00:00:00
[Music] I'm no different than any other teenager in America. I love my family and my friends,
00:00:21
my two dogs and my cat. I love writing. I love reading. Despite me trying to be a normal teenager,
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someone does want me dead. [Music] This is the picture of me, a description of me, where I lived, where I worked,
00:00:53
that Mastermind 365 posted about me >> on the Murder for Hire website. >> Yes. >> Hi, my name is Ura. We have hundreds of
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gang members, criminals, and people who love to kill for money. [Music] They are anonymous. You are anonymous.
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So come and get rid of those nasty problems. >> This is deadly serious. This is talking
00:01:22
about the murder of a human being. >> It definitely changed my life. I kept looking over my shoulder. I didn't know
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who I could trust. I could be killed on my way to work. I could be killed on my way home from school. And that terrified
00:01:38
me. >> You can submit your orders to kill the people you hate. >> We've got some significant leads on who
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Euro might be. >> Do you think you're getting close? >> Yeah, absolutely. [Music]
00:02:01
As a dark web intelligence analyst, >> my job is to uncover that which is hidden.
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>> Is there a chance as I look up on your screen that may be our guy? >> Everyone can be found. You're a can be
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found. So, we are literally a car ride from where we're talking right now to where
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you believe Ura actually lives. >> Yes. We're going to make a left at the next street.
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Go slower. Go slower. Go slower. >> Where's the house? >> It's this one right here. Yeah, it's
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this house right here where Yora might presently live. >> Man, my heart is racing.
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>> Let's see. I'm alive. Go. >> Are you Europe? >> Stop recording right now. [Music]
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[Music] late. On a frigid night in February 2019, 18-year-old Alexis Stern was driving near her hometown of Big Lake,
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Minnesota, when she says she noticed a white van in her rear view mirror. >> So, we started driving around town,
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taking detours, >> but the van stuck with her. In a growing panic, she called authorities, who later
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located and spoke with the van's driver. He claimed he was lost. He didn't know where he was.
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>> You have no doubt you were being followed, right? >> Yeah. >> Alexis had every reason to be worried
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because of something that had happened just months earlier when out of nowhere the police had called her.
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>> We have to talk to you. It's dire and you need to come now. >> It's dire, he said.
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>> Yes. He said it was urgent. I had no idea what to expect. Did someone die? Is someone hurt? Like, am I
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in trouble? >> When Alexis arrived at the police station, she got stunning news.
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>> He was just like, I think you should sit down. Someone put a hit out on you and
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they want you dead. I was like, this is a joke, right? >> It was not a joke. On the dark web,
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someone using the alias mastermind 365 had gone to a hitman for hire sight and paid about $5,000 worth of Bitcoin for
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Alexis to be assassinated, giving chilling details. >> Where I lived, where I worked, a picture
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of me, a description of me, everything. >> FBI and Homeland Security agents soon
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got involved. Although many dark web sites are scams, Alexis knew someone out there wanted her dead.
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>> And that terrified me. >> Authorities promised to investigate. The aspiring horror book author had read
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about the dark web, a hidden online marketplace where criminality ranging from human trafficking to illegal
00:05:56
weapons is advertised for sale, even murder. The more you start to dig, the darker it
00:06:03
starts to get. >> It was in 2017 that 48 hours first investigated dark web murder for hire.
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The next year, we exposed about 20 active murder plots. Police received a tip from the CBS news program 48 hours.
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48 hours alerted law enforcement, leading to arrests in two states and two foreign countries. Our
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investigation also led us to this mysterious figure known as Ura, who has been operating Hitman's sites for about
00:06:40
5 years. We don't know his real name or location, but he sent us these video diaries.
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>> I am doing this video diary entry to give you official statements. Looking for criminals on the dark web
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is not for the faint of heart. >> For most of her career, this woman has lived in the shadows.
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>> I was a member of the intelligence community. >> Now, she's a CBS News consultant who we
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hired to help us look for Ura. What makes it challenging is this isn't your traditional law enforcement
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investigation where there's DNA and there's fingerprints and a weapon and a a crime scene.
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>> Lisa, as we'll call her, has altered her appearance for this interview. >> In the world of the dark web, DNA is
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email addresses, usernames, passwords. >> Lisa analyzed Ura's writings. His English is very good.
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>> But she says the evidence suggests he is foreignb born and doesn't work alone.
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>> There's definitely some support. >> She says the murder for hire sites are all about making big money and that she
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found millions of dollars of profits in an online account she believes is linked
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to Eura. >> Upwards of I think 5 million. Apparently about $5,000 of those profits was
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allegedly paid to kill Alexis Stern. When her parents found out they weren't taking any chances,
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>> you left Minnesota. >> Yes. We just started driving. >> It was scary. >> But who would want her dead? Alexis
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thought she knew. Back in 2016, she was a high school sophomore struggling with her
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self-esteem. She was just 15 when a friend introduced her to an older man online.
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>> I ended up meeting a guy named Adrien. >> Adrien Fry. >> Yes, Adrien Fry. >> She was intrigued to learn that Adrien
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Fry lived in England. >> I was always partial to British accents, so I thought it was kind of a bonus.
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>> Adrien was 20. He said he was training to be an accountant and liked to stream
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video games online. His screen name Rocket Wind. >> What is up ladies and gentlemen? My name
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is Rocket Wind and welcome to another uh patch notes. >> I wanted to have a boyfriend and it was
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the perfect opportunity. >> In August of 2016, Fry flew to Minnesota and got a hotel room near her house.
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>> This is Adrien right here. Yes. >> Do your parents have any idea this is going on?
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>> No, they had no idea. >> The two began a relationship. Alexis had just turned 16.
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>> He was already pretty much talking about getting married. Honestly, he he was
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100% set on being with me. >> Adrien Fry visited Alexis twice more in the summer of 2017 and in the spring of
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2018. She says her feelings were changing. >> He really started trying to control my
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normal everyday life. >> They had considered themselves a couple for about 2 years when Alexis told
00:10:10
Adrien it was over. >> He freaked out. He did not like that at all. It was a lot of pleading, a lot of
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begging. >> A few months later, when she told him she had a new boyfriend, she says he
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became angry. pretty much saying you deserve everything horrible that happens to you.
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>> Do you sense that he's basically sending you a message >> 100%. >> And what is that message
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>> that it's not going to end that great for me? [Music] Someone could sneak into the house and
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kill me. I could be killed on my way home from school. >> We asked Alexis Stern to read the
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disturbing emails between the person who wanted her dead, cenamed mastermind 365,
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and Ura, the alleged murder for hire kingpin on the dark web. [Music] >> I can see on your website that the
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services you offer are murder, assault, arson. A kidnapping is the job that I had in mind.
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>> Mastermind 365 sent this picture of Alexis to Ura. Then for some reason about a week later, he
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upgraded his order from kidnapping to I would just like this person dead. >> I would just like this person to be shot
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and killed. [Music] It was another cold and clinical Minnesota hit order that triggered our
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original dark web murder for hire investigation. In 2016, a 43-year-old dog trainer named
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Amy Allwine was killed in nearby Cottage Grove. Police questioned her husband, Steven.
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>> We're a normal family. There's nothing nothing unique, nothing strange. [Music]
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Like mastermind 365, Steven Alwine had paid Ura thousands of dollars to arrange a hit.
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When it didn't happen, Alwine took matters into his own hands and shot his wife in the head.
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In 2018, he was convicted of murder. >> Do you have any doubt in your mind who put out the contract on your life? I
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have no doubt in my mind that it is Adrien Fry. >> Adrien Fry, her ex-boyfriend from
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England. When she saw the kill order dated July 15th, she says the timing suddenly made sense to her.
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>> What had happened the day before, July 14th? >> That is when I told Adrian that I was
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dating someone else. >> And it wasn't just the timing of the hit order. She says it was the language,
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too. >> It sounds very British. I would just like this person dead, but if there's
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any more information you would like, inbox me. I don't know anyone in America that uses the term inbox me. Adrien, on
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the other hand, often would say that. >> Alexis noticed mastermind 365 sometimes
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referred to himself with a lowercase I. She says when Adrien wrote her, he did the same thing. She also saw that
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mastermind 365 wrote thank you as one word. In Adrienne's messages to her, he'd done that, too. It's a quirk that
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would become more significant later in our investigation. And there was more. >> Mastermind 365 Turo. My problem is that
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I don't currently have an extra 5 grand, but I will have it in about a week's time. This part is from Adrien to me. If
00:14:13
there is a chance you may like me in years time, then I will happily wait. >> The phrases weeks time and years time
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are common in British English. In writing them, both Mastermind 365 and Adrien Fry had left off an apostrophe.
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So, there's a couple of phrases that matches Adrienne's patterns. >> Yes. She also realized mastermind 365 seemed
00:14:44
to have grown impatient with Ura over time. And that's when she saw one particular message that sent a shiver up
00:14:52
her spine. >> Do you guys sell guns? I need a pistol with a silencer. [Music] >> He's asked you to help him get a gun
00:15:01
with a silencer. >> Mhm. >> What does that tell you? It sounds like he is willing to take matters into his
00:15:08
own hands if it doesn't get done. >> Just like Steven Allwine. And that's what worries our dark web
00:15:16
expert Lisa. She believes Ura's websites are a scam and that frustrated clients may be moved to violence.
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The fact that he's a scammer as opposed to an actual hitman for hire provider um
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does not remove the fact that he is a threat or is a criminal. >> There are people out there who believe
00:15:40
it is a real hitman website. Alexis Stern says after more than a year with little apparent progress on her
00:15:49
case, she became frustrated and agreed to try her luck with us. >> I decided I might as well take a chance
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and see what 48 hours can help me with. >> Give me a second. >> She is determined to see justice catch
00:16:04
up to the man she says ordered her murder and the person who promised to arrange it.
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Lisa, we have always thought in our investigation that you're a mustave overseas. Are we right?
00:16:18
>> No, Peter. You're a might live right here in New York City. The Hitman marketplace is like any other
00:16:41
auction site. It brings customers and vendors together. >> He's still out there somewhere. The
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Cyber Ghost Eura. Still uncatchable in a hidden world. Still a confounding mystery. off
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customers. >> It's probably no surprise that our global manhunt for Europe began on a
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computer. So, I ventured into a very strange place for the first time in my life, the dark web.
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>> In 2018, we wrote to him on his website asking for an interview. Much to our surprise, he agreed to sit down with us
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on camera in London. We were already there to interview a self-styled cyber crime researcher named
00:17:32
Chris Monttero who'd been monitoring Eura and his hitman sites for more than 3 years and sort of people attracted
00:17:40
website are very very nasty individuals. So, we've flown from New York to London,
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rented this studio. You can see the lights behind me for the big interview, and we even brought in a master of
00:17:53
disguise who's going to camouflage Ura's face. Now, all we need is him. The elusive Ura never showed up,
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claiming we could have been followed by police, but he did start sending us those video statements. We will be
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waiting for you to come place your orders and get rid of your problems. >> Ura, who seems to enjoy taunting 48
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hours, sent us this email in June 2019. Unfortunately, after your show, the business has decreased tremendously.
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People concluded that the site is a scam. Ura even claimed he's going legit, moving away from the murder for higher
00:18:39
sites into the real world. I opened a restaurant business and I live nice. Lisa, our dark web expert, doubts Ura
00:18:50
has left his criminal past behind. >> He's still very much in business. >> He's still working.
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>> Absolutely. And as the cases of Amy Allwine and Alexis Stern show, even if Ura's hitman sites are scams,
00:19:06
the customers paying him to have people killed are horrifyingly real. >> A lot of people want other people
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killed. >> Correct. >> All across the United States >> and the world. Yes. >> Lisa is determined to unmask Eura.
