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[Music] the evil clowns you've seen in the movies well it came to life in this case when your mom was growing up was
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she fascinated with clowns she was she even painted pictures of them my mother Mar Warren was a
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beautiful person she was loving caring [Music] kind on May 26th 1990 a woman answered
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her door in front of her 21-year-old son and saw a clown at the door handing her
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balloons and flowers that was the worst day of my life we were eating breakfast we saw the
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colors of the reflections through the glass looked like a clown costume my mother opened the door and I heard how
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pretty and I heard bang I saw her fall and I ran toward her as the clown was walking away and I
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saw that she'd been shot in the face at that moment I felt my heart my soul just rip out of my body
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what did you see on the Clown's face well it was a white face nose orangish red hair and it was just a clown
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suit what does the clown do calmly walks right back to the car like nothing happened a person disguised as a clown
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walked up to marleene Warren's AOC Club home in Wellington and shot her in the mouth I was working as a prosecutor here
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in this office when it happened and it was big news meanwhile at our home investigators gather evidence searching
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for Clues killing with a great costume to conceal one's identity and anybody passing by would probably say oh isn't
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that nice somebody's getting flowers it wouldn't be suspicious and it would certainly make for the Perfect
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Crime Marlene Warren was someone without any known enemies someone who cared deeply about her family
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and they lived in a home in a pretty secluded part of Palm Beach County Michael Warren was married to
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marleene Warren Michael was a local businessman in the car business the Warren's
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marriage seemed to be an ideal marriage but for the people on the inside that knew better Marlene was expressing
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issues with Michael Warren the people closest to Michael Warren that worked with them knew there
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was something wrong because they were observing Michael Warren's interactions with a woman by the name of Sheila
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ke and the rumors was what about Sheila and Mike well it was more than a rumor that Sheila Kean and Michael Warren were
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having an affair it was not hidden from any of the employees in the hours after the murder of Marlene Warren the
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suspects became clear it was Sheila Kean and was Michael Warren but Michael Warren had an
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alibi Michael and Sheila thought that they could get away with anything it took over 30
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years to make sense of it all [Music] [Music] this house was the scene of a bizarre
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murder that shooter a clown carrying flowers and balloons it's easy to see why this case
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has so much interest who isn't afraid of a killer clown the 1990 murder of marleene Warren shot by someone dressed
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as a clown haunted not just the public but the Palm Beach County state attorney's office despite identifying
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two suspects the case for decades went unsolved Dave aronberg is the current state attorney this was an assassin
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ation this was not a random act of violence this was not a robbery the unknowingness of this
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heinous crime the fear it was hell Joe arens was 21 living at home with his stepfather Mike and his mother
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marleene when she was murdered she was a good mother everything she did she took pride
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in the morning of May 26th 1990 had started as a cheerful one Joe recuperating from a broken leg was
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having breakfast at home with his mom and three friends when they saw a clown approaching carrying balloons and
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flowers and we kind of figured I had cast on somebody was sending to heal and for
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gesture this is like oh what a delightful gift to cheer you up with your broken leg
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right my mother opened the door and then we heard bang and she fell at that point
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we knew something was wrong my mother was struggling to breathe and then I jumped to the phone you know called di11
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right away as the clown slowly and silently walked to a car Joe and some of his friends tried to get a closer look
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at anything that might help describe the disguised attacker the only thing that didn't have any color on it was the
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shoes that were solid black and the white gloves and did you notice anything about the
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Clown's eyes I did that that's the most thing I I saw was the big brown eyes and
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the clown gets in the car what kind of car was it it was a white learon and does the car peel off no just goes into
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gear and drives off like nothing happened while some of Joe's friends remained at his house waiting for EMS
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Joe got into Marlene's car and tried to chase down the clown but he couldn't catch up he is seen here back home
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afterwards where TV news crews were on the scene meanwhile with the clowns balloons and flowers Left Behind
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marleene was rushed to the hospital barely alive where she was put on life support I kept telling her I love her
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and I don't want her to go and Please Don't Leave Me 2 days later with no hope of a recovery life support was removed
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and Marlene died I knew my life was going to change and I knew it was going to become
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hell cuz she wasn't here to help me a top clue the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office had was Joe's description of the
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clown about 61 tall skinny with orange hair a red nose and a big orange smile and male and those balloons Left Behind
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they now seemed cruy mocking you're the greatest once said the had a picture of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
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authorities had also spoken with Joe's stepfather Mike Warren who they learned had an alibi he was in a car with
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friends heading to a racetrack when the shooting took place growing up with Mike
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Warren what was that like was he a good dad I thought so that's the only father I knew I mean I was really young when my
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real father and mother separated marleene and Mike were married when Joe was just three they had built a
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comfortable life in Wellington Florida an affluence suburb marleene owned several businesses including apartment
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complexes and the couple ran bargain Motors specializing in used cars and rentals while business was good the
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marriage says Joe was troubled he says his mother became convinced Mike was having an affair making her fearful she
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said if anything does happen to me your father did it she said that to you I told her no way he would never do
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anything like that she said don't put it past him Marlene shared that same fear with her mother Shirley twing she says
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if anything happens to me Mike did it we interviewed Shirley in 2017 when 48 Hours started investigating
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Marlene's murder that's an ominous thing to say did you sense fear in her voice sure yes I did
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so when Shirley learned her daughter had been murdered her mind went to Mike right away I figured Mike had something
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to do with it that's for damn sure but Mike had that alibi so authorities were looking for someone else and when they
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visited bargain Motors Mike's place of business one name kept popping up that woman with whom Mike was supposedly
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having an affair everybody at the bargain Motors were reporting that you should look first at Sheila
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Kean Altha McRoberts an assistant State Attorney in Palm Beach county has worked
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on the case from the beginning and within the next day or so tips were being called in that you really should
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investigate Sheila Kean and Michael Warren they were definitely seeing one another Dela Ward worked at bargain
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motors with Mike Warren he had a lot of compassion a lot of empathy and people just were drawn to him especially women
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one of those women Dela believed was Sheila Kean I found her very nice very bubbly you knew the way she looked at
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Michael you just you loved them you could see it Sheila who also had a reputation for toughness was a repo
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woman repossessing cars at bargain Motors to do repos you have to you have to have some kind of guns she told me I
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keep a gun for my protection cuz people are crazy what they do Sheila told investigators she was out working at the
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time of Marlene's murder she claimed that she was looking for repossession vehicles but she was unable to provide
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any address that she went to so that they could follow up and confirm it as for the affair both Sheila and Mike told
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investigators they were just friends but that's not what authorities learned when
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they talked to Sheila's Neighbors The Neighbors at that apartment complex believed that Michael Warren and Sheila
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Kean were husband and wife is there any doubt in your mind that there was a romantic relationship there's no doubt
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and they didn't hide it an affair though isn't necessarily a motive for murder did anyone profit financially from
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Marlene's death yes so Michael Warren profited Lar largely the properties and assets that they own together were in
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her name so by her predeceasing him he was able to obtain 100% of the assets investigators were also trying to
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locate local stores that had recently sold clown outfits Deborah offord had been working at a costume shop when two
