00:00:06
Narrator: IN 1990, A KILLER OF A 22-YEAR-OLD GIRL LEFT AN ALMOST
INDISTINGUISHABLE MARK
00:00:12
IN A BLOODSTAIN
AT THE CRIME SCENE. BUT A NEW COMPUTER
FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY FOUND DISTINGUISHING
CHARACTERISTICS IN THE SMEAR,
00:00:24
EVIDENCE THAT WOULD LEAD
DIRECTLY TO THE PERPETRATOR. RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,
IS CITY STEEPED IN HISTORY.
00:01:03
AS THE FORMER CAPITAL
OF THE CONFEDERACY, RICHMOND KEEPS CLOSE TIES
TO ITS PAST AND A WATCHFUL EYE
ON THE FUTURE.
00:01:16
WITH 6 COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES, THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE
MOVE HERE EACH FALL
TO GO TO SCHOOL.
00:01:24
22-YEAR-OLD DAWN BRUCE
HAD ATTENDED VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
UNIVERSITY. Woman: DAWN WAS A MUSICIAN.
00:01:31
SHE JOINED
THE V.C.U. WIND SYMPHONY AFTER SHE WAS ACCEPTED
THROUGH AUDITIONS. THAT'S WHAT KEPT HER THERE
FOR AS LONG AS SHE WAS THERE.
00:01:42
BUT DAWN WAS ANXIOUS TO FIND OUT
WHAT WAS OUT IN THE REAL WORLD AND HOW SHE COULD DO
AND WHAT SHE COULD DO.
00:01:50
Narrator: AFTER COLLEGE, DAWN WORKED AS A PHONE OPERATOR
BY DAY AND A WAITRESS BY NIGHT.
00:01:56
DESPITE THE LONG HOURS, SHE ENJOYED THE FREEDOM
OF LIVING ON HER OWN. Jo Ann: DAWN WAS A FUN-LOVING
KIND OF PERSON,
00:02:06
THOUGHT SHE COULD DO ANYTHING
AND EVERYTHING AND DIDN'T CARE
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAID
00:02:13
ABOUT HER TRYING TO DO THINGS
THAT WEREN'T THE NORM. Narrator: ON DECEMBER 19, 1990,
00:02:22
DAWN'S MOTHER
WENT TO HER DAUGHTER'S APARTMENT SINCE SHE HADN'T HEARD FROM HER
IN A FEW DAYS.
00:02:29
SHE FOUND DAWN
IN A POOL OF BLOOD. THE MEDICAL EXAMINER
FOUND EVIDENCE. SHE HAD BEEN RAPED, SODOMIZED,
AND STABBED IN THE HEART.
00:02:43
Man: THE KNIFE WAS RAMMED
IN HER HEART. AND THE SUBJECT HELD DAWN DOWN
UNTIL SHE BLED TO DEATH,
00:02:51
WHICH, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, COULD HAVE BEEN 8-10 MINUTES
OR LONGER. AND SHE WAS DEFILED
IN THE PROCESS OF THIS.
00:02:59
I DON'T KNOW
HOW MUCH VILENESS IS NEEDED, BUT THAT'S ONLY MY OPINION. I THINK IT WAS
A VERY, VERY BAD CASE.
00:03:07
FIRST IMPRESSION I HAD
WAS WHAT A HORRIBLE,
HORRIBLE CRIME AND WHAT SOMEBODY
HAD DONE TO, REALLY,
AN INNOCENT YOUNG LADY
00:03:15
WHO ABSOLUTELY DIDN'T DESERVE
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD. IT WAS
A YOUNG 22-YEAR-OLD FEMALE
00:03:22
WHO WAS WORKING,
MINDING HER OWN BUSINESS, HAD A FUTURE AHEAD OF HER,
HAD CHILDREN AHEAD OF HER,
00:03:29
MARRIAGE,
EVERYTHING THAT WE ALL ENJOY, AND SHE WAS BRUTALLY ATTACKED
WHILE SHE WAS SLEEPING.
00:03:38
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
DISCOVERED THAT THE KILLER ENTERED THE APARTMENT
THROUGH A WINDOW
00:03:43
WHICH HAD BEEN PRIED OPEN. BUT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE
OF BURGLARY, NOTHING HAD BEEN DISTURBED
OR BROKEN.
