00:00:00
foreign [Music] that crime scene was just brutal and Evil and just ugly [Music] Linda Slayton remembered as a loving
00:00:22
mother was found dead in this home in 1981 it was a case that went cold for nearly four decades when two brothers
00:00:30
who weren't sure whether their mother's murder would ever be solved got a chance
00:00:34
I freaked out I started crying I saw the whole crime scene right then and there as a 12 year old kid
00:00:40
I'd have died that night trying to save my mom but I didn't hear nothing it's so hard to live with that
00:00:48
when kids just bothered me the way I saw that lady he entered that window and he went out
00:00:56
of that window and that's where I got this print from son of a [ __ ] was walking the street
00:01:01
he's out free we truly felt that the person that left his DNA behind was the person that actually killed her the
00:01:10
boyfriend of Linda certainly high on the list her ex-husband was another one all
00:01:16
you need is a DNA mat a hit that's all I need is a hit in the database and the further we went the longer we
00:01:25
went the more discouraging you got the Hope started fading you can't lose your mom no worse than we
00:01:33
lost our mom it's a nightmare I wouldn't wish on nobody I love you bro now we can't undo the
00:01:40
tragedy we can never make up for what happened the best outcome is that they get
00:01:47
Justice I mean Don never know who did this you know loved ones and especially children of a murder victim they need
00:01:55
those answers remember how many detectives we had to go through over the years we was going to let them know
00:01:59
we're still here and we will we want to kill our mom 38 years after this brutal murder that
00:02:07
has felt like a no would be solved 38 years of more than two dozen detectives coming up empty
00:02:18
every turn I was striking out how long did it take you chromosome 3 chromosome four to solve this crime two
00:02:27
days [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] on the morning of September 4th
00:03:27
1981 you're going to walk Three Doors Down and have a cup of coffee with your sister right
00:03:35
when Judy Butler knocked on her older sister's front door Linda Slayton never answered at the time the sisters both
00:03:43
lived in this Lakeland apartment complex so you started to walk back to your place
00:03:50
and what happened and I turned and I see that the screen is out of the window 's bedroom window was wide open Judy
00:04:01
walked over and looked inside and my vision comes across her where was she she was there instead of
00:04:11
up and down on the bed she was laying Crossways and at first I thought maybe she was
00:04:18
asleep and then then I just started screaming when police arrived they found the
00:04:26
partially nude body of Linda Slayton 31 with a wire coat hanger wrapped around her neck
00:04:34
the killer had entered her bedroom through the open window [Music] the crackle of Police radios inside the
00:04:42
small two-bedroom apartment woke up Linda's 15 year old son Jeff sleeping on a cot in the living room uh ask them
00:04:50
what is going on he's a police officer put on some clothes and go outside and he made sure I went out the front door
00:04:56
and when I went out there it looked like every cop in the State of Florida news crews and Matt Judy was out there crying
00:05:02
and she told my mom been murdered and I just couldn't believe it in the apartment second bedroom another
00:05:09
officer woke up Linda's younger son Tim then 12 years old he goes do you need to
00:05:15
wake up and go outside with your brother he never mentioned my mom like why why are you not saying my mom was a cop
00:05:22
waking me up foreign [Music] still in his pajamas Tim walked past his mother's closed bedroom door
00:05:32
suddenly it swung open as an officer left the room and I saw the whole crime scene
00:05:40
I mean some of my mom's bloody body with a coat hanger on her neck you can't unsee that no
00:05:48
and I'll still see it in 1974 Linda Slayton was a 24 year old single mom finally free she had just
00:06:06
divorced Jeff and Tim's abusive father Frank Slayton after nine volatile years of marriage
00:06:13
he was a violent alcoholic to be honest did he hit your mom no yeah in the years that followed nothing was
00:06:22
easy for the young family Linda struggled for work made her own clothes to save money and couldn't afford a car
00:06:30
if you couldn't get a ride to practice who would take you coach come pick us up that's Coach Joe as the kids called him
00:06:37
