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Santa Cruz is a small coastal town in California. It's at the northern end of Monterey Bay. It looks like paradise.
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Look at that beach. Look at these mountains. Breathe that air. It's a place where the blind could go
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sightseeing. And then in recent years, it's become a place that's become more and more
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favored by the people over the hill in Silicon Valley. That being the people with money.
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Force Hayes started life in the Midwest in Dearbornne, Michigan. And he went out
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to Silicon Valley where everything was happening. He was hired by Google. He had five kids. And then one day a friend
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of his emailed him a picture of a boat that was for sale. and a couple days later he bought it.
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The two things he loved were his family and being on his boat. He called it escape.
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I think that some part of him really wanted to like taste that other side of life, that kind
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of darker side, wilder, more exotic side of life. On the night of November 22nd, 2013,
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Forest Hayes was on his yacht and he didn't come home that night and his wife became concerned
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and she called the captain they retained for this yacht and he went and he got on
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the boat and there's Forest Hayes lying there dead. The detectives arrive and they start looking at the scene and
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it turned out he had in fact died of a heroin overdose. There was a visible injection mark in his arm, but they
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don't see drugs, but you do see two wine glasses. Detective 101, someone else has been
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there. And the question is who? >> At that point, we realized that's our person. That's who we're going after. at
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a 157. Time is 8008. >> What is the truth behind how Forest Hayes died? How did he find himself in
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this situation, in this position that [music] took his life? Who was on that boat?
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>> Then they're looking around and they see there's cameras. There was indeed somebody else there. A very beautiful,
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dark-haired woman. They note that she has these tattoos. And they also probably figured that
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Forest didn't meet her like, you know, at parent teacher night. This is Alex Tickleman.
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>> Do you think Alex Tickleman knew that Forest Hayes was dying right there in front of her?
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>> I don't see how she didn't know. >> Detectives then discovered that this was not the first time Alex Tickleman had
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been with somebody who died of a drug overdose. >> Is this woman a cold-blooded killer? She
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certainly was cold. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> When he's not out looking for the big
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wave, there's a big story that has consumed Steven Baxter, a reporter for the Santa
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Cruz Sentinel and a 48 Hours consultant. The mysterious death of Google executive
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Forest Hayes at the city's sprawling marina. >> Forest Hayes was 51 years old. He lived
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in a pretty upper crust neighborhood. He was a pretty high-powered guy and obviously had a lot of assets. I mean,
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he lived in a $3 million house in Santa Cruz. In 2013, one of the boats docked in Santa Cruz Harbor was this majestic
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46 foot long yacht called the Escape. It belonged to Google executive Forest Hayes. Not surprisingly, the tech exec
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outfitted his boat with some of the most expensive tech gear out there, about $200,000 worth, including a
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sophisticated security system complete with highde cameras. Inside, Hayes spared no expense on
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creature comforts, including a leather ceiling and an $8,000 captain's chair. >> I think he was practical and imaginative
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at the same time. >> The Google executive's death caught the attention of Michael Daly. He's an
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investigative reporter for the Daily Beast in New York and also a 48 hours consultant. Forest Hayes started in his
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native Michigan working at the Ford Motor Company. He went to California for Sun Micro Systemystems and he went on to
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Apple and then he went on to Google >> for a highpaying job at their top secret location where impossible dreams are
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transformed into reality. >> He was hired to work in Google X which they called their Moonshot factory. you
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know, the most extreme, wildest, imaginative, farthest reaching ideas they could have. You know, like Google
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glasses, self-driving cars. He was the guy who was actually going to make some of these things happen.
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>> A place so secretive that colleagues from Google X refused to divulge exactly
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what Hayes did there. To get away from the pressures at work, Boris Hayes would head to the marina and
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on to his prized possession. one of the larger boats in the harbor. I think that's fair to say.
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>> What police would eventually discover was Hayes, the married father of five, [music] had a secret liaison. She was a
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young and exotic dark-haired woman covered with very distinctive tattoos. And she would be the last person to see
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For's Hayes alive. Haye's body was found lying here in the main cabin. The captain immediately
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called 911, but surprisingly it would take months before the Google executive's death made headlines.
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>> There was no um really report of his death. Obviously, the police in this case were trying to keep that under
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wraps as they investigated. Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark. >> 1221.
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>> Clark has been on this case since day one. >> The media is going to want to know right
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off the bat. Who is it? Who's responsible? Is this a homicide? Is this a murder? We didn't have enough to
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really even put that out. We were busy building the case, >> which wasn't easy. Despite some initial
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crime scene clues, >> there [music] were two wine glasses there, both which appeared to have been
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used. Investigators zeroed in on Hayes's cell phone, launching an exhaustive digital search. Then a stunning
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discovery. Hayes had a profile page on a dating website called seeking arrangement.com.
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It would be a critical clue in learning the identity of that mystery tattooed woman. It was just a few days before
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Thanksgiving 2013. What happened that night was recorded by the boat's video cameras. This camera in
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particular caught the very last moments of Haye's life in chilling detail. Initially, we were told that the video
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wasn't available from that particular camera that actually showed the cabin of the boat. There was indeed video uh that
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was uploaded to a cloud server and video from that camera was indeed available. That was one of those moments where you
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feel like, you know, it was fourth and one and you got a first down. >> Actually, it took three months and a
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court order for detectives to get their hands on that video. And when they did, it was explosive.
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>> That video was shocking to me. >> What do you see on this video? >> Well, the video is everything. The video
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is the case. Police have yet to release the video, but described in detail to 48 hours
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exactly what they say happened that night between the couple. Essentially, it was a party for two, drugs included.
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>> They greet each other, uh, a quick hug, just a quick embrace. U, you can see that they're engaged in conversation,
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but there's no audio. And then eventually she uh gets to the point where she starts to prepare drugs for
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injection. She brought all of the equipment with her. She brought the drugs with her.
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>> As police would learn, the drug of choice that night was heroin. >> We see her prepare uh the syringe. Um we
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see her, it looks like she's injecting herself at her back to the camera. He watches this happen and then she
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eventually uh injects him. Do you feel like at any point when you're watching the video that this is a
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guy who is afraid and doesn't want to do this? >> I get the impression he's nervous. He's
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uncertain. Um, but he he's going along with it. >> And what happens then? >> Almost immediately, he starts to go into
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distress. At some point, she comes to him. And it looks like she tries to revive him a bit
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by patting him on the face and talking to him, holding his head as he slumped forward on the chair. And you or I, if
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we found ourselves in that situation, would have been on the phone to 911 saying, "Oh my gosh, something
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terrible's happened. We need help." And she does none of that. Instead, Klux says the video shows the woman trying to
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remove any evidence that she was ever there wiping fingerprints and cleaning up her drug paraphernalia
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>> while he's slumped over on the floor. >> While he's on the floor, >> she's stepping over him.
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>> She is literally walking around the cabin of the boat, stepping over him, uh, grabbing her glass of wine, carrying
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it around the boat cabin with her. Clark says that portion of the video with Haze
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on the floor of the cabin goes on for seven minutes. >> And that seven minutes that emergency
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medical personnel could have been there, could have done something and could have
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reacted to this situation to save Mr. Haye's life, but instead she does nothing. Nothing to call for help or to
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fix this, you know. And that's that's the crux of the case. Armed with that video, police hit pay dirt. They were
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able to match the woman with those distinctive tattoos to a profile on the dating website Hayes had used. She was a
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26-year-old aspiring model. Her name, Alex Tickleman. The wealthy Google executive found the
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exotic beauty in a somewhat secret world where real names are rarely used. Technically, Alex Tickleman and Forest
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Hayes met here in Las Vegas. not at an upscale casino or a fancy hotel lobby bar, but rather through an online
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website, which is headquartered just a stones throw from the strip. And as 48 hours discovered, it's not your typical
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dating website. [music] What year did you start seeking arrangement? >> It was started in 2006 from a bedroom uh
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in San Francisco. Actually, >> it may have the look and feel of a startup, but with nearly 4 million
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members worldwide, this is big business. What is Seeking Arrangement? >> Seeking Arrarangement.com is a sugar
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daddy dating website. So, we match wealthy guys and girls looking to pimper and spoil and of course, younger men and
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women looking to meet those wealthy people. CEO Brandon Wade, a boyish 43year-old,
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says he's become a multi-millionaire from all the arranging he's been doing. Is seeking arrangement about arranging
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sexual relationships for money. >> It is about finding romance and passion. I'm unapologetic about the fact that sex
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is involved in a romantic relationship and money is involved in a romantic relationship, but that doesn't make the
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romantic relationship prostitution. Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark, the point man in the Hayes death case,
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strongly disagrees. >> It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to take a look at that website and figure
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out exactly what was going on there. The titles of the individuals are sugar babies and sugar daddies. There's no
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innocent connotation there behind any of that. >> What is budget? That's what he's willing
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to spend. >> That's his sort of lifestyle. So, it could be going out for dinners, paying
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for that, going on trips. >> Okay. So, does a woman think you're going to spend $3,000 on me? A sugar
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baby thinks you're going to spend >> Yeah. on the relationship. >> Okay. >> Yeah.
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>> Wade is proud that his membership ranks include employees of leading Fortune 500
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companies, including he says, from Google. >> Was Forest Hayes a typical client of
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yours? >> I would say he is uh an average client of ours. >> Married tech executive
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looking for some sort of arrangement. >> Yep. 40% of the guys I married. >> It's unknown if Hayes was fulfilling the
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quote expectations unquote of any sugar babies lifestyle requests which range from a,000 to over $10,000 in monthly
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sugar daddy gifts. Can you tell us anything about Alex Tickleman's profile on seeking
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arrangement? >> Well, the only thing I can say is that it looked like any other normal profile.
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So, it was approved and uh there was no indication that she was soliciting money
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for sex, at least not with that profile. >> After Hayes's death, investigators began
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tracking Alex Tickleman on social media. Fearing she might leave town, they hatched a plan to catch her using
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seeking arrangement.com. Reporter Steven Baxter >> when she posted on Facebook something to
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the effect of, "I plan to go back to Georgia." That's when they decided to really go in and pursue her on the same
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website just the way Forest had and pose as a John and lure her back to Santa Cruz.
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>> We started seeing chatter from her that indicated she was either going to move
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out of the country or out of the state. >> Now, there's a clock on this cuz she's
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about to head south. So, they do kind of a classic sting. We sold out our detective and made him set up a profile
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under a different identity and made up a whole story about him. We then posted that out there and we reached out to
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Alex Tickleman through seeking arrangement. >> Code named Sebastian. That detective
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began emailing and texting with Ticklman hoping for a rendevous. Eventually, we convinced her to come down and meet with
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us for an agreed upon arrangement for sex, for prostitution, and um and for a sum of money.
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>> Police deposited some money, several hundred into her bank account with a promise of at least $1,000 upon arrival
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and everything else. >> This did not appear to you that this was the first time she had negotiated such a
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situation. >> No. In fact, uh she kind of called us out, called us a cheapkate, uh told us
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that, you know, many of her clients pay uh twice that. >> 8 months after the death of Forest
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Hayes, Alex Tickleman once again showed up in Santa Cruz County. This time at the secluded resort behind me. Once
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again, she came with heroin in her bag, expecting to hook up with a sugar daddy from seeking arrangement. And once
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again, it did not go as planned. When you said we're the cops and we're the ones you've been communicating with,
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what was her reaction? >> Oh, she uh she cried. She panic. That's that's when we saw panic.
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>> 26-year-old Alex Tickleman was stunned. Police arrested her for prostitution and
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charged her in the death of Forest Hayes. >> This was a crime. This wasn't just some
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accident gone arry. Mr. Hayes is a victim [music] of the murder committed by Alex
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Tickleman. >> Or was he? What happened that night? Say [music] Alex's defenders is much more
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complicated. Oh. for me. I mean, she was somebody completely different. Perhaps no one [music] was more
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surprised by the arrest of Alex Tickleman than struggling musician Chad Cornell. [music]
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He was in love with her. >> When I first saw her, you know, I couldn't help but to say something.
