Bloodline Detectives - Episode 3 - Scottsdale Spree Shooting | Forensic Files

I'm Nancy Grace. And this is "Bloodline Detectives." Police use evidence as a means of finding order in what
looks like a chaotic situation. Think of it this way. Have you ever played connect the dots?
Dots are just specks, meaningless alone. If there were no numbers attached to them,
you would never see your path to the big picture. In 2018, Scottsdale, Arizona was under siege
by fear when several shootings erupted randomly across the city. It was after knowing when and how to connect the dots,
that the Bloodline Detectives were able to corner their suspect before he took even more lives.
June 2018, two paralegals are shot to death while at work. BREE BURKITT: It was chaos.
It was absolute chaos. This is downtown Scottsdale. This is a popular area, even in the middle of the summer
when it's 100 degrees. JOHN HEINZELMAN: There was a myriad of things that we were trying to understand.
Why were these two people targeted? NANCY GRACE: The murders are quickly linked to a shooting the previous day
and three more shootings over a four-day period. BREE BURKITT: He killed six people in four days.
That is insane. That is the definition of a spree shooting. What happened in those few days affected people's life,
not only at that particular incident but beyond. NANCY GRACE: A major investigation
is launched with detectives receiving hundreds of leads. HUGH LOCKERBY: As the tips came in,
all that information is being put up on boards and whiteboards. We were getting several tips in the hundreds.
Everything that we got we were able to assign to an investigator to determine whether or not this
is something viable that we should follow up on. NANCY GRACE: Forensics tie all the scenes together,
but who is the shooter? JOHN HEINZELMAN: We had no direct link to one particular suspect so we started gathering
as much evidence as possible. We knew that we had evidence at all the scenes at this point.
So all of it went back to our lab for processing. This is the story of a killing spree
where six innocent victims lost their lives. Where an entire community was terrorized
until a fast-paced police and forensics investigation by the Bloodline Detectives stopped the senseless violence.
HUGH LOCKERBY: It was a great feeling to know that we had tracked this killer down
and stopped him before he killed again. [THEME MUSIC] NANCY GRACE: June 1, 2018, Scottsdale,
Arizona police get an emergency call from a bus driver. We did receive a 911 call from a bus driver.
She had transported a group to the park in downtown Scottsdale and was waiting for their return when a woman came up
to her bus, was bleeding from her face, and told her that she felt she was dying, please call 911.
The driver was terrified, absolutely. She had no idea what was going on. She didn't want to let her in because it was a party bus
and she-- the blood. It was very-- it's one of those things in this situation you
can tell that the driver was clearly in shock by what was happening. JOHN HEINZELMAN: Immediately, patrol officers,
paramedics responded directly to that scene. She went down on her own or did she fall?
There wasn't an indication that she had received a gunshot wound or anything at that point, so it could be a medical issue.
It could be an injury that she sustained just from a fall. We weren't sure yet, so we were definitely monitoring just
to see what happened next. Hey, ma'am, Scottsdale police. Hey, ma'am, are you OK?
Can you talk with me? BREE BURKITT: It was absolute chaos. I mean, this is downtown Scottsdale.
It's by a library, it's by historic Old Town, so there are people everywhere. So police are trying to figure out what's going on.
You have all these people coming in and out. People in businesses trying to figure out what's
happening and are they at risk. At that moment, we did not know her identity. She was wearing just business clothes.
I believe she had a dress on. But she had no identification with her at all. And as soon as the 911 call was made,
she immediately went unconscious. POLICE OFFICER: Did you guys see what happened?
[INAUDIBLE] She came running onto my bus. I was in the office when we heard the call come out.
I responded to the scene given the nature of the call. There was a woman that had collapsed in the street.
She was bleeding significantly from the face and head. POLICE OFFICER: I don't know what's going on with her.
She's in bad shape. Our patrol officers did an amazing job getting her to the hospital.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: The paramedics luckily were close by. They arrived very quickly and transported her
immediately to the hospital. Unfortunately, she died of her injuries there at the hospital.
