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the chiricahua mountains comprises a desolate landscape of rugged terrain this beautiful but unforgiving location
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in southeastern arizona provides an idyllic backdrop to spend a weekend camping in the great outdoors
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it also happens to be a notorious hot spot for people smuggling and unexplained disappearances
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forty-four-year-old jeanette castreon suffered from a disability that made it very difficult to walk and travel on her
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own in june 2015 while waiting as her mother took a brief stop at a park restroom
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jeanette vanished she would not be the last join investigative journalist otavia
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mchenry as she uncovers the secrets behind jeanette's sudden disappearance with interviews from jeanette's family
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law enforcement and criminal behavior experts otavia uncovers much more in the search for jeanette castreon than she
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anticipated a twisted labyrinth where the most beautiful scenery hides sinister secrets
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the labyrinth is a case file presents podcast available now for free only on spotify
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stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear the official trailer and be sure
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to follow the labyrinth on spotify [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
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distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
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phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
00:02:25
[Music] nestled within the historic dupont circle neighborhood in washington dc's
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old city is swan street northwest an exclusive residential strip lined with victorian style row houses
00:02:45
with the white house only a mile north swan street is a highly desirable location for wealthy city dwellers who
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seek leafier surroundings one address a four-bedroom three-story abode with city views is what's called a
00:03:02
hot cellar the kind of house that doesn't stay on the market long since the incident in 2006
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the intruder has not returned to the address ensuring residents within can now sleep
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easy nbc emergency number one operator 6752 do you need police fire or ambulance
00:03:27
immediately or maybe an ambulance what's wrong with this we had someone name us in our
00:03:33
house evidently and they stabbed somebody okay somebody's inside the house now i don't know we heard are they bleeding
00:03:40
we see someone bleeding someone is bleeding in our health okay where are they bleeding from
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uh i think he's i think in the stomach mr maybe cautious calm down for me i'm gonna send some
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help okay female or male it's a male he's a friend of ours who is spending the night with
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us okay and who was the person that stabbed him do you know is he is he cautious
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when his name goes ma'am this is how he's not confident he's not conscious at all no when he's going right now is he
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breathing listen to me calm down i'm going to help you okay she's breathing i'm upstairs and she's downstairs i
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don't know hey who's out there foot challenge my partner is downstairs with him right now
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she told me to go upstairs and call the place immediately okay who's the person okay i'm sending
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the pyramid in the police okay who's the person that stabbed him i don't know we think of somebody with
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an intruder in the house we've heard the chimes the door ma'am calm down swan street and also at the microwave
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the person that says i'm just in the home i don't know the person had one of our
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eyes the person that stabbed him ran down the door with a knife i think okay anybody any type of description of
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the person that came in home no idea we have no description we heard we heard the chime and
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and we heard the scream from our friends okay and so we came running downstairs we ran in so you both
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was upstairs and your friend was downstairs you heard the door open and then you heard the scream we didn't
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i didn't hear the door open until after the screen and then we ran down the stairs and we heard we
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are we have an alarm and so the chime went off okay is the end of this we really need
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the influence okay man wrong man go to the door they should be putting up any moment okay
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i'm afraid to get them okay the person who's downstairs was the person that was on it no we're in the
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we're on the second floor okay so somebody need to go that says open the door for the pair of minutes you're not
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sure if that person is still in the home and i have no idea okay we have paramedics involved okay what plan is it
00:06:02
what time is it at the moment the 2354 is 11 64 man i was before yes i mean i was getting the line with you i will
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stay on the line until somebody gets here okay i won't hang up we need them right now i'm not hanging out but we
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need help now okay damn right man they are in route let me know when you hear the paramedics
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can you look out the window and see if you have them coming i'm looking out the window and i see nothing i see nobody
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okay same right forever but they aren't out man they're coming here they are here they are they're
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there i'm going downstairs okay i'll stand in line with you too you open window for paramedics okay
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help us reinforce that on our second floor [Laughter] no it's really an emergency i mean he's
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naming he's hurry man this won't be okay [Music] [Music] it was just before midnight on tuesday
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august 2 2006 when the ambulance pulled up outside a grey brick row house on swan street northwest
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a resident victor zaborski met the paramedics out front still on the phone to 9-1-1
00:08:28
panic into distress made his voice sound higher than usual leading the operator to mistake him for a woman
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between sobs victor informed the paramedics that someone had been stabbed on the second floor
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they rushed past him into the house and ascended the steep wooden staircase just
