Determined Detectives | “48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] Part of the naivity and the beauty of youth is you you're invincible. You know, at 20, you don't think
anything's going to bring harm to you. In 1989, Tiffany Sessions was a 20-year-old college student at the
University of Florida. >> She was really warm and friendly. Always had a smile on her face. Fun. She was, I
would say, a really fun, loving girl. >> My name is Kathleen Fresa, and I was Tiffany's roommate.
>> Short outfit for college. >> When she came back from Christmas break, she had started exercising. She's like,
"I've been walking. I've been losing weight. I'm feeling really good. She's like, "Come with me." So, at certain
times, I would go with her. On February 9th, I did not go with Tiffany. She left around 4:45.
5:40 rolls around, the sun's going down, Tiffany's still not back. It was very unlike her.
I went out, I got in the car, I drove around the route to see, I don't know, maybe she fell down and she hurt
herself, but nothing. I never heard from her again. >> She's a a smart kid. She's resourceful,
and if she's in trouble, she's going to be doing everything she can to get out of it. And I just hope that if anybody's
got her, they know that we're willing to do anything to get her back. >> What would you say to her if you could
know? >> I love her. How long will you look for her? Oh, >> I I think till the day I die. I mean,
how do you not look for your kid? Can't stop. >> I began my investigation into the
disappearance of Tiffany Sessions in January of 2013. There had been many leads over the years, but none of them
had panned out. I learned three years after the disappearance of Tiffany Sessions,
another 20-year-old college student was found less than a mile away. Her name was Beth Foster.
I started to wonder if the killer of Beth Foster could be the killer of Tiffany Sessions.
This was uh Beth Foster's head and this was her feet. First question I had is, well, did anyone check the surrounding
area for other graves? Kevin, how easy would it be to hide a body? >> Oh, very easy.
>> I thought we would find her in 24 hours and then 24 days and then 24 months. I
never thought 24 years we'd still be here. I think we're very close. I think there's a good chance she's there.
[Music] >> I'm Tracy Smith. Tonight on 48 Hours. The Lost Daughter. [Music] [Music]
[Music] Hey, can we go around? >> Come on, guys. >> Heavenly Father, we got a simple prayer.
It's really simple. Help us find Tiffany. We know without your grace, without your blessing, it won't happen.
Amen. >> Amen. Amen. >> Let's go. Do it. For 25 years, Pat and Hillary Sessions have been searching for their daughter,
Tiffany. And in January 2014, in this forest in Gainesville, Florida, just over a mile
from where Tiffany disappeared. >> There was another girl in 1992 who was actually found here on the site.
>> They hope they may finally find her. >> I am extremely optimistic. What are you feeling going into this
excavation? Are you nervous? >> I'm a lot more nervous than I thought I would be.
>> I've done other searches. And this one I'm a lot more nervous about because it
may not be true, but it sort of feels like a final harrah. You know, I pushed and pushed so many people for so long
that I don't know how long I'll do it. Sorry. >> Do you think the emotion comes because
maybe it's the end or maybe it's not? >> Yeah. I don't know. [Music] >> It needs to end. Everybody needs closure
on this. [Music] In 1989, Tiffany Sessions was a junior studying finance at the University of
Florida in Gainesville. She had dreams of running a company one day. >> She knew what she wanted to do. She knew
where she was going to go. >> She was determined to make something out of herself.
>> Tiffany had a good role model. Pat Sessions was a well-known marketing executive for a giant real estate
company in South Florida. He oversaw the creation of Weston, one of the biggest building projects in the United States.
She kind of wanted to be like dad, follow in your footsteps. >> I've been told that by by her friends.
>> Pat and Hillary divorced when Tiffany was just 8 months old. Hillary was in the US Air Force, and as she traveled
around the country, she brought Tiffany with her. I was the mom. I was the dad. I was the disciplinarian, the provider.
There wasn't anything that we didn't do together. And we worked as a team. >> You called her your masterpiece.
>> I did because I only had one. I worked really hard on making sure that she was
as nice on the inside as she was on the outside. [Music] Growing up, Tiffany didn't see a lot of
her father, but in her teens, they reconnected. Pat was in his late 30s. A bachelor
living in an oceanfront home in Miami's affluent Coconut Grove. >> The summers were the times that we spent
together and holidays. >> Tiffany also got to know her halfbrother, Jason. >> My father is always a very active fun
guy. So when we came together for those different times, we were always doing neat experiences, going on the boat, you
know, the beach, different activities like that. So yeah, that's where we really got to know each other. Both of
them were single kids, so they didn't have anybody else. They bonded together very quickly.
