah. Just 6 days after he killed Miglin, while Kunanan was on the run in Miglin's
01:08:26
green Lexus, police believe he realized the FBI was tracking the car phone's signal and he needed a new vehicle.
01:08:37
>> He's believed to have struck here in Pensville Friday afternoon at the remote
01:08:41
Fins Point Cemetery at Fort M Park. >> FBI is going to work concurrently with the New Jersey State Police. The Lexus
01:08:48
was found at this cemetery in southern New Jersey. Inside the office lay victim number four. He was 45year-old William
01:08:58
Reese. He'd been shot in the head and his red pickup was gone. >> Yeah. He all he was is a caretaker at a cemetery.
01:09:09
>> Minneapolis Detective Dale Bars says William Reese was killed simply for his truck. You know, he just was a very
01:09:16
honorable man >> in the wrong place. >> Absolutely. >> At the wrong time >> and alone.
01:09:25
>> You're in scon somewhere in Scottsdale. He's last heard of in New Jersey. Can
01:09:30
you relax? >> No. >> Until he's caught, you don't relax. As Johnny Versace was in Europe working
01:09:40
on what would be his final collection, Andrew Kunanan was the focus of a nationwide manhunt. He was featured on
01:09:48
America's Most Wanted. >> Police say Kunanan may be wearing glasses [music] >> and earned a spot on the FBI's 10 most
01:09:56
wanted list. >> You think he enjoyed the the attention that he got? >> Oh, I absolutely do.
01:10:01
>> Former FBI profiler Mary Elano Tulle. He basically held the United States hostage
01:10:08
because we were looking for him everywhere. We didn't know where he was. >> Otul says having murdered four men in
01:10:15
three states over 12 days, Kunanan was now considered a spree killer. >> A spree killer continues and continues
01:10:24
and continues and does not go back into their normal life. Life as they know it.
01:10:29
It's done. So Otul believes Kunanan knew he had nothing to lose. >> There's no way to undo what he's done
01:10:38
now. Absolutely no way. So he's really boxed himself into a corner. From a behavioral standpoint that makes him
01:10:45
more dangerous. >> But then for 2 months there was no sign of Kunanan until July 15th, 1997
01:10:55
when he struck again. This time was different because this time his victim was Johnny Versace.
01:11:08
When you heard that he had done it again, do you remember how you felt? >> Every time there was another killing, it
01:11:16
was almost like you're being stabbed. You know, it it's that rush of pain and you're just automatically, oh my god,
01:11:26
why can't they catch him? >> There's no question that he knew that we were hot in this trail.
01:11:32
>> Carlos Noriega remembers that within hours, hundreds of police officers piled
01:11:36
onto Miami Beach. >> We all but locked down uh the causeways and the ways in and out of the city. And
01:11:43
I believe that created that bottleneck where he felt uncomfortable trying to leave the city.
01:11:49
Crime Stoppers. >> With all the attention on this case, every day brought a flood of tips.
01:11:56
>> How long ago? >> The tips that were coming in were overwhelming at times, >> especially since this was Detective Gus
01:12:03
Sanchez's first homicide investigation. >> Were you nervous at all? >> Of course, I was.
01:12:09
>> Yeah. >> We know already that he had killed numerous people. I remember going to
01:12:14
different locations, knocking on doors, and it always crosses your mind that Kunan can be in there armed and he can
01:12:19
shoot through the door. >> Detectives soon learned Kunanan had been in Miami Beach for about 2 months.
01:12:25
>> He was sort of hiding in plain sight. Exactly. >> The police had missed several
01:12:30
opportunities to get him. About a week before he killed Versace, Kunanan pawned a gold coin stolen from Lee Miglin.
01:12:40
How'd the pawn shop know it was him? He told them >> on the coin about a week before the
01:12:45
homicide >> and used his own name. >> Used his own name. >> What's more, Kunanan's name was on a
01:12:51
form the pawn shop was required to send to the Miami Beach Police Department. It
01:12:58
arrived 5 days before the murder. >> We did not have an automated system at the time.
01:13:03
>> It was just one of many forms and unfortunately nobody looked at it. Did you think
01:13:11
why didn't we know about this before Johnny Versace was killed? >> That thought went through my mind
01:13:16
several times because apparently he was on the beach for a period of time. >> Kunanan listed his address as the
01:13:22
Normandy Plaza Hotel. >> It was a dump. You and I wouldn't stay in that hotel. >> He'd registered under his own name. Must
01:13:32
drive you nuts to know that this guy was walking around free as a bird, >> right? I I mean, just the fact that this
01:13:38
guy [music] was being looked for speaks to the fact that he was able to blend in
01:13:44
and change his appearance and successfully just stay one step ahead that way. >> Things might have turned out differently
01:13:52
if police had a little more luck. 4 days [music] before Versace was killed, someone at this subshop recognized
01:14:00
Kunanan from the America's Most Wanted story. He called the police, but they arrived too late.
01:14:08
>> I was disappointed. I was frustrated. It's just unfortunate that we didn't catch him before it happened.
01:14:14
>> After Versace's murder, with Kunanan on the loose, anxiety grew. [music] >> Let me assure you that Miami Beach and
01:14:23
Dade County are safe. >> I was afraid. >> Remember, Versace's friend, Lazero Quintana, had chased Kunanan. So I told
01:14:33
the officer, "Go get him. He's in there. Go get him." >> He knew who I was, but I didn't know who
01:14:38
he was. >> How did you behave when you were out? >> Scared, cautious, looking over my
01:14:45
shoulder a lot. >> Literally. I mean, >> absolutely. Oh, yeah. I was Yeah. I mean, I got goosebumps on it.