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inside the front door about halfway up they spotted another male on the landing above
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dylan ward when the paramedics asked dylan what was going on he silently raised a hand and
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pointed down a short hallway he was gesturing towards a nearby room following his direction the two
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paramedics entered the small space against one wall was a sofa bed that had been unfolded and prepped with linen
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a man sat perched on one side he was joseph price the third and final resident of the house
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next to him lying face up on the sofa bed was a fourth man his pupils were fixed and dilated
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skin pale and cold two weeks earlier robert juan checked his inbox and noticed an email from an
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old friend joseph price joseph was replying to a request robert had recently sent him
00:10:05
robert had only just landed a role as general counsel for radio free asia an accurate and uncensored news source for
00:10:13
asian countries with poor media practices was the perfect job for the 32 year old
00:10:21
as a fourth generation chinese-american robert was passionate about racial equality
00:10:28
on tuesday august 2 2006 robert's work day was set to be longer than usual he had to stay after hours to attend a
00:10:38
legal education course which wouldn't end until after 9 00 pm the late finish wasn't ideal as robert
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lived 20 miles from the radio free asia office in washington dc and would have to commute to work again early the next
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day so in the weeks leading up to the event the extremely organized robert contacted
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some dc based friends to see if they could host him for the night including joseph price
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the pair had met 15 years earlier in college although they had repeatedly tried to
00:11:18
catch up for dinner it had been a while since they'd seen each other consequently joseph emailed robert back
00:11:27
saying he was happy for him to crash at his house on august 2. that morning robert stood on bustling
00:11:36
connecticut avenue where he kissed his wife kathy goodbye it was 8 45 and the couple had caught
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the metro train together into dc to go to their respective jobs later that night kathy received a call
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from robert he had just finished up at his course and was on his way to visit the night
00:12:00
shift at radio free asia afterwards he would take a cab to joseph price's house one and a half miles away
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as they said their goodbyes kathy told her husband have a good night i love you as joseph price waited for his guest to
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arrive his partner viktor zaborski returned home from an interstate business trip
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joseph informed victor that robert juan would be staying over but victor was too tired to wait up and
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greet the visitor he decided to retire for the night and catch up with robert in the morning
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victor went up to the main bedroom on the third floor climbed into bed and turned on the television to unwind
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robert arrived at around 10 30 pm and was greeted by joseph as well as dylan ward a third man who also lived at the
00:13:04
house dylan knew robert too and was friends with him but not to the extent of the
00:13:11
others the trio gathered around the kitchen table and made small talk over glasses
00:13:17
of water like robert joseph price victor zaborski and dylan ward were all corporate
00:13:26
professionals in their mid to late 30s joseph was a partner at an internationally renowned law firm
00:13:34
and the director slash general counsel for a non-profit that supported the lgbt community
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his partner victor was the director of marketing for the milk processors education program famous for their got
00:13:51
milk advertising campaign dylan ward held an associate of culinary arts degree and had also earned a
00:14:00
masters in children's literature which he used to write edit and publish children's books
00:14:08
he also worked alongside joseph as development director for the lgbt non-profit the conversation at the kitchen table
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revolved around family work the hot weather and house repairs but the chat was short-lived
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as 11 pm drew near robert was tired and wanted to get a good night's sleep he told joseph they would catch up
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further over breakfast dylan and joseph led robert up to the second floor after turning right at the top of the
00:14:47
stairs the trio headed down a short hallway passing a bathroom and sitting area before reaching the home office
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the room was toward the front of the house and had three long narrow windows overlooking the street outside
00:15:06
inside a sofa bed had been prepared for robert his hosts also pointed out the bathroom
00:15:13
down the hall so robert could take a shower the three men then went their separate
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ways joseph continued upstairs to the third floor bedroom he shared with victor he switched off the television and went
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to sleep dylan took a sleeping pill and went to his own room on the same floor as the
00:15:38
home office as dylan waited for the medication to take effect he read a magazine
00:15:46
from his room he could hear the shower running it stopped after a few minutes then he heard a click as the door to the
00:15:55
home office closed the sleeping pill taking effect dylan soon drifted off into a deep sleep
00:16:07
earlier that night joseph had been downstairs when he noticed something out of place
00:16:15
a large windowed door in the kitchen led to a patio this small fenced-in area at the rear of
00:16:22
the house had a table chairs and a barbecue grill joseph's attention was drawn to
00:16:30
something on one of the patio's exterior lights he went outside to investigate only to discover it was just the spider
00:16:40
joseph headed back into the kitchen closing the door behind him he didn't realize and no one bothered to
00:16:48
check before bed that the door's deadlock was in the vertical position joseph had forgotten to lock it
00:17:03
shortly before midnight joseph and victor were awoken by the sound of their doorbell chime alerting them that an
00:17:10
exterior door had been opened going through either the front or rear doors of their house would activate this
00:17:18
chime neither man thought much of it they had a tenant who lived in the separate
00:17:25
basement suite and her comings and goings sometimes caused the chime to go off but then they heard a strange noise
00:17:35
it was a breathy quiet sound like a muffled grunt or scream dylan ward heard the same noise
00:17:45
but he was drowsy from his sleeping pill and this prevented him from fully acknowledging it
00:17:52
he fell back asleep [Music] unlike dylan joseph and victor were unsettled they decided to investigate the strange
00:18:04
sound just as they got out of bed they heard it again this time they were certain it was a low
00:18:13