00:03:50
THEY FOUND
NO FOREIGN FINGERPRINTS
INSIDE THE APARTMENT. Man: WHEN I LEFT THERE,
00:03:55
I DIDN'T HAVE
VERY GOOD FEELINGS AT ALL BECAUSE I THINK EVERYTHING
THAT I CARRIED OUT THERE,
00:04:01
OUT OF THE SCENE,
WAS IN ONE LARGE BAG, AND THAT CONSISTED MOSTLY
OF THE ITEMS ON THE BED:
00:04:07
THE BED SHEETS
AND THE PILL--PILLOWS
AND THE BLANKETS AND SO FORTH. Narrator: DAWN BRUCE
WAS LAST SEEN
00:04:16
AT TOMMY'S RESTAURANT
2 NIGHTS EARLIER, WHERE SHE WORKED THE NIGHT SHIFT
AS A WAITRESS.
00:04:21
DAWN MET MANY PEOPLE
THROUGH HER JOB, WHICH ONLY ADDED
TO THE LARGE POOL
OF POTENTIAL SUSPECTS.
00:04:30
INVESTIGATORS TOM TILLER
AND JIM DORTON INTERVIEWED DAWN'S NEIGHBORS
IN THE APARTMENT COMPLEX.
00:04:38
SEVERAL NEIGHBORS
WERE SUSPICIOUS
RIGHT FROM THE START. Dorton: A SUBJECT WHO LIVED
DIRECTLY BESIDE THE VICTIM
WAS ON ACTIVE PAROLE,
00:04:48
AND HE WAS ON PAROLE
FOR BURGLARY AND ATTEMPTED RAPE
WHILE ARMED WITH A KNIFE. SO IMMEDIATELY WE FELT
THAT HE WAS A GOOD SUSPECT.
00:05:00
THERE WAS
VERY LITTLE EVIDENCE, AND IT'S ONE OF THESE CASES
THAT, WHEN YOU LEFT THERE,
00:05:03
THAT YOU JUST THOUGHT
THAT THIS IS GONNA BE
A HARD ONE TO CLEAR BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF EVIDENCE.
00:05:11
Narrator: WITH NO MURDER WEAPON, NO WITNESSES, AND FEW LEADS, IT WAS GOING TO BE
A DIFFICULT INVESTIGATION.
00:05:25
Jo Ann: SHE WANTED TO BE
A FIREFIGHTER, AND SHE HAD PAST HER
FIREFIGHTER 1 AND 2
00:05:31
AND WAS VOLUNTEERING
AS A FIREFIGHTER. SO DAWN WAS JUST A HAPPY PERSON. DAWN WANTED
AS MUCH OUT OF LIFE
00:05:43
AS SHE COULD GET
INTO EVERY MINUTE OF IT. SHE, AT SOME POINT IN TIME, WOULD HAVE HAD A FAMILY,
WANTED CHILDREN,
00:05:55
BUT THAT WAS NOT TO BE. Narrator: SHORTLY AFTER THE RAPE AND MURDER
OF 22-YEAR-OLD DAWN BRUCE,
00:06:02
JOHN ALDERMAN WAS ASSIGNED
TO PROSECUTE THE CASE. Alderman: WHEN YOU GET
A CRIME LIKE THIS
00:06:08
THAT REALLY VIOLATES A PERSON, YOU GET A SENSE OF INDIGNATION
THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO ESCAPE--
00:06:15
A SENSE OF INDIGNATION
THAT SOMEONE BEING USED
AND ABUSED LIKE THAT. Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
BEGAN FOCUSING THEIR ATTENTION
00:06:26
ON THE FEW BITS
OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE THEY HAD. FORENSIC EXPERTS DISCOVERED
THAT THE FATAL INJURY
00:06:36
WAS A SINGLE STAB WOUND
IN THE HEART. IN THE FORENSICS LAB, SCIENTISTS FOUND
2 LINEAR IMPRESSIONS
ON THE PILLOWCASE
00:06:46
THAT WERE CONSISTENT
WITH THE BLADE OF A KNIFE. THE SERRATED EDGES
APPEARED TO BE THOSE
OF A HUNTING KNIFE.
