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[Music] when you hear the name Gabby petito what comes to mind a young aspiring blogger who love life
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love Adventures how a girl who was on the cusp of beginning life and whose life was tragically taken from
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her the FBI announcing a medical examiner says the body found in Wyoming was indeed that of Gabby ptio the
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coroner calling her death a homicide Brian laundry I believe made his decision to kill himself after he
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had killed Gabby petito investigators say human remains found in Florida this week are those of
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Brian laundry the only person of interest in the death of his fiance Gabby petito Gabby petito has been gone for
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over a year now is this case over no this case is far from over my name is Mary F ji and I'm a
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former Federal prosecutor and defense attorney there are still a lot of questions for Gabby's parents the
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primary one being would Gabby petito still be alive today day if the case have been handled
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differently hello hello and good morning we came to know Gabby petito and Brian laundry because they were putting
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themselves out there in social media documenting their travels throughout America this young couple in love living
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out of their van seeing what the world had to offer Liv in the dream my name is Dr Chris Mandi and I'm
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a forensic psychologist but what we come to learn is that that was a veneer all the chocolate Mount I
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know it's a river of chocolate much as I know Gabby and feel like I know Brian you just never know when it comes to
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relationships we've been lucky so far at all the places we've stayed but I'd say
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this is one of the best so far anyone that's met the two of them has been like they seem like such a nice couple but a
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lot of couples look nice on Instagram about a month into their trip Gabby and Brian have a lot of arguments it gets
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physical a witness reports it to the Moab police hey how are you I'm good I'm with Moab police they respond and now we
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see that there's trouble in Paradise he walked me out the car and told me to go take a breather but I didn't want to be
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a breather I'm fine and I love at I hope she doesn't have too many complaints about me I'm just
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uh I feel bad I didn't get so public when you look back could that Moab police stop than a
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game changer oh absolutely it's hard not to wonder what would have happened uh to Gabby if
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either Gabby or Brian had been arrested that day two people went on a trip one person
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returned and that person that returned is isn't providing us any information where is Gabby we believe the
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circumstantial evidence demonstrates that the laundry family was aware that their son had murdered Gabby and that
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they were aware of the location of her remains they refused to communicate to batito family as human beings How could
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somebody not pick up that phone and say I'm so sorry we don't know what happened
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what can we do to help and the only reason why you wouldn't is if obviously something went a foul
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Gabby is the most amazing person I've ever met I've never felt a pain like this I have screamed into the air what
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happened because I want answers we will get Justice for her no matter what [Music]
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[Music] Gabby potito's road trip in the summer of 2021 started as an adventure story I
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love the B months later it turned into a nationwide search for a missing woman the search for missing 22-year-old Gabby
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Patito is now a multi-state effort before ending here earlier today human remains were discovered with the
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discovery of her remains in Grand Teton National Park it has now become a cautionary tale ultimately her death
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will hopefully lead to many women being rescued and saved from these situations well before it gets to murder former
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prosecutor and CBS consultant Mary fan says Gabby's story is really about recognizing the warning signs of
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domestic violence which are often hard to read there are people who believe that Gabby potito's story didn't have to
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end the way it did if only the warning signs had been picked up on would it have been
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[Music] different to most eyes Gabby petito and her fiance Brian andry were compatible
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in every way Gabby poto never goes outside coolest Shi you ever met Man by far she she's going to make you
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she's going to make you smile Gabby's dad Joseph coolest Shi you ever met simple as that 22 years old a New York
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girl from Long Island an appetite for adventure she knew she wanted to take this trip her mom Nicole Schmidt she had
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told me about it um probably a year before it started B stretching doing some morning
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yoga Brian's very charismatic he always comes off as such a sweet person and just kind of like I'm here one of gab's
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close friends Rose Davis they met soon after Gabby moved to Florida she texted me one of the sweetest messages I think
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I've ever got from someone and it was just like you seem so cool I really want to be your friend and I was just
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absolutely they made Tik Tok videos together for fun Rose says Gabby was good friends
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with Brian back in high school in New York then after Brian moved to Florida Gabby moved there too to be closer to
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him I always told her life is kind of like a movie cuz I was just like this happens
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movies soon they were in love and living together she'd let me know what they did
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and you know he he'd make her breakfast and it was always such a cute little thing and they did cute little dinners
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in July of 2020 they got engaged they even got tattoos together but Rose says Brian could sometimes exhibit what she
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calls toxic traits we spoke to Rose when Gabby was first reported missing when Brian wants something he's going to get
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it and I don't mean in a physical way he's going to force it he's just going to I don't want people to say I'm
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calling him a full manipulator but he'll manipulate the situation to get what he
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wants out of it and you know he didn't want her to go out one night with me and he stole her ID because you can't
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get into the bar without your ID and you know this was really upsetting to her you know you're you're engaged it's not
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you know it's not supposed to be like that but the couple seemed to put any drama behind them as they got ready for
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their Adventure Gabby worked hard at Taco Bell and with Brian at public supermarket saving money for their trip
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they bought the van they converted it the goal was to spend four or five months crisscrossing the country having
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Adventures even working on organic farms and chronicling it all in real time on social media
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she was just like I want to document this this is so cool to be doing and she just kind of yeah kind of like a vlogger
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just let everyone know what she was up to she was excited starting her van life digital Journey where she's creating
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this whole you know following of van liers and that's what she was really into at
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the moment they rolled out officially on July 2nd Gabby posted constantly hello hello and morning every little detail
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you can't keep chocolate in Utah not in July but all those selfies may have been
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hiding a darker story it's everything behind the scenes you don't know 6 weeks into their trip on the
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afternoon of August 12th in Utah near the Arches National Park Gabby and Brian's Instagram road trip came to a
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shuttering stop driver is showing some obscure driving possibly intoxicated it was around 4:45 in the afternoon
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according to this police officer's body cam currently doing 45 M an hour Zone through here is 25
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oh subjects just hit the curb correction speed limit is 15 what's your guys's names Gabby Brian
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Gabby Brian okay it was the stop that could have changed everything [Music] [Music]
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R County Sheriff's Office this 911 call was made on August 12th 2021 in Moab Utah 4 weeks before Gabby Patito was
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reported missing we're driving by and I'd like to report a domestic dispute the caller reports seeing what appeared
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to be an alarming confrontation between Gabby and Brian Florida license plate White and what were they doing uh we
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drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl who was slapping her yes and then we stopped they ran up and down the
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sidewalk he proceeded to hit her hopped in the car and they drove off officers from the Moab Police Department are
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dispatched and within minutes Gabby and Brian's white van is spotted driving erratically outside the Arches National
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Park they're pulled over the officers separate the couple and began questioning them I'm
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just Gabby is visibly shaken you want to tell that's yeah I don't know it's just some
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days I have really bad OCD and I just I was just cleaning and straightening up back before and I was apologizing to him
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and saying I'm sorry that I'm so mean and I'm trying to start a blog I have a vog stuff so I've been building my
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website been really stressed and he doesn't really believe that I could do any of it so that's kind of been like a
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I don't know he's like down I don't know we been fighting all morning and and he
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wouldn't let me in the car before and then why wouldn't he let you in the car you're told me I needed to calm down
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right now so tell me what's going on we see this gets worked up sometimes and I try and really distance myself
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from her so like I I locked a car and I walked away from her Brian tells police that Gabby attacked him scratching his
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face and his arm as she tried to get back into the van had her phone time to get the I was trying to I know I
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shouldn't push it I just trying to push your weight to go let's let's just take a minute step back and breathe and see
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she got people that came to us and told us that they saw him hit you another officer asked Gabby for more details
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about what happened well to be honest I definitely hit him first where'd you hit
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him I st you slapped him first and then just on his face to shut up how many times did
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you slap him Romeo India a couple and then what and his reaction was to do what I he just grabbed you yeah did he
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did he hit you though I mean I mean it's okay if you're saying you hit him and then I understand if he hit you but we
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want to know the truth if he actually hit you I guess yeah but I hit him first where did he hit you don't worry just be
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gra my face like like guess um he didn't hit me in the face like like pun me in the face or anything
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did he slap your face or what well like he like grabed me like with his nail and
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I guess that's why it looks and then we have a cut right here like a peel touch it it
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burs the officers never directly asked Brian if he slapped or hit Gabby they also didn't talk to the 911 caller who
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reported seeing Brian hit Gabby but one of the officers did speak with a second eyewitness that day says I never saw him
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hit her I saw him shove her but I couldn't tell if it was an aggression against her or a defense against her so
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at this point from what unless the guy's screaming that he he to go to jail and did something to this girl it sounds to
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me like she is the primary aggressor now in Utah if officers find evidence of a domestic violence assault they are
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required to make make an arrest or issue a citation an independent investigation
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would later conclude that the officers did not have a clear understanding of the
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law Gabby this is a very very important question how you answer this question is
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going to determine what happens next but the only person who can answer this question is you they mistakenly believed
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that Gabby had to intend to harm Brian to require an arrest when you sted him those
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times were you attempting to cause him physical pain or physical impairment was that what you were attempting to do to
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no what were you what were you attempting to do what was the reason behind the slapping and
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stuff what was what was you were attempting to accomplish by SLA I was trying to get to stop
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tell well doesn't sound to me like she attempted in ultimately officers on the scene decided to separate the couple for
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the night I'm going to give you the keys to the van Gabby was told to stay with the van I'm giving him a ride over to
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the hotel okay as the assumed victim Brian was sent to a hotel I really appreciate it thank you so much for
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everything no problem it's nice to meet you nice to meet you no one was arrested
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or issued a citation forensic psychologist Chris Mandi has worked closely with law
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enforcement on issues of domestic violence the officers that responded to Gabby and Brian were compassionate their
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hearts were in the right place of wanting to help they were trying to do what they mistakenly believed was the
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right thing by cutting them a break weeks later when the body cam footage was released there was a public uproar
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newly released video shows what looks like the aftermath of an argument between Gabby Patito and Brian lry for
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her Rose those images were almost impossible to watch it takes a lot for her to get that hysterical I perfectly
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Cal I'm Cal all the time and he really stresses me out and so when I saw the body cam I knew it was more than just a
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little argument she's not going to slap him for no reason the release of the 911 call Drew
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outrage who was slapping her followers of the story on social media erupted in anger
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my blood is boiling at how they failed this poor girl all I know is this didn't have to
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end like this police missed an opportunity Mandi says the officers seem to miss signs of domestic
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abuse and Gabby accepting the blame apologizing to him and saying I'm sorry that I'm so mean because in a
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domestically violent relation reltionship it's not uncommon for one party to take the blame for what really
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is the behavior of the other party the independent investigator later wrote that it's very likely that Gabby was a
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long-term victim of domestic violence the ramifications of the officer's actions during that stop would
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play out in the days ahead and months later would be questioned by Gabby's parents and their lawyers
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[Music] just days after that traffic stop Gabby and Brian were back on the road headed
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north to Salt Lake City it rained all afternoon yesterday on August 19th Gabby posted an edited 8-minute video showing
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their journey together it is really nice and sunny today the video showed no signs of any tension between Gabby and
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Brian later Gabby told her mom they were leaving Utah and driving to Grand Teton
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National Park in Wyoming she was happy she was excited to keep going on her journey and
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um that was the last time I spoke to her verbally on August 25th Gabby posted a series of photos on Instagram and front
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of a butterfly mural in Ogden Utah it would be her final post on [Music] Instagram Gabby poo never goes outside
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the Instagram post on August 25th 2021 was the last time Gabby petito would publish on social media and shortly
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after she said she and Brian were headed to Grand ton National Park Gabby's parents stopped hearing from her and she
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seemed to have been in communication with her parents on a regular basis through about the totality of this trip
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and they were checking in on her regularly then on August 27th 2021 her mother says she received a a
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strange text message from Gabby's phone it read can you help Stan I just keep getting his voicemails and missed
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calls Stan is Gabby's grandfather the mother thought it was odd because she never refers to her grandfather as Stan
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it was out of character and disconcerting but as far as the petito family knew Gabby and Brian were still
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together on their trip hi my name is Miranda Baker and on August 29th my boyfriend and I picked up Brian at Grand
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tan national park at 5:30 at night at cter Bay 48 hours after Gabby's mother received that cryptic text Miranda Baker
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says she and her boyfriend picked up a man she believes was Brian laundry she says he was alone he approached us
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asking us for a ride cuz he needed to go to Jackson before he came in the car he
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offered to pay P us like $200 to give him a ride like 10 miles so that was kind of weird he then told us he's been
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camping for multiple days without his fiance and that she was working on their social media page back at their
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van suddenly says Miranda things took a turn when there was confusion over where
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they were going he freaked out he's like nope I need to get out right now like pullover we dropped him off at 6:09 p.m.