he often drove Tim and some other boys to and from football practice on the last full day of her life Linda
00:06:49
and Jeff argued tensions had been rising with her teenage son I remember coming home it wasn't eating the house
00:06:57
you know how it is when you're 15 16 year old kid you're mouthy and I got mad and I went out the door and
00:07:04
got my bicycle on Road 11 or 12 miles to the north side of town to go to Grandma
00:07:08
and Grandpa's house get something to eat at 8 30 that night Tim came home from football practice the coach brought me
00:07:16
home around nine Linda took Tim to a party next door to play cards grandma grandpa
00:07:23
brought me home about I think it was around nine nine or nine thirty or so Linda and Tim came home about 11. by
00:07:30
midnight Jeff made up with his mom he says and still remembers their final moment together
00:07:36
she's washing the dish and stuff when she went to uh to go to her bedroom I said I love you mom I said tomorrow you
00:07:42
know foreign [Music] what do you remember about the this latent case I can remember everything about it
00:08:03
going to that Wonder looking at it where he went through it and I went and then the children was asleep
00:08:10
and I saw that could hang around her neck former Sergeant Edgar Pickett now 94 years old was a legendary fingerprint
00:08:21
expert with the Lakeland Police Department he'd let the crime scene unit in fact
00:08:26
the crime lab Bears his name but that sort of recognition was a long time coming
00:08:33
[Music] arriving at the Slayton crime scene in 1981 Pickett then 53 was just a year
00:08:42
away from retirement but his hard-earned reputation had never spared him from prejudice
00:08:49
so you pull up at the scene and another Detective says what to you a little black man
00:08:56
don't have any business looking at her naked white woman even though she was a homicide victim
00:09:01
that's correct I get believed Linda Slayton had been strangled with a coat hanger from her
00:09:10
own closet he dusted most of the bedroom for fingerprints even the floor and then I got that print out for that
00:09:20
window seal it was a palm print putting the fingerprint you got the most important
00:09:26
print there is I knew it the evidence picket uncovered would play a crucial role decades later
00:09:34
especially the palm print I really had never seen anybody in the sheep that that lady was in
00:09:42
and I've seen a lot of people kill Ed an autopsy later confirmed what he already knew Linda Slayton had been
00:09:50
sexually assaulted and strangled to death swabs taken and preserved in a rape kit
00:09:56
revealed semen that morning picket says his thoughts kept returning to Linda slayton's voice
00:10:07
I had children too and I really wanted to clear that case I did you guys are standing on the spot
00:10:19
where your life changed yes right you want to stop being a kid was right there you were 15. 15. you really felt like
00:10:26
this was the end of your childhood right here yes sir I think exactly what it did
00:10:29
when I had Judy told my mom been murdered emerging through the terror and tears that September morning 41 years ago the
00:10:40
questions kept coming why who who could have done such an evil thing [Music] on that late Summer Morning in 1981 Jeff
00:11:13
and Tim Slayton faced a frightening World they no longer recognized a world without their mother
00:11:21
how do 12 and 15 year old boys process that deal with that was hard yeah I thought about committing
00:11:32
suicide a couple times it's that bad the brothers moved in with their grandparents Clarence and Margaret
00:11:40
Harris we just we stayed in the house we didn't go anywhere scared to death scared of death you know to do anything
00:11:46
[Music] for those first terrifying days the family slept in the same room except
00:11:55
Grandpa Harris and he would stay in guard with a gun all night while we slept the grandparents hoped a quick return to
00:12:03
familiar routines would help their distraught grandsons a few weeks after their mom's funeral the boys were back
00:12:11
in school and just you know being with friends and just just started living life again I guess you know going back
00:12:17
to football his teammates and Coach Joe in particular were always supportive always
00:12:25
rooting for him says Tim and I looked up to this guy he was my assistant football
00:12:29
coach I'm rods the games rides to practice Tim's team football photo hung in his bedroom it was taken just one
00:12:37
month after the murder the picture was a reminder he says of something his mom had taught him to keep
00:12:44