00:06:55
ALSO ON THE PILLOWCASE, THEY FOUND WHAT APPEARED TO BE
A PARTIAL FINGERPRINT
IN DAWN'S BLOOD,
00:07:04
BUT THE FABRIC WAS TEXTURED, WHICH MADE ANY KIND OF
FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS IMPOSSIBLE.
00:07:11
Man: THE PRINT
WAS ALMOST INVISIBLE. EVEN TO A TRAINED EYE,
THE RIDGE DETAIL WAS VERY FAINT.
00:07:19
AND WE HAD TO REALLY STUDY IT BECAUSE AS WE STUDIED IT
UNDER MAGNIFICATION, YOU ENLARGE THE FABRIC WEAVE,
00:07:26
WHICH HAD A TENDENCY
TO TOTALLY ERADICATE
THE RIDGE DETAIL. SO AT THAT POINT IN TIME,
00:07:32
I DID NOT HAVE
A WHOLE LOT OF HOPE
FOR THAT FINGERPRINT. THERE WAS RIDGE DETAIL
ON THE PRINT,
00:07:40
BUT IN MY OPINION AT THE TIME, I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS VERY MUCH. I KNEW IF THAT'S ALL
THAT WE WOULD EVER HAVE
00:07:45
AND IT COULD NOT BE ENHANCED
IN ANY WAY, THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE MUCH
OF A CASE UNLESS WE GOT
A LOT MORE EVIDENCE COMING IN
00:07:53
THAT WE DIDN'T THINK
WE WOULD GET. Narrator: TRACES OF SEMEN
ALSO WERE FOUND AT THE SCENE.
00:08:00
SEROLOGY TEST INDICATED
THE KILLER HAD TYPE "A" BLOOD. THIS ELIMINATED DAWN'S BOYFRIEND
00:08:08
AS WELL AS DAWN'S NEIGHBOR WHO WAS ON PAROLE
FOR RAPE AND BURGLARY. DAWN HAD ANOTHER NEIGHBOR--
ROBERT KNIGHT--
00:08:17
WHO HAD SOME PRIOR ARREST
FOR DRUG POSSESSION. Dorton: ROBERT KNIGHT
HAD MADE COMMENTS TO THE VICTIM
00:08:25
AS SHE WAS OUTSIDE
WASHING HER CAR OR GOING TO AND FROM
HER AUTOMOBILE TO HER APARTMENT.
00:08:30
THIS SUBJECT
WOULD MAKE COMMENTS TO HER IN A SEXUAL SUGGESTIVE NATURE, AND HE BECAME A SUSPECT.
00:08:38
Narrator: ROBERT KNIGHT
HAD TYPE "A" BLOOD, CONSISTENT WITH THE SEMEN SAMPLE
FROM THE CRIME SCENE.
00:08:45
BUT HE HAD AN ALIBI
FOR THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER. HE SAID HE WAS WITH
HIS GIRLFRIEND AT THE TIME.
00:08:53
AND THE FINGERPRINT
ON THE PILLOWCASE DID NOT APPEAR TO MATCH
THE FINGERPRINTS ON FILE
FOR ROBERT KNIGHT.
00:09:00
Norman Tiller: WE TRIED
TRADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY, EVERYTHING THAT WE KNEW
AT THAT POINT IN TIME,
00:09:04
ALSO TO DEVELOP SOME CONTRAST
BETWEEN THE RIDGES
AND THE FABRIC, BUT BASICALLY, THOSE TECHNIQUES
WERE NOT SATISFACTORY
00:09:12
AT THAT POINT IN TIME. WE COULDN'T GET IT TO A POINT
WHERE WE FELT LIKE WE HAD AN IDENTIFIABLE PRINT.
00:09:18
Narrator: SCIENTISTS TRIED
VARIOUS CHEMICAL PROCESSES TO IMPROVE THE PRINT
ON THE PILLOWCASE,
00:09:25
BUT EVERY TIME THEY ENHANCED IT, THEY ALSO ENHANCED
THE THREADS OF THE PILLOWCASE.
00:09:31
INVESTIGATORS WERE NO CLOSER
TO IDENTIFYING THE PRINT
ON THE PILLOWCASE THAN THEY WERE
THE DAY AFTER THE MURDER.