NANCY GRACE: Amidst the confusion, a supervising officer notices a trail of blood
leading to a nearby business close to where the woman's body was found. JOHN HEINZELMAN: There was a trail
of blood leading to this family law office and that a door was standing open. So at that point, he formed a team
to search to see if there were anybody else inside that business or to answer some questions
as what had happened. [INAUDIBLE] JOHN HEINZELMAN: Right as they walked into the law firm
there was more blood inside the business. And as they made their way through, they discovered a female lying unconscious on the floor.
POLICE OFFICER: There's a woman face down. We got someone else face down here. Bleeding.
Yup. She had blood coming from her head, from her chest. And they checked to see her.
And they brought paramedics in there. And, unfortunately, she was also deceased.
NANCY GRACE: Immediately Scottsdale police launched a double homicide investigation.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: As soon as it was announced that there was a second victim and that she appeared to have a gunshot
wound, that's when I gathered up my resources and told the detectives working with me,
I said we need to start heading down there. This sounds like it might be a double homicide.
HUGH LOCKERBY: We had an overwhelming detective response and other officers just because of the fact
that it was so close to one of our stations. It was an Old Town Scottsdale, which
is very heavily populated with a lot of businesses and residential areas. A lot of things had to be happening at a very fast pace.
There was a lot of things that needed to be done very, very quickly to either identify who did this, but also make sure
that we don't have any other victims potentially in harm's way. POLICE OFFICER: [INAUDIBLE] behind desk for me?
NANCY GRACE: Was this a disgruntled client or domestic violence situation? Were they the intended victims?
JOHN HEINZELMAN: At that point, we are dealing with this simple now we have two people we believe both shot,
both deceased. We don't know who should still be in the business, who's missing.
Is this somebody that's related to this business? So there were a lot of things that we
were trying to piece together quickly at that moment. POLICE OFFICER: This office is clear.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: Then the way we identified both people is looking through the desks of this law office,
looking at cell phones, looking at literally pictures on the desks to see family photos and saying, OK,
this is this person. And then going through purses to find identification. NANCY GRACE: The two victims are identified as Veleria
Sharp and Laura Anderson. BREE BURKITT: They were paralegals and they were the only people still
there at the end of the day. Laura Anderson was found dead at her desk. But Veleria Sharp had actually made it outside of the law
firm, walked down a path to a party bus, and that driver is the one who called 911.
NANCY GRACE: With the crime scene closed off, forensic start processing the law office for any evidence.
HUGH LOCKERBY: We're going to look for fingerprints. We're going to determine what the manner
was in how they were murdered. Anything that's blood-related, obviously, but also
any potential evidence that's foreign, we want to collect it without disturbing any more than it already is.
So that information and how that work right there, it takes a long time. We have to be very patient with that work.
We took clothing, we took swabs with the casings, swabs of blood, and other things from there.
The crime scene unit recovered some shell casings that were brought back for comparison purposes.
NANCY GRACE: Within hours, detectives get a call from Phoenix police who are investigating the random shooting of a psychiatrist
the previous day. Could the murders be linked? HUGH LOCKERBY: Phoenix police showed up unannounced and kind
of we're interested as to what information we had, what information they had. So we definitely talked at length.
They were the first ones to consider the possibility that the suspect may be the same person.
And so initially we didn't have very much else to go on. That was like, oh, shit.
Now what? Because now we've got to figure out where that link is as quickly as possible so we don't have
any other innocent victims. NANCY GRACE: A killer looking for random victims is now on the loose.
The Bloodline Detectives start with the basics pounding the pavement, collecting blood samples.
Only later will new scientific methods provide the breakthrough they need. [THEME MUSIC]
On June 1, 2018, Scottsdale, Arizona police are investigating a shooting in the Burt
Feldman law firm that leaves two people dead that afternoon. JOHN HEINZELMAN: There was a palpable sense
of either disbelief or just trying to grasp what exactly was happening. NANCY GRACE: Scottsdale police get a call from Phoenix police.