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nights before Marlene's murder a customer knocked at the door at closing time she wanted to see the clown
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costumes I said can you come back tomorrow and she said no I need something right now Deborah told
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investigators the customer paid cash buying a clown suit an orange wig makeup and a red clown nose she was I would say
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about 510 um long thick straight like chocolate color hair big brown eyes detectives later presented Deborah with
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a photo lineup that included a picture of Sheila Kean Deborah identified Kean and one other woman as possibly being
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the person who bought the clown costume the Sheriff's Office also belied they located where the shooter bought those
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flowers and balloons this Supermarket the buyer described as a white female with dark brown hair the description of
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the customer given by the worker at the supermarket Market brown hair and at the
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costume store brown hair brown eyes was consistent with Sheila Kean and there was Sheila's reported affair with Mike
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Warren it was intriguing circumstantial evidence but would it be enough to make an arrest
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[Music] [Music] before they turn the machine off on my [Music] mother God I wish you could be here with
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me I told her that I loved her very much and that we were going to get Justice [Music]
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as Joe arens mourned the loss of his mother Marlene investigators continued looking
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for additional evidence tying Sheila Keen to Marlene Warren's murder you talk about this case to anyone and the first
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place people go is yeah it's the mistress so investigators focused on Sheila keen and soon a big break when
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detectives located this abandoned white Chrysler learon matching the description
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Witnesses gave of the getaway car what was found inside that Chrysler learon there was synthetic fibers similar type
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fibers to a clown wig they were orange the same color as the wig Joe Aaron says the as salent was wearing also inside
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the car they found a human hair it was brown like Sheila ke's Sheriff's detectives executed a search
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warrant at the home of Sheila Keen inside Sheila keen's closet detectives say they recovered orange fibers that a
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forensic examination later concluded were similar to the ones found in the Chrysler learon and another breakthrough
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was made when Sheila's hair from her apartment was compared to the one recovered from the getaway car that was
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scientifically microscopically examined and found to be consistent consistent with Sheila's hair but DNA technology
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was still in its infancy in 1990 and scientists were unable to make a definitive connection there were other
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challenges for investigators the gun used to kill Marlene and the actual costume the Killer Clown wore were never
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found and remember Joe thought the attacker was a 6 tall man Sheila didn't fit either of those descriptions
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we're talking about an event that took seconds glances of this clown was a second or two also mcrobert says any
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eyewitness would have a hard time describing someone in a baggy clown costume makeup and a
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wig it's basically a clown is a clown and there was Sheila's alleged affair with Mike waren those fiber and hair
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results and those sales clerks at the costume and grocery stores whose description of the customer purchasing
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the clown outfit balloons and flowers was consistent with Sheila this sounds like the evidence is really building up
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it's like you've got enough there to make an arrest what happens well there were certainly argument about that and
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opinions that differed at the time and then there's a an indecision about do I do it now or should we keep trying and
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get a little bit more as invest vators looked for more evidence they discovered that Mike
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Warren's business bargain Motors was connected to the suspected getaway car they learned an employee stole the
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car from a competitor several weeks before the murder and that's how they got the chrysal to bearing Sheriff's
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detectives spent about 5 hours Thursday night searching the offices of bargon Motors at and as they investigated Mike
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Warren's business they discovered widespread fr fraud charging him with racketeering insurance fraud and
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odometer tampering he ultimately was convicted on 43 counts of Fraud and sent to prison it was for fraud and so you
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know you just can't extrapolate one to the next I mean there's no evidence that he's a murderer we do have our
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suspicions though he was not charged with any crime in connection with Marlene's murder and Warren felt he was
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a victim in this case sentiments he shared in a radio interview before he went to prison they wanted to put me out
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of business Warren speculated that marleene might actually have been the victim of an angry tenant or car buyer I
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really can't think of a reason why uh other than the fact of the type of businesses that we're in as far as them
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landlords and crossing a few people by repossessing their car but law enforcement did not think
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Marlene Warren's murder was the work of a disgruntled tenant or customer and as the years passed the case grew cold and
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as for Sheila Keen she seemed to disappear nobody ever brought her name up again you know for many years I was
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suffering in in despair after Mike Warren went to prison Joe says he and his stepfather became estranged and as
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he continued to grieve the loss of his mother he was consumed by her case going unsolved and give me a sense of what
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problems you fell into after your mother's murder ah wow where do we start alcoholism drugs I mean you name it it
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was especially painful says Joe on each passing anniversary of the shooting I would blow up that day and go get drunk
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you know and just go to her grave site it was sad would you go out to her grave to talk to her I did a lot I try to find
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answers you know but I was so confused I was getting nothing I was just lost I miss you I wish you could help me
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through these Hard Times Joe eventually emerged from the fog of drugs and despair with that
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behind him he became increasingly certain of who murdered his mother I concluded that Sheila was the one that
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did it she probably never thought in a million years she'd be held accountable for her crimes she thought she got away
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with it what do you make of the evidence against Sheila Keen chat now with the 48
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Hours team on Facebook and X [Music] these are paintings that Marlin had painted when she was about 14 years old
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I kind of grin CU I can almost see her doing this Shirley twing and her daughter marleene shared a fascination
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with clowns and over here in Shirley's home she even kept a room full of clown art and
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figurines this one says to me things will get better the sad sometimes unsettling
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images brought Comfort to Shirley despite the fact that a clown had so brutally ended her daughter's life I
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don't hate clowns I just hate one although the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office hadn't given up on
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solving Marlene's murder 27 long years had passed without an arrest then by 2017 a Cold Case unit
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made a breakthrough State Attorney Dave aronberg finally had new important evidence the hairs that were
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found in the learon were able to be Trace to Sheila Keen through DNA technology with that new DNA match
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detectives believed they could now definitively connect Sheila to the alleged getaway car and to marleene
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Warren's murder and when Sheriff's found suspect Sheila ke they were blown away to learn
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whom she had married after Michael Warren got out of prison he reconnected with Sheila Keen here's
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someone whose wife had been murdered and he just married the chief suspect what did that tell you when you combine the
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fact that the two of them were in a fair at the time of the murder and then later
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they got married it did seem like mission accomplished that marriage was in 2002
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the Warren now middle-aged settled into a new life in Tennessee running this joint called Purple Cow she took Mike's
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last name but in an interesting twist assistant State Attorney Altha McRoberts says she changed her first name Sheila
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Keen Warren introduced herself to their friends in that life that her name was Debbie she had dyed her hair blonde
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changed her name and was living a full life we would have dinners they were wonderful Cooks the Warren befriended
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Brook Levens this is Mike Warren's house a neighbor at a weekend property the couple purchased in the Virginia
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mountains when we spoke to Brooke in 2018 she said she knew Mike's wife as Debbie and was told it was a childhood
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nickname her dad nicknamed her that when she was small I never called her Sheila
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I always called her Debbie former Purple Cow employees Ashley sexon and Cynthia Swafford say they knew Debbie as a tough
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boss B I mean she was awful aggressive mean and even heard an alarming rumor about her
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past the rumor around Purple Cow when we worked there was Debbie killed Mike's ex-wife I thought they was blowing off
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steam I was like okay whatever but the rumors said it more than once even to where we knew she