moving forward and never give up she was a fighter yes oh yes oh yeah she might want to wait 100
00:12:52
pounds soaking wet but she was pretty tough everybody liked her that met her everybody was asking her date because
00:12:59
she was so young and pretty and then Linda met and married Frank Slayton he was a mean no count Scoundrels the
00:13:11
brothers say it's hard to know when their dad began to beat their mom the more he drank the more violent he became
00:13:19
I remember one time it was in the bathroom he had about a throw with a gun to her head and I was coming there
00:13:23
trying to get him off of her I feel like it saved her that you know that night a
00:13:26
day well you were just a little guy yourself six and a half seven years old frank slayton's history of abuse made
00:13:35
him a person of interest for Lakeland detectives but investigators seemed satisfied that Slayton was home in
00:13:42
Alabama on the night of the murder at the time of her death Linda had a boyfriend he too had a credible alibi
00:13:50
others were looked at like the party goers next door but no one was charged like smart ladies come down and take me
00:13:58
out of school and they was always interrogate me all the time in the early days it sounds like
00:14:03
who the police really were most thorough in checking out it was me as a 15 year old Jeff had plenty of
00:14:17
typical teen conflicts with his mom which he readily admitted to detectives including that heated argument on the
00:14:25
last day of her life no they have met him and lie detector test one time having I passed it
00:14:31
then he wanted to do it again they just want to put me under hypnosis and then there's one time one of the cops and
00:14:36
he's like you got big arms on you and you're strong enough put your hands around your mom's neck and kill her what
00:14:41
who would do that to a kid I was 15 year old kid hurting can't say that to me and
00:14:45
that's that's always hurt finally Jeff's grandparents said enough it's like get out there and found Who
00:14:53
Killed My Daughter leave this kid leave his family alone two weeks later according to the Lakeland police report
00:14:59
Jeff took a second polygraph test and was cleared at that point the investigation slowed then ground to a
00:15:08
halt as the years passed Jeff and Tim started their own families but to this day there
00:15:18
is still grief and guilt for not hearing anything that night for not coming to their mom's rescue I'd
00:15:26
have died that not trying to save my mom but I mean we're right there in the house how can you not hear something
00:15:30
like that and they lived in fear of the man they called the monster unless he was dead he
00:15:38
was out there somewhere around the 20th anniversary of their mom's murder Jeff and Tim met with
00:15:48
Lakeland detective Brad Grice who was taking a fresh look at the case as soon as Jeff and Tim walked in the door I
00:15:56
realized I'd known Jeff for years since I was in my 20s through Bowling it was like Brad sure
00:16:05
enough I knew him from Bowling years ago Grace took DNA samples from the brothers
00:16:10
to clear them again then gave Jeff something in return a promise he made me promise that I
00:16:18
wouldn't retire until I solved his mother's case and I I wanted to so bad for him and his
00:16:24
brother I did Grace had already sent DNA from the Slaton rape kit to the state's major
00:16:33
Crime Lab at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement the FDLE do you have any confidence that you could solve it I was
00:16:41
hoping DNA would you know it was becoming a big tool by March 1999 the FDLE had developed a full DNA profile of
00:16:50
Linda slayton's Anonymous killer all you need is a DNA mat a hit that's all I need is
00:16:59
a hit in the database detective Grace took dozens of DNA samples from prior Persons of Interest
00:17:07
submitting them to the FDLE for comparison we were trying everything even the brother's father Frank Slayton
00:17:14
who had stopped drinking volunteered a sample none matched then in September 2001 Grace got a tip
00:17:25
nearly a year after the Slayton killing a 24 year old man named Jimmy Ulmer pulled a 10 year old girl through her
00:17:32
bedroom window and nearly killed her he was convicted of that and sentenced to like 80 years
00:17:38
in prison the Savage assault seemed eerily similar to the Slayton case and detective Grice discovered that around
00:17:47
the time of Linda slayton's murder Jimmy Ulmer had been staying with a friend who
00:17:52