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[music] She has a very darker style. You know, I just thought she was really beautiful. Almost like the, you know,
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Angelina Jolie kind of look. >> Chad had no idea how dark her life really was. >> Did you believe she was falling in love
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with you? >> I did. >> Chad thought his girlfriend was a model. There were countless images, a swimsuit
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commercial, and a makeup tutorial she did online. Just going to apply liberally.
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Pretty pretty pretty. Okay. >> And as far as Chad could tell, she was always answering modeling calls.
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>> She get all dalled up and go to a photo shoot. She would usually make about a thousand
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or so when she'd go out to these modeling shoots. So imagine how he felt to learn months
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later that his beloved girlfriend was now being accused of doing something altogether different for all that money.
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>> I got the text with the news link on it and kind of just fell over on the couch
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like in shock. The woman he once thought he'd spend the rest of his life with was now not only
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charged with prostitution, but also in the death of Google executive Forest Hayes.
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>> What are you thinking? This is a woman you were in love with? >> Yeah. I mean, obviously I was
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devastated. You know, I turned white. As the news sank in to his complete amazement, Chad realized that just hours
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before Alex met up with Forest on that fateful night, she was with him. >> We were hanging out that day, actually.
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And um she told me that some of her longtime high school friends were in Santa Cruz and had [music] a boat and
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she had planned to go hang out with them. And later on that night, she actually woke me up out of bed with a
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phone call. [music] She's, you know, really frantic on the phone. Um, she sounded very upset.
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>> What was she talking about? >> Um, she talked about how her friends [music] had started doing heroin and a bunch of
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hardcore drugs on the [music] boat and made her uncomfortable and that um that she had to leave.
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>> But you believed on that call that she sounded genuinely upset, >> crying, sniffling. I mean, upset upset
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>> because the truth he now knows was much worse. And it's left him wondering whether he ever really knew who Alex
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was. >> Who is Alex Tickleman? Right. Who is she? >> Reporter Michael Daly did what police
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investigators did. And using the tools of Forest's employer, he Googled her. >> This the police discovered was Alex
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Tickleman's Twitter account. calling herself AK Kennedy X, >> 1x short of triple X, baddest
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model, stylist, hustler, exotic dancer. Those are her words. These are the pictures to go with the words. This has
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the charming inscription to death do us part. You might start believing less in coincidence on seeing that. But today,
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Alex's postings looked more like someone trying to create an image rather than someone obsessed with killing. That's
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because he came across this photo. >> My beautiful mother and I out to lunch, no makeup face. And this is a a young
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woman who wants to be with mom. >> Alex posted it just months before her arrest for Forest's death.
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>> It makes you think that there's a fuller story. So, how did it come to this? Childhood
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pictures show a cute blonde tomboy who appeared to have all the advantages in life. [music] Growing up with her sister
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Monica, who would become an investment counselor, her mother, Leslie Anne, and her father Bart, a CEO for a technology
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company, and a pretty good poker player. >> And he at one point found himself playing with some of the best poker
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players in the world. And he won like $400,000. Alex spent her early teens in an Atlanta
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suburb [music] where she played sports and won writing awards. >> Her friends say that [music] she's very
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smart, very deep, >> but also very troubled. >> Her experiences with boys were not
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always happy ones. And she had eating disorders. She was taking drugs. >> [music]
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>> Desperate, her parents went looking for help and located a school that they thought would give her special
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attention. >> So, they found this place called the Hyde School in Maine. >> We are in Maine in route to Hyde.
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>> Megan was a student at the Hyde School where Alex spent a few months. >> I can feel like pressure in my chest.
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It's nerve-wracking. She asked us not to use her last name, but agreed to travel
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back to the hide school campus. >> I want people to see this very pivotal part of her life that I feel probably
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affected her at a very huge point in her development and why she is who she is. >> So, do you remember when you first met
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Alex? Do you happen to remember the very first time you saw her? >> 100%. She was gorgeous and she was very
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awkward. >> The cute blonde girl next door was long gone. >> She barely ate. She was very skinny. She
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was real thin. She was emotionally kind of closed off. >> I I think the big question then is why?
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What had happened to her? >> I don't know the truth to that. Um she never really told me there was a
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specific catalyst. >> But Megan says Alex did hint at some traumatic events. >> We talked about the fact that we had
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issues trusting men. Um we had become numb to a lot of things. Alex had started cutting herself. This
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is a photo of Alex her then bunkmate put in a scrapbook. It reads psycho roomie.
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Look at the cuts on her arm. Alex Tickleman was actually the first person that I met who did that.
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>> Ashley Kent lived in Alex's dorm. She came to the school with the scars. She had already etched things into her arm
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and she had already made this image of herself as this like devil person. like she that's how she dressed kind of like
00:25:24
double worshiper. >> But was that really who Alex was? >> She was actually a really nice girl. Um
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it was very much like a front that she was putting on an image. >> Megan noticed it too.
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>> Once you bypassed those walls, she was just a normal girl who who was scared.
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>> And what was she scared of? >> I think herself honestly. I mean we all we didn't know who we were. We had
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resorted to things that you know not every person chooses. We had been in trouble. And at Hyde, it seemed Alex was
00:25:53
always in trouble. Megan says they punished her. >> You're forced to do manual labor,
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physical labor. They basically tell you what you can and can't do. >> This is the area, Megan says, where she
00:26:05
and Alex were forced to build a road. >> We hoed it, each person, and we weeded it, and then they made us cart like
00:26:11
wheelbarls, like huge wheelbarls full of rocks up and spread them. So, we basically built a dirt road on campus.
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Ashley remembers one night waking up to Alex screaming. What happened sounds like a scene out of a Stephen King
00:26:26
movie. She like kind of walked down the halls and like was cutting herself really late at night. She began just to
00:26:32
hurt herself because that's what she thought she deserved. [music] When it didn't work out at Hyde,
00:26:43
Alex's parents tried other schools, but the worst was still to come. >> She talked about taking heroin when she
00:26:50
was in her teens. >> And by her early 20s, Alex was living in San Francisco, working strip clubs like
00:26:57
Larry Flint's Hustler and The Condor. Eventually, she found her way back home to Atlanta, where her life would take a
00:27:07
dramatic turn. [music] this kind of great thing happens. She meets a guy named Dean.
00:27:13
>> Dean was much older, but so in love with Alex, he wanted to marry her. >> So maybe there's going to be a happy
00:27:20
ending here anyway. >> Then in September 2013, >> um I don't know. I think my boyfriend
00:27:28
overdosed or something like >> two months before Forest Hayes died, Alex's fiance, Dean, died with heroin in
00:27:37
his [music] system. He won't respond and he's just laying on the ground. I don't know.
00:27:44
>> Was it an unfortunate coincidence or something more sinister? [music] >> [music]
00:28:05
[cheering] >> Yeah, it's good to be here. It's good to be back. >> It is one of the hottest concert venues
00:28:14
in Atlanta, Georgia. the masquerade. And it all belonged to this man, 53-year-old Dean Riyel.
00:28:25
>> A former crossdressing singer for the rock band The Impotent Sea Snakes. In September of 2013, Dean died of a heroin
00:28:35
overdose. His girlfriend at the time, Alex Tickleman. [music] I think my boyfriend overdosed or
00:28:43
something like he's he's won't respond. >> Alex made that 911 call after she says
00:28:50
she discovered Dean unconscious in his North Atlanta home. [snorts] That was just 2 months before Alex was with
00:28:57
Google executive Forest Hayes when he died. >> Time is 808. >> Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve
00:29:07
Clark. We were surprised the similarities in their case to our case. >> Based on Alex's arrest in Santa Cruz for
00:29:16
the death of [music] Forest Hayes, police in Milton, Georgia are now taking a second look at Dean Ryle's death. What
00:29:24
was first ruled an accidental overdose might very well become a criminal matter.
00:29:32
>> I think she had something to do with his death. I really do. One person who believes Alex should be
00:29:38
held responsible for Dean's death is his former employee Christina Brooker. >> That's cute.
00:29:46
>> An aspiring model. For a few months in 2012, she lived in Dean's house, taking
00:29:53
care of his children from a previous marriage. And his pet hobby, raising dozens of
00:30:00
monkeys. He said he had a dream about monkeys one day and he just started collecting them. You know, he had the
00:30:06
money to, so why not? >> Samson, Delilah, Jezebel, some have named >> Dean told an Atlanta TV station that he
00:30:13
had hopes of turning his property into a zoo. >> Anybody would spend 20 minutes or an
00:30:18
hour with one would see they have a little bit more personality than most other animals.
00:30:22
>> But Christina says his real passion was the woman also featured in that news story. Dean's live-in girlfriend, Alex
00:30:31
Tickleman. >> Oh, he loved her. He absolutely loved her. He wanted to marry her, and she
00:30:35
wanted to marry him, too. >> Dean loved everything about Alex except the drugs. By the time Alex hooked up
00:30:44
with Dean, she was a fullblown heroin addict. Dean, Christina says, did not share Alex's bad habits.
00:30:52
>> Did you ever see him drink? >> Never smoke? >> Never do drugs? >> Not once. Christina stopped working for
00:30:59
Dean almost a year before he died. Still, she's sure Dean would never inject himself with heroin, but she
00:31:07
wonders if Alex might have. >> Do you think that's what happened? >> I think it's possible, especially with
00:31:17
the case in Santa Cruz where she actually did that. >> The idea that she's going around
00:31:22
randomly sticking people with heroin needles is preposterous. These are grown men. They know exactly
00:31:28
what they're doing. >> So, this is the masquerade. This is Dean's Club. >> Todd is an Atlanta businessman. He has
00:31:35
asked us not to use his last name, but says as a close friend of Alex Tickleman, he could no longer keep quiet
00:31:42
about what he knows about the couple. >> She was devastated after Dean passed away. He says, "Not only did Dean drink,
00:31:52
he drank a lot. >> But she loved him and he loved her. If he were alive today, he would be the
00:32:00
first one to bail her out of jail. And he would be absolutely mortified at how the people around him have treated her."
00:32:12
And Todd says Dean was determined to get Alex off heroin. He sent her to rehab and even bought her an engagement ring.
00:32:21
[music] He texted Todd. >> This is August 30th of 2013. [music] He was getting Alex a wedding ring. They
00:32:28
were going to get married. >> That's just 3 weeks before Dean would overdose. >> She gets her ring. She picked it out
00:32:34
today. We drug test every week. If she can stay clean for 14 months, we will get married Halloween night 2014.
00:32:41
>> These are text messages that have never been made public. Todd showed them exclusively to 48 hours.
00:32:49
>> Alex says this is the first time in 10 years she has gotten out of detox or rehab and lasted a whole week before
00:32:54
shooting up again. >> But Alex didn't stay clean for long. And on September 7th, 2013, just 10 days
00:33:02
before his fatal overdose, Dean made a shocking discovery. Alex was online advertising herself to
00:33:13
men. >> She hated that she was [music] compelled to do it because she had this addiction.
00:33:19
There were guys who wanted to rent her penthouse apartments. Men with a lot of power and a lot of
00:33:26
status. But she wasn't interested in anything except getting the money to support her habit.
00:33:33
She loved Dean. She wanted to be with Dean, but she had this deep dark secret. >> And Todd says when Dean found out, he
00:33:43
flipped out. >> He said, "Can I move all of the prostitute into your place tomorrow? She
00:33:48
is better over there, and I would like to bring her stuff to you today so I don't have to see the again."
