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[Music] in the early eighties a series of savage attacks occurred in the twin city area
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of Minnesota USA the victims were all women police struggled in the initial part of the investigation there was no
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physical evidence left by the attacker and there were no witnesses [Music] but there was one person who wanted to
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help the police the man responsible he called 9-1-1 after committing the attacks the tapes were released to the
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public in the hopes that somebody would recognize the voice this is how he came to be known as the weeping voice killer
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but was he just taunting the police what did he really want to be stopped [Music]
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[Music] on the 31st of December 1980 University student Karen Potok was out celebrating
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New Year's Eve with assisters on University Avenue in an area known as the Twin Cities in Minnesota USA the
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city of st. Paul which is the state capital of Minnesota is on one side of University Avenue in the city of
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Minneapolis which is the largest city in Minnesota is on the other side of University Avenue it was a nice cold
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winter's night with temperatures below freezing after midnight ed struck Karen wandered out of the bar she was in with
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her sisters she walked around the streets in the freezing cold all alone still drinking from a glass of champagne
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she made her way up an alleyway which was deserted other than one car which drove past her a male driver was the
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only person in the car he noticed that Karen didn't have a jacket and she looked freezing cold the male driver
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stopped the car and told Karen to jump in he had the heater on and his car was nice and warm and he could give her a
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ride to wherever she needed to go the lure of a nice warm car was too much to resist in mourning the following what's
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this police responded to the call and found Karen Peetz after lying on the ground
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near the railway tracks behind the Marburg manufacturing company on syndicate Street North st. Paul an area
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that was completely deserted at night Karen was naked and had been viciously beaten with a tire iron her skull was
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cracked open that she was alive Karen was rushed to hospital and treated she survived the attack but it was so
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vicious it was deemed to be an attempted murder Karen was later questioned at length by police but she had no memory
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of the attack itself and no memory of who was responsible no physical evidence was located to identify the attacker and
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there were no witnesses at all with Karen unable to provide police with any information the case went cold very
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quickly and nobody was arrested 18-year old Kimberly Compton was from the small town of pepin wisconsin with a
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population of less than 1,000 people after graduating from high school Kimberly packed her bags and got on a
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bus headed for Minnesota's capital city st. Paul like so many other small TN high school
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graduates before and after her she couldn't wait to leave and start the next chapter of her life in the city on
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the 3rd of June 1981 Kimberly stepped off her Greyhound bus in downtown st. Paul she called her
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locker number 750 in the grating on bus depot where she placed both of her bags the first thing Kim Billy wanted to do
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was to eat she was starving and she was in lark directly across the road from the bus there bo was Mickey's diner they
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had a special on to barbecue beef and fries and that's what Kimberly ordered she sat down in a booth to eat and
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sending a few booths away from her was a man also enjoying her mule he noticed Kimberly sitting alone and he walked
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over and struck up a conversation with her Kimberly told him she'd only just arrived to the city and didn't know her
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way around yet the man was only too happy to offer to drive Kimberly around and show her the sights of simple
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Kimberly eagerly accepted she couldn't wait to explore the city and was happy that she had a local to help show her
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around Kimberly and her new friend finished their meals and then left Mickey's diner together a few hours
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later the following call was made to norm on one if finally I just catch somebody with
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myself are you there police responded and found Kimberly Compton laying face down near an unfinished freeway just
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south of San Paul there was the secluded area where you could catch a nice view of the Mississippi River the killer had
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driven Kimberly there and then used the promise of that nice view to little Kimberly out of the car
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she was then savagely attacked Kimberly was stabbed 61 times with an icepick and
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was dead when police arrived Kimberly couldn't wait to graduate high school and leave the small town of
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heaven behind her but only hours after leaving and arriving in some pool she had been brutally murdered
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Kimberly had no identification on her but police found her Greyhound bus turbo locker key
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they found a locker and her bags and that's how the initial identification was done the autopsy showed an
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undigested meal in her stomach which is how police were able to piece together two movements they knew that Mickey's
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diner was across the road from the bus depot and when they saw the special they had that night that Kimberly arrived in
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TN match what was in his stomach they were able to piece her movements together they immediately interviewed
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the staff of Mickey's diner and appealed for anybody who may have seen Kimberly to come forward but they couldn't find
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any witnesses that progress the investigation any further there were no suspects no physical evidence the
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investigation stalled but not before the killer made another call police released
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the 9-1-1 call to the media it was hoped that somebody would recognize the voice
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the media nicknamed him the weepy voice to killer the response was overwhelming everybody seemed to think the voice
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matched somebody that they knew over a hundred names were provided to the police but unfortunately it all amounted
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to nothing the release of the calls got them no closer to identifying a suspect and with no evidence and no witnesses
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the case started getting colder and colder about nine months after the murder on
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march 19th 1982 there was this news report from KSTP Eyewitness News police thought they may have had a breakthrough
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luckily tonight st. Paul police are disappointed they thought they were close to solving one of the city's
