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foreign [Music] Alabama is home to Auburn University which is a major football school
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in a college town it happens that students sometimes may go often you know they may be missing for a little while
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but they come back Lori was a student at Auburn University and she had recently graduated
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June 10th 2006 which is the fateful day in Lori's life we were going to have drinks at my house
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we were going to have Rum Runners I believe and watch a movie and just kind of hang out do girl time she called me
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around 6 30 and said I'm gonna stop by the store pick up the drink mixes and then I'll be headed to your house
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and then the phone rang about 30 minutes later it rang once or twice I answered no one was there how many times had she
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simply not showed up and not called you never my daughter was a very good person a
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kind person a loving girl very studious student she loves sports loved her dog she had a little Yorkie named Peanut
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that was her baby when did you realize that something was wrong I was at work A lady called I
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believe it was her boss and she told me that I just want to tell you your daughter Lori has not showed up for work
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and right away bells and whistles went off I called her and she didn't answer her phone
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I called her house several times left voicemails on her home answering machine you go over to her mobile home
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the door was unlocked which was not like her the air condition was running her dog peanut was in the crate
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we walked through the house she wasn't there what are you thinking something's terribly wrong there is no way she would
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have left peanut this is it it's about 4 40 a.m four days after Lori is missing the car was right here dead
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in the center engulfed in flames was Lori in this car Lori was not in the vehicle
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there was no trace of her whatsoever I mean none just vanished just vanished and nobody knows what happened to Lori
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slosinski no somebody that knows Rick Ennis your daughter had no idea about his past no
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I met Rick Ennis when he was 12 years old he's sitting back there in that seat behind you
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and I said where are your parents he looked right back at me and he says I killed them both
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[Music] all right [Music] [Music] oh [Music] I can still see her smile her smile is just etched
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in my memory to this day Lindsey Braun is haunted by the final call from Lori slosinski on
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June 10 2006 when they were supposed to get together for drinks and a movie that
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last call did it indicate it was her fault she calls and it hangs up and no one's there just no one was there I was
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just dead in did you call her right back I did no answer Lori and Lindsay became fast friends
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when they met junior year at Auburn University in 2002. I remember the day I met her we just kind of immediately
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clicked I could just tell that she was a warm person very friendly just outgoing
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loving all those good things Lori's family her older brother Paul and their parents Arlene and Casey were
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actually from New York State they headed south to rural Alabama Farm country when
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Lori was 13 years old I just loved animals we always had animals in our house Lori's mother Arlene very studious
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student she was a good girl when she enrolled in nearby Auburn University her parents bought Lori a
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mobile home to live off campus in a manicured trailer park popular with students so from valedictorian of her
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high school class was it tough for you to see your baby girl leave the house and head off to University
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oh yeah it was very tough I called her every day she's like Mom this has got to stop I was like but you're my baby and I
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worry about you don't worry about me I'm fine Lori majored in Psychology and minored
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in criminal justice she graduated with honors there she is with Mom and Dad she looks so happy there she was she was
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over the moon happy after graduation Lori and Lindsey started working together at a local
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mental health facility did you sense that she had any enemy in this world no the day that Lori disappears June 10
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2006. was anyone with Lori that day Rick was at her house Rick Was Daryl Richard Ennis when I had
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spoken to her he was in the background Lori got to know Rick back when she was still a student she hung out at the
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local bowling alley where he worked I didn't know much about him at all except he was her friend
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Arlene says just before Christmas in 2005 Laurie asked if Rick could join them she asked me she said mom he has no
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family can I invite him she kind of you know felt bad that he was going to spend
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Christmas alone he was friendly um very polite Lindsay says Lori often spent time with
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Rick so she wasn't surprised that he had been at Lori's home the day she disappeared they were friends so I
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wasn't concerned but now you're at home waiting for Lori to come over and he went to bed that night thinking you know