00:33:54
>> But Dean didn't kick Alex out. Instead, Todd says he hit the bottle hard. Once
00:34:01
he discovered the ad, things began to fall apart. Dean desperately loved her. Dean wanted to keep her, but he couldn't
00:34:08
figure out how to reconcile all of this. So Todd believes Dean tried something new.
00:34:19
Alex would later tell police she was in the bathroom when she heard what sounded
00:34:23
like a crash. She went to the bedroom and found Dean on the floor. An autopsy would show Dean had a fatal mix of
00:34:31
heroin, painkillers, and alcohol in his system. >> I'm convinced that what happened was
00:34:37
Dean was trying to reach a connection with Alex on a deeper level. And he thought that if they could share this
00:34:44
thing, this thing that she was so attached to, that she couldn't let go of no matter what, that they could actually
00:34:53
be together. And that's what he wanted more than anything in life. Following Dean's death, Alex text
00:35:02
messages Todd. Why did Dean have to die? Her mother is coming and will move her to California to the family's new home 2
00:35:11
hours outside San Francisco. But Alex is trying to detox and tells Todd she's worried.
00:35:20
I know that city well. Like the tenderloin where I used to live is the third biggest open drug market in the
00:35:26
US. It takes two minutes to score and you don't have to know anyone. You can see why I'm worried.
00:35:38
Around October 30th, 2013, Alex arrived in California. She immediately went back online and
00:35:47
started advertising herself, texting Todd. guys out here got mad money. >> And within days, she had a prospect. She
00:35:57
was about to come into serious cash. >> This is on the 2nd of November. And she says, "An amazing guy found her on it.
00:36:05
He's the real deal. Tomorrow, she's going to go to his boat and for a few hours, he's giving her $4 to $500 cash.
00:36:11
Then a check for 2,000." Now, I'm relatively certain that the guy on the boat she's referring to was
00:36:18
Forest. Three weeks later on November 22nd, Alex Tickleman was definitely with Forest Hayes on his boat where Todd
00:36:31
believes she was [music] simply making money to feed her addiction. >> Tell me one thing that happened on that
00:36:39
yacht that was not absolutely consensual between two adults. Nothing. called the matter of people versus Alex
00:37:00
Tickleman. >> On May 19th, 2015, [music] Alex Tickleman is back in court to have a
00:37:07
date set for her trial. She's been in jail for almost a year. Her past modeling life, a distant
00:37:16
memory. She faces almost 20 years behind bars, charged in the killing of Forest Hayes along with drug possession and
00:37:25
prostitution. >> So stipulating counseling. >> Her public defenders Jerry Christensen
00:37:31
and Larry Bigum have insisted she is not a coldblooded killer. >> Alex Tickleman did nothing that Mr.
00:37:39
Hayes did not want her to do. two adults engaged in mutual and cooperative drug usage and it went wrong, but it was an
00:37:48
accident. >> Defense attorneys say Hayes was an eager participant that night, even using his
00:37:55
own cell phone light to show Alex where to inject him, and they are adamant she then simply panicked.
00:38:02
>> Everything about this video indicates accident and panic. Everything about it.
00:38:07
For months, they have investigated Forest Hayes past, asking prosecutors to hand over video from the escapees
00:38:14
cameras as far back as six months before he died. >> We have some indications from other
00:38:20
material that there may have been previous encounters on the boat. It would be highly relevant in regard to
00:38:27
whether or not there is uh drug usage along with sex. >> But at the hearing, there's a bombshell.
00:38:33
With her parents watching, Alex Tickleman pleads guilty. >> What is your plea account one? A
00:38:40
violation of penal code section 192B as a felony. It's involuntary manslaughter.
00:38:46
>> Guilty. [music] >> Guilty to involuntary manslaughter as well as the lesser charges.
00:38:53
>> You understand that if you plead no contest or guilty, you're admitting two felonies and five misdemeanors?
00:38:58
>> Yes. And through her lawyer, she apologizes to the Hayes family. >> This was in no form intentional,
00:39:06
malicious, or anything of that sort. It was accident and panic, and she's so so sorry for it.
00:39:13
>> Miss Tickleman, the total will be 6 years to be served pursuant to Penal Code.
00:39:16
>> Tickleman was sentenced to 6 years in a local jail, but with credit for her time
00:39:22
served and a reduction by the judge, she will likely serve just a little over two
00:39:27
years. Good luck to you, Miss Dickman. >> After the hearing, another stunning development.
00:39:32
>> There are two charges that were >> Prosecutor Raphael Vasquez says the family of Forests [music] Hayes told him
00:39:39
they never wanted Alex Tickleman charged. >> The family did not want this case to be
00:39:44
filed. They would have been very happy if this case simply would have been dismissed. They were terrified about the
00:39:50
prospect of this case going to trial. The family, he said, did not want that video from Forest's boat to ever be made
00:39:59
public. >> I can only imagine what further pain, what further humiliation they would
00:40:05
endure if that video was released out into the public. >> And what's more, he says Alex was never
00:40:11
a cold-blooded killer as described by law enforcement. [music] >> That was never depicted in that
00:40:17
surveillance video. In fact, the prosecutor agrees with defense attorneys that Alex was anything but callous when
00:40:26
Forest collapsed. And the fact that she actually made some efforts to try to wake him up, hit him in the chest,
00:40:33
smacking him in the face, holding him up, trying to lift him up, then holding him, hugging him at one point, and then
00:40:38
you can see her crying in one instance and yelling for him to wake up in another instance. That clearly shows
00:40:44
somebody who appeared concerned at that time. And that certainly is inconsistent
00:40:48
with somebody who acted with an obvious intent to kill. >> But he says what she is guilty of is not
00:40:55
doing enough. >> She was the only one that can render help and she neglected to do so. She
00:41:02
failed to do so and instead took liberties to destroy evidence and to make her get away while leaving the man
00:41:08
there to die. In the end, one of Tickleman's attorneys, Athena Ree, says Alex's time in jail has been helping her
00:41:16
turn her life around. >> You know, she's clean and sober. She's closer with her family than ever, and I
00:41:21
think she's really used this time to reflect. >> But for the family of For's Hayes, there
00:41:26
is no turning around, and they will have to try to put the scars of his actions behind them. From this point on, the
00:41:34
family no longer has to worry about the concern associated with all the scrutiny, all the ridicule, and all the
00:41:39
scorn that's been generated by a lot of the media attention in this case. This family has been through a lot.
00:41:47
[music] I can only describe it as evil, something horrible. >> From 48 hours, this is trained to kill,
00:42:10
the dog trainer, the ays, and the bodyguard. >> He couldn't control his obsession.
00:42:15
>> Who was the hunter and who was the hunted? Follow and listen on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your
00:42:23
podcasts. Okay, make a wish. [laughter] >> Lisa Buchanan was a very attractive young lady.
00:42:55
It's about love and friendship. >> She was a very creative type. >> Oh, honey, you look marvelous.
00:43:02
>> Very [music] freespirited. Fabio. Oh, >> my name is Terra Bentley. I'm Lisa's older sister.
00:43:13
When I first saw her, I just saw her [music] as a patient. And while she was waiting to see her dentist, she saw a
00:43:18
sign saying free consultations. [music] She walked in, she was wearing a ball cap, no makeup, this incredible little
00:43:24
smile in her bright blue eyes. There's something [music] we saw in each other that we enjoyed.
00:43:30
>> They looked like a wonderful couple, but that really was a veneer that really hid
00:43:37
[music] what was really going on between the two of them. It was her intention to
00:43:42
put an end to their relationship that weekend, >> the July 4th, 2005 weekend. Uh certainly
00:43:51
a weekend that you would think that folks would be out picnicking, going to fireworks, concerts,
00:43:58
but they're holed up in Lisa's apartment [music] having this um sex marathon. I think he really liked the way that she
00:44:06
reacted and responded when she was under the influence of drugs. The only time that she was [music] experiencing these
00:44:13
drugs was when he gave them to her. >> She was addicted [music] to Chris Kulis and their relationship. The drugs were
00:44:22
certainly a part of that relationship. >> He was injecting Lisa repeatedly with this concoction of oxycodone that
00:44:33
was pulverized, ground up. The drugs were coursing through her veins. They caused her to collapse. Suddenly, Lisa
00:44:42
stopped breathing. >> I immediately began CPR and called 911. >> 911. Where's the emergency?
00:44:50
>> She stopped breathing. >> She wasn't breathing and there was no pulse. >> Hey, breathe.
00:45:01
>> I think that he is a predator. I think that he is a manipulator. I'm Eric Anderson. I'm the lead
00:45:09
investigator in the case involving the death of Lisa Buchanan. [music] >> I didn't give Lisa any drugs. I loved
00:45:17
her. They're looking for someone to blame. >> He wanted [music] her under his control.
00:45:24
And when you're a doctor and you want control, you just have tools at your disposal that other people don't have.
00:45:35
[music] Addicted to love. Tonight's 48 hours mystery. >> [music] >> When police were called to Lisa
00:46:21
Buchanan's apartment in Franklin, Tennessee. Straight ahead is the living room kitchen area.
00:46:28
>> They were surprised by what they found in this quiet gated community. A cache of prescription drugs
00:46:38
and sex toys. >> They found needles. They found [music] a lot of syringes. [music]
00:46:47
>> Lisa and Chris Culis had spent most of that final July 4th weekend of 2005 in
00:46:53
her bedroom. They stayed in that apartment that weekend engaged [music] in this marathon sex session.
00:47:01
There was so much evidence to collect. [music] It was a massive undertaking. >> Most crucial say detectives was the
00:47:09
discovery of used syringes with traces of oxycodone. Oxycodone is a powerful narcotic used to
00:47:18
kill pain. It can be a very addictive and dangerous drug. abusers like the calming euphoria creates. The high is
00:47:27
immediate and potent. >> It's a controlled substance. It's something you can only get from a
00:47:33
prescribing physician. You can't just buy it. >> But when Lisa was rushed to the
00:47:40
emergency room, the doctors trying to save her say Dr. Kulis told them nothing about the drug she had been using. In
00:47:47
fact, paramedics say Dr. claimed Lisa had collapsed after a trip to the swimming pool.
00:47:55
>> Chris was deceptive. [music] He totally misled them. Chris stood there in that
00:48:00
ER room, didn't tell them about the illegal drugs, didn't tell the ER staff what could have been crucial in saving
00:48:08
her life. [music] >> I just wish that at some point she had [music] realized how dangerous he was.
00:48:16
Tara Bentley believed her sister Lisa did not see Kulis as she did. >> I think that the rest of us just felt
00:48:22
that any day now she would realize who he was. >> On paper, Kulis looked pretty good. He
00:48:30
was a young, handsome plastic surgeon. He was a graduate of Vanderbilt University and had a thriving practice
00:48:37
by the time he was 30. Lisa's mother, Peggy, was thrilled when her daughter met a doctor. I thought finally she had
00:48:45
met somebody that was going to make her very happy. Dr. Kulis was very charming,
00:48:50
was extremely confident. >> Kulis had served his internship at a Chicago hospital and loved working in
00:48:58
the emergency room. >> That was the most exciting for him because it was rescuing people from
00:49:04
death. >> It was in Nashville in the year 2000 that Kulis had that chance meeting with
00:49:11
Lisa Buchanan. He became her boyfriend and her doctor. You performed numerous [music] procedures on her for free.
00:49:19
>> Oh yes. >> How many? >> A redo breast augmentation, her eyelids, forehead, lip augmentation, lipos
00:49:26
suction, full face laser, Botox, collagen, the list goes on. >> Kulis also helped Lisa pay the bills.
00:49:37
She was struggling to make it as an actress and model. >> [music] >> Even at a young age, Lisa Buchanan had
00:49:50
big dreams for herself. >> She was going to get on TV and she was going to be heard.