happened to live in the very same apartment complex as Slayton hang on Jimmy Ulmer was staying in an apartment
00:17:59
right across the way from the slaves yes you must have felt like that's our guy I
00:18:07
felt very strong I did Homer had died in prison five years earlier in 1996 but Grace got a DNA
00:18:18
sample from his mother I honestly felt that when we got the results back that we would know who did it and we'd get
00:18:27
the the notice that it wasn't him at that point you must have been like we're never going to solve this thing I
00:18:35
sure felt that way it was very discouraging but you know it's like oh my God we're back to square
00:18:41
one again didn't feel like he's on a roller coaster for you pretty much your whole life
00:18:47
by 2005 detective Grace was heading up a new Cold Case unit and the FBI was running the DNA profile of slayton's
00:18:56
killer continuously through all federal data banks but the years continued to pass without a match and Jeff would call
00:19:05
and Jeff I got nothing for you you know it hurt my heart too you know Grace had a growing suspicion he was chasing a
00:19:14
ghost as I honestly thought the suspect might be deceased he had made that promise to the brothers that he wouldn't
00:19:21
retire until their monster was caught I had some medical things that were popping up it
00:19:29
was a promise he couldn't keep detective Grace retired in 2015. there was probably nothing in your
00:19:36
professional life you wanted more than to call Jeff Slayton and say got him absolutely effort to detective
00:19:45
progress retired I'm like I was like well I'll probably take my last breath and not know who murdered my
00:19:51
mom has already starting to come with terms with it but three years later there was renewed
00:19:57
hope a groundbreaking DNA technology began to Electrify the law enforcement community
00:20:04
and genetic genealogists CC Moore was taking on the Slayton case I was determined I was going to help
00:20:15
these boys find out who killed their mom see more photos from the case at 48hours.com
00:20:37
CeCe Moore is a renowned expert in the field of investigative genetic genealogy you have that DNA there is no reason you
00:20:45
cannot solve that mystery whatever that mystery is Moore launched her hunt for Linda
00:20:56
slayton's Killer by uploading the anonymous DNA from slayton's rape kit to a public Genealogy website called jet
00:21:05
match she then meticulously constructed Branch by Branch his genetic family tree
00:21:12
I built the family trees of those people who share DNA with him and then I identify common ancestors between those
00:21:19
people she made those connections by pouring over birth certificates marriage licenses obituaries and social media to
00:21:27
fill in the family tree with names it sounds like basically you're putting together a giant jigsaw
00:21:36
puzzle yes other puzzles piece by piece by piece these matches all share DNA with each
00:21:47
other so they're my first genetic Network CC Moore uncovered three genetic networks branches of the killers family
00:21:55
tree that ultimately narrowed to the one person most likely responsible for the murder of Linda Slayton fortunately
00:22:04
those three genetic networks converged into one family tree that pointed at one immediate family and he was the only son
00:22:15
in that family and we knew the killer was a male so it had to be him that was the DNA
00:22:21
contributor after hundreds of leads and dead ends after dozens of suspects were investigated and cleared CeCe Moore
00:22:32
identified the probable killer in one weekend there was just one person who was high confidence and who was that
00:22:41
Joseph Clinton Mills Joseph Clinton Mills Coach Joe who drove Linda slayton's 12 year old son Tim to
00:22:52
and from practice but authorities wanted to be certain before they notified the brothers and
00:22:58
then there is a sort of exhilaration because he's alive and so there's a real chance for justice and maybe even
00:23:06
answers CC Moore's final 2019 report confirmed that Joseph Mills then 58 was living in Kathleen Florida about half an
00:23:17
hour from the crime scene and I reviewed the case and I'm like I remember that name I remember seeing that name that
00:23:24
that guy was interviewed detectives Tammy Hathcock and Russell Hurley were the next generation of
00:23:31
Lakeland investigators leading the Slayton Cold Case I'm telling you it's like I won the lottery I remember
00:23:37
grabbing that piece of paper from the report and just running down the hallway to my sergeant saying oh my God he was
00:23:43