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I hope she's okay but the next morning Lindsay started to worry I called her house several times
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left voicemails on her home answering machine hey Lori checking on you are you okay where are you you went to work on
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that Monday right yeah uh she wasn't there then my mind something's wrong I had Rick's number so I did text him and
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ask have you seen Lori where is she I'm worried about her his conversation back was no I haven't and I'm worried now too
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when Lori didn't show up at work a second day that's when Lindsay headed to Lori's home no one answered and found
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her dog peanut in his crate I'm an animal lover so the very first thing I did was let the dog out that's when she
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noticed something else strange Lori was missing three days but the crate was spotless and peanuts seemed happy and
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appeared to be well fed as though someone had taken care of him and there was more one thing I remember about
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peanut is he wouldn't walk on tile so she had these rug in our kitchen and he would hop on the rugs and the rugs were
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gone I noticed that immediately her outside trash can was missing she had one that she had like yard Tools in
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and the answer machine had actually been unplugged so those messages were not there
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by this time Lori's mother heard that she hadn't been showing up at work I have got to go to Auburn and see what's
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going on where she is because I called her and she didn't answer her phone she headed off on an agonizing Drive calling
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her husband and alerting the police finally arriving at her daughter's home and when the police got there what was
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their attitude well you know they're like she's got to be missing 48 hours and they didn't really think a big make
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a big deal out of it they wanted to just think she ran away Laurie's parents could only wait for
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Lori to walk through the door or call and finally the phone rang late that afternoon but Arlene says it wasn't Lori
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it was her friend Rick Ennis she said that Lori had gone to make a big drug deal
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what yes and I was like there ain't no way my daughter would not do anything like that did you tell the
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police what he told you I didn't Rick told them and the police came to the trailer banging on the door and they
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raided the mobile home and they found nothing then just before Dawn that's when Lori
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slosinski's missing car suddenly exploded into a fireball on a desolate dead end
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outside a construction site the feelings were just unbelievable of fear and knowing something really bad has
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happened who would set her car on fire exactly and why the investigation shifted from a missing
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person to a possible homicide investigators dug into Rick's tip about Laurie dealing drugs but found no
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evidence none that he was telling the truth now investigators started digging deeper
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into Rick Ennis they wanted to know if he was hiding something from them did you have any sense as to why Rick Ennis
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didn't have a family no I had no idea why at all eventually you learned I did it's beyond shocking
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[Music] foreign this is my daughter Lori's trailer and do you go into that trailer from
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time to time just to connect with her I do just go in there and think about the happier times
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this room besides the memories is also a solemn place because you believe some Horrors went on in this room correct yes
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in the early days of the investigation back in 2006 Arlene says she became suspicious of Rick Annis when he told
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her that the night Lorry disappeared she had gone out to make a drug deal and why
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would he be doing that do you think I think to take the heat off of him I was thinking this guy is lying through his
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teeth police suspected the same but without direct evidence linking Rick Ennis to Lori's disappearance police
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could not make an arrest and the case quickly went cold did Rick Ennis stick around town he was
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there for a couple of days but within a week after his third interview he left town he never came back to
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Auburn again in 2016 10 years after Lori disappeared Mark Whitaker a special agent with the
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Alabama State Bureau of Investigation started a Cold Case unit he chose The Disappearance of Lori
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slosinski as his first case any estimate how many murder cases you've been involved with in your career probably
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about a hundred where does this one rank in terms of Fascination for you as an investigator this number one
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it was a very difficult case because there was no body we don't know exactly what happened
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and uh we don't know where she is but it didn't take long for Rick Ennis to become Whitaker's Prime Suspect
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we couldn't eliminate him his inconsistencies in his statements made no sense whatsoever we knew Lori was not
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a drug dealer I mean she vanished off the face of the earth when he's the last one to ever see her