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dressed up like a clown according to an employee Sheila had appeared in clown makeup at the
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restaurant one year during Halloween by the fall of 2017 the warrant had sold the business and retired full-time to
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the house in Virginia meanwhile State Attorney aronburg felt the case against Sheila
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had only gotten stronger when you combine the fact that they got married and seemingly lived happily ever after
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with the new DNA breakthrough we're able to get enough evidence to make an arrest on September 26th
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2017 27 years after Marlene's murder authorities arrested Sheila kin Warren driving on a Road near their
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home she was charged with first-degree murder Sheila did not murder Marlene Warren Greg Rosenfeld Sheila keing
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Warren's defense attorney says Sheila was not not the shooter everything was so methodical this person walking up to
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the house committing the shooting and then slowly walking away we're dealing with someone who had
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experience and committing a hit or a murder that's not Sheila that is not Sheila shortly after Sheila's arrest
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Dave aronberg addressed reporters today we filed notice intent to seek the death
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p in this case can you say whether Michael Warren is a suspect I can't say that Altha McRoberts says there was something
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Sheila asked as she was being taken into custody that caught prosecutor attention
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one of the first thing she said is well are you going to arrest him too pointing
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to her husband which suggests what to you that she knew exactly what she was being arrested for and they had done it
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together Joe had come to the same conclusion that his step father and Sheila were both involved in his
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mother's murder would you like to see Mike Warren charged in the murder of your mother yes I would with Sheila in
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custody we wanted to speak with Mike Warren we're going to go to his front door give it a knock see if he'll answer
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a couple of questions [Music] [Music] after the arrest of Sheila Warren in 2017 48 Hours wanted to talk to Mike
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Warren about what he knew about his wife's murder here he comes hey Mike I'm Peter vanent with CBS News
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he wouldn't open the door but we spoke through it for several minutes competing with a barking dog did you have anything
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to do with planning the murder of your wife Marlene you did not he was adamant that neither he nor
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Sheila Keen Warren had anything to do with Marlene's murder did you suggest to Sheila that she dress in a clown out F
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you're saying who I don't think do you believe based on the evidence over the years that Mike Warren
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knew what was going to happen that day I don't believe there's any direct evidence of that there just wasn't
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enough evidence to prosecute Michael Warren but if evidence emerges we'll pursue
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it as they prepare prepared for trial despite never recovering the clown disguise or the gun prosecutors were
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confident they could prove that Sheila Keen Warren committed the murder so that she could marry Mike Warren Sheila Keen
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Warren had the means the motive and the opportunity to do this we will never know who killed
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marleene Warren because the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the state attorney's office did such a poor job
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investigating this case I can tell you without question that it was not Sheila Keen Sheila Keen
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Warren's defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld says she's innocent a victim of the state attorney's Reckless desire to
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close a notorious Cold Case and they said you know what this is our suspect we're going to stick with it even though
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the pieces of the puzzle didn't fit the puzzle Rosenfeld says there were other potential suspects authorities ignored
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including an inmate who supposedly bragged in prison about murdering Marlene but prosecutors say he was
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investigated and cleared it's not surprising that they would try to point the finger at law enforcement for not
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looking at every potential suspect but if you look at the evidence it pointed to one person all along Sheila Keen
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Warren the state was confident Sheila Keen Warren was was responsible for Marlene's murder but Rosenfeld plans to
00:30:02
poke holes in its case at trial how do you overcome DNA evidence the state attorney's office should be embarrassed
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about the DNA evidence in this case Rosenfeld agrees the hair prosecutors say was found in the learon getaway car
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could be from Sheila Ken Warren but he says it could also be from about 4% of the US Caucasian population they
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couldn't exclude marleene Warren from that hair sample so that was their groundbreaking DNA evidence and if you
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can see that the hair is from Sheila Keen Warren says Rosenfeld there's an innocent explanation as to how it got
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there the labarin was on the lot at bargain Motors where she worked Sheila may have been in the car used in this
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murder that's it the defense attorney says well of course her hair might be in there it doesn't suggest that she was
00:31:00
driving at the time of the murder what do you say to that it's just one more link once you put that one thing with
00:31:07
the totality of all the circumstances then it starts to become overwhelming Rosenfeld says the orange
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fibers found in the car which prosecutors say could be from the clown costume should also be excluded so the
00:31:25
fibers found in the car were synthetic fibers that same type of fiber can be used in thousands of different products
00:31:35
so the state likes to present it as clown wig fibers but that's factually incorrect even more troubling than the
00:31:43
evidence gathered says Rosenfeld is how it was handled over the decades what are
00:31:48
we looking at here these are evidence bags at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office evidence unit torn open
00:31:58
just gaping holes in these evidence bags if there's gaping holes what can that do
00:32:03
to the evidence inside that's precisely how how you have cross contamination now look at if I can
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zoom in here this bag contains a clown wig investigators purchased similar to the one they believed was worn by the as
00:32:21
salent they used it to compare to the fibers found in the learon and in Sheila's home this is an open evidence
00:32:29
bag with the wig sticking out this is horrifying and so your bottom line is is that this evidence is unreliable now
00:32:38
with without question can it not be argued that some of the evidence in this case was indeed bungled you know it's
00:32:46
you're asking a lot of law enforcement to be perfect from 1990 to today some of the evidence was kept in an Evidence
00:32:55
storage area that wasn't ideal any mistake any small opening will be exploited by defense
00:33:06
lawyers prosecutors were still certain they had the right person for Marlene's murder but in February 2020 after a
00:33:14
re-evaluation of Sheila Keen Warren's case they announced they would no longer seek the death penalty were you told by
00:33:22
the prosecutor's office that there was always a chance in a jury trial that she might even be
00:33:30
acquitted yes see more evidence from the case at 48 [Music] hours.com when you think of your mom
00:33:50
today what do you think about what images come to mind well she was robbed and so was I it
00:33:57
is said the wheels of Justice turned slowly and when it came to the murder of marleene Warren that grind often seemed
00:34:05
to come to a halt after the 27-year wait for an arrest Sheila kin Warren's trial
00:34:12
kept getting delayed by 2022 she had spent 5 years in jail her trial postponed six times and then we had
00:34:23
covid so it just was one thing after another decade of accumulation of files and photographs and mountains of
00:34:31
evidence and documents defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld was also trying to work his way through all that evidence and he
00:34:40
says adding to the delays was a lack of cooperation from the state evidence kept
00:34:47
I'd say disappearing Rosenfeld says one crucial piece of evidence for the defense that
00:34:54
disappeared for years was what investigators called called the clown sighting file these were all the tips
00:35:01
about people who alleged to have seen clowns in the area that opens up for you new avenues as to possible suspects
00:35:10
right absolutely absolutely I think the Sheriff's Office and the state attorney's office just decided they
00:35:17
didn't want to look for this evidence but then suddenly in October of 2022 as another trial date neared the
00:35:26
file was found it was located not with the Sheila Keen clown murder boxes it was actually a
00:35:34
file out of place they find this clown setting file and there's 35 tips we begin to investigate them now we're 32
00:35:42
years after the murder you know we couldn't track down these Witnesses I've seen it and it's silly things clearly
00:35:50
clown sightings that had nothing to do with Marlin Warren and it wasn't being intentionally hidden from the defense
00:35:57
absolutely not we were meticulous about making sure they had everything though as the trial neared the Decades of
00:36:04
delays were causing problems for the prosecution as well every day that went by it was a tougher case Witnesses die
00:36:13
memories fade evidence spoils one of our key Witnesses passed away he was the one
00:36:19
who compiled the evidence and without him we lost a chain of custody for some crucial evidence relating to the fibers
00:36:26
if I can zoom in here this is an open evidence bag evidence the defense already claimed had been poorly stored
00:36:34
and mishandled contaminated inadmissible unreliable it just goes to show you how
00:36:40
poor of an investigation that was done they were going to be able to argue that because of the opening of the bags that
00:36:47
the evidence was spoiled and because of the break in the chain of custody because of the death of our Witnesses it
00:36:52
shouldn't even be admitted so you had some real potential for Reasonable Doubt there is beyond Reasonable Doubt on
00:37:01
April 25th 2023 2 weeks before Sheila Keen Warren's trial for the murder of marleene Warren
00:37:08
was to begin there was yet another surprise in a case that had been filled with the
00:37:15
unexpected a plea deal was reached Miss Keen Warren the defendant herein will agree to a draw her previously in her
00:37:22
plea of not guilty and her plea of guilty Sheila Keen Warren whose case at one time included the death penalty then
00:37:30
life in prison would now plead guilty to second degree murder and be sentenced to
00:37:36
12 years in prison under sentencing guidelines for time served she is expected to be released in
00:37:45
2025 perhaps sooner we had to make a judgment based on what we had because the fear is what if you take this to
00:37:52
trial the worst thing that could happen would be that Sheila Keen Warren would be found not guilty not because she was