01:14:50
Absolutely. This man had a gun. This man knew what he was doing. >> The longer Kunanan dodged police, the
01:14:59
more intense the hunt became. I think the police were getting anxious. Where could he be? What kind of resources did
01:15:08
he have? >> Former prosecutor Michael Band. >> That's a lot of pressure. >> That's a lot of pressure on law
01:15:15
enforcement. The whole world's watching, but we don't want anybody else dead. >> There was a sense that maybe we lost him
01:15:22
by some people. I just thought that he was hiding out. >> Yeah. Go ahead, Tom. >> And then the tip came in that would
01:15:29
change everything. Here we go, guys. Here we go. >> I get a call. Michael, >> I think we found him.
01:15:51
>> What's your emergency? >> Got and they're shooting. I heard over the police radio that there had been a
01:15:56
shot fired, that they were surrounding a housebo. [music] >> You think what? >> We got him.
01:16:06
>> After a 9-day manhunt, Miami Beach detective Gus Sanchez believed Andrew Kunanan was finally cornered on a
01:16:14
housebo just 40 blocks from where he had shot down Johnny Versace. [music] When Sanchez arrived, it was a standoff.
01:16:27
At this point, nobody's seen Kunan on the housebo. >> No, there's no confirmation at this
01:16:32
point. >> The houseboat's caretaker saw signs of a breakin and when he went inside, a shot
01:16:38
was fired. >> Police quickly surrounded the housebo. >> They are communicating by bullhorn with
01:16:44
the housebo. >> After a 4hour siege, the SWAT team fired tear gas. and went on board.
01:16:59
[music] When it was safe, prosecutor Michael Band followed them. >> It was a mess. It was just a mess.
01:17:10
>> In an upstairs bedroom, they found a body. >> I just recall an individual lying on the
01:17:19
bed looking up. He had a bullet wound in his head. There's a gun next to him. >> When you looked at that face, what did
01:17:26
your gut tell you? >> My gut told me it's him. >> But that wasn't enough. >> I wanted fingerprints.
01:17:37
>> As band waited, an expert at the scene compared fingerprints from the corpse with Kunanins.
01:17:44
>> He looks up and he says, "It's him. The reign of terror brought upon us by Andrew Kunanan is over.
01:17:53
>> It turned out Kunanan shot himself with the same gun he used to kill Johnny Versace, William Ree, and David Madson.
01:18:02
It was the gun he had taken from his friend and first victim, Jeff Trail. >> There's a sense of relief.
01:18:11
>> But this was not the outcome Michael Williams hoped for. I didn't want him to do anything but go to jail and rot.
01:18:20
>> Andrew Kunanan's suicide left the world with a pile of questions. Was there any
01:18:26
connection between Johnny Versace and Andrew Kunanan? There have always been rumors. There is no hard evidence.
01:18:35
>> Do you think they knew each other? >> I I think there's a strong possibility that they they crossed paths before.
01:18:41
>> And that plays into his motive. >> I I think so. I think they knew each other or he wanted to be in his circle
01:18:47
and maybe he was rejected and this this is all speculation. >> There is some sense it's not complete.
01:18:53
Why' he do it? What was the folks in Minnesota? Why Chicago? Why New Jersey? Why Versace? Was there a connection
01:19:02
there? Was this just some sort of serendipitous unfortunate occasion where just two lives intersected at the wrong
01:19:12
time? >> And we'll never know. >> We'll never know. >> 20 years after Versace's death, Tim Gun
01:19:21
says Versace's influence still lives. >> Sexy, alluring, gorgeous red carpet gowns. It's all attributable to Johnny
01:19:30
Versace. Singer Bruno Mars not only wears Versace, he mentions Versace in one of
01:19:39
his songs. >> If guys like Bruno Mars are singing about Johnny Versace 20 years after his
01:19:50
death, what in your mind does that say about Johnny Versace? >> That he's fully embedded in our society
01:19:56
and culture and has a has a profound legacy. I feel his presence uh when I'm designing.
01:20:03
>> Lyanna Aguilar, a Project Runway contestant, was just a teenager when Versace was killed.
01:20:10
>> There are Versace elements in what you're wearing today, right? >> Yes. Tim Gun saw this and he said, "This
01:20:15
looks like Versace." And I was like, "Yes, mission accomplished." >> Of course, the memories are infinitely
01:20:22
more personal for Michael Williams who lost his best friend. And two decades later, it still hurts.
01:20:30
>> This hasn't left you. >> I'm better. It's taken me years. You know, if it was just Jeff being
01:20:38
killed would be one thing, but then you got David and Lee Miglin and William Ree
01:20:44
and Johnny Versace, five people that you're now connected to. It is a connection no one would ever
01:20:57
seek. The world lost an icon, but five families lost loved ones. [music] Friends, lost friends. All for a reason
01:21:09
we'll never know, if there ever was one. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music]
01:21:43
Personally, [music] [music] I could sort of relate to Kathy Blair and just thinking about what that would
01:22:12
be like as a woman to be home alone. >> That is the boogeyman story for every woman, right?
01:22:18
>> It's awful. >> An intruder is in your house. >> Yeah. >> Someone is stabbing you.
01:22:29
>> What's happening? I think my mom is dead. You killed my mom. >> This is a case that sticks with you
01:22:38
throughout your life. My name is Derek Israel. I was working in the homicide unit when this case occurred.
01:22:47
>> Uh my name is Carrie Scandan and I was the lead investigator on the Kathy Blair
01:22:51
murder. >> Kathy was a larger than life. [music] >> She's my big sister. I have always
01:23:05
thought everything Kathy did was amazing. How would you describe her from a student's perspective?
