00:00:04
[music playing]
00:00:08
NARRATOR: Sometime after
midnight in July of 1986,
00:00:13
Stephanie Brown took some
friends home who lived
00:00:16
in an unfamiliar part of town.
00:00:19
Make sure you go I-5 North.
00:00:21
Don't go south and get lost.
00:00:23
NARRATOR: To get back
to her apartment,
00:00:24
Brown was told to
take Interstate 5
00:00:27
North, a major
thoroughfare in California.
00:00:31
I-5 North?
00:00:32
OK.
00:00:33
NARRATOR: Despite
the directions,
00:00:35
Stephanie Brown
made the wrong turn.
00:00:38
Bye, bye.
00:00:39
NARRATOR: It took both
science and psychology
00:00:42
to discover what happened next.
00:00:47
[music playing]
00:01:13
A fisherman walking down this
trail in a remote mountain area
00:01:16
outside of
Sacramento, California
00:01:18
discovered the semi-nude body
of a young woman lying face down
00:01:23
in a flooded irrigation ditch.
00:01:25
Around her neck, a band of
purple discoloration, the sign
00:01:30
of ligature strangulation.
00:01:32
It's a very isolated, desolate
area next to a cornfield,
00:01:36
and there were no houses
or lights or civilization
00:01:40
anywhere around.
00:01:42
It's a very lonely spot
to have been driven to.
00:01:44
And certainly, she was
conscious during the drive.
00:01:47
We don't know how long
he toyed with her,
00:01:50
we don't know how long he
assaulted her, how long
00:01:51
it was before she was killed.
00:01:54
NARRATOR: The autopsy
found traces of semen,
00:01:56
but the samples were too badly
degraded for DNA testing.
00:02:00
The victim was identified
as 19-year-old Stephanie
00:02:03
Brown, who worked as a
teller in a Sacramento bank.
00:02:06
Stephanie was a very
sensitive, loving,
00:02:11
caring daughter who
wouldn't hurt anybody.
00:02:16
Monday after work, she
came by and did laundry.
00:02:19
She called a couple of
friends on the phone.
00:02:22
And then, when she was
through, she came over
00:02:27
and gave us a kiss goodbye.
00:02:31
And I just remember her
walking out the family room,
00:02:34
out the door waving, you
know, her hair in a ponytail,
00:02:38
waving, bye, mom, I love you.
00:02:44
NARRATOR: When police learned
that Stephanie's hair was long
00:02:47
and in a ponytail the
day before she died,
00:02:50
they realized that
her killer had cut it.
00:02:54
Ray Biondi headed
Sacramento's homicide unit.
00:02:57
First thought
came to my mind is
00:02:59
we're dealing with somebody
with a very perverse fetish,
00:03:02
cutting hair.
00:03:05
And I had never seen
this before in hundreds
00:03:07
of other murder investigations.
00:03:09
Did this person cut
the hair and take it
00:03:12
away as a trophy or a souvenir?
00:03:14
We didn't really know.
00:03:16
NARRATOR: Brown's car was found
20 miles away on Interstate 5
00:03:20
and was headed in the opposite
direction from her apartment.
00:03:24
The car was full of
gas and operational.
00:03:27
Brown was probably lost
and may have stopped
00:03:29
to ask someone for directions.
00:03:33
Just one month later,
there was another incident
00:03:36
along Interstate 5.
00:03:38
26-year-old Charmaine
Sabrah and her mother
00:03:41
had been out to dinner
and were heading home
00:03:44
when their car broke down
along a deserted stretch
00:03:47
of Interstate 5.
00:03:50
A man in a dark sports car
stopped and offered to help.
00:03:54
Ladies having
trouble with your car?
00:03:55
- Yes.
- Yeah.
00:03:56
I heard a noise,
so I pulled over.
00:03:58
Now, the car won't start.
00:04:00
I'll be happy to give you a
ride, but I can only take one.
00:04:02
This is only a two-seater.
00:04:10
CHARMAINE SABRAH: I'll
be back as soon as I can.
00:04:13
NARRATOR: That was the last
time her mother saw her.
00:04:25
In the foothills of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains outside
00:04:28
of Sacramento,
California, a hunter
00:04:30
discovered the badly decomposed
remains of a White female.
00:04:36
The remains had been
scattered by animals,
00:04:38
but investigators
recovered the skull, torso,
00:04:42
and some clothing,
which included
00:04:44
a purple skirt, dark blouse, and
a pair of alligator heel shoes.
00:04:48
The clothes were similar to
those worn by Charmaine Sabrah,
00:04:52
who disappeared without a trace
after accepting a ride three
00:04:55
months earlier on Interstate 5.
00:04:59
Dental x-rays confirmed
that the remains
00:05:02
were those of Charmaine Sabrah.
00:05:04
The cause of death
was strangulation.
00:05:07
The side seam from
Charmaine's blouse
00:05:10
was cut and used as a
ligature around her neck,
00:05:13
along with a piece
of yellow nylon cord.
00:05:17
Her pantyhose had
been cut in two places
00:05:19
and tied around her wrists.
00:05:22
There were cuts made to the
victim's slip and the shoulder
00:05:25
straps of her bra.
00:05:27
Criminalist Jim Streeter
analyzed the clothing
00:05:30
from the crime scene.
00:05:31
I've never seen clothes
cutting like that.
00:05:34
I've never seen any
cutting like that.
00:05:36
Talking with other
investigators,
00:05:37
they've never seen any
types of cutting like this.
00:05:41
Cuttings would be for some
function in any other case
00:05:45
that we had seen, but
in this particular case,
00:05:48
it was so unusual that it
became his calling card.
00:05:51
The initial cutting is what
he uses to arouse himself
00:05:55
initially sexually
and then enables
00:05:59
him to complete and perform the
rest of the-- of the offense.
00:06:04
NARRATOR: Like Stephanie
Brown, Charmaine Sabrah's body
00:06:07
was found over 50 miles
away from where her car
00:06:10
broke down on Interstate 5.
00:06:12
Charmaine's mother was
not able to provide
00:06:14
a detailed description
of the driver
00:06:16
since she did not
see him clearly.
00:06:19
All she could say was that he
was a White male in his 40s
00:06:22
with a large nose and pale skin.
00:06:25
It's hard to imagine that he
would take Charmaine planning
00:06:29
to kill her knowing that
he left his mother--
00:06:32
her mother as a witness behind.
00:06:34
That makes no sense to me.
00:06:37
NARRATOR: Bruce
Henderson described
00:06:39
the sophistication
of this serial killer
00:06:41
in his book, "Trace Evidence."
00:06:44
And he was very good at
confounding the police.
00:06:47
This killer didn't
leave behind easy clues.
00:06:50
And he took his victims
great distances,
00:06:53
and he left clean crime
scenes, meaning no fingerprints
00:06:57
or anything that could
connect him to the crime
00:07:01
or to the victim.
00:07:03
NARRATOR: Two
weeks later, police
00:07:04
were called to
another homicide 35
00:07:07
miles southeast of Sacramento.
00:07:09
She was hogtied
with her own tank top,
00:07:13
a victim of ligature
strangulation, wherein her arms
00:07:16
were bent up behind her
back, and then the tank top
00:07:19
was looped over her neck.
00:07:21
NARRATOR: Her
halter top and socks
00:07:23
had been cut in the
same non-functional way
00:07:26
as the other victims.
00:07:27
Dental records
identified the remains
00:07:30
as 20-year-old Lora Heedick.
00:07:35
The last time anyone
saw her was in an area
00:07:38
frequented by prostitutes.
00:07:40
Why don't you go with
this guy for a little while?
00:07:43
NARRATOR: Lora was with her
boyfriend, James Driggers.
00:07:47
OK.
00:07:48
NARRATOR: They needed
money for drugs,
00:07:50
and Driggers told police that
Lora agreed to prostitution.
00:07:57
MAN: You ready?
00:07:58
Yeah.
00:07:59
I know a place to go.
00:08:01
MAN: Hop in.
00:08:06
NARRATOR: Lora left with
a customer in a white car.
00:08:13
Driggers said he
never saw her again.
00:08:16
But Driggers took a lie
detector test and failed.
00:08:20
Is it the boyfriend or
is it not the boyfriend?
00:08:22
The first people
you must eliminate
00:08:24
are those all around the victim.
00:08:27
NARRATOR: Police were
convinced that the murders
00:08:29
were all related.
00:08:31
But if Driggers had a
hand in his girlfriend's
00:08:34
murder, what was his connection
to the other victims?
00:08:42
A serial murderer was on the
loose in Central California,
00:08:46
at first, abducting
women along Interstate 5,
00:08:49
and later, prowling
for prostitutes
00:08:52
in downtown Sacramento.
00:08:54
Police decoys dressed as
prostitutes in an attempt
00:08:57
to lure the killer
into their trap,
00:08:59
and they also posed as
a motorists in distress
00:09:02
along Interstate 5.
00:09:05
Despite these efforts,
the murders continued.
00:09:09
On Sunday, June 21, 1987, in
the remote woods of Deer Creek,
00:09:14
Amador County, a
family on a hiking trip
00:09:17
found blood on the trail.
00:09:19
The victim was identified
as 25-year-old Karen Finch.
00:09:23
She was divorced and the mother
of a two-year-old daughter.
00:09:27
Her car was found near
Interstate 5 fully operational.
00:09:31
Her sandals were
still in the car.
00:09:33
If she walked barefoot, she
hadn't planned to walk far.
00:09:39
RAY BIONDI: There
was a piece of--
00:09:40
a fragment of duct
tape in her hair,
00:09:43
which light bulbs went
on at the time, thinking,
00:09:46
this is what happened in
the Stephanie Brown case.
00:09:49
That's why her hair was cut.
00:09:54
NARRATOR: The killer used
duct tape to gag his victims
00:09:57
and always cut it off
before leaving the scene.
00:10:01
he may have known that
the sticky side of tape
00:10:03
is a rich source
of fingerprints.
00:10:06
But this time,
something went wrong.
00:10:10
Karen Finch probably fought
back, and when she did,
00:10:13
the killer used what he had
in his hand, the scissors,
00:10:16
to stab her.
00:10:24
The killer left the
scene without removing
00:10:26
all of the tape.
00:10:27
Unfortunately, there were
no fingerprints on the piece
00:10:30
of tape he left behind.
00:10:32
The bodies were
found some distance
00:10:34
from where he would have been
able to park his vehicle.
00:10:37
Some of these distances
were too far that he
00:10:39
would have carried them.
00:10:40
So we're certain that
they were made to walk.
00:10:44
They may have had their
hands bound at that time.
00:10:48
NARRATOR: A few weeks later,
police had yet another victim.
00:10:51
The nude, decomposed body of
17-year-old Darcie Frackenpohl
00:10:56
was found in a deserted area
off Highway 50 near Lake Tahoe.
00:11:01
The cause of death
was strangulation.
00:11:04
Her blouse was tied around
her neck with a wood garrote.
00:11:07
Two pieces of rope were
found near her clothing.
00:11:11
The rope was made of
nylon, and after checking
00:11:14
with several ropes
suppliers, police
00:11:16
discovered that it
was the type of rope
00:11:19
used in parachute cords.
00:11:21
Cutting the victim's
clothing was
00:11:23
important to the killer for
some reason, so important
00:11:26
that he did this in
all of his murders,
00:11:29
so important he would
carry a pair of scissors
00:11:33
to every crime to
carry out the ritual.
00:11:38
I cried for all the victims.
00:11:40
It was just so emotional after
a year and a half of working
00:11:44
on all this physical evidence,
trying to link everyone
00:11:49
together and trying to find
the person that did this
00:11:54
so that wouldn't
happen again can
00:11:56
just be overwhelming at times.
00:11:58
NARRATOR: The killer
was experienced.
00:12:00
He knew exactly
what he was doing.
00:12:03
And he perfected his
technique with every case.
00:12:08
[music playing]
00:12:10
The only lead police
had in their search
00:12:12
for the serial killer
was the way in which
00:12:15
he carried out the murders.
00:12:17
His signature characteristics
included the rope
00:12:20
and the clothes cutting.
00:12:22
A few months later,
an unrelated incident
00:12:25
caught homicide's attention.
00:12:29
Deborah Guffey was
a street prostitute
00:12:31
in downtown Sacramento who told
police an interesting story.
00:12:36
MAN: Hey, you working tonight?
00:12:40
Been here waiting for you.
00:12:41
MAN: Get in.
00:12:42
We'll go for a ride.
00:12:44
[music playing]
00:13:00
NARRATOR: When he
parked the car,
00:13:02
he turned violent,
smashing Guffey's head
00:13:06
into the dashboard and
tried to handcuff her.
00:13:16
Guffey managed to escape.
00:13:26
A policeman who was driving
nearby saw the altercation
00:13:29
and stopped to investigate.
00:13:32
48-year-old Roger Kibbe was
charged with the assault.
00:13:37
He was the manager of a
public storage facility,
00:13:40
married, and had a daughter
from an earlier marriage.
00:13:43
A background check
on Roger Kibbe
00:13:45
revealed an arrest 30 years
earlier at the age of 15
00:13:50
for stealing women's underwear
off their clothes lines
00:13:53
and cutting it in a random,
non-functional way with a pair
00:13:58
of his mother's scissors.
00:14:00
Kibbe told police at the time
he had a terrible relationship
00:14:04
with his mother.
00:14:06
Roger Kibbe was
also a parachutist,
00:14:08
another coincidence, since
parachute rope had been found
00:14:13
at one of the murder sites.
00:14:15
Kibbe's brother was a
homicide detective in Nevada,
00:14:19
another coincidence
since police suspected
00:14:22
that the killer knew homicide
investigative techniques.
00:14:26
Roger Kibbe owned
two different cars.
00:14:29
One was similar to the car which
picked up Charmaine Sabrah.
00:14:33
In the other, police
found some rope
00:14:36
with the garrote tied to the
ends, a set of handcuffs,
00:14:40
and scissors.
00:14:42
We knew who our killer was.
00:14:43
It was Roger Kibbe.
00:14:45
But we lacked the evidence
to actually file any case,
00:14:48
any murder charges against him.
00:14:50
NARRATOR: Criminalist
Faye Springer
00:14:52
is an expert in exchange
or trace evidence
00:14:55
that can link a suspect or
victim to a crime scene.
00:14:59
Springer pored
over the thousands
00:15:01
of hairs, fibers,
and other materials
00:15:04
found on the victim's clothing.
00:15:07
She found two carpet fibers
on Darcie Frackenpohl's dress.
00:15:12
They were blue, triangular
in shape, made of nylon,
00:15:16
and were manufactured
by the DuPont Company.
00:15:19
When she compared the
fibers to the carpet
00:15:22
in Roger Kibbe's
automobile, she discovered
00:15:25
that they were the
same color, size,
00:15:27
shape, made of the
same polymer, and dyed
00:15:31
with the same chemicals.
00:15:33
And when Springer
looked closer, she saw
00:15:36
something else on the fibers.
00:15:38
FAYE SPRINGER: I noticed when
I was looking at the fibers
00:15:41
microscopically that there
were some contaminants
00:15:43
on the surface.
00:15:44
It was a
football-shaped particle
00:15:47
that turned out later to be
identified as a fungal spore.
00:15:51
NARRATOR: The same
fungal spores were
00:15:53
on the fibers from the
floor mat of Kibbe's car.
00:15:58
The human hair found on
one of the victim's dress
00:16:01
was microscopically
similar to hair taken
00:16:04
from Roger Kibbe's inner thigh.
00:16:07
When Springer turned her
attention to the panty hose
00:16:10
used to tie Charmaine
Sabrah's wrists,
00:16:13
she noticed something which
had previously been overlooked.
00:16:17
The benefit of being
a woman caramelized
00:16:19
and working sexual
assault type homicides
00:16:22
is that we know that when
the pantyhose come off,
00:16:25
they come off inside out.
00:16:27
Men just wouldn't
know that unless they
00:16:29
actually had pantyhose on.
00:16:31
NARRATOR: With the panty
hose turned the proper way,
00:16:34
Springer discovered
several small fibers
00:16:38
on the back of the leg area.
00:16:40
When Springer compared
those fibers to the fibers
00:16:43
on the seat of one of
Roger Kibbe's automobiles,
00:16:46
they were
microscopically similar.
