00:00:00
Where is she? I don't know where she is. Where is Savannah? No. No. No. Why did you go with her? I
00:00:05
know you're not that cruel inside. I'm begging you, Lee. Just tell us. I don't know where she is.
00:00:11
This is Lee Rodarte, a man taken into custody for being suspected of kidnapping and killing his coworker,
00:00:17
Savannah Gold. With no ideas of where Savannah could be, the cops knew getting this interrogation wrong could mean they
00:00:24
might never catch the killer. What's even worse is that Lee had a foolproof story that was going to make sure
00:00:31
Savannah was never to be found. Lee, however, is under the impression that he is smarter than the detectives. Little
00:00:38
did he know this would be a massive mistake for him. On the 2nd of August, 2017, Savannah's family received text
00:00:46
messages stating she was running away and quitting her job. The messages were riddled with errors causing her family
00:00:53
to panic and report her as missing immediately. Throughout the investigation, the police were grasping
00:00:59
at straws until they were suddenly sent the CCTV footage from the Bonefish Grill
00:01:05
where Savannah worked. The video shows her getting into a silver car in the parking lot before it began to shake
00:01:10
violently with the door being thrust open and pulled shut three times. The car then drove out of the parking lot
00:01:17
and Savannah was never seen again. After a series of interviews, they discovered
00:01:22
the car was identical to Lee Rodarte's, a manager at the Grill and boyfriend to Savannah for around 2 months. Lee was
00:01:30
immediately arrested on suspicion of murder and brought into the interrogation room. However, he was told
00:01:35
by police it was for an unimportant traffic warrant. And that's when the following happened.
00:01:42
I'll sit right here for a little bit. You can go have have a seat for me real quick. I'll be right back, okay?
00:01:46
Yes, sir. Being told the detective will be right back obviously implies to Lee that he
00:01:52
won't have to wait long to be seen. But it actually be 90 minutes before anyone enters the room again. Only a few days
00:01:58
ago, Lee was interviewed about the disappearance of a girl he kidnapped and now he's been handcuffed and taken into
00:02:04
a police interrogation room. Lee will be feeling incredibly anxious now, but remember, he's confident that there's no
00:02:11
way the cops have enough evidence to take him down. But unfortunately for him, the facade the detectives put up is
00:02:18
all about to be ripped away. Hey, man. How you doing, man? Good, good. You remember me from the other day?
00:02:22
Detective Reeves. Um This is my partner, Detective Salas. The detective that enters isn't the same one
00:02:29
that brought him in. It's the one who interviewed him about Savannah 3 days prior. Any comfort he found in thinking
00:02:34
this was all unrelated has now been completely taken away and replaced with pure panic. But Lee's plan remains the
00:02:41
same, so he tries to keep himself composed as he prepares for the onslaught of questions he's about to be
00:02:47
hit with. So, um Savannah, you said that you knew her and you guys had um you knew her from work. I mean, just kind of
00:02:54
fill me in with that. How long have you known her? Um like I said, I've known her obviously
00:02:58
since she worked since she started working there. Um I would say probably about 8 months ago we started hanging
00:03:05
out outside of work. And at the time I had a girlfriend. But I kind of, you know, we kind of connected, me and
00:03:11
Savannah. So we hung out a little bit here and there. Got pretty close. Uh we come from, I guess,
00:03:18
somewhat similar backgrounds, I guess you should say. The question Lee was given was, "How long have you known
00:03:24
Savannah?" A question that shortly merits a fairly simple answer. When hit with a question like this, people who
00:03:30
have nothing to hide keep their responses short, taking the questions at face value. But people who feel
00:03:35
pressured will usually extend their answers to questions in an effort to seem as though they know what they're
00:03:40
talking about, something Lee will fall victim to. All right, so we kind of connected, hung out for a little while.
00:03:47
Uh I'd probably say a period of two, three months. Okay. Um and then she started using uh drugs Okay. a lot.
00:03:58
I did them with her a couple times and then she started to get heavy into them and
00:04:03
Oh, got you. Okay. Um so I kind of just uh tried to take a step back and, you know,
00:04:11
put things off. And then probably a month or so ago, I saw Savannah at work and she looked healthy again, you
00:04:21
know, she gained a little bit of weight. Uh we kind of were talking, you know, here and there. We hung out a couple
00:04:26
times. Um she came over to the house and, you know, we just kicked back, drank a couple beers, watched movies,
00:04:31
stuff like that. In total, Lee spoke for over 5 minutes in response to a single simple question, going so far as to
00:04:39
detail specific encounters between the pair. Now that the detectives have even more reason to suspect that he may be
00:04:45
hiding something, they decide to call him out on something small to gauge his reaction. In the first interview, Lee
00:04:51
had told investigators he hadn't seen Savannah in a while. But if the CCTV footage is to be believed, this is a
00:04:58
bold-faced lie. as we hung out, you know, after a couple times, she brought drugs over. I told
00:05:04
her, I was like, "You know, you're doing really good. You can't, you know, you shouldn't be doing it again. You I think
00:05:09
we moved too fast. Split mutual ways." Right. Yeah. And that was the last time that we text. Okay. When was that? When
00:05:17
was that? Uh it was probably a couple two, three weeks ago. Okay. Sometime in July. Right, right. Yeah, and then I
00:05:23
think that's one of the things you said was that was the last time that you had contact with her as far as I I don't
00:05:29
want to put words in your mouth, so I mean, you you correct me if I'm wrong. time that I text her. Yeah, text or
00:05:35
phone call or messenger or anything like that. Two to three weeks ago. Yeah. Okay. And um
00:05:41
and then the last time, when was the last time you saw her? This is what I was a bit
00:05:48
I didn't tell you the truth when we talked at Bonefish. Okay. Last time I saw her was Wednesday
00:05:53
afternoon. Okay. I heard that she has been basically telling a lot of people at work that
00:06:01
we hooked up a bunch like couple days before that. Yeah. So I met her in the parking lot uh at Bonefish.
00:06:11
When was this? Wednesday afternoon. Okay. What day you know what time or about? Um it was about 5:30. Okay.
00:06:18
Without realizing it, Lee has already provided us with enough evidence to assume he's guilty. We know he knew
00:06:25
Savannah. He had the same vehicle seen in the footage and he was present at the scene of the crime when it happened.
00:06:31
Remember, Lee has no idea the cops have footage of the event. If he knew about it, he would have tried to provide an
00:06:38
alibi that put him somewhere completely different. Unfortunately though, this isn't quite enough evidence for the cops
00:06:44
to get a guaranteed conviction. Instead, they need to push further to try and extract a full confession, something
00:06:51
that will not come easy at all. I parked uh and I said, "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" And she
00:06:59
said, "Yeah, what's up?" And I was like, "I heard you've been saying some things
00:07:05
about me and you continuing to hang out and, you know, that we're boyfriend and girlfriend."
00:07:11
And she asked me, she said, "Can I come sit in the car because I just did some heroin and I'm a little paranoid." It
00:07:19
was never confirmed that Savannah did do heroin. Nobody in her life mentioned seeing or suspecting she used it. And
00:07:27
even if she did, she was headed to a shift at her job as this conversation was taking place. If she was able to do
00:07:33
that without getting paranoid, it seems strange she couldn't simply have a chat in the parking lot.
00:07:38
So she came and sat in the car and I explained to her the situation. I told her that servers
00:07:43
at Bonefish were coming to me and telling me that you're telling people when you're out that we're boyfriend and
00:07:50
girlfriend and I said, "I need you to stop because for one it's jeopardizing my job. We agreed to, you know, split,
00:07:58
stop talking mutually and just move on. Um but it was nothing more than that." And she said, "I'm going to do what I
00:08:04
want. I didn't tell anybody anything." At that point, I got out and I punched through the hole in the tire. And I
00:08:11
said, "Now stop." And I said, "Don't do it again or next time it's going to be worse. It's going to be your windows."
00:08:19
At that point, she had her phone in her hand, she got out of the car and walked towards the main entrance from San Jose.
00:08:27
Obviously, this entire explanation was crafted to try and create an alibi as close as possible to what actually
00:08:33
happened. But the few small inaccuracies are actually glaring windows directly into the truth. We know that Savannah
00:08:40
never left the vehicle in the parking lot and that she drove away with him just minutes after getting in. Lee is
00:08:46
unwittingly constructing a mountain of evidence against him in the form of lies that he thinks he's getting away with.
00:08:54
And he's not finished yet. And it looked like she was either texting or calling somebody. Okay. Um because as she
00:09:01
started walking towards the there's an entrance to Bone to the plaza, but she was walking maybe
00:09:09
towards this way. Mhm. And I was seeing older model Ford pickup, Mhm. green, Okay. uh drove past me and
00:09:19
around and she got in. Okay. How long do you think it was between the time that she
00:09:26
got out and started using her phone till that green truck pulled up? Um maybe 5 minutes.
00:09:31
Okay. So wow, so if she called somebody, they got there in 5 minutes to pick her
00:09:36
up? Well, I mean, like I said, she she it looked like she was going to call somebody and that's when the green truck
00:09:41
came around and she got in. So she gets in the truck. What what happened at that
00:09:46
point? Um they drove back around, kind of looped around a little bit. they drive? So
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I guess they exited that way and at that point I left. Lee doubles down on the lie again,
00:10:01
thinking that this puts him completely in the clear as he wouldn't have been the last person to see Savannah, but his
00:10:07
decisions continue to work against him. Had he decided to stick closer to the truth, he might have been able to argue
00:10:13
that he took Savannah somewhere else and then parted ways with her. But without the knowledge of what police have
00:10:18
against him, Lee is left simply guessing and forced to make up stories on the fly. This is why it's so important to
00:10:25
call a lawyer, innocent or not. In an interrogation, detectives are allowed to both lie and withhold evidence from you,
00:10:33
putting you in a very difficult situation where you're at the mercy of their tactics and games.
00:10:39
However, the second you bring an attorney into the mix, things get exponentially easier as police are
00:10:44
forced to turn over all of the evidence in their possession so they can put together a fair and sound defense for
00:10:49
you. Calling a lawyer isn't just having a wingman at the interrogation room. It's an unlocked door that bypasses
00:10:57
almost all of the police's tricks. It goes from them interrogating you to a legal battle. But, needless to say,
00:11:05
Lee hasn't called a lawyer and has been left at a disadvantage from the beginning. If Lee was as smart as he
00:11:11
thinks he is, he wouldn't have waived this right and likely would be in a much better position. What happened to your
00:11:17
neck? That was self-inflicted actually. Why? I just have been having kind of a hard
00:11:24
time. To your neck? Yeah, I did. And What did you use? A knife. When did you do that? Um
00:11:37
some time in July. You did that in July and it's still Yeah. bloody? Well, it's I
00:11:46
kind of peel the scab here and there at work, hitting it on stuff like that. I peeled it last night working. Okay. Um
00:11:53
and it was coming off a little bit. So, that's why I peeled that off. All right. Let me see.
00:11:58
But this and this was the same night. This one was just a lot worse Yeah. than this one was. Okay. Um And that was in
00:12:05
July? Yeah. Okay. Um Like a few weeks back? Yeah. Okay. It doesn't take a genius to
00:12:13
realize how brazen of a lie this is. Aside from his incredibly unconvincing delivery of his excuses, Lee has no
00:12:20
history with self-harm and was reported to have been in good spirits in the weeks leading up to this event.
00:12:26
Furthermore, Lee becomes visibly anxious here. Most people have a tell that shows
00:12:31
when they're lying or feeling uncomfortable. For many, this is crossing their arms or slouching in
00:12:36
their chair, but Lee keeps his posture and position fairly consistent throughout the interview. Instead, Lee
00:12:42
is prone to subconscious jittery movements in his limbs. Earlier in the interview, while being caught in his
00:12:48
first lie, he bounced his leg repeatedly the entire time. Well, here, he moves his hand and fingers unnaturally every
00:12:55
time he tells a lie. In fact, it's almost comical how perfectly it lines up with the false statements. I met her in
00:13:01
the parking lot uh at Bonefish. When was this? Wednesday afternoon. What happened to your neck?
00:13:07
That was self-inflicted actually. What did you use? A knife. It's also interesting to note
00:13:14
that the detectives almost certainly noticed these marks just seconds into the interview.
00:13:18
The decision to mention it now was a conscious one done to try and build pressure. Lee would likely have anxiety
00:13:25
regarding his last big lie about Savannah exiting his vehicle. Catching him so suddenly in a second lie right
00:13:31
after will likely amplify these feelings and cause him to feel even more paranoia
00:13:36
as the detectives continue. This is also likely why they immediately flip back to
00:13:40
talking about the truck right after. Did could you see who the person in the truck was? Um the truck had tinted
00:13:46
fairly tinted windows. I saw um a baseball cap. Yeah. You see a guy, girl, white, black?
00:13:54
really tell if it was a guy or a girl. Okay. Um I just remember seeing the truck drive
00:14:00
and her get in. Yeah. Um and all of a sudden I'm sitting in front and truck drives right past me. Yeah. And I saw a
00:14:07
baseball cap through the passenger window. Okay. Um but So, it seemed like she knew the person? I mean, she got
00:14:14
right in. Lee, why didn't you mention this before since we've been looking for this girl? I mean, don't you think that
00:14:19
information is important? it definitely does. Um and I regret obviously not saying
00:14:25
anything before. Um So, I when I come up and talk to you yesterday, I'm not threatening.
00:14:32
I'm just I'm talking to everybody up there. What? Well, I just you know, I I freaked out
00:14:35
to be honest with you. I mean, The this girl's missing? Yes. Okay. But you know she's been
00:14:41
missing. I mean, you had to know something. you know, I was the last one to see her.