01:23:11
>> She was so kind. [music] Um, just believed in me wholeheartedly. It still makes no sense.
01:23:21
>> Who kills a choir director? Who does that? >> She's a monster. >> Uh, I get notified that there's been
01:23:28
another murder. >> The victims are an elderly couple. >> They were the best parents you could
01:23:34
ever want. They were just sweet people like anybody's grandmother and grandfather.
01:23:40
>> Right from the get-go, it started sounding really familiar. >> It's so violent and it's eerily similar
01:23:49
to Kathy Blair's >> and when we saw the connection, we just continued to work the investigations
01:23:56
together. You know, Carrie and I both kind of came to the conclusion that there was a
01:24:03
serial killer working here in Austin. >> I was uh out testing a thermoscope. I needed to get some video of some deer.
01:24:12
[music] >> Rob Leaf has this thermal imaging scope. It's a night vision rifle scope.
01:24:18
>> So, I saw the car pull up and park. I zoomed in with the scope and by the time
01:24:22
I had zoomed in, someone had gotten out. walked over to the sidewalk. >> That is just unbelievably chilling.
01:24:30
>> The last thing they were expecting was high resolution thermal video. >> This video showed the murderer walking
01:24:37
towards Kathy Blair's house. >> The actual killer. >> The actual killer. >> [music]
01:25:19
[music] >> These days in Texas, it seems like all roads lead to Austin. The sleek skyline of the Lone Star
01:25:41
Capital glittering. A boom town that welcomes newcomers chasing dreams. It's a city charged with life. An
01:25:54
unlikely place to find tragedy as dark as the death of a dreamer like Kathy Blair.
01:26:01
>> She loved life. You loved being around her. What were the things that were important to her?
01:26:08
>> She had, I think, a sense of justice, right and wrong. >> Kirsten Mat is Kathy's younger sister.
01:26:15
Um, she was bossy [laughter] >> and even as kids in California, it was clear Kathy had a passion.
01:26:22
>> She was always singing. She had a god-given talent, which was her voice. >> It was music that led Kathy to Austin.
01:26:36
>> Kathy went to UT Austin to get her master's degree in vocal performance. She loved Austin.
01:26:43
>> But love didn't always work out for Kathy. She divorced twice. Still, her affair with Austin held firm.
01:26:53
And by 2013, Kathy was renting a house on a quiet street here on Tamarak Trail. It was home. She loved the people here.
01:27:03
She loved the vibe. In a city known around the world for music, Kathy Blair fit right in. She had
01:27:12
melody and rhythm in her soul. But you wouldn't find her singing the blues here on Austin's famed Sixth Street. Instead,
01:27:19
she chose a more spiritual stage for her talents. >> Christian Coral Society was a positive
01:27:31
social setting. The kids were kind to each other. Barbara Sally's daughter was one of
01:27:37
hundreds of students touched by Cathy's talent as a choir director and teacher. >> I think she lived, breathed, ate, slept
01:27:48
music. >> Barbara along with Kathy's student Kristen Degrroot met with us to share
01:27:53
their memories of Kathy. >> She was so kind. Um just believed in me wholeheartedly, which uh was something I
01:28:00
really needed. And for Kristen, Kathy was a role model. >> She and I were the same. Music needed to
01:28:07
be in our lives or we would die. >> She was their teacher and their mentor. One of her friends called it the Kathy
01:28:15
Nation. >> The Kathy Nation. >> The Cathy Nation. >> It was December 6th, 2014. Kathy's son, Joe, was staying with her
01:28:26
while waiting for his assignment from the Navy. After a night out, he came home to Tamarak Trail. What he found was
01:28:34
shattering and echoed across that Kathy nation. I think my mom is dead. There's a lot of
01:28:41
blood. She's a broken. She killed my mom. >> Joe, what's your mom's name? >> Her name is Kathy Blair.
01:28:52
>> This case was clearly different really right from the right from the get-go. Starting with the
01:28:59
location. >> Oh, this is a nice neighborhood. This is a place where people I think feel safe.
01:29:06
>> Up until this case, which would frighten and chill Austin and shock veteran detectives Scanland and Israel,
01:29:14
>> one of the first things I thought of, I'm like, why this house? >> Yeah, why this house?
01:29:19
>> There's nothing that uh makes this house stand out from all the other ones. This
01:29:24
is the living room right here. Then in Kathy Blair's bedroom, >> there's a full-size [music]
01:29:30
jewelry case right here. Large drawers. All the drawers have been pulled out and
01:29:35
they're stacked up. So, it's like someone dumped them out and [music] then put them in a pile right here.
01:29:40
>> Someone who had time to do that. >> Correct. >> A jewel thief who had time because Kathy Blair was already dead.
01:29:50
>> This murder started right here on the bed. 53-year-old Kathy Blair lay alone asleep
01:29:57
in her own bed. She awoke to the ultimate nightmare. >> Yeah, Kathy Blair fought like hell.
01:30:05
>> Choked, stabbed, and finally slashed across the neck. >> The wound is a fatal wound, but she
01:30:12
still has time, you know, to put up that fight. >> She She fought for her life. Kathy's
01:30:18
here, and there's blood all around her. So much blood that it formed the timeline of a murder.