00:37:59
innocent but because after 33 years we could not prove Beyond a reasonable doubt that she was the one who did it
00:38:07
but Sheila Keen Warren did have to publicly pay a price for this plea deal admitting in open court that she in fact
00:38:17
did murder marleene Warren if this case were to proceed to jury trial the state would present evidence that honor about
00:38:23
May the 26th of 1990 the defendant was responsible for the death of marlin K did you hear all that yes sir and do
00:38:30
you agree with that factual basis yes despite admitting her crime Sheila Keen Warren through her attorney still
00:38:38
maintains she is innocent Sheila did not commit this murder it was very difficult
00:38:46
for her to admit to committing a crime that she did not commit but as a matter of law she has admitted to committing
00:38:55
The Murder by saying yes correct for the purpose of so she is a convicted murderer and so far
00:39:04
as the log goes sure but when you're told you could be home or you know you can play Russian Roulette and risk
00:39:12
spending the rest of your life in prison it's kind of a no-brainer the defense cannot have it both ways so she will be
00:39:19
a murderer for every day for the rest of her life even when she gets out of prison one day she'll still be a
00:39:24
convicted murderer when she does get out of prison she will reunite with her husband
00:39:30
Michael Warren Sheila is going home to Tennessee she's going back to her life Michael Warren in a statement
00:39:40
provided 2 48 Hours regarding the polia said my wife did not commit this crime it was difficult to see her plea to a
00:39:49
crime she did not commit but it wasn't worth the gamble when she was offered a deal that'll have her home in 16 to 18
00:39:58
months with this deal there is a chance that Sheila might get out of prison within the next year or two are you all
00:40:06
right with that well I'm not all right with it but I have to be still Joe arens approved
00:40:16
the plea deal feeling it wasn't worth the gamble of going to trial that was very emotional because that was the end
00:40:24
of something so huge that grew for 33 years of my life finally it's over finally you know it
00:40:35
was the demons that once occupied Joe's mind are gone replaced with loving memories of how his mother Marlene lived
00:40:45
rather than how that life was so violently taken what would you say to your mother
00:40:51
if you could speak to her today wow what can I say to my mother thank you for showing me how to love and and be
00:40:58
peaceful and thank you for being in my life [Music] hurts need more time with 48 Hours go
00:41:23
deep behind every True Crime episode with firsthand accounts from 48 hours inv were you at all prepared for what
00:41:30
happened in this case shock is the word that comes to mind get inside the twists
00:41:34
and turns and get in on the case listen to postmortem from 48 hours now available wherever you get your podcasts
00:41:41
[Music] when you think of the Phoenix Desert you definitely aren't thinking of a water
00:42:07
[Music] front the canal system goes right through the center of Phoenix the more people that were moving
00:42:18
to the area the more that the trails along there were being used for walking running biking
00:42:28
there are not many crimes that are like this one you had women riding bicycles along
00:42:40
the canal on a typical Phoenix evening ambushed stabbed multiple times police are looking for whoever
00:42:54
killed 22-year-old Angela bro Angela br Al dismembered decapitated police are looking at this
00:43:03
scene and thinking what on Earth happened and who did this 10 months later a 17-year-old
00:43:15
Junior at Arcadia High School Melanie bernes this is the high school that Steven Spielberg
00:43:21
attended Melanie Bernice's mother goes out to dinner and Melanie decides to go go on a bike
00:43:29
ride and the following morning a woman is riding her bike right here there was just a big puddle it looked different as
00:43:37
I rode through it and all of a sudden I'm like that is blood so she called the police the
00:43:45
police saw a blood trail and they see Melanie Bernice's body at the bottom of the
00:43:55
canal my time my life froze at that very moment the day we found out I made a promise to
00:44:03
myself I just never stopped talking about her these murders became widely known as
00:44:12
the Phoenix Canal murders my name is Clark schwarzkoff and I was assigned to the coase unit
00:44:21
investigating the canal murders I think there was over 600 persons of interest I said okay give me the
00:44:31
list in this mound of information of all these people and all these possible suspects I believed our killer was
00:44:40
listed eventually detective schwarzkoff found his prime suspect on that list and
00:44:46
discovered that the alleged Canal killer had a second identity a man who dressed
00:44:52
up like a comic book superhero and cruised The Valley in a decorated car car dripping with fake blood the public
00:45:00
knew this man as the zombie hunter what was his life as the zombie hunter like what did he do he would go
00:45:09
to like parades and festivals and and show off this car and kind of be a part of the excitement if you
00:45:21
will your assignment was to find this guy and you have found him yeah he is accused of being a killer but here he is
00:45:28
posing with police officers before they discovered what he'd [Music] done it was almost like a slap in the
00:45:36
face like I'm here but you don't know it it was like he was hiding in playing sight
00:45:44
[Music] [Music] it's one of those cases that you just don't forget you can't unsee what happened to those girls you
00:46:37
just can't long before the Man known as the zombie hunter became the prime suspect in the canal murders Clark
00:46:45
schwarzkoff was a detective with the Phoenix Police Department's Cold Case Squad his mission was simple but pointed
00:46:54
find the killer responsible for those vi ious murders of two young women from the
00:46:59
early 1990s to this day I'm still not exactly sure about what happened on those bike
00:47:07
paths the case began on November 8th 1992 Angela braso a tech worker who had recently moved to Phoenix was taking
00:47:17
advantage of beautiful weather to get in a little exercise says Brianna Whitney the True Crime reporter for the CBS
00:47:25
affiliate kPa ho o in Phoenix each night she would go out for her evening bike ride just at Golden
00:47:33
hour at Sunset the best time to be riding out here Angela was only hours away from turning 22 years old and like
00:47:43
a lot of locals she liked to bike on the paths that ran alongside the city's distinctive canals says Schwarz a 48
00:47:52
Hours consultant are there places that are sort of natural and bu sites if somebody
00:47:58
wants to attack someone yeah they are there's a lot of tunnels that go underneath the
00:48:03
interstate that November evening in 1992 Angela left her apartment around 700 p.m. her boyfriend Joe later told police
00:48:13
he said he stayed home to bake Angela a birthday cake and didn't expect her to be gone
00:48:20
long hours go by and Joe grows concerned Angela hasn't come home and that's not like her Joe told police he took his
00:48:30
bike out three times that night frantically searching for Angela on the canal paths he spoke to her friends even
00:48:38
her mother back in Pennsylvania finally he reported Angela missing to police the next morning
00:48:46
Searchers Came Upon a horrific scene Angela brzo torso was found in a field next to the trail that she had been
00:48:56
riding her bike on Angela had been stabbed to death some 10 days after Angela's headless body was discovered a man
00:49:07
fishing along this section of the canal spotted her head stuck on a grate and from what we have heard from Witnesses
00:49:17
the head was in amazingly good condition especially considering this was days after the murder I'm Morgan low and I'll
00:49:28
take you Morgan low an investigative reporter who also works at kph and is a consultant for 48 hours has been working
00:49:37
on the canal killer case for more than a decade we've heard that the head looked
00:49:44
like it had been preserved like it was a momento for the killer Angela purple mountain bike was also missing there
00:49:53
were no solid leads and the case went quiet until September of 1993 some 10 months after Angela's murder when the
00:50:02
mother of 17-year-old Melanie burnus returned from a dinner date to find her daughter had broken her curfew and was
00:50:10
not home she then noticed that Melanie's bicycle was missing Melanie decides to go on a bike ride by around 10:30 when
00:50:19
Melanie did not return her mother started calling her friends is Melanie there well my mom took the phone call said
00:50:29
that melan's Mom was frantic and like nervous Rachel Shep maker was one of Melanie's close friends in high school
00:50:38
so initially when you hear that her mother's looking for her you're not thinking something terrible has happened
00:50:42
to your friend definitely not I thought she was with a friend and just forgot to
00:50:48
communicate with her mom where she was early the next morning Charlotte pole a local resident happened to be
00:50:56
riding along the canal with her young daughter in a bicycle seat just as they came out of one of those tunnels that
00:51:03
ran under the interstate she spotted a puddle there was just a big puddle of of something ended up riding right through
00:51:12
it and having it Splash over me Charlotte says something about the puddle bothered her so a few minutes
00:51:18
later she doubled back that's when she made that horrible realization I could tell that it was a puddle of bread that
00:51:27
it was a puddle of blood and all of a sudden as I'm looking at it I noticed that there are some drag marks that went
00:51:34
along over here toward that tree towards that tree yes and then went around the tree and was drugged back you could see
00:51:43
the drag marks right here to the canal Charlotte went home and called police later that night the local news reported
00:51:51
that a woman's body had been found in the Canal close to where Angela braso head had been located they found the
00:51:59
body in a teal bodysuit I was told by um some other friends that Melanie did not own that it
00:52:09
can't be her Rachel went to sleep convinced the body in the canal was not Melanie but the next day I'm at school
00:52:20
my friends just come up to me crying and saying it was Melanie detective strongly suspected Melanie had
00:52:29
been targeted and stabbed in the back by the same person who had killed Angela police believe that somehow the
00:52:38
killer got her off of her bike whether he knocked her off of her bike or whether he asked her a question Clark
00:52:45
says the evidence indicates the killer approached the women from behind both the I WS were the exact same position
00:52:56
investigators say the killer dragged Melanie's body off the canal path removed her clothes and dressed her in
00:53:04
that teal bodysuit similar to this one obtained by police along with the stabbing and the
00:53:12
dismemberment there was another component to these murders wasn't there yeah both women were sexually
00:53:19
assaulted and that meant investigators had a crucial piece of evidence DNA when the DNA from Melanie scene was
00:53:29
finally tested later it matched to Angela scene so we knew for sure that we were dealing with the same perpetrator
00:53:36
investigators noted that the initial stab wounds to the backs of each woman were fatal and so precise that
00:53:44
detectives suspected the killer might be a surgeon the details about what happened were the kinds of things that
00:53:53
kept parents from letting their kids out when the sun went [Music] down the murders of Angela braso and
00:54:21
Melanie bernes in the early 1990s created fear in Phoenix that lasted for a generation you know there's some guy
00:54:30
out there and you don't know where he is they watched the news and read the newspaper every day hoping that police
00:54:39
would make an arrest and it just kept going on and nothing and nothing and nothing investigators had collected
00:54:50
matching male DNA from both the victims but more than two decades past and the canal murder cases went cold
00:55:01
then science finally caught up with the calendar it's in 2014 Phoenix police detectives are at a DNA conference and a
00:55:11
forensic genealogist from California is also at the conference calling Fitzpatrick founder of identif finders
00:55:20
International was there to meet with law enforcement and she goes up to these detectives and says hey I can take why
00:55:27
chromosomes and create these DNA profiles and try to match with genealogy to help solve criminal cases
00:55:35
Fitzpatrick's company had developed software that could mine public genealogy databases searching for
00:55:42
matches to Crime Scene DNA the detectives heard her out and then several weeks later they sent me the wi
00:55:50
d a profile from the crime scene for the Phoenix Canal murders Fitzpatrick company started crunching the data
00:55:58
