00:00:03
[music playing]
00:00:09
NARRATOR: When Scott Dunn
arrived at his friend's party,
00:00:12
he brought along a new
acquaintance, someone
00:00:16
his friends had
never met before.
00:00:22
Scott was a ladies' man,
and while it wasn't unusual
00:00:25
for him to be seeing a number
of women at the same time,
00:00:29
his date on this night raised
more than a few eyebrows.
00:00:34
- How are you doing?
- Hey, man.
00:00:35
What's happening?
00:00:36
Hey, everybody.
00:00:38
Man!
00:00:39
This is my lady
friend, Shaina.
00:00:42
NARRATOR: Sometime
during the party,
00:00:44
Scott became ill, so sick
he was unable to drive home.
00:00:49
A few days later,
Scott Dunn disappeared
00:00:53
and was never seen again.
00:00:57
[theme music]
00:01:23
24-year-old Scott Dunn was
a fun-loving young man who
00:01:26
enjoyed life to the fullest.
00:01:29
Scott lived in Lubbock, Texas,
settling there after serving
00:01:32
in the US military.
00:01:35
He worked for MGM
Electronics in a job
00:01:37
he loved, installing custom
sound systems in automobiles.
00:01:44
The last time friends saw
Scott was on May 13, 1991,
00:01:49
at a party after work.
00:01:54
Scott was a
prankster and decided
00:01:56
to add a little excitement
to the festivities.
00:02:04
His date that night
wasn't a she at all.
00:02:08
She was really a
he, a transvestite.
00:02:12
Before the night was through,
Scott's friends eventually
00:02:15
found out and weren't amused.
00:02:19
Later, while still at the
party, Scott became ill.
00:02:23
He was so sick, he
couldn't drive home
00:02:26
and stayed overnight
on the sofa.
00:02:29
The next day, his live-in
girlfriend, Leisha Hamilton,
00:02:32
drove over to pick him up.
00:02:34
He looked like crap.
00:02:35
He couldn't hardly walk.
00:02:39
I mean, you could tell
he'd been in bed all day.
00:02:41
He wasn't showered.
00:02:42
He wasn't clean.
00:02:44
Clothes on all awkwardly.
00:02:46
Couldn't get
dressed by himself.
00:02:49
NARRATOR: After spending
another full day in bed,
00:02:52
Scott told Leisha
he finally felt
00:02:54
well enough to return to work.
00:02:56
I woke up that morning.
00:02:57
He was in bed with me by then.
00:03:00
I asked him how he
felt. I asked him
00:03:02
did he need a ride
to work because he
00:03:03
didn't have his cars there.
00:03:04
He said no, his friend
was coming for him,
00:03:06
and just asked me to
get him a glass of water
00:03:09
and some sinus
medicine, which I did.
00:03:12
Brought it to him,
and then I left.
00:03:14
When I came home, he was gone.
00:03:18
NARRATOR: When Scott's friends
stopped by the apartment
00:03:20
to pick him up,
there was no answer.
00:03:25
No one ever would answered,
so just never heard from him.
00:03:31
NARRATOR: Two days
later, Leisha called
00:03:33
Scott's father in
Pennsylvania to see
00:03:35
if he had heard from Scott.
00:03:37
And it's a young woman's
voice, and she goes into,
00:03:42
I don't know if I'm talking
to who I'm talking to,
00:03:44
but I assume you're
Scott's father
00:03:46
because I found the telephone
number on the telephone bill.
00:03:50
And I said, well, that's
right, I'm Scott's father,
00:03:52
but who are you?
00:03:53
She said, well, I've
been living with Scott
00:03:55
for a couple of months
now, sometime we've
00:03:57
been together for some time.
00:03:59
And I said, well, I don't
really know who you are.
00:04:02
NARRATOR: Jim Dunn
filed a missing
00:04:04
persons report with the
Lubbock Police Department.
00:04:07
What was he wearing
last when you saw him?
00:04:09
NARRATOR: Police
wondered whether Scott
00:04:12
Dunn's personal life held some
clues to his disappearance.
00:04:22
When Scott Dunn disappeared
from Lubbock, Texas,
00:04:25
without a trace, his
friends told police
00:04:28
this was out of character.
00:04:30
The way Scott was, he would
have called at least and said,
00:04:33
hey, guys, look, I'm out here
in Mexico, hanging out,
partying,
00:04:39
something.