01:30:26
>> There's a light switch and on that light switch we saw blood like a a blood swipe
01:30:30
that told us that the perpetrator had come in here after the murder and and switched that light on. There are more
01:30:35
blood swipes on these drawers. That tells me the murder of Kathy Blair occurs before these drawers were
01:30:42
removed. >> Word soon spread across Austin and across Kathy Nation. I just said, "No, that's not what
01:30:51
happened. That cannot possibly be what happened." >> Was Kathy Blair the kind of woman who
01:30:56
might have an enemy who would do that? >> No. >> She didn't have a malicious bone in her
01:31:02
body. >> Why does someone come in here and and murder someone in order to steal a
01:31:11
little bit of jewelry? >> You know, it doesn't make sense. It would be the first in a hideous
01:31:18
series of senseless events. >> It's just one of those moments where you're in disbelief. You think you're
01:31:24
living in a dream. This does not happen. >> But it did happen. And the killer left
01:31:30
almost no evidence, no DNA, >> no fingerprints. >> No fingerprint. >> And no blood from the killer.
01:31:38
>> No. Israel and Scandan would need all their street smarts and then some because just 9 days later
01:31:46
>> I get notified that there's been another murder [music] for Austin Detectives Israel and
01:32:07
Scandlin Images of Kathy Blair's death were harrowing. >> Attacked in the middle of the night and
01:32:14
it was a really horrific scene, [music] >> but there was no physical evidence from
01:32:22
a killer who made virtually no mistakes. And that meant there was no clear suspect.
01:32:30
Then suddenly, the search for a suspect changed in a way no one could imagine. It was around 1:30 a.m. on the night
01:32:39
that Kathy Blair died. One of her neighbors was out for a late night walk. What he saw and what he did would give
01:32:47
the detectives their first big break in the case. >> I was out testing a thermoscope. I
01:32:54
needed to get some video of some deer. And we've got some deer up and down the street.
01:32:57
>> Rob Leaf lived a few short blocks from Kathy Blair. >> So it's a thermoscope so it picks up a
01:33:02
heat signature. >> Wow. It's like daytime >> except it was the dead of night and Rob
01:33:11
was only looking for deer. >> I saw the headlights of a car coming up. I saw the car pull up in park and
01:33:17
>> on this street >> on this street. >> Rob kept recording. This is video he recorded that night
01:33:23
with a scope like this one. >> I zoomed in with the scope and by the time I had zoomed in, someone had gotten
01:33:28
out and walked over to the sidewalk. >> You can flip the setting to red to see the image more clearly. Did you focus in
01:33:34
on the car? >> I first focus in on the person and turns left on Tamrock. >> Kathy Blair Street.
01:33:41
>> The next day, Rob flew to Las Vegas on a planned trip with old friends. >> Reading the news on my phone and saw a
01:33:48
murder story. I clicked on it. I saw the address. >> Rob raced back to Austin. He checked the
01:33:54
video of that stranger on his street >> and I called Austin police. >> How important does the video end up
01:34:00
being in Kathy Blair's case? very very important. >> The video was tantalizing but blank on images that did not give
01:34:11
off heat. So you couldn't actually identify the man, a license plate number or even if there was anyone else inside
01:34:19
the vehicle. Still, there was one important clue. >> It gave us an idea of what kind of
01:34:25
vehicle our murder suspect arrived at the crime scene with, and it was a sedan of some sort.
01:34:32
These cops needed much more evidence. Then 9 days after Kathy Blair's murder in another peaceful Austin neighborhood
01:34:42
just 15 minutes from Cathy's home, they would get it. >> The victims are an elderly couple
01:34:49
murdered overnight. >> Viciously. >> Viciously. >> Sydney Jr., Johnny and Brenda want their parents to
01:34:59
be remembered as the outstanding people they were, not the grim headlines they became. Billy and Sydney Shelton were
01:35:08
hardworking and happily married for 64 years. >> We were never rich, but not once did
01:35:17
daddy ever complain about it. Not once did mama ever complain about it. A life well-lived and peacefully slowing
01:35:27
down. Billy was 83. Her husband Sydney 85. >> These are sweet people that'll, you
01:35:35
know, send you on your road with some cookies. >> Home nurse Dao Catola was making her
01:35:41
scheduled visit on December 15th, 2014. >> I knocked. Nobody answered. Front door
01:35:47
was splintered. It It was clearly had been busted open. Dow nervously headed to the Shelton's modest bedroom
01:35:54
>> and their room had been ransacked and then to the left I saw him on the bed and I I ran. I just turned around and I
01:36:02
ran. >> Sydney and Billy Shelton had been beaten and stabbed. >> The knife is still present.
01:36:09
>> Yes. >> In one of the victims. >> That's correct. >> Is it clear that it's also a burglary?
01:36:15
>> Yeah, I was seeing some of the same things. The same things found at Kathy Blair's
01:36:21
murder scene. Starting with an empty jewelry box. >> And again, the drawers were pulled out.
01:36:27
They had been emptied and stacked. >> Three people had been slaughtered in their own beds. The crime scenes were
01:36:34
eerily similar, and investigators were privately wondering, was there a serial killer loose on the streets of Austin?
01:36:44
If word gets out that there's a serial killer, it kicks it to an entirely different level.
01:36:49
>> So, investigators kept their worst fears to themselves. But why would any killer
01:36:55
target Kathy or Billy and Sydney, who cops determined didn't even know each other?
01:37:01
>> None of these people had any enemies that we could figure out. What is it that connects these people together
01:37:06
besides the killer? >> Every lead was chased down. Then almost 3 weeks after Kathy was killed, the name
01:37:14
of a stranger surfaced, Tim Paron. He'd done yard work at Cathy's house, and a friend reported Parland was weird and
01:37:23
rude. >> I go to our computer system. >> It was a simple and easy search. Tim Paron had spent decades in prison.
01:37:33
>> And he stole jewelry. >> Adding stolen jewelry. >> Specifically jewelry >> at night.
