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[music playing] NARRATOR: One man's
fascination with ladies of the evening
terrorized a community.
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Had it not been for his
arrogance, an old running shoe, and an unusual
bullet fragment, he
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might never have been caught. [theme music] Farming is big business in
Bakersfield, California.
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The area boasts warm
weather, flat terrain, and a sophisticated canal
system for irrigation.
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In 1986, some hikers
found evidence of a crime in one of those canals. It was the decomposed
body of a young woman.
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MIKE LAGE: I thought it was
possible that the body had been dumped into the
canal further up,
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and it had floated down to the
place where it was discovered. NARRATOR: The body had been
in the water for several days,
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and any trace evidence
had been washed away. JOHN SOLIZ: No physical
evidence other than the clothing
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that she was wearing when
the body was retrieved. NARRATOR: An autopsy
left no doubt.
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She had been murdered. ARMAND DOLLINGER,
M.D.: There were multiple gunshot wounds
that were discovered.
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One, the bullet was
recovered from the spine, from the spinal canal. And the other one,
the bullet was
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recovered from the chest wall. NARRATOR: The bullets were
from a .38 caliber pistol.
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MIKE LAGE: And
these two bullets we recovered, but
there was one hole. So both of those bullets
entered through the same hole.
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And that would lead me
to believe that it was a type of an assassination
going on here.
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NARRATOR: Decomposition
made visual identification impossible, so the
medical examiner
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relied on her fingerprints. ARMAND DOLLINGER, M.D.: You
can use the dusting powder,
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like they use for picking
up latent fingerprints, and the prints can be
developed that way.
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NARRATOR: Her fingerprints were
compared to thousands on file in the California
State database,
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and there was a match. The victim was
21-year-old Kay Bradley, who had an earlier
arrest for prostitution.
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A background check revealed she
had grown up in Los Angeles, was an A student in school,
an accomplished horseback
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rider and dancer. Her aunt, who asked
not to be identified, said Kay was
destined for success.
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KAY BRADLEY'S AUNT: She was
very artistic and loved to sing, loved to dance as a child,
and never misbehaved.
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I don't think she was
ever grounded or punished. She was always very
close to her family.
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NARRATOR: In the years
after high school, Kay made some
unfortunate choices. MIKE LAGE: A young
girl that had become
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involved with the wrong
crowd, with drugs, and which led to her being
involved with certain people
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that were not really what I
would say the type of people I would want my daughter
to hang out with.
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KAY BRADLEY'S AUNT:
The whole family was devastated, because you try
to figure out how this could
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happen, or why this happened,
or if someone was responsible. NARRATOR: Prostitution
may have been
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how Kay financed her drug habit. Unfortunately, none of the
other Bakersfield prostitutes
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recalled seeing her around
the time she disappeared. After several months and
hundreds of interviews,
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the trail of Kay's
killer turned cold, but investigators
didn't give up. Eventually, they got a break,
but it came with a price, when
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the body of a second
young woman was found in the very same canal. GREG LASKOWSKI:
And at that point,
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you start thinking maybe
it's a serial killer. Maybe there's something in
the calendar or something
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or the moon that causes
a person to-- to do this. NARRATOR: One year after
the murder of Kay Bradley,
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the body of a second
young woman was discovered in the same irrigation
canal on the outskirts
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of Bakersfield, California. She appeared to be a
teenager, but there was no identification
on the body.
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MIKE LAGE: It was a, "who
done it?" "Who is it?" Which is one of the hardest
ones in homicide to work.
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NARRATOR: The autopsy revealed
the girl was killed by three shots from a .38 caliber weapon.
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ARMAND DOLLINGER, M.D.:
She received several wounds from the right
front and was down.
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And while she was
down, the final shot would have been the
one in the back. -On the cement
curbing of the canal,
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we noticed that
there was more blood. And so in reading
the crime scene, we know that the vehicle pulled
off, parked on the shoulder,
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that there was some activity. The victim was hurt. The victim was bleeding. We're assuming that it
was the victim's blood.
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And somebody, in the end,
dragged the victim over to the canal and pushed her in.
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NARRATOR: Police found three
different shoe impressions in the soft dirt near the canal.