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on August 29th meanwhile gabb's mother Nicole did receive one more text from Gabby's phone
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it said that there was no service in yosd the last text I received from her phone was August 30th are you confident
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that was from her or you're not sure I can't comment on that during Gabby's travels she had been
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staying in touch with her friend Rose Davis Rose was expecting to hear from Gabby on her birthday so we talked and
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my birthday is August 29th so we decided call me then but no birthday call or text came I honestly didn't think
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anything of it when she didn't text me or anything cuz she's traveling cross country and you know once it got uh it
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got later into it around like 8th and 9th of September that was the point where I was like she would have called
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me why haven't I heard from her yet what Rose did not know was that on September 1st Brian laundry was back in
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Northport Florida he had driven the van there and he was alone the petito family
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knew none of this but they had already become alarmed when they stopped hearing from Gabby Al together and her cell
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phone had stopped working [Music] did you ever reach out to her boyfriend to figure out what happened and where
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where your daughter is we can't comment we're not we're not commenting on it but
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Gabby's mother did reach out to police it was actually Friday the 10th that I decided to call police because I had had
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10 days 10 almost 11 days was enough for me to not hear from my child and um I got the runaround nobody wanted to
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report her missing um she's an adult she's traveling but as a mother I said it's not like her finally that Saturday
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I um went personally to suffet County fifth Precinct and now this is where we are Gabby petito was officially declared
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a missing person on September 11th just over two weeks after her last Instagram post as the nation remembered so many
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lives lost 20 years earlier the peti family focused on One Life that of their missing
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daughter we're looking for her and only her not the van not the two of them just
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just her keep your eyes out and we'll find her a woman disappears on a cross country trip with her boyfriend in a van
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on Monday September 13th 2021 the story of Gabby potito's disappearance hit the news the parent
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parents of a missing woman from Long Island need help finding her Gabby's mom and stepdad Nicole and Jim Schmidt held
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up her photo for reporters do it uh Gabby's 22 years old um she's an absolutely beautiful beautiful soul
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Inside and Out rose Davis was devastated to see her friend's picture on TV my mom
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called me into her room and uh Gabby's face was all over the news and uh I kind of just went into
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shock what happened to Gabby Patito once it became clear that Gabby Patito had gone missing her mom and
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stepdad her father Joe Patito and stepmom Tara set up a fine Gabby page where people could post tips and
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information she was reportedly last seen near Grand ton National Park in Wyoming
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around August 27th 2021 we're home home safe and sound I immediately immediately made like a collage of all
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of our photos and for a Tik Tok and posted the information Facebook Instagram everything within Days videos
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about Gabby's disappearance exploded across social media even people with no connection to Gabby join the search to
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help find her we are going to be going to the Grand Tetons to see if there's anything that we can do to help in the
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search of Gabby petito you know the social media has been amazing um watch getting everybody to post it repost it
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we need for her to come back home and anything you guys can do to help us get there is just appreciate it and we just
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got to keep doing it for Gabby's parents this Spotlight in the media and online was invaluable but
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as former Federal prosecutor Mary fulan points out not all missing persons cases
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receed this level of attention what was it about Gabby patio's story that resonated with so many people across the
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world you know there seems to be a tendency in these types of cases to give a disproportionate amount of attention to
00:27:52
a certain type of individual and I think Gabby petito was a young beautiful blonde Bluey girl forensic psychologist
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Dr Chris Mandi this case you know is a bit of a commentary on who gets news attention Traction in social media there
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are people in these situations every single day that don't fit that description Native American communities
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you know gay communities are they being treated differently are they being ignored
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whether it's newsworthy or not shouldn't be dictated by somebody's color of skin
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because these stories if they rise to a level of notoriety I mean they really can help solve the mystery behind some
00:28:35
of them but there was one person who wasn't helping solve the mystery of what happened to Gabby Brian
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laundry Northport Florida police spokesman Josh Taylor said investigators were frustrated neither he nor his parents
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would answer their questions even though Gabby had lived with them we were essentially handed uh the information
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for their attorney that is the extent of our conversation with them first word that popped in my brain was coward to be
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honest with you you're supposed to love her you're supposed to marry her where is she police confiscated the white Ford
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van searched it for evidence and then released it posting that Brian was now a person of interest in Gabby's
00:29:24
disappearance laundry family attorney Steven bertolino spoke briefly to the Press on behalf of the laundry family I
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will hope that miss petito is located and that she's reunited with her family Gabby's parents responded through
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attorney Rick Stafford with a scathing letter we believe you know the location of where Brian left Gabby we beg you to
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tell us as a parent how could you let us go through this pain and not help us 6 days after Gabby was declared missing
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the laundry family reported that they didn't know where Brian was they said he'd left for a hike at the Carlton
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Reserve days [Music] earlier police immediately began to comb the huge local park looking for
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Brian a massive search more than 50 officers and FBI agents combing a 24,000 acre park near Sarasota Florida looking
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for Brian in laundry anger at the laundry family silence prompted protesters to gather outside the laundry
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home demanding [Applause] answers while authorities were searching for Brian in Florida the search for
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Gabby in and around Wyoming intensified it was like a nationwide Hut too you know between social media and all the
00:30:53
other avenues and people were looking for the van people were looking for where went when it went they were
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looking for Gabby petito and in this case all of that social media attention ultimately helped
00:31:08
investigators locate Gabby when Kyle and Jen bethon came forward with information
00:31:14
they had spotted Gabby and Brian's van the bons had been in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park around the time
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Gabby's family last heard from her on August 27th 20 2021 the bons had their GoPros rolling for their YouTube channel
00:31:32
when they went looking for a campground we're driving down this road past this van and it had Florida plates however
00:31:40
the van was completely dark we assumed that they were just out hiking or doing something else once the bons left the
00:31:48
park they didn't think about the van again until late on Saturday September 18th when Jen checked her phone and was
00:31:58
stunned to learn authorities now believed Gabby had been in the Tetons the very same night the bons were there
00:32:05
Jen instantly remembered the white van and I immediately got Goosebumps all over my body I rushed back to the
00:32:14
computer and I saw that white Speck of van and I was like please keep going please keep going and it did and it got
00:32:22
bigger and bigger we just some reason instantly knew that it was hers when I called the FBI I was like I have found
00:32:30
Gabby's footage like patch me across to somebody like this is huge cuz I knew deep down what it was and I knew how
00:32:38
important this footage would be to finding Gabby as instructed the bons uploaded their footage to the FBI
00:32:46
website they also posted it on YouTube and Facebook just hours later came the devastating announcement earlier today
00:32:58
human remains were discovered consistent with the description of Gabrielle Gabby
00:33:04
[Music] Patito the FBI says Gabby's remains were found at the spread Creek Camping Area
00:33:14
inside Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming an autopsy confirmed the remains
00:33:20
were Gabby and the coroner determined her death was a homicide by manual strangulation we have no no additional
00:33:28
comments Gabby's family asked for privacy but her father Joe sent out a tweet that summed up the moment it read
00:33:37