scream they raced down to the second floor and upon entering the home office they saw
00:18:20
robert juan unresponsive on the fold-out sofa joseph rushed to check robert's pulse
00:18:28
and realised blood was seeping from his chest he yelled at victor who was screaming in
00:18:35
panic to call 9-1-1 joseph then grabbed a towel and pressed it to robert's wounds
00:18:45
the commotion woke dylan who left his room to find a frantic victor on the phone and to joseph in the office
00:18:53
holding a towel against robert's chest dylan still groggy from the sleeping pill was confused by the situation
00:19:02
before him six minutes later an ambulance arrived robert's pajama top was slashed in three
00:19:12
places underneath were three stab wounds to his chest robert had only been at the address for
00:19:21
90 minutes before he was rushed to hospital he was pronounced dead shortly after
00:19:28
midnight there had been a recent spate of break-ins at homes within the dupont circle
00:19:38
in some instances intruders had been brazen enough to enter properties while the residents were inside
00:19:46
the police had only recently issued a security statement to locals advising them to keep their doors locked at all
00:19:54
times joseph price failed to heed this warning on august 2. when detectives arrived at his swan
00:20:03
street address that night it was brought to their attention that the patio door was not only left unlocked
00:20:11
but was slightly ajar the patio backed onto an alleyway that ran parallel to swan street northwest
00:20:21
bordering the backs of all the row houses this presented a likely scenario an intruder had scaled the patio fence
00:20:30
from the alley and gained access to the house of via the unlocked door the swan street row house was an
00:20:38
appealing target for any burglar worth well over a million dollars the property contained flat-screen
00:20:46
televisions and laptop computers among other high-priced goods upon entering the house through the rear
00:20:55
patio door there was a kitchen counter to the left sitting on top of this counter was a
00:21:02
knife block filled with black-handled knives it appeared as though the intruder had
00:21:09
grabbed a knife before proceeding further inside at some point they entered the home
00:21:15
office and encountered robert juan a kitchen knife from the knife block was found on a nightstand next to the sofa
00:21:25
bed its blade caked in robert's blood chest hairs and some fatty tissue the lack of foreign fingerprints on the
00:21:34
knife or anywhere else throughout the property suggested that the intruder had worn gloves
00:21:42
robert's final moments were pieced together from evidence at the scene and statements from the other occupants of
00:21:49
the house robert had prepared for bed in his usual tidy way he removed his work clothes and folded
00:21:57
them neatly on a desk with his other belongings after showering he put on his pajamas a
00:22:04
t-shirt underwear and a gym shorts the last thing robert did before going to sleep was insert his mouth guard
00:22:13
which prevented him from grinding his teeth he was wearing the mouthpiece when first
00:22:20
responders arrived robert's killer stabbed him three times in the chest and abdomen
00:22:28
what provoked the attack was uncertain it didn't seem likely that robert was targeted specifically
00:22:37
his colleagues hadn't noticed anything different about him lately and his kind demeanor meant it was unlikely he was
00:22:44
the target of a murderous vendetta a case of mistaken identity didn't add up either
00:22:53
there was nothing in joseph victor or dylan's lifestyles that indicated any of them could have been the intended victim
00:23:02
none had a criminal history and all were well regarded for their career success and philanthropy
00:23:10
the three men spoke willingly to police and provided their fingerprints hair samples and dna
00:23:18
they were open and candid when answering questions and when spoken to separately
00:23:24
their stories aligned yet there was one aspect of the men's lives that investigators honed in on
00:23:35
their sexuality and the nature of their relationships with one another the men openly discussed their roles in
00:23:44
each other's lives which amounted to them being in a three-way polyamorous relationship
00:23:51
it started with the joseph and victor registered domestic partners who had been together for six years
00:23:59
dylan entered the picture as the couple's roommate before engaging in his own intimate relationship with the
00:24:06
joseph there was a malleable aspect to the group's arrangement which was developing
00:24:12
over time all three men accepted and consented to their circumstances describing
00:24:19
themselves as a family yet their lifestyle was of interest to investigators who questioned where
00:24:27
robert juan fit in to their unconventional relationship the police interviews with the joseph
00:24:35
victor and dylan were later criticized by some for being quote homophobic brow beating
00:24:44
without a clear motive or suspect interviewing officers set out to prove that robert juan was gay to establish
00:24:53
some or all of the swan straight residents as potential suspects yet all three men denied having a sexual
00:25:02
relationship with robert he was by all accounts exclusively heterosexual and happily married
00:25:12
during dylan ward's interview he was asked robert's perfectly straight and he's going to leave his wife for the night
00:25:21
and come over to you all's house dylan attempted to defend himself against the inflammatory remark
00:25:30
retorting yeah because but was immediately cut off by the officer who said then he's not perfectly straight that's
00:25:42
not something a straight guy would do in joseph price's interview he insisted that robert was not gay never had been
00:25:53
or ever thought about it he described robert as the most straight a no-nonsense guy he had ever met
00:26:02
he didn't take drugs or drink alcohol to excess others felt this line of inquiry was not
00:26:10
bigoted just aggressive they believed a possible romantic link between robert and any one of the others
00:26:18
was a reasonable lead worth investigating after robert juan's murder the swan street northwest row house was left
00:26:30
ravaged of its former glory through their process of collecting forensic evidence police had caused
00:26:37
thousands of dollars worth of damage to the property joseph victor and dylan no longer wanted
00:26:45
to live there but were forced to stay while repairs were undertaken so that the house could be sold
00:26:52
and their worries had only just begun barely two months after robert was murdered joseph victor and dylan
00:27:02
returned to their home to find it in disarray seven thousand dollars worth of items
00:27:08
had been stolen including a flat screen television and other electronics an arrest swiftly followed
00:27:18
to the shock of many one of the two people accused of the burglary was michael price
00:27:24
joseph's brother michael had a substance abuse problem and had stolen from the three men
00:27:32
before this raised the question did michael break in on august 2 and perhaps not expecting to come across
00:27:41
a stranger in the home office kill robert juan michael was a student and had missed his
00:27:50
classes on the night of robert's murder he also had a key to his brother's house
00:27:58
nothing was uncovered that directly linked michael to robert but he would remain a person of interest
00:28:04
in the homicide investigation as for the burglary months later the charges against michael and his
00:28:12
co-accused were ultimately dropped during a pre-trial hearing then came another unexpected turn of
00:28:22
events joseph price victor zaborski and dylan ward all hired distinguished legal
00:28:29
representation and ceased speaking with authorities about the robert juan case there was a good reason for their change
00:28:37
of heart the two paramedics who responded to viktor zaborski's 9-1-1 call on the
00:28:45
night of robert's murder were very proficient with 25 years experience between them