00:09:40
Alderman: THE FINGERPRINT WAS
SOMETHING THAT WE KNEW WE HAD. IT CLEARLY WAS OBSERVED.
IT CLEARLY WAS SEEN.
00:09:47
BUT NO ONE KNEW
WHAT TO DO WITH IT BECAUSE IT WAS
IN A MEDIUM IN BLOOD ON A MEDIUM ON A PILLOWCASE
00:09:55
AGAINST A PATTERN
OF THE PILLOWCASE THAT MADE IT UNREADABLE. AND IF THERE WERE SOME WAY
TO MAKE THAT PRINT READABLE,
00:10:01
IT COULD TAKE ON
AS VIBRANT A FORENSIC PERSUADOR
AS D.N.A. EVIDENCE AND MAYBE SOME MORE.
00:10:13
Narrator: THEN, INVESTIGATORS
GOT A BREAK. Man: EVERY YEAR, WE HAVE
A LATENT PRINT CONFERENCE
00:10:18
WHICH ENCOMPASSES ALL
THE LATENT PRINT EXAMINERS
IN VIRGINIA. IT'S A TRAINING SEMINAR,
BASICALLY.
00:10:24
AND THE IMAGING PEOPLE THERE-- ONE OF THE VENDORS BROUGHT
THEIR IMAGING SYSTEM THERE.
00:10:30
I WAS HIGHLY SKEPTICAL OF IT, HAD NEVER SEEN IT USED
IN A FORENSIC CASE, BUT SINCE WE HAD NOTHING ELSE
00:10:37
OTHER THAN THIS VERY FAINT PRINT
ON FABRIC, WE THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH A TRY. Narrator: THE NEW SYSTEM
WAS CALLED
00:10:45
IMAGE ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGY. IMAGE ENHANCEMENT
USES A COMPUTER
TO IDENTIFY PATTERNS
00:10:52
LIKE THOSE WOVEN
INTO THE PILLOWCASE. ONCE THE PATTERN WAS IDENTIFIED, IT WAS SUBTRACTED
FROM THE IMAGE,
00:10:59
LEAVING ONLY THE RIDGE PATTERNS
OF THE FINGERPRINT BEHIND. AFTER 10 HOURS OF TESTING,
00:11:10
THE FABRIC PATTERN
WAS SUBTRACTED, AND WHAT BEGAN TO EMERGE
WAS A PARTIAL THUMBPRINT
OF THE KILLER.
00:11:23
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS KNEW
THAT THEY HAD TO IDENTIFY THE FINGERPRINT
ON THE PILLOWCASE
00:11:29
IN ORDER TO SOLVE
DAWN BRUCE'S MURDER. THE PRIMARY SUSPECT IN THIS CASE WAS ONE OF DAWN'S NEIGHBORS--
ROBERT KNIGHT--
00:11:39
WHO HAD A HISTORY OF DRUG ABUSE. KNIGHT SAID HE HAD AN ALIBI, THAT HE WAS WITH GIRLFRIEND
ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER,
00:11:46
BUT HIS GIRLFRIEND SAID
KNIGHT WASN'T WITH HER
FOR THE ENTIRE EVENING. Man: THE EVIDENCE INDICATED
00:11:53
THE CRIME OCCURRED
ABOUT BETWEEN 3:00 AND 4:00, ROUGHLY THAT SATURDAY MORNING. HE CLAIMED TO BE
WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND ALL NIGHT,
00:12:00
BUT HIS GIRLFRIEND SAID, "NO, HE WAS NOT WITH ME
FOR ABOUT THAT PERIOD OF TIME,
BETWEEN 3:00 AND 4:00."
00:12:04
Narrator: THE FINGERPRINTS
ON FILE FOR ROBERT KNIGHT DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH RIDGE DETAIL
00:12:10
TO DETERMINE IF THEY MATCHED
THE PRINT ON THE PILLOWCASE. KNIGHT VOLUNTARILY
GAVE A SECOND SET OF PRINTS,
00:12:18
BUT AGAIN,
IT WAS NOT ENOUGH RIDGE DETAIL TO MAKE A COMPARISON. Dorton: EACH TIME THAT WE WOULD
SHOW OUR PRESENCE AROUND HIM,
00:12:28
HE GOT
A LITTLE BIT MORE STANDOFFISH AND NOT AS COOPERATIVE
AND ACCUSED US
OF HARASSING HIM.