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murders but new information has sent the police back to square one in the murder
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case of Kimberly Compton that information came to light when police took a rare step and open their files to
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the media Lindsay strand has more on the story retired seat fall detective Earl Mills
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returned to the force for one day this week to open the files of his seven-month investigation to the media
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he said he was convinced information received four days after he retired last February answered the question of who
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killed Kimberly Compton Mills believed it was Alan Lopez indicted for killing his parents and sister at their st. Paul
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home last August found mentally incompetent to stand trial Lopez was sent to the state security hospital in
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st. Peter where he committed suicide before police could talk to him but while barricaded inside his family's
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house last summer he had confessed to killing Compton police however had ruled him out as a suspect because they linked
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the Compton murder to another case they didn't believe Lopez could have committed the link was in taped
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telephone calls to police Kimberly Compton's body was discovered last June along an unfinished portion of
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35e only three and a half hours after she arrived in town by bus the report then plays the 9-1-1 voice
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recordings relating the kimberly Compton's murder they then linked the case to the attempted murder of Karen
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Poe Tech and play that 9-1-1 recording the news report then continues [Music] arriving at the location the caller
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described police found Karen PO tak badly beaten but still alive police didn't think Lopez could have committed
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the attack because they thought he was in the Anoka state hospital that night but just five weeks ago
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Mills learned that Lopez was granted a pass to leave the hospital the day PO Tech was assaulted and that information
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made him confident Lopez attacked both women based on the telephone calls we received his vicious nature with his
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family the fact that he was not in an institution public institution at the time of the cases but information
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obtained by the media and a new investigator on the case has shattered Mills theory one phone call to the
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Ramsey County Jail determined that while Lopez may have been out of the state hospital the night that Kerr Tech was
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attacked he was in the Ramsey County Jail the night Kimberly Compton was murdered clearly willing him out as a
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suspect in the case and sending police back to square one in their investigation Police Chief William
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McCutchen refused to comment directly on the quality of the investigation but said the quality of future
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investigations should be improved by a recent departmental reorganization Lindsay strand channel 5 Eyewitness News
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st. Paul and square one of the investigation is exactly where police remained as the months went on new cases
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came in in Kimberly's case got less and less attention before it was eventually placed on the cold-case shelf where it
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was barely touched on the 6th of August 1982 40 year-old Barbara Simons was having a night out at
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the hexagon bar in Minneapolis Barbara was having fun up on the dance floor dancing and drinking with a man she had
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just met that night at one point when she was ordering a drink she mentioned to the waitress that she hoped the man
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she had met was a nice guy because he was going to give her a ride home later that night the waitress saw
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them leaving the bar together and then another phone call was made to police later like I did the body of Barbara
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salman's caught on the underbrush the anonym Bank men of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis the killer had tried to
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dispose of her body in the river but the underbrush stopped that from happening Barbara had been stabbed around a
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hundred times it was evident there was now a serial killer at work police traced Barbara's
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movements on the night of her death and that eventually led them back to the hexagon bar into an interview with the
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waitress who saw her dancing with an unknown man police showed the waitress several mug books in the hopes she would
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be able to identify the man she saw Barbara with the waitress looked through over a hundred photos before the police
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were unlocked she picked out the man she saw with Barbara this was a huge break in the
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investigation police immediately organised for a surveillance team to closely follow their new suspect
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soon after on the 20th of August 1982 nineteen year old prostitute Denise Williams was working the red-light
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district of Minneapolis Denise had been a prostitute since she was 13 years old a car pulled up to Denise the male
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driver started chatting to her and they came to an agreement the male offered her hundred dollars to have some fun but
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he only had $40 on him at the time he promised to buy her the other sixty later Denise agreed and got into his car
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they went back to his apartment in st. Paul where they had sex it was over very quickly and Denise started wondering if
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the man was going to want more but he didn't and he offered to drive Denise back to her corner on the way back to
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the red-light district the man veered off the main road and started taking some back streets the man said he was
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taking a shortcut but the nay started to get uneasy she knew the area they knew this wasn't shocker
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she started to look around for a weapon and was in luck when she spotted a bottle close by
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Denise decided that if the man tried anything should whack him in the head with the bottle the man pulled into a
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dark dead-end parking lot near Coolidge Avenue in Minneapolis there was no street lighting at all when
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they stopped the man said to Denise ass grass or gas no one rides for free Denise tried to get out of the car but
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the man grabbed their left arm and then stabbed her in the stomach with a screwdriver
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Denise reacted by hitting him in the head with the glass bottle causing it to smash she hit him a few more times with
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a broken bottle he started bleeding everywhere he was cut up pretty bad on the cheek head and hand but that didn't
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stop him he kept trying to stab Denise over and over again she reacted by trying to punch kick and bite him she
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fought as fiercely as she could Denise eventually managed to open the door and fell out onto the ground the male fell
