00:00:00
[AUDIO LOGO] [OMINOUS MUSIC] DISPATCHER: Paducah City 911. Where is the location
of your emergency?
00:00:17
CARL: Oh, I just
woke up, and my mom came in screaming and yelling. And she's bleeding.
00:00:22
My dad's out here
lying on the ground, and he just got stabbed. DISPATCHER: Your dad
just got stabbed?
00:00:27
CARL: Yeah, I don't know-- DISPATCHER: What's your--
OK, is your dad breathing?
00:00:31
CARL: I don't think so. DISPATCHER: And he's
in the front yard? CARL: No, he's
laying down the road.
00:00:37
DISPATCHER: He's in the road? CARL: Yeah. DISPATCHER: OK, hon. CARL: I don't think he's alive.
00:00:45
NARRATOR: This video
provided by a neighbor, shows a threatening man. He's seen walking past
a home holding an ax.
00:00:54
ROBERT: No, baby, no! [SCREAMING] [OMINOUS MUSIC] [SCARE CHORD] [WHOOSH] DISPATCHER: Did your mom
say who stabbed him?
00:01:09
CARL: [WHIMPERING] [PANTING] [WHIMPERING] DISPATCHER: Hey, I
know you're upset.
00:01:17
Did your mom say
who stabbed him? CARL: Mom! Mom! DISPATCHER: OK, hon,
what's your name?
00:01:25
CARL: Carl. DISPATCHER: OK, Carl,
give me one second. We're getting help on the way.
00:01:30
[SIREN BLARING] NARRATOR: Police
and paramedics raced through a sleepy
Paducah suburb.
00:01:36
[CAMERA FLASHES] When they arrive
at the scene, it's too late. Carl's father is already dead.
00:01:46
CASEY STEENBERGEN: When
I first got the call, it was approximately 5
o'clock in the morning.
00:01:50
My sergeant called me,
notifying me that there were two victims of stab wounds. He indicated that the two
people were husband and wife
00:02:01
and that the husband
was deceased. For Paducah, Kentucky, two
victims of stab wounds,
00:02:09
that's extremely uncommon. NARRATOR: The murder victim
is 56-year-old Robert Penn.
00:02:16
His wife, who
survived the attack, 41-year-old Cocina Penn. [CAMERA FLASHES] CARL: Several detectives were
there processing the crime.
00:02:27
I have been provided
details that there was a lot of blood
at the scene, and I was expecting
traumatic injuries.
00:02:36
[SIREN WAILING] NARRATOR: When Detective
Steenbergen arrives, the victim's body has already
been removed by the coroner.
00:02:44
[SOMBER MUSIC] CASEY STEENBERGEN:
The atmosphere of the scene when I
arrived was very somber,
00:02:50
not only myself but EMTs,
fire department personnel. Everybody that
responded to the scene
00:02:58
was shocked at the level
of brutality used against him. PHOTOGRAPHER: And then when
we got here, he's laying down.
00:03:05
But he's got like
cuts on his wrists. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Whomever inflicted this level of injury
to Robert Penn
00:03:14
is an extreme danger
to our community and needs to be located
as quickly as possible.
00:03:20
MAN: Everyone in the house. NARRATOR: Cocina, who
suffered knife wounds, has been taken to the hospital.
00:03:29
AMANDA MELTON: Cocina
Penn had stated that she and Robert took a walk
during the early morning hours.
00:03:36
And there was a wooded
area that had a bridge. As they were walking, someone,
out of nowhere, attacked them.
00:03:46
Was that person just
randomly attacking people? And where is that person? And are any of us in danger?
00:03:54
So, you know,
my anxiety was up there. NARRATOR: County
Coroner Amanda Melton was one of the first
called to the scene.
00:04:02
[CAMERA FLASHES] AMANDA MELTON: When I arrived,
we had some complications removing him.
00:04:10
[CAMERA FLASHES] [OMINOUS MUSIC] Just the fact of the wounds and
the injuries, the blood loss.
00:04:19
[CAMERA FLASHES] He was a very
large in size man. And he had plunging knife
wounds into his rib area.
00:04:32
He had wounds to his
arms that were deep. He had a laceration across his
abdomen that was penetrating,
00:04:43
and it had caused his
intestines to protrude on the exterior of his body. [CAMERA FLASHES]
00:04:50
He had lacerations
across his wrist. He had deep laceration
across his neck. [CAMERA FLASHES]
00:04:57
It was clear that Mr. Penn had
suffered a very violent death. - So the husband either?
00:05:06
OFFICER: I don't
know who Coco is. - It's a friend of my family. OFFICER: Where do they live at?
00:05:11
- They live back here somewhere
in one of these houses. OFFICER: All right. NARRATOR: The attack
happened just yards
00:05:16
from Robert and Cocina's home. [DOG BARKING] - Pretty sure the first cut
occurred at the Red Bridge.