simply she touched the world hours after it was announced Gabby had been found over a dozen FBI agents
00:33:51
and police officers swarmed the home of Brian's parents police arrived the FBI arrived they were carrying a battering
00:33:59
ram they also announced that they had a warrant I think seeing these FBI agents and police here you wonder do they now
00:34:06
know where he is the next day Northport police the FBI and other agencies ramped up the search
00:34:15
of the nature preserve near Brian's home trains very difficult essentially 75% of it's
00:34:24
underwater 49 days after Brian had returned home without Gabby on October 20th 2021 the FBI made an announcement
00:34:36
earlier today investigators found what appear to be human remains an autopsy revealed Brian laundry had died from a
00:34:43
self-inflicted gunshot to the head and there was something else all love with personal items such as a backpack and
00:34:54
notebook belonging to Brian lry that notebook ained writings from Brian explaining what he says really happened
00:35:02
to Gabby petito writing I ended her life I thought it was merciful before Brian laundry put a bullet
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through his head he wrote a story describing how Gabby Patito died it was dark they were running across a stream
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she must have fell and hurt herself and he went to help her but she seemed to be
00:35:45
in extreme [Music] pain in that small notebook found in a dry bag near Brian's remains he
00:35:56
wrote I ended her life I thought it was merciful that it is what she wanted but I see now all the mistakes I
00:36:07
made it was a self-serving narrative that portrayed that there had been an accident and that there had been a mercy
00:36:15
killing by him of her because she was suffering bra stretching it speaks to selfishness and a degree of narcissism
00:36:24
that it was important for other people looked at him his image you know he had the last
00:36:31
word while gab's parents will never see Brian lry face a jury they are seeking their own version of Justice they are
00:36:40
suing Brian's estate for wrongful death and his parents for intentional infliction of emotional distress where
00:36:48
is G Attorney Patrick Riley it's our belief that the laundry family was aware that Brian had murdered Gabby and was
00:36:56
aware where her body was located Riley says that belief is based on information from the FBI he says the
00:37:05
FBI believes that Gabby was murdered on August 27th 2021 and that Brian made a lengthy phone
00:37:13
call to his parents on the 28th he says according to the FBI Brian's parents then contacted an attorney that same day
00:37:22
how damning is that why would they get an attorney so fast very it's very damning it does doesn't pass the smile
00:37:28
test the laundry's attorney issued a statement denying the allegations made in the lawsuits and saying this lawsuit
00:37:35
does not change the fact that the laundries had no obligation to speak to law enforcement or any third party
00:37:42
including the petito family but there's more says Riley a letter allegedly written to Brian by his
00:37:51
mother Roberta laundry Riley says he and Gabby's mom read it while reviewing evidence at the FBI's Tampa
00:37:59
office there was one part that sticks out which is if you go to prison I'll bake a cake with a shiv in it and by the
00:38:08
way the envelope that the letter came in had written on the front of it Burn After
00:38:14
Reading if it can be proven when and if Bran's mother did indeed write that letter it could be very damaging says
00:38:23
Mary fulan because it shows the mindset of the mother that she'll do anything to
00:38:29
protect her child in addition to the pending cases in Florida Gabby's parents are in the
00:38:35
process of filing a lawsuit against the Moab Police Department how's it going how you doing relating to how they
00:38:42
handled that domestic violence stop with Gabby and Brian attorney Brian Stewart the family believes that Gabby would
00:38:50
still be alive today if the police officers had had the proper training and had followed the law in how they
00:38:56
responded to Gabby's situation hey how are you according to Stewart the body cam
00:39:04
footage shows there was a fundamental problem the very best thing I can do is call my supervisor and see if I'm
00:39:11
missing something here it's clear that the officers did not have a clear understanding of the law that they were
00:39:16
supposed to enforce that day try to calm down and I'm going to go call a supervis the Moab Police
00:39:22
Department commissioned the captain of another Utah police department to conduct that independent review of the
00:39:29
officer's actions that day among the report's conclusions there was probable cause for an arrest by choosing not to
00:39:39
apply the statute and affect an arrest the officers left Gabby and Brian in a dangerous
00:39:47
situation the report cited other unintentional mistakes says Mary F genan they didn't follow up with a key witness
00:39:55
which is the 911 caller they did not follow up with questions to Brian Landry about whether or not he grabbed her face
00:40:01
or grabbed her arm they didn't document Gabby's wounds photographically or in the report Mary fulan believes they also
00:40:10
missed some classic telltale signs of domestic violence and here was a girl who was hysterically crying who has
00:40:17
immediately taken the blame who has also trying to minimize her boyfriend's actions all of this while he remained
00:40:24
calm cool and collected there was an interview so I think if you look at that in the totality and had all those things
00:40:31
been addressed we might have had a different outcome here though this could have been a game changer we don't know
00:40:36
for sure we'll never know but certainly intervention would have been more possible under that
00:40:44
scenario one of the officers involved told the independent investigator after Gabby's death quote I would have done
00:40:52
anything to stop it if I would have known that was coming what happened what's going on
00:40:57
in a statement the city of Moab said it believed the officer showed kindness you
00:41:02
want to come stand in the shade respect and empathy and their handling of this incident get you in the van let's get
00:41:08
you on your way all right the city intends to implement the recommendations of the independent review which include
00:41:14
more domestic violence investigation related training and legal training to ensure officers understand Utah state
00:41:23
laws the attorneys for Gabby's parents insist their lawsuits are not about money they're about raising
00:41:32
awareness Gabby's mother Nicole recently told the Associated Press I get people messaging me all the time that they were
00:41:39
inspired by her to get out of a relationship yeah and I think that in of itself is a huge huge victory for a
00:41:49
family that has sadly uh encountered such tragedy but there can be these bright lights that
00:41:56
come out of these bad circumstances and if there is one to be shined here it will be hopefully that there will be
00:42:02
young girls out there that say you know what I'm going to walk away I'm not going to stay or I'm going to get myself
00:42:07
the help I need to get the strength to walk away Gabby Patito doing in death what
00:42:15
she did in life I've always described her as this light you know she'll do everything to bring the light out in you
00:42:23
and if she can't she'll give you some of hers [Music] 48 Hours don't miss an episode
00:42:59
[Music] that crime scene was just brutal and evil and just [Music] ugly Linda Slayton remembered as a
00:43:49
loving mother was found dead in this home in 1981 it was a case that went cold for nearly four decades when two
00:43:57
others who weren't sure whether their mother's murder would ever be solved got a chance at I freaked out I started
00:44:03
crying I saw the whole crime scene right then and there there a 12-year-old kid I'd have died that night trying to save
00:44:09
my mom but I didn't hear nothing it's so hard to live with that that one case just bothered me the
00:44:17
way I saw that lady he entered that window and he went out of that window and that's where I
00:44:25
got this print from son of a walking the street he's out free we truly felt that the person that left us
00:44:33
DNA behind was the person that actually killed her the boyfriend of Linda certainly high on the list her
00:44:40
ex-husband was another one all you need is a DNA match a hit that's all I need is a hit in the
00:44:49
database and the further we went the longer we went the more discouraging you got the Hope started
00:44:57
fading you can't lose your mom no worse than we lost our mom it's a nightmare I wouldn't wish on nobody I love you bro
00:45:06
now we can't undo the tragedy we can never make up for what happened the best outcome is that they
00:45:13
get Justice I I may die never know who did this you know loved ones and especially children of a murder victim
00:45:21
they need those answers no remember how many techic we had to go through over the years we was going to let them know
00:45:26
we're still here and we want we wanted who killed our mom 38 years after this brutal murder it
00:45:34
is felt like it never would be soled 38 years of more than two dozen detectives coming up
00:45:44
empty every turn I was striking out how long did it take you chromosome 3 chromosome 4 to solve this crime 2 days
00:46:01
[Music] [Music] on the morning of September 4th 1981 you're going to walk Three Doors is
00:46:57
down mhm and have a cup of coffee with your sister right when Judy Butler knocked on her
00:47:04
older sister's front door Linda Slayton never answered at the time the sisters both lived in this Lakeland apartment
00:47:13
complex so you started to walk back to your place and what happened and I turn and I
00:47:20
see that the screen is out of the window Linda's bedroom window was wide open Judy walked over and looked
00:47:30
inside and my vision comes across her where was she she was laying instead of up and down on the bed she was laying
00:47:41
Crossways and at first I thought maybe she was asleep and then then I just started
00:47:48
[Music] screaming when police arrived they found the partially n body of Linda Slayton 31
00:47:56
with a wire coat hanger wrapped around her neck the killer had entered her bedroom
00:48:03
through the open window the crackle of Police radios inside the small two-bedroom apartment
00:48:10
woke up Linda's 15-year-old son Jeff sleeping on a cot in the living room I asked him what is going on he said
00:48:18
police officer put on some clothes and go outside and he made sure I went out the front
00:48:22
door and when I went out there it looked like every cop in the State of Florida news cruise and my man J was out there
00:48:28
crying and she told my mom been murdered then I just couldn't believe it in the apartment second bedroom
00:48:35
another officer woke up Linda's younger son Tim then 12 years old he goes do you
00:48:42
need to wake up and go outside with your brother he never mentioned my mom like why why he not saying my mom why's the
00:48:48
cop waking me up still in his pajamas Tim walked past P his mother's closed bedroom door
00:48:59
suddenly it swung open as an officer left the room and I saw the whole crime scene I
00:49:07
mean I saw my mom's bloody body with a coat hang around her neck you can't unsee that
00:49:14
no and I still see it in 19 74 Linda Slayton was a 24-year-old single mom finally free she
00:49:32
had just divorced Jeff and Tim's abusive father Frank Slayton after nine volatile
00:49:38
years of marriage he was a violent alcoholic to be honest with you yes did he hit your mom no
00:49:45
yeah in the years that followed nothing was easy for the young family Linda struggled for work made her own clothes