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on top of her Denise decided to change tactics and she stopped fighting altogether
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she played dead she said I'm dying I'm dying and late completely still but they didn't work the man kept stabbing her
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Denise scream for help and a nearby resident Douglas panting heard her screams he made it away outside and saw
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the attacker on top of Denise still stabbing them punning ran up and grabbed him the attacker jumped up and then
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immediately swung the screwdriver at painting painting ran away but the attacker gave chase
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luckily painting was able to make his way back inside his unit and called the police the attacker gave up jumped back
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into his car and drove off he was badly cut up an injured panting went back outside to help Denise
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Denise had been stabbed 15 times she had wounds on her chest abdomen and head as
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well as a punctured lung and a punctured liver she was rushed to hospital where she had emergency surgery despite being
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badly hurt Denise survived the attack Denyce initially gave her name is Mary that shows aware there was a warrant out
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for her arrest for a probation violation she also told the police she'd been hitchhiking when she was attacked but
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the Nisa later came clean and told the truth that same night shortly after the attack
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on Denis another call was made to master what's the problem [Music] paramedics were dispatched to the
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address police were called as well there they found 37 year-old Paul Stefani the man picked out in the mug book by
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the waitress at the hexagon bar the man who police had a surveillance operation on but earlier that night just before
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making his way through the red-light district Stefani had lost the police tape leaving
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him free to attack Denise Williams luckily she survived Stefani was arrested and Denis easily picked him out
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as her attacker from the mug shots Stefani was charged with her attempted murder
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Paul Stefania was born on the 8th of September 1944 and grew up in Austin Minnesota he was brought up in a deeply
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religious household he had a history of psychiatric problems and one previous conviction for aggravated assault which
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is why his photo was in the notebook he worked as a janitor and lived by himself
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in March 1977 Stefani was fired from his job at the malmberg manufacturing clean
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so he was familiar with the area where Karen Potok was attacked and was well aware how quiet and isolated the spot
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would be at night police interviewed him about the attack on Karen pay attack and
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the murders of Kimberly Compton and Barbara Simons they showed him crime scene photos from
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all three attacks so fine he looked at them and said you're not gonna pin those on me he denied any involvement in the
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crimes and denied being the weepy voice killer along with the attempted murder of Denise Williams Stefani was charged
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with the murder of Barbara Solomon's these attacks occurred in Minneapolis a different jurisdiction to the attacks on
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Karen Potok and Kimberly Compton those happened in st. Paul stefani pled not guilty to the murder of
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Barbara Salman's and the six-week trial commenced in February 1985 the prosecution case relied on matching the
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9-1-1 calls made after Barbara Simon's attack and after Denise Williams attack to the voice of Stefani an audio
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interview conducted with Stefani shortly after his arrest was used to try and make the match the experts have recalled
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being concluded that the voice of Stefani was remarkably similar to the non LeMond calls but they could not
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conclusively say they were an exact match that's when Stefani sister was called to the stand to testify she
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listened to the 9-1-1 tapes she then bowed her head and said that she had no doubt those calls were made by her
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brother after a six-week trial Stefani was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in jail for the
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murder of Simons Stefani also pled not guilty to the attempted murder of Denise Williams that also went to trial but he
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was eventually convicted and sentenced to 18 years in jail [Music] so with these results you're now
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thinking that prosecutors in the jurisdiction of st. Paul would jump on board and get to work charging Stefani
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for the attempted murder of Karen Potter and the murder of Kimberly Compton well you're wrong prosecutors say that
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the voice evidence was not enough and they were unable to be Sewer conviction against the Fani for those attacks
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instead they elected to leave them officially unsolved giving Karen and the family of Kimberly no closure
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in 1997 twelve years later Stefani got in contact with the st. Paul police he had just been diagnosed with terminal
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cancer and he wanted to talk to somebody and clear the slate st. Paul police with
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Stefani in confessed to the attempted murder of another friend of your mother so if you want to make friends
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and two detectives got a shock when Stefani confessed to another murder that it wasn't even on the radar for 33 year
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old Kathleen greening was drowned in a bathtub at her home on the 21st of July 1992 only a few weeks before the murder
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of Barbara salman's you say that you both get into the tub did you push your aunt there
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we should get dollars you push your chest area to the lobby or up and shoulders mom you help your shoulders
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stop folk dancer [Music] detectives fee on the cold case file for Kathleen greetings murder going through
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the fall they found an address book belonging to her that had been taken as evidence in the book was a name Paul s
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with the telephone number they match that telephone number to the one Stefani gave the night he was arrested for the
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niece Williams attack it never came out what their relation was prior to the attack or why his number was in her
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address book but finally justice had been done for Karen pay attack Kimberly Compton and
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not Kathleen Greene II the prosecutor who secured the conviction for the murder of Barbara salman's doesn't
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believe Stefani enjoyed or relished in committing murder he felt guilty for what he had done and wanted to be
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stopped that's why he made the 9-1-1 calls but he couldn't stop himself and when he was eventually caught he
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couldn't even admit to what he had done in Stefani's words killing saint debate the thing you were supposed to do that
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was part of life until he actually did catch being stopped [Music] you