interviewed he was interviewed according to the case File investigators did question Joseph Mills then 20 years
00:23:51
old just one day after the murder he was very basically touched I mean like just a very brief
00:23:59
interview and it was conducted on the phone not in person the fact that investigators never questioned Mills
00:24:06
face to face suggests he was never considered a suspect during the brief call Mills acknowledged he had driven
00:24:13
Tim Slayton home from football practice on September 3rd just hours later Linda Slayton was dead how was Joseph Mills
00:24:23
not followed up on more aggressively in 1981. at that point I mean he was just a
00:24:32
football coach that had dropped off to me he was never on their radar to be a suspect just based off of the
00:24:39
information that they were given by Timmy and by by Mr Mills Mills seen here in a 1984 driver's
00:24:48
license photo was convicted that year of Grand Theft for forging a will he never
00:24:54
went to jail but he was fingerprinted Lakeland Police also took a palm print in August 2019 investigators compared
00:25:03
those prints to the one Sergeant Pickett lifted off slayton's windowsill nearly 38 years before when the prince came
00:25:11
back there was a match yes high-tech genetic genealogy had identified Mills as the likely killer
00:25:18
and an old-fashioned palm print match helped confirm his identity but Hathcock and Hurley still needed to compare a
00:25:26
fresh DNA sample from Mills to the decades-old DNA recovered from the crime scene as we had to get his DNA without
00:25:33
his knowledge and see if we can get a match we had to do some surveillance it was several weekends that we were
00:25:40
following him around trying to get discarded just looking for a cup that he drank from or a tissue that he used
00:25:46
anything after tracking Mills with no luck the detectives decided it was time to get
00:25:53
their hands dirty they covertly took Mill's trash back to the police department here we are in dress clothes
00:26:00
just digging through trash bags not the most glamorous thing they discovered a piece of used medical adhesive tape and
00:26:07
sent it off to the FDLE crime lab for testing after searching Mill's trash they dug through his life he's been
00:26:15
married to the same woman and he lived in the same place he was a business owner a cleaning service was a truck
00:26:21
driver over the years he had a family married kids married kids grandkids eleven days later the stunning lab
00:26:29
results Joseph Mills 2019 DNA found on the medical table and the 1981 unknown DNA from Linda slayton's rape kit were a
00:26:41
spot on Match that's when the brothers were told the monster had been found this guy you last
00:26:49
knew was Coach Joe oh my goodness it was him and I had a picture of my house ever
00:26:58
since that I never knew it was him Tim's 1981 team football photo a source of Pride for years
00:27:07
sickens him today because standing directly behind him is the man he once trusted and admired Coach Joe
00:27:16
I've been carrying a Killer's picture of my house this whole time and never had a
00:27:21
clue even after the murder Joseph Mills continued driving Tim to and from football practice picking him up and
00:27:29
dropping him off at his grandparents house he'd asked us how the case was going he wouldn't ask questions about he
00:27:36
just well isn't he new news or any new leads and I was like no nothing you know he's talking to a 12 year old boy and
00:27:42
trying to keep tabs on a murder investigation through the the son of the murdered woman no yes
00:27:49
when he knows exactly who did it he's a coal holder monster that's for sure [Music]
00:27:56
December 12 2019 the detectives moved in arresting Joseph Mills he was calm cool and Collective like it
00:28:12
was another day on the beach most people's reaction would be why am I being arrested
00:28:17
why are you taking me and you expected some of that right some kind of emotion and nothing
00:28:22
[Music] [Music] thank you it's been 38 years and I'm sure you go to bed every night thinking about this I
00:28:51
have no doubt in my mind detectives Hathcock and Hurley finally had Joseph Mills right where they wanted
00:28:59
him in the claustrophobic confines of a police interview room when I picked the boys up
00:29:06
we we stayed in the vehicle and I don't recall going to in or out of a house period
00:29:14
there's no way that is the truth I mean he's saying he's never been in there we got him well we have
00:29:21
tells us a different story okay you were in that apartment ratcheting up the pressure the
00:29:28