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and when police spoke to Rick hours after Lori was reported missing they noticed these scratches on his hands and
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arms right here that is a thumbprint where somebody's digging in there she's fighting for her life and doing
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everything she can to get away from it in Rick's car there were handcuffs this knife and cleaning supplies
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and they soon learned something startling about Rick's past turn into one of the most bizarre cases
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I've ever been associated with former Alabama state trooper John Clark I was patrolling this County when I got a call
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it was March 5th 1993. the call from dispatch said a car had gone off this very Highway and struck a fence and as
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my headlights take in the curve I see it looks like a young boy with a backpack it's a 12 year old Rick Ennis and he
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admits he had been driving the car Clark searches his backpack the first thing I
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pull out is a kitchen knife about that long there's some 12 gauge and some 22 caliber loose ammunition in the bottom
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of the bag he's sitting back there in that seat behind you and I said where are your parents he
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looks right back at me and he says I killed them both I killed them both I killed them both
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no tears no emotion nothing Clark then radioed for local police to get over to ennis's home state troopers
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working around involving a 12 year old at the time a show called MPD the television series was following the
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officer the boys telling them that they killed his daddy Mama cameras entered the home of Rick's mother and stepfather
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on the floor of a bedroom are two dead bodies there's pieces of a baseball bat in the
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bedroom that has quite a bit of blood on it Rick's own mother Dolly flowers was shot in the face and then beaten to
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death with this baseball bat Rick told investigators he covered her face with a velvet blanket and placed a
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rose on her chest my splatters on the door Rick's stepfather Eddie Joe flowers was
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known as Elvis for his sideburns and colorful personality Rick shot him in the face using this
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shotgun Rick told cops he was mad that his parents planned to move he said he didn't want to leave his school
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for two days investigators believe he lived with their bodies while continuing to go to school
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investigators say they found what they described as enes his to-do list that included killing his three stepsisters
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so he wanted to kill all three of you oh yeah I feel very blessed to be here and
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not to be one of his victims Donna fur Angela flowers and Tina Sexton are all Eddie's daughters
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Tina was 20 when her dad was murdered it's changed everything my dad was my world
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I'm never getting to see him again the sisters say dolly was a sweet outgoing woman who met their father in
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church Rick was the polar opposite every time I would go and visit my dad and Dolly they
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he would go into his bedroom and close himself off he'd come out and eat and then he'd go back in his room what is
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the longest conversation you ever had with him five seconds maybe he didn't talk to
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nobody what did your father think of Rick he just said he's just a little different than
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than y'all were when y'all were coming up he just thought that they were in a new relationship and you know that it
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would he would outgrow it and things would get better over time but just 10 months after they married the happy
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couple were dead he was 12 years old and had murdered two people brutally murdered him at age 12 Rick Ennis
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couldn't be tried as an adult he spent nine years in juvenile detention in Alabama and was released after he turned
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21. it was now up to agent Whitaker and his team to determine whether Rick Ennis had
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murdered again should juveniles convicted of murder get a second chance chat now with the 48
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Hours team on Facebook and Twitter [Music] Agent Mark Whittaker knew what Rick Ennis did to his parents
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and his instincts told him Ennis had done something horrible to Lori too but now he had to prove it the Burnside
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is found on the 14th the car was right here facing out back toward the bowling alley
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there's nothing else around here at the time there's not Apartments it's just a page Road The Blaze destroyed whatever
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evidence there was in the car but an investigator reported finding a tiny item on the ground nearby and he found a
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hand-rolled cigarette butt about right here and he collected that it was not tested kind of got lost in the shuffle
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the case agent retired Whitaker's team now submitted it for testing and there was this gas can that had been found
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nearby it was right in this area right here it looked like one that had been missing from the bowling alley where
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Rick had worked and it's right here a thousand yards from the bowling alley 30 yards from a car Whitaker's partner J.W
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Barnes showed us something that for police tied everything together these railroad tracks these are the same