01:37:37
>> Are you hopeful at this point? Yeah, I am. >> So, this is the in town suites. Tim
01:37:46
Parlland where he was living at the time the murders happened. >> Israel and Scandan went to look up the
01:37:52
lifelong convict. The detectives snapped these photos of Tim Parland. >> Told them we're homicide detectives.
01:38:02
>> So, he asked us a few questions as well >> about the murder. >> Well, yeah. Like, so how'd she die?
01:38:07
>> Wow, that's bold. you know, stuff like that. >> He's sussing it out to see >> what we know.
01:38:12
>> Cat and mouse. >> It is. >> Harland spoke to the cops in the hotel's parking lot, but when they asked to see
01:38:18
his room, he refused, claiming his wife was inside and asleep. >> And you drive away. And what's the
01:38:26
conversation? >> I said, "This is our guy." >> You did? >> Yeah. And Derek says, "I don't know
01:38:31
yet." A return trip to the in town suites just a few days later pays off. Paron wasn't
01:38:41
home, but his wife was. >> Explain what we were investigating and she knew the Shelton. His wife knew the
01:38:47
Shelton. >> Tim Parlland's wife knew the Shelton from church. [music] And Tim Parlin had
01:38:53
worked in Kathy Blair's yard. It was tenuous, but he was a connection. >> She gave us permission to search the
01:39:00
apartment. Did you find anything? >> We did a pawn receipt. >> This is that pawn receipt
01:39:07
>> for a piece of jewelry, a a nugget pendant. And it turns out that pendant belonged to Kathy Blair. It was pawned
01:39:13
on the same night that Kathy Blair was murdered. >> We found out that his sister had a green
01:39:19
Toyota. >> Haron had been using his sister's car, a green Toyota. Its outline appeared
01:39:27
similar to the car in Rob Leaf's video. and one caught on security footage approaching that Austin pawn shop
01:39:34
[music] less than 24 hours after Kathy was murdered. >> We took it. We had it towed
01:39:39
>> towed and tested on the passenger [music] seat. Traces of dried blood. >> Blood belonged to Kathy Blair that was
01:39:48
in that car. >> Austin was on edge. >> Kathy Blair was found dead inside her home,
01:39:55
>> hoping for an arrest. The wait for justice has been troubling for her students, family, and friends. My name
01:40:01
is Ha Müller and I'm an anchor at [music] CBS Austin News. It was very, very shocking in the community, and it
01:40:07
was really unsettling. >> But now, justice was closing in on one man, Tim Parlin.
01:40:14
>> But you're thinking one guy still. >> Oh, yeah. When Kathy Blair's blood was found in
01:40:28
Tim Parland's car, detectives Israel and Scanland were convinced that he had killed her.
01:40:34
>> At that point, we're all jubilant. We're super excited. We got our guy. >> Parland fit the bill perfectly. He had
01:40:42
done yard work for Kathy Blair and was a career criminal with a long wrap sheet of burglaries.
01:40:49
>> Now I just need to question him. confront him. Hopefully, he'll confess, but if he doesn't, we have hard physical
01:40:55
evidence to tie this guy to the murder. >> Israel had Parliament arrested for an
01:41:00
unrelated parole violation and brought in for questioning. >> Seemed like a pretty short and straight
01:41:06
road to charging Tim Paron with murder. It turned out it wasn't a short road, and it certainly wasn't a straight road.
01:41:14
>> The first step was to get Parland to corroborate some of the details of Cathy's murder. I just straight up told
01:41:21
him that, you know, we knew that he had killed Kathy Blair. >> What's his response?
01:41:26
>> I didn't do it. And this was the thing he really liked to say. These hands didn't kill anyone.
01:41:34
>> So, the detectives asked him who did, but Parlin wasn't giving up that information so easily.
01:41:41
>> So, after hours of this conversation, he finally says, "Okay, I'll tell you who
01:41:46
it was." And that's when he said, "Sean Gant and Alcazar." >> Who is that? >> That's what I said. Who is that?
01:41:54
>> Did you think he was stalling? >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This sounded completely made up. And I knew as soon
01:41:59
as he said it that he had screwed us >> cuz now you had to >> cuz now we got to go hunt some mystery
01:42:04
guy down and prove that he didn't commit a murder. >> With their lead suspect behind bars for
01:42:10
now, the detectives reluctantly contacted Parland's mystery man. Shaun Gant Benelkazar had never been in
01:42:17
trouble with the law. He had a degree in microbiology, was once a high school science teacher, and seemed an unlikely
01:42:26
acquaintance of a serial jewel thief. >> This guy lived in Galveastston. He didn't cause any trouble.
01:42:31
>> Gampelazar readily agreed to meet with them that night at the Galveastston Police Department.
01:42:39
>> All right. We're investigating a murder in Austin. And in particular, we're looking at Tim Parlin as the person that
01:42:46
we we believe committed the murder. >> I'm completely in the dark on this. Um, who was murdered?
01:42:54
>> He tells the detectives he barely knows Parland, that he just met him a few months earlier when his sister began
01:43:01
dating Parland's [music] nephew. >> So, we started talking. Okay, when's the last time you were in Austin? Well, I've
01:43:05
been in Austin a few times for the last month. He was in town during [music] the
01:43:09
the weekends of both of those murders and on top of it he was staying with Tim Paron.
01:43:14
>> The thing is honestly I want to help you guys out because this guy Wolf and Sheep's clothing basic didn't tell me
01:43:22
anything about his past and I'm starting to feel like he set me up like a psy. >> The detectives knew from Parland's
01:43:31
criminal record that he did have a history of being a master manipulator. Did Tim ever approach you about doing
01:43:39
burglaries? >> And before long, the mystery man who initially said he knew nothing slowly
01:43:45
started to crack. Gant Benelkazar now says he was sitting in the car when Parl went into Kathy Blair's house.