>> But for Pat, missing out on so much of his daughter's childhood had taken its
toll. >> It was a lot of catchup, you know, and overcoming a lot of bad history between
her mother and I. >> Tiffany was very close to both her parents. Kathleen Fresa, Tiffany's
college roommate. >> She loved her mom and they they had a very special relationship. She spoke
with her frequently, almost daily, I would say, on the phone with her dad because she was able to
renew that relationship with him. That was really um very touching for her. >> And when Pat bought his daughter a Rolex
watch, Kathleen says Tiffany never took it off. >> She just loved it. partly because it was
a Rolex, partly because it was from her dad. So, you know, it held a really special um emotional tie for her.
>> In fact, Kathleen has never forgotten one of the last conversations she had with Tiffany just before she went out
for that final walk. Before she walked out, Tiffany said, "I'm going to take off my jewelry." She
says, "I'm keeping my watch on. If somebody comes after me, they're gonna have to fight me for the watch.
>> Tiffany never returned to her apartment while on an evening walk. >> When Tiffany did not come back, I still
had hope at that time. >> I just really am still pretty hopeful and continue to believe that she will
return safely. There were people in the apartment, outside the apartment, milling around,
trying to figure out what we needed to do. >> The day after Tiffany went missing, Pat
and Hillary arrived in Gainesville. >> I got here, I didn't even rent a car. I did a cab because I assumed all this was
going to be over relatively quickly and Tiffany would give me a ride back to the
airport. But Pat knew the situation was serious when he learned that Tiffany had left
the apartment with only her watch and her Walkman. >> She didn't have her wallet, her driver's
license, her car was there and that was the scary part. You know, all that stuff
was there and we were all starting to get nervous as the day went on. I think there was a sense of urgency here.
>> Jim Eert was one of the lead investigators on the case. >> This young woman didn't have any, I
guess, baggage, as it were. It wasn't like we had a boyfriend or some strained relationship. She was a good student.
She was pretty much always on the mark. So, for her not to have shown up was was
pretty unusual. >> She's a smart kid. She's resourceful and if she's in trouble, she's going to be
doing everything she can to get out of it. >> Pat sprang into action. He put his
marketing skills to work and organized one of the largest missing person searches in Florida history.
>> I need your help. I need the work to get out on Tiffany. From day one, he was so
driven. He ran like a business. He really did. >> We're attempting to find Tiffany and uh
we're just investigating every lead. >> Pat brought in Wayne Black, a private investigator who specialized in
recovering missing children. >> Pat had within I think 24 hours Tiffany's picture on the inside of every
pizza box being delivered uh in Elatcha County. >> If you see anything or talk to anyone or
hear anything, please give us a call. Volunteers blanketed the state with flyers, put Tiffany's face on
billboards, and answered a 1-800 hotline. Jason Sessions, just 17, also helped to get
the word out. >> She left the house without keys, without jewelry, without makeup, and that's not
Tiffany. >> It was amazing to me how small South Florida became and understanding who
Tiffany Sessions was and what the what we were doing and and that and what we were going through.
>> All right. I really appreciate you calling and probably somebody will be calling you back from the FBI or
somebody just to kind >> My goal was very simple. It was to make sure that everybody that I could knew
what she looked like to try and get as many people out there looking for her as I could.
>> I'm curious whether that helped you with the emotional side of things to be able
to look at this from a business marketing >> point of view. >> Yes, because I felt useful.
because I felt in control. >> For every 50 people that pass out a flyer, one story that you all can run
does 100 times that. >> Pat set up press conferences and recruited his famous friends like
football legend Dan Marino. >> What I'm going to try to do to help this team is is to to try to call on all my
friends throughout the NFL. >> Today, you can push a button and you reach a million people on Facebook. used
to try to get some nationwide coverage for Tiffany to try to help her. >> In those days, TV was my Facebook.