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They were identified as
Adidas brand running shoes. Forensic expert Greg
Laskowski analyzed the bullets
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from the victim's
body, specifically, for lands and
grooves created when the bullet passes
through the barrel.
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These are unique to every gun. He compared them to the bullets
recovered from Kay Bradley.
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They lined up perfectly. GREG LASKOWSKI: The bullets
from the first homicide victim
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and the bullets from the
second homicide victim had the same class
characteristics.
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That is, they had the same
caliber, same make, and type. They also had rifling
characteristics on the them
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that were identical. NARRATOR: The murder weapon
was a Colt .38 caliber handgun.
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-I'm very familiar with those
because I own one myself. NARRATOR: The ammunition
was unusual too.
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GREG LASKOWSKI: They were
a lighter weight caliber than normal .38
calibers at the time.
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There were 110-grain,
semi-jacketed, hollow points, which are typical of law
enforcement ammunition.
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-It did occur to me
at that time, again, we're possibly looking for
someone in law enforcement,
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security work, a prison
guard, that type of thing. Because the perpetrator hadn't
disposed of that weapon.
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They kept it. NARRATOR: The first task
facing investigators was to identify the young girl.
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Her description
didn't match anyone listed in missing
persons reports. And her fingerprints
didn't match any on file
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with the California
State database. Since there was a condom
wrapper near the victim's body,
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and because of the
way she was dressed, investigators suspected she
was working as a prostitute.
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JOHN SOLIZ: We started
showing this Polaroid photograph of our victim's face. And on that first night
that we were out there,
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we actually, by luck,
found this prostitute who recognized the photograph. PROSTITUTE: I think
she was here--
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And she said that she
recalled seeing the victim. NARRATOR: She was identified
as 15-year-old Tracy Clark,
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a runaway from
Seattle, Washington. Tracy's friend, a
fellow prostitute, last saw her leaving
with a customer
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driving an unusual vehicle. MIKE LAGE: She seen Tracy
Clark get into this vehicle,
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and that was the last
time she was seen alive. She described this vehicle as
a light-colored pickup truck
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with a camper shell with
bubble windows on the side. NARRATOR: But there
were thousands
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of similar trucks in California. But the murder weapon, the
type used by law enforcement,
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was a definite clue. On a hunch, Bakersfield
Police looked inside their own
community and discovered
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one of their colleagues
owned a pickup truck matching that description. It belonged to Sheriff's
Deputy Dave Rogers.
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Ironically, Rogers was Detective
Soliz's former partner. JOHN SOLIZ: We
worked side by side
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for, I don't know, I'm
guessing, you know, two or three years
on the same beat. He would back me up on calls,
and I would back him up.
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We would have coffee together. NARRATOR: Deputy Rogers, an
11-year veteran of the force,
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was well liked and
highly respected. To see if Rogers' truck was
the one Tracy got in to,
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investigators tried
an unusual experiment. MIKE LAGE: I went and
picked up the witness.
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And I told her, I'm going
to take you for a drive, and I want you to see if
you recognize any vehicles.
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NARRATOR: Investigator
Lage showed her a number of similar-looking
vehicles in Bakersfield.
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But the one she
identified was the one parked outside
Deputy Rogers' house. MIKE LAGE: She immediately
started hollering,
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that's the truck,
that's the truck. Go arrest him. Go arrest him. And I says, are you sure?
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And she said, I'm positive. NARRATOR: When
questioned, Rogers denied any involvement
in the murders.
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His service revolver, a
Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum, was clearly not
the murder weapon,
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and there was no
record Rogers ever owned a Colt .38
caliber handgun. Both investigators
and prosecutors
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needed much more than
just their suspicions that Rogers was
somehow involved. SARA RYALS: My job is to present
enough evidence to satisfy
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the standard of beyond
a reasonable doubt. There's a jury instruction
on what reasonable doubt is.
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And it's not just any doubt,
but it's not beyond any doubt. It's just a reasonable doubt.
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That is, it really couldn't
be anybody else but this man. NARRATOR: Bakersfield detectives
had two unsolved murders,
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a suspect who was a
member of law enforcement, but little else. So investigators went
back to the witness who
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saw the second
victim, Tracy Clark, getting into a
light-colored truck and asked her if she
could identify the driver.