A well-known psychiatrist, Steven Pitt, was gunned down the previous day. We were contacted by Phoenix PD.
And they were immediately inquiring over if our cases could have been linked. And so we started working together right away.
Now the game is on. This is going to be something that's going to be huge. NANCY GRACE: Dr. Steven Pitt is known to police due to his work
on several high-profile cases. BREE BURKITT: Steven Pitt was a local celebrity. He was a forensic psychiatrist who is really
renowned within his field. He had consulted on the JonBenet Ramsey case, Columbine,
as well as a number of other high-profile cases within the Valley. HUGH LOCKERBY: His work and his testimony is his opinion,
so I could definitely see where someone would hold a grudge against him for whatever reason.
NANCY GRACE: Both police departments start to share relevant evidence in the hopes
of finding something that links the two crime scenes. We had the luxury of having Phoenix
police involved in our case, which is the largest agency in Arizona. So we worked very well together with them.
We started putting the scenes together and compared notes to see what exactly they had what we had.
The first thing that we found in common was the similar brand of ammunition was used
and the same caliber. Which, again, does not mean that they're exactly related, but is certainly a good step in the right direction.
HUGH LOCKERBY: But we didn't have anything that was concrete. We didn't have anything forensically that matched it.
So we had to rush that casing to the crime lab. KRIS CANO: When we got the shell casing
from the scene from Phoenix on Saturday morning, we started the DNA process. Which in basic terms is a four-step process.
And our extraction method is pretty robust. And so a lot of times we're able to get DNA off
of items that maybe other laboratories would not be successful with. NANCY GRACE: The lab is able to get
a DNA sample off the shell casings from both crime scenes. It was a pretty small amount, but we
were able to get a complete profile off of the shell casing. JOHN HEINZELMAN: So by 9 o'clock that night,
we had confirmation that whoever murdered Steven Pitt that same gun was used to murder Veleria
Sharp and Laura Anderson. NANCY GRACE: Detectives immediately start interviewing witnesses.
RICHARD SLAVIN: Phoenix PD did have a witness that observed a person at the Dr. Pitt homicide scene.
They created a composite drawing. That witness said that the suspect was a white male.
NANCY GRACE: The lab is instructed to put the DNA sample they get from the shell
casing through the DNA database in the hopes of finding a match. There was an unknown profile that we put into the DNA
database system called CODIS. And it was searched against other profiles in that database.
We were not able to find a hit at that particular time. NANCY GRACE: With a negative result from the DNA database,
police continue their investigation as normal when they receive another 911 call.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: That was roughly around midnight and his office was roughly about five miles north
of the Feldman law office. And, initially, nothing obviously linked those to Scottsdale scenes let alone all three.
What we had learned is that Marshall was due home sometime after 5:00 or 6:00 PM that evening
and he had never come home. And so his girlfriend came to the counseling office to look for him sometime around maybe 11:30, 11:45.
I don't think she had identified the fact that he had been shot yet. And so she was calling for medical help.
This was a medical emergency. And it wasn't until the officers got there and then they saw the evidence and him lying there
that they knew that he'd been-- that he'd suffered a gunshot, actually two gunshots to his head.
BREE BURKITT: It was a bit different though. Steven Pitt was really well known. And the law firm shooting was by downtown Scottsdale.
But this one was in a more low-profile building. None of the names in that building
were very recognizable. So it showed us that this case was turning into something
more than we thought could of. NANCY GRACE: Investigating officers make their way to the office of Marshall Levine
and from the start, are able to make connections to the other crime scenes. JOHN HEINZELMAN: The first thing I
saw was two expended 40-caliber casings on the ground that were similar to the ones we
found in the other scenes. The first interesting thing, they were not the same brand,
but they were the same caliber. And based on the totality of everything we had working,
we were just made a working assumption that they were related. At the time, we had to try to sort of make
going through client files. Going through evidence at the scene to determine how
was Steven Pitt here. And the Feldman law firm here. And then Marshall Levine and then maybe his--
was he the target, directed target in the middle of all this? Or is this person that also he shares an office with?