detectives told Mills they had overwhelming evidence placing him inside Linda slayton's bedroom your fingerprint
00:29:36
smashes you the DNA matches you that's when Mill's story began to change and then how did you end up going
00:29:44
through her window is that an invitation an invitation from Linda Slayton Mills claimed for consensual sex
00:29:54
a flat out lie say the detectives he said it was a sex game that she had the hanger around her neck when he came
00:30:02
through the window and she asked him to tighten it down and then did you start applying pressure
00:30:09
yes and when I pointed out well the brutality of the hangar and how deep it was into her skin
00:30:19
he stuck with the it was a game you purposely killed her we all sitting here we know that
00:30:26
at the end of the day what happened here I think it's pretty evident that he targeted her
00:30:34
after dropping off Tim from football practice on September 3rd 1981. Joseph Mills returned later that night
00:30:43
the detectives say breaking in through Linda slayton's bedroom window one heard Mills they believed because no
00:30:51
one was home Jeff was still at his grandparents house Linda and Tim were at the party next
00:30:58
door if you look at the crime scene and all that the hangar obviously came from the
00:31:03
closet we figured that's what happened as he was hiding in the closet were you ever in the closet
00:31:09
yeah in the final moments of her life the detectives believed that Linda after saying good night to her sons walked
00:31:19
into her bedroom and closed the door never knowing that Mills was already inside waiting for her
00:31:27
there was no invitation no consensual sex they say Joseph Mills raped and murdered Linda Slayton
00:31:38
detective Brad Grice always suspected the killer's name was buried somewhere in the thick police case File why do you
00:31:47
feel that the investigation didn't Circle back to Joseph Mills well obviously I put a lot of that on me now
00:31:54
you do I do Grace blames himself for not taking a harder look at Joseph Mills a sentiment
00:32:03
not shared by the Slayton Brothers they feel nothing but gratitude to the detective and friend who spent 17 years
00:32:13
Chasing The elusive killer I could tell how hard he wanted to solve it and I actually named my son after him my son's
00:32:20
named Brad too here's Brad Slayton graduating from high school Jeff put a little pressure on me
00:32:27
over the years you know he did you can't retire until you solve this case and then he names his son after me and
00:32:33
honestly I just wanted to to solve this case for them more than anything [Music]
00:32:40
how you doing all right so did this former investigator 94 year old Edgar Pickett the brothers had always wanted
00:32:50
to meet him so I want to thank you for all you did for our mom back then we haven't done it this monster would still
00:32:55
be running free today I sure would I'm sure it is poignant praise for sergeant Pickett who lifted the pomprit that
00:33:02
helped identify the monster Joseph Mills that's the case I can never forget is up
00:33:09
here yeah I can't get rid of it during his distinguished and trailblazing 29-year career Sergeant Pickett had seen
00:33:18
it all and yet it's the Linda Slayton case that haunts him to this day he never knew police had questioned a
00:33:26
man named Joseph Mills just one day after the killing you didn't know for 38 years that he was
00:33:36
talked to immediately afterwards no I didn't instead Pickett says he was asked to
00:33:43
compare Prince of a number of black men who were questioned in the days after the murder following neighbors reports
00:33:51
of suspicious activity they kept picking up a lot of blacks and it was giving me
00:33:56
their plants for me to look at theirs it not just haunts but anger's picket black men were rounded up and
00:34:08
fingerprinted while the white football coach driving Linda's son to and from practice was never considered a suspect
00:34:16
they just talked to him and let him go you're telling me this case could have been solved in the first days after the
00:34:25
murder if they had just taken a print from Joseph Mills that's correct there's a lot of people who came before
00:34:34
you I get it but you got this palm print in the windowsill almost immediately wouldn't you just get some prints from
00:34:42
the guy anybody who had been near the house in the 24 hours prior to the murder there was no indication that he
00:34:50
had been in the house I mean all the witnesses said that he dropped the kid off from
00:34:55