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>> Everyone can be found. Eura can be found. >> And she quickly spotted her first clue.
00:19:34
A massive trail of hacked digital data. Digging through that treasure trove, Lisa believes she's unearthed a few gold
00:19:42
nuggets. >> Hi, this is her again. >> Including Ura's likely password from one of his early Murder for Higher sites. In
00:19:51
this case, we've got this very unique password of Frenza 22. >> F R U N Z A 22. So, this sounds like a
00:20:00
lead. >> From a digital forensics perspective, this is a huge lead. >> Lisa immediately launched a worldwide
00:20:07
search across the dark web and the regular internet for that password possibly linked to Europe.
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In a matter of hours, she zeroed in on two hits from different sides of the planet.
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>> Just on the Google search, friends at 22 actually led us to Moldova of all places.
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>> The Republic of Muldova, a former Soviet state in Eastern Europe. There's a village here called Franza. It's also a
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common last name. Frenza 22 gave us all this intelligence with which to work with and narrow down who Euro possibly
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could be. >> Lisa discovered that the online seller of this car in Muldova had also used
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Franza 22. >> Could there be a link? >> The license plate for this car obviously
00:21:03
gives us more information. >> Do you have an answer yet as to who owns this vehicle?
00:21:07
>> Unfortunately, we do not. We're coordinating with people on the ground in Muldova to see who this car is
00:21:13
actually registered to. >> But the most compelling clue, Lisa says, connects Yura's possible password to a
00:21:20
standard email address here in the United States. >> I was able to identify that with a very
00:21:29
high probability with an older Russian woman in New York. Lisa thinks the woman could be Ura's
00:21:40
relative. The cyber search for Ura and his anonymous dark web connections will involve a tedious, time-consuming
00:21:49
process of following digital breadcrumbs. >> One piece of evidence stands on its own
00:21:57
and you look at it as a breadcrumb and you try to chase that for a bit and then you find another breadcrumb.
00:22:04
And collectively, when you start to add all of these things up, you have a higher confidence assessment.
00:22:11
>> I keep my identity private. Everything that could help with recognition. >> As our global hunt for Eura intensifies,
00:22:22
we're reminded that his borderless reach from the bottom of the internet has left
00:22:28
shattered lives in his wake. Amy Allwine murder and others marked for death living in perpetual fear. There are
00:22:41
people around the world in danger and I had to do something about it. What Chris
00:22:46
Montero did was secretly hack into URA's websites, dredging up disturbing emails
00:22:52
from clients, ordering grizzly hits, and passing them on to 48 hours. We immediately informed law enforcement.
00:23:04
Three cases we investigated in 2018 in Illinois, Tennessee, and California have led to explosive conclusions. Do you
00:23:14
understand the terror that you have caused? >> Woodridge, Illinois. Tina Jones, a
00:23:22
registered nurse, got involved with a married colleague. When he ended the affair, she allegedly paid Ura about
00:23:30
$12,000 to kill the man's wife. >> 18C Jones and approaching the bench. This was a
00:23:40
nurse, someone who saves lives. >> Truth really is stranger than fiction. >> So,
00:23:47
>> Woodridge Police Sergeant Daniel Murray acting on the 48 hours tip brought a chillingly calm Tina Jones
00:23:56
>> in for questioning. >> The easier it'll go for everybody involved. So, I'm just going to ask you
00:24:00
right now, >> did you make any threat or did you try to have somebody do something on your
00:24:05
behalf to Jeff's wife? >> No. >> Okay. You sure about that? >> Yeah. Pause. >> You buying it?
00:24:12
>> No. >> Why not? >> She just doesn't come off as believable. >> I I really don't know.
00:24:18
>> Okay. >> Moments later, the truth. >> But you got to tell me now. >> I did. >> You did?
00:24:25
>> Yeah. >> Tina Jones just pleaded guilty to attempted firstdegree murder in >> in August 2019. Tina Jones learned her
00:24:37
fate. She will spend the next 10 years in prison. >> 418 Alpha Center. >> 48 hours also tipped off detective
00:24:45
Michael Olry in Clarksville, Tennessee, [Music] who broke the news to then 22year-old
00:24:53
Sydney Miner. >> I got you, a single mom. >> Someone went on uh the dark web. There
00:25:02
is a murder for hire uh website and someone has paid to have you murdered. >> What?
00:25:12
>> What? >> Cydney who was pregnant with her second child quickly identified the father of
00:25:19
her unborn baby as a suspect. Brandon states Sydney says he had pressured her to get an abortion.
00:25:28
>> He's married. Didn't know it at the time. The only person in our mind was Brandon States
00:25:34
>> because because it was his child and she refused to get rid of the child. >> Brandon States eventually pleaded guilty
00:25:41
to attempted premeditated murder. In March 2019, the Army specialist was sentenced by a military court to 15
00:25:51
years in Fort Levvenworth. By his final court hearing, Sydney had given birth to a little girl named
00:26:00
Sailor. Brandon States asked to meet his daughter before going to prison. Sydney
00:26:06
reluctantly agreed and handed the little girl to the man who had paid money to kill them both.
00:26:14
>> Give me a sense of what was going through your mind at that moment. >> Fear. A lot of fear.
00:26:22
She had to meet him in a courtroom with police officers and armed guards. I told him, "I'll never forgive you for
00:26:31
what you've done." >> Around the same time in St. Louis, Abyspo, California, this man awaits trial.
00:26:47
>> We know that you wanted your stepmother murdered, but we don't know why. Why did
00:26:51
you do it? [Music] In late 2019, Bo Bighgam, a one-time YouTube star. >> I never did it for the money. I did it
00:27:11
cuz I had a lot of time on my hands, >> is on trial for solicitation of murder after 48 hours tipped authorities to his
00:27:20
case. In 2018, Brighgam allegedly had paid Ura to arrange the assassination of his
00:27:28
stepmother. During questioning by detectives, he seemed to acknowledge ordering the hit.
00:27:34
>> I remember going on some stupid site and I was in a rage just sending a bunch of
00:27:42
stuff. >> I do not deny he went to the site. I absolutely deny that he had any intention whatsoever of hurting his
00:27:50
stepmother. Defense attorney Elon Funky Belu says Bighgam wasn't serious. Evidence shows Bighgam paid less than $3
00:28:00
in Bitcoin toward the $5,000 hit. >> If there was true intent, it wouldn't stop at $2.95.
00:28:09
>> After nearly 3 weeks of testimony, it takes the jury 7 hours to find Bighgam guilty of solicitation of murder. and a
00:28:20
month later. >> So, I just came out of the courtroom. He was sentenced to just three years in
00:28:26
state prison. >> But with credit for time served, he was released in January 2020.
00:28:33
[Applause] [Music] Alexis Stern is frustrated that in her case, there hasn't even been an arrest.
00:28:45
48 hours tracked her ex-boyfriend Adrien Fry to this house in the city of Bath, England. And we're watching the place.
00:28:55
So far, he hasn't emerged. >> A hitman marketplace is like any other auction site.
00:29:02
>> The man who took the kill order Adrien allegedly made is still at large, too.
00:29:08
But Lisa says finding Ura may partly depend on exposing and flipping the people who work with him.
00:29:15
>> Everyone has a network, right? >> We uncovered information about an important thread in Eura's web.
00:29:24
[Music] A thread stretching all the way to the sprawling city of Kolkata, India. And a computer
00:29:33
contractor named Santo Sharma. Ura contracted Santa Sharma to assist him with digital marketing and promotion of
00:29:42
>> Ura had become so brazen he actually was promoting his dark web sites on the regular internet by hiring a marketing
00:29:51
specialist. Our producer in India Arshad Zar spent weeks looking for Chararma >> but we managed to track down both his
00:30:01
addresses. We tipped authorities who summoned Sharma to the police station. After they
00:30:11
questioned him, Chararma agreed to an interview with us. We asked him about the sites he created on the regular
00:30:18
internet to advertise ura sites on the dark web. >> What are the websites then you created
00:30:25
for him? >> I have created murder forhire.com, besafia.com, hire ahitman.com. He insisted he was just an everyday
00:30:35
internet marketer hired on a freelance job. >> Have you ever spoken to him? >> No. Um I just chat with him, chat and
00:30:43
email. I have asked her phone number. However, he didn't send me. >> He said they're not in touch at all
00:30:50
anymore and that he doesn't know Yura's real name or location, but wishes he did
00:30:56
because Ura scammed him, too. Urus still owes him about $400 and um and and he has been trying to get
00:31:06
in touch with him uh asking for the money. >> Sharma was released without charges, but
00:31:13
hacker Chris Montero says Ura's operations took a body blow. >> The work of 48 hours investigating
00:31:20
Santos Sharma in India, that was very important in shutting down his advertising operations.
00:31:27
Lisa wants to see Ura shut down completely. >> And she believes she's getting close to
00:31:34
finding him. >> And it'll be right up here, right on the right. I'm going to drop my head down.
00:31:40
My heart is racing. >> And we're closing in on Adrien Fry, too. He lives in this house west of London.
00:31:52
>> Here we go. Let's see what happens. Hey, good evening. We staked out Adrien Fry's house in
00:32:16
England. The young man Alexis believes ordered her murder and asked Ura about obtaining a gun. For days, it seemed
00:32:24
like nobody was home. Then one night in February 2020, take a look at this. A car has pulled up in front of the house.
00:32:33
So, we're going to head over now and go knock on the door. Let's see what happens
00:32:41
and see if we can speak face to face with Adrien Fry. >> Hey, good evening. My name is uh Peter
00:32:51
Vance. And I was wondering if Adrien's here. >> Adrienne's brother answered the door
00:32:55
saying Adrien was visiting friends. He gave us the name of a nearby town and we went to check it out but couldn't find
00:33:03
him. >> Would you ever meet with Adrien Fry again? >> Not unless he's behind bars.
00:33:14
>> But that now seems unlikely. In November 2019, Alexis Stern received a letter
00:33:21
from the FBI saying the case was being closed because the United States Attorney's Office has declined to
00:33:29
prosecute. >> But authorities never explained why the case was dropped and refused to tell 48
00:33:36
Hours what, if anything, they had ever done to investigate Adrien Fry or Ura. to all law enforcement. Just try and
00:33:46
close our side if you can. >> In our own two-year global search for Europe, >> we'd been stood up in the UK.
00:33:55
>> What What did he say? >> I don't think he's coming. >> Found Europe's marketing guru in India.
00:34:02
>> I have created murder forhire.com. Besamafia.com, >> but not Eura himself. and hit a dead end with that car ad in
00:34:13
Muldova, where we had hired a local researcher to track down the owners. Lisa now believes it's just a
00:34:21
coincidence that Frenza 22 appeared in the car ad. >> There's no direct correlation.
00:34:31
In January 2020, we followed Lisa's lead to a woman in New York City, who Lisa now believes is Ura's mother-in-law.
00:34:40
>> We've just left Manhattan. Where are we heading? >> Queens. Maybe we'll find Ura.
00:34:46
>> I hope so. >> It took 3 months of digging through digital clues for Lisa to uncover what
00:34:52
she calls strong evidence against the man she now believes is Ura. It includes a link to that unusual password,
00:35:01
Franza22. And 48 hours discovered an email address that included gun and killer connected
00:35:10
to the man Lisa found in New York City. >> It was enough to make me pause when I
00:35:15
saw that email address. Lisa believes the man had moved to the US from overseas in the 1990s and now owns a
00:35:24
large repair business, registered some kind of tech company, and most recently bought a restaurant.