So there's a lot of moving parts. NANCY GRACE: As the investigation grows bigger,
neighboring police departments are drafted to help comb through evidence as it came in.
HUGH LOCKERBY: As we're in this mammoth task as we're moving along. By Saturday evening now we start realizing, reviewing,
going back, and looking at some surveillance camera footage that Phoenix had received.
We found the suspicious vehicle that's rolling through the lot. And it was a gold-colored Mercedes.
Kind of a different type of Mercedes that little bit older model. So it was a little bit more unique.
The movements that we were able to capture from all the different cameras that we caught,
we felt that none of the video footage actually where we could see is who the suspect murdering Mr. Pitt.
But it was more of this vehicle from other camera angles driving suspiciously in and from the area.
We felt very confident that this was our vehicle. So then we started researching all the different vehicles
in the state of Arizona that that vehicle would link up to. And I want to say maybe a couple hundred that we were
going to have to go through. NANCY GRACE: Now with four victims, police are desperate to get as much information as possible.
They rely on the media to get the key facts out to the public in the hopes of getting some vital leads.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: The media was a great help. They had put out again another description.
And the media had continued to follow these cases. And we had a tip line set up that's asked citizens
if they have any information on any of these cases please call. And we needed as much help as we can get from the public.
We were getting several tips in the hundreds and they ranged from anything from former boyfriends
or former husbands with anger issues. People that looked like the composite sketch
or resembled the sketch that we put out. To people in the business other psychiatrists and psychologists
and other attorneys that we're putting two and two together and coming up with someone that they thought
might be of interest for us to take a look at. The whole day Saturday was spent pretty much just
venting out all these different tips that came up with no real connections. No one tip came in on that day that
had all three locations or all four victims linked together. We're interviewing an awful lot of people at that time.
I have detectives out talking to everyone related to the two victims that we had as well as anyone
associated with the law firm. And so getting that information back about who said what, it takes time to process that
and eventually bring it back to the command post. NANCY GRACE: It's not until the Sunday morning
investigating officers get a hot tip from a member of the public. JOHN HEINZELMAN: We received a phone call from Connie Jones.
She believed it was her ex-husband that had committed the murders. And at that point in her tip, she said that she has
or rather he has a connection with all three locations. HUGH LOCKERBY: The information that Connie
gave on that initial tip I assigned Detective Heinzelman to look into this because it was the first tip that we got
that linked all three victims together and our three victim locations in some manner.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: When I spoke to Connie, I introduced myself. I said I received her tip and I was curious as to why she
believed Dwight was involved. She proceeded to tell me that Elizabeth Feldman was her divorce attorney.
That she and Dwight divorced in 2009 into 2010. That part of the court hearing and part of the child custody
issues that they were going through Dwight needed to be evaluated. Dr. Steven Pitt was the clinical psychiatrist that evaluated
Dwight during their divorce. And then Connie told me that as they were watching the news
coverage of the homicides that were unfolding that it was actually her son who saw the remote location of that life
coach office with Marshall Levine. And he had said that that's the place that he used to go to see
a therapist in that location. Here's the first tip that we got that linked all three
victims together and our three victim locations in some manner. Then she also gave me some more information,
such as his vehicle that she said that he drives a golden Mercedes. HUGH LOCKERBY: That's when it got real.
That's when things really started to go into complete overdrive as to this is probably our guy.
Where is he right now? It was exciting and the chase was on. And it would be a chase where the Bloodline Detectives
combine old-fashioned police work, a new kind of DNA matching, and human logic to stop a killer in his tracks.
[THEME MUSIC] NANCY GRACE: June 2018, Scottsdale and Phoenix police are investigating the murders of four people
in three different locations. RICHARD SLAVIN: We were very concerned about what we had in front of us.