00:04:40
NARRATOR: Scott's live-in
girlfriend, Leisha Hamilton,
00:04:43
told police that when
she returned from work,
00:04:45
Scott was gone.
00:04:46
She also said that a
large piece of carpet
00:04:49
was missing from
under the sofa.
00:04:53
When police searched
the bedroom,
00:04:55
they discovered that another
piece of carpet in the bedroom
00:04:59
had also been removed and
replaced with the carpet
00:05:02
from under the sofa.
00:05:05
Along the edge were some
rust-colored stains.
00:05:09
ROY CARPER: The staining
along the edge of that patch
00:05:11
in the original carpet was
very evident to anybody
00:05:14
that's been doing this for any
length of time, it was blood.
00:05:18
NARRATOR: When the
carpet patch was lifted,
00:05:20
police noticed it was held
together with duct tape.
00:05:23
On the underpadding was
another large stain, which
00:05:25
also appeared to be blood.
00:05:27
In one spot, it had soaked
through a hole in the padding
00:05:30
to the cement
floor underneath.
00:05:32
And it looked as if
someone had washed
00:05:34
blood from the baseboard.
00:05:36
To find out, investigators
used a chemical called
luminol,
00:05:41
which can detect areas
where blood has been cleaned
00:05:44
up with water and detergents.
00:05:47
The luminol revealed a
scene of horrific violence.
00:05:59
JIM THOMAS: You can
actually see the pattern.
00:06:01
You can see where
blood had been.
00:06:03
And my initial reaction
was that something
00:06:06
had occurred in
that apartment.
00:06:16
It was stark.
00:06:18
Somebody had very
obviously tried
00:06:20
to clean the whole
thing up and had
00:06:22
done a fairly good job of it.
00:06:24
JIM DUNN: I just knew
that he was dead.
00:06:26
I felt very confident
that he was dead.
00:06:30
It was probably the
longest day of my life.
00:06:33
And it was the most
devastating thing that ever
happen to me.
00:06:36
NARRATOR: But who would want
to kill Scott Dunn, and why?
00:06:41
Dunn had a previous arrest
and conviction for possession
00:06:44
of cocaine, but the theory
that this was somehow drug
related
00:06:48
was inconsistent
with the crime scene.
00:06:51
If it was a drug
hit, they probably
00:06:53
would have left
the person there,
00:06:55
wanting everybody
in the world to see,
00:06:56
so that nobody else
would cross them.
00:06:59
And this crime scene
was covered up.
00:07:01
And the only reason
it was covered up
00:07:03
was because it was
trying to be hidden.
00:07:06
NARRATOR: Police
also discovered Scott
00:07:07
Dunn was leading
a secret life.
00:07:11
While living with
Leisha Hamilton,
00:07:13
he continued to date
numerous other women.
00:07:16
He was wild.
00:07:18
He played the field.
00:07:20
He had-- in my opinion,
he had a history of using
00:07:25
women for his own purposes.
00:07:27
In fact, he was
engaged to be married
00:07:30
to a young lady
in the Metroplex,
00:07:32
while he was living
with Leisha Hamilton.
00:07:36
NARRATOR: Leisha
Hamilton learned
00:07:37
about Scott's engagement
just one month earlier.
00:07:41
Who's calling?
00:07:44
His fiancée?
00:07:47
Yeah, I'll be sure to
tell him you called.
00:07:51
ROY CARPER: And I
think at the point
00:07:52
where that telephone call
came is when Leisha realized
00:07:55
she had been had by Scott.
00:07:57
And Leisha herself was a user.
00:08:00
And when it became
apparent to her
00:08:02
that she, in this situation,
was not the user but was, in
fact,
00:08:05
the usee, she became enraged.
00:08:08
NARRATOR: But was that
sufficient motive for Leisha
00:08:11
Hamilton to murder Scott Dunn?
00:08:14
And if so, where was the body?
00:08:22
Leisha Hamilton continued
to call Jim Dunn from Texas,
00:08:26
keeping him informed
of the investigation
00:08:29
into Scott's disappearance.
00:08:31
But she asked for
something in return.
00:08:34
She wanted Scott's
yellow sports car.
00:08:37
Jim Dunn taped those
telephone conversations.
00:08:41
JIM DUNN (ON PHONE): You
seem to want the car,
00:08:43
and I have promised you the
car when this is all over.
00:08:47
You don't seem
to want to wait.
00:08:48
LEISHA HAMILTON (ON
PHONE): Actually, I don't.
00:08:50
I don't.
00:08:50
I don't need it.
00:08:51
It is a want right now.
00:08:53
The only thing I
want is this car.
00:08:56
That's the only thing I've
wanted from the start.
00:08:59
That's the only
thing I want now.
00:09:01
NARRATOR: A background
check by Lubbock police
00:09:03
revealed that Leisha
Hamilton had a past arrest
00:09:07
in New Mexico
for embezzlement.
00:09:10
But if Leisha was involved
in Scott's disappearance,
00:09:13
why had she helped police
by pointing out the missing
00:09:16
carpet in their apartment?
00:09:19
Leisha told Scott's
father that she thought
00:09:22
a man named Tim Smith
had something to do
00:09:25
with Scott's disappearance.
00:09:27
ROY CARPER: Tim Smith
was a guy that lived
00:09:29
in the apartment near Leisha.
00:09:31
He had been brought
up in a very strict,
00:09:33
very religious environment.
00:09:35
My theory was that this was
the first real contact he'd
ever
00:09:38
had with a worldly
woman, and that he
00:09:40
became enamored with her and
the way she made him feel.
00:09:44
And he just fell head over
heels in love with her.
00:09:48
NARRATOR: Police
discovered that Smith
00:09:49
did not show up for work on
the day Scott Dunn
disappeared.
00:10:00
Tim Smith?
00:10:01
Uh-huh.
00:10:02
Lubbock Police Department.
00:10:04
NARRATOR: When police
visited Tim Smith's
00:10:06
apartment to ask
a few questions,
00:10:09
they noticed he was
packing to move.
00:10:12
We're investigating the
disappearance of Scott Dunn.
00:10:18
Whatever I can do to help.
00:10:20
Mind if we take
a look around?
00:10:22
Sure, go ahead.
00:10:36
NARRATOR: When they walk
back into the living room,
00:10:38
they noticed that something
that had been sitting
00:10:41
on the bookshelf disappeared.
00:10:44
Where's the roll of tape?
00:10:46
What tape?
00:10:47
The duct tape, it
was there on the shelf.
00:10:49
I don't know what
you're talking about.
00:10:51
NARRATOR: But behind some
books on another shelf, police
found
00:10:54
what they were looking for--
00:10:56
the duct tape that
was on the shelf
00:10:58
just a few minutes earlier.
00:11:03
ROY CARPER: That was
a stroke of luck,
00:11:04
but it's also good
investigative work.
00:11:07
I mean, how many times
do you walk into a place
00:11:09
where a guy's moving and
see a roll of duct tape
00:11:11
and think nothing of it?
00:11:12
NARRATOR: The duct tape was
sent to the forensic
laboratory
00:11:15
for analysis.
00:11:17
The tape in Smith's
apartment looked
00:11:19
very similar to the
tape on the carpet patch
00:11:22
in Dunn's apartment.
00:11:26
The samples were analyzed
using infraspectrophotometry,
00:11:30
where infrared light is
passed through the duct tape.
00:11:34
And the detector
will determine
00:11:37
how much wavelength of
light is being absorbed
00:11:40
at different wavelengths.
00:11:41
NARRATOR: The results are
then printed out in a chart.
00:11:44
In the case of
Roger Scott Dunn,
00:11:46
the duct tape was separated
out into its components--
00:11:50
the fibers that run
along in the duct tape,
00:11:53
the backing of the duct tape,
and the adhesive of the duct
00:11:56
tape.
00:11:58
As you can see, the
infrared spectrum
00:12:01
from the roll of duct tape
found at the suspect's house
00:12:05
and the duct tape
found at the scene
00:12:07
are consistent in
the fibers component,
00:12:11
the backing component, and
the adhesive component.
00:12:15
NARRATOR: And the roll of
tape held even more clues.
00:12:19
On the side of the role were
green nylon fibers, trilobal,
00:12:24
or triangular, in shape.
00:12:27
They were the same
size and shape
00:12:29
and made of the same
polymers and dyed
00:12:32
the same color as the carpet
in Scott Dunn's bedroom.
00:12:38
I feel confident that
the fibers on the side
00:12:40
of the duct tape came
from the apartment,
00:12:42
and that the duct tape
underneath the carpet
00:12:45
came from the
roll of duct tape.
00:12:47
NARRATOR: But without a
body, authorities were
00:12:50
hesitant to conclude homicide.