00:49:54
>> Lisa Buchanan, how are you? >> She auditioned for soaps. >> I heard about this General Hospital
00:49:59
thing and I think I'd be really, really good. >> Tried out for TV shows. >> I can do love scenes and I can do drama.
00:50:06
>> Her most recent pursuit was to develop a children's puppet show. I do have quite
00:50:11
a lovely singing voice, don't you think? >> But things just never click for Lisa,
00:50:20
professionally or [music] personally. >> No matter how beautiful she was or how beautiful people saw her, there was
00:50:29
insecurity in her. >> Before Kulis, Lisa had a string of failed relationships. She married young
00:50:39
and divorced. But from that broken marriage came one of the [music] best things in her life, her daughter Jesse.
00:50:46
She was so much fun. We were best friends. I could tell her anything. Anything. >> Jesse was happy at first when her mother
00:50:56
met Dr. Kulas. >> We just moved into this big house and that was so cool. I got a huge room and
00:51:01
my girlfriends came over and we had a huge big screen TV on the wall and and I was cool.
00:51:11
>> But it wasn't long, says Jesse, before she noticed how controlling the doctor
00:51:16
was. >> Once I got to know him, I didn't really like him. He would always call her every
00:51:21
10 minutes wanting to know where she was. He is like stalkerish. [music] So protective in a creepy kind of way.
00:51:30
Lisa and Dr. Kulis were on again, off again for 5 and a half years. According to her sister, Tara, Lisa was just about
00:51:38
to break things off again that final weekend. >> You just had to hope that maybe this
00:51:44
time um it was really going to stick. >> Tara had wondered if Lisa could ever break away. [music] Lisa appeared locked
00:51:53
in Culis' grip even though the couple spent much of the relationship apart. He lived and practiced in other cities
00:52:02
and frequently called Lisa accusing her of seeing other men. >> There were times that she have to hand
00:52:10
the phone to me so that I could tell him [music] she's with me. He wouldn't trust
00:52:15
it. He over the years cut her off from all her friends, alienating all her friends because of jealousy on his part.
00:52:25
And there was something else that concerned Lisa's family. >> Lisa [music] was becoming ill more
00:52:31
frequently. >> In fact, her family believes that Dr. Kulis would convince Lisa she was sick
00:52:38
and that he alone could fix her. [music] >> In one conversation, he could absolutely
00:52:44
convince her that the world was coming to an end, but at the same time, he was going to save her from it.
00:52:51
>> Did you ever see Chris Kulas give your mother drugs? Yes. >> Jesse has a vivid childhood memory of
00:52:58
seeing Koulis inject her mother with an unknown drug. >> She fainted and I started screaming,
00:53:05
"Mommy!" He shut the bathroom door and started banging on the door and he wouldn't let
00:53:12
me see her. >> You saw him administer a shot to her? >> Mhm. I'll never forget it.
00:53:23
Investigators now believe it was Culis who introduced Lisa to the idea of using drugs to enhance their sexual
00:53:30
encounters. >> I don't think that there's a shred of evidence or proof that she was a drug
00:53:34
addict. >> Anderson, like Lisa's family, believes she only used drugs when Dr. Kulis gave
00:53:41
them to her. [music] But Kulas claims he knew Lisa better than anyone. And like it or not, he says
00:53:49
she was a drug [music] addict. >> Treat certain demons just like we all do. And one of them was drug abuse.
00:53:56
>> Kula says Lisa hid her IV drug use by [music] injecting herself in concealed areas of the body like her groin.
00:54:04
>> It's a favorite spot of people that want to conceal it. [music] >> But detectives aren't buying it. After a
00:54:11
five-monthlong investigation, Chris Culis is arrested and charged with murder. They say he supplied the drugs,
00:54:19
he injected her, and he is responsible for Lisa Buchanan's death. >> I do believe that he gave her at least
00:54:28
one injection, if not multiple injections, and he is absolutely responsible for her death.
00:54:51
It's been extremely traumatic. I am quite concerned as to what is going to happen.
00:54:56
>> Charged with killing his girlfriend, Lisa Buchanan, Chris Kulis faces the possibility of spending the next 25
00:55:02
years in prison. But he says he's innocent. >> Did you kill Lisa Buchanan? >> Absolutely not.
00:55:11
>> The autopsy concluded that Lisa died of an overdose of oxycodone. During the search of her apartment, detectives
00:55:19
found only one mostly intact oxycodone pill, but they used syringes contain [music] crush pills and liquid mixed
00:55:27
into a slush. Prosecutors say Lisa was injected with that slush at least three times that
00:55:33
weekend. And in Kulis's travel bag, detectives found an unopened 18 gauge needle, the same kind that had been
00:55:42
used. >> That piece of evidence is extremely incriminating. >> Chris Kulis is accused not only of
00:55:49
injecting Lisa Buchanan with the drugs, but of supplying them as well. Despite his denials, he's about to be put on
00:55:55
trial, facing four charges, ranging from simple assault to seconddegree murder. [music]
00:56:05
>> BC, good morning, ladies and gentlemen. >> Good morning, sir. >> The state ready to proceed?
00:56:09
>> Yes, sir. Thank you. >> Kim Halper is prosecuting Dr. Kulis. The evidence supports the fact that it was
00:56:18
this defendant who was injecting Lisa Buchanan with that oxycodone mixture. >> Lee Offman is defending the doctor.
00:56:27
>> So what does the evidence show? >> It shows he didn't do it. >> From the facts, I could not see how he
00:56:36
could be convicted of anything. But prosecutors are convinced they have a strong circumstantial case thanks in
00:56:50
part to this small video cassette detectives [music] found in Lisa's apartment. >> They had videotaped these sex acts all
00:56:59
weekend long. >> It documents the final hours of Lisa's life and provides clues to her death.
00:57:09
The tape is disturbingly graphic, and in some scenes, [music] Lisa seems barely conscious.
00:57:16
So, the jurors from this fairly religious and conservative southern city must sit through a screening of the
00:57:22
entire 2 hours of the sex tape in open court. It's extremely [music] embarrassing.
00:57:32
This was never intended to be seen by anybody else, but for Lisa, than to be destroyed.
00:57:36
>> Your man's perfect. That video clearly showed she enjoyed what she was doing. She participated
00:57:46
willingly. >> Kulis's attorneys believe the tape is more damaging to Lisa than to their
00:57:52
client. >> I think the prosecution made a mistake in trying to portray her as just a
00:58:00
victim with no fault because clearly she was not. But prosecutors are convinced Kulis
00:58:08
injected Lisa with drugs to control and dominate her. >> You can see in the background on
00:58:14
occasion where there is a needle laying on the carpet. >> The tape does not show who gave Lisa the
00:58:20
injections, but it does show Lisa holding gauze against her groin, covering fresh injection marks.
00:58:27
Incriminating evidence, prosecutors say [music] against Kulis. The evidence on the video clearly shows Chris Kulis
00:58:36
being aware of uh those pads and the presence of uh syringes. >> On the tape, Kulis can be heard telling
00:58:43
Lisa to apply pressure to the area to stop some bleeding. >> It was being portrayed as proof that I
00:58:51
gave Lisa narcotics. In fact, they did not show that at all. >> All right, ladies and gentlemen, that
00:58:56
will conclude everything for today. Culis maintains Lisa injected herself in the groin that weekend.
00:59:04
>> It's quite easy. >> It is >> absolutely >> not. So, according to Tennessee's chief
00:59:10
state medical examiner, Dr. Bruce Levy, [music] >> when you see a series of injections in a
00:59:16
nice straight line like that, you know that it had to have been done to her. He feels quite strongly that the injections
00:59:25
in her groin were made by an expert, like a doctor. >> If you're off by as much as a half of an
00:59:32
inch, it can be deadly. [music] >> And making it even more difficult for Lisa to inject herself, says Levy, is
00:59:43
the fact that she was impaired by drugs at the time. >> I think it was very clear evidence that
00:59:49
Dr. Kulis was responsible for the injection. And there there's just no other alternative that makes sense.
00:59:56
>> To bolster that claim, Lisa's family points to this picture they say was taken just days before her death.
01:00:04
>> There was not a mark on her body and there was not a sign of drug use in her behavior, her attitude, nothing. All
01:00:13
week long, she was perfectly healthy. [music] Defense would call Dr. Chris Kulis to
01:00:22
testify on his own behalf. All right. >> Dr. Kulis, if you come around, please, sir.
01:00:25
>> Chris Coulis and his attorneys [music] believe he has no choice but to take the
01:00:29
stand, to defend himself. >> I do. Please. >> He tells the jury that he tried repeatedly to get Lisa to stop abusing
01:00:40
drugs. >> Lisa promised she'd stop. She'd go up and down. She'd stop. She'd start. She'd
01:00:45
stop. She'd start. I told her, "Do you have to do that?" And then I told her, "I know you want to, but I don't want
01:00:51
you to. You're going to kill yourself. We've talked about this." >> Why didn't you just leave?
01:00:56
>> Aside the fact I'm an idiot, because I loved her and I wanted to be with her. I
01:01:00
wanted to be with her. >> And so to make her happy, you looked the other way. >> I was unable to stop her one way or the
01:01:08
other. She wanted to get high and she was going to get high. What precise was I supposed to do?
01:01:13
Tackle her? Prosecutor Kim Halper doesn't believe Kulis. She confronts him about his
01:01:21
callous behavior that weekend. >> Well, you've just said that in this case, Lisa was laying back because she
01:01:26
became high. Correct. >> In this case, she laid back. Yes, ma'am. >> So, she wasn't walking around.
01:01:33
>> No, >> she wasn't alert. >> She was impaired. >> But you went ahead and had sex with her
01:01:41
anyway, didn't you, sir? >> Yes, ma'am. In fact, the doctor repeatedly had sex with Lisa even though
01:01:48
she had complained of shoulder and chest pain that weekend. Symptoms that Culus concedes could have signaled a heart
01:01:54
attack. Lisa had a very bad headache. She was also complaining of shoulder pain and
01:02:01
left arm pain and uh she was having palpitations. Her heart was beating rapidly.
01:02:07
>> But you continued to have sex with her >> because she said everything went away.
01:02:10
She felt fine. It's a woman you love, sir? >> Yes, ma'am. >> And is it a fair assessment to say that
01:02:19
you were thinking about yourself on that day? >> I was. >> And you were not thinking about Lisa,
01:02:25
were you? >> I was thinking about myself. Yes. >> That may not have been the only time
01:02:34
Koulis was just thinking about himself. Prosecutors are about to introduce details of a previous incident, one in
01:02:42
which Kulis has freely admitted injecting Lisa Buchanan with addictive drugs. Prosecutors firmly believe Chris Kulis
01:03:02
[music] killed Lisa Buchanan that last weekend and they say it isn't the first [music]
01:03:07
time he put her life in danger. >> I think it's extremely relevant and important for a jury to understand that
01:03:15
in the past it has been his habit to inject her with drugs. >> Kim Helper points to an incident back in
01:03:22
2002 that was eerily similar. At the time, Lisa and Kulis were briefly living together in Kentucky.
01:03:31
>> I was going through a very difficult time financially. Things were falling apart and one day there was deer roll
01:03:37
that was left over and I had the really bad idea to [music] try it and I did and
01:03:45
I was probably instantly addicted to it. >> Dr. Kulles says he was shooting up frequently.
01:03:52
>> Where'd you get the derma? >> It was from my office. I had a surgical center.
01:03:56
>> So, you stole it from your office? >> It's from my office. >> And in the midst of his own downward
01:04:02
spiral, Culis admits he got Lisa addicted as well. >> When she asked me for it, I gave it to
01:04:08
her. I was impaired at the time. I realized, [music] as did some certain friends of mine,
01:04:14
that this couldn't continue. That I was not myself. I was not as productive. And
01:04:19
I realized that I needed help. Things got so bad that Kulus' parents intervened and came to take him to
01:04:25
rehab. Lisa stayed behind. >> Someone called me and said that I needed to go check on her.