practice and never got out of the truck so the only reason why he was spoke to was because when they Backtrack on the
00:35:01
previous 24 hours he was in that equation you don't feel like he slipped through the net no no
00:35:12
[Music] Joseph Mills Day of Reckoning would finally come 40 years later he's got cold black murder knives as
00:35:23
Joseph Clinton Mills he just sit there not a word [Music] what do you make of Coach Joe's story of
00:35:32
what happened that night chat now with the 48 Hours team on Twitter and Facebook
00:35:53
our mom was a good person he took that away from us to avoid a trial and a possible death
00:36:02
sentence Joseph Mills pleaded guilty to all charges including first-degree murder sexual battery and burglary
00:36:11
at his sentencing what Linda slayton's family wanted most was the answer to one question
00:36:19
well I just want to know why Joe why'd you take my mom approoney was happy my blow to start boiling every time I look
00:36:27
at him the brothers and Aunt Judy tried to look him in the eye to see if there was any
00:36:34
human being in there see if he was alive if he had a soul never thought his silence infuriated the family and a
00:36:46
few minutes later so did his comments to the court I am a good person I'm not that person
00:36:52
that they're paying me out to be I think this case made me the angriest out of the hundreds of cases I've been
00:37:00
involved in because what he did with her children there and then the things he said about
00:37:06
her that she lured him in even all these years later he was willing to try to make her look bad
00:37:12
to denigrate the victim and her boys have to hear that it's just sickening I haven't sent you to life in
00:37:19
prison without the possibility of parole and just like that Joseph Clinton Mills was gone facing
00:37:29
four life terms and finally a measure of Justice maybe not full Justice in your view full Justice by no means I wanted
00:37:38
to go to trial I wanted to see him up on the stand and and tell everybody why he did this
00:37:46
and he never did that the Slayton Brothers feel some comfort knowing Joseph Mills will never leave
00:37:54
prison alive but there's still anger they say because Mills never took full responsibility for
00:38:00
the premeditated rape and murder of their mother he never apologized and there were all those years of Freedom he
00:38:09
lived his whole life he raised his family you know he had a good life that was right after she was killed we
00:38:16
went back it's the brothers who feel they were handed the far more severe sentence life without the possibility
00:38:23
of growing up with their mom so still be here today she'd only be 72 you know could have had him a whole lot
00:38:32
I just wonder why life would have been like to have Adam any part of you when you think about all
00:38:39
of this at all angry with the way the police handled it that it took this long to get Joseph
00:38:47
Mills you could look at it that way I know it's a lot of hard work behind the scenes of people don't see that goes on
00:38:52
you know what they do the hours upon hours they put in I mean you can get mad but only so much can be done in a day
00:39:04
we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those original crime scene investigators because at the time this crime was
00:39:10
committed they didn't even know DNA was going to be used in criminal investigations and so the fact they
00:39:17
collected that and then it was stored responsibly and carefully all these years by that department is so important
00:39:26
if that hadn't happened we couldn't have done our work Jeff and Tim say they're determined to
00:39:32
move on as best they can to live life well for their mom and for their families the brothers also know they never would
00:39:43
have survived their ordeal without each other let's check it out bro they remain extremely close Live just a
00:39:51
few miles apart and share passionate Hobbies like restoring cars you give the credit for living this life
00:40:04
to the spirit of your mouth yes most definitely sure do love you Mom I miss you so much
00:40:12
every day my mom she's looking down on us and want us to live our lives and do good you know and I always think she's
00:40:17
looking down on us I want to make her proud yes I want to make her proud yes [Music]
00:40:38
these trees that are all around us here played a role in solving a murder absolutely a young mother dead will DNA
00:40:48
from a tree found on a suspect's boots help catch your killer 48 hours Saturday at CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus