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[Music]
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After a day of fishing in a small, quiet
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village in Switzerland, a teenage boy
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did not return home as planned. The
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investigation revealed some important
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microscopic evidence in the water near
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where he was last seen. It was the only
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forensic evidence detectives had.
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[Music]
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Late in the afternoon of August 4th,
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1993,
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in the small Swiss village of Noi
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Paradis,
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13-year-old Dario Chickalia left his
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home to go fishing in a nearby by Creek.
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As night fell on the town, Dario had not
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returned home and his mother called the
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police to report her son missing.
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>> When we found the bike and his clothing,
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we concluded that he had last been
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fishing there.
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>> Where and with whom he could have left
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the place, we had no idea.
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Two days passed and the search
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intensified with more than a 100
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policemen patrolling the area with
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search dogs. A missing person poster
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aired on local television and newspapers
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asked, "Where is Dario.
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As time passed, people feared the
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worst."
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>> To us, there were clear indications that
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a crime had taken place because of the
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objects found. his bike and his trunks.
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>> Search teams meticulously combed the
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field next to the creek where Dario's
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swim trunks and fishing pole had been
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found. Farther downstream, police found
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Dario's t-shirt on the bank.
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A dam was placed in the creek in order
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to search the muddy bottom for evidence.
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Many items were discovered, but nothing
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that could be linked to the missing boy.
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Let's see if we do the doctor.
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>> Two nights after Dario was reported
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missing, two women were walking a dog
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along a field path near Switzerland's
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border with Germany.
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They saw what appeared to be blood.
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[Music]
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>> Just a few feet away in a nearby corn
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field
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lay the naked body of a young man.
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When I got the message from these two
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women, we immediately sent a police
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officer to check the site. When he
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reported that the body was that of a
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young man, we realized that it might be
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Dario.
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>> The body was positively identified as
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Dario Chickia.
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He had been sexually mutilated.
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>> I certainly will never forget this all
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of my life, that terrible sight. It was
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quite obvious from the beginning that it
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was a sex crime. This could be seen from
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the injuries. There were cuts and
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bruises also in the genital area.
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>> When the medical examiner arrived at the
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scene, he concluded that the cuts on the
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body were consistent with a pocketk
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knife, but were made sometime after the
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boy was dead. I found on the body a lot
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of long cuts side by side and this
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helped me to think that the boy did not
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move during the cuts were made and on
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the other hand there were no defensive
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wounds.
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>> Although blood had been found near the
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body, Dr. Wiler believed it wasn't
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enough blood to indicate that the boy's
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heart was still pumping when the
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mutilation took place. When there is no
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heart action and no circulation in the
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body, there is no possibility to to
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bleed very much.
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>> With no evidence of a struggle, police
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suspected that Dario had been murdered
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somewhere else and the body transported
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to the cornfield.
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Police found Dario's sneakers in the
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cornfield, but they did not find the
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knife used in the mutilation.
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We were greatly alarmed. Such crimes are
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frequently repeated if the killer is
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still at large. We therefore started
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immediately with a very thorough search
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of the environment.
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>> Police could find no foreign hair,
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fibers, or semen. But Dr. Wiler swabbed
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the inside of Dario's mouth for possible
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forensic evidence. When he analyzed that
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sample, he discovered some microscopic
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evidence. It was a discovery that would
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change the course of the investigation
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and launch a new era in crime science.
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After Dario Chicoia's mutilated body was
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found lying in a corn field, Dr. Dr.
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Daniel Wiler analyzed the forensic
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evidence from Dario's mouth. Something
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under the microscope caught his
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attention. He found what are called
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datones.
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Datome are a type of algae, microscopic
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organisms that live mostly in the sea,
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in ponds, lakes, and streams. They can
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also be found on moist rocks, even in
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mud and soil. These tiny organisms are
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the most diverse of all algae. Globally,
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they account for approximately 25% of
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all photosynthesis.
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There are about 16,000 different species
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of datones worldwide, about 3,000
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species in Switzerland alone. Datomes
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can tell scientists about past
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environmental conditions in freshwater
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and marine environments as long ago as
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tens of thousands of years. And in the
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case of Dario Chicoia, Dr. Wiler hoped
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that the datones found in his body would
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reveal something about his murder.
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>> I was absolutely sure that this boy was
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drowned in the lungs. I found a lot of
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mud
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and this helped me to see that he has
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been in water with a lot of mud. So it
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can't be a very deep lake or something
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like that. It must be a a creek or a
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small river or something like that.
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Datome were also found on Dario's
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sneakers which were in the cornfield
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near his body. The next step was to see
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if the datomes in Dario's lungs and on
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his sneakers could help determine the
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exact body of water where Dario had been
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murdered. To find out, Dr. Wiler called
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on the expertise of Dr. Yakim Hurleman,
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a biologist who specializes in the study
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of datones. You can look to the datms in
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the lung and you see the species and the
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species give you information about the
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the type of river or lake the water
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quality. Dr. Hurleman was asked to
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analyze the datome populations in
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Dario's lungs and sneakers as well as
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those found in water samples from the
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region. If he could find significant
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similarities,
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investigators would know the exact
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location of his murder. If you have a a
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high similarity, you know that two
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samples must come from the same place.
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>> But with as many as 3,000 different
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species of datomes in Switzerland alone,
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Dr. Hurleman would have to test water
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samples from the nearby bodies of water
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to make an accurate comparison
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>> to be very sure that there is no other
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pond or river or creek which has the
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similar or the same datm community. So
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if you look to other um water bodies and
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you won't find the communities then you
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are quite sure that uh this special
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place was the place of the of the
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drowning. Water samples were collected
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from the surrounding bodies of water,
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including the Ryan River, which flows
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between the creek and the cornfield
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where Dario's body had been found. The
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water samples were treated with acids to
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kill any organic matter in the datome,
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leaving their glass-like skeletal
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remains, a necessary step in
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identification according to species.
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Under the microscope, Dr. Dr. Hurleman
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compared the datome populations found in
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Dario's lungs and on his sneakers to the
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thousands of known species in his
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reference journals. He found one
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dominant species. The datomes were
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identified as fragilaria pinata, a
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freshwater species usually found
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attached to sand grains in slowly moving
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water. The next step was for Dr.
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Hurleman to count and identify the
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datome populations from the various
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water samples using an elaborate chart.
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It was a tedious process, but eventually
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he found one body of water which had as
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its dominant species fragileria panata.
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The same dominant species found in
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Dario's lungs and on his sneakers. It
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was from a water sample taken from the
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creek just a few feet away from where
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Dario's bicycle was found. This
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discovery led Dr. Hurleman to one
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conclusion.
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>> We can say that the datoms found in the
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lungs of Daario must be from the same
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place we have taken samples in from the
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creek. Was it possible that the datome
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evidence could tell investigators more
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than simply where Dario was murdered?
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Could the DAO lead investigators to the
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killer?
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Armed with the datome evidence found
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inside Dario Chicoia's lungs and on his
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sneakers, police concluded that he had
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been forcefully drowned in the creek
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where he had been fishing before being
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mutilated and dumped in the cornfield.
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The question now, who murdered Dario?
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And how was the body transported to the
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cornfield a few kilometers away? Police
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questioned friends and acquaintances of
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the victim.
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>> We questioned about 200 persons both in
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Switzerland and Germany. Of course, the
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family were also investigated as it is
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always done in such cases. Also, in case
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no responsible person is found to clear
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the family that no suspicions remain
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with them. With no strong leads or
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suspects, Swiss police informed Interpol
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of the case. Interpol is an
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international agency headquartered in
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France that shares information about
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criminal investigations with 178 nations
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who are members of the network.
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>> As the body was found so close to the
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border, it was possible that the
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murderer might have come from or gone to
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a foreign country. It was a difficult
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case. Interpol was also informed of the
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case. Three months after the murder of
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Dario Chicia, Interpol notified Swiss
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police of a possible lead. A man had
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been arrested in France for sexually
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assaulting a hitchhiker and trying to
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kill him. He was identified as
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35year-old Roland Keebler, a psychiatric
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nurse who was divorced and the father of
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a 5-year-old girl. What caught
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Interpol's attention was the fact that
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Keebler lived in Switzerland, not far
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from the village where Dario Chicia was
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murdered. When Dr. Wiler heard of Roland
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Keebler's arrest, he suggested something
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unusual. He told the Swiss police to
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examine Keebler's car.
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>> Car is still in in Switzerland. So I
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asked the police whether it's possible
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to get the pedals of the car and the
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carpet in the trunk to bring all that
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stuff to Dr. Hurleman.
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>> It was clear that the people who has
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done this drowning that um he must have
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the items on his shoes on his clothes or
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uh in his car. Forensic scientists
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collected microscopic debris from inside
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Keebler's car, including material from
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both the gas and brake pedals, the
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carpet in the passenger compartment, and
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the carpet from the trunk. When Dr.