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tracks that go right by the bowling alley they run right across the street from where Laurie's car was found
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burning I've always thought that's what and it's used for transportation was walking down
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the railroad tracks because it's a straight shot you're not going to be seen unless you want to be seen and
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those railroad tracks run by Lori's house and in that house were signs of a violent struggle says Whitaker this area
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as you see right here that have been cut out that's where the scuff marks were they were black just like the bottom of
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her shoes and it was even some up as ah here so it's obviously there was a struggling
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who was somebody kicking their legs probably up in the air remember Lori's dog peanut seemed happy
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and taken care of my theory is that Rick Ennis stayed in the house after he had murdered
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Laurie I believe so it's the only way to explain it we don't have a cause of death
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but I've always thought that he strangled her the scratches that he had all over his arm were just indicative of
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Defense wounds when you're fighting somebody even Whitaker says the phone in the corner of the bedroom was missing
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its cord it was a long cord and it ran all the way through the room and what do you think that cord was used for I think
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it was used to bound her to tie her up yes sir could it have been used to strangle her sure that phone core was
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missing that's not the only thing that was missing there were those three rugs in
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the kitchen they were kind of strategically put out so the peanut Lori's dog could hop do the Lenovo and
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be back on carpet the rugs turned up he says a few years later in his head a former roommate who reached out to law
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enforcement and told them hey this is God Left Behind three rugs Peter I want to show you something else
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Lori had a table set up about right here and on this table days before Lori went
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missing a love letter was left here for her from Rick people who knew Lori said Ennis wanted to be more than just a
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friend police say Ennis told a buddy that Lori rejected him and he was devastated by
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that so do you believe this rejection may have been a motive for murder I think that's what sent him over the edge
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I absolutely do despite the mounting evidence agent Whitaker still needed something more
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that tied NS directly to the crime scene as far as I'm concerned he is investigating this case like glorious
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his own daughter I mean he has a picture of Lori in his house I've had it in my closet
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it made me think about her every day when I was getting ready for work when I would put my Ties on I would just
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remember what I was supposed to be doing every single day and then it's like one o'clock in the
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morning and JW calls me J.W Barnes found exactly what they needed in the Case Files collecting dust for 10 years he
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goes I just found a report that was in an envelope that hadn't been opened Whitaker could hardly believe it when
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Laurie disappeared in 2006 police collected evidence from her trailer but by the time the results came in no one
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followed up the report contained critical evidence Rick's DNA was identified in semen found on Lori's bed
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sheet and in Blood on the interior of the front door and it turned out his blood was also found on one of the rugs
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investigators say were in Lori's kitchen so you got his blood on a rug here you've got his saving back there you got
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his blood on ignore most people's blood is not inside somebody else's home unless something really bad had happened
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12 years after Lori disappeared there was now enough evidence to charge Rick Ennis with her murder
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but by this time Rick NS was happily engaged to school librarian Elena Atkinson and living 500 miles away in Virginia
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he was designing and building portable living structures called Yurts for Sharon Morley's company
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Morley liked Ennis from the moment they met he was just so open and friendly and
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had a great sense of humor but on August 6 2018 Rick's birthday Morley saw a task
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force of Lawman arrived walking out of the woods they were hiding behind trees they had the place surrounded
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it was a hell out of my career to make the phone call to Arlene and Casey slosinski that morning to tell them that
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we just took Rick Innis in custody for Lori's murder was this kind of a Bittersweet moment
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for you most definitely yes I guess psychologically I never accepted the fact that she really was gone
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and I cried big time yeah later that month Ennis appeared before an Alabama judge with Lori's parents
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facing him I guess it kind of seemed surprised that we were there what did you want him to know
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that we finally got you you're not going to get away with this news of enesis arrest quickly spread I
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read it and I'm like thinking to myself it's Rick Terry Booth says he was friends with