>> Politician Jeb Bush also helped out. And so did America's Most Wanted host John
Walsh, whose son Adam was abducted and killed in 1981. >> I know the nightmare firsthand of having
a missing child and what he's going through. We can only assume that she is alive and that she is somewhere and we
just hope that there will be some type of word and that you will spread the word. So
>> people are committed because of Pat because he just asked them come help me and you know he's irresistible in that
regard. [Music] >> There is a massive investigation going on. What they want from us is
information leads to physical clues. Just one week after Tiffany disappeared, over 700 people showed up to search the
area around Tiffany's walking route, hoping to find any clues as to what happened to her.
>> There's something out there somewhere. We just haven't turned it up yet. >> It was freezing cold that day. It was
terrible day. It was drizzling. It was cold. >> When you find any evidence, just stay
away from it. Let me know. I'll come take a look at it. We'll get >> We had bus loads of troops that came in
to help us with the search. We had Dolphins players, all of our friends and family from South Florida who were up
here. Start down there by that fence. >> All coming. >> We went real hard at the area where she
walked, trying to find the walkman, trying to find her watch, trying to find anything.
>> And it turns up >> zero. Absolute zero. Not a thing. That was the longest drive home because
I was so euphoric that well, we're going to find something. I think the hardest part was
what do I do now? in your trying to solve the case. I would imagine you went up and down and
up and down this road a lot. An awful lot. >> A lot. >> Former detective Jim Eert still
remembers every step of the walking route he thinks Tiffany Sessions took the night she disappeared.
>> This was all thick woods, >> so it would have been fairly easy to snatch. >> It was what you'd call a private place.
This was a huge construction site with a lot of people coming and going. >> He always wondered if Tiffany's abductor
could have worked here at Hunter Run. >> We talked to certainly as many as we could
>> and nothing. >> Nothing. >> The hotline was receiving as many as 600 calls per day. But in 1989, technology
was so primitive, detectives were quickly overwhelmed. We were using DOS systems and sticking big discs in
computers and most cops didn't even know how to do that. You know, we didn't have
a fax machine. >> They didn't have a fax machine. >> So, I bought him one. >> How many leads came in?
>> Too many. I've always worried that there was so much that it got lost in the shuffle.
>> Something fell through the cracks. Weeks turned to months. >> First month or two, still had a lot of
hope. Every day that goes by, the odds drop astronomically and I knew that things were not looking good.
>> And then detectives received a promising lead. An anonymous inmate wrote that Michael
Nickerbacher, a convicted serial rapist and murderer serving five life sentences, confessed to killing Tiffany
Sessions. >> You went and talked to her. >> Sure. >> He was a spooky guy. you got bad vibes
off of him, you know, like, well, did you do this? No. Um, but here's how I would have done it.
>> Michael Nickerbucker never confessed to detectives that he killed Tiffany, but
he did confess that he was the one who wrote the letter as a mean joke. >> These guys do that. I mean, I can show
you 50 letters that I've got from guys in jail. I realized early on that I was dealing with a whole subculture of
people that were just subhuman. When the Nickerbacher lead fell apart, Pat offered a cash reward, hoping someone
would come forward with information about his daughter. When you put out a reward, it happens in every case. You
get every nut job. >> But one lead seemed credible. >> You get your hopes up. You think maybe
this is it. >> It was from a man who said he knew where Tiffany was and that she was sick and in
need of medical attention. >> Just don't hang out. The caller sent Pat on a wild car chase all over Miami.
>> He says, "You hang up. I'm going to kill her." >> But the caller turned out to be a
professional con artist. He was caught by the FBI and sent away to prison for a little over 6 years.
>> I was emotionally up to here. I really thought this guy might really know something.
>> And as the reward climbed to $250,000, Pat endured two more extortion attempts.
And then one year after Tiffany went missing, when Pat thought the news couldn't get much worse,
>> the two women found murdered Sunday afternoon were UF students. >> Within 4 days, five students were
murdered in Gainesville. Detectives had a serial killer on their hands. >> Did you think Tiffany could have been
connected to that? >> Oh, of course. The first day you wondered. Yes. I thought that maybe it
was the same person. [Music] Weeks later, an ex-con named Danny Rowling was arrested. He later confessed
to the five Gainesville student murders, but he never confessed to killing Tiffany.
Detectives dropped Rowling as a possible suspect when they learned he was in Shreveport, Louisiana the evening
Tiffany disappeared. [Music] The biggest challenge always in a case like this is to keep everyone motivated.
>> When the leads dried up, private investigator Wayne Black tried to keep the momentum of the investigation going.