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They showed her a
photographic lineup consisting of six individuals. MIKE LAGE: I advised the witness
that I was going to show her
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a series of photographs that
she may or may not recognize. Don't be afraid to say that
you don't recognize anybody.
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You don't have to. NARRATOR: It didn't take long. MIKE LAGE: She said that's
the guy that drove that pickup
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truck that I seen Tracy
get into the last time she was seen alive. And she pointed to Rogers.
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It was Rogers. JOHN SOLIZ: At that point,
I didn't quite soak in. Like, you know, I can't
believe that we're
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looking at a deputy on the
murder of two prostitutes. NARRATOR: Deputy Dave
Rogers once again
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denied any involvement
in the murders. Since these were his
colleagues, Rogers may have felt more comfortable
during his interrogation
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than others would, and he did
something consistent with that. He put his foot up on the desk.
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And Detective Mike Lage
remembered something. -And I looked down
and looked over,
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and there was the shoe tracks,
the shoe that resembled the shoe tracks that was
taken at Tracy Clark's scene.
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NARRATOR: Was it possible that
Rogers, an experienced law enforcement officer, would
wear the same shoes to a murder
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interrogation he wore
to commit the crime? Detectives sent Rogers' shoes
to forensic analyst Greg
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Laskowski. GREG LASKOWSKI: There was the
center logo, which identified the shoe as being Adidas, and
the overall size of the shoe
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was consistent. But there was a chunk
out in the tread pattern. NARRATOR: Laskowski pressed the
tread pattern of Rogers' shoe
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into a mixture of
fingerprint powder, Comet cleanser,
and very fine clay. And sure enough, Laskowski
saw the same tread patterns
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and same nicks and indentations
in Rogers' shoe impression that he saw in the impressions
found at the crime scene.
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GREG LASKOWSKI: I was astounded
to be able to identify David Roger's shoe as having
been at the crime scene.
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NARRATOR: But to prosecutor
Sara Ryals, it wasn't enough. SARA RYALS: I mean, you can put
the three scoops of ice cream,
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and then that's fine, but
it's not a banana split. But you've got to
add the bananas.
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You've got to add the
whipped cream and the cherry. The whipped cream and
the cherry are the fluff.
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They're what makes it look good. The bananas are
what makes the case. NARRATOR: In the back
of Rogers' truck,
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police found dozens of
pairs of women's underwear, nude pictures of
prostitutes, and a .38
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caliber Colt revolver. GREG LASKOWSKI: That
was just unbelievable. It-- you couldn't put words what
one was thinking at that point.
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It's-- it's as if, is
this really all true? Is this a coincidence? NARRATOR: To see if it
was the murder weapon,
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it was fired into a water-filled
tank to stop the bullet. GREG LASKOWSKI: It
slows down the bullet.
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And relatively quickly, within
a matter of 1 to 2 feet, the bullet falls
harmlessly to the bottom
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of the tank where
it can be collected. NARRATOR: A comparison of
that bullet and those found
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at both crime
scenes left no doubt that this gun was
used in both murders. Now, Sara Ryals was satisfied.
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SARA RYALS: You know, it
was all so clear then. Once we had all that laid out. I mean, there was
nothing else it could be.
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And it was extremely important. NARRATOR: And from
the serial number, investigators
discovered the gun was
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registered to the
owner of a local diner. Interestingly, several
years earlier, Deputy Rogers
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had investigated a burglary
call at that same diner. Behind the cash
register was the owner's
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Colt .38 caliber pistol. Apparently, Rogers stole it. MIKE LAGE: It was Rogers went in
there and picked that thing up
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and put it in his pocket. And he wrote down the
theft report on it. And he had that gun
ever since, and he
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used it to kill two
human beings with. So that, yeah,
that made me angry. NARRATOR: Dave Rogers
was arrested and charged
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with two counts of
first-degree murder. -When Dave Rogers was identified
and arrested, I was angry.
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I was shocked. You know, I trusted
him with my life. You know? Who knows, you know, for
whatever reason, you know,
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I could've been the victim. I mean, those kind of crazy
thoughts, at one point in time,
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went through my head. NARRATOR: Once in custody, he
offered some chilling insights
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into why a seemingly-normal
family man could not control his compulsion to kill.