01:43:53
>> So where are you sitting in the car? Passenger seat. >> Well, if he's sitting in the passenger
01:43:58
seat, then why is there blood in the passenger seat? >> But Ganelkazar had an explanation. He
01:44:04
says Parland came back to the car clutching a bloody pillowcase. >> Came back with a sack had blood on it.
01:44:11
Threw it in the passenger floorboard and I took a peek at it. Had jewelry in it and I didn't want anything to do with
01:44:19
it. >> When did you figure out that it had something to do with the murder? >> The fact that it had blood on it was not
01:44:25
a good sign. >> Then about 4 hours into the interview. No, I'm just wondering the restroom.
01:44:33
>> As he walked down a hallway >> and he was walking in front of me. I looked up and it just I mean I got a
01:44:40
chill because I was like that's the same walk as the guy in the video. >> Remember that spooky thermal video that
01:44:48
the cops think accidentally caught Kathy Blair's killer amling down the sidewalk?
01:44:54
>> You know, it was just the broadness, the deliberate steps. I thought it was him. I definitely
01:45:01
believed it could be him. >> Was it actually Gamp Benelkazar and not Parland who had gone into Cathy's house?
01:45:08
>> We started pursuing, you know, the line of questioning along the lines of maybe
01:45:12
he was in the house. >> Did he bully you into going into the house or I was scared and you know he he
01:45:21
was taking a threatening tone. He told me to go in the house and get the stuff. >> And finally he admitted I did go into
01:45:28
the house and I did [music] steal the jewelry. >> Came in through where? The back door you
01:45:33
said. >> Yeah, it was open. >> Okay. Open. Unlock. >> Unlock. >> Yeah. I looked around and kind of
01:45:39
prowled and snuck through quietly. I turned on a couple lights um in rooms where I didn't see her. I found the room
01:45:48
where she was and she was fast asleep. That was the room her jewelry box was in.
01:45:52
>> Okay. >> And so I I opened the jewelry box, took the stuff out, put it in the the thing.
01:46:00
Maybe he went back. I don't know. But I didn't kill her. >> I told him that's that's impossible.
01:46:07
Everything you said is true except that it's not possible she was still alive when you left. And I explained that the
01:46:15
person who turned on those light switches, you talked about turning on. The person who removed that pillowcase,
01:46:21
you talked about removing. The person who removed those drawers, you talked about removing.
01:46:26
That person had Kathy Blair's blood on his hands. So the person who did all that killed
01:46:35
Kathy Blair. I kept pushing him for the reason. Something happened in that room when you were there. What happened? And
01:46:42
that's when he said, "I was standing there. I was looking at her." >> With no room left to lie, he breaks
01:46:50
down. >> She woke up. She lunged at me, grabbed the knife, started trying to wrestle it
01:46:58
out of my hand, and then it was a struggle, and I stabbed her in the neck. >> The confession came unexpectedly.
01:47:10
The witness was now the prime suspect. >> We had gone to clear the guy and instead
01:47:17
he confessed to capital murder. >> Gampen Elkazar kept talking and claimed that after murdering Kathy Blair, he
01:47:25
handed off her jewelry to Parl. >> Did you get to keep any of it? >> No, he didn't give me anything. I got
01:47:31
nothing. You're going to have to ask him where he fenced it. Shawn Gampanelkazar appears to have
01:47:38
gained absolutely nothing from this senseless murder. >> I've never met anyone who would go into
01:47:46
someone's house and sneak in at night and and murder them in their bed. >> For what reason?
01:47:50
>> None. For their own gratification. That's it. >> We're going to place you under arrest
01:47:55
for capital murder. Detectives immediately read Gant Benelkazar his rights, but they still wanted to learn
01:48:02
what he knew about the murder of the Shelton. >> We started talking again and asked him
01:48:06
about the Sheltons. >> Try as they might, Gabanelazar wasn't talking anymore. >> Well, I wasn't there for that one. I
01:48:15
don't know anything about that one. By this point, everyone is exhausted. So, eventually, he just he terminated the
01:48:20
interview. >> He said, "I'm done." >> Done. >> Wish this all had never happened. After
01:48:26
the arrest, Detective Scandlin made this video of Gamp Benelkazar on his cell phone.
01:48:33
His hunch seemed right. >> That's the moment that you think >> that's him. That's when I thought it was
01:48:38
him. >> Two men are in jail in connection with the murder of a beloved choir teacher.
01:48:43
>> 4 days later, Austin police announced that they had made two arrests. >> 30-year-old Shawn Gan Ben Alkazar of
01:48:50
Galveastston is charged with capital murder. 49year-old Timothy Parlin is also expected to face charges related to
01:48:56
Blair's murder. >> Sean Gant Benelkazar, he was a UT graduate. He had no criminal record of
01:49:02
any kind. How did he get involved with a crime like this? >> Tim Parlin had an answer. Later, while
01:49:09
in custody, Parland admitted to the cops that he had driven Gamp and Alkazar to Kathy Blair's house and to the Shelton
01:49:16
residence on the nights they were murdered. And Parlland says he knew all along that Gamp and Elkazar had killed
01:49:23
all three of them. Investigators now thought they understood what had happened. >> Shawn murdered the Shelton's. Tim
01:49:30
Parland was a party to that murder and he planned it. He facilitated it. He profited from it. He assisted in it.
01:49:39
>> But you are 100% convinced that it was Shawn who murdered that couple? >> Yes.