And so there was no time to waste. We knew we needed to get together as a collaborative
and start working this thing immediately. NANCY GRACE: Following extensive media reports,
police received a tip from Connie Jones, who believes the killer is her ex-husband, Dwight.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: This was the first tip that linked all three scenes so we took that very seriously.
NANCY GRACE: This is not the first time police have dealings with the Joneses. RICHARD SLAVIN: We did have a call with the Jones family
when they were still married and living in Scottsdale that ended in a domestic violence
arrest of Mr. Jones. So we started digging back into all that history. JOHN HEINZELMAN: Back in 2009, there was an incident
where he had threatened Connie and that she had eventually fled the house. And he more or less barricaded himself in the house,
refused to come out. BREE BURKITT: Dwight was yelling at their son for a performance
at a basketball game that wasn't up to his standards. And things just went from there.
It took quite some time of negotiations. And, eventually, he did exit the home. Connie in court records said that he stepped out
of the house holding their young son in front of them like a shield. In the end, they officially filed for divorce.
And the separation began. It took years, though. NANCY GRACE: Connie met Dwight while on summer break
from college. He was 22, she was only 18. JOHN HEINZELMAN: She got herself into this relationship
and couldn't extract herself from it fast enough. BREE BURKITT: Connie was 18 when she married Dwight.
She went to school to be a therapist or a psychiatrist. She did that for a number of years
before she ultimately switched to radiology. From what I understand, their marriage
was a bit tense at this point. And she did get pregnant with their son. And they stayed together and eventually moved to Arizona.
He did not work and she supported the family with her radiology career, which I understand
was very successful. Connie is a very smart and talented woman. And between her smarts and her means
was able to build a pretty good case on the domestic violence issue. JOHN HEINZELMAN: She was more or less in just shock by the fact
that he was exacting this vengeance. But in the same respect, I think she always
knew he was capable of this. And she took precautions to protect herself. Unfortunately, she just didn't realize how
much he was planning on doing. NANCY GRACE: Now that police have a name, they redirect their resources to focus on Dwight Jones
before he can strike again. JOHN HEINZELMAN: The first thing we did was just a literal physical surveillance.
And I sent surveillance teams over. I knew that there were two different addresses
both of which were extended stay long term hotel rooms where he had been staying actually
for the previous nine years. So I had teams respond to both in the hopes of finding Dwight.
It was Sunday afternoon between 1:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon. That's when they had first seen him.
We find him driving down the road. Our detectives just by luck say I think this is him.
He's in this car and it matches him. It looks just like him. He's driving the car.
So we follow him. We verify yep, that's his car. That's him. We start following him around extremely close,
but not to get burned, not to get caught by him. JOHN HEINZELMAN: He went to several convenience stores,
to McDonald's restaurant, and then ultimately to a friend's house where he spent about an hour, hour
and a half with a friend in Phoenix in an apartment complex. After that, he proceeded to go to a McDonald's
where he eventually was seen walking over to a dumpster. And he was throwing things away in the dumpster.
Our surveillance team went to the dumpster. They discovered a small-caliber pistol was tossed in the trash
there. It was not the same caliber as the weapon used for the homicides, but we believed he
had tossed that in the trash. And so that became a concern as to who owns this gun?
What's the significance of him throwing it away? NANCY GRACE: In the meantime, officers also checking
Dwight's phone records to see if they can create a picture of his movements over the previous days.
HUGH LOCKERBY: His cell phone had put them in the area of a unique area in Fountain Hills, which kind of
raised a concern as to he's never really gone out there not since we were following him around.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: He had made some phone calls to a landline to a residence there.
We'd also found some cell tower activity where we could place him roughly in the area of that residence
sometime earlier that day that Sunday afternoon prior to us initially locating him.
This is the first time that we had a residence that we had information that we believed he had been there.
And so our first priority was to go there to check the welfare of anybody who may be living there.