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Hurleman analyzed those samples under a
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microscope, he made a surprising
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discovery. He found datones.
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They were found on both the gas and
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brake pedals, in the carpet under the
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pedals, and in the carpet in the trunk.
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When he analyzed the datome found in the
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car, he discovered they were fragilaria
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panata, the same dominant species found
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in Dario's lungs, on his sneakers, and
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in the creek. With 3,000 different
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species of datomes in Switzerland, the
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similarities in the datome evidence was
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significant. We know now that the
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material found in in the car must come
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or is similar to to the one of the lung
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of Daario and to the material found in
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the creek.
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>> Armed with this microscopic evidence,
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Swiss police confronted Roland Keebler.
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He denied he had anything to do with
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Dario's murder and said he only knew
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about the crime from what he read in the
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newspapers. But during questioning,
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Keebler revealed details of Dario's
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wounds, details which had never been
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reported in the newspapers.
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Roland Keebler knew too much. When
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confronted with the discrepancy, Roland
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Keebler confessed to the murder of Dario
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Chicoia.
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A picture now emerged of what took place
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at the creek the day Dario disappeared
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and how his killer left behind a
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microscopic trail of evidence.
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During police interrogation,
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Roland Keebler confessed to both the
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murder and mutilation of Dario Czechalia
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and his long-standing sexual fantasies
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about young boys.
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>> He is in simple terms a pedophile and he
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has suppressed his homosexual tendencies
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for years and when he lived his
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fantasies he had to kill the victim in
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order to keep a secret.
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On August 4th, 1993,
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Dario rode his bicycle to the creek near
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his home for an afternoon of fishing.
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He left his bike near the main road and
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headed down to the water.
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[Music]
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Roland Keebler was on vacation and had
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been drinking heavily when he drove in
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the area where Dario was fishing.
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Keebler spotted Dario's bike and told
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police just knowing a young boy was in
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the area excited him greatly.
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Keebler parked his car and walked to
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where Dario was fishing.
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>> Ash.
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>> No, Nick.
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>> After a brief conversation, Keebler
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approached Dario again.
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He attacked the young boy, pushing him
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into the water, forced him to undress,
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and sexually molested him.
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Then Keebler forced Dario's head under
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the water into the mud of the stream
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bed. With his knee between Dario's
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shoulder blades, he kept the voice
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submerged until the struggling stopped.
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[Music]
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Keebler decided not to leave the body at
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the scene of the crime. Instead, he
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placed the boy's body into the trunk of
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his car and left for a social engagement
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with his ex-wife.
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[Music]
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Little did Keebler realize he had left
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behind a trail of evidence, microscopic
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single cell evidence which would link
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him to the scene of the crime.
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From the moment Keebler pushed his
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victim into the creek, microscopic dios
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in the water attached themselves to the
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soles of his shoes, and dat
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flooded Dario's mouth and lungs when he
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was forcefully drowned.
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Keebler transferred those datomes from
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his shoes to the pedals of his car when
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he drove away
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and dat from Dario's mouth would later
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seep onto the carpet in the trunk in
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which he was transported to the
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cornfield.
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Dr. Wiler's discovery of the datones and
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Dr. Hurlman's species identification in
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the laboratory were essential elements
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in tracking down a vicious killer.
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Roland Keebler had silenced his victim,
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but the datome evidence spoke volumes.
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>> I am proud that I found this datoms. It
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was a very very good feeling for me to
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have found a scientific way to prove
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something what was very important
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to find a murder. We know that we didn't
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make big mistakes or errors in in the
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determination or in the preparation of
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the all the samples. So it was at this
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moment it was a good feeling. Of course
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>> this case therefore became sort of a
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model case also worldwide and
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particularly in Switzerland. It had
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never been done in this way before. We
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were pioneers and we certainly hope that
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it will be possible to solve other cases
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in the same way for the future. Roland
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Keebler confessed not only to the murder
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of Dario Chicia, but also admitted
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killing another boy in the same area of
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Switzerland 10 years earlier. Keebler
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was convicted of both crimes and was
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sentenced to life in prison.
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Candles burned near the creek where
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Dario died. a shrine built by villagers
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to keep Dario's memory alive.
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And in a nearby churchyard where Dario
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is buried, his sculpture reminds
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visitors of the gentle, innocent child
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who died too soon.
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>> Whenever children are the victims of
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violent crimes, it's much, much worse.
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And this must be the same all over the
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world.
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[Music]
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Wonder why?
00:21:20
[Music]
00:21:31
[Applause]
00:21:37
[Music]