00:14:46
So, I was a little bit scared at that. How do you know you're You You just said you weren't the last one to see her. You
00:14:51
just said somebody in a truck. Well, I mean, the last one to see her at Bonefish.
00:14:55
Okay. That the last one she's heard from. Right. I had contact with that anybody knows of. Sure. The detective
00:15:01
knows he's starting to catch Lee on the back foot, so decides to keep the pressure up. So, where is Savannah right
00:15:07
now? I don't know. Where would I find her? I don't know. That's my my prime objective is to find
00:15:14
her. Definitely. And here's a couple reasons I need to find her. One is um I'm hoping that that she's still alive.
00:15:21
Um and and that's really I I really do I'm holding out for that. Um and if she's not alive, then I think she and
00:15:28
her family are are are due that knowledge. I I I think they need some closure. So, where is she?
00:15:35
know where she is. Where is Savannah? I don't know. I need to know where Savannah is so I can let her family
00:15:40
know. she is. You don't know because you had something done with her and you weren't
00:15:45
involved in that part. I I don't know. Tell me something. What can I work with? I told you the last time I saw her.
00:15:51
That's not true because we have proof. We have We have proof. And that's why we're sitting here, Lee. At this point,
00:15:58
we need this for her. I mean, I look at that little girl and I think of my little girl, my little girl who's her
00:16:03
age. That's who I think about. That was my little girl. I couldn't imagine. I don't care what she said
00:16:10
about you or whatever, but my little girl is that age. Uh maybe And you're not telling the truth. Maybe something
00:16:16
gets out of hand in the car. do anything. Okay, you didn't do anything, but she was in your car. She never got out of
00:16:22
your car. She never got out of your car, Lee. This is where the true genius of these
00:16:28
detectives start to shine. The initially quiet female detective suddenly starts to speak up. The male detective had a
00:16:36
very deadpan, professional demeanor throughout the interrogation, so having that suddenly contrasted by a
00:16:42
vulnerable, emotional-looking person being thrust in front of him will likely come as even more of a shock to him,
00:16:49
especially as she starts to become more emotive and even starts to beg him. never gets out of that car.
00:16:56
And you drive off, she never gets out of that car. There is no green truck and that's not right to her. We're
00:17:02
fact-finders, Lee. I don't have anything personal against you. No, no. Not at all. I mean, it's it's
00:17:07
it's over. We're just doing our job. No. No. No. Where did you go with her? Where did you go with her, Lee? Be
00:17:18
human. You're a human. You're a man. Why did you go with her? I know you're not that cruel inside. Maybe you Maybe you
00:17:25
don't know where she is now. Where did you go with her? Please. I'm begging you, Lee.
00:17:30
I know you're not an evil person. I don't see that in you. I don't see that in your history. I
00:17:36
don't hear those things about you at work. Is she still at your house? No. Okay. Is she still in your car? No.
00:17:44
Okay. Well, where is she? What was going on in the backseat for the doors to be kicked open?
00:17:52
She kicked open that door three times, Lee. She kicked it. We saw it. And you know And you know I'm
00:17:58
not making it up because I wouldn't know this cuz I wasn't there unless we had video of it, correct? Yes, correct. I'm
00:18:05
not trying to trick you. I'm just a fact-finder. I mean, she was upset. She tried to slap
00:18:12
me. I slapped her. She went to get out. I grabbed her around her waist. She said, "Where are you going?" "Why
00:18:21
are you hitting me?" She calmed down and we left. Why would she be with you after that? Why would she
00:18:30
we've gotten arguments plenty of times where she says she doesn't care what happens or anything like that.
00:18:37
All right. Sometimes people do wrong things. Right? Some people people make mistakes.
00:18:43
It's what you do afterwards. You got a family that needs closure. They're now coming to the reality that
00:18:49
she's no longer with us. You want people to remember you as a guy who said, "Okay, look.
00:18:54
I'm going to do the right thing." Or do you want her family and everybody else to think that you're some evil,
00:19:00
heartless person who won't tell us where she is? I don't think you're that kind of guy. I don't think you're evil. Just
00:19:06
tell us where she is. Closure for her family. She was hitting me. She wouldn't stop and I I just
00:19:17
squeezed back. I just squeezed her. You squeezed her around her neck or around her body?
00:19:25
She was screaming and I let go. And then I let go. Where is she now? Please tell us where she is.
00:19:33
All I want to do I left her on the west side of the club clay. Club Du Clay? Yeah. Okay.
00:19:43
at Longchamp. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Just a few days later, a dive team recovered the remains of Savannah Gold,
00:19:50
burned and almost unrecognizable. So much so that her cause of death couldn't even be determined. Livaudais
00:19:58
Arte pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Savannah, and in March of 2021
00:20:04
was sentenced to 40 years behind bars.