00:49:54
to save money and couldn't afford a car if you couldn't get a ride to practice who would take you coach come pick us up
00:50:02
that's Coach Joe as the kids called him he often drove Tim and some other boys to and from football
00:50:12
practice on the last full day of her life Linda and Jeff argued tensions had been rising with her teenage son I
00:50:21
remember coming home there was nothing eat in the house you know how it is when you're 15 16 year old kid you're mouthy
00:50:29
and I got mad and I went out the door and got on my bicycle on Road 11 or 12 milesi to the north side of town and go
00:50:35
to Grandma and Grandpa's house get something to eat at 8:30 that night Tim came home from football practice the
00:50:42
coach brought me home around 9:00 Linda took Tim to a party next door to play cards grandma
00:50:50
grandpa brought me home about I think it was around 9 9 or 9:30 or so Linda and Tim came home about 11: by midnight Jeff
00:50:58
made up with his mom he says and still remembers their final moment together she's washing the dishes stuff when she
00:51:05
went to uh to go to her bedroom I said I love you Mom I'll see you tomorrow you [Music]
00:51:20
know what do you remember about the this Laton case I can remember everything about
00:51:28
it going to that Wonder looking at it where he went through it then uh went and then the children was
00:51:36
asleep and I saw that coat hanger around her neck former Sergeant Edgar picket now 94
00:51:45
years old was a legendary fingerprint expert with the Lakeland Police Department he led the crime scene unit
00:51:52
in fact the crime lab Bears his name but that sort of recognition was a long time
00:52:01
coming arriving at the Slaton crime scene in 1981 picket then 53 was just a year away
00:52:09
from retirement but his hard-earned reputation had never spared him from Prejudice so you pull up at the scene
00:52:18
and another detective says what to you that a black man don't have any business looking at a naked white woman even
00:52:26
though she was a homicide victim that's correct Sergeant picket believed Linda Slayton had been strangled with a coat
00:52:36
hanger from her own closet he dusted most of the bedroom for fingerprints even the floor and then I
00:52:45
got that print off of that window seal it was a palm print wouldn't a fingerprint you got the most important
00:52:53
print there is I knew it the evidence picket uncovered would play a crucial role decades later especially the palm
00:53:02
print but really had never seen anybody in the shape that that lady was in and I've seen a lot of people
00:53:11
kill an autopsy later confirmed what he already knew Linda Slayton had been sexually assaulted and strangled to
00:53:19
death swabs taken and preserved in a rape kit revealed semen that morning picket
00:53:27
says his thoughts kept returning to Linda slayton's boys I had children too and I really wanted to clear that
00:53:39
case I did you guys are standing on the spot mhm where your life changed yes right
00:53:48
here when I stopped being a kid was right there you were 15 15 you really felt like this was the end of your
00:53:53
childhood right here yes sir I think exactly what I didn't it when my Judy told my mom been
00:54:00
murdered emerging through the terror and tears that September morning 41 years ago the questions kept coming why who
00:54:11
who could have done such an evil thing [Music] [Music] on that late Summer Morning in 1981 Jeff
00:54:39
and Tim Slayton faced a frightening World they no longer recognized a world without their
00:54:46
mother how do 12 and 15y old boys process that deal with that there was hard yeah I thought about him in suicide a
00:54:58
couple times it was that bad the brothers moved in with their grandparents Clarence and Margaret
00:55:06
Harris we just we stayed in the house we didn't go anywhere scared to death scared to death you know to do
00:55:14
anything for those first terrifying days the family slept in the same room except
00:55:21
Grandpa Harris and he was staying guard with a gun all night while we slept the grandparents hoped a quick return to
00:55:29
familiar routines would help their distraught grandsons a few weeks after their mom's funeral the boys were back
00:55:37
in school and just you know being with friends and just just started living life again I guess you know going back
00:55:43
to football his teammates and Coach Joe in particular were always supportive always
00:55:51
rooting for him says Tim and I looked up to this guy he was my assistant football
00:55:55
coach rides to games rides to practice Tim's team football photo hung in his bedroom it was taken just 1 month after
00:56:04
the murder the picture was a reminder he says of something his mom had taught him
00:56:10
to keep moving forward and never give up she was a fighter yes oh yes oh yeah oh
00:56:17
yeah she might have weighed 100 lb soaking wet but she was pretty tough everybody liked her that met her
00:56:23
everybody was asking her her date CU she was so young and pretty and then Linda met and married
00:56:32
Frank Slayton he was a mean no count scoundrel the brothers say it's hard to know when their dad began to beat their
00:56:41
mom the more he drank the more violent he became I remember one time he was in the bathroom he had her bite of throat
00:56:47
with a gun to her head and I was coming there trying to get him off of her I feel like it saved her that you know
00:56:51
that night that day but you were just a little guy yourself yeah I was only six and a half seven years old
00:56:56
[Music] Frank slayton's history of abuse made him a person of interest for Lakeland
00:57:03
detectives but investigators seem satisfied that Slayton was home in Alabama on the night of the murder at
00:57:10
the time of her death Linda had a boyfriend he too had a credible Alibi others were looked at like the
00:57:18
partygoers next door but no one was charged L police Mar they us come down to take me out of school and they was
00:57:25
always interrogating me all the time in the early days it sounds like who the police really were most
00:57:34
thorough in checking out was me as a 15-year-old Jeff had plenty of typical teen conflicts with his mom
00:57:45
which he readily admitted to detectives including that heated argument on the last day of her life know they had me
00:57:53
put on a ler tector test one time and I passed it then they wanted to do it again they
00:57:58
just wanted to put me on their hypnosis and then there's one time one of the cops he's like you got big arms on you
00:58:03
you're strong enough put your hands around your mom's neck and kill her what who was do that to a kid I was 15y old
00:58:09
kid hurting and say that to me and that's that's always hurt finally Jeff's grandparents said
00:58:17
enough it's like get out there and find Who Killed My Daughter leave this kid leave his family alone two weeks later
00:58:23
according to the Lakeland police report Jeff took a second polygraph test and was cleared at that point the
00:58:30
investigation slowed then ground to a halt as the years passed Jeff and Tim started their own families but to this
00:58:43
day there is still grief and guilt for not hearing anything that night for not coming to their mom's rescue I'd have
00:58:52
died that night trying to save my mom I mean we're right there in the house how can you not hear something like
00:58:57
it and they lived in fear of the man they called the monster unless he was dead he was out there
00:59:06
[Music] somewhere around the 20th anniversary of their mom's murder Jeff and Tim met with
00:59:14
Lakeland detective Brad GCE who was taking a fresh look at the case soon as Jeff and Tim walked in the door I
00:59:22
realized i' had known Jeff for years since I was in my 20s through Bowling I was like Brad sure
00:59:31
enough I knew him from Bowling years ago Grace took DNA samples from the brothers
00:59:36
to clear them again then gave Jeff something in return a promise he made me promise that I wouldn't retire until I
00:59:44
solved his mother's case and I I wanted to so bad for him and his brother I did Grace had already sent DNA from the
00:59:56
slat and rape kit to the state's major Crime Lab at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement the FDLE do you have any
01:00:04
confidence that you could solve it I was hoping DNA would you know it was becoming a big tool by March 1999 the
01:00:12
FDLE had developed a full DNA profile of Linda slayton's Anonymous killer all you
01:00:21
need is a DNA match a hit that's all I need is a hit in the data base detective Grace took dozens of DNA
01:00:31
samples from prior Persons of Interest submitting them to the FDLE for comparison we were trying everything
01:00:38
even the brother's father Frank Slayton who had stopped drinking volunteered a sample none
01:00:46
matched then in September 2001 Grace got a tip nearly a year after the Slayton killing a 24-year-old man named Jimmy
01:00:56
pulled a 10-year-old girl through her bedroom window and nearly killed her he was convicted of that and sentenced to
01:01:03
like 8 years in prison the Savage assault seemed eerily similar to the Slayton case and detective Grace
01:01:11
discovered that around the time of Linda slayton's murder Jimmy Almer had been staying with a friend who happened to
01:01:18
live in the very same apartment complex as Slayton hang on Jimmy was staying in an apartment right across the way from
01:01:28
the slates yes you must have felt like that's our guy I felt very strong I did om had died in prison 5 years
01:01:40
earlier in 1996 but Grace got a DNA sample from his mother I honestly felt that when we got
01:01:48
the results back that we would know who did it and we get the the notice that it
01:01:55
wasn't him at that point you must have been like we're never going to solve this
01:02:01
thing that sure felt that way it was very discouraging you know it's like oh my God we're back to square one again
01:02:08
you feel like he's on a roller coaster for pretty much your whole life by 2005 detective Grace was heading
01:02:16
up a new Cold Case unit and the FBI was running the DNA profile of slayton's killer continuously through all federal
01:02:25
data banks but the years continued to pass without a match Jeff would call and Jeff I I got
01:02:32
nothing for you you know that hurt my heart too you know Grace had a growing suspicion he was chasing a ghost I
01:02:41
honestly thought the suspect might be deceased he had made that promise to the brothers that he wouldn't retire until
01:02:49
their monster was caught I had some medical things that were popping up it was a promise he couldn't keep detective
01:02:58
Grace retired in 2015 there was probably nothing in your professional life you wanted more than
01:03:05
to call Jeff Slayton and say got him absolutely after detor BR grass retired I'm like I said well I'm
01:03:14
probably going to take my last breath and I know who murder my mom that's already starting to come to terms with
01:03:20
it but 3 years later there was renewed hope a groundbreaking DNA technology began to Electrify the law enforcement
01:03:30
community and genetic genealogist CC Moore was taking on the Slaton case I was determined I was going to
01:03:40
help these boys find out who killed their mom CC Moore is a renowned expert in the
01:04:02
field of investigative genetic genealogy if you have that DNA there is no reason
01:04:08
you cannot solve that mystery whatever that mystery is Moore launched her hunt for Linda
01:04:19
slayton's Killer by uploading the anonymous DNA from slayton's rape kit to a public public Genealogy website called
01:04:27
Jed match she then meticulously constructed Branch by Branch his genetic family tree I built the family trees of
01:04:37