>> The case got cold, so you have to remind them it's still a kidnapping. It's obviously a homicide and let's work it.
>> And Pat and his team kept working it for 25 years. [Music] Was there ever a time that you wanted to
give up? >> Yeah, I could lie about that. I mean, there was times early on when I was just
so overwhelmed and didn't, you know, and the frustration of not knowing what to do. And the good news was even when I'd
started to slow down, everybody else pushed me. >> And no one pushed Pat more than this
woman. In 2006, Sadie Darnell became the first woman elected sheriff in Elatchua
County. She was just a young cop in 1989 when Tiffany disappeared. And that memory stayed with her.
>> It was very jarring and very scary and very haunting to think that that could
happen in our midst. And then this many years later, still having it unsolved >> throughout the years, even though she
was never actually assigned to the case, Sadi would mail and fax Pat words of encouragement.
>> September 15th, 1995. Patrick, I know this must be difficult for you to maintain a constant struggle
for Tiffany's case. I have always believed it can and will be solved. I have loyalty to you. The overall goal is
for you to have Tiffany back and in sometime in the future peace. >> Call me anytime to vent, strategize,
coordinate, kick butt, etc., >> etc. Always Satie. >> So, when Sadi became sheriff, one of her
main goals was to set up a cold case unit and find out what happened to Tiffany Sessions.
In January 2013, Sheriff Darnell hired Detective Kevin Allen to do just that. >> He's one of the best I've ever seen. In
fact, I kept asking, "Where has he been all my career? This is the kind of guy that gets the cold case stuff. That's
the kind of person that you need on this." >> She told me very matterof factly, "I
want this case solved during my tenure here." And Sheriff Darnell told Detective Allen
that she wanted him to focus on one man, a convict by the name of Paul Rolls. >> I've been in that case for a couple
weeks. I'd never read the name, never heard the name. She said, "Get down and talk to him. Talk to him right away.
Time is of the essence. [Music] I have an 18-year-old daughter. My daughter is the light of my life.
>> It's that personal to you. >> Yes. >> When Kevin Allen joined the Elatchua County Cold Case Unit early in 2013, he
knew working on the Tiffany Sessions case would be difficult for him. Just being a parent and just the thought of
something happening to your child. I have a picture of Tiffany Sessions I keep at my desk. I go to bed thinking
about the case and I wake up thinking about that case. >> We look at all the cold cases. We can't
forget the past and we can't can't just let it go. >> Sheriff Satie Darnell made the Tiffany
Sessions case a priority. >> You need to lift up every rock, peel back every layer. She started by giving
detective Allen that lead to look into convicted murderer Paul Rolls. >> What I found was that Paul Rolls was a
psychopath, a serial killer. He had sadistic tendencies, sadistic fantasies. >> And Detective Allen would soon learn
that Paul Rolls had a long and violent past that lasted over 20 years. In 1972, he killed his first victim,
former beauty queen Linda Fida. At the time, Rolls was a newly married 23-year-old architecture student.
>> Linda Fida was a neighbor of his. They lived in an apartment complex in North
Miami. Paul was a stalker. I mean, he would plan and watch his prey. He saw her through the peepphole in his door to his
apartment and that's how we watched her. >> When Linda Fido went to do her laundry,
Paul Rolls snuck into her apartment and when she returned, he tried to rape her.
She fought back and he strangled her. >> This was a nude young girl in the bathtub.
>> Detective Marshall Frank, now retired, rushed to the crime scene. One of the things that we found that was different
on this crime scene than other crime scenes was uh a couple of band-aids. >> Detectives were able to get toe prints
off those band-aids. Then a day after the murder, when they knocked on neighbor Paul Roll's door,
they immediately noticed band-aids on his toes. >> So, they went and took a toe print from
him, compared against the print that they had at the scene. They had their guy After his arrest, Detective Frank was
shocked when Rolls quickly confessed. >> There was no voices raised. There was no
uh hate or anger. Just kind of like matterofactly going over something that just happened.
>> Detective Frank says Rolls told him he had sexual urges that he couldn't control.
>> I just asked him, "How long have you had these kinds of feelings?" And he said,
"For a while now." My thought process was this man has a severe problem. Detective Frank believes Paul Rolls was
the most dangerous type of killer. >> When you met him at that time, he met a nice guy anybody would trust.
Have him over for dinner. You'd never know. You'd never know. >> Rolls was sentenced to life in prison
for the murder of Linda Fida. But in 1985, Roll's life sentence was abruptly cut short when he was suddenly
released and out on parole. >> I thought, "Oh my god, that's not good." >> That was the deal back then through u
prison overcrowding and lots of crime in the state of Florida. The average sentence for life in prison was 15
years. >> Rolls only had to serve 13 years of his life sentence. >> This is the kind of guy who should not
be released in prison. I mean, he committed a heinous crime without any guilt at all.
>> In 1988, Rolls settled in Gainesville, where he worked as a pizza delivery man.
He also had another job putting up scaffolding on that apartment complex, Hunter Run, located right on Tiffany's
walking route. >> He always stayed under the radar. When I interviewed his boss at Pizza Hut, he
said it was as if Paul didn't want to be seen. He just maintained an extremely low profile as many serial killers do.
>> In 1989, just one year after Paul Rolls moved to Gainesville, Tiffany Sessions
disappeared. >> How could somebody just totally disappear off the face of this earth
with no evidence? >> And it turns out Rolls did not show up for his pizza delivery job on the day
Tiffany vanished. And then in 1992, just three years after Tiffany went missing, Beth Foster, that
other college student, was found murdered just one mile from where Tiffany went walking.
>> Every time something happened up here in Gainesville, I was concerned. >> Tiffany's mom, Hillary, immediately
thought that the two cases could be related. >> You thought back then, back in 92, that
this could be a serial killer. >> Absolutely. The same guy who murdered Elizabeth Foster could have taken
Tiffany. >> Yep. And um I've said that all this time, but nobody wanted to listen to me.
>> Private investigator Wayne Black says at the time police couldn't link rolls to
either crime. >> Remember, we didn't have the forensics that we have today. We were really in
the dark ages. And even though rolls by then 43 was an ex-con living in the area, police never
questioned him. And just 2 months after Beth Foster's murder, he quietly left town.
>> Paul Rolls had lived in Gainesville for about 4 years and I think the heat was
on basically at that point. So he got out of town >> and in 1994 Rolls struck again. this
time in Jacksonville when he raped and attempted to kill a 15-year-old girl. She was able to escape and identified
Rolls as her attacker. Rolls was convicted and this time he was sent to prison for good.
>> He was confronted soon after the crime and gave a full confession >> to that crime.
>> Yes. >> To the young girl? >> Yes. >> But what about to the other crimes? Elizabeth Foster, Tiffany Sessions. He
wasn't interviewed about either of those cases in a timely fashion. The dots had not been connected. Over
the next few years, as DNA technology advanced, detectives submitted Roll's DNA to the FBI database to see if he
could have possibly killed others. And although it took 18 years, finally in 2012, there was a match to
Elizabeth Foster. How big of a development was that linking Elizabeth Foster's death to Paul
Rules? >> It was huge. Years go on, decades go on, and nothing's happening. No one new
information. So, it was energizing. It was wonderful. >> Sheriff Darnell knew that if Paul Rolls,
who was now 64, had killed Beth Foster, he could also have killed Tiffany Sessions. She was a young white female.
They lived in the same quadrant of our county. Paul Rolls didn't show up for work the day that she went missing.
You got to look at him. You got to look at him. >> Detective Allen couldn't wait to
confront Rolls, hoping he would cave and confess to Tiffany's abduction. But when
the detective went to question him in December of 2013, Rolls was in a coma and dying of lung
cancer. >> Did you hope that maybe he'd wake up? >> Oh, sure. And with a last twingech of
conscience, you know, could, would should say, I did it and this is where she is. But that didn't happen.
Paul Rolls died almost two weeks later, but Sheriff Darnell was not giving up. >> I sent an email to Kevin Allen saying,
"Crap, crap, crap. Get down there and get his personal belongings as soon as possible."
>> Something in her gut told her to get a hold of Paul Roll's personal property.
>> And what Paul Rolls left behind changed the entire investigation. And I got chills when Kevin showed it to me.
[Music] When Detective Allen went to retrieve serial killer Paul Roll's personal
belongings from jail, it was 24 years after Tiffany Sessions disappeared. It was just one box.