00:28:52
both had been to their share of violent scenes including stabbings however as they entered the
00:29:00
swan street northwest row house they were greeted with a sight neither had seen before
00:29:07
one of the paramedics later said that the actions of joseph victor and dylan were enough to make the hairs on the
00:29:16
back of their neck stand up [Music] case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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episode's sponsors want a new podcast to look forward to each week one that's entertaining informative and
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you support case file after the paramedics received reports of a stabbing at the swan street northwest
00:36:17
row house it took them six minutes to reach the property viktor zaborski met them on the front
00:36:24
steps in a white bathrobe he was crying into a cell phone which was still connected to emergency
00:36:30
services what's going on one of the paramedics asked him so which victor explained that
00:36:38
the stabbing victim was on the second floor they entered the house carrying a stretcher and immediately made their way
00:36:47
upstairs where they came across dylan ward he too was dressed in a white bathrobe
00:36:54
they asked dylan the same question he pointed down the hall without saying a word
00:37:01
then he silently retreated into his bedroom and closed the door dylan's complete lack of emotion
00:37:09
confused the paramedics they had never seen such cool indifference from someone at an active
00:37:16
crime scene come to think of it the paramedics noticed an uncharacteristic and eerie
00:37:23
quietness throughout the entire residence that didn't add up to the urgency or brutality of what had
00:37:30
happened there inside the home office was joseph price sitting on the fold-out sofa with his
00:37:38
back to the door and with one leg tucked beneath him he was naked aside from a pair of
00:37:44
underwear he wasn't touching robert juan or making any effort to render aid or assistance
00:37:53
when asked what was going on joseph simply replied i heard a scream then he stood and moved out of the
00:38:03
paramedics way the lead medic rushed to robert while the other edged around the sofa to get a
00:38:11
better look at joseph his ill-fitting behavior made them uneasy and they wanted to keep him in
00:38:18
their line of sight they even eyed his hands in case he was carrying a weapon while the resident's version of events
00:38:31
as detailed at the beginning of this episode indicated the attack happened quickly and recently
00:38:37
robert appeared to have been deceased for some time he was unresponsive pale had no pulse
00:38:45
and was cold to the touch his eyes were fixed and dilated there was no blood seeping from the
00:38:52
three wounds in his chest even though they were big enough to quote fit your finger into
00:39:02
according to joseph when he lifted robert's shirt upon finding the man unconscious he saw blood everywhere
00:39:10
he claimed to have attempted to staunch the bleeding using a towel explaining that there was a lot of blood on the bed
00:39:20
the knife had pierced robert's heart chest wall right lung small intestine and pancreas
00:39:28
the resulting injuries should have caused the catastrophic amount of bleeding as joseph had described
00:39:35
however there were no copious blood stains or spatter on or around robert aside from
00:39:42
two unusually small spots on the sheet beneath him it was believed these were caused when
00:39:49
the paramedics rolled his body onto the stretcher either way the amount of blood in the
00:39:55
room was entirely inconsistent with a violent stabbing having taken place there robert's blood was also discovered in
00:40:06
minimal amounts on a black handled kitchen knife found on the nightstand and a large white cotton towel on the
00:40:13
floor while the towel hinted at someone endeavouring to staunch robert's bleeding
00:40:20
paramedics noticed something that suggested a completely different act had taken place
00:40:27
a light film across robert's torso featured the type of markings that would be visible if someone had attempted to
00:40:35
clean the area with a towel not stabilize it as for the bloody towel on the floor the
00:40:43
staining was more consistent with someone having used it to wipe the sharp edge of a knife clean
00:40:51
more than 10 white fibers consistent with the towel were found in the blood on the knife
00:40:58
but there were no fibers from or consistent with robert's torn shirt the knife was absent of blood along the
00:41:08
cutting edge but blood ran the entire length of its blade which measured five and a half inches
00:41:16
robert's wounds were only four to five inches deep while the knife contained no foreign dna
00:41:24
or fingerprints joseph price informed police that his might be found he explained that when he first came
00:41:33
across robert the knife was lying on his stomach so he moved it aside to render first aid
00:41:42
when speaking about the incident to a friend later joseph would say that he had physically
00:41:47
pulled the weapon out of robert's chest before placing it on the nightstand joseph volunteered that the police might
00:41:57
not find the real killer's dna on the knife because they might have been quote wearing a glove
00:42:05
yet it was determined that the knife at the crime scene was highly unlikely to have produced wounds the size and shape
00:42:13
of roberts as for the guest room itself there was no sign of a struggle having taken place
00:42:23
there while this implied robert was attacked amid sleep such a scenario didn't correlate with
00:42:31
the condition of the sofa bed robert's head rested on a fluffed clean pillow with only one indentation
00:42:40
meaning his head hadn't moved at all since falling asleep his wounds were uniform in shape and
00:42:49
size which is unusual in stabbing cases as victims tends to thrash around creating varying
00:42:56
injuries the fatal wound effectively shut down robert's heart but none of his wounds would have killed
00:43:04
or rendered him unconscious immediately he would have been alive for between 60 seconds to 10 minutes before succumbing
00:43:13
to the type of injuries he had endured it was odd that his body had remained in one position that entire time
00:43:22
he hadn't tried to defend himself or reacted in any other way he just lay there unmoving
00:43:30
even when someone was thrusting a knife into his chest a medical examiner noted the wounds and internal bleeding would
00:43:42
have produced such extreme pain that it would have been virtually impossible for
00:43:46
mr juan to have refrained from moving his body while in the bed or attempting to get out of the bed to seek help
00:43:57
the lack of any movement from robert was even more suspicious considering the dc
00:44:02
area was experiencing a heat wave according to kathy wan robert was particularly self-conscious about
00:44:10
sweating in his sleep he would toss and turn and kick blankets away for relief but the sofa didn't appear to have been
00:44:19
slept in at all the top sheets and covers were neatly folded down at a 45 degree angle under
00:44:27
robert's body which was how his hosts had described preparing the sofa for him robert wasn't known to sleep this way
00:44:37
even if he did the bedding shared the same level of preservation as the pillow as if robert didn't move in the
00:44:45
slightest at all after settling onto the bed there were no defensive wounds whatsoever on robert's body
00:44:54
a medical examiner concluded robert would have reacted instinctively to protect himself and or physically
00:45:02
fend off his attacker unless he was quote otherwise incapacitated while there were no markings to suggest
00:45:16
that robert had been manually strangled hemorrhaging in his left eye meant some type of asphyxiation had occurred
00:45:24
it was theorised that robert had been smothered unconscious with a pillow prior to being stabbed
00:45:32