00:12:35
AND HE JUST CHANGED ENTIRELY
HIS PERSONALITY AND HIS WILLINGNESS TO HELP. HE DID NOT WANT US
TO COME AROUND ANYMORE.
00:12:46
Narrator: NOW, THE PROSECUTION
WAS IN A DIFFICULT POSITION. IF THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY
THE FINGERPRINT AS KNIGHT'S,
00:12:53
THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY
WOULD USE THAT AGAINST
THE PROSECUTION AT A TRIAL. THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS
WOULD HAVE SAID,
00:13:01
"WHOSE FINGERPRINT IS IT? "WE DON'T KNOW.
WE'LL NEVER KNOW. "AND THAT FINGERPRINT
IS THE KILLER,
00:13:06
"AND IT'S NOT HIS FINGERPRINT OR IT CAN'T BE PROVED
TO BE HIS FINGERPRINT." SO IN OUR LINE OF WORK,
00:13:10
YOU REALLY NEED TO ANSWER
ALL THE QUESTIONS, AND IF YOU DON'T, THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY
ASKS THOSE QUESTIONS
AT CLOSING ARGUMENTS.
00:13:18
Narrator:
BUT PROSECUTORS GAMBLED. THEY ARRESTED KNIGHT
FOR DAWN'S MURDER, PINNING THEIR HOPES ON THE NEW
FINGERPRINT TECHNOLOGY
00:13:26
AND THE SCIENTISTS' ABILITY
TO MATCH KNIGHT'S FINGERPRINTS. AFTER KNIGHT'S ARREST,
00:13:33
NORM TILLER KEPT A CLOSE EYE
ON THE TECHNIQUE POLICE USED TO FINGERPRINT HIM, MAKING CERTAIN THAT EACH FINGER
WAS CAREFULLY ROLLED
FROM NAIL TO NAIL
00:13:44
FOR THE CLEAREST SET OF PRINTS
POSSIBLE. Tiller: AS SOON AS I SAW
A GOOD SUITABLE ROLLED PRINT,
00:13:53
I TOOK THAT STRAIGHT BACK
TO MY OFFICE AND BEGAN THAT EXAMINATION. Narrator: BUT TILLER
DID NOT RUSH THE JUDGMENT.
00:14:00
HE TOOK HIS TIME. AFTER ONE MONTH
OF ANALYSIS AND RETESTING, NORM TILLER FOUND
WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR.
00:14:10
THE PRINT ON THE PILLOWCASE
WAS A LEFT THUMBPRINT. IT MATCHED THE OUTSIDE
OF ROBERT KNIGHT'S LEFT THUMB.
00:14:20
Tiller: I SPENT ADDITIONAL TIME
DOING COMPARISON WORK AND JUST ANALYZING THE PRINT
FROM EVERY ANGLE,
SO TO SO SPEAK,
00:14:27
BEFORE WE ACTUALLY
EFFECTED THE IDENTIFICATION. AND EVEN THEN,
I HAD ANOTHER EXAMINER
GO BEHIND ME
00:14:35
AND TAKE A LOOK
AT EVERYTHING THAT I HAD DONE TO MAKE SURE
THERE WERE NO ERRORS MADE
IN THE PROCESS.
00:14:41
Narrator: BUT THERE WAS
ONE MORE HURDLE. THE IMAGE ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGY
WAS SO NEW,
00:14:47
IT HAD NEVER BEEN ACCEPTED
AS EVIDENCE IN COURT. Tiller: I WAS CONCERNED
AT THAT POINT IN TIME
00:14:55
THAT THE EVIDENCE
MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
AS A GOOD SCIENCE.
00:15:02
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME
THAT ANYBODY HAD USED IT, TAKEN IT INTO COURT--
INTO A COURTROOM
00:15:07
WHERE IT WAS GONNA BE
ACTUALLY CHALLENGED. AND IT WAS GONNA BE FOUGHT. Narrator: A HEARING WAS HELD
00:15:15
TO DETERMINE
WHETHER FORENSIC EVIDENCE FROM THIS NEW
FINGERPRINTING TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE ADMITTED.