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Rick and suddenly remembered a conversation he had with him years earlier at a bar when he asked him why
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he left Alabama what did he say he just mainly said I had to get rid of it and I'm thinking nah this guy's just
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messing around with me but that changed when he learned of Rick's arrest and it was real he wasn't joking I couldn't
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sleep the whole night he called Whitaker's task force and it was just unbelievable what innocent told him
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but the most explosive news of all came later and Incredibly while Whitaker was with Ennis at another court hearing an
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investigator from Auburn PD comes up to him and tells me you're not going to believe this the hand rolled cigarette
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butt next to the car has his DNA on it I wanted to do a somersault courtroom but I couldn't
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everyone now was prepared to go to trial but the courts quickly ground to a halt
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because of the pandemic and Arlene slicinski suffered more losses first her son to cancer
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and then her husband Casey took covet got a column I think you better come when I got there it was gone
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was your daughter you lose your son and then you lose your husband how do you go on with all this
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I guess my faith my friends family and I just did not want to die not knowing what happened to my daughter or
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seeing Justice being done but Rick Ennis was determined to prove police had it all wrong
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and he wasn't the only one fighting to prove his innocence they have the wrong person there's there's no way his
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fiancee Elena Atkinson do you believe Rick had anything to do with Lori's disappearance with her death no
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I do not not only do I believe Rick is innocent I believe that he would have given his life
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for Lori if he had been there that's the kind of person he is and she believes that despite the fact that she knows
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Rick murdered his mother and stepfather when he was 12. people would wonder why is it hard for you to believe that he
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could kill again she says Rick told her something about what happened with his mother something
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that convinced her he had nothing to do with what happened to Lori [Music] Rick Ennis is one of the most
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compassionate generous kind people that I've ever known Elena Atkinson has been in love with
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Rick Ennis for four years I love his intelligence I always joke with him and tell him I
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fell in love with his brain first but just two months into their romance Elena an amateur genealogist was
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researching Rick's ancestry when she stumbled upon news that he had killed his mother and stepfather
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my first thought was what in the world happened in his home life that pushed him to that point
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Rick would tell her something she didn't see in any article Rick it's Peter Van Sant with 48 Hours
00:28:11
reach by phone Rick told us what he insists happened I was molested by my mother Rick says
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his mother sexually abused him and he snapped I exploded and the result was that I I
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took my mother's my mother isn't doing that surprise stuff other stuff but remember back then he told authorities
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he killed his parents because he didn't want to move I was deeply ashamed about my mother-in
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molesting to me and I had a really hard time talking about it still we could find no evidence to corroborate Rick's
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abuse allegation you know I Rick I have to tell you obviously I I have no idea what happened uh a skeptic would say
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you've conveniently accused the mother that you murdered of molesting you and she can't defend herself you understand
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how that's difficult for some to believe I mean it's something that I work through with a psychiatrist
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what I did when I was 12 is the greatest look around in my life Rick insists he's no longer that angry
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12 year old now 41 Rick Ennis would stand trial for yet another murder I never murdered Gloria she was a very
00:29:34
close dear friend of mine I never would have hurt her prosecutor Jessica ventieri is sure that
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is a lie but at trial she wouldn't be allowed to tell the jury anything about Rick's past
00:29:48
this is by far the most complicated case of my career ventieri's first hurdle was convincing
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the jury that Laurie was in fact dead she called Lori's mother Arlene to the stand
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she made contact have you ever heard from your daughter anyway since that Thursday before she
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disappeared Lindsey Braun was next seemingly setting up a motive telling the jury that Laurie
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rejected Rick she told me about a letter that he had written her was it a love letter
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that she wasn't interested in him that way and Terry Booth would take the stand to recount that troubling remark he said
00:30:47
Rick made Legends of white piece of Trail or trash tourney built her case with testimony
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about the scuff marks on the wall and the blood in Lori's trailer Rick Seaman on her bed and this cigarette butt with
00:31:06
Rick's DNA found near Laurie's scorched car but they've got problems with this evidence but defense attorney William
00:31:15
Whatley claimed that hand-rolled cigarette was planted arguing police could have taken it from Rick's home
00:31:23