hoping to provide Phoenix detectives with a name we entered the numbers from the
00:56:05
forensic profile into our software and that's where I came up with six matches to the name Miller while the genetic
00:56:12
genealogy search produced the name Miller it is also one of the most common last names detective schwarzkoff started
00:56:20
digging you check your files and what do you find I think there were a total of six Millers that were on what I called
00:56:26
my Master list and I went down through the list got to Brian Patrick Miller but who was Brian Patrick Miller
00:56:35
records show he was 42 years old with a Phoenix address that name was just one of more than 600 Persons of Interest Who
00:56:43
had lived in those case files for years police at the time seemingly never pursued Miller we discovered his file
00:56:54
downstairs police police learned Brian Miller had a record dating Back to Before the canal murders in May of 1989
00:57:02
when he was just 16 years old Miller crossed paths with Celeste Bentley I was 24 and I was going to work
00:57:12
I had just noticed a young boy on the bus Celeste says she and the boy got off at the same stop moments later she felt
00:57:22
something in her back he had ran by me I thought he had just hit me I just yelled
00:57:27
at him I was like why'd you do that you know and then I reached back and touched
00:57:32
my back and realized that it was blood I had been stabbed with a single knife wound to her upper back Celeste screamed
00:57:39
and managed to make it to the store where she worked a coworker called for help about 30 minutes later when Celeste
00:57:47
was in the back of an ambulance the police came and said they found him and they wanted to bring him to the
00:57:54
ambulance to show him to me Celeste identified her as salent Brian Miller was charged with aggravated assault they
00:58:03
said that if he had held the blade the other way he would have gone straight through my ribs and I could have died
00:58:09
Miller pleaded guilty and was sentenced to juvenile detention until he turned 18
00:58:16
it was a far cry from where Miller's life had [Music] begun he was living in Hawaii for a
00:58:25
while as a kid with his mom and his dad but his dad died early on in a motorcycle
00:58:32
accident years later Miller and his mother Ellen moved to Phoenix so for most of his life and early years it was
00:58:41
Brian Miller and his mom while Miller was in juvie his mother made a disturbing Discovery Brian Miller's mom
00:58:50
was looking through his stuff and she found a note that he wrote the pages detailed a Sinister plan
00:58:58
kidnap the girl tie her up in the truck and cut her clothes off this note spelled out how he wanted to find abduct
00:59:10
rape murder and dismember a young woman and Brian's mom was so disturbed by this
00:59:20
piece of paper that she took it to Phoenix police it was Miller's 18th birthday and he had just been released
00:59:28
as an adult she fed out told police at the time that she was really scared for her safety and that she was not going to
00:59:34
allow him to come home so after his release Miller ended up at this Phoenix halfway house when schwarzkoff read that
00:59:42
note in 2014 he was struck by something there was a lot of things in there that were
00:59:48
close or similar to what happened specifically to Angela including a a description of
00:59:57
decapitating a victim and preserving the head Phoenix police wanted to locate Miller luckily he was very easy to find
01:00:21
[Music] in December 2014 Phoenix police continued digging into potential suspect
01:00:32
Brian Miller who they discovered was actually a local celebrity everybody at the time in the Phoenix area knew Brian
01:00:41
Patrick Miller as this character called the zombie hunter the zombie hunter like
01:00:46
a comic book character yeah like a comic book character like a good guy fighting
01:00:50
the bad guys Miller's Alter Ego was a costume figure who particip ated in parades and festivals around town
01:00:59
thousands of zombies taking over the streets of Downtown Phoenix he wore this long trench coat with these goggles and
01:01:10
helmet and had this large Gatling gun and if you're going to hunt zombies you need a way to get
01:01:18
around he bought an old police car and tricked it out wrote The Zombie Hunter on it and it had a full size zombie
01:01:26
mannequin in the back and blood on the side friend Eric Braverman says Miller's zombie hunter Persona attracted a big
01:01:39
fan base including law enforcement officers who lined up to pose with him collected pictures of himself with the
01:01:47
cops like trophies they're all smiling big with him leaning on the car Eric says Miller's superhero
01:01:56
character was the opposite of what Brian was like when he wasn't in costume he seemed like a harmless marshmallow that
01:02:04
was immersed in this goofy lifestyle he's just that unassuming guy but could Miller be the canal
01:02:13
killer the only way to find out was to get his DNA investigators began to surveil Miller who worked at an Amazon
01:02:23
warehouse every day when he got there Miller parked the zombie Mobile in the same spot he would come out for his
01:02:30
15-minute break blast his music really loud lunchtime came out to the car same thing blast this God awful music Schwarz
01:02:38
came up with an elaborate plan to get his DNA I went up and introduced myself to Miller was in his car what did you
01:02:46
introduce yourself I introduced myself as a security consultant Schwarz told Miller that thieves had been stealing
01:02:52
goods from a warehouse across the way I said would you be interested in working for me as a security officer watching
01:03:00
the building while you're outside did his eyes light up yeah cuz it was a good P I said look I I'll pay you 20 bucks an
01:03:06
hour on January 2nd 2015 Schwarz coff met Miller at this Chili's restaurant to fill out a job application the Cold Case
01:03:16
unit was behind the scenes ready to bag anything that had Miller's DNA on it such as utensils or a glass they set a
01:03:26
table for me and Mr Miller away from everybody else in a part of the restaurant where nobody else is
01:03:33
at Miller arrived with a surprised guest his 15-year-old daughter Sarah Miller was a divorced single dad he was very
01:03:43
gentle and caring about his daughter he often brought his daughter where he would be going the trio sat down and
01:03:50
ordered hamburgers when the food arrived he swallows his hamburger in like five bites
01:03:56
won't take a drink of his water and I'm sitting there going you sure you want something else to drink cuz you just got
01:04:00
water no no I'm good I'm good I'm good Schwarz started to worry this operation would be a
01:04:07
bust what does he finally do that makes this mission accomplished we finally took a drink from the water glass that's
01:04:14
when I knew that okay now we least got his DNA despite knowing about Miller's juvenile record as their meal ended the
01:04:21
veteran detective's gut told him Miller was was not their man seeing him with his daughter I just don't see this guy
01:04:30
as being the monster in 1992 and '93 that would do this to these women Miller gave schwarzkoff a quick
01:04:38
tour of his Zombie Hunter mobile and the two parted ways with the detective saying he'd be in touch the Cold Case
01:04:46
unit sent Miller's water glass off to the crime lab 11 days later we got a call from the lab and we're sitting
01:04:54
there and like what is this all about and in this meeting these Phoenix detectives say as a joke huh they must
01:05:01
have solved the canal murders but detective schwarzkoff says it was no joke when the head of the lab arrived
01:05:09
she leans down to me she goes it's him and I go what she goes Brian Miller it's him well the blood rushed from my head I
01:05:22
kind of sat back and I went you've got to be kidding Brian DNA from that water glass matched the DNA recovered from
01:05:30
Angela braso and Melanie bernes more than 20 years before Miller was arrested within hours
01:05:39
during a police interview shortly after Miller was told why he'd been taken into
01:05:44
custody in connection with the canal murders we have DNA that links you to those two
01:05:52
ladies see how that's possible he just kind of and went through it in his Dopey kind of I don't know what you're kind of
01:05:58
talking about would help you get it off your chest if you did something like that I didn't kill him he didn't kill
01:06:04
anybody no investigators got a search warrant for Miller's house the home he shared with his teenage daughter and
01:06:13
just about everything he'd ever collected in his life I can remember like it was yesterday walking up to the
01:06:19
front door and everybody going you can't get in that way it's full of crap Brian Miller's house was like it
01:06:30
came from the show hoarders there was a little path where you could get to a bathroom and the kitchen and where the
01:06:35
TV was and that's it everything else is just stacked to the roof with garbage did you look around and go this is
01:06:43
madness not only Madness I go this is a nightmare Schwarz and his investigators would have to sift through all of it
01:06:51
looking for other possible evidence detective Schwarz ALS o focused on a new source someone Miller himself had
01:07:00
ominously singled out in his interview it's the one person on face of the earth I could probably honestly say I
01:07:08
hate Miller's ex-wife Amy who would end up revealing gruesome details from Miller's violent past he had told her
01:07:18
about the murder of a young girl who'd come to his door accidentally [Music] what do you think motivated Brian Miller
01:07:33
to dress up as the zombie hunter see more of the case on Facebook at 48 hours in January 2015 more than 21 years
01:07:54
after the canal murders Brian Miller was charged with first-degree murder in both
01:08:00
Angela braso and Melanie Bernice's deaths Melanie's friend Rachel Shep maker says she felt a wave of relief a
01:08:11
very joyous moment of oh my gosh this is what we've been waiting for for decades
01:08:16
upon decades detective schwarzkoff wanted to talk to the one person who probably knew
01:08:22
Miller best his ex-wife Amy they had been married for eight years there was a divorce Amy told schwarzkoff
01:08:29
that she was just 19 when she met Miller in 1996 they married less than a year later
01:08:36
and moved to Everett Washington Amy had a shocking Revelation for the detective she told schwarzkoff
01:08:44
Miller had revealed a gruesome secret to her that he had killed a young girl in Phoenix years earlier before he'd ever
01:08:52
met Amy Schwarz says Amy never reported it to police before for a number of reasons she didn't know if it was true
01:09:01
she was afraid of Miller and she said she wanted to be a good wife you support your man no matter what
01:09:09
detective schwarzkoff says Amy told him what Miller had said that a young girl had come to his
01:09:17
door that he' grabbed this young female pulled her in killed her immediately Amy said Miller told her he
01:09:25
dismembered the girl and disposed of her remains in trash left on the curb although Amy claimed Miller never
01:09:35
told her the child's name investigators used the information Amy provided to piece together who Miller may have been
01:09:44
talking about 13-year-old Brandy Meyers was a little girl collecting money for a
01:09:50
school book ofon in her North Phoenix neighborhood going door too I was a tomboy and she was a girly
01:09:57
girl bry's sister Kristen Dennis so she would try to learn how to climb trees or
01:10:04
jump fences because she wanted to play with me she was my best friend it was May 26th
01:10:11
1992 6 months prior to the murder of Angela braso Miller was living in the halfway
01:10:18
house following his time in juvenile detention for the aggravated assault of Celeste Bentley
01:10:25
this is one block from our school his home and then three blocks is our house so every single day we walked right by
01:10:34
here Kristen says Brandy left home alone that evening never to return she was last seen two doors down from Brian's
01:10:45
walking in the direction of his house despite an extensive search bry's body was never found schwarzkoff says
01:10:54
even though Amy couldn't provide a name the clues in her account add up to just one conclusion I believe that person is
01:11:04
in fact Brandy Myers her sister believes that as well Brandy went to the landfill like something of no
01:11:15
importance even with Amy's account investigators did not have enough evidence to charge Miller in bry's
01:11:23
disappearance so the fact that she was disposed of there's just nothing physical nothing
01:11:30
forensically to grab on to 48 Hours contacted Miller who said he had no involvement in bry's disappearance and
01:11:39
never confessed to Amy that he had killed a young girl but there is another case in Miller's
01:11:48
past in 2002 a woman named Melissa Ruiz Ramirez is walking down the street and Everett at night somebody pulls over it
01:11:59
was Brian Miller Melissa would later tell police she'd seen him before talking to a friend of hers Melissa said
01:12:06