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-My-- my head goes crazy.
It spins. You know what I mean? I get to thinking
about something--
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PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST: Yeah. -and it-- and it keeps
going and going and going. And uh--
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NARRATOR: The citizens
of Bakersfield were shocked to learn that a law
enforcement officer was charged
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for the murder of
21-year-old Kay Bradley and 15-year-old
Tracy Clark. Dave Rogers' wife had
difficulty believing it.
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DAVE ROGERS' WIFE: Great family
man, um, great human being. And this was the Dave
Rogers that I knew.
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MICHAEL TRIHEY: It's hard to
imagine that a guy like that is a killer and, presumably,
a pretty cold-blooded killer.
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NARRATOR: But the forensic
evidence was overwhelming. MICHAEL TRIHEY: When
it came to trial,
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this case was not
a "who done it." The question was, what
motivated this defendant?
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And what was his
degree of guilt? What was his state of mind
at the time of the killing?
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NARRATOR: In a taped interview
with the prison psychologist, Rogers admitted
soliciting prostitutes.
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-I'm not prejudiced. I have solicited blacks. I have solicited whites. I have solicited Mexicans.
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PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST:
Well, that sounds so formal when you say solicit. -Well, that's what
I've done, you know.
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I've gone out and
solicited prostitutes. NARRATOR: And eventually,
Rogers admitted
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taking Tracy Clark to the canal. He claimed the two
had a disagreement. JOHN SOLIZ: She made
some comment to him
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that, I've been here too long. Now you have to give me more
money, or something like that.
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-I don't think she called me a
queer or a faggot or something like that, but I think
she brought up me
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having different
sexual preferences. NARRATOR: Rogers claimed he
threw Tracy out of the truck,
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but that she stood in front
of it and refused to move. He also claimed she threatened
to file a police report.
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TRACY CLARK: What are going to-- -He was making it sound like
a self-defense, because he
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claimed that Tracy Clark
was screaming and hollering and scratching him and that sort
of thing at the-- at the scene.
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NARRATOR: Rogers' mistake
was getting out of the truck to drag Tracy's
body into the canal,
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leaving his shoe impressions
in the soft dirt. His second mistake was
wearing those same shoes
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to his interrogation. JOHN SOLIZ: As luck
would have it, for us, as the investigators,
that he was careless.
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He was very careless, and
he left a lot of evidence at the scene. He left evidence in his truck.
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He left evidence at home. NARRATOR: Rogers
had no explanation for why he killed his
first victim, Kay Bradley.
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JOHN SOLIZ: Ah,
he made a comment, if they did match my gun,
then I must have done it.
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But I don't remember. NARRATOR: Rogers claimed his
actions were caused by parents
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who emotionally and physically
abused him as a child. SARA RYALS: You know, to say
that he was some sort of really
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nice guy who was just reacting
to his childhood, just kind of makes you
want to throw up.
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NARRATOR: Rogers also hinted
he welcomed the death penalty. -I-- I can't deal with having
killed this other person.
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I do not believe I should live. I'm not-- PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST:
Are you saying, though,
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in some ways, you-- you
plotted your own demise? -I just gave them
what they needed.
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PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST: So you
knew you-- you had a plan? -Yes. NARRATOR: Dave
Rogers went on trial
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for the murder of Kay
Bradley and Tracy Clark. It took the jury two
days to find him guilty.
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He was sentenced to death. SARA RYALS: Juries like
to be able to figure out things for themselves.
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They like to play-- not play
detective, but play detective story writer, in which
they have a lot of clues,
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and they can put them
together, and say, this can only be this man. -As far as I'm
concerned, he's as
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worthless as a-- as there is. But he'll probably outlive me. He's sucking my air, and I'm
paying for his room and board
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up there as a taxpayer. MICHAEL TRIHEY: Well, I think
that this case, the thing that
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really comes to my mind is how
he really led that double life, how he seemed to be one
thing and was accepted
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as that respectable law
enforcement officer. And yet at night,
like Jekyll and Hyde,
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he'd go out and have a
completely different side. And how he seemed to have
fooled everybody in his life
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until the criminalists and the
forensics caught up with him. [theme music]