those people who share DNA with him and then I identify common ancestors between
01:04:42
those people she made those connections by pouring over birth certificates marriage licenses obituaries and social
01:04:49
media to fill in the family tree with names it sounds like basically you're putting together a giant jigsaw
01:04:59
puzzle yes as my work is constantly putting together puzzles piece by piece by piece these matches all share DNA with
01:05:10
each other so they're my first genetic Network CC Moore uncovered three genetic networks branches of the killer family
01:05:18
tree that ultimately narrowed to the one person most likely responsible for the murder of Linda is sleep fortunately
01:05:27
those three genetic networks converged into one family tree that pointed at one immediate family and he was the only son
01:05:38
in that family and we knew the killer was a male so it had to be him that was the DNA
01:05:46
contributor after hundreds of leads and dead ends after dozens of suspects were investigated and cleared CC Mo
01:05:55
identified the probable killer in one weekend there was just one person who was high confidence and who was that
01:06:05
Joseph Clinton Mills Joseph Clinton Mills Coach Joe who drove Linda slayton's 12-year-old son
01:06:14
Tim to and from practice but authorities wanted to be certain before they notified the brothers and then there is
01:06:22
a sort of exhilaration because he's alive and so there's a real chance for justice
01:06:28
and maybe even answers CC Moore's final 2019 report confirmed that Joseph Mills then 58 was living in Kathleen Florida
01:06:39
about half an hour from the crime scene and I reviewed the case and I'm like I remember that name I I remember seeing
01:06:46
that name that that guy was interviewed detectives Tammy Hathcock and Russell Hurley were the next
01:06:53
generation of Lakeland investigator leading the Slayton Cold Case I'm telling you it's like I won the lottery
01:07:00
I I remember grabbing that piece of paper from the report and just running down the hallway to my sergeant saying
01:07:05
oh my God he was interviewed he was interviewed according to the case File investigators did question Joseph Mills
01:07:14
then 20 years old just one day after the murder he was very basically touched I mean like just a
01:07:21
very brief interview and it was conducted on the phone not in person the fact that investigators never question
01:07:28
Mills face to face suggests he was never considered a suspect during the brief call Mills acknowledged he had driven
01:07:36
Tim Slayton home from football practice on September 3rd just hours later Linda Slayton was dead how was Joseph
01:07:46
Mills not followed up on more aggressively in 1981 at that point I mean he was just a football coach that
01:07:56
had dropped off Timmy he was never on their radar to be a suspect just based off of the information that they were
01:08:03
given by Timmy and by by Mr Mills Joseph Mills seen here in a 1984 driver's license photo was convicted
01:08:13
that year of Grand Theft for forging a will he never went to jail but he was finger printed Lakeland Police also took
01:08:22
a palm print in August 2019 in investigators compared those prints to the one Sergeant picket lifted off
01:08:29
slayton's window sill nearly 38 years before when the prince came back there was a match yes high-tech genetic
01:08:38
genealogy had identified Mills as the likely killer and an old-fashioned palm print match helped confirm his identity
01:08:46
but Hathcock and Hurley still needed to compare a fresh DNA sample from Mills to
01:08:51
the decades old DNA recovered from the crime scene as we had to to get his DNA without his knowledge and see if we can
01:08:58
get a match we had to do some surveillance it was several weekends that we were following him around trying
01:09:04
to get discarded just looking for a cup that he drank from or a tissue that he used
01:09:10
anything after tracking Mills with no luck the detectives decided it was time to get their hands dirty they covertly
01:09:18
took Mills trash back to the police department here we are in dress clothes just digging through trash bags not the
01:09:25
most glamorous thing they discovered a piece of used medical adhesive tape and sent it off to the FDLE crime lab for
01:09:33
testing after searching Mill's trash they dug through his life he's been married to the same woman and he lived
01:09:40
in the same place he was a business owner a cleaning service was a truck driver over the years he had a family
01:09:46
married kids married kids grandkids 11 days later the stunning lab results Joseph Mills 20 9 DNA found on
01:09:57
the medical table and the 1981 unknown DNA from Linda slayton's rape kit were a spot-on
01:10:05
match that's when the brothers were told the monster had been found this guy you
01:10:11
last knew as coach Joe oh my goodness mhm it was him and I had a picture of my house ever since
01:10:21
then he never knew it was him Tim's 19 1981 team football photo a source of Pride for years sickens him today
01:10:32
because standing directly behind him is the man he once trusted and admired Coach Joe I've been carrying a Killer's
01:10:40
picture of my house this whole time and never had a clue even after the murder Joseph Mills continued driving Tim to
01:10:49
and from football practice picking him up and dropping him off at his grandparents house he'd asked us how the
01:10:56
case was going he wouldn't ask questions about he just what is any new news or any new leads and I was like no nothing
01:11:02
you know he's talking to a 12-year-old boy and trying to keep tabs on a murder investigation through the the son of the
01:11:09
murdered woman yeah yes when he knows exactly who did it he's a cold holder monster is for
01:11:18
sure December 12th 2019 the detectives moved in arrest Joseph Mills you have the right to remain
01:11:29
silent anything you say can be used against he was calm cool and Collective like it was another day on the beach
01:11:37
most people's reaction would be why am I being arest it why are you taking me in
01:11:41
you expected some of that right some kind of emotion and nothing [Music] [Music]
01:12:09
it's been 38 years I'm sure you go to bed every night thinking about this I have no doubt in my
01:12:16
mind detectives Hathcock and Hurley finally had Joseph Mills right where they wanted him in the claustrophobic
01:12:23
confines of a police inter interview room when I picked the boys up we we we stayed in the vehicle and I don't
01:12:32
recall going to in or out of a house period there's no way that is the truth I mean he's saying he's never been in
01:12:40
there we got him what we have tells us a different story okay you were in that apartment ratcheting up the pressure the
01:12:50
detectives told Mills they had overwhelming evidence placing him inside Linda slayton's bedroom your
01:12:58
fingerprints matches you the DNA matches you that's when M story began to change
01:13:05
and then how did you end up going through her window is like an invitation an invitation from Linda Slayton Mills
01:13:13
claimed for consensual sex a Flatout lie say the detectives he said it was a sex game that she had the
01:13:23
hanger around her neck when he came through the window window and she asked him to tighten it down and then did you
01:13:28
start applying pressure yes and when I pointed out well the brutality of the hanger and how deep it
01:13:40
was into her skin he stuck with the it was a game you purposely killed her we all all sitting here we know
01:13:48
that at the end of the day what happened here I think it's pretty evident that he
01:13:54
targ her after dropping off Tim from football practice on September 3rd 1981 Joseph Mills returned later that
01:14:05
night the detectives say breaking in through Linda slayton's bedroom window no one heard Mills they believe because
01:14:13
no one was home Jeff was still at his grandparents house Linda and Tim were at the party next door if you look at the
01:14:22
crime scene and all that the hanger obviously came from the closet we figured that's what happened as he was
01:14:28
hiding in the closet were you ever in the closet in the final moments of her life
01:14:36
the detectives believed that Linda after saying good night to her sons walked into her bedroom and closed the door
01:14:44
never knowing that Mills was already inside waiting for her there was no invitation no consensual sex they say
01:14:54
Joseph Mill raped and murdered Linda Slayton detective Brad GCE always suspected the killer's name was buried
01:15:05
somewhere in the thick police case File why do you feel that the investigation didn't Circle back to Joseph Mills well
01:15:14
obviously I put a lot of that on me now you do I do Grace blames himself for not taking a
01:15:22
harder look at Joseph Mills a sentiment not shared by the Slayton Brothers they feel nothing but gratitude
01:15:31
to the detective and friend who spent 17 years Chasing The elusive killer I could
01:15:38
tell how hard he wanted to solve it and I actually Nam my son after him my son's
01:15:42
named Brad too here's Brad Slayton graduating from high school Jeff put a little pressure on me over the years you
01:15:50
know he did you can't retire until you solve his case and then he names his son after after me and honestly I just
01:15:57
wanted to to solve this case for them more than anything both of you doing how you doing
01:16:04
all right so did this former investigator 94-year-old Edgar picket the brothers had always wanted to meet
01:16:12
him well I want to thank you for all you did for our mom back then you had done it this monster still be running free
01:16:17
today sure would I'm it is poignant praise for sergeant picket who lifted the palm print that helped identify the
01:16:26
monster Joseph Mills that's a case I can never forget here up here I can't get rid of it during his distinguished and
01:16:35
trailblazing 29-year career Sergeant picket had seen it all and yet it's the Linda Slayton case that haunts him to
01:16:44
this day he never knew police had questioned a man named Joseph Mills just one day after the killing you didn't
01:16:53
know for 38 years that he was talked to immediately afterward no I didn't instead picket says he was asked
01:17:05
to compare Prince of a number of black men who were questioned in the days after the murder following neighbors
01:17:12
reports of suspicious activity they kept picking up a lot of blacks and it was giving me their prints for me to look at
01:17:23
theirs it not just haunts but angers pick it black men were rounded up and fingerprinted while the white football
01:17:32
coach driving Linda's son to and from practice was never considered a suspect they just talk to him and let him go
01:17:41
you're telling me this case could have been solved in the first days after the murder if they had just taken a print
01:17:51
from Joseph Mills that's correct there was a lot of people who came before you I get it but you got
01:17:58
this palm print in the window sill almost immediately wouldn't you just get some prints from the guy anybody who had
01:18:06
been near the house in the 24 hours prior to the murder there was no indication that he had been in the house
01:18:13
I mean all the witnesses said that he dropped the kid off from practice and never got out of the truck so the only
01:18:20
reason why he was spoke to was because when they Backtrack on the previous 24 hours he was in that equation you don't
01:18:27
feel like he slipped through the net no [Music] no Joseph Mill's Day of Reckoning would
01:18:39
finally come 40 years later he's got a cold black murdering eyes as Joseph Clinton Mills he just sit there not a
01:18:47
word [Applause] [Music] our mom was a good person he took that away from us to avoid a trial and a possible death
01:19:20