See who they are, do they know him? When they got there, they found a place locked
and no one answered the door. RICHARD SLAVIN: They were able to get a ladder and look through an upstairs window.
And they saw a victim who appeared to have been shot. So they forced entry to the house
and found that both victims were shot and had been killed. We identified them as Bryon Thomas and Mary Simmons.
They were an elderly couple recently married and lived together at that residence.
And at this point, we did not find any expended casings or any forensic evidence that immediately
linked these two people with the other homicides. HUGH LOCKERBY: A lot of hard decisions had to be made.
Where are we at with the investigation? Where are we at with the cases? If we take him into custody, do we have enough evidence to tie
him to each of the scenes? And enough to hold him legally and arrest him? JOHN HEINZELMAN: By looking at the similarities in the scenes,
that only gave us circumstantial evidence as well as his phone records and other things.
We had a great circumstantial case on Mr. Jones. But we wanted that proof that it was him.
NANCY GRACE: Police now have to try to link Dwight Jones to the DNA from the crime scene.
Could familial DNA analysis give them the answer they're looking for? [THEME MUSIC]
HUGH LOCKERBY: The term familial DNA, it's a certain process that occurs. We had done it on a previous case.
This one had that same type of genealogy that is involved in the collection of DNA
and the identification of a suspect. NANCY GRACE: Officers now if the lab can get a sample of DNA
from Connie and her son, they can extract a DNA profile for Dwight Jones and see if it matches
the DNA from the crime scene. JOHN HEINZELMAN: The decision was made to collect DNA
from Connie and their son and use it to extrapolate to determine whether or not this unknown suspect was,
in fact, Dwight. One of our violent crime detectives from Scottsdale flew up there, met with Connie and her son,
collected the DNA swabs, and brought them immediately back to Scottsdale where he turned them over to our lab
so they could do the comparison immediately that Sunday night. KRIS CANO: We were able to put together samples
from the biological mother and biological son of a potential suspect. And then we processed those through the crime laboratory
and did a paternity index to determine the possible father of the biological son given that we had
the biological mother's DNA. And then we were able to link that profile to the shell
casing from the Phoenix scene. It made me feel that the work that we had done was worth it, that we were able to provide
this investigative lead to our sworn partners, and that the case could come to a closure.
NANCY GRACE: On the Sunday night, while police are waiting on the results from the DNA swabs,
Connie calls to inform them of a very bizarre occurrence. She told me that now Dwight was posting videos about her--
DWIGHT (ON VIDEO): This is my ex-wife talking to a guy named Dr. Steven Pitt. JOHN HEINZELMAN: --and about his relationship.
And so I was in the command center. I was able to speak immediately with a couple
of analysts that were working in this task force. And we were able to go up to YouTube
and find several videos, I think, 11 in total that Dwight had uploaded that day within minutes.
DWIGHT (ON VIDEO): Dr. Pitt did the exam, but the garbage he made up couldn't get me committed to a mental ward permanent like she wanted.
BREE BURKITT: So there were a number of videos. But each of them focused on one thing
was that Connie, his ex-wife, and the system had wronged him. They had robbed him of his son, of his life,
of what was rightfully his. DWIGHT (ON VIDEO): Every time I tried to reach out to you
your mother blocks contact. I know what she's been telling you. That I was dangerous and a danger to you
and a threat to you and a threat to her. I was never a threat to you. JOHN HEINZELMAN: The videos were not of action per se,
but what they were is him speaking in 30 to 45-minute lengths. And that white porcelain mask was one of the primary focuses
on several of the videos. BREE BURKITT: I just remember thinking, how can someone
be this angry that they have hours and hours and hours to talk about this? And we noted that the videos had been posted pretty recently.
It was a number of weeks before the shooting happened even though the divorce-- Connie and Dwight officially separated in 2012 I believe.
So it had been years. So I'm just thinking to why now? Why did he post these? Is this his manifesto?
JOHN HEINZELMAN: So the decision was made at that point to take him into custody as quickly as we could.