00:35:31
>> I have high confidence that this man is very likely Eura. >> What's that confidence level if you put
00:35:39
it in a percentage? >> 75 to 80, which is in intelligence terms quite high. Lisa says there's no such
00:35:47
thing as 100% certainty on the secretive dark web. That's why we decided not to name the man or show his face.
00:35:58
And we're in a position where we can take a look down a sidewalk and see if he approaches.
00:36:04
>> We spotted him on a public sidewalk. >> That's him. Go. >> Hey, how you doing? I'm Peter Vans with
00:36:14
CBS News and we have uh some questions we'd like to get answered if we if we may.
00:36:19
>> Sure. >> That's our investigation of murder for hire on the dark web has led us here and I want
00:36:27
to ask you are you >> who? Ura, I don't know who you are. My name is >> Yura is a person who runs has run
00:36:39
various Murder for Hire uh sites on the dark web. >> What are you talking about? Can you
00:36:45
explain yourself? >> I then asked him about Franza 22, that potentially incriminating password.
00:36:53
>> How do you explain that on the Basa Mafia website the administrator uses a password Frenza 22? says to pay special
00:37:03
attention to the man's reaction after I mentioned the password. >> The minute you hit him with the evidence
00:37:09
that is the key piece of evidence in this case, the password, he immediately then shuts down and starts going, "No,
00:37:15
no, no, no. I don't want to be here." >> He then did something I've never seen before.
00:37:20
>> Before we start anything, I want to make sure the whole world knows what's going
00:37:24
on. He started streaming our conversation live on Facebook where he began speaking more to his followers
00:37:32
than to me. >> What's up guys? Something is going on. I got some guys over here.
00:37:38
>> This in itself is taking control of the communication. He wants his words and
00:37:43
his voice to be heard and not yours. >> You can answer my question. >> There's no here. We also tried to ask
00:37:50
the man about another striking similarity between him and Yura in the real world.
00:37:56
>> Well, Yura wrote us and said that he'd recently taken his money and opened a new restaurant right now,
00:38:02
>> which you've done that. >> And what restaurant are you talking about again? >> This restaurant not far from where we
00:38:09
met him. He opened the place in 2018. Just 6 months later, Ura wrote 48 hours that he had done the same.
00:38:20
>> Do you run these murder for hire websites? >> He's calling me some stupid names. Stop
00:38:24
recording right now. >> As his anger grew, >> I'm going to smack the out of your
00:38:28
camera right now. I'm telling you, >> the man suddenly made us an offer. >> No cameras allowed.
00:38:34
>> No idea who is. >> I have no idea who's Urist. You want to talk to me privately? Let's go to the
00:38:39
office. Me and you sit down. We'll talk without this. I turned him down because the situation was starting to feel
00:38:45
dangerous. >> Oh, hey guys. >> And our conversation. >> Who you think you are? >> I'm just Who you think you are? You make
00:38:52
>> was about to take a major hit. >> I'm a reporter, investigative reporter that's been following this for over a
00:38:59
year. >> Hey, come on now. Don't do that. >> That was just on video. That could be
00:39:04
that could be an assault. Don't do this. >> You assaulting me right now. I'm asking
00:39:08
you a question. the police and medical. >> Yes, we need the police to be sir. You
00:39:13
hit me. I see my >> I didn't hit you. >> Did you hit my camera? >> I hit your camera and you did it with
00:39:17
your own hands. I just >> We quickly left the scene. >> They chickened out ran away.
00:39:23
>> And the man still angry continued to stream live. >> Stupid website. Some freak created
00:39:30
something. Use my identity. >> Someone's using my identity. He's confirming that the information that
00:39:37
we've presented to him is legit. >> Yes, I'm asking you a question. I know you think you are
00:39:42
>> based on all of the evidence that has been accumulated. My confidence is still
00:39:46
quite high. >> In fact, she says having seen the video, it's even higher. >> Around 80 to 90%.
00:39:54
>> Over the next two weeks, we reached out to the man four times requesting an on
00:40:00
camera interview at CBS News. do give a call back and uh let us know your decision.
00:40:07
>> We were eager to hear any explanation for the apparent links between him and Europe. He apologized for his actions.
00:40:15
>> Who you think you are? >> But never sat down on camera. >> Adrien, this is Peter Vans correspond
00:40:24
though he did text us. >> Hi Peter. I can assure you that I did not go onto the online web to hire a
00:40:33
hitman or anyone to kill Alexis. But it was his last text declining our interview request that startled us.
00:40:45
Thank you for the opportunity, he wrote. We realized that just like mastermind 365,
00:40:52
Adrien had once again written thank you as one word. [Music] 48 hours. Don't miss an episode.
00:41:16
[Music] Simpsonville is a tight-knit community. It's got that small town southern charm.
00:42:01
This is a place where you bake a cake and take it to your neighbor next door. >> It was a a great place to be a police
00:42:08
officer. Murders and serious assaults were few and far between. My name is Patty Pyiver and Katie Blavel
00:42:19
is my daughter. Katie was 5'1. She was a teeny little thing. She was just a free spirit.
00:42:29
She made friends so easily. She loved animals. That was her biggest thing. She loved animals.
00:42:36
>> She touched a lot of people's lives. >> She did. John Blauvelt was working over there at
00:42:46
the armed forces center. He was a recruiter for the military. He was someone that was respected by the
00:42:54
community. >> Somebody's in the military, you can rely on them. And I think she wanted that,
00:43:00
somebody stable and dependable. >> John was a catch for Katie. She married him, was happy, wanted to have kids, and
00:43:10
get their life started. They were moving into their new house, so everything was really cool.
00:43:17
>> What did John and Katie seem like as a couple to you? >> At first, they were really great.
00:43:22
Honestly, they had a little honeymoon after they got married, and once they got back,
00:43:28
things were no longer as good as they were. >> It seemed like ever since then, just
00:43:33
everything went downhill. Their marriage had fallen apart. Hannah Thompson and John were hanging
00:43:40
out a lot. >> He started dating Hannah Thompson who I believe was 17. >> And was Hannah in love with him?
00:43:49
>> 100%. >> She loved John and she wanted to be with him and Katie was a problem for her
00:43:57
>> and if they got Katie out of the way, she could have John to herself. On October 24th of 2016, Katie Blavevelt
00:44:04
went missing. >> She disappeared. >> She disappeared >> off the face of the earth.
00:44:10
>> Yes. And now nobody could get in touch with her. Her phone's cut off. We don't know
00:44:15
what's going on. >> Shortly after midnight, I got a phone call from our chief of police at the
00:44:21
time, and he advised me that they had found a body at an abandoned house, very dilapidated house.
00:44:28
>> How had she died? Has she been stabbed in the neck? >> John did it. I knew John did it.
00:44:36
>> Oh, yeah. I immediately thought John. >> We did our first interview with him several days after her body was located.
00:44:44
>> I'm just going to ask you point blank. Did you kill Katie? >> No. >> Do you know who killed her?
00:44:49
>> No. >> Shortly after that interview is when he fled the state. >> John disappears and he is on the run.
00:45:00
John Blavel goes on the run. Where's Hannah? >> With him. >> I contacted the United States Marshals.
00:45:07
This is their bread and butter. What they do best? >> I'm a deputy US Marshal. We go after
00:45:14
fugitives, violent offenses. >> He's been trained on how to defend himself. He's been trained on how to
00:45:22
kill. Does that make him a unique fugitive? >> It does. So, we don't know where he's
00:45:26
going to go. We don't know what he could be doing next. And when you heard that he was on the run, what' you think?
00:45:31
>> I was like, "Oh my god, you're never going to find him. [Music] [Music] In the soft South Carolina night in the
00:46:26
city of Simpsonville, Katie Blauvelt was missing. It had been two fearful days for her mom, Patty Pyiver.
00:46:34
>> I just was terrified that something was going to happen to her. >> Then past midnight, October 26, 2016,
00:46:42
investigators Cheryl Scoffield and Keith Morcraft were dispatched to the scene. Katie's mangled body had been found in
00:46:53
an abandoned farmhouse. 22 years old. A knife blade left in her body. >> There was a rectangular concrete box
00:47:03
kind of in the center of the basement. We found Katie's body inside of that box.
00:47:09
>> Her body had basically been folded into this box. It was a picture of what you
00:47:16
would see in a horror movie. Katie's mom was overwhelmed. >> I was totally empty inside.
00:47:24
She did not deserve to be murdered. >> Katie's stepsister Jennifer Pyiver. >> I just prayed and cried and
00:47:34
just sick. Just sick. >> Morcraft and another investigator went to tell John Blauvelt his wife's body
00:47:43
had been found. >> We went to make the death notification. I'm so sorry for your loss, sir.
00:47:50
>> At first, Blt appeared distressed. >> But as the conversation progressed, his
00:47:57
demeanor changed. >> Didn't ask normal questions such as, "Where did you find her? How did she
00:48:02
die?" >> He wasn't shocked by the news. >> He didn't seem to be at all. >> What did that suggest to you?
00:48:07
>> That he knew how she had died. He knew where her body was. >> John Blavel did have one question, but
00:48:14
it wasn't about Katie. Am I being charged with a crime? Cuz he's recording me and I'm not comfortable with that.
00:48:20
>> You're not being charged, okay, with a crime right now. >> Right away, you sensed this could be our
00:48:24
guy. I I was pretty confident at the time, >> but they couldn't arrest him on a feeling. First, Morcraft and Scoffield
00:48:32
had evidence to gather and a case to build. But just as they got started, John Blauvelt took to the road.
00:48:42
traveling with him, Hannah Thompson, his new girlfriend, all of 17. How concerned
00:48:49
were you about Hannah's safety? >> If he was willing to kill his own wife, there's no telling what kind of danger
00:48:54
Hannah Thompson would have been in by fleeing with him. >> But John Blauvelt hadn't always been
00:49:02
considered threatening. Back in 2014, in this quiet city of some 20,000, he was a
00:49:09
welcome part of the community. the larger than-l life public face of the US Army. A person of principle, someone
00:49:17
willing to sacrifice for his country. These are all admirable traits, right? >> Exactly.
00:49:23
>> It was then that John met Katie just yards from his recruiting office at this
00:49:28
sub shop where she worked. Katie turned 20. John was 26. They started dating >> and they just hit it off. She's lovable,
00:49:38
caring, funny. who wouldn't fall in love with her. >> In the summer of 2015, recruiter John
00:49:46
Blauvelt convinced Katie to enlist. But after just 2 months, a health issue prevented her from finishing her
00:49:54
training. >> They found a problem with her spine. She got a medical discharge out of the army.
00:50:00
>> While Katie's military hopes were dashed, John told friends he had found his calling.
00:50:06
>> He loved his military career. That's one thing we learned is that his career was
00:50:10
everything to him. >> With his war stories about his deployments in Iraq, his sharp uniform
00:50:17
decorated with service ribbons, John impressed local teenagers. >> Like to me, like he had all his ducks in
00:50:23
a row. >> Almost like a role model, right? >> Almost like a role model more like it
00:50:28
was definitely like a role model. >> Ally Somerville, a close friend of Katie, says she often ate lunch with
00:50:34
John at his recruiting booth in her school. She adds, "He also sometimes showed up at local hangouts.
00:50:41
>> I thought he was cool. >> He was very interested in your life, what you were up to and things."
00:50:45
>> Yeah, he made sure I was okay. >> But as he began dating Katie, her family was never half sure about
00:50:53
John Blauvelt. >> I don't think I ever had a meaningful conversation with him. >> Did he seem interested in you and
00:51:00
family? >> No, not at all. Then after about a year and seemingly out of the blue, Katie surprised her
00:51:10
family with an alarming announcement. >> She says, "Oh, by the way," she said, "Uh, me and John got married today." And
00:51:17
and I'm in shock. She said, "Oh, we got married at the courthouse." They went on the honeymoon, but within
00:51:25
two months, this that honeymoon was over. [Music] Staff Sergeant John Blauvelt and his new
00:51:45
bride were putting down roots in the community. Katie had taken a job at the local PetSmart.