00:05:24
Plus, he was here and then
blood going that way. CASEY STEENBERGEN: OK. There were several patrolmen
who were there to maintain
00:05:34
the crime scene perimeter. And then we had
detectives there that were looking
for additional evidence
00:05:40
and also photographing
the crime scene. NARRATOR: Officers follow
the route Cocina said she
00:05:47
and her husband took
on their early morning walk. They track traces of blood. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:05:56
- First drop of blood,
that is right here. CASEY STEENBERGEN: OK. OFFICER: Doing a buccal on it
just to compare his DNA.
00:06:10
- They had the K-9 units
out in the woods nearby, trying to detect a scent. [LEAVES CRACKLING]
00:06:19
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Our officers were also looking for any witnesses that might have heard
a commotion, looked outside
00:06:24
And saw any portion
of what may have happened. NARRATOR: One neighbor
reports speaking with Cocina
00:06:31
immediately after the attack. OFFICER: You said
4:00 in the morning? - It was about 4:30
around in there.
00:06:38
OFFICER: Who came
knocking on the door? - Uh, uh, Coco, I
think, is her name. OFFICER: OK.
00:06:46
What did the--
what did she say? - She just said-- she
was just crying so hard. And I kept trying to ask
her what happened,
00:06:53
and she was just
saying some big dude. That's all she said. NARRATOR: With no other
witnesses to Robert's murder,
00:07:00
Detective Steenbergen urgently
needs to speak to Cocina. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Cocina Penn had
00:07:09
been treated for two small
cuts on her right hand as well as a small
stab wound in her back.
00:07:17
NARRATOR: Processed
by forensics, her clothes have been
taken into evidence. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
She'd agreed to travel
00:07:24
from the hospital
to the police department with one of our detectives. OFFICER: Need to heat
up on the coffee?
00:07:33
You want some fresh coffee? I can make fresh. COCINA: No, just a warm-up. OFFICER: Just a warm-up?
00:07:38
OK. [CLINKING] - Is it "Co-see-nah
or "Co-kee-nah?" - "Co-kee-nah."
00:07:46
Can I go by "Coco," if that
makes it easier for y'all. - OK. OK. Well, what would you
prefer me call you?
00:07:53
- Coco.
CASEY STEENBERGEN: Coco. That's what we can do then. I was initially trying
to gather details
00:07:59
about who this person
was that attacked her and also brutally attacked
and murdered her husband.
00:08:08
She said that she and Robert
had been out on a morning walk. - We went over there to look at
the bridge like we normally do.
00:08:17
We were just standing
there kissing, and he said he would
rather just go to the house
00:08:21
this morning. And I said, OK, and-- and when he turned
to walk that way, that's when that guy jumped
out and grabbed hold of him
00:08:31
by his neck. - Did you hear him walking
up or see him walking up? - No. It's like he was just there.
00:08:39
- She stated that she couldn't
see anything about this man, that he looked like a shadow.
00:08:46
- He grabbed him like, right as
we went to walk off the bridge. And when I said it looked
like he was choking,
00:08:54
he grabbed his throat and was
running, hollered, run. And me and him
both was running.
00:08:59
And that's when I felt my
collar and my shirt get pulled. That's all I felt though.
00:09:05
- OK. So when y'all
were running, were you in front of your husband? - At first, yes.
00:09:12
- OK. - And then I turned around. And he had been caught up with
my husband, was attacking him,
00:09:18
and had a knife. And I run back to try
to grab the knife. This, when I tried taking
the knife, I seen the blood,
00:09:28
and I passed out. I don't know
anything after that. I wish I did. CASEY STEENBERGEN: Her
account seemed believable.
00:09:39
And she said that
after she woke up she learned that Mr. Penn's
wallet had been taken
00:09:44
and that their two cell
phones had been taken. [DOG BARKING] NARRATOR: Police combed
the Penn residence for clues.
00:09:52
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] - There's two buildings
in the back, a car in the back. CASEY STEENBERGEN: When
our investigators arrived
00:10:00
at the home, they saw blood on the front door frame. [OMINOUS MUSIC] [CAMERA FLASHES]
00:10:10
Then they found blood on one
of the kitchen cabinets. NARRATOR: Blood samples are
sent for testing at the lab.
00:10:19
CASEY STEENBERGEN: We had
detectives looking for blood trails, looking for weapons
00:10:24
that might have been
used to commit this crime Looking at neighboring
houses, buildings,
00:10:30
looking for people
being on scene at the time of this crime. [DOG CREAKING]
OFFICER: Hello.