01:04:33
>> Lisa's mother, Peggy, says she will never forget the condition in which she found her daughter.
01:04:38
>> It was the most horrific sight I've ever seen in my life. [music] Bottles, syringes, blood on the
01:04:45
floor. They had her on a mattress. She was completely incoherent. It was horrific.
01:04:53
>> Peggy says she and her friend quickly scooped up some of the drugs and [music]
01:04:57
rushed Lisa to the hospital. >> I [snorts] mean, she had injections and sores on her body that were that big
01:05:04
around. >> Right over here on our left is uh where Lisa and Chris Culis lived in 2002.
01:05:10
>> Bobby Pate at the Boone County Sheriff's Office was assigned to investigate. She
01:05:15
was injected in both hands, in the arms, [music] the groin area, and in the feet. They
01:05:20
were infected, and her hands and feet were probably about twice the size as normal.
01:05:24
>> Pate met with Lisa at the hospital and says she accused Kulis of injecting her
01:05:29
against her will. >> There was times where she he chased her around the room to [music] get her shot
01:05:34
when she didn't want one, and that he called her a hyperchondriac cuz she was complaining about the infections, the
01:05:40
sores, and stuff, and he shot her up some more. She stated that Chris said that he this was just do it
01:05:48
for fun. Uh it would enhance the sexual pleasure. Let's do this for fun. Let's just do
01:05:54
this for fun. >> At his trial, prosecutor Kim Halper confronts the doctor about the earlier
01:06:00
Kentucky incident. >> She was in pretty bad shape when you left. Is that true? >> No, ma'am. She was walking, talking, and
01:06:06
lucid. We had breakfast. She said goodbye to me at the door. uh didn't just leave her in the basement and
01:06:12
leave. That's a mischaracterization. >> Maybe so, but Kentucky authorities arrested him anyway on several serious
01:06:20
charges, including drug trafficking. >> Lisa Buchanan was our star witness in the case.
01:06:25
>> Lisa gave authorities this handwritten letter she received from Dr. Kulis after
01:06:30
he entered rehab. In it, he takes the full blame for getting her hooked on painkillers, supplying them, injecting
01:06:38
[music] her, and admitting she had no prior history of drug abuse before they met. But it wasn't enough [music] to
01:06:45
convict him. >> He hurt Lisa in 2002. And you know, he he got away with it. >> Lisa's family believes he got away with
01:06:55
it because he scared her out of testifying against him. They said he convinced her she was also in trouble
01:07:02
and could lose custody of her daughter. >> Chris just absolutely convinced her that
01:07:08
she could lose Jesse and that the police were lying to her, that the DA was lying
01:07:14
to her and no matter what, she just believed him. I think the fear was so real. >> Kulis denies he made any threats, but
01:07:25
Lisa stopped cooperating and the case against him collapsed. Kulis ended up pleading guilty to just one of the 20
01:07:32
drug charges and was given probation, no prison time and within a short period he
01:07:38
was back to practicing medicine again. >> What happened in 2002? That was horrific. We went to Holland
01:07:47
back. She did and I did. >> But despite that hell, Lisa could not let go of Chris Coulis. For her family,
01:07:56
it was difficult to accept. >> You don't understand why why she was listening to him. There aren't words
01:08:07
because you can't because you don't understand it. >> You're the one that ejected her first.
01:08:14
True. >> Yes, sir. I did. >> In court, Dr. Kulis accepts blame for introducing Lisa to illegal drug use.
01:08:22
>> You're a doctor. What were you thinking? I know what I was thinking. That was
01:08:28
wrong. I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have done it to me and I should certainly sure as hell not have
01:08:35
done it to her. I was responsible. I felt responsible. [snorts] >> If he appeared contrite when speaking to
01:08:42
the jurors, it was a different Chris Kulis who spoke to us later blaming Lisa Buchanan for her own drug problems.
01:08:51
>> Did you get her addicted to drugs? I provided her. I made available to her. >> Did you get her addicted to drugs?
01:09:00
>> I think the choice of addiction is her own. When I recognized that I was addicted, I got help. I got her help.
01:09:06
From that point on, all bets are off. >> You realized how addictive this drug was
01:09:11
the first time you used it. >> Absolutely. >> And you introduced this to your girlfriend. You provided the drugs to
01:09:17
her. You gave her the syringes. >> I was wrong in doing so. And and you're saying that it was her responsibility to
01:09:25
get clean? >> Yes, it is her response to stay clean. I don't think I bear herself for her
01:09:30
death. >> Guilty or not. >> Call Dr. >> Kulissa's lawyers are hoping to throw a huge wrench into the case with experts
01:09:38
[music] who will testify that it was not a drug overdose that killed Lisa Buchanan after all.
01:09:46
[music] >> [music] >> An early fall morning in Franklin, Tennessee, as most of the city's police
01:10:02
force [music] proudly gathers for a group photograph. >> It's a department that may be
01:10:08
unaccustomed to the attack it's facing [music] from Chris Kulis's attorneys. We realized that they were going to hold us
01:10:15
under a microscope and look to exploit anything that wasn't absolutely 100% perfect.
01:10:24
>> Defense lawyers are highly critical of what they consider sloppy police work,
01:10:29
even suggesting that detectives fail to properly isolate Lisa's apartment, [music] the crime scene.
01:10:35
>> How do you know that those items that you say were in that apartment, they hadn't been moved around?
01:10:41
>> [music] >> Detective Anderson bristles at the question, saying the apartment was
01:10:46
secured almost immediately. >> The locks were changed. No one had access. The apartment was secure from
01:10:52
that point on. Unless, well, >> unless what? >> Unless your client broke in to the
01:10:58
apartment, then the apartment was secured. [music] >> But mistakes were made, like losing
01:11:03
evidence. Medicine bottles from Lisa's apartment that detectives forgot to take from the hospital the day she died. We
01:11:10
had been going several hours into days in this investigation. So, it had slipped our mind at that time to go get
01:11:18
those pills. And when we finally realized we needed to go back and get those pill bottles, by the time we went
01:11:23
back there, the hospital had already destroyed it. >> Slipped your mind. >> An even bigger problem for prosecutors
01:11:31
is a defense challenge to the very heart of this case. What killed [music] Lisa Buchanan? If she did take the oxycodone,
01:11:40
that's not what killed her. >> Dr. Michael Graham, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner,
01:11:46
testifies for the defense that the drug didn't kill her. The filler did. [music]
01:11:53
That's the powdery material used to give shape and form to the pills when they're
01:11:57
made. >> It was the filler. And then the reaction to that filler is what I think tipped her over the
01:12:04
edge. Drug abusers crush pills, mix them with liquid, and inject them into their veins
01:12:10
for a quicker high. But Graham explains that over time, tiny particles of crush filler can build up and clog blood
01:12:18
vessels in the lungs. And that he says is exactly what happened to Lisa Buchanan. [music]
01:12:23
>> Injecting crushed up pills over a long period of time caused her death suddenly. She was so plugged up that it
01:12:31
stopped the heart and she died of a heart attack. You don't get that from an occasional use. It took months to years
01:12:39
to form those things. [music] It came from Lisa injecting herself when he wasn't around.
01:12:46
But prosecutors argue the defense theory of what killed Lisa is only partially true. that in fact it was both the
01:12:54
filler and the narcotic working together that caused her death. >> The filler was impacting the lungs. The
01:13:01
oxycodone was suppressing some of her breathing mechanism. And I would suggest to you that the evidence fully supports
01:13:08
the state's assertion that Lisa Buchanan died at the hands of this defendant. >> There's no proof he did. And because of
01:13:18
that, you just got to find him not guilty. As the case goes to the jury, Lisa's family is concerned over what the
01:13:28
verdict may be. [music] >> We hope he's convicted and there's nothing he can say to me. There's
01:13:33
nothing he can say to that court. There's nothing he can say to my family to change what's happened.
01:13:41
So, Dr. Culis is left to wait, facing the possibility of spending his next 25 years in prison. Left unanswered is the
01:13:50
question of how an ambitious young doctor, a plastic surgeon, ended up here. >> Dr. Culis is an extremely intelligent
01:14:00
person. He went into medical school at age 19. If that tells you something, all he did was [music] work, work, work.
01:14:12
So Dr. Culis never had the time to [music] enjoy his youth. His immaturity caught up with him.
01:14:20
>> So he was in the middle of an extended adolescence when he met Lisa Buchanan.
01:14:24
>> I don't think he ever matured. >> Standing trial for murdering his girlfriend though may be very sobering.
01:14:31
And Lisa's family hopes the jury holds Kulis responsible for her death. >> It is just my prayer and it has always
01:14:38
been my prayer that he can never do this to anyone else. Over [music] the course of a number of months or
01:15:02
years, Lisa did something which caused her significant internal damage and ultimately that's why she died.
01:15:12
And that would have happened, I believe, [music] whether I was there or a day later or a week later or a month later.
01:15:20
She's responsible for her own actions just as I am. >> Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude
01:15:29
the instructions and the closing arguments. It is time for you to uh to take this case and make your decision.
01:15:38
They began deliberations about 9:15 this morning here at the courthouse. >> Nearly two weeks [music] after the trial
01:15:44
began, the jury begins deliberating in the Lisa Buchanan murder case. >> It is tense. [music] Everybody right now
01:15:51
waiting. >> It's been a challenge for prosecutors who've had only circumstantial evidence
01:15:57
to rely on. >> Do you think you'll win a conviction? I would like to think so, but I think I've been around long enough
01:16:07
to know uh that when it gets into the hands of the jury, you just can't predict.
01:16:14
>> Jurors have four charges to consider, ranging from simple assault to seconddegree [music] murder.
01:16:23
>> You are so beautiful. >> The wild card is there's no telling how jurors will react to the sex video.
01:16:29
>> Oh my god. But prosecutor Kim Halper felt she had no choice. >> The evidence on the tape from the
01:16:35
state's perspective was too important uh to not show it. >> They say they want to see exhibit 203,
01:16:42
212, and 213. That is the videotape. >> In fact, just 1 hour into the deliberations, the juror's request to
01:16:51
see the video again. >> We're just hoping and praying that they understand that this man is guilty.
01:17:02
Because of the chemistry between the two and the [music] drug use, it was just destined for something terrible to
01:17:11
happen. It was just a fatal attraction. >> All right. >> The jurors take less than a day to reach
01:17:21
a verdict. The courtroom is tense as each charge is read. As [music] to count one of the indictment on the charge of
01:17:29
seconddegree murder, what say you? >> Not guilty. >> As to count two of the indictment on the
01:17:36
charge of reckless homicide, what say you? >> Not guilty. >> As to the charge of criminally negligent
01:17:43
homicide, what say you? >> Guilty. >> Very well. That shall end your deliberations.
01:17:48
>> Guilty, but not of murder. Lisa Buchanan's family is devastated. Koulis now faces just months in prison instead
01:17:58
of years. Lisa's daughter, Jesse, runs from the courtroom in tears. I was really upset,
01:18:07
almost more upset than the night when I found out like she passed away. What was hardest was hearing the same
01:18:20
cries from Jesse that I had to hear the night her [music] mom died. >> For Kulis and his attorneys, the verdict
01:18:29
is welcome news. Even with the felony conviction, >> I'm relieved that it's over. I accept
01:18:35
the verdict of the jury. It's a tragedy. Lisa died. Should never have happened. Did the jury conclude that Chris Kulis
01:18:47
bears [music] some responsibility for Lisa Buchanan's death? With the finding of criminally negligent homicide, they
01:18:55
are saying that as a doctor, he should have done more to prevent her from killing herself.