00:12:52
A lot of it had
to do with the body.
00:12:55
We had no body.
00:12:56
And the district attorney's
office at that time
00:13:00
was very apprehensive
to try to take
00:13:02
something to trial where
you had no corpus delicti is
00:13:06
what they say.
00:13:09
NARRATOR: A full year passed,
and Jim Dunn decided to take
00:13:13
matters into his own hands.
00:13:15
He heard about a group of
international forensic experts
00:13:18
who meet several times
a year in Philadelphia
00:13:20
to study unsolved murders.
00:13:23
The group of 82 members is
called the Vidocq Society,
00:13:27
named after Eugene Francois
Vidocq, an 18th century
00:13:32
French detective
considered to be
00:13:34
the father of modern
criminal investigation.
00:13:37
One of the co-founders of the
Vidocq Society, Richard
Walter,
00:13:41
agreed to listen to
Mr. Dunn's story.
00:13:44
JIM DUNN: Well, after about
an hour and a half of me
00:13:46
presenting, showing pictures,
and listening to some tape
00:13:50
recordings and things I had,
he looked me straight in the
eye
00:13:54
and said, Jim, aren't you
tired of being the grieving
father?
00:13:58
And he looked at
me, and he said,
00:14:00
I thought I was
supposed to be.
00:14:02
And I said, no, you're
supposed to be goddamn mad.
00:14:05
Let's go after that bitch.
00:14:08
NARRATOR: Richard
Walter was convinced
00:14:09
that Leisha Hamilton
held the key
00:14:11
to Scott Dunn's disappearance.
00:14:13
Walter sent the crime scene
photos to Dr. Richard
Shepherd,
00:14:17
a forensic pathologist at
Scotland Yard in London.
00:14:21
After reviewing the
information, Dr. Shepherd
00:14:23
concluded that Scott
Dunn had been murdered
00:14:26
in the corner of his
bedroom, the result of
00:14:29
multiple blunt
trauma injuries.
00:14:32
But at the time, under
Texas law, without a body,
00:14:36
there was no homicide.
00:14:38
Armed with Dr. Shepard's
forensic analysis,
00:14:41
Richard Walter pleaded the
case to the district attorney,
00:14:44
arguing that they
had a body part.
00:14:47
He said, what part
of the body is that?
00:14:49
I said, blood's
connective tissue.
00:14:51
He said-- he looked--
he gave me a long look
00:14:53
and he said, all right,
you got a murder.
00:14:58
NARRATOR: Prosecutors
brought in their own blood
00:15:00
spatter expert, Tom
Bevel, to confirm
00:15:03
the findings of Dr. Shepherd.
00:15:06
According to Bevel, the blood
spatter pattern on the walls
00:15:09
indicated three distinct
lines of cast-off blood
00:15:13
from a weapon.
00:15:14
TOM BEVEL: For example, we
had three cast-off stains that
00:15:18
were going in three
directions that would be
00:15:20
consistent with three blows,
plus the one to create
00:15:24
the blood in the first place.
00:15:25
So in this case, we'd say
there was a minimum of four
00:15:27
blows that was delivered.
00:15:29
NARRATOR: To find out
how much blood Scott
00:15:31
Dunn lost during the
assault, Bevel conducted
00:15:34
a blood saturation test.
00:15:37
By pouring human blood onto
a test piece of carpet,
00:15:40
Bevel created the same sized
stain found in the bedroom--
00:15:44
in this case, 266
square inches.
00:15:49
It took just under two units
of blood to create the stain
00:15:52
and soak through to
the padding underneath.
00:15:56
If you take that in
consideration with all
00:15:58
the other physical
evidence in there,
00:15:59
such as the blood cleanup,
cutting out of the carpet,
00:16:02
the blood spatter, the cast
-off that's to the wall and
also
00:16:05
to the ceiling, along
with that blood volume,
00:16:09
it certainly is a high
suspicion that somebody,
00:16:12
in fact, is dead.
00:16:14
NARRATOR: Authorities were now
convinced that Scott Dunn had
00:16:19
been murdered in his bedroom.
00:16:26
Lubbock police suspected that
both Leisha Hamilton and Tim
00:16:29
Smith were somehow involved
in Scott Dunn's murder,
00:16:32
but they had no evidence
linking Leisha to the crime,
00:16:35
and the only link to
Smith was the duct tape,
00:16:39
until Richard Walter
discovered something
00:16:41
that was previously
overlooked.