00:10:36
How are you today? WOMAN: Do you know her name? CASEY STEENBERGEN: Being
a mostly residential area,
00:10:41
our officers
recognized that there was a high likelihood
of seeing some doorbell cameras
00:10:46
on a neighboring house. OFFICER: You don't happen to
have any security cam footage
00:10:51
or, like, ring door cameras
or anything like that? - No. We were just talking
about getting one.
00:10:55
- I got one, but I
didn't put it up. OFFICER: Ain't put it up yet? OK. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
We were looking
00:11:00
for cameras that would capture
any aspect of Mr. and Mrs. Penn walking that morning
and anybody else
00:11:07
that may have been in the area. The hope is that
we see this shadow man that Cocina Penn is
describing caught on camera and
00:11:16
that we're able
to go arrest him. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] DYLAN PAYNE:
The community reaction
00:11:24
to the murder of Robert Penn
was one of genuine shock. This is a small,
quiet community.
00:11:34
Most of the scuttlebutt that
happens in the community is some sort of personal drama.
00:11:40
[CAR WHOOSHING] If you hear about a burglary,
OK, that's pretty common. If you hear about someone
who stole a lawnmower,
00:11:49
that's something that
you might expect. When you hear
about a murder, you don't expect that in any
community, certainly
00:11:56
in Western Kentucky. It's really unbelievable
that a person could do this to another human being.
00:12:07
Certainly, it was one
of the most violent murders that had ever
happened in the history
00:12:11
of McCracken County. [DOGS BARKING] [CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC] - My name is Tania Hopkins.
00:12:23
My uncle, it's my mom's
brother, is my Uncle Robert. My sister called me and told
me that Uncle Robert
00:12:33
had been killed-- [SIGHS] on my birthday. It's gut wrenching. He was fun. We were poor growing up,
so he used to do things for us
00:12:49
to have fun. And he was like a dad to me. I just always loved
my Uncle Robert. As a loving, caring,
nurturing man,
00:13:00
he was always there for anybody
that ever needed him. Friends, family, blood
or not, he didn't care.
00:13:05
He always accepted everybody. He's a big guy,
but he was sweet. Like, he didn't have
a mean bone in his body.
00:13:17
Total loss. Yeah, I'm gonna miss him. [WHOOSH] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NARRATOR: As friends and family
mourn Robert's death,
00:13:31
his body is transported to the
county coroner for autopsy. [DOOR CREAKS] AMANDA MELTON: It was a very
violent death that he suffered.
00:13:51
He had so many injuries that
would have been lethal and deadly, that it was hard
to determine exactly
00:13:57
which one was the fatal blow. Mr. Penn was
a large, strong man. It was clear that his attack
was sudden and unexpected.
00:14:11
I do not think he had a chance
to fight or defend himself. I believe he was incapacitated
fairly quickly, which
00:14:20
led me to believe that that was
a premeditated attack on him. It just seemed like there
was a motive involved
00:14:31
that would have created
that type of anger. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Most of the time,
00:14:40
in a robbery case,
the perpetrator is gonna use the least
amount of force possible to achieve a theft.
00:14:50
It's an anomaly
anywhere that someone would use that level
of violence and brutality
00:14:56
to achieve a robbery. Things were not
making sense to me. So for those reasons, it was
not adding up in my mind.
00:15:09
[STREET BUZZING] [TENSE MUSIC] CHUCK WALTER: I first
became aware of this case, like a lot of people
in Paducah,
00:15:21
hearing items on the news. This was a fairly
horrendous, nasty homicide, and it attracted a fair amount
of attention here locally.
00:15:31
And when news like that
hits, I always think well, there's a possibility
I'll be involved in the trial
00:15:37
and litigation of this matter. Just how vicious
and brutal the attack was obviously, someone
wanted Robert Penn dead.
00:15:48
The injuries to his
face, the fact that he was disemboweled,
almost decapitated,
00:15:56
this was not a robbery. This was a crime of someone
who knew the victim. It was personal.
00:16:06
[SCARE CHORD] [DISTANT DOG BARKING] CASEY STEENBERGEN: We
started entertaining the idea that someone
personally knew the victim
00:16:20
and did have animosity some type of grudge. AMANDA MELTON: Who could
have a vendetta against him?
00:16:29
Who could attack
him that viciously and cause his death
in that manner? - Listen to it, just
the way you know--
00:16:37
- Yeah, I'll get some
more quotes for it. Yeah, you've heard it. OFFICER: And that solidifies--
00:16:43
like, you know for a fact. CASEY STEENBERGEN: Ms.
Penn described her husband as a big old Teddy bear.
00:16:48
She said that he
was a kind man. When asked if he
had any enemies, she said that she
wasn't aware of any.
00:16:57
I still had several questions
I wanted to ask Cocina. Any detail could be
huge in an investigation
00:17:04
of this magnitude. You know, our main priority
is to figure out what happened and make sure we do
right by your family
00:17:13
and figure out who did
this to your family. OK. Was he hiding in that area
or just happened to be--
00:17:22
- There was no walking. There was no sound. - OK. - He was just there. I don't know where
he come from.
00:17:30
He was just there. There was no
footsteps, no nothing. - OK. The more details we ask for
00:17:38
the more reluctant she was to
give us details, to cooperate in the investigation.
00:17:46
What was the first contact
he made with your husband? Can you describe what
that looked like?
00:17:52
- It just looked like
he jumped up on his back and had his hands on his neck. That's all I remember.
00:17:58
- OK. And what did
your husband say or do? - Nothing. He hollered, run. - Hollered, run.
- He hollered run.
00:18:08
And that's what I did. We're not used
to that kind of stuff. - Sure. I'm sure it's terrifying.
00:18:14
So you were running-- - Towards the house. We was running back home. - OK. She, at one point,
became kind of defensive
00:18:24
and indicated that
she didn't want to answer any of my questions. - I don't know why we're
going back over this.
00:18:33
I just don't know if my heart
can handle this [BLEEP] again. - But there may be something
little that we can bring
00:18:42
up that will jog your memory. That was a huge red flag because I'm simply trying
to identify her husband's
00:18:50
murder and her own attacker. So what-- - But he took off back
across the bridge, though.
00:18:59
- The guy that attacked you? - That attacked
my husband and me, yes. He took off back
across the bridge.
00:19:05
- So after the attack
was over, he-- - He went back towards, like he
was heading towards Emma Court.
00:19:09
- OK. OK. The more I spoke to Cocina
Penn, the more suspicious I became of her. NARRATOR: Officers
searching the crime scene
00:19:21
also questioned Cocina's story. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] CHUCK WALTER: The canine
didn't hit anything.
00:19:29
There was no human
scent on the other side of the bridge, where apparently
this mysterious stranger
00:19:34
had appeared. Therefore, nobody
came from that area and attacked them when they
were by the footbridge.
00:19:43
There was nobody coming
from the other side. Her story had no
support from the facts.
00:19:50
- OK. They ran at the house
over here? NARRATOR: Detectives
decide to delve deeper into Cocina's
relationship with Robert.
00:19:58
They turned to social
media for clues. - --no one over here. [STREET BUZZING] [TENSE MUSIC]
00:20:07
CASEY STEENBERGEN: We
didn't find a social media presence for Robert Penn,
but we did find a social media
00:20:12
presence for Cocina Penn. All the pictures
that she had posted were of herself
and grandchildren
00:20:20
but never a picture of her
and Robert together. [CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC] TANIA HOPKINS: I always
thought they were good.
00:20:30
She was nice. She was fun. They played with one another
like, you know, couples do.
00:20:36
She took care of a lot of kids. They had a lot of kids. 20 years ago, a cousin
of mine got them two together.
00:20:44
And then Cocina
was married to him. From my understanding, the
relationship was very loving.
00:20:50
They showed affection
to each other. They just acted like
a normal couple. CASEY STEENBERGEN: The absence
of a picture of her
00:21:00
and Robert on her
social media suggested that maybe
their relationship wasn't as
00:21:06
close as people had thought. Maybe there were some
issues or estrangement. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:21:18
[LEAVES RUSTLING] NARRATOR: Officers
canvassed the neighborhood, hoping to find home security
footage, anything that
00:21:27
can shed light on the murder. - Hello. MAN: Yeah? - This is Casey Steenbergen
with Paducah Police Department.
00:21:35
- Sure. - We're wondering
if this records. - Yeah, I just had a guy
stop by, another cop.
00:21:39
He was undercover, I guess.
He caught up in a-- CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Real tall guy?
00:21:43
- Yes, skinny. But I don't know
if he had glasses. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
And, like, crazy tall?
00:21:46
- Yes, like wicked tall. We reviewed
the cameras with him, and I didn't have
anything to show up.
00:21:53
NARRATOR: As the investigation
continues, officers at Paducah's
police station
00:21:58
get an unexpected visit from
a woman wanting to talk. OFFICER: Right here, so.
WOMAN: Oh.
00:22:05
OK. - Let's go in and have
a seat in that chair is fine. And then someone's gonna
be in with you, OK?
00:22:12
WOMAN: OK. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
She had found out that Robert Penn
had been murdered
00:22:19
and felt the need
to come forward and talk to investigators. - And what information
do you have for me today?
00:22:26
- Uh, let's see. Um, William Tabor has been
having an affair with Coco. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:22:35
CASEY STEENBERGEN: Discovering
that Cocina Penn was having an affair was a huge
deal in our investigation
00:22:40
because that presented
investigators with a motive. NARRATOR: William Tabor is
well known to Paducah PD.
00:22:51
CASEY STEENBERGEN: Knowing
William Tabor's affiliations with known criminals, you
can't help but entertain
00:22:59
the possibility
that maybe he was more involved in these
events than simply just
00:23:06
being Cocina Penn's lover. [TENSE MUSIC] CHUCK WALTER: William
Tabor is the patriarch
00:23:14
of a family that has
substantial criminal history here in Paducah. You have to consider
him a suspect
00:23:23
because you've got a motive. When you fool around
in someone's family, stupid things can happen.
00:23:32
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
We immediately sought out William
Tabor, who was working in construction at that time.
00:23:40
When approached
by our investigators, he said, yeah, I think I
know why y'all are here.
00:23:50
OFFICER: You're
not in any trouble. You just need to help us. CASEY STEENBERGEN: He
agreed to come back
00:23:56
to the police department
for an interview with our investigators. OFFICER: Right, come in here.
00:24:03
Here if you want. When did the affair start? - Uh-- I think
it was this year. - This year?
00:24:17
Do you remember if it was the
beginning of this year, summer? - No, it was more
the beginning.
00:24:24
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
It was so important that he confirmed he was having
an affair with Cocina Penn.
00:24:30
But the biggest question
was, was Tabor actually there when Robert was murdered?
00:24:37
[TENSE MUSIC] - Do you know her husband? - Yes, he-- - Did he know about you-- - --probably a good person.
00:24:47
- He's a good person? - Did he by any chance
know about you and Coco? No? CHUCK WALTER: They
questioned Tabor in relation
00:24:56
to where he put himself
vis-a-vis the crime scene. - What time did you get home?
00:25:03
- When, last night? - Mm-hmm. - That I'm off, around 5:00. - 5:00 PM? Did you stay at home
the whole time?
00:25:13
- Yeah. - OK. And then you stayed
at your house until 5:00 AM the next morning? OK.
00:25:20
Was anyone there with you? - Yes, ma'am. NARRATOR: Tabor says he was
at home with his girlfriend.
00:25:28
If that checks out, he couldn't
have killed Robert Penn. Then Tabor makes
a shocking claim.
00:25:38
- She did come up to my job
one time to tell us all that, uh, she was tired of him.
00:25:46
She liked for somebody
to do away with him. [OMINOUS MUSIC] - Yeah. So she came over, said
she's tired of him,
00:25:52
would someone go over
and get rid of him? - Or see him. She didn't really
put it like that.
00:25:59
It's just-- - What words did she use? - Kind of like, I wish I knew
somebody that-- or y'all know
00:26:09
somebody that go bump him off? CASEY STEENBERGEN: When
I heard that statement, it showed that she had hatred
towards Robert that she loved
00:26:19
William, wanted Robert
out of the picture, and wanted to be
with William Tabor. - Like I was telling
him, when you go--
00:26:27
NARRATOR: Officers
seize Tabor's phone and find deleted
texts from Cocina. OFFICER: Seven days.
00:26:32
- I think it's 10 days
back from where we're at. OFFICER: So we
definitely need to work--
00:26:36
CASEY STEENBERGEN: Through
digital forensic examination of his phone, we found out
that Cocina had sent him a text
00:26:44
message, which indicated that
they spoke of moving to Florida together and used the words,
"and he'll be gone,"
00:26:54
referring to Robert. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
CHUCK WALTER: The motive? Yeah, she had the motive.
00:27:01
She wanted him dead. She wanted to traipse off
to Florida with her paramour. NARRATOR: The search
for surveillance footage
00:27:09
pays off when a neighbor
hands over video from his doorbell cam. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:27:17
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Hey, I'm Casey. I'm a detective with
the police department.
00:27:20
MAN: OK. CASEY STEENBERGEN: Do
you get the videos? I think, detective got 'em.
00:27:26
MAN: I've seen them, too. CASEY STEENBERGEN: Yeah. Thank you for getting us that.
00:27:30
The biggest question for me was what is that video
footage gonna show? The hope is that it captures
everything that happened.
00:27:40
MAN: At the end
of the day, he don't expect something
like this to happen right in front of the house.
CASEY STEENBERGEN: Yeah.
00:27:44
Thank you. Yeah, that's gonna
be hugely helpful. As gruesome as it
would be to watch
00:27:50
you hope that it would capture
the totality of this attack. NARRATOR: While
the footage is analyzed,
00:28:00
Steenbergen tracks down
William Tabor's girlfriend. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
You're not, are you?
00:28:07
You are? [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] I spoke to William
Tabor's girlfriend to corroborate the affair
00:28:13
that William was
having with Cocina. Well, I don't think it's
any secret at this point.
00:28:22
So there's been a murder. - That's not good. CASEY STEENBERGEN: Yeah. - That's not good at all.
00:28:30
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
The victim is Robert. - And see, I was
gonna talk to Robert. CASEY STEENBERGEN: OK, OK.
00:28:36
Well, that's why we're here. That's what we'd
like to talk about.
00:28:40
- And also, I can vouch
for my own man being here, too. CASEY STEENBERGEN: Yeah.
00:28:43
And that's something that we
wanted to talk about, you know. What was going on with
Coco and William and Robert
00:28:50
and just kind
of the dynamic of that? And then she showed
me a text message that she had sent
to Cocina, warning her
00:29:00
that she was gonna alert
Robert of the affair if Cocina did not leave
William Tabor alone.
00:29:08
- I did send her a message. I did tell her that I was
going to let her husband know.
00:29:11
And three days
later, this happened. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
The text message from William Tabor's
girlfriend to Cocina Penn
00:29:19
was very likely
the catalyst to this murder. CHUCK WALTER:
Boyfriend's girlfriend
00:29:25
is going to go to Robert
Penn and spill the beans. That establishes a lot. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:29:33
NARRATOR: But rumors
of an affair aren't enough to arrest Cocina. Steenbergen needs
solid evidence.
00:29:39
And the recently
discovered doorbell footage could be a game changer. [TENSE MUSIC]
00:29:50
CASEY STEENBERGEN: The camera
is pointed in the area that Cocina described,
that she and
00:29:55
Robert ran from while
the attack was occurring. The attack beginning off in the
darkness here, in the darkness,
00:30:02
is the red footbridge. ROBERT: No, baby, no! [CRYING] Listen, baby! No, baby, no!
00:30:14
[SCREAMING] [DOGS BARKING] [ROBERT YELLING] CASEY STEENBERGEN:
This is a sombering
00:30:24
video for everyone to watch,
especially the audio aspect. ROBERT: No, baby, no! CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Hearing a man that we knew
00:30:37
had been brutally
murdered, hearing him throughout that process
in the last stages of his life,
00:30:44
was a difficult thing for all
the investigators to digest. But the obvious thing
that we're looking for
00:30:53
is any evidence of a third
person being at this scene. And as they pass underneath
the street light,
00:31:01
you clearly see that it's
two people, not three people, as Cocina Penn described
there would have been
00:31:10
when they reached this area. When I heard Robert
Penn say, no, baby, no. That solidified to me that
the attacker that he was
00:31:20
referring to was Cocina Penn. [CAR WHOOSHING] NARRATOR: Nick Barreiro is
a forensic video analyst.
00:31:31
Using special software,
he can look at the footage more closely. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:31:38
NICK BARREIRO: There's
a variety of tools and software that we use as forensic
analysts that
00:31:43
are not available
to the average detective working on a case. So the first thing
I'm gonna do is
00:31:49
I'm gonna magnify
the area where these people were running. And then I'm gonna
enhance the brightness
00:31:56
and contrast in that area. Particularly at night, when
people are moving fast, the camera doesn't
have an opportunity
00:32:04
to capture a lot of detail. I'm gonna go to a frame
where these people are visible, where they're
running under the light here.
00:32:14
To get the most control
over these very bright parts of the screen and the darkest
parts of the screen,
00:32:21
I would use
a curves adjustment. And with the curves
adjustment, it allows me to adjust
the different tonal
00:32:30
ranges within the frame. We get a pretty clear
view of the action, right. It's two people running.
00:32:39
And I've watched this video
from beginning to end, and there are no other people.
00:32:45
There's no other
movement that's visible within this
frame that would account for a third person.
00:32:52
ROBERT: No, baby, no! [SCREAMING] NICK BARREIRO: So the video
footage only tells us so much.
00:33:02
It's limited in its detail. We can see the general idea
of what's happening there.
00:33:08
But the real evidence
in this clip, I believe, comes from the audio track. ROBERT: No, baby, no!
00:33:16
[SCREAMING] [DOG BARKING] NICK BARREIRO: I think
it's highly unlikely that two people being
chased would result
00:33:27
in this audio clip,
where we only really hear one person screaming. We would expect
to hear both people
00:33:37
doing that if in fact, there
was a third person involved. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] With the enhanced version--
00:33:47
ROBERT: Listen, baby! No, baby, no! [SCREAMING] [MOUSE CLICKS] NICK BARREIRO:
--I think it would
00:33:55
be very hard to argue
that he's saying anything other than, no, baby, no. As an investigator, I would be
looking at this video footage.
00:34:03
I would be listening
to this audio. And it would be pretty easy
to come to the conclusion
00:34:11
that there was one person
being chased by another person. And the person who
was being chased
00:34:20
was very familiar with
the person chasing them and calling them, baby. NARRATOR: Robert
Penn's autopsy report
00:34:31
also throws doubt on Cocina's
account of the night. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] CASEY STEENBERGEN: One
of the most striking things
00:34:41
that I learned was that
a significant time lapse had occurred between the time
that Robert Penn died and
00:34:48
law enforcement was
alerted to this incident. [CAMERA FLASHES] The time lapse
told me that there
00:34:55
was a very high likelihood
that Cocina Penn was not being honest about
the times that she and
00:35:02
Robert left the house and the
time that this attack occurred. [TENSE MUSIC] CHUCK WALTER: The coroner's
report said the murder
00:35:12
happened around 3:13. She had her youngest
son call in the murder of his father about 4:45.
00:35:20
[CAMERA FLASHES] By that time, the body's
cold, rigor mortis was already setting in.
00:35:27
So that tells you,
why did he lay out there for an hour and a half? What fit with
our theory was she
00:35:37
used that opportunity
to hide evidence, to construct her robbery
theory, all sorts of things.
00:35:43
[DOGS BARKING] CASEY STEENBERGEN: It
is reasonable to think that suspects would try
to conceal evidence,
00:35:53
weapons used
in the commission of a crime within their own homes. I remember one
of our detectives
00:36:00
telling me that the house
was very clean and orderly. - And even inside, is
it not, like-- you know,
00:36:07
like bloody, you know? Like, she hadn't been
cleaning herself up. Like-- OFFICER: I looked at the sink.
- She got like.
00:36:13
OFFICER: Well, you
don't have any blood. CASEY STEENBERGEN: They
found bleach in a drain trap
00:36:20
underneath the kitchen sink. Who washes their dishes with
bleach before they go to bed?
00:36:26
There was no reason for there
to be bleach in the drain trap of their kitchen sink.
00:36:36
NARRATOR: Still
searching for Cocina and Robert's missing
phones, Steenbergen
00:36:40
makes an important discovery. OFFICER: Here's the snapshot. CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Our patrol staff
00:36:45
requested that dispatch
pinged both phone numbers that were obtained through
Cocina and Carl
00:36:51
in an effort to locate
those phones. CHUCK WALTER: So they start
pinging those cell phones.
00:36:57
And those cell phones are
found about 25, 30 miles south towards Mayfield, Kentucky.
00:37:03
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Through my investigation, I determined that
garbage pickup routes ran every single
day in the city of Paducah.
00:37:11
CHUCK WALTER:
The police department were able to track those
cell phones to a landfill
00:37:17
in the next county south. I believe that she had thrown
away the phones in a trash can.
00:37:22
She had thrown
away the wallets. She was obviously trying to
say, look, this is a robbery.
00:37:27
I had nothing to do with it. [WIND WHOOSHING] NARRATOR: When the DNA results
from the blood found in Cocina
00:37:37
and Robert's home come
back from the lab, the last piece of the puzzle
finally falls into place.
00:37:45
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
The lab confirmed that the blood
on the kitchen cabinet door was Robert's blood,
along with her
00:37:54
and Robert's blood found
deeper into the house. Directly conflicted
with her account,
00:37:59
which was that she burst
through the front door and went straight to Carl's
room, which is just
00:38:05
inside the front door
of the residence, to notify him that, your dad
is hurt and call 911.
00:38:12
[CAMERA FLASHES] Knowing that Robert's blood
found in the kitchen and bleach in the drain
trap, it proves
00:38:20
that Cocina went deeper
into the residence and was cleaning
and concealing evidence.
00:38:29
CHUCK WALTER: I
thought Ms. Penn was clever but not very
smart, if it's possible to be
00:38:36
those two things. - He's gonna switch
the cuffs around. [HEART POUNDING, TENSE MUSIC]
00:38:45
CASEY STEENBERGEN: One
of our other investigators recognized that the cuts
on Cocina's hands
00:38:51
are consistent with injuries
sustained by stabbing attacker rather than a victim.
00:38:59
Frequently,
in a stabbing attack, blood being viscous and sticky,
surfaces such as a knife
00:39:07
handle become slippery. And it's a common thing that
the attacker's hand will
00:39:13
slip off of a knife
blade, and they'll actually cut themselves. [CAMERA FLASHES]
00:39:18
CHUCK WALTER: Comparing
the carnage that happened to Robert Penn with
the one superficial wound
00:39:28
to her back, I admire her
flexibility in making it. She-- [SIGHS] she
wasn't smart enough
00:39:37
to have a shirt
on at the time because there was no corresponding
cut in her shirt.
00:39:43
But, OK, here, I'm gonna-- I was cut too. Well, that was minor
compared to what
00:39:49
happened to her husband. And that also shows whoever
killed Robert Penn wanted to,
00:39:57
had it in for Robert Penn. One little stab on her? That's nothing. That's nothing.
00:40:07
OFFICER: [INDISTINCT SPEECH]
You just want to put her-- CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Cocina Penn had
00:40:14
means, motive, and opportunity
to murder Robert Penn. NARRATOR: Cocina is
charged with the capital
00:40:24
murder of her husband. OFFICER: Coco, I'm putting your
stuff in his front seat, OK?