01:19:05
>> Not according to the jurors we spoke with. I agree with >> they told us they didn't buy the
01:19:09
doctor's testimony or his innocence, but felt there just wasn't any hard evidence
01:19:15
to convict him of murder. >> A good majority of us thought that he probably did the injection, but we
01:19:21
couldn't. There's no way to know for sure. They couldn't prove that he directly [music] acted to kill her.
01:19:28
>> You still maintain that Chris Kulis killed Lisa Buchanan? >> Yes, sir. And I think the jury agrees
01:19:33
with me. And quite frankly, we just didn't have a photo uh putting Chris Coulis with a needle in his hand
01:19:39
injecting Lacy Buchanan. >> Court finds the defendant's testimony to be lacking in credibility.
01:19:48
>> At sentencing, Judge Jeff Bivvens showed little sympathy for Kulis. While the
01:19:54
court is mindful of the fact that the victim, Miss Buchanan, was in many ways a knowing and willing participant in the
01:20:02
activities of that tragic weekend. That does not diminish the defendant's criminal conduct and culpability.
01:20:08
>> He sentences Koulis to two years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed, but he's expected to serve less than
01:20:16
half of that. >> Can you do the time? >> Can I do the time? Do I have a choice? After he's sentenced, it's unclear just
01:20:26
when the doctor will be imprisoned. He leaves the courtroom not in handcuffs, but on $500,000 bond paid by his parents
01:20:35
to keep him free while his attorneys appeal the conviction. Kulis' limited sentence and the fact
01:20:42
that he's free pending appeal is hard for daughter Jesse to accept. >> I get mad. I like to tell myself that I
01:20:51
forgiven him because we were close. I mean, I I lived with him and I've known him for so long, too. But
01:21:00
when the [music] really hard days come, it's really hard to forgive him. [music]
01:21:09
>> She even reached out, writing a very personal letter to Coulis. >> Chris, I've been thinking about this
01:21:15
letter for months. It's consumed [music] me. What do I say to the man that took my
01:21:21
mom away? It's been a long two years and I still tell myself she's coming back. You know you're responsible for her
01:21:31
death [music] and you think of me and my family. Try to imagine what we have been
01:21:37
through and how much we miss her. >> Lisa's sister, Tara. In the end, this too shall pass and someday he'll stand
01:21:49
before God. >> No one could have predicted the next bizarre twist in this story.
01:21:56
5 years after Lisa's death, and with his appeal still pending, Chris Culis was found dead
01:22:03
at a friend's apartment. >> A former Nashville plastic surgeon convicted in the death of his model
01:22:09
girlfriend has died. Toxicology reports just released list the cause of death as bronchial
01:22:16
pneumonia due to opiate intoxication, a drug overdose. >> My duty to my [music] client extends
01:22:23
beyond his death. >> Because Kulis's case was an appeal, his attorney, David Rabin, was able to get
01:22:29
his 2007 conviction dropped by the state's Court of Criminal Appeals. However, the attorney general's office
01:22:38
is fighting to have that conviction reinstated. >> Enough is enough. This case is over
01:22:42
with. The conviction should be vacated. Um, and let Dr. Koulis rest in peace. >> Dr. Chris Culis never served one day of
01:22:52
his sentence in jail. >> There's no satisfaction. [music] There's no real peace. There's no vengeance.
01:22:59
There's no anger. There's no there's no hate. just [music] you're dealt a certain set of cards and
01:23:07
you just have to do what you can with them. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music]
01:23:55
[music] >> This is where it all began, right? This is where it all began. April 23rd, 2018,
01:24:20
I received the call that a body was located off of Highway 98. I come over to this area and
01:24:28
approximately here was about where the head of the body was at and stretched out across the
01:24:36
ditch with the feet facing in that direction. She had bruises from head to toe covering her entire body. She had
01:24:43
lacerations on her face, stomach, legs. >> So this woman suffered before she died.
01:24:48
>> She suffered. I've never seen anything like it. It was extreme violence. Extreme violence overkill.
01:25:01
>> And who would do something like that? >> At the time, you don't know. And what
01:25:05
you worry about then is, are they loose in our community? What type of individual am I dealing
01:25:12
with or individuals? Is there one person? Is there two? You have a million questions that you
01:25:19
can ask, [music] but you have no answers at the time. The next day, [music] they identified
01:25:25
the woman as Eileen Seiden, a young 31-year-old female in [music] the Miami area.
01:25:32
I've known Eileen Siden for 25 years. She was my best friend. Eileena [music] called me. She had told
01:25:40
me it was pretty where she was. The last talk I had with Eileen was very different. She told me just these
01:25:47
horrific things you never think you'll hear from your best friend. She said, "I need your help."
01:25:55
It was like a movie. My sister's involved and I don't know what's happening. I told her to run.
01:26:01
>> You use the word run. Did you say run? >> 100%. I said run. Get the Get out of
01:26:04
there. Go. She's like, "I can't." She was scared to death. This doesn't happen. This doesn't happen
01:26:14
to us. This doesn't happen in real life. We received a call from the Sportsman's
01:26:24
Lodge motel. There was a room that they were [music] in the process of cleaning.
01:26:29
There was blood. >> And what goes through [music] your mind as you walk through all this beauty?
01:26:35
>> This right here would be the last place that you could ever imagine a homicide
01:26:39
taking place, especially right here in this piece of paradise. I'll >> take you to room number 15.
01:26:49
Now, when the housekeepers first came through this door, what did they see? >> Uh, they said the furniture was knocked
01:26:56
over onto the floor. As they started cleaning the room, they found more and more stuff to be wrong. They noticed
01:27:03
stuff missing from the beds, the sheets, anything like that. This bed here was completely covered in uh blood stain.
01:27:11
>> So, that tells you there was a violent scene going on. >> Yes. And what happened in room 15?
01:27:21
>> It's unknown. If these walls could talk, right? >> Oh, if they could talk, I'd like to hear
01:27:27
them. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> Appalachiccola, Florida is a wonderful
01:28:19
[music] small place >> for Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Jared Patterson. The sleepy Gulf Coast
01:28:27
[music] town of Appalachiccola and surrounding countryside are among the last remnants [music] of a bygone era.
01:28:35
It certainly still hearkens back to a time before there was condos on every inch of the beach and before there were
01:28:40
highrises. We're referred to here the counties along this area of the coast as the forgotten coast. But when a couple
01:28:46
heading to a nearby fishing pond discovered Eene Siden's battered body on April [music] 23rd, 2018, Patterson
01:28:55
wondered what had brought a killer to Florida's forgotten coast. >> The horror that it really was, it
01:29:01
absolutely shocked people. It looked like someone was in a hurry. Whoever it was dumped the body and took
01:29:08
off. >> Lead investigator Lieutenant Ronnie Jones, then with the Franklin County
01:29:13
Sheriff's Office, says documenting Eileen's unsettling dump site was the first of two ominous events over the
01:29:22
next 24 hours. He was soon dispatched to the second crime scene at the Sportsman's [music] Lodge Motel.
01:29:31
and that bloody spectacle inside room 15. >> So, what's it like for you to be back in
01:29:40
here? >> Uh, brings back some pretty bad memories. >> Joan's memories live in stark contrast
01:29:49
to the treeshaded grounds of the otherwise [music] peaceful motel. >> As soon as I came in, I noticed the bed.
01:29:56
I It's you couldn't miss it. I mean, this whole area was covered and had blood stains on it.
01:30:03
>> And when you saw that kind of blood loss, what did that tell you? >> I just put two and two together and I
01:30:09
automatically put that back to the um body that was found the day before. >> You did that quickly like that?
01:30:14
>> Had to have. It wasn't just somebody cut yourself and bled a little bit on the
01:30:18
bed. I mean, the amount of blood that was on this bed tells me that whoever was here was probably deceased.
01:30:22
>> Jones recalled there was a smell of vinegar in the room. And what did that tell you? That someone attempted to
01:30:29
clean the crime scene. >> A luminol test for traces of human blood revealed what an apparently hasty
01:30:37
cleanup couldn't hide. >> The whole entire bathroom lit up. >> So that was the scene of perhaps some of
01:30:44
her most vicious attacks was inside that bathroom. >> Yes. >> And Jones says the shower curtain rod
01:30:52
was a possible weapon. On the rod was located a palm print and also uh blood. >> And that's significant evidence, right?
01:31:00
That's right. >> Testing would soon confirm that it was Eileen's blood in the motel room. Now
01:31:07
came the gut-wrenching duty to notify Eileen's sister, Francesca Seiden. >> He said my sister was murdered. I don't
01:31:16
know. Like what do you do? You look for support. That's all I could do. I didn't understand why like it was
01:31:30
given to me again like to handle another loss. >> While growing up in Miami, then
01:31:37
16-year-old Francesca and 9-year-old Eileene faced their first tragedy when their beloved mother passed away from
01:31:46
cancer. >> How did the two of you deal with this? We didn't talk about it because it was
01:31:54
so fast. >> Six years later, their father, Frank, a successful furniture manufacturer who
01:32:03
Francesca says shared a special bond with Eileene, suddenly died from a heart attack. It left Eileen, then 14, an
01:32:12
orphan, and 22-year-old Francesca with a decision to make. I signed the papers and I became her legal guardian.
01:32:20
>> And what did that mean? What were your responsibilities? >> I became a parent. I had to take her to
01:32:27
school. I had to pick her up from school. I had to finish my own school. I was working. I didn't have time to
01:32:33
grieve. And I don't think that she did either. >> 7 years later, Francesca moved to Los
01:32:38
Angeles on her own. That's when she says Eileen, now in her 20s, began grieving their parents. She started to think a
01:32:47
lot. She became more sensitive. Something like losing your parents has long lasting effects throughout your
01:32:54
life. It's obvious that it did. >> This is Eileen's best friend. Not wanting her name associated with this
01:33:01
case, she has asked 48 hours to refer to her as Ally. She remembers a strong and
01:33:08
determined Eileene making it on her own in Miami. >> She worked as a property manager. She
01:33:15
lived in a great apartment, you know, she paid her own rent. She made her bills. She was very independent.
01:33:22
>> Francesca saw that independence [music] firsthand when Eileen made an extended
01:33:27
visit to LA in 2016. >> Looking back, do you wish she had stayed with you? >> 100%. Because
01:33:36
whatever happened when she went back to Miami is when she reconnected with Zach.
01:33:43
Zach was Zachary Ael, who Eileen had known since they were teenagers. >> I'm not sure if I had the best
01:33:51
reputation in high school. At first, she wasn't really sure about him. >> But years later, she and Zach Ael
01:33:58
started dating. >> I think in the beginning, Eileen found Zach Fun, but I think it changed pretty
01:34:04
quickly. >> Investigators in Franklin County would soon learn all about Zack Ael. They
01:34:11
discovered that Zach, Eileene, and this woman, Christina Ajo, had all been seen in the Appalachiccola area. Detectives
01:34:20
also learned the three shared a room at the sportsman's lodge, room number 15. We needed to know what happened inside
01:34:31
that hotel room. Outside of three people entered and two came out carrying a body.
01:34:56
Off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Captain Mike Pikovette set sail on his 50-foot boat.
01:35:04
>> It's kind of weird uh trying to remember any good times. There just weren't. There was always some issue.
01:35:09
>> Back in 2018, Mike would play a central role in Eileen Seiden's murder investigation. He knew Eileene and her
01:35:17
boyfriend Zack Ael well. >> Zach is just um very entertaining. He's very extroverted.