sentence Joseph Mills pleaded guilty to all charges including first-degree murder sexual battery and
01:19:29
burglary at his sentencing what Linda slaton's family wanted most was the answer to one question why I just want
01:19:38
to know why Joe why' you take my mom from me I love my mama we was happy my blood would start boiling every time I
01:19:45
look at him the brothers and Aunt Judy tried to look him in the eye to see if there was
01:19:51
any human being in there if he was alive if he had a soul never thought his silence infuriated the
01:20:03
family and a few minutes later so did his comments to the court I am a good person I'm not that person that they're
01:20:10
painting me out to be I think this case made me the angriest out of the hundreds
01:20:16
of cases I've been involved in because what he did with her children there and then the things he said about
01:20:24
her that she lured a in even all these years later he was willing to try to make her look bad to denigrate the
01:20:32
victim and her boys have to hear that it's just sickening I will sentence you to life in prison without the
01:20:38
possibility of parole and just like that Joseph Clinton Mills was gone facing four life terms
01:20:49
and finally a measure of Justice maybe not full Justice in your view full Say by no means I wanted to go to
01:20:57
trial I wanted to see him up on the stand and and tell everybody why he did this and he never did
01:21:07
that the Slayton Brothers feel some comfort knowing Joseph Mills will never leave prison alive but there's still
01:21:14
anger they say because Mills never took full responsibility for the premeditated
01:21:19
rape and murder of their mother he never apologized and there were for all those
01:21:25
years of Freedom he lived his whole life he raised his family you know he had a good
01:21:32
life that was right after she was killed we went back it's the brothers who feel
01:21:36
they were handed the far more severe sentence life without the possibility of growing up with their mom
01:21:44
could still be here today she'd only be 72 you know and could have had her my whole
01:21:49
life I just wonder what life would have been like that man [Music] any part of you when you think about all
01:21:57
of this at all angry with the way the police handled it that it took this long to get Joseph Mills you could look at it
01:22:06
that way I know it's a lot of hard work behind the scenes that people don't see that goes on you know what they do the
01:22:12
hours upon hours they put in I mean you can get mad but only so much can be done in a
01:22:21
day we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those those original crime scene investigators because at the time this
01:22:28
crime was committed they didn't even know DNA was going to be used in criminal investigations and so the fact
01:22:35
they collected that and then it was stored responsibly and carefully all these years by that department is so
01:22:43
important if that hadn't happened we couldn't have done our work Jeff and Tim say they're determined
01:22:50
to move on as best they can to live life well for their mom and for their families the brothers also know they
01:23:00
never would have survived their ordeal without each other just check it out bro they remain extremely close Live just a
01:23:09
few miles apart and share passionate Hobbies like restoring cars you give the credit for living this
01:23:21
life to the spirit of your mou yes most definitely sure do love you Mom I miss you so much every day my mom she looking
01:23:32
down on us and want us to live our lives and do good you know and I always think
01:23:35
she's looking down on us and I want to make her proud yes I want to make her proud yes
01:23:42
[Music] 48 Hours don't miss an episode [Music] ever think in your wildest dreams that
01:24:45
someone might want to kill you I would have never thought that anyone would want to kill me ever in my
01:24:52
life ever my dad's a sweet guy I mean he's very calm he's full of laughter he's full of energy he's like a life of
01:25:01
the party my life was once beautiful wonderful I have three wonderful kids was married to a beautiful lady hi guys
01:25:11
my name is lul my business was booming and I'm R head coach boxing welcome to wom's boxing and
01:25:21
fitness outside the ring boxers they're very loving they want love from their fans and they want to give it
01:25:29
back they're the nicest people I was a very very a low-key kind of guy that's the farthest thing from my
01:25:37
mind that somebody wanted me dead I remember walking in one night as the gym was in its final hours before it closed
01:25:45
I remember a conversation was taking place about Hitman what was it about this conversation that caught your attention
01:25:53
what come my attention was whose name came up did they mention Ramon yes now my focus was just on talking to
01:26:02
Ramon I said Mundo you're joking around you know what's going on Ramon's like don't don't play with me like that this
01:26:08
is some serious stuff and then he said I seen that look on people's eye before they want to kill
01:26:14
somebody it's like a screenplay something straight out of Hollywood and it would fit right in with every other
01:26:19
horror flick that we've seen in the past except this is real it is real we're taking you inside the twists and
01:26:27
turns of a complex sting operation and here's what makes it unique the target of the murder For Hire plot becomes an
01:26:36
undercover operative to catch the person who wants him dead so Lieutenant where are we heading
01:26:44
we are heading to what we refer to as the digite this is the actual grave where I was supposed to be dead they
01:26:51
have me lay down with my hands behind my back my my head turned it was a photographer all I could hear was just
01:26:58
the clicking of the camera that was somebody's choice they told someone this is what I want this is how I want you to
01:27:05
do it and this is where I want you to put him it's horrifying I saw myself in the grave dead
01:27:12
literally I was supposed to be dead I'm the only person alive that has ever walked out of his own grave
01:27:19
[Music] [Music] [Music] to this day Ramon Sosa finds it surreal that he was the target in a murder for
01:27:55
higher plot I would have never believed it I would have I would have thought it was
01:28:00
just something that is you only see in movies or on TV I would have never thought that it
01:28:07
would be happening to me he appeared to have the perfect life from rubbing shoulders with
01:28:18
celebrities like Hugh Hefner to owning a successful box gy in Houston and he had found the love of his
01:28:29
life Lulu life was very sweet Beth Blair is a friend of the SAS I saw two fun outgoing Lov to party love
01:28:43
to get together with people and have barbecues and the more people the marrier Ramon's zest for life started
01:28:52
early he was born with a fighting Spirit originally from kolina Puerto Rico Ramone grew up boxing with his father I
01:29:01
feel in love with the sport of boxing I saw how the training and and there was a
01:29:05
few world champions that trained there and I just loved it from from the time I I was little after training for more
01:29:12
than 10 years Ramone took a shot at the pro boxing circuit to they us to call me uh the
01:29:20
Puerto Rican Express when I turned 17 I turned Pro so did you ever know knock anybody out in the ring oh yeah there
01:29:25
was a lot of Knockouts eventually the Puerto Rican Express ran out of steam Ramone hung up
01:29:33
his boxing gloves and decided to pursue the American dream I went back to school
01:29:39
uh got my education and and and start and I still kept training you know always want to be involved with boxing
01:29:45
in some kind of way Ramone got married young and had three children with his first wife he
01:29:52
eventually settled down in Houston Texas where he opened a boxing gym of his own
01:29:57
where he could continue to teach his passion I think Ramon is uh a nice humble guy friendly uh family oriented
01:30:07
Raul Marquez is an Olympic boxer and Showtime commentator he is also Ramon's longtime
01:30:17
sparring buddy anybody that goes in the ring it's got to be tough it's got to be
01:30:21
mentally tough you know I think he's physically and mentally tough but like I always say he wasn't tough enough to
01:30:27
beat me you know beat my butt you know so who is the better fighter you or Ramon well recers speak speak for
01:30:34
themselves just look at look it up look it up Ramon's first marriage ended in 2000
01:30:42
by 2007 Ramone then 40 was ready to get back in the ring but this time he was looking for a different kind of knockout
01:30:52
and a friend of mine say hey man there's to the place they where they play live music and I heard there's a lot of
01:30:56
beautiful ladies out there Latina ladies Ramon decided to go and see this place for himself and as soon as he
01:31:05
arrived someone special caught his eye place was packed and I noticed her are you thinking man I'm fighting out of my
01:31:13
weight class here yeah yeah she was very very attractive you know she looked very
01:31:17
nice and she danced very very well so I just kept my ey on her the woman he noticed was Lulu Dantes next thing I
01:31:26
know she walks by me and she steps on my toe now do you think she might have stepped on your foot on purpose oh she
01:31:33
sure did she she even admitted later on Ramon and Lulu had an instant connection and that was it I mean as
01:31:42
soon as we started dancing we didn't get out the dance FL for the whole night Ramone still remembers the very first
01:31:47
song they dance to a popular Latin tune that the salsa band played that night it
01:31:54
would become their [Music] songia is a song by Grand Puerto Rico and it means what witchcraft Witchcraft
01:32:09
and forgive the pun but you were under her spell right basically yes I was under her spell Spellbound after dancing
01:32:17
the night away Ramon went home with Lulu and the rest was history she doed on she
01:32:24
was great Beth had a ringside seat to their relationship she'd bring them coffee and
01:32:31
get up every morning with him and make his breakfast and I always just thought it was really neat their relationship
01:32:37
you know they got along really well it looked they very very happy couple they would compliment each other they were
01:32:42
into each other after less than a year of dating rone dropped to one knee I proposed her
01:32:51
it was around Christmas time I remember remember posting to her she started crying she cried and cried and cried you
01:32:58
know and she was happy you know and but she couldn't wait to get married Lulu Dantes became Lulu Sosa on March 15th
01:33:09
2009 she treated me well she treated me like a king Lulu originally from Mexico came to
01:33:17
the United States with her son and daughter what brought her to Houston you know to have a new life a better life
01:33:25
for her children's to you know to start again because she was divorced in Mexico
01:33:30
and then she come here Natalia Flores is a hair stylist and one of Lulu's closest
01:33:36
friends she met Lulu back in 2007 she was a nice friend a good mom a good worker a hard worker Lulu was often
01:33:48
generous with her friends if I would say I love that ring she'd take it off and give it to to me I'd always be careful
01:33:55
to say I don't like that because she'd end up giving it to me in 2010 Ramone opened a second
01:34:02
gy this time Lulu was by his side she kept the books and became a personal trainer we off for boxing kickboxing and
01:34:11
Fitness training come check us out how big of operation was the gym was about 5,000 ft and we average about 200 some
01:34:18
members a month everything was great little did raon know he would soon be in the fight of his
01:34:28