00:40:30
CASEY STEENBERGEN: She
was taken to the jail here in McCracken County. - That thing squished my wrist
when you hit that bump.
00:40:39
[DRAMATIC MUSIC] I told them I didn't do this. Maybe they should prove it. - Maybe.
00:40:51
NARRATOR: Cocina is held
behind bars until her trial at McCracken County Courthouse.
00:40:57
[METAL BAR CLANKS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] BAILIFF: The Honorable Judge
Tony Kitchen presiding.
00:41:08
Please be seated. All chairs are
present, Your Honor. CHUCK WALTER: I was
going to make sure
00:41:14
that she paid for her crime. That's my job. I get paid for being tough. - When you look
at Cocina Penn, I
00:41:24
will tell you that your first
instinct is to think, I can't imagine that
this lady could have done
00:41:31
what she did to her husband. CHUCK WALTER:
The first day, we had submitted a lot of strong
evidence to demonstrate motive,
00:41:41
the fact that it
was premeditated, and the fact that this
was not a robbery. We had one more thing that
was gonna tie it all together,
00:41:53
that videotape. ROBERT: No, baby, no! [SCREAMING] CHUCK WALTER: The last
thing the jury
00:42:01
heard on that first
day was, no, baby, no. Baby, don't kill me. They heard him
screaming for his life.
00:42:11
[ROBERT SCREAMING] DYLAN PAYNE: When we're
at the movie theater, we're used to hearing
those horrific screams,
00:42:18
but we know that those
screams are not real. [SCREAMING] And I don't think that
it was lost on anyone
00:42:28
in this courtroom, including
the jury, that what they were hearing, which is
stuff of nightmares,
00:42:34
was very, very real. [TENSE MUSIC] AMANDA MELTON:
The evidence I was asked for at trial had
to do with my observations
00:42:43
about his injuries
and the impact of his injuries. When I looked
at Cocina, she seemed
00:42:52
very distant, very stoic. I never saw her show any kind
of emotion in any kind of way,
00:43:02
even as I was
describing his injuries. CHUCK WALTER: In court,
people testified that Robert was a caring,
loving, and doting father,
00:43:16
that he really loved his wife,
that he really loved his kids. - Well, the first
thing, my dad was-- he
00:43:25
was literally my best friend. He was literally my everything. [DRAMATIC MUSIC] That man, he showed
me a lot of things.
00:43:37
He's made me a very good man. And I really miss him. I would do anything
for my father.
00:43:45
It's destroyed me, personally. My dad didn't deserve this. CHUCK WALTER:
On the night that she--
00:43:53
NARRATOR: On the third
day of the trial, the jury is asked
to decide Cocina's fate.
00:43:58
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] CASEY STEENBERGEN:
The jury came back unexpectedly fast with
a guilty verdict for Cocina.
00:44:10
- It took the jury
less than an hour. That's unheard of. DYLAN PAYNE: I'm not sure that
without the doorbell footage,
00:44:21
that we would have even
gotten a conviction. NICK BARREIRO: Home
surveillance video footage
00:44:27
can be brought into court, and
it acts as the perfect witness. It doesn't have a memory.
00:44:33
It doesn't have a bias. It's not gonna be influenced
by outside factors.
00:44:39
That video, when it
comes in to court and is presented to a jury, is
gonna show exactly what it saw
00:44:47
at the time of the incident. DYLAN PAYNE: 20% of households
in the United States
00:44:53
have some sort of Ring
video doorbell system. That's about 23
million households.
00:44:59
And what that means is,
whether you're walking your dog or whether you're
killing your husband,
00:45:06
there's a good chance
that there's a set of eyes that you don't realize that
it's watching you do it.
00:45:11
[CAMERA FLASHES] NARRATOR: Cocina Penn is
sentenced to life in prison. [CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC]
00:45:19
AMANDA MELTON: It is a lack
of humanity to brutally kill someone in the way she did.
00:45:27
CASEY STEENBERGEN:
Cocina Penn has never shown any remorse
to the consequences affecting her children.
00:45:35
- It's hard for most people to
wrap their mind around the fact that you have a child, whose
father has been murdered
00:45:46
and whose mother
was the murderer. DISPATCHER: He's in the road? CARL: Yeah.
00:45:51
DISPATCHER: OK, hon. CARL: I don't think he's alive. - I hate that she
made him see that.
00:45:58
I hate that that's
probably the last thing he remembers about his dad. They say time heals all
wounds, but it's not true.
00:46:06
[CHUCKLES] It's always there. I hope Robert is remembered by
everybody knowing how loving he
00:46:12
was, how he would
have helped anybody. He'd give the shirt
off his back. He really would have.
00:46:19
[THEME MUSIC] [AUDIO LOGO]