01:49:44
>> Will he ever be brought to trial for it? It seems unlikely. >> Unlikely because there was no direct
01:49:52
evidence linking Gamp and Alcazar to the Shelton murders and he would always deny
01:49:58
he had killed them. Prosecutors would focus instead on building their strongest case using Gampanelkazar's
01:50:06
confession to convict him of killing Kathy Blair. But when Shawn Gampanelkazar finally
01:50:13
gets his day in court, no one could have anticipated what would happen next. >> Makes you worry because this guy cannot
01:50:21
be out on the streets. Okay. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We're here to start trial in
01:50:40
the state of Texas versus Shaun Gant Ben Alcazar this morning >> 3 years after Shawn Gant Benelkasar
01:50:46
confessed to the murder of Kathy Blair his trial begins >> did then and there intentionally commit
01:50:52
murder by causing the death >> you never know what a juryy's going to do >> but it was a very very strong case
01:50:58
>> you're all here today >> assistant DA's Andrea Austin and David Livingston present the state's case
01:51:05
>> the man who sits among us in this courtroom the defendant Shan Ganazar are is Kathy Blair's killer.
01:51:13
>> How hard was it to be there during that trial? >> It was really hard. [music]
01:51:19
>> There were some pictures throughout that that I saw that I can't unsee. >> There was a car that parked while I was
01:51:28
on the walk. >> Kathy's neighbor, Rob Leaf, testifies about the video he recorded on the night
01:51:34
she was murdered. By the time I zoomed and zoomed back in, someone was already out of the car and was crossing onto the
01:51:40
sidewalk. >> That someone, the prosecutor tells the jury, was Shawn Gampanelkazer on his way
01:51:47
to murder Kathy Blair. >> I just kind of looked through the rooms, you know, and I I turned on a couple
01:51:54
lights um in rooms where I didn't see her. The prosecution's case hinges on G Benelazar's rambling 5-hour confession
01:52:04
where he describes breaking into Cathy's house. >> She woke up. She lunged at me.
01:52:13
>> He had a knife out. They fought over the knife >> and I stabbed her in the neck.
01:52:24
>> He didn't just kind of confessed. He straight up confessed to all the details
01:52:30
of of killing Kathy [music] Blair. >> Signing David right here. >> That confession was vital to the
01:52:36
prosecution's case. >> He gave enough details in this confession that were kept out of the
01:52:42
media so we could show the confession was from the actual killer and that he knew enough about this crime to have
01:52:49
either been there or done it himself. >> There's no question that this is a horrible, horrible crime. But Gapan
01:52:56
Alkazar's defense lawyer, Ariel Pion, makes a bold accusation right off the top.
01:53:02
>> That damning video, >> she [music] just was trying to fight the knife away from me and I was
01:53:07
>> It was all a lie. A false confession coerced by detectives Israel and Scandlin.
01:53:15
>> No, I'm just wondering. The defense tells the jury that during that five-minute bathroom break in the
01:53:22
hallway when Gamp Benelkazar was not being recorded, detectives threatened him. Law enforcement went down there, we
01:53:30
believe the evidence will show, with the express idea, plan, purpose, and intent
01:53:38
to try to get him to confess to something he didn't do. >> They have to come up with something.
01:53:42
They have to argue that it's a involuntary statement, but we obviously knew that wasn't true. The exact words
01:53:48
were, "This is important and we're not you're not going anywhere until we finish."
01:53:52
>> Gampen Alkazar takes the stand to blame the cops for his confession. >> That if I I didn't explain a reason for
01:54:00
having done it, even though I didn't do it, um I would give the death penalty. >> And he maintains that it was actually
01:54:07
Tim Parland who killed Kathy Blair on that chilly December evening back in 2014.
01:54:14
>> Were you worried the jury might always have to worry with juries. >> You don't get blood on your hands and
01:54:19
put it on a jewelry chest. >> At closing arguments, prosecutors insist Gap and Alkazar voluntarily confessed
01:54:27
and offered details about the crime only the killer could have known. >> I think it comes down to credibility
01:54:34
>> and hopefully are sitting there thinking, "This guy confessed. Why are we here?"
01:54:39
>> The case goes to the jury. When the hours started ticking away, two, three, five, six, seven, eight,
01:54:50
nine, you feel you feel awful. Were you worried? >> Yes. The idea that he would get out is just unthinkable. I
01:55:01
mean, Sean is going to kill somebody else if he got out. After 19 hours of jury deliberations,
01:55:14
>> this time I'll declare a mistrial. >> A mistrial. The jury cannot reach a verdict.
01:55:22
>> If one person held out, she didn't want to consider the confession. >> I mean, look, that's what this system is
01:55:28
about. We We're required to get a unanimous verdict. We didn't get a unanimous verdict.
01:55:32
>> How hard was it to hear that there was a mistrial and you would have to go through it all over again? really hard.
01:55:37
Yeah, that was that was tough. >> With a retrial in the works and Tim Parlland's trial less than a month away,
01:55:45
prosecutors were worried. Could they get any jury to convict either of these men?
01:56:00
>> Good morning. This man, Timothy Parland, knew that Sha Gant would go in and murder Kathy Blair.
01:56:10
>> With Shaun Gamp and Elkasar's mistrial still fresh in her mind, prosecutor Andrea Austin is determined to put Tim
01:56:18
Parland away for life. He stands trial for both the murders of Kathy Blair and the Sheltons.
01:56:26
In Texas, if you were part of the crime, then you are also guilty of that crime.
01:56:32
You can convict him even if you don't believe he stepped foot inside that house >> because he was there and he
01:56:37
participated. >> Correct. >> I'm going to ask you to find him guilty of capital murder.