[Music] [Music] life hi what was it like growing up Sosa oh my gosh it was like being a superstar
01:34:52
almost because everyone knows my dad everyone knows who my dad is for Ramon's daughter
01:34:58
Mia a former model and beauty pageant contestant and her two brothers growing up around a local boxing celebrity had
01:35:06
its perks it was just fun our dad was a jokester so every time we were around it
01:35:13
was tons of laughs and smiles and all things like that lots of Blended families experience Growing
01:35:21
Pains but Mia says life after Lulu arrived hi my name is Ramos SAA I am Lulu Sosa was not as harmonious as those
01:35:30
gym ads made it seem she didn't want anything to do with us we were like nothing to
01:35:39
her Mia found Lulu's coldness not just mean but ominous it wasn't like she was trying to become a stepmom she knew that
01:35:50
at some point we weren't really going to be in her Pig what's more the spell Lulu seemed to
01:35:56
cast Over Ramone started to eat away at his relationship with his own children she didn't like him spending money on
01:36:04
his kids and seeing up we're not hanging out as much and I know we're not doing it because he's got someone else that
01:36:11
he's paying his attention to and it's like why I'm your daughter don't where are you going Ramon says there was so
01:36:19
much animosity between Lulu and his children they weren't there for a major event in his life my kids didn't go to
01:36:27
my wedding that's one thing that hurt me that day that we found out that he had got married it was
01:36:34
heartbreaking heartbreaking Ramon and his new bride focused on growing their gym into a
01:36:41
Powerhouse for world class training and fitness how much money were you guys making a month or a year there was
01:36:49
probably about over 18 20,000 a month $18 $20,000 a mon in profit but after 6 years of marriage the
01:36:59
Sosa spell began to break Lulu started confiding in her friends she told me that he doesn't want to work too much
01:37:07
and he stay more at home and she's working hard and hard and hard dead and accusations of Ramon's laziness were
01:37:15
just the beginning and she said on an occasion or two that he was physical with her or
01:37:21
that he had come in drinking and was physical with her what did she mean by physical like grabbing her or pushing
01:37:28
her because he's a strong guy he came and forced to do things that she doesn't want in that moment like sex
01:37:40
uhhuh did she ever tell you that Ramone would force himself upon her and force her to have sex with him when she did
01:37:48
not want to yes she did she had said that on occasion Lulu claims that you have raped her yeah she's tried
01:37:57
everything to ruin my life from rape being abusive to being a drunk and all these claims not one of them not one
01:38:08
have have I been uh charged for and and I tell you sir that this hands have never HD a woman in my in their lives
01:38:17
these have always been for fighting in the ring not even in the streets not even in the streets
01:38:24
for her to say something like that that was really hurtful around the same time that Lulu
01:38:31
was complaining to her girlfriends Ramone says another problem suspiciously appeared missing
01:38:39
money after we started having problems at home with the marriage there was issues with the
01:38:45
gym I'm working people out lot more and I see new faces all the time but when I see the bottom line here
01:38:52
is not adding up are you worried that she's skimming money I I was worried and I was wondering what she was doing with
01:38:58
the money Ramon soon learned where some of that money may have gone in March 2015
01:39:05
Lulu hired divorce attorney Julio huglar Lulu was in fear for her safety hogar says he was shocked by what Lulu brought
01:39:15
with her to his office she was able to take pictures of scratches that he left on her arms legs shoulders he shared the
01:39:28
photos with 48 Hours according to Lulu this was caused by Ramon at one time when he wanted to force himself to her
01:39:38
and there was a altercation and Ramon grabbed her and can I see scratched her yeah that is evident that he was using
01:39:48
Force to push her legs out there's scratches on her upper her arm and she claims there's a bruise on her leg that
01:39:57
you inflicted on her those are all fabricated as I can tell you those are all fabricated this is but there was one
01:40:05
photo that even Ramon says was not made up and as you can see in this picture uh
01:40:12
Ramon punched that door and that can give you an idea of the string of this man that admit to that punch she was was
01:40:23
accusing me of stuff and that's one thing I did I took my frustrations out but as far as putting a hint on her
01:40:31
never ever despite allegations of physical abuse Ramon and Lulu remained in the same house even after she filed for
01:40:41
divorce they lived on different floors and was Lulu afraid of Ramon afraid that he may seriously hurt her yes she was
01:40:52
afraid of that and it was at that time in June 2015 that this man who asked we not show his face was working out at the
01:41:01
gym he said to call him Mundo Ramos so uh he's a friend he's a very good Mentor to me Mundo had grown
01:41:13
up on the tough streets of East Houston and he had a very very rough background gangs and and drugs and and fighting the
01:41:21
streets and he wanted new life and he became like like a son to me Mundo says he was friends with Lulu as well she was
01:41:31
there talking to her 16-year-old daughter when he overheard them a conversation was taking place about a
01:41:38
customer that was there that supposedly was claiming to be a big shot that he had connections of a Hitman or or just
01:41:46
people that could inflict harm what caught my attention was towards the end U of the conversation
01:41:52
whose name came up up did they mention Ramon yes stunned Mundo said nothing he came
01:42:02
back here the next day and confronted Lulu who told him that Ramon was physically abusing her then she said
01:42:10
something else she's like I'm tired you know I'm tired of him it's already too much you
01:42:18
know I wish he'll disappear I wish something you know and I'm like disappear what do you mean disappear
01:42:23
like what disappeared and I did the pistol [Music] sign Mundo was certain that Lulu had
01:42:52
murder on her mind and that his friend Ramon was in danger and what was it about the way she was talking to you
01:43:01
that made you think this was something more than just Idle Words her eyes just her eyes I've seen that look before just
01:43:10
people that are serious about what they're saying knowing Lulu was dead serious Mundo had to think fast he came up with
01:43:18
a plan to stop her Mundo offered to get involved and hire the Hitman himself I gave Lulu the impression that I was
01:43:27
going to reach out to a Hitman that I have the guys already ready Mundo convinced Lulu he believed her claims of
01:43:35
abuse and would help her but it was actually all a ploy to protect his friend Ramon who he called as soon as he
01:43:44
left the gym and he tells me Lulu wants to kill you as shocking as the news was Ramon says he instantly knew why
01:43:54
if I died after the divorce was finalized she was not going to get the money that I have for my retirement the
01:44:02
value of the gym the value of home she had everything already figured out Ramon immediately contacted police but was
01:44:10
told nothing could be done based only on conversations with an angry wife as threatening as they sounded the
01:44:17
sheriff's department needed more they need more evidence so the two old boxing Buddies came up with a plan they would
01:44:25
launch their own sting operation the tape recorder I'm use using his street smarts Mundo would pretend to hire a
01:44:32
hitman he'd send texts to this fictitious killer with details about the hit details he'd share with Lulu she
01:44:41
needs to see that I'm going back and forth with somebody Ramon and Mundo bought two disposable cell phones little
01:44:48
did Lulu know that the target her own husband was holding that second phone and the phone he's going to use to play
01:44:56
his own Hitman play his own Hitman yes sir I started stressing because you know here we are M Mundo doing this amateur
01:45:04
investigation or undercover investigation I don't know what I'm doing but Mundo did he started recording his daily
01:45:14
conversations with Lulu [Music] as the days passed both men worried Lulu might have another Hitman waiting in the
01:45:42
wings my thing was what if her patience runs out no raon ends up dead or what if
01:45:48
her patient runs out and I end up dead Ramon told told no one about what he and Mundo were up to and living in fear over
01:45:57
what Lulu might be up to took its toll he started carrying a gun I'd be at a stoplight and and you know I would put
01:46:08
the gun in between my legs you know looking left and right the whole time at a light Ramone could not even Escape his
01:46:15
fear at night and you're in bed where's the gun uh used under underneath my pillow loaded
01:46:23
so Mundo kept the pretend negotiations on track we use that phone acting as the middleman between the fake Hitman and
01:46:32
Lulu she's like well tell them I'm offering the white truck tell them I'm offering them jewelry tell them I'm
01:46:38
offering them you know this much money all this time Ramon and Lulu were still living under the same roof on June
01:46:47
9th 2015 before Mundo overheard Lulu's threat police had been called to the Sosa house take my car sir Lulu's
01:46:56
defense attorney says there was an argument between Lulu's son and Ramon over a truck which Lulu's son recorded
01:47:04
on his cell phone whose vehicle is this this is my vehicle I have legal documents on the right which I need
01:47:10
today please don't take my vehicle Ramon went to take the vehicle away from Lulu's son and when Lulu's son basically
01:47:19
told him no you're not going to take my vehicle please step out of my car Ramon punch him on his face Ramon please
01:47:28
step out of my car Ramone was issued a citation for assault but he says his hand only made
01:47:38
contact with the phone I'm an ex-professional fighter if I would have hit that kid believe me he would not be
01:47:43
standing up right now remone please step out of my car I didn't put my hand on that kid on
01:47:50
June 30th Ramon and Lulu faced off in court Lulu wanted a restraining order against him her attorney wrote up the
01:47:59
order that I was abusive that I hit her son that they fear for their lives you know living with me staying in my house
01:48:05
Ramon was ordered to move out of their home and stay away from the woodlands gym but he also got an order restraining
01:48:12
Lulu from the first gym he owned the one he'd opened before meeting her Ramon says he kept his eye on the bigger prize
01:48:21
exposing Lulu's plot against him you know she thought she had me on the ropes about to knock me out in
01:48:28
boxing that's called an 8 count I took an 8 count I got kicked out of my own house but the boxer was about to make a
01:48:36
comeback 10 days after launching their sting Ramon posing as Paco the fake Hitman techs Mundo he's gotten a 9mm gun
01:48:47
costing [Music] $200 when Mundo received the down payment for the gun to have me kill from
01:48:54
Lulu that's when I said you know what I think we have enough let's take this to the police now I got a call on a Sunday
01:49:02
Lieutenant Mike Atkins works for the Precinct 3 Constable's office in Montgomery County Texas we had a
01:49:09
individual claiming that uh there was a murder For Hire against him how unusual was that it's extremely unusual it's uh
01:49:16
the first one of my career impressed with the amateur Sting the professionals were now ready to take take over but
01:49:23