With the death count already at six, can the Bloodline Detectives catch the killer
before another life is claimed? [THEME MUSIC] NANCY GRACE: June 2018, Scottsdale police team
up with Phoenix police to try and arrest spree shooter Dwight Jones suspected of killing six people.
The SWAT team evacuates the hotel where Jones is staying. JOHN HEINZELMAN: We have no idea what his thought
is what his plan is. And for those reasons, it was determined we needed to do what we could to stop him.
NANCY GRACE: Police tracked him down to his hotel and give the order to evacuate the hotel
and arrest Dwight Jones. BREE BURKITT: You had such a huge law enforcement presence at this hotel.
And then you have everyone from the hotel who's been evacuated. And they're just confused.
And the street is shut off. POLICE OFFICER: [INAUDIBLE] bush wall. [INAUDIBLE] behind the wall.
BREE BURKITT: This initially started happening pretty early in the morning so everyone's on their way to work.
And you just have all these helicopters overhead as everyone was trying to figure out what's going on.
POLICE OFFICER: Come back, come back this way behind the building. Get behind the building.
Go back inside the building, OK? JOHN HEINZELMAN: The Phoenix SWAT team was in charge
of evacuating the hotel. And so they started up on the third floor. They had their full-body armor and ballistic helmets on.
They were a fully functioning SWAT team knocking on doors, waking people up, and evacuating them out of the hotel.
RICHARD SLAVIN: Unfortunately, before they were completely done, although they were nearly done with evacuations,
we believe Mr. Jones detected their presence. JOHN HEINZELMAN: They initially attempted to have him surrender
and they called to him to stop and give himself up at that point. Dwight retreated back into his hotel room.
And the operators that were working in that immediate area heard at least two to three gunshots
come from inside his room. The tactical decision was made to not breach the door necessarily and get
into a gunfight with someone. It was determined to be a safer approach would be to deploy some sort of chemical agent
through a window. RICHARD SLAVIN: To try and keep him in a position of disadvantage and see
if we can't get him to come out so we don't have to try and assault his space. JOHN HEINZELMAN: There were several canisters of chemical
munitions that were introduced into the room to make it uncomfortable to ultimately, hopefully,
have Dwight surrender. After no response was acknowledged, we had a tactical unit respond with a drone.
BREE BURKITT: Police had a drone that they flew down through the open window of Dwight's hotel room.
POLICE OFFICER: That's it right in front of the window. Now it's inside the room.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: And that was the first time that we saw Dwight lying on the bed.
And it appeared that he had self-inflicted, that he had shot himself. NANCY GRACE: Once the tactical team secures the scene,
detectives are able to enter Dwight Jones's room and get the first look at the extent of his operations.
HUGH LOCKERBY: We have actually just donned some protective gas masks just enough to get
inside to take a look around. And it was-- his room was a mess. And he could see the dead body there
and the gun that was there. JOHN HEINZELMAN: Dwight had a duffel bag that he had an AR-15 assault-type
rifle, several rounds of ammunition for that rifle. He had a 40-caliber pistol and several hundred rounds
of ammunition for that pistol. BREE BURKITT: There was a lot of ammunition. It was absolutely shocking looking at the evidence photos
how much ammunition this guy had. He'd every single handwritten note from all the hearings of his thoughts
on what Connie was saying. He had pictures, he had books, he had receipts. It's almost like every single thing
he had was just crammed into this tiny, tiny hotel room. JOHN HEINZELMAN: He also had a black t-shirt with the letters
police in white lettering, a hat with the word police on it, and some form of a badge on a neck
chain that in a quick glance could pass for a police badge. I am 100% confident that he was planning some very large mass
murder shooting spree to take place either in a courthouse or at Connie's businesses or someplace of his choosing.
NANCY GRACE: Over the next few days, a picture of what Dwight Jones is like slowly
emerges through the media. BREE BURKITT: We learned everything about Dwight. He was a man who was very, very angry.