>> He didn't think he would find much >> and it's just a lot of letters and loose
writings and stuff. >> But then he came across Roll's address book. >> Said, "I should copy this. This might be
relevant." And there in the dead center of the book is a date 2989. >> I went, "Oh my gosh, cuz that's the date
Tiffy disappeared." Then he saw what Rolls wrote next to the date. >> Then number two, I knew Linda Fida was
his first victim and chronologically Tiffany Sessions would have been his second victim. I almost fell down when
when I saw it. >> What was going through your head? >> We have a possible link to the Tiffany
Sessions disappearance from Paul Roll's personal property. >> That's a huge break.
>> Lucky. Really lucky. And that's not all that was in the address book. Rolls had also written
down the names of all of his other victims. Linda Fida, Elizabeth Foster, and the 15-year-old girl Rolls raped and
attempted to kill in Jacksonville, a minor whose name we won't disclose. >> Some serial killers like to keep a
diary. Some keep artifacts. Some like to write down what they've done. A feeling
of accomplishment. Look what I did. I've got two, three, four. >> I said, "Can I see it?" This could be
the smoking gun piece of evidence Sheriff Darnell has been looking for all these years.
>> I was literally shaking holding it to see it and to see the depth of what that
meant. After all these many years, there's a possibility. just a possibility that this case could be
solved. >> Once he discovered the address book, Detective Allen ordered up cadaavver
dogs to search the site where rolls buried Elizabeth Foster. >> They all alert about 20 ft from where
Beth Foster was buried. >> So, what did that say to you? >> There's human remains here.
>> And it could be Tiffany. >> It could be Tiffany Sessions. He obviously was in a comfort zone
there. He left Beth Foster there for a reason. So he may have left multiple bodies there.
>> So on January 13th, 2014, just one month away from the 25th anniversary of Tiffany's disappearance, Pat Sessions
and Detective Allen have gathered a team of people to help at the excavation. >> 25 years ago, we started. I hope we're
going to finish. I want to be there for the end of this if it if it is. >> Some members of the team have been
searching for Tiffany since she went missing. >> I've probably been on over 20 searches
for Tiffany. >> Dr. Michael Warren is a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, an expert in
identifying human bones. >> I've had Tiffany Sessions master file on my desk for 21 years.
>> He's been actively involved in the search for Tiffany since 1991. She's just been uh one of the one of the
cases that I would really like to resolve. >> And he knows it is not going to be an
easy task. >> It's very hard to go out and do an organized search over such a large area.
So, we've got to be pretty aggressive. >> And if they find any bones, Dr. Warren
will know if they are Tiffany's. >> I've memorized her dental pattern and her dental chart. They'll know if it's
her or not. to find her would just be a remarkable feeling. >> Their plan to dig for 5 days.
>> I feel good about the operation. I feel good about the people on the ground. So,
we're all thumbs up. Trying to stay positive. >> After clearing the trees, they now begin
the tedious job of sifting through every bit of dirt, looking for pieces of human
bone. And in the afternoon, they do find a bone. But it's not human. It's a deer
bone. [Music] >> Pat is disappointed, but he knows they have a lot more ground to dig.
>> We've waited this long, worked this hard to get here. It's amazing the commitment
from everybody. >> And if they don't find Tiffany here, Jason will never stop looking for his
sister. I don't have any doubt if I drop dead tomorrow, you know, that he'll just
keep on going. And I hope he doesn't have to. Maybe we'll get lucky. [Music] >> Yeah, I'll continue looking forever. As
long as there's a lead to follow, we're going to continue looking. >> With just 3 days left to dig, Tiffany's
mother, Hillary, is adamant the search will be over. This is definitely the one. You know why? The pieces are
fitting. Everything is fitting in place. This is it. Is it hard to imagine that Tiffany might
be in that spot? >> I don't know what's worse. Having absolutely no idea what happened to her
or having someone as bad as Paul Rolls having done it. Believing serial killer Paul Rolls
murdered his daughter makes it even harder for Pat Sessions to understand how after receiving a life sentence in
1976, he was ever released from prison. >> That makes me sick. Tiffany would probably be alive today if they hadn't
let that guy out. [Music] On day three of the excavation, >> we're really moving some dirt. There
isn't a chance we're missing anything. >> Pat starts to wonder if rolls may have
buried Tiffany someplace else. >> Am I losing optimism that we're going to find Tiffany this goround? It's hard not
to. Later that day, Pat's fears come true when excavators finish digging in the areas where the cadaavver dogs alerted
and find nothing. >> Certainly, dogs are very good at finding the recently dead who are giving off
these these human specific uh scents. >> Forensic anthropologist Dr. Michael Warren says cadaavver dogs sometimes can
be unreliable when trying to solve cold cases. >> Skeletons are a different thing. They
just don't have any odor uh you know associated with them. [Music] >> And with no focus on where to dig by the
end of the week, the excavation comes to an end. >> We have not found Tiffany Sessions.