00:51:52
>> Yeah, she's going to love that. And she did. >> And she was passionate about animals.
00:51:56
This could be a career for her. As for John, he already owned this four-bedroom home in Fountain Inn, right next to
00:52:04
Simpsonville, where investigator Cheryl Scoffield worked. >> Once they got married, this is the house
00:52:10
that they were supposed to move into and have a family. >> She wanted a family. She wanted to have
00:52:18
kids. >> Katie moved in and soon the house was crowded with kids, but not the kind
00:52:25
Katie imagined. Unfortunately, the only kids that were here were the teenagers that John Blau invited.
00:52:32
>> John had invited Katie's niece to stay with them. And later, Hannah Thompson and Ally Somerville crashed there, too.
00:52:40
Ally says it became a party destination for kids from their high school where John often worked as an Army recruiter.
00:52:50
>> We were just smoking weed all day, every day. >> And how old were you then? >> 16. And Ally claimed it wasn't just weed
00:52:58
that was the draw. She said at times there was booze, acid, and cocaine. >> This is with the US Army recruiter,
00:53:05
right? >> Army recruiter. Yes. Letting us party at his house. Like that's this is awesome.
00:53:10
>> Patty says it wasn't long before Katie grew frustrated with all of the partying
00:53:15
and told John it had to stop. >> Her dream house turned into a party house. Right.
00:53:21
>> And that's the last thing your sister wanted, right? >> Absolutely. As Katie and Blavel drifted, Hannah
00:53:28
Thompson was there to fuel the fire. >> Hannah absolutely despised Katie. >> And what was the nature of Hannah's
00:53:36
relationship with John as time went on? >> Hannah became John's puppy. Um, anytime
00:53:42
that Jon would tell her to do something, she would do it. >> It was all too much for Katie. According
00:53:48
to police records, after being married less than 3 months, Katie moved out. Captain Scoffield says John and Hannah
00:53:56
wasted no time. >> She moved into John Bl's bedroom in this house when Katie moved out.
00:54:03
>> Whoa, that's creepy. Like, you're in your late 20s and she's 17, dude. Like, you're not supposed to be doing stuff
00:54:08
like this. >> Hannah's father went to the police and told them he hadn't seen his daughter
00:54:13
for 2 weeks. That night, on February 26th, 2016, cops showed up at John Blauvelt's house. When they arrive, what
00:54:24
happens? >> Um, they try to make contact with John and John refused to come outside.
00:54:30
>> Ally Somerville was inside the house with John and some other miners when police arrived.
00:54:37
>> And John was like, "Lock the door. Nobody go outside." >> What were they saying?
00:54:41
>> Like John Blavel like come out of the house with the hands up. >> But you must have been a little
00:54:46
terrified. Were you not >> terrified? >> These are people with weapons. Were weapons out?
00:54:49
>> Oh yeah, there were weapons on and everything. a veteran of the Iraq war and they're
00:54:55
having to pull their guns to get him out of the house. >> Yes. >> It's kind of extraordinary, isn't it?
00:55:00
>> Yes, very much so. >> John eventually opened the door and was questioned by police. On February 27th,
00:55:08
2016, he was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His soldier's image replaced with
00:55:17
a mug shot. He's the exact opposite of what everybody thought he was. Exact opposite.
00:55:24
>> And soon Blavevelt's troubles would get even worse. Police talked to Katie the
00:55:28
day Bl. She told them about a more troubling incident she says happened a month earlier.
00:55:36
>> There had been a domestic violence incident where John allegedly uh pointed a gun at Katie.
00:55:42
>> Pulls out a gun, points it at her head. >> Yep. >> Says what? >> That he was going to kill her. and also
00:55:48
threatened the family. >> Threatened the family? What do you mean? To shoot. >> Threatened to kill the family.
00:55:53
>> Fountain Police Department investigated the matter and ended up charging him with domestic violence.
00:55:59
>> A restraining order was issued preventing Blavevelt and Katie from seeing each other.
00:56:05
>> He blamed her for ruining his life because there was obviously going to be a consequence from the military.
00:56:13
That consequence came just a few days later when the Department of the Army cut John's pay
00:56:20
and suspended him from the recruiting duty that defined him. >> You can't do this and be a military
00:56:27
recruiter. >> The Army reassigned him to a small back office and began an investigation that
00:56:35
might lead to his dismissal. >> He was like, I can't be out in the field like on the front lines. I'm not
00:56:41
recruiting people for the army. Now I'm sitting behind a desk. And that's what made him so mad.
00:56:48
>> Katie quickly moved on from her short, disastrous marriage and told her mother
00:56:53
she planned to divorce John. >> Your daughter moves out. Does she move back with you?
00:56:59
>> Yeah. >> But despite the restraining order, Katie and John still had some contact,
00:57:04
including visits to the house she had shared with John. The only reason she would go back over
00:57:11
there was because she had her dog over there, Jupiter. For some reason, I just was terrified that something was going
00:57:17
to happen to her. As for Blt, the military career he cherished was in tatters. And according to Alli
00:57:24
Somerville, he planned to get revenge. >> Did he ever say anything about harming
00:57:30
Katie? >> Yes. Um, he did say multiple times that he was going to kill Katie. He said that
00:57:36
she ruined his military career. That's all he's ever wanted to do in life. >> You destroy my career, I'm going to
00:57:44
destroy you. >> Yeah. >> Do you think he'd really go through with it? >> No. Never.
00:57:49
>> He was very vocal on the fact that he wanted Katie dead. He wanted Katie gone.
00:58:06
Police say Katie Blauvelt was last seen alive on October 24th, 2016 at her job at PetSmart.
00:58:16
But come morning in Simpsonville, no one had heard from her. Calls to her went to voicemail. Her mother reported
00:58:26
her missing. Did she tell the officer she spoke with that she was suspicious of John
00:58:33
Blauvelt? >> She did. >> The desperate search and the painful waiting began. >> I didn't think she was alive anymore. It
00:58:43
was terrifying. It's the worst feeling. You feel helpless. But after midnight, two of Katie's
00:58:52
friends followed a hunch that sent them deep in the woods to the old abandoned farmhouse.
00:59:00
[Music] Teenagers would go there and they would party, they would drink, they would
00:59:04
smoke marijuana. >> Katie and John were known to have gone there, too. The friends made their way to the
00:59:14
basement. They were horrified by what they found. One of them called 911. [Music]
00:59:22
>> 911. What's location of your emergency? >> We found my friend Katie dead in >> Okay. Okay. Are you saying she's dead in
00:59:29
the house? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Is she cold? >> She's very pale and there was no response.
00:59:36
>> Katie Blauvelt's body had been stuffed into that cold concrete box. >> You believe she Katie was killed outside
00:59:44
the house and brought in? >> Yes. And we believe that she was actually killed on the gravel driveway
00:59:49
and then drug on her face through that window. >> And if she's screaming, there's no one
00:59:54
to hear. >> You wouldn't hear it from that house where that house was located. >> And you live with that every day.
01:00:03
>> Every day. >> Doesn't get easier, does it? >> No. >> It was October 26th, 2016. Investigators
01:00:14
made that official death notification visit to Blauvelt. They got their first sense of the
01:00:22
resentment he held towards Katie. >> She flipped my life upside down. >> Morcraft and Scullfield wanted more
01:00:29
information from Bl. And so just a week later, they spoke with him. >> Anything you say can be used against you
01:00:36
in court. >> Didn't seem to really care that she was gone, let alone had been murdered. I
01:00:42
lost a friend. Maybe not the best wife, but I lost a friend. >> He told them he visited Katie at the
01:00:50
funeral home. Did you by yourself? >> Yeah. Well, I took a movie, did you? >> Blt said he hadn't seen Katie in months.
01:00:59
Their marriage had been a non-stop argument. >> What kind of stuff were y'all arguing
01:01:04
about? >> Um, everything. Just normal. >> Just normal stuff. He uh he seemed very
01:01:10
arrogant, cocky, narcissistic. >> Then the cop fired point blank that question. >> Did you kill Katie?
01:01:18
>> No. Okay. >> Do you know who he killed her? >> No. >> Sitting across talking to this man. What
01:01:23
are you sensing in John Bl? >> That he very much is the one who more than likely committed this murder.
01:01:30
>> Like he was put off like we were taking up his time. That he was smarter than we
01:01:34
were and that he was going to get away with this. Next up, Hannah Thompson. >> I don't know anything about her murder.
01:01:42
>> You do? >> I don't. >> You do? >> Investigators confront Hannah, sensing she must know something.
01:01:49
>> Tell us exactly what happened to Katie. I really don't know. >> And while they suspected Hannah might
01:01:56
know something, they did not know exactly what. >> I can tell you already you're lying to
01:02:03
me. Okay. You do not want to get wrapped up in catching a murder charge, >> right?
01:02:09
>> You're 17 years old. You got your entire life ahead of you. >> You may love John and you may think you
01:02:14
two are gonna get married and walk down the yellow brick road. Okay. But no man and no woman is worth going to prison
01:02:21
for. >> Do you agree? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. If you know something and you're trying to cover up for it, you're going
01:02:28
to go down with the person who did this to her for for knowing anything. Whether
01:02:33
it was beforehand or after the fact, you're going to go down with them. >> Investigators showed Hannah an autopsy
01:02:41
photo of Katie. >> Look at Hannah. She's right here. >> I don't want to look at her.
01:02:45
>> That's your friend. >> I don't want to do this anymore. >> Don't want to do what? Don't want to
01:02:51
help us find out who killed her. Can I please leave? Can I please leave? >> Hannah, this is a friend of yours that
01:02:59
we're trying to do. >> I want to help, but I can't listen. >> With no help from Hannah, police hands
01:03:08
were tied. >> We had to let him go. >> Potential hard evidence had to be processed, including Blt's cell phone
01:03:15
records and his DNA. It's very aggravating because we we know we're sitting across from the person who
01:03:22
killed his wife and shortly after that interview is when he fled the state. >> He had taken this red GMC Yukon
01:03:32
>> and he was gone. He was >> John Blauvelt trained in survival and combat suddenly loose
01:03:43
on the open road. I didn't think they were ever going to find him. He just disappeared off the
01:03:50
face of the map. >> And so did Hannah Thompson. Police believed she was with Blauvelt.
01:03:58
Prosecutor Kinley Abe would begin building the case with the chilling evidence she says he left behind.
01:04:06
>> First, what I want to kind of show you is, you know, the knife that was found
01:04:09
in Katie's neck. And so what you can see here is this X-ray that the actual knife
01:04:15
blade broke off inside of Katie. >> What you're holding there is what I'm seeing on this.
01:04:21
>> Exactly. Matches exactly right there. That's what was found and lodged in her
01:04:25
neck and that's how she died. >> Simpsonville police knew they needed help to find John Blauvelt.
01:04:34
>> I contacted the United States Marshalss. The investigation is let's find them.