01:35:25
>> Mike had met Zach by chance at a bar about 7 years earlier. >> He came up to me at Duffy's and said,
01:35:31
"Hey, I like your shirt." And I'm like, "Okay." >> Then uh Christina came up. >> Christina Ajo, Zach's [music] girlfriend
01:35:38
at the time. The two had been dating for about 4 years. Mike says Christina [music]
01:35:44
immediately started boasting about her powerful father. >> Right out of the gate, she said, "Oh
01:35:51
yeah, my dad's a major with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, and if we ever get into any trouble with the
01:35:55
law, he can take care of it." I was like, "What? Who says that?" >> Despite their odd first meeting, Mike
01:36:03
says he began hanging out with the couple. What followed were years [music] of wild nights, wild parties, and lots
01:36:10
of heavy drinking. That was their go-to thing. Okay, we got to do shots of this,
01:36:15
shots [music] of this. >> But Mike says there was an interesting power dynamic in the couple's
01:36:20
relationship with Christina, who is 8 years older than Zach, calling the shots. >> She was [music] very controlling and
01:36:28
very directing. He would follow her lead with stuff. [music] >> One day in 2016, Zach stopped by Mike's
01:36:38
boat, but not with Christina. [music] Instead, Zach introduced Mike to Eileen Siden.
01:36:45
Mike could tell Zach now had two women in his life. >> It was the weirdest thing. If your
01:36:52
relationship's not working, just end it and move on. >> However, Mike says that Zach couldn't
01:36:57
make a clean break from Christina, who was also his business partner. >> He tried so many times. He just didn't
01:37:04
know how to. And then also all the threats all the time that she couldn't make him disappear. Every time she got
01:37:09
drunk, she would say some weird things. >> Eileen's best friend, Ally, [music] says
01:37:14
Zach and Eileen began to secretly date. >> She seemed to love him so much that she
01:37:20
was still hoping that he would, you know, decide to be with her. He would lead her on to things. He was trying to
01:37:27
end it with Christina. >> In 2017, Eileen unexpectedly lost her job as a property manager.
01:37:34
>> She was really starting to lose control of her own life. Ally says that may explain why Eileene eventually started
01:37:41
working at Zach and Christina's used car dealership. >> It wasn't the independent life that she
01:37:47
had always lived. >> Ally says Eileene continued to pressure Zach to break up with Christina for
01:37:53
good. But when Zach finally tried to end things with Christina, she countered with an unconventional proposal.
01:38:02
>> It was not the answer that anyone expected. Christina came back and said, "Well, why don't we try and all be in a
01:38:09
relationship?" Then it now became this opportunity for this throppple, three-way kind of relationship.
01:38:16
>> A thrpple is a romantic relationship among three people. Ally says Eileene was against the idea.
01:38:23
>> Eileen said, "Absolutely not. There's no way. It's never going to work." And there was kind of a crickets for a few
01:38:29
weeks. >> But Ally says Eileen later changed her mind. The trio was now a throppple.
01:38:37
>> I was in shock really, but also a little bit happy for them that maybe this could
01:38:41
work. >> But it didn't work. Before long, there was trouble. >> This whole dynamic started to change
01:38:48
where one of them always seemed to be the odd man out or was jealous. And at that point, it just started to spiral
01:38:53
out of control. According to Mike Pikovette, things escalated, leading to irrational behavior and
01:39:02
fights fueled by alcohol. He says Eileen and Christina [music] traded punches often, usually resulting in black eyes
01:39:10
on one or both of the women that they'd sometimes hide behind big sunglasses. >> It was a everyday thing, pretty every
01:39:19
second day thing, I could say. >> Ally remembers things differently. She says Zach was the main aggressor in the
01:39:27
relationship. >> Eileen would call me and say, "You have to come over here." Like, "He hurt me
01:39:32
again." And I'd rush over there and photograph her and beg her to go to the police.
01:39:37
>> But Ally says Eileene refused, fearing Christina's law enforcement connections
01:39:42
would work against her. Eileen's sister, Francesca, was furious [music] when she
01:39:48
learned of the abuse. >> I wanted my sister out of this situation. I wanted her out.
01:39:52
>> It's hard to leave. It's hard to leave. And I had this feeling that Christina
01:39:57
was more violent of the two. It was really difficult to see her going through a time like this.
01:40:03
It was just so hard and she was scared to death. >> Once Ally says the abuse got so bad, she
01:40:10
took Eileen to the emergency room. >> They took her to the hospital because they have to report things, but she
01:40:15
wouldn't say where the bruises came from. Eileen's best friend had to deliver a hard truth.
01:40:23
>> Eileen, you have to break up with this guy. Someone's going to end up dead. [music]
01:40:40
>> When Eileen was in real trouble, it was hard to get anyone to come rescue her.
01:40:44
[music] The path that led to Eileen Seiden's murder may have begun weeks earlier. In
01:40:51
2018, Alli was surprised that despite the physical violence in their relationship, Eileen had decided to move
01:40:59
in with Sack Ael and Christina Ajo. The throppple was now working together, sleeping together, and living together.
01:41:08
Eileen was trapped in the relationship because she was trapped financially, but she felt that that was one last chance
01:41:16
to make it work. It was like a one month or two month trial. >> But within a few weeks, Ally says
01:41:21
Eileene had had enough. >> Eileen was just going to move out. She was really done with the relationship.
01:41:29
But Eileen's plans to leave were halted on April 7th, 2018 after Zach and Christina had gotten into a violent
01:41:37
fight. Ally says she got a call from Eileen on Zach's phone. >> She was going to leave and get Zach out
01:41:44
of the house, but like to go to a coffee shop. The next call I got was from Christina. She was angry and furious.
01:41:52
Ally says Christina threatened to report the car Eileen and Zach were driving in
01:41:57
as stolen in an apparent attempt to keep them from leaving her behind. Ally immediately warned Eileene and Zach.
01:42:08
Instead of coming around and coming back like I thought they would, they hit the
01:42:12
gas and went to Georgia. I said, "What are you doing, Eileen? You don't have your phone. You don't have a wallet.
01:42:17
This is crazy." She said, "We're going on a road trip. This is a good thing. But the road trip wasn't a good thing to
01:42:25
Christina AO. She began harassing Zach and Eileene, sending a storm of angry texts. You two deserve each other.
01:42:34
Christina sent more than 150 texts in roughly 24 hours. All went unanswered, including this one. My dad will be
01:42:43
calling you. Later, Christina issued this threat. You effed me over and now I'm effing you over.
01:42:51
>> I was just trying to tell her, Christina, why don't you worry about your own life?
01:42:56
>> About 48 hours into the [music] road trip, Zach and Eileen were heading to Texas, and Christina seemed to have a
01:43:04
change of heart, texting, "If you want to come back home, come back. You never have to question my [music] love." for
01:43:13
reasons that are unknown. Instead of coming home, Zach invited Christina to join them and she flew to Dallas. But
01:43:21
with a [music] throple united, the old problems returned. Eileen started to call me from Zach's
01:43:30
phone at night saying, you know, this is getting bad and I I don't know what to do. It wasn't until Christina arrived
01:43:35
that that started to happen. I was really worried someone would get hurt. By day 10 of the road trip, Eileen's
01:43:44
older sister, Francesca, was also worried. She hadn't heard from Eileen in a while. When the trio stopped in New
01:43:52
Orleans, Eileen finally called Francesca and shared an alarming suspicion. >> She's like, I think they're going to
01:44:00
kill me. No joke. So's like, Eileen, run to the nearest gas station. Go tell the
01:44:07
person. >> Call 911. >> Yeah. Run to like I said, run. Get the get out of there. Go. She's like, I
01:44:12
can't. >> Francesca, desperate to help, tried to get more details from Eileen. >> If I had where the address was, I would
01:44:20
have called the police then and there, but she had to go. She had to get off and she hung up. I was extremely
01:44:26
frustrated, but I and and I was scared. >> With no way to help her sister, Francesca hoped Eileen would stay safe.
01:44:36
The road trip continued into its second week. The trio then headed to Panama City, Florida, but a missed exit led
01:44:44
them to the forgotten coast. >> The road trip is difficult to understand. Partying one day and
01:44:54
murdering the next. >> David Adlerstein is a reporter for the Appalachiccola Times, one of the oldest
01:45:01
newspapers in Florida. >> I've been covering the Eileen Siden case since the week it happened.
01:45:10
On the evening of April 21st, the trio, seen here in this screenshot [music] from surveillance footage, stumbled into
01:45:17
the quiet peace of Franklin County. They [music] went to a popular restaurant, the Red Pirate, played
01:45:26
miniature golf, partied. At the recommendation of a local, the throppple headed to the nearby
01:45:33
Sportsman's Lodge motel. They reserved the last vacancy of the night, room 15. The next morning [music] on April 22nd,
01:45:43
2018, the throppple made a plan. >> They decided [music] they'd spend another day there, not get back on the
01:45:51
road and make it a a party. So, they got up in the morning and went to the liquor
01:45:57
store. >> Here they are in these screenshots from the store's surveillance footage. While
01:46:03
there, the trio purchased large bottles of vodka and fireball whiskey. >> When I went to investigate their path
01:46:11
that day and went to the liquor store, the clerk, she pointed out that the fireball that they bought was the
01:46:18
largest bottle you could buy. And this is just the three of them. The throppple then returned to the sportsman's Lodge
01:46:25
motel. >> I don't think Eileen was having fun. And I think she was just trying to maybe get
01:46:30
by and stay alive. >> Ally says she spoke to Eileen that day. >> Eileen said, "I need to leave him. I'm
01:46:37
telling you, I'm like a sex slave. He has this really scary look in his eye. It's very scary. It's different." And
01:46:44
she said, "I need your help." >> Ally says the two friends had crafted an escape plan. Eileen would get on a bus
01:46:51
from Tampa, the trio's next destination. I bought her a Greyhound ticket because
01:46:57
she didn't have a wallet. >> The bus would drop Eileen off near Miami and Ally would take her home. Eileen
01:47:04
just needed to get on that bus and she'd be safe. >> And then, you know, I never heard back.
01:47:11
I never heard anything after that. >> The next night, hundreds of miles away in Fort Lauderdale, Mike Pigette was
01:47:21
home and alone. There was a knock at the door. It was Christina Ajo and Zack Ael.
01:47:28
[music] >> I was like, "Okay, where's Eileen?" And right away, Christina says, "Oh, she ran
01:47:34
away." And I said, "Bull." I said, "Where is she?" And Zach right away it started to choke up and he said, "She's
01:47:40
dead." >> The news was shocking enough, but Mike says once Christina was out of earshot,
01:47:48
Zach told him what happened. He said Christina killed her. He woke up. She was dead next to him and uh he tried to
01:47:56
give her CPR. Then uh wanted to call 911. Christina said no and told him you can't call 911. For some reason he kept
01:48:03
on saying he had to protect Christina. I'm like what do you got to protect her for?
01:48:07
>> Mike says he wanted to protect both of his friends. He feared a violent outcome
01:48:12
if he called 911. >> I didn't want them to get killed. Just wanted to make sure that they were
01:48:17
brought in a safe way. And the only thing that I could think about is to go talk to her father.
01:48:24
>> Christina's father, Colonel Tony Ajo. The one Mike says Christina had always bragged could make her problems go away.
01:48:35
When Zach and Christina fell asleep, Mike took this photo and says he went online to search for Christina's father,
01:48:43
a man he had never met. So, I was panicking trying to find his phone number. >> When Mike finally got a hold of Colonel
01:48:51
Ao, he didn't immediately reveal the deadly news. >> I said, "I got to talk to you. It's
01:48:56
about Christina. It's very important." >> Mike says Christina's father directed Mike to meet him at an odd place, a gas
01:49:05
station. >> So, I went up there. I said, "Christina killed somebody." And he says, "You know
01:49:11
I'm a cop, right?" I'm like, "Yes, sir, I do." He right away said, "Wait right there."