she got in Miller's car and told him she needed to make a call and he drove her to his workplace so she could use the
01:12:13
phone she tells police she's on the phone and from out of the clear blue Brian Miller comes running out with a
01:12:22
12in serrated kitchen knife and stabs her in the back they fight over the weapon Melissa said she escaped and
01:12:33
contacted police they picked up Miller shortly after he didn't deny stabbing Melissa but claimed it was
01:12:41
self-defense he said he was at work when Melissa walked in off the street and asked to make a
01:12:48
call he said she goes to use a phone and then all of a sudden now the clear blue
01:12:52
she tries to rob him with a knife Miller was arrested and charged with first-degree assault with a deadly
01:12:59
weapon he was jailed from May 2002 until his December trial the jury just didn't buy Melissa's
01:13:09
story it was a he said she said and they acquitted him of the charge Amy Says a chilling change
01:13:16
followed Miller's return home she said it began with the letters she'd received from her jailed husband
01:13:24
while he awaited trial they first started out as professing his innocence and then it
01:13:30
would turn into sexual deviant like here's what I'm going to do when I get out to you Amy told schwarzkoff that
01:13:38
Miller followed up his words with action she said he came back with an unbelievable ugly dark sexual deviant
01:13:47
side that she'd never seen before there were times where there was sex between him where he held a knife to
01:13:54
her throat Amy told schwarzkoff that Miller claimed something happened to him as a child
01:14:01
something that would become the Cornerstone of his defense for murdering Angela braso and Melanie
01:14:08
bernes his unique defense first witness his mother had created a monster [Music]
01:14:33
at the start of Brian Miller's trial for the murders of Angela braso and Melanie
01:14:38
bernes in October 2022 his attorneys opened with a startling defense they admitted their
01:14:46
client was the canal killer they had to concede right off the bat that he is the
01:14:53
actual killer but that he was not guilty by reason of insanity his defense attorneys say Miller was tortured by his
01:15:01
mother Ellen as a child and that led to his violent sexual behavior she died in 2010 if you imagine the making of a
01:15:13
monster this is kind of the household that Story begins in Miller told investigators after his arrest that the
01:15:22
beatings began when he was just 5 years years old she was a detention officer discipline in their house
01:15:31
was mental as well as physical she used her security belt so it was like a law enforcement belt and usually I hit got
01:15:39
hit by the Buckle the defense opted for a bench trial which meant there would be
01:15:45
no jury his lawyers told judge Suzanne Cohen that Miller's mother also exposed her young son to violent sexual contact
01:15:56
he was exposed to her interests in pornography and extremely violent films Miller's lawyer said his mother's
01:16:06
abuse caused Miller to develop severe mental health problems he feels like there are different TVs playing in his
01:16:14
head psychologist Bethany bran testified that Miller developed a condition known
01:16:21
as dissociative Amnesia an inability to remember some traumatic events Morgan low summed up the defense argument there
01:16:31
were two Brians there's the one you see over there at the defense table who's a fairly normal person who has friends who
01:16:38
had a job who was a dad who was a a husband and then there's the killer there's bad Brian and Miller claimed his
01:16:47
attorneys had no memory none of the two murders he was charged with prosecutors undermine the defense claim that Miller
01:16:56
has no memory of the killings they point out that he does remember details related to other
01:17:04
stabbings remember Miller admitted stabbing Celeste Bentley when he was 16 years old and in 2002 he had also
01:17:13
testified about the stabbing of Melissa Ruiz Ramirez in Washington to show Miller's deviant side
01:17:22
prosecutors called the only person in the world World Miller said he despised his ex-wife Amy the judge did not allow
01:17:31
cameras to record her face under questioning by prosecutor Elizabeth reamer Amy testified that
01:17:39
later in their marriage Miller grew increasingly violent during sex did you ever say anything to him
01:17:50
about wanting it to stop because it was scary no why not I was avoiding any confrontation
01:18:01
with him at all at that point and wanted to be as compliant as possible so that I
01:18:11
would say will he love me enough not to kill me did he ask permission prior to using
01:18:22
needles on you no did he ask permission prior to tying you up no what percentage
01:18:31
of your sex life after he got out of jail in Washington included bondage the pins or other uh things that
01:18:46
were not the normal sex you'd been having early in your marriage probably at least 95%
01:18:55
the trial continued and after 6 months and 36 Witnesses the judge delivered her verdict as to count one first deegree
01:19:06
murder Angela braso as follows guilty as to count to first degree murder victim Melanie bernes as follows
01:19:18
guilty how did Brian Miller react to the guilty verdict he didn't react he didn't
01:19:27
give any real emotion but Angela's mother who addressed the court remotely was emotional the defendant broke my heart
01:19:37
took all hope and light from me and my family the hole in my heart is so big and
01:19:48
empty Melanie's older sister Jill also spoke remotely about how painfully was that Melanie's life ended violently at
01:19:57
the age of 17 for 30 years now we've had to live without Melanie because the defendant
01:20:05
murdered her words cannot even begin to describe the level of excruciating pain we experienced with the news of her
01:20:12
horrific death Miller who didn't take the stand during his trial was allowed to give a
01:20:19
statement before he was sentenced I not looking for sympathy today this time is for the family and the friends of the
01:20:28
victims I cannot imagine what pain they have endured for all these years I know I am different I thought it
01:20:37
had to do with what my mother did to me defense Council RJ Parker urged judge Cohen to show Mercy before she delivered
01:20:45
her judgment on Miller's sentence life in prison or death you do not have to kill Brian in order to see see Justice
01:20:55
Done judge Cohen agreed with the centerpiece of the defense case the defendant's abuse as a child was
01:21:04
proven but 8 months after the trial began Miller's abuse at the hands of his mother did not dissuade judge Cohen from
01:21:13
handing down the ultimate sentence there is no question that what the defendant did deserves the death
01:21:22
penalty Mr Miller anything wish to say to the court I gu thanks for listening to
01:21:30
everything that was said and giving us at least the opportunity to try and convince you
01:21:38
otherwise Justice was carried out in this case detective schwarzkoff hopes family
01:21:45
and friends of Angela and Melanie might finally find some peace people like Rachel Shep maker just
01:21:59
knowing that Justice was served it doesn't make anything easier how do you want your good friend
01:22:10
be remember so she's the All-American good kid I want her family to know that we haven't forgotten her
01:22:24
she changed us all for the better she was a [Music] [Music] gift a knock at the door by a clown an
01:22:49
evil clown the evil clowns you seen in the movies well it came to life who comes calling with ball flowers and a
01:22:55
gun I heard bang I saw her fall this was an assassination who isn't afraid of a killer clown 48 hours Saturday on CDs
01:23:03
and screening on Paramount [Music] plus you come here for the lifestyle and the beauty and the
01:23:27
mountains getting to go skiing and hiking and biking Anette shne was very beautiful
01:23:36
she had gone to a modeling school and she came here to Breen Ridge everybody was going to Colorado
01:23:44
you know go find yourself go to the Big Town you know in 1982 on January 6th Annette had gone from her work work in
01:23:54
Frisco at the Holiday Inn she needed to get home to get her outfit to work at the flip side bar that night she would
01:24:04
hitchhike from her house do her day job hitchhike back put on her nighttime cocktail waitress outfit hitchhiked
01:24:12
there and then hitchhiked back a lot of people hitchhiked at that time cuz they can't afford to drive or get a car to
01:24:20
drive back and forth there was a storm a bad storm it was very cold too I think it was 20
01:24:28
below about 4:45 in the afternoon was the last time anybody saw a net schne that same night another young
01:24:39
woman disappeared in Breen Ridge Bobby Joe oberholzer Bobby Joe had received a promotion at work and she was going to
01:24:49
go celebrate with some friends Bobby Joel was free-spirited she loved life she was happy wherever she was she left
01:24:59
and went to go hitchhike home and that was the last time she was seen the day after Bobby Joe disappeared
01:25:08
her body was found here on the side of a snow bank on hoer pass 10 miles outside
01:25:14
Breen Ridge she had tragically been shot 6 months later the body of an ET was also found about 10 miles in that
01:25:22
direction in a desolate area lying face down in a stream she had also been shot the mystery of what happened to these
01:25:31
two beautiful young women would haunt their families and investigators for years these two women they were both
01:25:39
killed the same night the thing that tied them both together was an orange booty sock you get a sock near Bobby Joe
01:25:48
over Holzer and the mate to it is found on the body of a nne I'm saying this is amazing as years went by you know we
01:26:00
Muse about whether or not we were going to die before we solved this case what no one else knew at the time
01:26:09
was that the Killer's truck got stuck on a snowy mountain pass that same night right after the murders that would be
01:26:15
right where that curb is over there and there was snow Banks like at least that deep and a local fire chief saved him
01:26:23
everything catches up even don't get away with anything forever [Music] [Music] every day that I made this drive and got
01:27:20
to see all the scenery and the sunrises and sunsets and especially from the top of hooer it's like I am so lucky to live
01:27:28
here but for 40 years these towering craggy Rockies outside Breen Ridge Colorado held a dark and silent secret
01:27:39
the unsolved murders of nette schne and Bobby Joe oberholzer they would Define the career
01:27:45
of now Park County detective Sergeant Wendy kipple but back in 1982 when both women were killed I was a senior in high
01:27:54
school doing High School teenage stuff we were just basically foot loose and fancy free and never giving the first
01:28:03
thought that something could happen to us it was an attitude from another time a feeling Wendy shared with Bobby Joe
01:28:11
Bobby Joe oberholzer was somebody that I think I would have been friends with how
01:28:16
much is she missed by her family a lot still Lori Merlo's memory of big sister Bobby Joe is Frozen in
01:28:27
those gentler times one of the best things that ever happened in my life was being her younger sister how do you
01:28:34
describe her a free spirit loving person very pretty you know fell head over heels for
01:28:46
her you fell hard yeah yeah I did Jeff Alber Holzer and Bobby Joe dated for a few years years before making it
01:28:55
official in 1977 and soon the newlyweds from the Midwest headed for the mountains Colorado was calling you know
01:29:05
they'd call the town of Alma half an hour south of Breen Ridge home just seemed to be the place to be
01:29:14
you know as hippies you were a hippie back then oh sure yeah and was Bobby Joe hippie too oh yeah yeah
01:29:21
yep Jeff opened an appliance repair business Bobby Joe worked for a real estate company in Breen Ridge she'd
01:29:29
often hitch a ride to work back then many people did people would look for you they saw you standing by the side of
01:29:36
the road they'd pick you up still Jeff knew trouble could be just one right away so he had handmade Bobby Joe a
01:29:44
secret weapon it was a large brass clip very heavy with a large brass ring attached to it and it was made for self
01:29:55
defense January 6th 1982 bitter cold with snow in the forecast Bobby Joe hitched to work where
01:30:04
that same afternoon she'd be pleasantly surprised a job promotion she called Jeff with the good news and told him she
01:30:13
planned to celebrate with friends after work and would be home soon okay everything's good but when Bobby Joe
01:30:21
wasn't home by midnight he got worried and drove to the home of the friends Bobby Joe had been celebrating with woke
01:30:28
him up asked you know where Bobby was if they knew and she no and it wasn't like
01:30:33
her to not come home oh not at all Jeff went to the Breen Ridge Police Department but was told it was too soon
01:30:42
to file a missing person's report so he headed back to Alma alone the phone rang I think about
01:30:50