yet small needle punctures were visible on the left side of robert's neck there were three more on his chest two
00:45:41
on his right foot and one on the back of his left hand there was no record of paramedics
00:45:48
or hospital staff injecting robert with anything this meant that the puncture wounds were
00:45:54
made before robert was treated while he was still alive tests for various alcohols amphetamines
00:46:03
opiates barbiturates and benzodiazepine drugs including commonly known date rapid drugs came back in negative
00:46:13
remnants of ecstasy and cannabis were found in the row house but did not show up in robert's blood screen
00:46:22
by the time police arrived at the swan street address robert was being stretchered into the waiting ambulance
00:46:30
officers entered the house and immediately encountered all three male residents victor and dylan were still in their
00:46:39
white robes and joseph was still in his underwear joseph did all the talking he said that they had been burglarized
00:46:48
and pointed towards the patio door at the rear of the kitchen remarking see the door is still open
00:46:58
officer diane durham went to investigate she noted that the door was all but a quarter of an inch closed it was just
00:47:07
touching the frame according to officer durham joseph heard somebody scream and ran down to the
00:47:15
ground floor in contrast to the story of robert being discovered injured in bed in this
00:47:22
instance joseph claimed that robert was actually outside the patio door bleeding
00:47:29
the others let him in and took him upstairs to lie on the sofa bed officer durham advised to joseph to
00:47:37
dress himself as other units would be coming to investigate joseph then covered himself with a white
00:47:46
robe as more police arrived the three residents were asked to remain in the living room where they were observed
00:47:55
whispering among themselves it was noted that they all appeared to have showered recently
00:48:04
when asked again what had happened dylan ward began to speak joseph immediately shot him a forbidding
00:48:11
stare causing dylan to fall silent joseph once again rehashed the events of the night
00:48:20
he reiterated that they had been woken by the door chime joseph theorised that an unknown
00:48:28
intruder had scaled the patio fence then entered and exited the house via the door he had accidentally left unlocked
00:48:38
curiously the residents had only heard the chime once suggesting someone entered but didn't
00:48:46
leave furthermore the tenant who lived separately in the row house's basement had spoken to
00:48:53
joseph earlier that night she was going to spend the night at a friend's house shortly before she left at 6 00 pm she
00:49:03
called joseph and told him that she had set the security alarm one that would have made a loud
00:49:09
commotion if someone broke into the house this meant it had been deactivated during the night
00:49:17
in their statements to police in the immediate aftermath of the murder the row houses occupants would state that
00:49:24
the security alarm was not engaged that night joseph then led the police on a tour of his home
00:49:34
as officers ascended the stairs to the second and third floors they noticed how loud their steps were on the wooden
00:49:41
floorboards none of the residents recalled hearing the intruders footsteps not even dylan whose bedroom was at the
00:49:50
top of the stairs and needed to be passed in order to reach the home office joseph told officers that dylan
00:50:00
might have slept through the attack because the air conditioner was on and the compressor on the roof above dylan's
00:50:06
bedroom was very loud when officers tested this theory they could barely hear the compressor
00:50:14
calling the noise imperceptible despite the resident's claims the situation didn't seem like a burglary
00:50:25
gone wrong the interior of the row house was neat and orderly expensive electronics were
00:50:32
in their usual spots nothing was missing even robert's wallet watch and blackberry phone was still in the home
00:50:41
office on the desk with his work clothes joseph and victor told police that their
00:50:48
swan street residence had never been burglarized before or even entered by an intruder
00:50:55
they as well as dylan ultimately acknowledged that the intruder theory was implausible and made absolutely no
00:51:03
sense but all three steadfastly maintained it their recollections of the night mostly
00:51:11
aligned and their statements were also suspiciously specific for investigators this indicated they
00:51:19
had coached each other on what to say beforehand curiously they glossed over some key
00:51:28
details such as their friendship with robert they minimized it to the point where it
00:51:34
seemed like they were distant friends at most and old acquaintances at least this didn't align with the fact that the
00:51:44
trio had hosted robert's 30th birthday party years earlier joseph and victor had attended his
00:51:51
wedding and robert would catch up with them periodically sometimes multiple times a year
00:51:58
despite their inability to remember something as significant as their long-term friendship with robert the
00:52:05
trio recalled unremarkable details with a suspicious amount of detail such as how joseph had gone outside to
00:52:13
investigate the spider on the patio light which led to him leaving the door unlocked
00:52:19
[Music] once interviewing officers sensed things weren't adding up they started to record
00:52:26
the three men at any given time in their recollections there were moments in which one or
00:52:33
several of the men were unable to account for the others yet no matter the line of questioning
00:52:41
all three were unwavering in their innocence and staunchly defended one another joseph told officers
00:52:50
i know victor and dylan better than i know my mom there is no chance on the face of the
00:52:56
earth that anybody did anything to robert they couldn't even spank a child that was being bad
00:53:04
at one point during his interview joseph demanded i want to see them both referring to victor and dylan he seemed
00:53:14
most concerned with dylan in particular when told he was free to go joseph replied
00:53:23
what's the story with dylan i mean i'm going to get his attorney to come down here
00:53:31
by now police had well-formed opinions of the trio they described joseph price as arrogant
00:53:39
unconcerned flippant aggressive and self-centered his partner victor zaborski was passive
00:53:47
disinterested and unconcerned about solving the attack as was dylan ward who was calm and
00:53:55
distant [Music] following robert juan's murder detectives meticulously canvassed the
00:54:04
swan street row house for evidence on one occasion they watched as a cadaver dog trained to locate human
00:54:12
blood and remains was led through the house the dog ran through the open living space downstairs nose to the ground
00:54:21
before being let out the back door to the patio when he reached a drain cover at its
00:54:28
center he stopped and indicated to the handler that he could smell blood the handler approached the drain
00:54:38
the cover was slightly ajar and an uncoiled garden hose lay nearby given the rest of the house was
00:54:46
presented so immaculately the displaced hose was uncharacteristically sloppy it looked as though it had been recently
00:54:55
used the cadaver dog also alerted at a clothes dryer on the second floor near dylan's bedroom
00:55:05
it was empty but police were developing a theory the killer had hosed down their bloody
00:55:12
clothes over the drain outside before placing them in the dryer detectives also tested for blood in the
00:55:21
home office that might not have been visible to the naked eye they sprayed a substance that revealed
00:55:28
trace amounts of blood on the walls floor sofa bed and door frame it indicated that a large-scale cleanup
00:55:37
had taken place after robert's murder but before authorities were called to the scene
00:55:46
the entire home was very clean with the captain of the violent crime unit later saying