00:15:21
THE DEFENSE ARGUED THAT IT WAS
HOCUS-POCUS TECHNOLOGY WHICH MANIPULATED AND CHANGED
THE IMAGE OF THE FINGERPRINT.
00:15:30
PAM RINGER WAS THE EXPERT WHO TESTIFIED
FOR THE PROSECUTION, EXPLAINING THAT THE HUMAN EYE
CAN DISTINGUISH
00:15:37
BETWEEN 16 AND 32 SHADES
OF GRAY, BUT A COMPUTER
CAN DISTINGUISH 256 SHADES. RINGER SAID
THE IMAGE ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGY
00:15:51
SIMPLY ELIMINATED
THE FABRIC PATTERNS THEN MADE THE DARK AREAS
OF THE FINGERPRINT DARKER
00:15:58
AND THE LIGHT AREAS
BETWEEN THE RIDGES LIGHTER. Alderman:
IF SOMEBODY AS DUMB AS I AM
CAN UNDERSTAND THIS
00:16:05
WHEN I GOT DONE WITH HER
OVER THE COURSE OF A DAY AND DOING SOME STUDYING
AFTERWARDS,
00:16:11
I THINK THE EXPLANATION
BECOMES ONE THAT ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND. THIS IMAGING ENHANCING
DOESN'T CHANGE THE DATA AT ALL.
00:16:19
WHAT WE HAD WAS A PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE FINGERPRINT. AND PAM RINGER SAID, "I WENT AHEAD AND DID IT
THAT DAY ON MARCH THE 27th.
00:16:27
"I COULD DO IT AGAIN TODAY.
I CAN SHOW YOU-- I CAN REPLICATE IT 100 TIMES
IF I NEED TO."
00:16:32
SHE DID IT STAGES. SHE TOOK THE--
FIRST THE PATTERN OUT. THEN SHE TOOK THE WEAVE OUT.
00:16:36
AND AS YOU WATCH IT, YOU CAN SEE
THE PRINT DIDN'T CHANGE. THE PRINT DIDN'T MOVE.
00:16:40
THE LINES OF THE LANDS
AND GROOVES OF THE PRINT
DIDN'T CHANGE AT ALL. AND I THINK THAT, GRAPHICALLY,
WAS THE BEST PERSUADOR
00:16:49
FOR JUDGE KULP IN THE CASE. Narrator:
THE JUDGE WAS CONVINCED. HE DID NOT BELIEVE
THAT THE COMPUTER ENHANCEMENTS
00:16:58
ALTERED THE BLOODY FINGERPRINT. A LEGAL PRECEDENT HAD BEEN SET. BUT PROSECUTORS WANTED MORE
THAN THE FINGERPRINT
00:17:08
BEFORE HEADING TO TRIAL. Narrator: ROBERT DOUGLAS KNIGHT
WAS CHARGED WITH THE CAPITAL MURDER
OF 22-YEAR-OLD DAWN BRUCE,
00:17:21
BUT POLICE STILL DIDN'T HAVE
THE MURDER WEAPON. A FAINT FINGERPRINT
LEFT ON A FLIMSY PILLOWCASE
00:17:29
WOULD BE CONSIDERED
FIRM EVIDENCE IN COURT. AND PROSECUTORS SOON HAD A LEAD
ON THE MURDER WEAPON.
00:17:42
6 MONTHS AFTER THE MURDER, A MAINTENANCE MAN WORKING
IN KNIGHT'S OLD APARTMENT DISCOVERED SOMETHING
BEHIND AN ACCESS PANEL
IN KNIGHT'S OLD BEDROOM.
00:17:53
Reid: I DON'T KNOW
WHAT POSSESSED HIM TO DO THAT. I THINK
THERE WAS A PLUMBING PROBLEM
HAD CAUSED HIM TO TAKE IT OFF.
00:17:57
WHEN HE DID, HE LOOKED IN
AND FOUND A HUNTING KNIFE
IN A SHEATH. Narrator: IN THE FORENSICS LAB,
00:18:05
SCIENTISTS PERFORMED
A SIMPLE TEST TO DETERMINE
IF THIS WAS THE WEAPON USED IN THE MURDER.
00:18:12
USING PHOTOGRAPHIC OVERLAYS, THE PATTERN OF THE KNIFE
WAS COMPARED TO THE KNIFE IMPRESSIONS FOUND
ON DAWN BRUCE'S PILLOWCASE.