00:16:44
Walter learned that several
strands of unidentified hair
00:16:47
had been found on the duct
tape in Scott Dunn's bedroom.
00:16:51
He suggested the hair be
sent for forensic analysis.
00:16:55
At the FBI lab in
Washington, DC,
00:16:58
the hair from the duct
tape underneath the carpet
00:17:00
was compared to hair
samples from Leisha
00:17:03
Hamilton and Tim Smith.
00:17:05
ROY CARPER: No Scott Dunn
hairs were found on that tape,
00:17:08
but both the hairs of Leisha
Hamilton and Tim Smith
00:17:11
were found on that duct tape,
holding it in, which means
00:17:15
that when that duct
tape was put down
00:17:16
and that patch put in
place, they were there.
00:17:19
NARRATOR: 5 and 1/2 years
after Scott Dunn's
disappearance,
00:17:23
Leisha Hamilton and
Tim Smith were arrested
00:17:27
and charged with murder.
00:17:29
Prosecutors believe that
Leisha's motive was revenge,
00:17:33
that she was angry when
she learned that Scott
00:17:35
was engaged to another woman.
00:17:38
She's as hard as rocks,
bright, aggressive,
00:17:43
[inaudible],, smart, but has
ths insatiable appetite for
power,
00:17:51
control, crushing people.
00:17:56
She dismisses you.
00:17:57
You don't dismiss her.
00:17:59
Leisha Hamilton was
the absolute instigator,
00:18:02
ringleader, and she
was the Wicked Witch
00:18:04
of the West, who contrived,
developed, led, and covered up
00:18:08
this whole thing.
00:18:12
NARRATOR: Prosecutors
believe that Scott
00:18:14
Dunn was murdered in the early
morning hours of May 16, 1991.
00:18:23
He was asleep in the back and
struck at least four times
00:18:27
with a blunt object.
00:18:34
About two units of Scott's
blood was lost in the attack.
00:18:45
As Scott's body was
removed from the apartment,
00:18:48
his blood was transferred
onto the bedroom door knob.
00:18:54
The location of the
body is still unknown.
00:19:04
The cover-up failed because
the water and detergents could
not
00:19:08
remove the hemoglobin
components of the blood,
00:19:11
which, later,
fluoresced when sprayed
00:19:13
with the chemical luminol.
00:19:17
A piece of carpet from under
the sofa in the living room
00:19:20
was used to patch the
bloodstained carpet
00:19:22
in the bedroom.
00:19:26
The duct tape used
to patch the carpet
00:19:28
together contained
strands of hair
00:19:31
consistent with hair
samples from both Leisha
00:19:35
Hamilton and Tim Smith.
00:19:38
And the side of the
duct tape picked up
00:19:40
some stray carpet fibers.
00:19:43
The roll was later found
in Tim Smith's apartment.
00:19:47
Leisha Hamilton and Tim
Smith were tried separately,
00:19:51
and both were
convicted of murder.
00:19:55
Leisha Hamilton was
sentenced to 20 years.
00:19:59
Tim Smith received
a 10-year probation.
00:20:03
ROY CARPER: The jury, I think,
believed that perhaps he
00:20:05
had a great deal to do
with disposing of the body,
00:20:08
but they didn't believe
he was actually there
00:20:10
when the murder took place.
00:20:11
And I think for that reason,
they recommended the judge
00:20:13
impose probation,
instead of sentencing
00:20:16
him to a term in
the penitentiary,
00:20:18
which would be carried out.
00:20:20
NARRATOR: Although
the body of Scott Dunn
00:20:22
has never been found,
a headstone waits.
00:20:26
And the father still mourns.
00:20:29
I'm just hopeful that at
some point, somebody will
talk,
00:20:33
and that we can
recover his remains.
00:20:35
And still, we can have a
decent burial and a decent
ceremony
00:20:40
that we can put him to rest.
00:20:42
And I'd feel totally
absolved at that point.
00:20:45
I've done everything
that I could do,
00:20:46
if I can ever
reach that point.
00:20:48
I haven't quite
reached that yet,
00:20:49
and it still crosses my
mind what else I can do.
00:20:53
But at this point, I'm
going to let it go and hope
00:20:56
that somebody will--
00:20:57
the good Lord or somebody
will give us some direction.
00:21:00
I don't what that actually
means in my life at some
point.
00:21:02
[music playing]