01:56:45
>> Detectives were convinced Gant Vanelazar had killed the Shelton, but had no evidence to charge him with their
01:56:51
murders. So Tim Harland would prove to be an easier target for prosecutors. Parland admitted he drove Gampanelazar
01:56:59
to both murder scenes. And the car Parlin was driving had Kathy Blair's blood in it.
01:57:06
Oh, he did much more than sit in the car. He's the one who targeted Kathy. He's the one, for whatever reason, said,
01:57:16
"Hey, you know what? This would be a good person for you to murder." Morning ladies and gentlemen.
01:57:22
>> Parlland's lawyer, Keith Lowerman, argues that despite his client having confessed to driving Gampalazar to both
01:57:29
murders, there is no evidence placing Parland inside the two houses. >> He never set foot in either one of these
01:57:37
houses. And at the very end, you're going to realize that this man in those hands never participated in any murders.
01:57:46
After a 9-day trial, the jury doesn't take long to reach a verdict. >> We the jury find the defendant Timothy
01:57:54
Parley guilty of defense of capital murder. >> Guilty. Parlin is sentenced to mandatory life in
01:58:02
prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the murders of Kathy Blair and Sydney and Billy Shelton.
01:58:11
Five months later, Gamp and Elkazar went to trial a second time for the murder of
01:58:16
Kathy Blair. >> The nerves were much higher the second round. >> Well, there's a lot at stake. There's a
01:58:22
lot at stake. >> The vehicle parked on the side of the street that it wasn't in front of a
01:58:27
house. >> Again, Rob Leaf's testimony is critical for the prosecution. >> And uh did at some point did you see an
01:58:35
individual get out of that car? >> Yes, sir. I did. I >> want you to watch this. It was a
01:58:40
struggle and I stabbed her in the neck. I I didn't >> Look what he does with his hands.
01:58:48
>> I was just >> He's retrieving a memory, right? Involuntarily, he's doing this. He
01:58:55
remembers doing because he's the one who murdered her. >> The police wouldn't let me go. It was my
01:59:00
understand. >> Once more, Gampanelazar swears the cops coerced his confession. >> And I come out of the bathroom. They
01:59:07
keep saying, "Oh, we we know you did it. There's no doubt you did it. And they keep saying it. Keep saying it. And I
01:59:12
just got worn down. >> This time out, the jury deliberates less than 3 hours. >> We, the jury, find the defendant, Shan
01:59:21
Gamp Alazar, guilty of the offense of capital murder. >> We poured our emotions out into this
01:59:30
case. >> Was justice delayed and >> Yeah. But delivered. but delivered. >> Like Tim Param before him, Shawn
01:59:42
Gampelazar was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. >> We're pleased. Um, we miss Kathy. This
01:59:50
isn't going to bring her back. Our hearts are never going to completely heal. >> A few months after the verdict, I spoke
02:00:00
with Gamp and Elkazar via a prison video phone. I wanted to ask why. Why would a
02:00:06
guy who'd never been in trouble with the law suddenly turn into a vicious killer?
02:00:12
Instead, with no evidence of any remorse, he repeated what he told the jury, that he was innocent, the cops had
02:00:21
forced him to confess, [music] and that Tim Parlin was the one who had killed Kathy Blair.
02:00:27
>> When I went to go see him at 4 4:00 a.m., um, he said, "Well, we're going to go get breakfast." and uh drove me out
02:00:35
to the place and then said that he had killed her and told me about it. >> Tim Parlin confessed to you that he
02:00:42
killed Kathy Blair. >> Yeah, that's right. >> How could you have known the movements
02:00:48
of the killer? >> Anything that um I said was something that either uh you know Tim told me or I
02:00:56
just made up. And not surprisingly, when I visited Parland at a prison in northeast Texas,
02:01:05
>> hello. >> Hello. How you doing? >> He pointed the finger at Gampanelazar and [music] claimed he knew absolutely
02:01:12
nothing about the murder of Kathy Blair. >> After Shawn viciously kills Kathy Blair,
02:01:19
gets back in your car and drives away and he goes back to Galveston. >> He never said a thing.
02:01:24
>> Never said a thing. >> He never said a thing. Stone cold individual actually.
02:01:28
>> Right. You've been described as the master manipulator [laughter] >> that you talked him into doing it.
02:01:34
>> My IQ is very low and I have a big heart. I believe that >> it is. It's very low actually. And I
02:01:40
have a big heart. So I'm not the mastermind behind anything. >> You're just a big teddy bear behind
02:01:44
bars. >> Yeah, pretty much. >> Bob Leaf is the accidental hero of this story. Someone who never knew he'd be
02:01:54
called upon to help solve a murder. And you ended up leaving the neighborhood. >> I did.
02:01:59
>> Need her to change. >> I did. Absolutely. >> I would not be [music] where I am as a a
02:02:06
professional actor and musician without her influence. [music] >> Kathy Blair's student Kristen Degrroot
02:02:11
is moving to New York to pursue her dream of a career in music. >> One of my greatest regrets is that I
02:02:19
never was able to tell her that she did this for me. >> How proud do you think she would be of
02:02:25
you? >> [snorts] >> I I hope she'd be really proud of me. [snorts] >> They're just evil people [music] in the
02:02:34
end. There's just two broken human beings who, you know, basically put a path of destruction
02:02:44
through, you know, two families. >> Two families who will forever share the same tragedy.
02:02:56
They were the best parents you could ever want. >> I just miss her. And at the end of the day, she's gone
02:03:06
and I can't call her tonight. 48 hours. Don't miss [music] an episode. >> [music]
02:03:37
[music] [music] [music]