00:55:53
a lot of evidence that we should have seen at the house we didn't see a search of dylan ward's room uncovered
00:56:07
a three-piece cutlery box set designed to hold a carving knife a large fork and a smaller knife
00:56:15
the smaller knife was missing detectives contacted the manufacturer who sent out a duplicate
00:56:24
when compared to the wounds inflicted on robert juan this knife was capable of causing very
00:56:31
similar results dylan's room also contained a trove of items used for dominant and submissive
00:56:41
sex acts including shackles chains with locks metal collars wrist and ankle restraints
00:56:48
clamps hooks and mouth gags he also had a collection of manuals on sato masochistic practices and books
00:56:58
dedicated to the subject of inflicting pain or enslaving others for sexual gratification
00:57:06
many of these texts contained passages highlighted by the reader when these items were first discovered
00:57:15
dylan was upfront with detectives he and joseph engaged in bdsm that was an acceptable explanation
00:57:25
but in the context of robert juan's murder police did wonder whether the items were
00:57:31
used to restrain or smother robert traces of semen were found on and around robert's genitals
00:57:41
when tested it produced a puzzling result the semen belonged to robert but there was nothing to suggest he
00:57:51
willingly participated in any sex acts the night of his murder among dylan ward's belongings was an
00:57:59
electrical shock wave generator this device controlled by a second party released electrical impulses capable of
00:58:09
causing the target individual to ejaculate even when sedated or under anesthetic
00:58:17
a search of joseph price's computer indicated that he and dylan were familiar with this machine
00:58:25
on a fetish site that he belonged to joseph listed electro torture as an activity that he and dylan enjoyed
00:58:36
robert seaman was also found inside his own rectum with authorities pointing out
00:58:42
that quote there were many items and devices recovered from dylan ward's bedroom
00:58:49
designed to be inserted into one's anal cavity a medical examiner concluded taking all the evidence and
00:58:59
circumstances into consideration this finding is suggestive of mr juan having been sexually assaulted
00:59:09
no foreign dna was found on robert unsurprising given one of his trading paramedics was of the opinion that
00:59:17
robert had been stabbed showered redressed and placed in bed during his interview with police
00:59:28
following the murder dylan mentioned reading before he went to sleep in his room detectives found a new
00:59:37
yorker magazine open on the floor to an article titled late works writers confronting the end
00:59:46
it was accompanied by an illustration of renowned english playwright poet and actor william shakespeare lying on his
00:59:55
deathbed his body was positioned in the same way that robert juan had been when he was
01:00:02
found the first line of the article read last words recorded and treasured in the
01:00:12
days when the deathbed was in the home have fallen from fashion perhaps because most people spend their
01:00:19
final hours in the hospital too drugged to make any sense it was months before police publicly
01:00:32
named joseph price victor zaborski and dylan ward as suspects in the murder of robert juan
01:00:39
their efforts were later criticized as sluggish and flawed due to the abundance of circumstantial evidence implicating
01:00:46
the three men from the get-go even the interrogation of the three suspects was considered sloppy
01:00:55
far too much focus was placed on trying to establish a sexual relationship between one or all of the parties with
01:01:02
robert despite this lead being completely unfounded anything compelling that should have
01:01:09
been pressed harder such as joseph's two tales of where he apparently found the injured robert the patio or the guest
01:01:17
room fell by the wayside by the time police zeroed in on joseph victor and dylan the men had a lawyered
01:01:26
up and were no longer cooperating detectives now believed that either two or all of the men committed the murder
01:01:36
or knew who did and were covering for them all they needed was a motive yet things continued to move at a slow
01:01:46
pace a year passed without any concrete leads that could result in an arrest or better
01:01:53
still a conviction the case was passed between three different prosecutors and evidence from
01:02:00
the row house was still being processed at twenty five thousand 000 reward was offered by police for information and
01:02:08
led to plenty of tips but the money was never handed out kathy wan had so far grieved for her
01:02:17
husband in private and kept away from the media but she was compelled to step forward
01:02:25
in a statement printed in the washington post kathy said anything short of full and complete
01:02:32
cooperation is very troubling and essentially is equivalent of helping robert's killer or killers get away with
01:02:40
this terrible crime [Music] she also described how she had coped with her husband's murder
01:02:48
quote during this year of intense sadness i learned that being still and letting
01:02:55
grief interrupt whenever it wished was often times the best thing i could do for myself
01:03:02
when grief barges in and demands a visit it's best to let her have your undivided
01:03:08
attention [Music] frustrated by the lack of progress kathy held a press conference around the one
01:03:17
year anniversary of robert's murder her lawyer fielded questions from reporters about the investigation and
01:03:24
the alleged involvement of joseph price victor zaborski and dylan ward kathy had a message for robert's killer
01:03:35
her choice of words seemed personal as though she had her own suspicions as to who was responsible
01:03:43
having a murder on your conscience is no small moment to carry as you try to live i imagine
01:03:51
as normal a life is possible confessing will be the hardest thing that you'll ever do in your life
01:04:04
our remarks will impose severe consequences but it will also be the most frightening
01:04:11
theme that you can do for yourself a secret like the one you are hiding from the world
01:04:19
will only grow heavier with time as the two-year anniversary of robert juan's murder neared in june 2008
01:04:34
joseph price sold his swan street northwest row house for just under one and a half million dollars
01:04:42
he and evictor zaborski moved to a rental nearby and planned to buy a house in florida
01:04:50
dylan ward who had already moved to florida and obtained work as a massage therapist was set to move in with the
01:04:57
two men once they arrived but their plans were disrupted just four months later when dylan was arrested and
01:05:06
charged with obstruction of justice although there wasn't enough evidence to charge him with murder elements of the
01:05:14
crime scene had been tampered with suggesting a cover-up an affidavit released days later stated
01:05:24
the evidence demonstrates that robert juan was restrained incapacitated sexually assaulted and murdered
01:05:34
given that joseph and victor were in a long-term domestic partnership police zeroed in on dylan ward
01:05:42
they saw him as the weak link dylan didn't share the same longevity and loyalty to the others leading
01:05:50
detectives to suspect he'd be more likely to crack under pressure they were wrong
01:05:59
dylan continued to maintain that they were all innocent he was ultimately jailed after failing
01:06:06
to make bail prosecutors warned joseph and victor that their silence would result in a
01:06:13
similar fate and when their arrest warrants were issued a month later the pair self-reported to authorities
01:06:22
all three men now faced charges for conspiracy obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence
01:06:31
the prosecution alleged that there was overwhelming evidence far in excess of probable cause that they obstructed
01:06:39
justice by altering and orchestrating the crime scene planting evidence delaying the reporting of the murder to