01:04:40
Let's find them. Let's find them. On November 18th, 2016, John Blauvelt, still on the run, was
01:05:07
charged with Katie's murder. >> What kind of fugitive are you dealing with? >> Um, a cocky one. John thought we weren't
01:05:16
ever going to find him. US Marshal Will Cook based near Simpsonville would become the
01:05:25
point person in the hunt for Blauvelt who had been skilled at evasion. >> He had training from the army that the
01:05:35
government provided him to >> avoid you guys >> avoid us and he was good at it. Investigators remained uncertain about
01:05:45
Hannah Thompson's involvement in the murder, if any, but they knew for sure she was traveling
01:05:53
with Blauvelt. They uncovered photos of Blauvelt and Thompson shopping and Blauvelt at an
01:06:00
ATM. His red Yukon truck passing through Texas and New Mexico heading west. Were
01:06:14
you able to get hits on where this vehicle was from time to time? >> So, there were a couple of license plate
01:06:20
reader hits, >> but by the time police were able to respond, Blt was gone. >> In a game like this, all the seconds
01:06:29
count. >> Then, after a month, investigators caught a break. Hannah Thompson made
01:06:35
contact with her family from Eugene, Oregon. She wanted to come home to Simpsonville.
01:06:43
Cheryl Scoffield couldn't wait to talk to her. >> We are very glad that you're back and
01:06:48
that you're safe and that nothing bad happened to you. >> Hannah's story was that John had left
01:06:55
her in Eugene, just up and walked away. >> Did you ever see John again? And Hannah added she had no idea where
01:07:07
Jon was headed, but apparently she had enough of life on the run. >> She thought it was going to be a fairy
01:07:14
tale. You know, they were going to live on the lamb and make things happen. But after a few weeks of that, reality set
01:07:23
in. Any romantic notion Hannah may have had was derailed when John got the Yukon
01:07:30
stuck in the mud in the Pacific Northwest. >> Couldn't get out. Could not get out.
01:07:37
>> We said that we would hike. We had to hike walk off the mountain basically. >> Miles and miles.
01:07:44
>> The couple was reduced to panhandling for change >> and they use that for food sustainment.
01:07:53
Hannah says while on the road, Blt confessed, sharing the awful details of the killing.
01:08:02
He told me that the knife broke. I can't believe that he would do something like that.
01:08:10
But what else did he tell you about it? I know it's hard. He told me that the last thing she she said was that if he
01:08:20
let her go that she wouldn't call the police. >> Or were they him? >> An adult can psychologically take
01:08:31
advantage of a child. Do you believe in a way that's what was going on between John and Hannah?
01:08:37
>> Absolutely. >> Yeah. And he was just crying and screaming and like he was like saying that he did all
01:08:43
that stuff for me. Like did all that stuff? >> Like kill Katie. Like he was like I did
01:08:50
that for you and like all that kind of stuff like trying to make me feel like it was my fault. Hannah told conflicting
01:08:57
stories about her involvement, eventually saying she dropped Blauvel off by PetSmart the day Katie
01:09:05
disappeared and then left. Hannah says she did not know he planned to kill Katie, but later that day he asked her
01:09:13
to help hide Katie's car. She also admitted she had lied in her first interview just days after Katie's
01:09:22
murder. He told me that if I lied to the police that he would keep me safe. >> Investigators did not charge Hannah
01:09:29
right away because they needed her. >> We had a long-term goal of a finding John, b prosecuting him and she was the
01:09:39
key to a lot of that. >> We're still hunting for John. >> Okay. >> They hoped she might lead them to bl.
01:09:47
Has John contacted you by Facebook at all since you separated or contacted you by any means at all? No.
01:09:53
>> Please don't keep it a secret from from us. Okay. >> Okay. >> But if Hannah knew where John was, she
01:10:01
wasn't ready to tell them. >> I still care about him even though he did something like really
01:10:09
bad. Like I feel like I should hate him and part of me does, but part of me just keeps thinking about how
01:10:18
he used to be. >> Blt was still out there. Months turned into years. Lives changed.
01:10:29
>> He's beating us and we don't like to lose. >> It's driving you crazy. >> It's driving us crazy.
01:10:34
>> Was it frustrating that you retired with this case still out there? It was very
01:10:39
frustrating and it was the only case that I still had that was open. >> Those who knew Blice
01:10:45
for Katie might never come. >> John is the type of person that if somebody was going to get away with it,
01:10:50
it would be John. I never really thought that they would get him. >> The cops in Simpsonville interviewed
01:10:59
Hannah repeatedly over the years. Then in 2022, 6 years after Katie's murder, Hannah finally revealed a secret.
01:11:10
She had been in regular contact with Blavevelt for years. >> We had been talking the whole time. Like
01:11:18
at first we were talking every single day, multiple times, like for hours a day. Did anybody know you were still
01:11:25
talking to them? Hannah told investigators how they communicated. >> The very beginning we were communicating
01:11:33
on Facebook Messenger and then after that we were talking on Snapchat. >> She said their conversations ended in
01:11:41
2019. Authorities believe Hannah had matured with time and distance away from John.
01:11:50
She told them she realized what she had done was wrong and gradually offered more leads. John might still be in
01:11:57
Oregon. And she added John told her he had been living with another woman for years.
01:12:04
>> Cuz honestly, she's in danger, too. >> Based on some of the information that Hannah gave us, zoned us in on John's
01:12:12
new girlfriend and Medford, Oregon. >> Medford, a small city in the Northwest. Investigators jumped on the lead and
01:12:22
discovered a phone number that John had used to text a mystery woman. >> And this sounds tantalizing, isn't it?
01:12:29
>> Very tantalizing. >> Marshall Chris Tamayo is Will Cook's colleague in the Northwest. His team got
01:12:36
an address that corresponded with the mystery woman's house. He took us to the scene.
01:12:42
>> They started to stake out the house. >> Stake out the house. and they followed a
01:12:48
subject out, a male that appeared to match our description. >> But 6 years after John allegedly
01:12:56
murdered Katie, how could investigators be certain they had their man? >> John has some unique tattoos.
01:13:05
>> Can you show me? >> So, this is a still shot uh from one of John's initial interviews with
01:13:11
Simpsonville police. the tattoo of a pirate. It was a quiet morning in Medford. >> As I'm starting to pull through this
01:13:22
neighborhood, my heart is racing. >> The marshals made their move. >> That's the house right there.
01:13:31
>> Now, did you see any activity? >> We uh did see him come out. He was just coming out shirtless.
01:13:38
>> But was it for sure John Blauvelt? A pirate told the tale. >> I could see his pirate tattoo.
01:13:46
>> Right. It's about to happen. >> It is [Music] [Music] on July 20th, 2022, some 6 years after
01:14:08
Katie's death. Chris Tamayo joined marshals and other law enforcement for the take down of the
01:14:17
man they believed killed her. >> John's about 3/4 of the way down the driveway. And the guys start going right at him,
01:14:26
giving him commands. Police, show us your hands. Get down on the ground. >> And what does he do?
01:14:32
>> His eyes got wide, pure shock, and he drops down to the ground fast. John Glavvelt under arrest. He's getting
01:14:42
handcuffed. Handcuffs. >> But the suspect told the marshals they had the wrong man. He said, "I'm Ben
01:14:49
Klein." Said, "No, you're not." And he's stuck with Ben Klein. >> Ben Klene. >> We have a device that allows us to
01:14:57
mobiley print someone in the field. >> Fingerprint. >> Fingerprints. >> It took less than 5 minutes for Ben to
01:15:04
become John. >> Your fingerprints show that you are John Lavll. you were wanted out of South
01:15:09
Carolina. >> He knew it was over. >> He knew it was over. >> When the marshals went inside the house,
01:15:18
they realized the raid could have taken a fatal turn. >> There was a firearm, a handgun sitting
01:15:24
right on the nightstand. >> And what did that tell you? >> That was an indication to us that he
01:15:28
probably would have given a fight. All of it was apparently news to the woman Blauvelt was living with when she
01:15:35
returned to the house later that day. >> Pure shock. She was visibly shaking, crying, scared.
01:15:44
>> Tomio recorded audio with her at the scene. >> So, he's being arrested um on charges
01:15:50
out of South Carolina. >> For what? >> For murder. >> Are you serious? >> Yeah. >> I can't even believe this. This is like
01:15:57
a nightmare. I'm sorry. >> Bl's girlfriend told the Marshalls she had no idea who he really was.
01:16:07
>> We've been together for like six years. He would do random odd jobs. He was basically here watching my cats and my
01:16:15
my dog all the time. >> She loved him. She loved him. >> The news hit Simpsonville like thunder.
01:16:23
I was over the moon just freaking just that was such a great day. >> And I was completely elated.
01:16:31
>> John Blauvelt would go cross country again, this time handcuffed, brought back to a South Carolina jail to await
01:16:39
trial. Just 3 months later, Hannah Thompson would be charged with five felonies,
01:16:47
including obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact. She would plead not guilty and be released on
01:16:55
bail. Prosecutor Kinley Ay, who began putting the case against Blavevelt together a
01:17:04
few months after Katie was killed, would team with John Meadows preparing the case for trial. Starting with that blade
01:17:12
investigators found in Katie's neck. >> Doesn't get any worse than that. And that's what she died from.
01:17:19
And you can actually see through the collar of the shirt where that knife blade entered. And you can see it right
01:17:26
there. Yeah. Right into her neck. >> They focused on that abandoned farmhouse where kids once partied where they found
01:17:34
Katie. >> They would throw their bottles, their empty beer cans, and that's exactly
01:17:38
where he discarded Katie's body. >> So, do you think John was making a statement by placing her body?
01:17:42
>> Absolutely. >> In this bin that normally you put trash. >> Yeah, absolutely. Prosecutors say Blamed Katie for the
01:17:50
abrupt end of his military career. >> It's all Katie's salt. >> He's not responsible for what he did.
01:17:56
He's blaming his wife. >> Yes. >> And there were John Bl's own words. While on the run, he kept a journal that
01:18:04
the marshals found like a diary. Correct. >> Correct. >> And it held a damning entry.
01:18:12
>> So at the end it says boldly, "I did it. And for you, that's what uh that's evidence and proof that he murdered
01:18:22
Katie. >> In September 2024, 8 years after Katie's death, John Blauvelt went on trial for murder. Patty
01:18:35
Pyiver described the child she adored. >> She was sunshine. I mean, everybody loved her. Ally
01:18:43
Somerville stared at the man she once called a role model. >> He looked like a stone cold killer to
01:18:50
me. >> The prosecution's key witness was Hannah Thompson. She would admit to helping
01:18:56
Blavevelt the day Katie died. >> You love John Bl. >> Yes. >> You helped him hide Katie's car after he
01:19:04
killed her? >> Yes. >> You didn't know he killed her then? >> No. >> But you did help him?
01:19:11
>> Yes. And prosecutors played this grainy video. Hannah says it shows John Blauvelt getting out of Katie's car and
01:19:19
into his. Hannah was at the wheel of his Prius. >> Yes. >> In those >> in the Prius. Yes.
01:19:28
>> Once on the run, she says he told her the details of the murder. >> He had told me that he killed her. He
01:19:38
told me that he stabbed her. in the neck. He said that he threw her phone into water that was on the ground
01:19:50
in the abandoned house and he said that he had to cover up the her blood with dirt.
01:20:00
>> But Bl's defense team, Paul Neely and Anna Walker, made Hannah admit that her
01:20:06
story changed over the years. You've lied to your friends and your family. >> Yes.
01:20:13
>> And you kept lying? >> Yes. >> Then the defense zeroed in on the lack of DNA evidence at the scene.
01:20:23
>> Was there any DNA that tied John Bluffel to this murder? >> No. >> There was no DNA match to John Bl.
01:20:34
And what about John Blauvelt's journal in which he wrote, "I did it." His lawyers told 48 hours, "Much of it was a
01:20:42
fantasy." A lot of this journal is filled with these fictional stories of observations.
01:20:47
Uh it's filled with poems, drawings, all kinds of things. >> As for Hannah Thompson,
01:20:53
>> you heard she has five pending charges for the information she ultimately provided to law enforcement. The
01:21:02
prosecution pointed to the importance of her testimony. >> She is facing 55 years in jail upon
01:21:11
conviction for those crimes and she got up here with no deal. State didn't offer
01:21:17
her a single thing. No agreement to dismiss her charges, no cooperation agreement, no nudge nudge wink wink,
01:21:24
none of it. She got up here and testified and she told you because she thought it was the right thing to do.