00:18:22
THEY MATCHED. THE FINAL PIECE OF EVIDENCE WAS THE D.N.A. TESTING
OF THE SEMEN FOUND AT THE CRIME SCENE.
00:18:31
IT MATCHED THE D.N.A. PROFILE
OF ROBERT KNIGHT. PROSECUTORS BELIEVE
THAT DAWN BRUCE
00:18:44
ARRIVED HOME FROM WORK
AROUND 1 A.M. AND WENT RIGHT TO BED. SOMETIME AROUND 4:00,
00:18:59
ROBERT KNIGHT
WENT TO THE FRONT WINDOW
OF DAWN'S APARTMENT, PRIED IT OPEN, AND CREPT UPSTAIRS.
00:19:17
HE STABBED DAWN IN THE HEART. THEN, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER
AS SHE BLED TO DEATH.
00:19:30
BUT KNIGHT MADE MISTAKES. HE WIPED THE KNIFE
ON THE PILLOWCASE, LEAVING THE IMPRESSION
OF THE MURDER WEAPON
00:19:38
LATER MATCHED TO THE KNIFE
FOUND IN KNIGHT'S APARTMENT. HE ALSO LEFT
A PARTIAL BLOODY FINGERPRINT
ON THE PILLOWCASE,
00:19:48
MATCHED WITH THE LATEST
IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY. FACING AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT
OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
00:19:58
AND IN AN EFFORT TO AVOID
THE DEATH PENALTY, ROBERT DOUGLAS KNIGHT
PLED GUILTY. HE WAS SENTENCED TO 4 LIFE TERMS
IN PRISON.
00:20:10
I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT ROBERT KNIGHT
DIDN'T GET THE DEATH PENALTY. I THINK HE DESERVED
THE DEATH PENALTY.
00:20:16
I THINK THE FORENSIC SCIENCE PLAYED A MAJOR PART
IN SOLVING THE CASE. SOME CASES ARE SOLVED
JUST BY PURE INTERVIEWING
WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE,
00:20:27
AND THEY ARE SOLVED. BUT I THINK
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE CASES THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SOLVED
HAD IT NOT BEEN
00:20:32
FOR THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE
THAT WAS THERE AT THE SCENE. WHEN WE ARRESTED KNIGHT, WE HAD
A BARE CIRCUMSTANTIAL CASE.
00:20:42
THAT'S ALL WE HAD. AND IT WENT TO BEING
THE ABSOLUTELY STRONGEST
FORENSIC CASE I'VE EVER PROSECUTED
IN 24 YEARS.
00:20:49
THE ONLY THING THAT STANDS OUT
WITH ME, PERSONALLY, IS THAT I BELIEVE
ROBERT KNIGHT DESERVED
00:20:55
AND SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED
THE DEATH PENALTY. I DON'T BELIEVE
HE DESERVES TO BE BREATHING,
00:21:02
EATING, SLEEPING, LAUGHING, WHATEVER EMOTIONS
HE MAY EXPERIENCE. I KNOW ONE OF THESE DAYS
HE'LL PROBABLY BE WALKING
THE STREETS AGAIN,
00:21:11
BUT IT WILL BE A LONG TIME. AND EVEN THOUGH JUSTICE
WAS SERVED, I THINK HE WAS DESERVING
OF THE DEATH PENALTY.
00:21:19
I TOLD MY OTHER DAUGHTER
ONE DAY WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LIFE AND ABOUT HER PLANS FOR FAMILY
00:21:29
WHEN SHE SAID
THAT SHE DIDN'T THINK
SHE WAS GONNA HAVE CHILDREN BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T KNOW
THAT SHE COULD GO THROUGH
WHAT I HAD GONE THROUGH,
00:21:39
AND I TOLD HER
IF I KNEW AHEAD OF TIME THAT DAWN
WAS GONNA BE MURDERED, I WOULD STILL HAVE HAD DAWN
00:21:47
BECAUSE SHE BROUGHT SUCH JOY
TO US AS HER FAMILY, NOT TO EVER NOT HAVE CHILDREN
FOR FEAR OF LOSS
00:21:58
BECAUSE LIFE IS NOT A GUARANTEE.