01:49:16
>> Mike says Christina's father then brought him to the sheriff's office to make a formal statement.
01:49:23
>> He did what was the right thing to do. He got two other people to ask me all the questions. [music]
01:49:30
>> Later that day, Mike was shown a photo and he was the one to identify the battered body of Eileen Seiden. With
01:49:38
that confirmation, police descended on Mike's home as Zach and Christina were about to leave. [music]
01:49:47
They were arrested and brought back to Franklin [music] County. The pair were later charged with firstdegree murder.
01:49:56
It would take [music] almost 6 years before Zach Ael and Christina Ajo would face a jury, and by then only one of
01:50:05
them would stand trial. >> [music] >> You're healing. You're doing the things that you need to heal and then
01:50:28
>> you're stopped. For almost six years, Francesca Siden lived in agonizing limbo
01:50:35
as her sister Eileen's case complicated by having two defendants face delay after delay after frustrating [music]
01:50:44
delay. >> And now you're going to get ready for this big moment and it stops again.
01:50:48
[music] Finally, in January of 2024, at the Franklin County Courthouse in Appalachiccola, Florida, Zack Ael was
01:50:58
about to face trial. He had pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and would stand before the jury alone. 8 months
01:51:07
earlier, Christina Ao took a plea deal for a lesser charge of secondderee murder. So, she admitted taking part in
01:51:15
this. Yes, she implicated herself in the actual beating of Eileene. [music] >> After studying the mountain of evidence,
01:51:26
prosecutor Jared Patterson believes Zach Ael was more responsible in Eileen's murder. [music] And the state is relying
01:51:34
on the jury believing Christina Ajo's version of what happened inside room 15. The only one who has told us anything
01:51:45
about what happened in that room is Christina Arau. >> Once Christina made her plea deal, she
01:51:52
would become the prosecution star witness. >> Print reporter David Adlerstein, camera
01:51:58
in hand, was there as Christina Auo transported the courtroom back to the evening of April 22nd, 2018.
01:52:08
A Rajo testified that she, Zach, Ael, and Eileene were relaxing in the room at the sportsman's lodge after a day of
01:52:17
heavy drinking. >> When Zach drinks, does he act differently? >> He becomes very aggressive,
01:52:26
very mean. >> Zach Ael became violently enraged, says Ajo, when Eileene posed a seemingly
01:52:34
innocent question. But she said, "Christina, guess what?" >> And she looks over at Christina and
01:52:40
says, "Hey, Christina, guess what? How would that sentence be finished?" >> I have no idea cuz she never got to
01:52:47
finish it. >> Zachary got up immediately and went over to her and was in her face, hitting her. He's
01:52:57
just yelled at her, telling her, "You always start problems." A Rajo admits to also hitting Eileen as she demanded to
01:53:04
know what she was about to say. She never got an answer. >> And I got so frustrated. I just went I
01:53:12
left the room. >> After stepping outside room 15 for a few minutes, AO claims she returned to find
01:53:21
Ael and Eileene in the bathroom. [music] When I opened the door, he had something white in his hand, like if he
01:53:29
was poking hot. >> The medical examiner was able to identify small circular bruising to the
01:53:36
body of Eileen that could be consistent with a shower curtain rod. >> Like the shower curtain rod
01:53:46
investigators recovered that had palm print impressions in Eileen's blood. >> Whose palm was it? The palm print
01:53:53
belonged to Zachary Ael. >> The assault continued near the bed, says Ajo, where she says Abel reached for his
01:54:02
wooden walking stick. >> He hit Sarah several times with it. When he hit her in the back, though, the
01:54:09
stick broke. >> We had actually found pieces of that wooden staff in the hotel room. We
01:54:16
didn't realize the significance of it until we found the other piece in the vehicle that contained our victim's DNA.
01:54:25
>> Ajo says she watched in terror as Abel began using that stick to sexually assault Eileene.
01:54:33
>> Christina's description of the crime was horrifying to listen to. Eileen clearly
01:54:38
suffered terrible death. Adlerstein recalls the medical examiner saying Eileen's injuries reminded him of those
01:54:47
he had seen in motor vehicle crashes. As a reporter, I try very hard to not be emotional.
01:54:57
I distinctly remember fighting back tears. [music] >> AO claims she eventually put herself
01:55:06
between Abel and Eileene and the attack finally stopped. Eileen was badly beaten, but still alive, she says, and
01:55:14
the exhausted trio just fell asleep. >> I didn't think she was going to die for me.
01:55:21
>> Ajo claims it wasn't until she woke up the next morning that she realized Eileen was dead. She says she only
01:55:29
participated in the cover up of fear of what Abel might do to her. >> She seemed to me genuinely remorseful.
01:55:38
Others had different opinions. Who is Christina Ao in your book? >> Manipulative,
01:55:47
cunning, chameleon. I think that there's evil in her. >> Alex Morris is Zach Abel's attorney.
01:55:56
>> He says Christina Ajo acted alone. >> I believe that she is the murderer. >> Let's talk about her story. Morris says
01:56:06
it was Christina Ajo who beat Eileen. And that photo taken by Mike Pikovette at his home after the murder shows she
01:56:15
had injuries to her hands and feet. >> Which tells you Christina must have been the attacker.
01:56:21
>> That's right. [music] >> Christina Ajo was the one with homicidal intent, says Morris. Triggered when Abel
01:56:29
and Eileene took off with her in the rear view mirror. And he says those threatening texts that [music] she sent
01:56:36
to Abel's phone before joining them on the road trip read like a confession. >> There are threats of bodily harm to both
01:56:46
Eileen and Zach and the messages. You come near me hoe, I will kill you. >> I think it speaks for itself. And that's
01:56:55
exactly what happened. After Eileen's murder, Morris says Ajo wiped down the motel room using the
01:57:04
vinegar that Ronnie Jones would later smell. He says Abel's palm prints on the curtain rod got there when he moved it
01:57:13
during the cleanup. [music] >> He was instructed to pick the curtain rod up over there and put it over there
01:57:19
by Christina. This toll booth surveillance photo from [music] after the murder shows that Christina Ajo and
01:57:27
not Zack Ael was the one driving the car and therefore Morris says she was the one in control.
01:57:35
>> The evidence [music] indicates Christina to be the one giving the directions and
01:57:41
had everything to be able to manipulate the situation. manipulating Zach Ael says Morris
01:57:48
because of those threats she had been making for years about her father's influence in solving her problems.
01:57:55
>> Bottom line is Zach was fearful of Christina's father. >> Abel chose not to testify. When Morris
01:58:04
made his final arguments to the jury, he concluded the evidence showed there was
01:58:09
only one person who wanted Eileen Seiden dead. They haven't proven any motive as
01:58:14
to why Mr. Abel would be interested in murdering Miss Sid. But I'll tell you where motive lies and it's clear as day
01:58:23
and that's with Mr. Rajo. The motive being I want rid of the person who's taken my man. So jealousy.
01:58:30
>> Yes. >> In his closing, Patterson said Christina Ajo already accepted her role in this
01:58:38
crime. He asked the jury to hold Zack Ael accountable for his part by finding him guilty of murder.
01:58:47
>> They lived together. They worked together. They own a business together. They went to the sportsman's lodge
01:58:51
together. They emptied out the room together. They ran away together. They got arrested together. The only thing
01:58:58
they didn't do together was kill Eileen Sid. No way. But who would the jury believe?
01:59:14
[music] [music] She wasn't born here and she didn't live here, but she was left here and she'll
01:59:31
always be remembered by Franklin County. Residents of Florida's forgotten coast will now long remember Eileen Seiden,
01:59:41
says Ronnie Jones. Almost 6 years after her death, the community waited for justice for the stranger they now had
01:59:48
come to embrace as one of their own. >> What was going through your mind as the jury begins its deliberation? Make it
01:59:56
quick. I was told by the jury foreman that when they first went in, there was 10 in
02:00:04
favor of first-degree premeditated murder with two hold outs. >> All right, everyone, please be seated.
02:00:11
>> After about 5 hours of deliberations, the jury reached a consensus. >> In the case of the state of Florida
02:00:18
versus Zachary Ray Ael, the defendant is guilty of the lesser included offense of
02:00:23
seconddegree murder. [music] seconddegree murder just like Christina Ao Adlerstein says the jury foreman told
02:00:32
him they just couldn't decide [music] if Zack Abel had actually intended to kill
02:00:37
Eileene. >> They knew that Christina [music] had plead guilty to second and I think they
02:00:44
eventually said we're going to give him the same. >> It doesn't tell me that they're equally
02:00:50
responsible. Mike Picovet says even with the verdict, he is convinced his friend
02:00:56
played no part in Eileen's death. >> To me, there's an innocent man sitting in jail.
02:01:01
>> I think they're both just as guilty as the other. >> Now retired from law enforcement, Ronnie
02:01:07
Jones spends his days tending his bar in Appalachiccola. He says he's still left wondering what
02:01:14
really happened inside room 15. >> Is this case a mystery to you? It's not a mystery on exactly what happened, but
02:01:22
exactly why it happened. That is what still bothers me to this day. Why? >> Like what Eileene might have been about
02:01:30
to say that sparked the attack. >> It was my understanding and the rumors that she was fixing to disclose the fact
02:01:37
that she was pregnant. >> Pregnant? And was she pregnant? Did you learn that at autopsy?
02:01:42
>> I was at the autopsy and she was not pregnant. I don't know if she thought she was or not.
02:01:50
When it was time for sentencing, Zack Ael finally spoke and told the courtroom another twist in this tortured story.
02:01:59
>> I had stopped and I grabbed a ring pop and I proposed to her with a ring pop and asked her to marry me. She said yes.
02:02:08
And me and Eileen were going to go our way and leave Christina out of it. [snorts]
02:02:14
Zach spoke at his sentencing and said that he'd actually proposed to Eileen during this trip.
02:02:22
>> I think that is just BS. It's a great story, but no. >> I have been in the justice system in one
02:02:29
form or another for 40 years. Rarely have I seen the sort of injuries that [music] I saw on Eileen Siden. The judge
02:02:41
told Abel he wished he could impose a harsher punishment before sentencing [music] him to the maximum, life in
02:02:50
prison. In >> the state of Florida, life means life. We don't have parole. >> At her sentencing, [music]
02:02:56
Christina Ao's father, Colonel Tony Ajo, set the record straight. He said he never used his influence [music] to
02:03:03
benefit his daughter. And he recalled the conversation he had with her after the murder. You will own up to the
02:03:10
truth. You will accept responsibility. You will be the voice of the victim. And you will testify under oath in a court
02:03:19
of law. And then whatever is sentenced to you, that's fine. >> There was no agreement with her as to
02:03:26
the length of sentence. She gave her statement with the knowledge that she could still receive life in prison.
02:03:32
>> I think about that day every day of my life. The details haunt me. and the memories keep me up.
02:03:41
>> The judge acknowledged her cooperation and sentenced [music] Christina Ajo to
02:03:47
25 years. >> Justice has been served. They won't beat up any more females. Neither will she.
02:03:57
>> I think that every woman kind of thinks I would leave if I was in that situation. I would just get up and
02:04:02
leave. I would never tolerate that. Eileen's best friend, Ally, hopes there will be more compassion for those
02:04:09
trapped [music] in abusive relationships. >> It's always the I'm sorry, it's never
02:04:13
going to happen again. And you believe it cuz you're in love and things are good 95% of the time, but the 5% that
02:04:20
are bad are so bad. >> With your sister gone, how do you want her to be remembered? I want her to be
02:04:28
remembered as a sweet, loving human being who unfortunately had lost her parents at such a young age. But she was
02:04:40
still so sweet. Like she was such a sweetheart. Her soul was so kind. >> [music]
02:05:04
>> 48 hours. Don't miss an episode. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] [music] [music]