01:21:31
She did a great job going up there and telling the truth and giving the key details of what John had told her, what
01:21:40
he had done to Katie. >> The trial lasted 4 days. The jury was out for some 5 hours.
01:21:49
>> As to the charge of murder, we the jury unanimously find the defendant, John T.
01:21:54
Bly. John Blaved has been found guilty for the murder of his aranged wife, Katie Border Bl.
01:22:01
>> Taylor Farmer covered the case for WSPA. >> It was very emotional in the courtroom.
01:22:07
Kind of quiet, but you could tell Katie's family was very emotional. As soon as the jurors got out, I just
01:22:13
started crying. >> John Blauvelt was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
01:22:20
>> He's a monster. She was helpless. And what did the family think about Hannah Thompson who allegedly covered
01:22:30
for Blauvelt for so long? >> I would think she was a stupid 17-year-old until at trial when I heard how long she
01:22:40
had been in touch with him. You are not willing at that time to turn him in. I have hard feelings about that. It's
01:22:49
unfathomable. [Music] What would you say to your sister today if you could? [Music]
01:23:00
>> That I'm sorry, that I love her, and that I think she was brave. [Music] CBS next Saturday. A wife terrified of
01:23:31
her aranged husband. >> I don't want him anywhere near me. >> Is found shot to death.
01:23:35
>> Lady down. Lady down. >> The hunt was on. >> You leave no rock unturned. >> But could her murder have been
01:23:41
prevented? >> I knew this was going to happen. >> 48 hours is all new. CBS next Saturday,
01:23:46
10:9 central and streaming on Paramount Plus. [Music] It was so unusual for something like
01:24:34
this to happen right outside your door behind the gates of a beautiful community.
01:24:40
>> Well, as they say, a lot of things go on behind closed doors. >> The Chadwicks lived a very suburban
01:24:47
life. Peter was very quiet, very softspoken, QC. She was bubbly and vivacious. >> When you say bubbly and vivacious, did
01:25:00
she have a sense of humor? >> She was very funny. Yes. And so smart and talented, she could do anything. Our
01:25:08
kids started the same school as her children. They were all friends. You see, she came from Malaysia, not
01:25:15
speaking English, and she she met Peter in school. She told us Peter would work out of the home managing the family
01:25:24
investments. You know, they lived well. >> So, from the outside, did it seem like
01:25:30
the Chadwicks had this idyllic life? >> Yes, from the outside, it definitely seemed that way.
01:25:40
[Music] I work out of my house, so my office just faces the street here. Between 4:00
01:25:49
and 5:00 p.m., I saw cop cars in front of her house. >> 1120. >> And I'm thinking, "What's going on?"
01:25:58
>> One of our other friends, she came right up to me and said, "Karen, where's QC? Where's Peter?
01:26:06
>> 43. >> At that point, we just knew that she didn't pick up the kids. It was kind of
01:26:10
talk of the neighborhood and that Peter and her were missing. >> We send a patrol officer out there. So,
01:26:18
they go inside. It just looks like a typical Newport resident where there was lunch being prepared. The house is
01:26:25
immaculate. There's still vacuum lines in the carpet. Everything's made. It looks good.
01:26:32
And then when they go upstairs and they walk into the master bath, they realize there's a broken vase and a little bit
01:26:39
of blood splattered around. Now we're actually starting to get worried about it.
01:26:47
[Music] >> Investigators quickly identify Peter as a primary suspect in his wife's
01:26:53
disappearance. >> Chadwick was arrested but made bail and then he just disappeared.
01:26:59
In January 2015, Peter Chadwick becomes a fugitive from justice. >> The search intensifies for a millionaire
01:27:06
fugitive accused of murdering his wife and skipping bail. >> We had no idea this manhunt was going to
01:27:13
become the logistical monster that it has. >> Two. >> I mean, this manhunt has really expanded
01:27:20
the entire globe. >> But now that manhunt is over. Peter Chadwick's life on the run ended. And
01:27:26
we'll tell you how law enforcement got their man. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music]
01:28:28
After nearly 5 years on the run, the international manhunt for Peter Chadwick, accused of killing his wife
01:28:35
QC, ended August 4th, 2019. We're pleased to announce that Peter Gregory Chadwick was located in Mexico
01:28:43
on Sunday night. With the help and cooperation of United States Marshall Service and authorities in Mexico, he
01:28:49
was flown to Los Angeles International Airport where our detectives took custody of him.
01:28:56
But how did it come to this? It's a twisted tale that began on a picture perfect autumn day back in
01:29:05
October 2012 in this posh neighborhood in Newport Beach, California. The couple had been living the good life, enjoying
01:29:13
the trappings of wealth and raising three sons, their oldest was away at boarding school. And when his two
01:29:20
younger brothers headed home that day, the family's world turned upside down. >> So these boys got out of school and what
01:29:28
happened? So they get out of school and a bus drops him off at a bus stop near their house in Newport Coast.
01:29:33
>> Sergeant Ryan Peters remembers that day. >> A neighbor saw him sitting at the bus
01:29:38
stop past the time that they typically get picked up by either Peter or QC. So she stopped and asked, "Have you reached
01:29:45
your mom and dad?" And they said, "No, they haven't been able to reach him." They were calling them. Nobody was
01:29:49
answering. >> It was very unusual for the Chadwicks not to be punctual. >> Lieutenant Brian Moore was called in
01:29:55
later. >> Dad should be here to pick them up. Dad is always here. Normal protocol during a
01:30:01
missing person's case is we're uh we're checking with friends, we're checking with relatives,
01:30:06
>> and checking the hospitals, checking with family, neighbors, anybody have any
01:30:10
idea where they are. >> All attempts to locate them were were a dead end. >> That same night, with their parents
01:30:17
still missing, the boys slept at a friend's house. Investigators combed the Chadwick home for clues. And then when
01:30:25
they go upstairs and they walk into the master bath, then that's when patrol realizes there's more to the story. In
01:30:32
the master bathroom, they initially saw the broken glass decorative glass that was around the bathroom tub, the edging.
01:30:40
>> We had blood at the bottom of the bathtub. As you continue through the downstairs, the safe is clearly a jar.
01:30:48
>> So, it's starting to look like more than just a welfare check situation. >> Yeah. Obviously, whoever left left in
01:30:54
haste. It looked quite suspicious. >> We were all in shock like, "Where is she? What's going on? Why is she
01:31:01
missing?" >> Word that the Chadwicks were gone spread quickly through the neighborhood. Heidi
01:31:07
lived just across the street. >> What were they like? >> Well, QC was the one with all the
01:31:14
personality. She was always looking forward to my annual Christmas party because she came over, she got to dress
01:31:20
up and she looked like a million dollars and she had fun. >> My first impression of her was that she
01:31:27
was a completely devoted mother. >> Karen Thorp had known QC for years. Their children went to school together.
01:31:36
She was very determined to make sure they were getting good grades and they were completing their assignments and
01:31:42
they were picking music and they were doing a sport and and she wanted them to be the best at everything.
01:31:47
>> And how were they? >> They were the best at everything. >> Their father Peter came from a wealthy
01:31:54
family. He was born in Britain and had dual citizenship. QC's family was also affluent. They met at Arizona State
01:32:03
University. Did you get the sense that she was very in love with him? >> Yes, that she was in love with him and
01:32:09
that she depended on him also. >> What do you mean depended on him? >> QC found our country to be a bit new and
01:32:17
strange, different from where she had come from and uh she was learning about how to do things here.
01:32:24
>> Did you get the sense that Peter liked her depending on him? >> Yes. Yeah. We definitely all felt that
01:32:32
he was completely comfortable with that. She was definitely less independent than
01:32:37
many of her friends. >> QC and Peter married in 1991. When he grew more successful, the couple moved
01:32:44
to that home in Newport Beach. They eventually had three sons. Art Scott taught the two older boys
01:32:55
piano. >> They were great students. They did everything I asked. I would teach him.
01:33:05
Then after a few months, after he got more advanced, I would teach him and it would expand beyond that as he
01:33:12
got committed and did more work. They're very bright kids. I really enjoy being in their home. She always had a beverage
01:33:20
for me and something to eat every single time. And that's doesn't happen, you know, every day for all the clients that
01:33:27
I see. And so she's very congenial, very much uh making me feel warm in her house.
01:33:34
>> And what was Peter like? >> He almost seemed painfully shy when we first met him. I felt like I never
01:33:43
really knew him very well. What did Peter do? >> At first, we didn't really know. We
01:33:48
thought he ran his own business and then we learned he managed some apartment buildings.
01:33:54
>> Was Peter kind of a mystery? Yes, Peter was a mystery. >> But Karen says she did sense that the
01:34:02
couple's dynamic had been evolving over the past few years. QC was really beginning to come into her own and be
01:34:10
her own person. I'd say she was less insecure about what to wear and what to do and she was able to follow more of
01:34:19
her way of doing things. So you could see the self-confidence. >> I could see the self-confidence. Yes. I
01:34:26
felt at the time like I really knew the family, but I have to say with so many things in life, you never really know
01:34:33
about people's inside lives and what's really going on. Now, police were left with two missing parents and those
01:34:41
disturbing clues in the master bathroom. >> And what were the boys saying? >> Boys had no idea where mom and dad were.
01:34:50
>> Anybody have any clue? >> No. At that point, nobody had any clue at all. >> But that wouldn't last long.
01:35:00
The first big break came here near the Mexican border in San Diego. It was just before dawn the day after when someone
01:35:07
here 100 miles from Newport Beach called 911 with an emergency. It was Peter Chadwick.
01:35:16
>> What emergency crystal? >> They took her. They took her. >> Who took her? The guy broke into my house. He He drove
01:35:24
me. He he he had a friend cuz they I think they're going uh they might be going to Mexico or somewhere.
01:35:40
[Music] In these surveillance pictures taken at a gas station near the Mexican border,
01:35:54
you can see Peter Chadwick he's about to make that 911 call. >> 911 killed my wife.
01:36:04
>> Chadwick tells the operator QC had been murdered. >> My wife's dead. They've gone in the
01:36:12
pickup truck. >> So your wife did that? >> She's dead. >> Hold on. Let me give him a few on his
01:36:19
phone. >> This is the gas station where Chadwick called 911. >> Yeah, this is where he chose to kick off
01:36:25
our investigation. >> And this was a huge break. >> This was huge. >> Sergeant Ryan Peters, just to get a
01:36:32
sense of where we are. How close are we to the border? Is that >> It's right there.
01:36:39
>> What are we looking at? >> We're looking at Tijana. >> We're that close. >> We're that close.
01:36:43
>> What did Chadwick tell 911? Chadwood calls 911 and says he was kidnapped. And
01:36:48
he was kidnapped by a guy named Juan who had killed his wife in Newport Beach. >> How do you know Juan?
01:36:54
>> I picked him up to to look at some painting work at the house. I brought him to the house.
01:37:01
>> So Peter and Juan go back to his home. And then what did Peter say happened? >> At some point Peter and Juan separated.
01:37:08
Juan continued upstairs and Peter went down to his office. Peter said within uh seconds he heard his wife QC screaming.
01:37:17
>> He hears QC scream, "Peter, Peter." And as he runs upstairs, he sees Juan strangling QC, who's in the bath in
01:37:24
their master bedroom, and he's drowning her. >> How do you know she's dead? >> She drowned. She drowned. Her body was
01:37:34
stiff. Even >> as he goes up and sees this, witnesses this, he's held at bay by Juan with a
01:37:41
2-in uh pocketk knife. >> Chadwick told police he was helpless to save QC. >> And instead of being able to rescue his
01:37:50
wife, he's held at bay by Juan, and Juan proceeds to finish killing his wife. >> Then Chadwick said Juan ordered him to
01:37:59
help get QC's body out of the tub and wrap it in a blanket. And Peter says he walks over and grabs a green blanket and
01:38:06
wraps her up in it. And that's the blanket they use to take her downstairs. >> With Juan at his side, Chadwick said he
01:38:12
was forced to drive all through the night with his wife's body in the back of his SUV.
01:38:19
>> I've been driving with him. I think they might be going to Mexico or somewhere. I want you to get him.
01:38:26
Chadwick says that's how they ended up here at this border town gas station where they met up with another man named
01:38:33
Chi. >> And they took the body out of Chadwick's car, put it in a truck, and took it to
01:38:39
Mexico. >> Chadwick says Juan and Chi drove away, leaving him alone with his vehicle in
01:38:45
this dreary parking lot. >> 911 emergency. This is Crystal. >> That's when Peter made his 911 call.
01:38:53
>> Okay. And where is she now? They have her body. They said they're going to cut
01:38:56
her up. >> What color car did one lead in? >> What? What? What? >> What color car did?
01:39:01
>> Dark green. Dark green. Uh um like a like a pickup van but covered. Um what do you call? Um and and uh Chevy.
01:39:12
>> Within a few minutes, police arrived and took him to the station. Lieutenant Brian Moore says his
01:39:21
detectives found holes in Chadwick's story. >> Any signs of Juan at all? >> No. >> Chadwick told 911 that QC was killed at
01:39:33
about 11:00 the previous morning, but surveillance footage shows Chadwick's SUV leaving his gated community in
01:39:41
Newport Beach about 2 and 1/2 hours after that. Police say there's no Juan in the vehicle. And later, Chadwick's at
01:39:49
a toll. Again, no sign of Juan. >> Everyone we talked to and described uh this Juan individual, no one had any
01:39:58
idea who that was or could give us any information related to this person. >> What about Chi?
01:40:04
>> No. Some of the video surveillance we picked up uh in the area where Peter said he met this chi person, there was
01:40:10
no other vehicles involved that we could see. What's more, Chadwick's own body had
01:40:17
some incriminating injuries. >> He had scratches on his neck and arms. He had a bite mark on his forearm.
01:40:27
>> Did he try to explain that as these came from Juan? >> He explained some sort of a struggle
01:40:33
between him and Juan, but there was never any specifics on how he obtained those injuries.
01:40:38
>> And then there was this a packed suitcase in Chadwick's car. We had a suitcase, all male clothing inside that
01:40:45
was just kind of thrown in there as if somebody kind of packed hastily. >> I'm sorry. There was a bag in the car of
01:40:51
men's clothes. What kind of kidnapper says, "Hey, go ahead and pack yourself an overnight bag,"
01:40:56
>> which is part of the problem. That's not normally uh the thing that happens. No.
01:41:02
[Music] >> QC's friend Karen says nothing Peter said made any sense. When you first heard that story, did you
01:41:13
buy it? >> Absolutely not. I don't even think the 911 operator bought it. If you've heard
01:41:19
the tape, she her reaction is Mhm. Really? Mhm. >> Okay. What? What? >> Down to he
01:41:27
>> Are you on any kind of medication, sir? >> Uh, not not not that uh heavy ones.
01:41:33
>> Okay. But this happened yesterday at 11:00. You're now calling us at 5:30 in the morning.
01:41:40
Detectives weren't buying any of it either. >> During the initial contact, Peter was
01:41:44
was kind of all over the map. His story was very disjointed. He'd go uh through the range of emotions, crying, however,
01:41:52
the officer never saw a tear to moments of anxiety and just complete quiet. >> So, he went from great displays of being
01:42:00
distraught to nothing. And the most interesting thing was during the entire contact with law enforcement and with
01:42:07
our detectives, he never once asked about his kids. >> He never asked about the boys.
01:42:11
>> No. >> And we're talking he hasn't seen them since the morning prior when he dropped
01:42:15
him off for school. >> What did that say to you? >> To me, it means that he he's more
01:42:19
concerned with his story, creating an alibi >> than he is about his own sons. >> It appeared so. Yes.
01:42:28
People's first feeling was that there had been a takeover robbery and they had both been
01:42:35
kidnapped. And I don't even know if there was speculation in the media about that, but
01:42:41
I never for a moment thought that it happened. I somehow knew he had killed her.
01:42:48
[Music] >> Hear more of Peter Chadwick's bizarre 911 call on Facebook at 48 hours.
01:43:03
[Music] I remember calling and I said, "He's killed her, hasn't he?" I I can't tell
01:43:14
you why I knew. My friend said, "Are you okay? Are you at work?" And I said, "I am, but I'm
01:43:22
going home now. On October 11th, 2012, just 6 hours after that 911 call, Peter Chadwick was
01:43:34
arrested for murder. >> He wasn't defensive, angry, sad, emotional in any way, as if somebody
01:43:43
that was being placed under arrest that was innocent would have acted. >> It almost like he wasn't surprised that
01:43:49
we were putting handcuffs on him. Chadwick quickly lawyered up and stopped talking to detectives. The community was
01:43:57
shocked. >> Just just unthinkable that that he would do that, that someone would do that and that she would be
01:44:05
gone. >> Karen Thorp could only guess what led to her friend's murder. I think over time
01:44:13
knowing QC it seemed that she wanted to become more independent and she would start doing more things
01:44:22
for herself and I wondered then if maybe some of her reservations and insecurity
01:44:29
were because of Peter. >> Why do you think she didn't confide in you? >> I think she was very proud. I think
01:44:34
everyone was shocked. Brian Moore believes QC had uncovered a dark side of her husband.
01:44:43
>> Probably the most telling things that we discovered uh was a handwritten piece of
01:44:48
paper that had Peter's computer search history on it. Looked like it was written out by QC.
01:44:55
>> And what did that say? >> How to torture Chinese sex massage. Uh abortion costs in Orange County.
01:45:02
>> These were all in his search history. >> Yes. So as we dug into it further, we started
01:45:08
to get the real account that that there was some turmoil in their marriage. There was some talk of divorce.
01:45:15
>> He visited prostitutes. >> Based on his search history, we have to assume so.
01:45:20
>> This isn't that happy Newport Beach family that it appeared to be from the outside.
01:45:25
>> Absolutely not. >> In court, Peter Chadwick pleaded not guilty. His two sons, who had lived at
01:45:34
home, were now with their mother's brother more than 50 miles away in the Los Angeles area. Their mother was
01:45:41
missing and presumably dead. >> Did the boys have any idea about what happened to their mother, what their dad
01:45:48
was doing? >> None whatsoever. >> Then, 7 days after Peter Chadwick called 911, detectives got another big break.
01:45:59
This time, a tip they say they can't discuss. That led them to a location in the
01:46:05
mountains, more than 100 miles from Newport Beach. This is remote. >> It's extremely remote. Kind of south San
01:46:15
Diego County in the middle of nowhere. >> So, where are we headed? >> So, we're going to crime scene number
01:46:23
two. Detectives found themselves on this barren mountainside in rural San Diego County, Wildcat Canyon. They believe
01:46:32
Peter Chadwick came here that night. >> What do you think he's thinking as he's driving up this road?
01:46:37
>> If you kind of put yourself in his position, he's been driving around for hours, over 10 hours, with QC's body in
01:46:44
the car. He needs to find a place to drop the body. He needs to find a place to drop the body where he's not going to
01:46:49
be seen or it's dark and it's not going to be seen anytime soon after he drops it.
01:46:57
>> The first place he comes to is this little road. Yeah, it's right here. >> That's it.
01:47:02
>> That's it. >> So, this is where he stopped. >> We were not sure if we're ever going to
01:47:12
find her. The chances were slim to none. When we lift it up, it was full. >> So, what did you see?
01:47:20
>> We started finding QC's items. We found nice bags. We found a really nice purse.
01:47:26
So, we set those aside. When we opened up the bag, that's when we found QC's ID, her permanent residency card,
01:47:32
$10,000 cash. And all of this stuff is the stuff that he described Juan taking with QC's body into Mexico.
01:47:40
[Music] and wrapped in that green blanket, QC's body. >> It was a huge break for us. The dumpster
01:47:50
was scheduled to be picked up the Thursday morning, which was the next morning after we believe Peter disposed
01:47:57
of QC's body. The issue with that was there was some kind of billing dispute. >> So, they were supposed to pick up the
01:48:02
dumpster, but they didn't. Once detectives finally found QC, the medical examiner was able to determine
01:48:11
how she died. >> There was a pretty violent struggle, which resulted in strangulation and
01:48:17
possible drowning. >> As the state built its case against Peter Chadwick, he sat in jail. That is
01:48:26
for 2 months until December when bail was set at $1 million. No sweat for the multi-millionaire businessman. I heard
01:48:36
he got out on bail and I remember being absolutely infuriated and disgusted that he should
01:48:44
not be out on bail. >> Prosecutor Matt Murphy says the court really had no choice. Chadwick was
01:48:52
entitled to bail. >> We had a guy that had he had no criminal background. Um he had roots in the
01:48:57
community. Chadwick also had that multi-million dollar home and three sons and he surrendered his US and UK
01:49:05
passports. >> We can keep him on a short leash. We can keep him, you know, engaged in the in
01:49:12
the process. We can keep, you know, we can keep eyes on him. >> Peter came back and got her van, which
01:49:17
was really creepy. He returned to get her van because his car was impounded. So he drove off with her man and I was
01:49:25
just happened to be out in the street and he gave me a nod and I'm just like turned my head in disgust.
01:49:30
>> Even before Chadwick could face trial, Karen's mind was made up. >> He was shame shameless. Talk about
01:49:37
Hudspa. He sent out an email inviting people to a 100 day vigil, candlelight vigil
01:49:47
at the home where he murdered her. How can you kill your wife, throw her in a dumpster, and hold a candlelight vigil
01:49:59
at the home where you killed her? Two years passed. Chadwick moved into his father's home in Santa Barbara, a
01:50:09
swanky town up the coast. All three sons ended up in boarding school. >> How solid did you think your case was as
01:50:17
you headed for trial? >> Extremely solid. I mean, with all the circumstantial evidence, the body, the
01:50:23
the injuries, and uh the lack of plausibility on on behalf of Peter's story. So, overall, we thought we had
01:50:31
this thing wrapped up. >> So, as you're looking down the road, you're thinking Peter Chadwick is going
01:50:35
to end up where >> in prison. >> But Peter Chadwick had other plans. >> Breaking news to tell you about an
01:50:44
accused murderer on the run from California. [Applause] Peter Chadwick was awaiting trial and
01:51:04
making his court appearances for hearings, doing what he was supposed to do >> until he wasn't anymore.
01:51:11
>> Yeah. We got word from his attorney that said, "I don't know where he is." After
01:51:16
two years out on bail, Peter Chadwick disappeared. >> This is one of the most wanted suspects
01:51:24
in the entire United States. >> What do you mean he's gone? You know, didn't somebody keep an eye on this guy?
01:51:30
Prosecutor Matt Murphy was outraged. >> Nobody thought that he would flee from his sons.
01:51:37
He abandoned his family. He made his attorney look terrible. And he thumbmed his nose at the court and the justice
01:51:42
system. Is part of this just that rich guys can get away with an awful lot? >> You know, it's it's just it's
01:51:50
frustrating. You shouldn't be able to take advantage of the system because you have money.