01:06:46
authorities and lying to the police about the true circumstances of the murder they all pleaded not guilty and were
01:06:56
released to a white trial but subject to electronic monitoring and curfews joseph price of viktor zaborski and
01:07:09
dylan ward faced trial in june 2010 they opted for a non-jury trial and invoked their fifth amendment right
01:07:19
meaning they would not have to testify if found guilty they faced prison sentences of up to 38 years
01:07:28
the group had hired a total of six defense attorneys including a famous cnn commentator a former dc attorney general
01:07:37
and two former top dc prosecutors they argued that their clients were unfairly targeted because
01:07:45
they were gay and highlighted the sloppy police investigation quote the government has cobbled together its
01:07:54
case with tidbits of information that it interprets through innuendo and speculation and then calls evidence
01:08:04
the defense's entire argument relied on the intruder prosecutors were unconvinced
01:08:12
such a claim relied on an intruder deciding to break into the swan street row house on the exact night that joseph
01:08:20
happened to have left the patio door unlocked upon entering the intruder made no
01:08:26
attempt to steal anything of value including a laptop and television in view of the patio door
01:08:34
instead they grabbed a knife walked through several areas to the front of the house and immediately headed
01:08:41
upstairs from there dylan ward's bedroom was at the very top of the stairs yet the intruder opted to turn 180
01:08:52
degrees and proceed down the hallway directly to the home office the room furthest from the staircase
01:09:00
they entered stabbed robert then cleaned the room of blood batter so quietly that
01:09:07
none of the other men in the house heard a thing the intruder then fled without even
01:09:13
bothering to take robert's small valuables such as his watch cell phone or wallet they exited through the patio
01:09:21
door scaled the fence and escaped via the alleyway all this happening within a 42-minute
01:09:29
time frame the defenses 42-minute time frame existed because of a series of emails
01:09:37
sent from robert's blackberry on the night of august 2. when investigators initially examined
01:09:44
the device it appeared as though robert emailed his wife at 1105 pm informing her that he had just showered and was
01:09:53
about to go to sleep two minutes later he sent a second email to a friend regarding some lunch plans
01:10:00
the following day this meant he was confronted within the 42-minute window between sending this
01:10:08
email and when viktor zaborski phoned to 9-1-1 at 11 49 but the emails were never sent
01:10:18
they were in a drafts folder investigators suspected that robert didn't author the emails at all
01:10:27
instead a perpetrator had crafted them to manipulate the supposed timeline of events
01:10:34
robert's ordeal could have started much earlier assuming the emails were forged the time
01:10:42
frame for the assault and murder was 79 minutes not 42 this allowed far more time for
01:10:50
everything to take place before viktor zaborski placed the in 911 call to 9-1-1 he continually used
01:11:01
the pronoun we as in we heard an intruder in the house he was clearly speaking on behalf of
01:11:09
others suggesting a conversation had taken place between them before he placed the call
01:11:17
it wouldn't be the only time the trio had delayed calling authorities following a crime at their residence
01:11:24
when michael price burglarized the address in the months after robert's murder joseph convinced the others to
01:11:31
wait a day before alerting the police there was further evidence that supported the larger window of time
01:11:41
theory and it involved another witness for the sake of clarity we will refer to this witness as sam
01:11:50
sam lived next door to joseph price's row house their property shared an internal wall with the home office where
01:11:58
robert had slept on august 2 sam was watching the 11 pm news when they heard what they described as a
01:12:08
single desperate scream as robert was incapacitated authorities believed this scream came
01:12:16
from viktor zaborski the only one of the three men to have shown any level of distress when first
01:12:23
responders arrived victor had previously told police that he had screened upon seeing robert's
01:12:30
body if sam's recollections were correct then this left a 19 to 49 minute window
01:12:39
between victor's alleged scream and him calling 9-1-1 from the prosecution's perspective this
01:12:47
gave the defendants enough time to clean up the crime scene shower and concoct a
01:12:53
story to tell authorities when joseph ordered victor to make the call he told him to do so from upstairs
01:13:02
meaning the third floor even though there was a phone right there in the home office
01:13:11
the proceedings felt like a murder trial even though none of the accused had been
01:13:16
charged with any such offense thirty witnesses were called on behalf of the prosecution compared to the
01:13:24
defense's eight the prosecution found the intruder scenario preposterous they believed that at least one row
01:13:33
house resident was responsible for robert's assault and murder and a second or third had participated or was an
01:13:41
accomplice in the cover-up joseph price was painted as the lead conspirator who manipulated victor and
01:13:50
dylan through the use of money influence and power the trio's intimate relationship ensured
01:13:58
that they protected one another based on the type of sexual relationship joseph and dylan shared and their
01:14:07
collection of adult toys it appeared that either one or both had assaulted robert the fact that joseph was near
01:14:15
naked when first responders arrived hinted at his participation though joseph insisted he always slept
01:14:23
in only his underwear as viktor was the sole person to have had any emotional response to robert's
01:14:31
murder some theorise he wasn't involved in the crime itself but was an accomplice in
01:14:38
covering it up the prosecution's case was not a slam dunk there were lots of aspects that were
01:14:46
uncertain inconsistent circumstantial or could be explained away one example was the needle puncture
01:14:55
marks found on robert's body hinting that he had been injected with a sedative this was a major part of the
01:15:02
prosecution's interpretation of the crime scene yet a paramedic testified that she'd
01:15:09
attempted to insert an iv into robert's body in several spots she was unsuccessful and her actions
01:15:17
were not documented despite this the judge found that some of the puncture marks did not align with
01:15:25
those caused by medical intervention and was therefore confident that they had been caused during an assault
01:15:34
the investigation was plagued with a litany of other issues although crucial in determining the
01:15:40
timeline of events robert's blackberry phone had been completely lost the device had apparently been given to
01:15:49
the secret service who were going to copy its contents but they denied ever receiving it
01:15:56
the blood exposing product applied to the home office to reveal the cleanup effort was not applied as per the
01:16:03
manufacturer's instructions consequently this evidence was deemed unreliable robert's blood wasn't tested for all
01:16:14
types of paralytic drugs it is not known if the shockwave device among dylan ward's adult toys was tested
01:16:22
forensically the lint trap from the dryer believed to have been used to dry the killer's
01:16:29
clothes was not taken for analysis the murder weapon was another contentious subject
01:16:38
the prosecution presented evidence that the kitchen knife on the nightstand was not used to kill robert
01:16:46
they believed robert was stabbed with the missing knife from the cutlery set in dylan ward's room
01:16:53
but after a blood spatter expert for the defense described finding several of robert's cut chest hairs on the kitchen
01:17:00