And he never let that anger go. He felt he had been wronged and that turned him into someone who wasn't
going to stop to hurt others. I don't know if he had been crafting this exact plan
for the past seven years or if this was just what came to be within the last couple of weeks
before he made it happen. But, certainly, it seemed he had planned to hurt the people who had hurt him.
RICHARD SLAVIN: He was a very disturbed man I think he was violent, sociopathic, and dangerous.
NANCY GRACE: With Dwight Jones's killing spree brought to an end by police, the victims' families can finally
get some answers to the senseless events of the past four days. JOHN HEINZELMAN: It's over.
Dwight Jones is dead. And in that respect, you can take a little bit of solace in saying there's justice here.
But there's no closure. There's no-- the only thing we can do is move on and heal from it.
RICHARD SLAVIN: I can only imagine what Connie and her family have been going through for all those years wondering if he was
going to catch up with them. And just the constant state of fear that must have been.
BREE BURKITT: Despite all of this, she maintained her poise through every single interview.
And she is very, very strong for what she's been through, having seen her speak about this.
We feel great sorrow for the families and for the victims. BREE BURKITT: Even knowing that this man very likely
could have killed her. And how she's taking care of herself and her son is very impressive.
HUGH LOCKERBY: I mean, I'm sure the families are still going through a healing, grieving process.
This will never leave them, but I think the community as a general is healed. NANCY GRACE: This case was one that did not elude
investigators for very long. But it was not until the use of familial DNA that they were able to link all the homicides to Dwight Jones.
JOHN HEINZELMAN: I would say that familial DNA played a very large role in this as a confirmatory to turn around
and to say that this was in fact, Dwight. And this was the first true piece of evidence.
So on a scale of 1 to 10, this would have been a 10. This was the piece of evidence connecting
Dwight to all the murders. When they're out there looking for somebody, they're going to need those ancestral type
genetic information to be helpful in the case. And the fact that it's proven to be successful,
I believe that's going to be used more common more frequently in the future. NANCY GRACE: The shooting spree carried out by Dwight
Jones lasted several days. But due to quick response and cooperation between both police
departments, it's finally stopped before it can escalate into something even bigger.
RICHARD SLAVIN: Never seen anything like it. We work together all the time, but the speed
at which this team came together was remarkable and exceptional. And I was just incredibly proud.
Proud to be a police officer that day. JOHN HEINZELMAN: I'm proud of everybody that worked on this case.
Murder always leaves a trace. There's always forensic evidence. There's always a witness or at least
someone who knows something about the victim about the suspect. And it's just our ability to gather up the information
and the evidence and putting that puzzle piece together to come up with a full picture.
But there's always evidence in every scene. It's just a matter of us finding it.
NANCY GRACE: Ultimately, it was Dwight Jones's son's DNA that tied him to the shell casing linking him to the fatal attack
on six victims. Dwight Jones was an angry and disturbed man feeling robbed by the system.
But in his death, there is some justice and healing for the lives lost. And thanks to the Bloodline Detectives,
his own family no longer needs to live in fear. [THEME MUSIC]

Brief Summary

The episode details the investigation of a shooting spree in Scottsdale, Arizona, leading to the arrest of Dwight Jones, who killed six people.

Key points

The Bloodline Detectives. In 2018, Scottsdale, Arizona was under siege by a series of shootings.
Double Homicide Investigation. Police launch a double homicide investigation after two paralegals are found dead.
Linking the Murders. Detectives discover a potential link between the murders of four victims across three locations.
The Domestic Violence History. Police uncover a troubling history of domestic violence involving Dwight Jones and Connie.
Connie's Bizarre Call. Connie informs police about Dwight's strange online behavior just before his arrest.
The SWAT Team's Tense Standoff. A tense standoff ensues as police attempt to apprehend Dwight Jones in a hotel.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

That is insane.

Bree Burkitt reacts to the spree shooting.

1:25WatchApr 1, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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