they needed a StreetWise rookie in their Corner Mundo I was afraid sir that they
01:49:29
might get that person to actually do the job they might go with they might it was
01:49:35
important that we not change the investigation we not change and move Mundo out of the situation because that
01:49:43
might bring alarms Mundo kept stringing Lulu along assuring her he was trying to get things
01:49:51
done as soon as possible finally he let her know everything is a go for a meeting on July 20th with the
01:49:59
Hitman who was really an undercover agent he looked like he could be a bad guy in a movie I said hey this is the
01:50:07
man that's supposed to kill you lulu agreed to a night meeting in this parking lot not far from the gym she
01:50:14
brought several watches and some jewelry as a down payment Lulu then went to an ATM machine and withdrew 500 $100 which
01:50:24
she brought back here to seal the deal when someone in a murder For Hire case actually pays some money have they
01:50:32
crossed a threshold they have it shows the uh the level of intent it shows the fact uh that they are serious and it's
01:50:41
come to a point where you can't turn back police had enough to arrest Lulu right there and then but they had
01:50:50
concerns namely Lulu's claim claims of Ramon's abuse Lulu has never had any problems with the law she's a beautiful
01:50:58
lady mother you we don't want to go to a jury trial and have one of the jurors feel sorry for her and so police told
01:51:05
Ramon what they needed to do next we're planning to take a picture of you uh dead
01:51:26
[Music] for Ramon the police sting to bring down Lulu seem to be taking a queue from
01:51:36
witchcraft the first song they ever dance [Music] to one of the lyrics you want to send me
01:51:49
to my cold tomb yeah we're going to take a picture of you dead you know like in a grave and we're
01:51:55
going to show it to her to show proof that the Hitman did the job he was kind of dumb struck but then as it was
01:52:04
explained to him he was well on board in order to get Ramone camera ready it is a bullet wound police first
01:52:13
had to consult some experts being uh a bunch of middle-aged men we don't you know we're not exactly versed on
01:52:21
applying makeup so so naturally we went to YouTube and learned how to apply makeup from uh from teenage
01:52:28
girls but they also had some deadly examples to follow luckily we had no shortage of crime scene photos to to use
01:52:36
as references the assistant DA was there and he brought out some pictures of actual dead
01:52:42
people people with bullet holes to the Head they picked up the one that they thought that was going to be the best
01:52:49
one and I looked and they showed you that picture yeah it was horrified [Music] next they had to find Ramone a grave
01:52:58
we're heading to to what we refer to as the Dig side luckily for us the county owned a
01:53:05
rideway that would give us the Privacy we needed what was going through your mind well I really didn't know what the
01:53:13
what it was going to look like I was at this point already I mean I already had the uh the makeup they already started
01:53:19
with the with the Bullet Hole the final touch fake blood and they told me once we got to the uh site they were're going
01:53:28
to put more blood on [Music] me this is it Mo's final resting place so where were you lying in this grave my head was
01:53:39
there in that corner right there and and I was right over there yeah it looked like I had my hands tied behind my back
01:53:44
they even threw dirt on my on my head it looked like a movie scene honestly was it emotional for you to be
01:53:52
in yes it's very emotional it was hot it was uh scary it was it was just a feeling of of thoughts of you know I
01:54:00
can't believe this what I'm doing I cannot believe what I'm doing this is what Lulu wanted right here this is what
01:54:06
she wanted now it's time to show Lulu that this is done and it's uh it's time to
01:54:17
get paid so a second meeting was arranged between Lulu and the Hitman in the same parking lot but this time it
01:54:25
was all caught on camera it's July 22nd [Music] 2015 Lulu then pays him um Lulu is shown the photo of Ramon dead
01:55:02
in a [Music] grave she starts laughing no shock at all no shock what does that tell you
01:55:17
about Lulu she's a pretty cold character see see see the undercover detective and
01:55:23
Lulu discussed the remaining payment all told $3,000 in cash watches and jewelry
01:55:31
and Ramon's white pickup then Lulu is given more details of her husband's final moments
01:55:52
maintains she was the victim here the reality of Ramon's death continues to sink in and Lulu's mood
01:56:06
appears to lift she was happy she even made a comment to the Hitman she asked him if he was dead if I
01:56:19
was not going to get up like a joke yeah wanted to make sure that I was dead she
01:56:24
made gestures with her hand like you know racing the roof little did Lulu know that her roof was about to come
01:56:31
crashing down the next morning police come to the gym and it's not for a workout we want
01:56:39
to come and and say you know hey we're inquiring about your husband that's been missing and we want to get her reaction
01:56:48
wearing body cameras hey okay I'm detective Martinez with the C's office police make it seem like they're
01:56:58
stopping in to do a wellness check on Ramone is there someone we can talk in private sure apparently Mr hasn't been
01:57:07
work today Lulu claims she has no idea where Ramone might be I haven't seen him I talk to him we're going for a divorce
01:57:17
when's the last time you you saw Mr first we saw him on Wednesday 16th the last day that's the last time you saw
01:57:29
that's the last time I saw him my mom and my daughter L seems pretty relaxed she knowes she knows that sooner or
01:57:38
later the police are going to come either to say he's missing or they found his body remember the night before she
01:57:44
had seen his picture she was all happy she was all giggles and happy that see me dead and now she was acting concerned
01:57:50
in front of the cops so he hasn't contacted you in the last 24 hours no no he police let Lulu's
01:57:58
performance go on a few minutes longer then L the boom okay Miss stand Poli you're under
01:58:08
rest under arrest why back at the Constable's office Lulu is already taking issue with how she was
01:58:21
arrested she saying they we're supposed to read her right before we put handc okay you can tell that's incorrect if
01:58:27
you like nict prior to her interview Lulu is read her rights and refuses to speak without a
01:58:37
lawyer Lulu is charged with solicitation of capital murder it's an injustice says
01:58:43
her divorce lawyer Julio hogar I think that Ramon SAA is someone that was very violent to his wife and I think
01:58:55
that the constant hammering the constant violence the constant Behavior towards his
01:59:01
wife made his wife fear Him I believe that that's what forced her at the end to make a decision that otherwise she
01:59:10
would have never made the question now will a jury believe Lulu's claims of abuse
01:59:33
here lies Ramon Sosa right yes sir this is like a scene from a movie where where
01:59:38
they kill these guys and just you know and just dig up a hole in anywhere and put them away very
01:59:46
scary for 3 Days Ramon had to play the part of a dead man and nobody knew where I
01:59:57
was even my family everybody was looking for me I was very very upset rage and sadness all the emotions
02:00:07
came through me okay Miss SOA stand Le you're under arrest you're under arrest why following
02:00:18
Lulu's arrest on July 23rd 2015 Ramone faced the unimaginable task of telling his children that their
02:00:28
stepmother had tried to kill him I had just got off of a shift from working at a comedy club and it was late
02:00:36
you know I didn't expect my brother to be sitting on my bed and you can just feel something was
02:00:44
wrong Mia's brother handed her the phone her father was on the line and he says very low Mia I'm okay and I said what
02:00:54
what are you talking about and he says I'm okay I'm somewhere safe but Lulu tried to have someone kill
02:01:04
me that's okay and at this point I mean you don't hear anything I didn't know what to do
02:01:14
with myself except cry I remember sliding on the back of the wall down to the ground and huddled
02:01:22
into my knees crying my eyes out now Ramon had a new fight on his hands defending his
02:01:35
reputation that was was hurt me so much she had so many people believe all this stuff that I have put my hands on her
02:01:42
that I was an alcoholic that I hit her [Music] son this how psyched this person was
02:01:51
still would Lulu use these allegations as part of her own defense give me a sense how strong now is your case
02:01:59
against Lulu Sosa we think it was a very strong case we had our video we had a down
02:02:07
payment we had a confirmation to her that the murder had taken place so you've got
02:02:18
her we got her as Lulu awaited trial that assault charge against Ramon Ramon please step
02:02:26
out of my car was dismissed and Lulu agreed to a divorce settlement that handed Ramon the gym and
02:02:34
the house she gave it all up after 15 months in jail awaiting trial on the murder for higher charges
02:02:44
Lulu gave up the fight in October 2016 as Ramon looked on she pleaded guilty to A reduced charge of second degree
02:02:54
solicitation of murder avoiding trial and a possible life sentence she came here with an American
02:03:02
Dream and she got her American Dream quick and to lose everything the way she did is
02:03:10
sad Lulu was given 20 years in prison is 20 years enough I don't think so but I'm
02:03:18
happy that it's over with I'll take it I was just shocked that trying to hire somebody to kill her husband that that's
02:03:26
really all she got was 20 years personally because that's my father I want you away forever I don't want you
02:03:32
to come out not everyone agrees was that Justice in your opinion my opinion no Lulu's divorce attorney Julio hlar
02:03:44
because because nobody got to hear her sight many times I saw her crying and I felt her desperation
02:03:52
[Music] Ramon says the ordeal has left scars are you haunted by this I'll never be the same person ever again I call my
02:04:03
kids as much as possible might be the last day I say that I love them Ramon's near-death experience has changed him
02:04:12
they love our family Mia is now back in Texas having patched up their relationship after Lulu drove them apart
02:04:20
it's been a really good outcome for for me and for him you're going to get knocked out sometimes you're going to
02:04:26
get up take the loss and you're going to try harder and get a win now Ramon is a sought after speaker
02:04:36
telling his incredible Story of Survival he shared that journey to an appreciative audience in London thank
02:04:44
you thank you London I'm alive the man who Lulu thought would help kill her husband
02:04:52
is now an author Mundo has written a book about his experience if Lulu is watching this broadcast is there
02:05:01
anything you would want to say to her redeem yourself you don't have to be what everybody tells you you are you
02:05:08
know everybody tell me I was something else prove everybody wrong so you could do the
02:05:16
same today Ramone wears a precious reminder of how his time on earth almost ran out tell me about the watch that's
02:05:26
on your left wrist there she told Mundo that when to kill me to make sure to take my watch that's what I wear all the
02:05:34
time now I think she ended up picking the wrong man to victimize don't you yeah to the last minute of the last
02:05:41
round she had me on the ropes and she had no idea that the whole time I had a plan too
02:05:54
[Music] [Music] he m [Music]