00:16:49
Finally, Springer analyzed the
pieces of rope found in Kibbe's
00:16:54
car and in his storage shed.
00:16:57
At first glance, it appeared to
be identical to the rope found
00:17:01
near Darcie Frackenpohl's body.
00:17:03
Both were made of
white nylon with six
00:17:06
fibers running through the
cord and 32 threads per cord.
00:17:10
But Faye Springer
noticed something
00:17:12
peculiar when she looked at
the rope under the microscope.
00:17:15
FAYE SPRINGER: I
noticed that there
00:17:17
was red paint on the cordage
and some black particles.
00:17:21
Later, Kay Maulsby
said that she had
00:17:24
some cordage from
an assault case
00:17:26
that Kibbe was involved in.
00:17:28
She brought that
out, I looked at it,
00:17:29
I noticed the same particles
were on that cordage.
00:17:33
This was a very
strong link to Roger
00:17:37
Kibbe and Darcy Frackenpohl.
00:17:41
NARRATOR: But the size
of the paint particles
00:17:43
was tiny, about 6 microns, which
is 6 millionths of a meter.
00:17:49
With the scanning
electron microscope,
00:17:52
scientists performed
an elemental analysis
00:17:55
of the inorganic
compounds of the paint.
00:17:58
They found 10 different elements
in the paint mixture common
00:18:02
in the chemical formulation
of red acrylic paint,
00:18:05
but they found two additional
elements in the paint which
00:18:10
were not, sodium and chlorine.
00:18:13
These were contaminants
in the air when the paint
00:18:17
was sprayed near the rope.
00:18:19
All three pieces of rope
had the same red paint
00:18:22
and the same contaminants.
00:18:25
The rope found near Darcie
Frackenpohl's body, the rope
00:18:29
found in Roger Kibbe's car
and in Kibbe's storage shed,
00:18:33
all were in the same area
when someone was using a can
00:18:37
of red acrylic spray paint.
00:18:40
The cordage was basically the
coup de grace of people's case.
00:18:44
It was extremely unique.
00:18:46
Commonality was the
red paint stains
00:18:49
on each one of
these cords at those
00:18:51
three scenes, which meant
Roger Kibbe was at the scenes.
00:18:56
I said, he's boxed in,
ladies and gentlemen.
00:18:59
We're gonna bury him.
00:19:00
He's guilty.
00:19:02
NARRATOR: Roger Kibbe was
charged with the murder
00:19:04
of Darcie Frackenpohl.
00:19:06
On March 18, 1991, he was
found guilty of murder
00:19:11
in the first degree and was
sentenced to 25 years to life.
00:19:16
Kibbe still faces the
possibility of murder
00:19:19
charges in the other deaths.
00:19:21
RAY BIONDI: Roger is in
prison for only one murder.
00:19:25
There has to be another trial.
00:19:27
These other families need to
see some kind of reconciliation
00:19:31
in court.
00:19:32
NARRATOR: The police
and prosecution
00:19:34
were unaware that Kibbe
confessed to his wife
00:19:38
shortly after his arrest.
00:19:40
And I didn't know that
he had murdered anybody
00:19:44
until that night
the police arranged
00:19:46
for me to get in the back
seat of the cruiser with him.
00:19:50
And he told me that he
had killed five people.
00:19:55
Well, four.
00:19:56
Excuse me, four.
00:19:58
I cried, he cried.
00:20:02
I asked him why.
00:20:04
But when you're sobbing--
00:20:07
I mean, we were sobbing.
00:20:11
He said he didn't know.
00:20:19
JO-ALLYN BROWN: I came
away from there just
00:20:22
feeling and overcoming
with the thought
00:20:25
that this is not enough.
00:20:30
This just is not enough.
00:20:32
My daughter's laying there, and
so are many, many other girls
00:20:35
laying there.
00:20:37
And this man, all he can say,
what is the big fuss about?
00:20:41
I killed a few girls.
00:20:43
The horror that
Darcie and the fear
00:20:47
that Darcie Frackenpohl
must have felt before going,
00:20:54
Stephanie Brown, how--
00:20:58
how frightened she
must have been.
00:21:05
I'm so sorry.
00:21:07
[music playing]