knife the judge was of the opinion that it was indeed the murder weapon after nearly two weeks of defense
01:17:11
testimony the judge delivered a 35-page verdict in the hour it took her to read it she
01:17:19
explained that she did not believe an intruder broke into the house calling the circumstances suspicious and
01:17:27
even damning during a break in his initial police interview joseph had phoned his brother
01:17:35
michael and was overheard saying did dylan come out this led to the suspicion that michael
01:17:44
price might have been involved in the crime the trial judge admitted michael's failure to attend class on the night of
01:17:52
the murder was quote certainly worth pausing over in the circumstances of this case
01:18:00
but she was unconvinced that an outsider including michael was responsible the judge said that the charges came
01:18:10
with what she called a math problem that one or two of the defendants probably knew more than they were
01:18:17
letting on but it was also possible that at least one might have been genuinely innocent
01:18:23
of knowledge or involvement but without the defendant's cooperation determining who was the odd man out was
01:18:32
nearly impossible she went on to say the prosecution failed to prove that the three
01:18:40
defendants covered up a murder quote my verdicts represent my effort to fairly and impartially follow the rule
01:18:50
of law my focus on the difference between moral certainty and evidentiary certainty in
01:18:57
this case is probably cold comfort to those who loved robert juan and wish for some measure of peace and justice and i
01:19:06
am extremely sorry for this i believe however that the reasonable doubt standard is essential to
01:19:14
maintaining our criminal justice system i cite the wisdom of english jurist to william blackstone
01:19:22
that it is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer joseph price viktor zaborski and dylan
01:19:34
ward were acquitted of all charges victor cried while joseph and dylan stared straight ahead expressionless
01:19:45
the assistant u.s attorney general respected the judge's decision and accepted her verdict saying
01:19:53
everybody knew this was a challenging investigation and prosecution kathy wan who had attended the trial
01:20:04
daily with members of her husband's family was led sobbing from the courtroom for her the case was particularly
01:20:13
perplexing despite the acquitted having downplayed their friendship with her husband
01:20:20
joseph price had been a pallbearer at robert's funeral a position reserved for those closest to
01:20:27
him in the aftermath of the trial kathy filed a wrongful death civil suit against joseph victor and dylan
01:20:38
in it she alleged that the three men failed to rescue robert after he was injured destroyed evidence of the murder
01:20:45
and obstructed the police investigation the suit was settled privately for an undisclosed amount
01:20:54
in a statement issued through her attorney kathy wan said although the defendants repeatedly chose
01:21:03
to hide behind the fifth amendment to me their silence speaks volumes kathy told the washington post that she
01:21:15
agonised over the decision to settle out of court to avoid a lengthy civil trial
01:21:21
she thought about robert and what he would want her to do quote nothing gave him more happiness than
01:21:29
knowing i was at peace focusing on love and optimism this sentiment was echoed by kathy's
01:21:38
attorney he believed that if the civil case had gone to trial it would have been a
01:21:44
spectacle to no purpose as the respondents weren't going to come forward and provide any information
01:21:52
quote this case was never going to put anybody in jail or bring robert back to life
01:22:01
the settlement funds were divided between the one estate and a law clinic at the university of pennsylvania law
01:22:08
school which provides legal aid to winner city residents the world lost a good man when robert
01:22:17
juan was killed during his time at university robert ran the 13 club whose members went around
01:22:25
campus performing random acts of kindness it was fitting that at his graduation robert received an award presented to
01:22:34
students who excelled in characteristics of heart mind and helpfulness to others
01:22:40
[Music] in the years after his murder many organizations have dedicated scholarships and memorials in his honor
01:22:52
joseph victor and dylan reunited in florida as they had planned where they bought a home and settled in as a family
01:23:00
once more as of mid-2021 nobody has been charged with the murder of robert juan case file acknowledges joseph price
01:23:12
victor zaborski and dylan ward's presumption of innocence in the eyes of the law all three men
01:23:19
have not been found guilty of any of the crimes committed against or associated with robert juan
01:23:29
the case continues to intrigue amateur and professional sleuths alike some believe that one of the residents
01:23:37
of swan street northwest had ordered another to kill robert as the ultimate act of dominance
01:23:44
others suggest that sexual assault was intended but the murder itself was an accident
01:23:52
the general consensus is that one or all of the acquitted men at the center of the controversy know exactly who
01:24:00
committed the slaying a website dedicated to the case who murdered roberton.com sums it up succinctly
01:24:11
price zaborsky and ward were not guilty but they are not innocent due to the trio's continuing silence
01:24:22
robert juan's murder is often described as a case that will never be solved cathy juan has a message for joseph
01:24:32
price victor zaborski and dylan ward quote i am moving on i want to spend the next 40 years of my
01:24:43
life focusing on good they can rot from the inside out from all the secrets they chose to keep
01:24:51
that's their choice i chose to move on [Music] in june of 2015 a woman disappeared
01:25:23
while camping with her family in the cherokawa mountains of arizona she vanished without leaving a trace in the
01:25:30
course of one to two minutes this is the strangest search i've ever been on she just disappeared right off the face of
01:25:36
the earth i said you're telling me you got sign right here i said well then we're right on the road here basically
01:25:42
so she got another car somebody abducted her we were desperate we didn't know what
01:25:48
else to do you already start to know you know the canine hasn't found her something really bad is going on were we
01:25:53
a target of something what if somebody's got a vendetta against us the two-year quest for
01:25:59
answers in this case led me to find out more than i had originally anticipated i'll challenge you to something do a
01:26:06
homework on missing persons from national parks it's going to astound you what you're going to find out
01:26:12
there's no way my brother would have thought of suicide he also had just purchased furniture he was very excited
01:26:19
about fixing up his living room so you don't buy furniture and start fixing up your living room you're planning on
01:26:27
dying this case has more twists and turns than the blue ridge parkway and i have to say
01:26:32
occam's razor is normally the principal i operate from the simplest explanation is normally the most likely certainly
01:26:38
what i do know is that in fear and under pressure people make some very bad choices i'm ortavia mchenry and this is
01:26:45
the labyrinth a true crime podcast brought to you by case file presents i think there's something there that we're
01:26:51
just not seeing and that others aren't seeing neither because everybody now to this point in this case is just grasping
01:26:58
so welcome to our world with this case and if you can give us any help i can't even
01:27:04
we can't even begin to tell you how much we'd appreciate that how is it that these people disappear
01:27:08
like that without a tree i'm a firm believer those things are real and there's something out there that we
01:27:14
don't understand we don't the labyrinth available exclusively on spotify