01:51:56
And you know, that's that's what happened here. Most people can't afford this bail. You shouldn't be able to do
01:52:01
this because you got money. He took full advantage and he uses financial resources to do it. a million dollars
01:52:06
bail really wasn't enough to keep someone as coldhearted and narcissistic as him to
01:52:13
stay around. >> At first, investigators heard that Peter Chadwick might be dead.
01:52:19
>> Initially, Michael Chadwick started relaying information that he was suicidal.
01:52:23
>> So, Michael Chadwick, Peter's dad, said he was going to kill himself, that Peter
01:52:27
was going to kill himself. >> He alluded to the fact that he was suicidal. I don't know if it was his
01:52:30
attorney or his father had said he had been despondent and suicidal. No. >> By the time investigators realized that
01:52:40
he'd flown the coupe, Chadwick was long gone. He had a 3-w weekek lead on them, and
01:52:47
he'd been studying up. They discovered books in Chadwick's home on how to disappear and how to change identities
01:52:55
and leave false trails. Investigators learned from a taxi company that someone who police now
01:53:06
believe was Peter Chadwick took a cab from his dad's house to this airport here in Santa Barbara. And get this, the
01:53:14
cab driver says that the person he picked up that day was a woman. So, was Peter Chadwick in disguise?
01:53:26
When he got here, he went inside with his suitcase and then he must have changed clothes because surveillance
01:53:32
cameras have pictures of Chadwick dressed as himself hanging out at the Santa Barbara airport. Hours ticked by,
01:53:40
but he never got on a plane. Instead, he went back outside, got into another cab,
01:53:46
and drove away. And that's the last anyone here saw of Peter Chadwick. The search for Chadwick was now an
01:53:54
international manhunt with the US Marshals leading the way. >> Here they are training in the mountains
01:54:04
above Los Angeles. >> We're going to catch him. Marshall Craig McCcluskey led the team
01:54:12
that would track Chadwick. >> He's going to make a mistake. Um we're going to choke him off and grab him.
01:54:20
Not only did Chadwick have a head start, his life on the run would be well financed.
01:54:26
>> What makes him so difficult to find is the fact that he fled with a decent amount of money.
01:54:32
>> So it was about a million dollars that he had in cash when he left. >> Approximately a million dollars. Yes.
01:54:38
>> Do you feel like he slipped through your fingers? >> Yeah. I I honestly wished uh you know we
01:54:45
could have wrapped this case up a lot sooner. He got the better of us at this point.
01:54:54
>> Once you find a string, you got to start pulling on it. And uh we found a couple
01:54:57
strings >> before the final tip that led investigators to Mexico. Tips had come from everywhere.
01:55:04
>> The countries that we've had active leads in that we've pursued include Japan. They include Canada,
01:55:10
Bise, Panama, the Ukraine. McCluskey was convinced Chadwick was getting help while on the lamb.
01:55:20
>> I didn't think this case was going to turn into what it did. But I think one reason that it did is not because
01:55:26
Peter's smart. It's not because he was savvy. It's not because he outsmarted us. It's because he's getting help. And
01:55:34
I think once we cut him off from his source of help that he's going to make a mistake and we're going to catch him.
01:55:41
Karen Thorp had always hoped whoever was helping Peter Chadwick might have a change of heart.
01:55:48
Someone needs to come forward. Someone with a conscience, someone who cares about those kids and
01:55:53
who cares about what has happened to this lovely woman, this lovely devoted mother who has no justice.
01:56:03
Justice would be in reach when the manhunt ended south of the border. But wait, do you hear what Chadwick was
01:56:10
doing while on the lamb? >> He went from a real estate millionaire to busting tables,
01:56:17
>> right? I think he was just desperate to fit in and stay on the run. He was willing to do anything to sustain his
01:56:21
flight. >> All right, good to go. >> Learn more about Peter Chadwick's life on the run in Mexico at 48 hours.com.
01:56:43
After almost 5 years, basically overnight, everything changed. August 4th, 2019, 48 Hours learned of a new
01:56:53
dramatic development in the Peter Chadwick investigation. 48 Hours had the only news crew on the
01:56:59
scene when Peter Chadwick landed in Los Angeles yesterday. He disappeared in 2015 after being charged with killing
01:57:06
his wife. >> In handcuffs and shackles, authorities had their man and Newport Beach Police
01:57:13
Chief John Lewis made the official announcement. >> After receiving hundreds and hundreds of
01:57:18
tips from all over the world, one of them led us to our suspect. >> The chief would not go into detail about
01:57:24
what that tip was. Chadwick was picked up by Mexican federal police near the city of Puebla, south of Mexico City. I
01:57:32
believe he was surprised. I don't think he expected to be arrested. >> Marshall Craig McCluskey was at the
01:57:39
airport in Los Angeles when Chadwick arrived and he slapped the cuffs on him. >> What's the first thing you said to him?
01:57:46
>> Peter, my name is Craig McCcluskey from the US Marshalss. I'm placing you into
01:57:50
the custody of the United States Marshall Service. I think he had recognized me from the initial 48 hours
01:57:56
episode that aired. >> Oh, wait. He watched the 48 hours episode. >> I believe he did.
01:58:01
He's going to make a mistake. Um, we're going to choke him off and grab him. >> Our 48 Hours report on the hunt for
01:58:07
Peter Chadwick aired in May 2019. >> And he recognized you from the 48 hours. >> Well, cuz the first question he asked me
01:58:14
looked me right in the face and he asked me, "How's Ben?" And Ben's his oldest son. I guess he assumed that I had some
01:58:19
contact with his family. He said when he saw that episode, he realized that his situation had escalated a lot because he
01:58:27
didn't realize the US Marshalss were after him at that point. >> So, he was watching us watching him.
01:58:34
>> In essence, yes. >> And he knew he knew how many people were after him. He'd seen the coverage.
01:58:39
>> He really became stressed out. That was an incredible weight. Yeah. I mean, looking over your shoulder every day.
01:58:46
Details are still murky about where Chadwick spent all his years on the run, but when he was picked up in Mexico, he
01:58:53
was living in this apartment. >> Peter was in a small village outside of Pueblo, Mexico, about 2 hours north of
01:59:00
the Guatemalan border and about an hour and a half south of uh Mexico City. The makeup of that town was um mostly
01:59:07
Caucasian, but also Asian community as well. >> His hideout was next to a country club,
01:59:12
>> had tennis courts, and of course, Peter preferred playing tennis. He continued
01:59:16
to play tennis. >> Yes. >> Did he change his appearance? >> He changed his appearance slightly. So,
01:59:22
his hair was a little darker. Um, he had some facial hair, so he had a goatee. He
01:59:26
tried to make himself a little younger, and I think he was successful in that. I
01:59:29
mean, his face looked a little a little different. >> A little nip and tuck in Mexico,
01:59:33
>> possibly. I don't know for sure. >> Chadwick apparently used many fake IDs and aliases, including Paul Cook, Paul
01:59:42
Craig, and John Franklin. He even had an ID card that it was a copy of some fictional security force and he was
01:59:52
representing himself as some type of analyst with top secret access with his photo on it.
01:59:57
>> What do you think he used that for? >> Maybe to get some unassuming uh local police officers off his back.
02:00:02
>> It's essentially a toy ID saying, "Hey, I'm a secret agent." >> Correct. But strangely, Chadwick never got a fake
02:00:10
passport, and that may have forced him into some lifestyle changes. He'd started off his escape staying in nice
02:00:16
hotels, and he stayed in some fancy hotels at the beginning. >> He did stay in hotels. I think he
02:00:23
started to change his pattern when Mexico started changing some of their immigration laws where they required
02:00:28
visas for non-citizens when they checked into hotels, which forced him into, you
02:00:33
know, more discreet places like hostels, you know, that would accept cash and and
02:00:37
no identification. [Music] >> And then there was money. Even though authorities figure he had about a
02:00:44
million dollars in cash when he fled, he occupied his days picking up odd jobs. >> What was he doing for money? He did flee
02:00:52
with a large sum of money. Most of it he lived off of that, but I think he did some small things on the side, maybe um
02:00:59
taught conversational English or something like that uh to children to make a few extra bucks. I think he was
02:01:04
busing tables, um working in kitchens, >> but he went from a real estate millionaire to busing tables,
02:01:11
>> right? I think he was just desperate to fit in and stay on the run. He was willing to do anything to sustain his
02:01:16
flight. One of the biggest investigative breaks that led the marshals to Chadwick was
02:01:22
their discovery that he was in communication with people who knew him. >> We learned that he was receiving help
02:01:28
from those close to him. To what extent, I don't know. And how the quantities of
02:01:32
money that were provided to him, I don't know exactly, but uh we know that he was
02:01:37
getting some assistance from those close to him back up here still. That information, combined with the new tip
02:01:42
and old-fashioned police work by Newport Beach police, the marshals, and Mexican
02:01:47
authorities, ultimately led to Chadwick's arrest. >> The bizarre thing is that this took, you
02:01:53
know, nearly 5 years to unfold and then boom, it happened overnight. >> Yeah. >> That's entirely due to the relationship
02:02:00
we had with the Mexican authorities, their response to uh intelligence that was gathered and their own intelligence
02:02:06
gathering techniques. You mean that that's really what paid off. >> At this point, authorities are not
02:02:12
saying if they'll charge anyone else in connection with Chadwick's escape. Meanwhile, they're savoring their
02:02:19
victory. Chief Lewis says he always knew Chadwick's days were numbered. >> Did you ever for a moment think he's
02:02:26
gone forever? >> Not for a minute. I believe in our investigators. I believe in our process.
02:02:32
I believe in the in the heart of this police department towards solving these cases. And so in my mind, it was just a
02:02:38
matter of time before we got him. It wasn't going to be a if, it was a when. >> Did he seem at all
02:02:44
relieved? >> He did at the end a little bit. He says something along the lines of, "It was
02:02:50
getting hard to keep up with the lies." >> Police say he was captured in Mexico.
02:02:54
>> For Karen Thorp, QC's close friend, Chadwick's capture brings mixed emotion. >> What's it like to see that?
02:03:04
I'm angry. I'm repulsed. I want to make him know the pain that everybody else suffered.
02:03:14
>> One of the things that we heard was that he was at a resort in Mexico. What do
02:03:19
you think of that? >> Outrageous. Somebody who could do this to her and then live the high life is
02:03:26
just a testament to his coldness and his depravity. And that coldness, investigators say,
02:03:36
extended to Chadwick's willingness to abandon his three sons forever. >> Our investigation shows that Peter
02:03:42
Chadwick never intended to return from Mexico. He had no intentions of coming back to Orange County to face trial or
02:03:49
to raise the three sons that he had abandoned. Speaking of the boys, our hearts go out
02:03:55
to them. We'd ask that everyone respect their privacy during this incredibly emotional time. We don't know how the
02:04:02
Chadwick boys have reacted to their father's capture, but we do know that in recent months, Karen Thorp told us
02:04:08
they've been doing well. >> Do you have a sense of how the boys are doing? >> They're really, really strong, really
02:04:17
really supported by QC's family. There's so much love around them and so much love
02:04:26
for them. They've really they've continued to flourish in spite of of this tragedy.
02:04:34
>> And that is a fitting tribute to a dedicated mom whose life was cut so short.
02:04:42
[Music] We lost in QC a mother who cared for her children deeply and who loved life and
02:04:53
love vibrancy and loved to give her children all that she possibly could. [Music]
02:05:15
A young woman waiting for her wedding day. Her fiance gunned down. >> Someone had a vendetta against Patrick.
02:05:22
>> Did police uncover a plan for murder? >> This wasn't a random killing. It was an
02:05:28
assassination. >> 48 hours, Saturday on CBS.