that cigarette butt didn't come from burnsy the defense suggested Laurie was responsible for her own disappearance
00:31:30
they portrayed her as a drug dealer you knew Larry had grown marijuana yes Lindsay insisted however that it was
00:31:39
only for Lori's personal use for herself does she have to purchase any but to drive home their points wattley
00:31:49
called Rick Annis himself to the stand it's been a long time with him Rick insisted he had no reason to hurt Lori
00:31:57
did you write a letter to Laurie um yes sir I did I I asked her if she wanted to date
00:32:05
it would have been a month or two before she went missing I'm not certain but even though she turned him down Rick
00:32:15
says they were still intimate now did you ever have sex before um yes sir so what about what he said to Terry
00:32:25
Booth Ennis says it never happened did you ever brought drinking with Terry Boone
00:32:31
yes sir did you tell Terry Booth that you strangled someone yes sir I think I will show you some photographs
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here and those rugs given to police by his former roommate Rick claims they were not from Lori's trailer
00:32:47
where did you get Target do you get any of those more yes sir Rick says Lori was fine when he left her
00:32:57
that Saturday he says he headed off to sell some weed and he claims she was off to do the same the last time you saw
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Lori did you have any kind of an argument with her no sir did you break in the Lori's trailer that Saturday
00:33:13
I deny it did you kidnap Lori yes sir did you kill Lori I I did not did you burn Laurie's car no sir
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so what about the knife handcuffs and cleaning items in his car rick says it had nothing to do with Lori he was
00:33:31
moving things from his apartment and those scratches on him back in 2006 police say he had no explanation but at
00:33:41
the trial he had an answer I got them for playing with my dog ventieri barely made it to the podium to
00:33:49
start her cross-examination Theory questioned Rick about that blood on Lori's door blood and orange trailer
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as your dear DNA in it not exactly care I have no idea and the question ventieri really wanted
00:34:08
an answer for she never got boring bottles I didn't tumble over spot anywhere no idea
00:34:21
both sides had their final chance to persuade the jury defense attorney Whatley told the jurors there wasn't any
00:34:29
evidence that a crime had even been committed there's no evidence that Lauren's kidnapped
00:34:36
there's no evidence that she was forcefully taken against her will ventieri attacked Rick's defense
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[Music] ventieri insisted that the volume of evidence against Rick Ennis was overwhelming even if police still
00:35:07
couldn't find Lori's remains [Music] and she reminded the jury that Laurie would never just take off
00:35:17
he would never [Music] find never after seven days of testimony it was now up to the jury to decide
00:35:33
I'm terrified I only get one shot at this but you just never know what a jury's gonna do
00:35:42
you believe Rick Ennis is a changed man see more of the investigation into Lori's disappearance at 48hours.com
00:35:56
[Music] this case I think you hand it to the better please ma'am when the jury came
00:36:08
back into the courtroom did you look at their faces yes I did it was very hard to read their faces
00:36:16
I still wasn't sure what the verdict was going to be okay nearly 16 years after Lori slosinski
00:36:24
vanished the jury reached a verdict during their second day of deliberations [Music]
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guilty of Defense of capital murder guilty of the murder of Lori slosinski [Music]
00:36:42
give me a sense of what that meant to you sheer relief Joy that he was finally convicted and would
00:36:52
never get to do this to anyone else again I'm thrilled that we were able to bring
00:36:58
Justice for Lori after such a long time immediately following the jury's verdict
00:37:03
D.A ventieri went to Arlene with a proposal Rick was now facing a possible death sentence but that would trigger
00:37:11
years of appeals and legal wrangling to spare Arlene all that ventieri suggested
00:37:18
offering Rick life without parole Arlene agreed it says according to be imprisoned in the penitentiary of the
00:37:25
stand valve for a term of life without the possibility of parole Elena Atkinson was stunned
00:37:34
it's complete shock disbelief I was devastated she was so certain Rick would be exonerated she'd made plans to
00:37:46
celebrate a celebration Rick told us that he would be part of I thought that we were going to go and have a nice
00:37:54
dinner and I was going to get to Salt my life over [Music] foreign headed home to savor the Bittersweet
00:38:12
Victory after this verdict did you have a conversation with Lori I did I just said Lori justice has finally
00:38:22
come we've waited for this for a long time and I hope you're all celebrating in heaven with the entire family
00:38:30
and I wish you were all here to see this day tragic murder the Ripple effects across
00:38:43
your family is just incredible it has left a very large void in my life I was getting ready to retire I mean I
00:38:52
could have been enjoying my grandchildren possibly just spending time with my daughter who I loved
00:39:00
[Music] this is Lori at her trailer and peanut oh she absolutely adored and vice versa
00:39:12
we brought being at home with us and he stayed with us until he was I guess about 16 years old and he died every
00:39:21
time we mentioned Laurie's name he would I don't care where he was in the house it was like he just heard her name and
00:39:27
he'd run in there like where is she it just totally amazed me that he he never forgot her
00:39:34
never did you ever think that six years ago we would be here today with her husband and both her children
00:39:46
gone this tragic story has brought new friendships into Arlene's life Mark Whitaker is my hero him and his
00:39:55
wife are like family to me now this was on her graduation day Casey her and me it's a great photo and this was her a
00:40:03
month before she disappeared at her cousin Jennifer's wedding with her cousin Thomas wow
00:40:09
not a care in the world no she's one of the bravest women that I've I've ever met
00:40:14
you showing all these to me just makes everything more real for me beautiful girl thanks for sharing those
00:40:22
with me you're welcome I could tell she seems to be happier now I can't thank you enough for it it was
00:40:30
just wonderful I love you too you're one tough lady yeah [Music] [Music] a wife and mother was said to have gone
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for a bike ride and never returned the initial thought is kidnap she had used a spy pen to make secret recordings it's
00:40:58
like James Bond would they help solve the case Nothing Is What It Seems 48 hours Saturday on CBS
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[Music]