quarter to8 it was a Rancher he had found her driver's license and some of the contents of her wallet blowing in his
01:31:01
driveway oh oh then I knew something was horribly wrong Jeff and some friends all headed
01:31:13
towards the ranch where Bobby Joe's license had been found that's when I spotted her backpack out in the snow and
01:31:21
I got out of the vehicle and went through the snow that's when I found her glove in the
01:31:31
snow and uh it was covered in blood [Music] and a bloody tissue also lay in the snow
01:31:44
but still no Bobby Joe Jeff went back to their house and Friends headed up hoer past the root Bobby Joe usually took
01:31:52
home they went up with Cross Country Skis to the pass and uh they found her body now investigators join Bobby Joe's
01:32:08
friends spreading out across the Stark landscape Bobby Joe's brass key ring with the hook was found in the parking
01:32:16
lot that her husband Jeff oberholzer had put together for her to use as a weapon
01:32:23
if she needed to former Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Jim Harkey was at
01:32:30
the crime scene the other item that was found up there was an orange booty like a ankle sock it didn't belong it didn't
01:32:40
fit anything connected with Bobby Joe oberholzer and off the side of the road in the Grim Shadows of the mountains lay
01:32:48
Bobby Joe the body was frozen she was fully clothed her hands were close together one hand had been
01:32:59
zip tied and Harkey believes Bobby Joe had been shot at close range in the chest once a free spirit the lifeless
01:33:10
29-year-old was placed in a bag Jeff pleaded to look they unzipped the bag and it was it was my Bobby
01:33:31
chill did you have any idea who could have done that to your wife none but Jeff's tears weren't what cops
01:33:40
were looking for when did police call you in and say we have some questions for you maybe the next day or so I told
01:33:50
him he's a number one suspect evidence so far indicates the woman may have been trying to escape into the trees when she
01:33:57
was gunned down but the investigation was about to become a lot more complicated when police learned of The
01:34:05
Disappearance of Anette schne who vanished the very same day as Bobby Joe they probably just passed each other and
01:34:13
didn't even know they would be connected the first inkling Cindy French had that
01:34:34
her big sister Annette was missing came when her mother answered the family's old rotary telephone I heard her on the
01:34:42
phone I heard her start to cry I said what's wrong and she said Anette is missing all the police could tell the
01:34:49
family was that Annette shne had vanished the news seemed inconceivable only 21 years old Annette
01:34:57
had left the family's home in Sous City Iowa a year earlier and seemed to be thriving in Colorado she had two jobs
01:35:06
housekeeper by day and cocktail waitress by night and she was friends with her roommates and the people that she worked
01:35:13
at the holiday in at were her friends that she would talk about quite frequently to Mom and it was a friend
01:35:20
from work who reported a net missing it was January 8th 1982 the day after Bobby Joe over
01:35:28
holzer's body was found as soon as older sister Karen re heard the news she rounded up relatives and headed to
01:35:38
Colorado what were you thinking could have happened to her in that moment not knowing knowing she H shik we figured
01:35:44
somebody picked her up yeah we were all hoping she was still alive you know you do keep that hope but in the back of
01:35:50
your mind you're probably thinking not but you don't want to think that as investigators tracked anette's
01:35:58
last movements they discovered she had actually disappeared the same day as Bobby
01:36:05
Joe but the twist was that Annette vanished hours before Bobby Joe net was last seen at about 4:30 in the afternoon
01:36:14
in in Breen Ridge Bobby Joe over Holzer was last seen in Breen Ridge at about 7:30 in the evening
01:36:24
from the outset former CBI agent Jim Hardy suspected the two cases might be connected it was a a pretty allout
01:36:33
effort to find any information from anyone investigators learned that after Anette left her job at the Holiday Inn
01:36:42
on January 6th she had visited a doctor's office and then hitchhiked to a drugstore in Breen Ridge detective
01:36:50
Sergeant Wendy kipple showed us where that drugstore once was located so she went in to get some medication she went
01:36:57
in to get some medication here she was talking to a woman that we've never been able to
01:37:02
identify and that was the last time she was seen Cindy says not knowing the details
01:37:10
of Annette's disappearance haunted their mother I know Mom would just say I just
01:37:15
want to know why how you know I just that's all I want to know nobody can give it to me nobody knows why or how
01:37:23
and in a strange turn of events Jeff oberholzer already a suspect in his own wife's murder told police when and where
01:37:33
he thought Annette's body might be located well how would you know that I've always had different premonitions
01:37:41
all my life uh I had told them that I felt that she'd be found 4 miles from my house on the 4th of July it's pretty
01:37:51
specific yeah and it wasn't far off that sure made me look pretty bad in fact when Annette's body was
01:38:01
discovered nearly 6 months after she vanished Jeff's premonition turned out to be scarily accurate she was found on
01:38:09
July 3rd 1982 a day before Jeff prediction and her body was roughly seven not four
01:38:17
miles from Jeff's house it was a young boy who came across the crime scene was a fishing and founder reported to his
01:38:26
dad the dad called the sheriff's department Charlie McCormack a private investigator hired by the shne family
01:38:33
says Anette was lying face down and fully clothed in Sacramento Creek about 23 miles from the drugstore where she
01:38:42
was last seen but she'd been shot once in the back exit wound front on a downward angle of about 30° so what does
01:38:51
that tell you could be uh she was on her knees could be she was running down a hill away from her the
01:38:59
person shot her authorities suspected Annette might have been sexually assaulted evidence kind of indicates
01:39:09
that her clothing was found in disarray her blue jeans Zipper was broken we believe that the shoes were on the wrong
01:39:18
feet when she was found former CBI agent Harkey ATT attended Anette autopsy and his eye was drawn to something that
01:39:28
would forever change the course of the investigation on her left foot I noticed an orange booty and in my mind I'm
01:39:37
remembering the orange booty that was found at the top of hoer pass very close to where Bobby Joe over holzer's body
01:39:46
was found and I'm saying holy sh this is amazing this ties the cases together up until that point Hardy says
01:39:57
investigators never knew what to make of that orange sock or booty from the Bobby
01:40:02
Joe Crime Scene It was just one of those mysterious things that you pick up at a
01:40:07
crime scene kle believes Annette lost her orange sock in the Killer's vehicle and there it remained until hours later
01:40:16
when he picked up Bobby Joe and attacked her she jumps out and when she jumped out of the truck the orange sock gets
01:40:24
kicked out of the truck and that sock was not the only piece of evidence found on Annette's body in the pocket of her
01:40:31
jacket they discovered a business card like this one with a familiar name Jeff oberholzer Jeff told police he recalled
01:40:40
giving Annette a ride in November 1981 when she was out hitchhiking Jeff says that at the time he was promoting
01:40:48
his appliance repair business with those cards I gave them to everyone so now police know that you had met
01:40:56
Annette yes did that add to their suspicion oh yes Jeff did you have anything to do with the murder of your
01:41:04
wife Bobby Joe not a thing nothing did you have anything to do with the murder of Anne not nothing
01:41:14
no despite now being connected to the two murdered women and having that very accurate premonition Jeff eventually was
01:41:23
cleared his blood type did not match the blood found on Bobby Joe's glove and the
01:41:28
nearby tissue and as advances were made with DNA technology Jeff's DNA was not a
01:41:35
match I told him I said Jeff in my book you're not a suspect but after nearly 40
01:41:41
years could DNA help identify the real killer in the murders of Bobby Joe and Annette early in 2020 kipple and her
01:41:52
team decided to try and find out and I said let's try this genealogy thing maybe it can work for us she sent the
01:42:01
DNA sample generated from the Bobby Joe investigation to United data connect the
01:42:06
Denver company runs crime scene DNA profiles through publicly available genealogical
01:42:12
databases on January 9th 2021 I get a phone call from the genealogist says I have two more names for you and one of
01:42:22
those turned out to be the [Music] [Music] one I knew from the start this was going
01:42:44
to come down to DNA in January 2021 Park County detective Sergeant Wendy kipple got a call about those new
01:42:54
DNA test results and it turned out there was not one but two possible matches for
01:43:01
blood found on Bobby Joe's glove and that tissue that were recovered back in 1982 I'll never forget the day I got
01:43:08
that phone call and I got those names and what were the two names you were given Alan Phillips and Bruce
01:43:14
Phillips 69-year-old Allen Lee Phillips and his older brother Bruce Phillips kipple reached out to Bruce
01:43:23
Bruce first according to kipple Bruce said he never lived in Colorado but that his brother whom he was estranged from
01:43:32
had and when kipple dug deeper she discovered that not only had Alan Phillips previously lived just outside
01:43:39
Breen Ridge and worked in a local mine Alan Phillips still lived nearby he had his own mechanic shop and he was still
01:43:48
here Phillips had been married three times and had a daughter and two St stons kipple wanted to learn more about
01:43:56
Philip's past when I looked at his criminal history it showed that he had been arrested in 1973 for assault and
01:44:04
burglary and that just kind of set off all kinds of red flags so she set out to find the arrest
01:44:12
file but she was met with dead end after dead end the courts had no record of the
01:44:18
case neither did the DA's office I knew I had to find that case File so I went over to the archives for the Sheriff's
01:44:28
office there was a fire and a lot of them were destroyed but kipple was undeterred she says she combed through
01:44:37
hundreds of boxes and filing cabinets finding nothing until I get down to the last filing cabinet are you kidding me
01:44:45
the last one the last filing cabinet and even down to the second to the last drawer halfway back I see the this tab
01:44:53
says Alan Phillips wow I was like this is it this is our golden egg right here in that police report from July
01:45:04
1973 nearly a decade before the murders of Annette and Bobby Joe kipple found a signed confession from Phillips then
01:45:14
just 22 years old explaining how he attacked a young woman the first sentence reads I saw a woman hit hiking
01:45:23
on the south edge of Breen Ridge and I stopped and gave her a ride over to fair play and then he goes on and describes
01:45:30
what he did to her what kipple read was chilling Phillip said that he stopped at
01:45:36
an empty cabin along the road pulled the girl from the Jeep and then picked up a rock and used
01:45:46
it to hit her several times when I saw that first sentence I was like this is him this is our
01:45:54
guy incredibly the young woman who didn't want her identity revealed was able to convince Phillips to let her
01:46:02
go and later reported the incident to police did he say in that confession why he did it he didn't know he told her I
01:46:12
don't I don't know why I do this I mean that gives makes your skin crawl yeah Phillips was charged with assault and
01:46:20
burglary and served 6 months behind bars s kipple also learned that Phillips's name had come up in connection with the
01:46:28
double murder back in 2005 when an anonymous caller gave a tip to Crim Stoppers investigators checked it out
01:46:36
but according to kipple the lead went cold when the information couldn't be verified but now kipple was confident
01:46:45
she was on the verge of napping a killer who had eluded them for decades there was only one thing left to
01:46:52
do we had to get ctitious DNA that's what we needed so you're looking for anything
01:46:58
he's throwing out anything in late January 2021 Kiper team began secretly surveilling Phillips it turned out
01:47:07
obtaining a sample of his DNA wasn't easy he wouldn't throw anything away he didn't even throw out his garbage where
01:47:15
did he put his garbage I don't know that wasn't the only challenge this guy's kind of a hermit he stays at home
01:47:24
he doesn't interact with people too much finally after five weeks there was a break Phillips left his home and went to
01:47:34
a Sonic Drive-In we're all like sitting there watching and watching and he gets his food eats and then he leaves I'm
01:47:44
like dang it he didn't throw his trash away so kipple and her team followed Phillips as he drove to a post office he
01:47:52
walked in carrying the Sonic bag but on the way out he was only holding mail the second Phillips pulled away
01:48:01
investigators recovered that all important bag from this trash can it's like okay this that bag was like gold it
01:48:11
was like gold yeah the bag was taken to a lab where Philip's DNA was pulled from
01:48:17
saliva on a napkin and what were the results it was alen Phillips blood that was on Bobby
01:48:24
Joe's glove and that Kleenex nearly 40 years after the murders of two women near Breen Ridge
01:48:31
investigators make an arrest in this cold case on February 24th we arrested Allen Lee
01:48:37
Phillips I got to put the handcuffs on him and he was shocked really the look of shock on his
01:48:45
face is just Priceless Allan Lee Phillips was initially charged with 2 counts each
01:48:53
a first-degree homicide kidnapping and assault he denied any involvement in the crimes for the families of Bobby Joe and
01:49:02
Annette it was a moment nearly four decades in the making one they thought might never come that was a
01:49:11
shock the way that they were able to get the DNA to find him and catch him was amazing truthfully I didn't think it
01:49:21
would happen in my lifetime time it was just mind blowing jawdropping I didn't know what to
01:49:28
think is it like relief all at once too yes a relief and you're happy but yet it
01:49:35
doesn't take the hurt away but the surprises didn't end there in another strange twist after
01:49:45
Philip's arrest a local man recalled a harrowing story of how he helped rescue Phillips from a snow
01:49:53
store the very night of the murders when I heard this story my mind was blown look through more of the evidence
01:50:03
in the case at 48 [Music] [Music] hours.com where are we describe where this is pass like you see now with the
01:50:25
wind and everything and the clouds well that's the way it is up here all the time on January 6th
01:50:32
1982 just hours after Bobby Joe and Annette were murdered an airline passenger looked down at guela pass from
01:50:39
a plane flying overhead and saw lights flashing he recalled it was SOS a call for help it came from the driver of a
01:50:49
truck stranded in a raging snowstorm here his rear end sunk in the snow so his headlights were pointing up Dave
01:50:56
Montoya was a fire chief at the time who also worked in the local mines and lo and behold here comes the plane he sees
01:51:04
it flashes SOS SOS well he didn't know if somebody saw him or not but he took the chance well somebody did see him
01:51:11
when the were shot yeah the passenger notified the pilot who radioed down the approximate coordinates to dispatchers
01:51:19
on the ground so I was down there I had my radio with me so I said let me go check it out what were you thinking as
01:51:26
you're driving I thinking who does I thought it was a tourist I thought that crazy tourist he got up here now he's
01:51:31
going to ask us all to save you but when Montoya arrived at the scene he saw it wasn't a tourist it was someone he knew
01:51:40
a man named Alan Phillips and he comes running out he says man am I glad to see you I say Alan what the hell do you
01:51:48
doing you knew who he was I knew who he was because I worked with him in the mines he say well I got drunk and I
01:51:54
decided to come home and I didn't want to go on the highway to get caught so I went over the path because the cops
01:51:59
ain't there did you happen to notice anything about him at the time yeah he had a big old cut right here on the eye
01:52:05
Montoya says when he asks him how he got the injury Phillip said he hit his face
01:52:10
on his truck I got lie I said boy you are really stupid Montoya says Philips refused medical treatment and he dropped
01:52:18
him off near his home he gave an oral statement to police about the incident that week local newspapers reported the
01:52:25
unusual rescue and included a photo of the then 30-year-old Alan Phillips if I would have known what I
01:52:33
known then I probably would have left him Montoya would only learn in 2021 after Philip's arrest that he was
01:52:42
potentially involved in the murders of Bobby Joe and Annette who who has luck like that
01:52:47
really you commit two murders you get stuck at the top of a past trying to flee the scene and everything else and
01:52:54
you get stuck where you know you're probably going to die and you ask for mercy and you get it God gave him the
01:53:01
mercy but he says you're not going to get away forever you got your mercy but you get a pay Phillips may have escaped
01:53:08
back then but now 40 years later Alan Phillips's fate would be in the hands of a
01:53:16
jury on August 31st 2022 Allan Lee Phillips double murder trial began in Fair Play Colorado Annette's sisters and
01:53:25
brother flew in from across the country to be there but we wanted to make sure that the family was represented you know
01:53:32
that when the jury looks over you want them to see the concerned not leftovers but the left
01:53:40
behinds at times seeing Phillips in court was painful for anette's sister Cindy I was disgusted you got to live 40
01:53:49
Years of your life you took my sister to see him sit there so emotional less no emotion whatsoever
01:53:58
just very stoic was very frustrating because of the DNA match did you think this is a slam dunk in a trial
01:54:08
to me it's a slam dunk but to attorneys they have ways to make it not seem like such a slam dunk and that's what
01:54:17
Philip's defense team set out to do they would question the validity of the DNA and other evidence and instead blame
01:54:25
Jeff oberholzer for murdering his wife and Anette schne even though he had been cleared by investigators years before
01:54:34
they pointed the finger at Jeff every step of the way it's so maddening because that's not where the evidence
01:54:41
led to when Jeff took the stand the defense was relentless they red him over the coals and like he hadn't been
01:54:50
through all this for the last 40 years they definitely wanted to put the crimes back on me the murders back on me it was
01:55:01
quite quite painful the defense claimed Jeff had motive to kill his wife they said he was angry at Bobby Joe because
01:55:09
the day before her murder she brought home cold pizza Jeff had told investigators about the pizza years
01:55:17
earlier I kind of found that a little bit ludicrous I couldn't fathom Jeff killing Bobby Joe over a cold piece of
01:55:28
pizza and the defense questioned Jeff about his bizarre behavior like when he told investigators about that
01:55:34
premonition he had about where and when he thought Annette's body would be found
01:55:40
details the defense argued only the killer would most likely know this could be seen as pretty damning to some right
01:55:49
and so it was I just tried to tell the truth and and answer the questions and what about the DNA evidence against
01:55:59
Phillips hoping to create Reasonable Doubt the defense claimed evidence had been tampered with and mishandled
01:56:06
throughout the years there was some contamination it wasn't known oh I have to be careful and wear gloves so I don't
01:56:14
get my DNA on that item but the bottom line is the blood that is on Bobby Joe's glove and
01:56:24
the tissue was Alan Phillips blood how do you explain that the prosecution said there was a simple explanation Allan Lee
01:56:33
Phillips was the one and the only one who murdered Bobby Joe and Annette I mean what are the odds that it could be
01:56:41
anybody else on the glove it was 1 in 17 quadrillion which is 2,275 th000 times the population of the
01:56:51
Earth wow Phillips's DNA was found on Bobby Joe's belonging says Wendy kipple only because Bobby Joe fought for her
01:57:00
life and caused him to bleed she was a fighter and and without her being a fighter we wouldn't have the DNA that we
01:57:10
needed to solve this case and what about those orange booty socks DNA testing conducted months
01:57:19
before trial revealed that anette's DNA was on the inside and Bobby Joe's DNA was on the outside of that orange booty
01:57:27
sock found on hoer pass not far from Bobby Joe's body so that ties both women to that one sock
01:57:38
but despite the strong DNA evidence against Phillips investigator Charlie McCormick was concerned with the way DNA
01:57:45
was challenged by the defense confuse a jury are they going to buy it are they going to understand
01:57:53
after 2 weeks of testimony the case finally went to the jury Jeff and Wendy were nervous were you worried the jury
01:58:02
is going to have Reasonable Doubt I felt that that was possible there is always doubt there's always doubt cuz you know
01:58:09
that there's probably one juror that might hang up everybody and and you never know what do you make of the case
01:58:20
against Alan Phillips join the conversation now on social media tell me what it was like for you
01:58:33
waiting for the verdict pins and needles on Thursday September 15th 2022 the families of Bobby Joe
01:58:44
oberholzer and Anette schne anxiously awaited the jury's decision was Alan Lee Phillips guilty or not guilty it just
01:58:53
takes one the one juror that didn't believe it the waiting was the hardest parts as detective Sergeant kipple
01:59:02
thankfully the jury kept it short 4 hours and 45 minutes the jury's verdict on eight
01:59:09
charges including two counts each of first-degree murder felony murder and kidnapping guilty as charged he's going
01:59:17
to get what he deserves now oh and I just couldn't believe it was a happen I was so happy tell me
01:59:23
about the emotions you were feeling as the verdict was read Alan Phillips guilty I think I let out a
01:59:34
sigh for Jeff overholtzer Justice had finally been served and Decades of Suspicion decisively lifted and there
01:59:44
was a great weight lifted from my shoulders we hugged and said you know we were happy for him and for us
02:00:05
and that it was over over for everyone over for [Music] everyone Allan Lee Phillips showed no
02:00:13
emotion but his daughter did poor daughter cried I felt bad for the family CU what they were going through had to
02:00:21
be bad CU they probably wanted to believe you know that he didn't do it 48 Hours reached
02:00:30
out to the Phillips family and legal team for interviews but they all declined our
02:00:37
requests a little over 7 weeks later Phillips was back in court for sentencing his attorney insisted that
02:00:44
his client had been wrongfully convicted he maintains his innocence and he maintains that the wrong man is being
02:00:52
sentenced but judge Steven groom wasn't persuaded and handed down two consecutive life sentences without the
02:01:00
possibility of parole to give him the maximum allowed by law he then addressed the families of Anette schne and Bobby
02:01:08
Joe over holder I wish you the best and hope the healing starts today but it seems that Justice for
02:01:17
nette and Bobby Joe may not be the end of this story some investigators believe that the case against Allan Le Phillips
02:01:24
is not yet closed there are a lot of lingering questions but the one main one is are there more victims what do you
02:01:33
think short answer yes and I think uh there are several that he certainly could qualify for
02:01:43
there's just no evidence to prove it not yet same while investigators carry on two families still
02:01:54
struggle you know once you give someone your love you never take it back and I don't want
02:02:07
to there's a special place in my heart and Bobby will always be [Music] there I was cheated out of 40 years
02:02:17
without my sister we'd still be the best of friends today if she was still here he took a really
02:02:30
good person away from this world and it saddens me that we won't ever get to know how she was when she was 30 or when
02:02:40
she was 40 or 50 and because Alan Lee Phillips maintains his innocence they still have
02:02:48
one more agonizing question why you know why did you take these two beautiful girls in honor of Annette and Bobby Joe
02:03:01
Annette's sisters and brother decided to visit where the young women were murdered oh there's a cross there it
02:03:10
is they were there to thank Bobby Joe for fighting back and causing Alan Lee Phillips to leave behind his
02:03:19
DNA without her we went here nope thank you Bobby Joel yes thank you Bobby Joel at the place where anette's body
02:03:32
was found they delivered a long overdue message to their sister well Anette they caught him he'll
02:03:41
be in prison for the rest of his life alen Phillips just wanted you to know love and miss you
02:03:53
[Music] need more time with 48 Hours go deep behind every True Crime episode with
02:04:14
firsthand accounts from 48 Hours investigations were you at all prepared for what happened in this case shock is
02:04:20
the word that comes to mind get inside the twists and turns and get in on the case listen to postmortem from 48 hours
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now available wherever you get your podcasts [Music]