>> Was it disappointing? Yeah. Really disappointing. But we're never going to find out if we don't keep trying.
Good morning everyone and thank you for being here. This is uh been a long journey.
>> And then just three weeks after the dig, Sheriff Darnell goes public about Paul
Rolls. >> He was in this community. He murdered in this community. He had made comments
about this site being a dump site. >> Darnell hopes that someone will know something that leads them to Tiffany's
remains. If you had any involvement with him, if you know of anyone who had involvement with him, bring it forward.
There's >> for Pat and Hillary, there's a sense of finality to this moment. They think they
have their man, even if they don't have their little girl. And above all, they're grateful.
>> I want to thank the people who have come over the last 25 years. >> They're especially thankful to Detective
Kevin Allen. >> This is the guy that's made everybody work. He's the one who gave Pat and
Hillary the answers they've been longing for. >> I think he solved the case. I think we
found who took Tiffany. I believe that. >> I think anyone who has children is touched by the case of Tiffany Sessions,
especially myself. I know the sheriff, too. >> Thank you so much. >> Oh, yeah. You take care.
>> It was an emotional day for all of us. rest when you can. >> Tiffany's case is still officially open,
but over the years, Pat and Hillary have tried to bring closure to other parents
of missing children. Hillary has worked with advocates on child protection legislation and Pat works directly with
families. >> You know, you try to find something, as corny as it sounds, try to make some
meaning out of something, try and do something positive out of a terrible thing. And I think that's the best thing
I could do. You know, somebody calls me, I'm there. [Music] My cute little Missy.
I'm very comfortable here in her room. On bad days, like sometimes her birthday, I come and sleep here in the
room because I just feel very close to her at that time. [Music] I honestly do think that if Tiffany were
here, she'd say, "Get over it." I don't think she'd want me to be spending my entire life, having already spent 25
years of this, trying to do something that isn't going to bring her back. >> So, if you imagine that she would tell
you, "Knock it off, Dad. Move on." Why do you keep doing it? >> For my own benefit.
to try and to do what I think I should have done. I I don't want to ever if she walked in the door tomorrow, you know, I
want to be always be able to say that I did the best I could do. It's all anybody can do.
[Music] I love his smile. He has a beautiful smile. And look at his eyes. They just sparkle. My name is
Sharon Kranik and I'm Jim's wife. I've been his wife for 23 years. These were beautiful, happy days before
this whole nightmare started. >> Nearly 40 years have passed since Brighton resident Kathleen Krosenac was
found murdered in her own home. Now, prosecutors say Kroene's then husband committed the crime.
>> That's Jim as a young man. >> So, this is Jim's first wife, Kathy. >> Yes, it is. You can see Jim and Kathy.
So, obviously love one another. It was one of the most horrific crimes that we've seen in Rochester.
>> It does not appear that she ever saw this coming, that she ever woke up. >> The case is known as the Brain Axe
murder. This is the axe that was found in Kathy's head. >> Her three and a half-year-old daughter
was there throughout the day with her mom dead in the bed. >> How soon did Jim Krowzik become the
suspect in his wife's murder? >> Oh, I think within 24 hours. >> They felt that there just wasn't enough
evidence to charge him at that point. They went through the years thinking, "We're gonna get something."
>> It just went cold. >> James Krack will stand trial later this year for the murder of his wife in their
Brighton home nearly 40 years ago. >> No other physical evidence at the scene points to anyone other than James
Kranik. >> Basically, it became who else could it be? >> If Jim Krownik did not kill his wife,
who did? >> Larby. Early on, police learned about this fellow who was living not far from
the crime scene. >> This evil, evil, evil man that lived so close to Kathy and Jim.
>> Well, he was a one-man crime wave. He was a psychopath. >> They ignored him. >> I have absolutely no doubt that James
Krack killed Kathy Krauss that morning. So, you're saying that this man who had never shown any sign of violence before
and never shows any violence after snaps one night, one night in his life and puts an axe in his wife's head.
>> Yep. >> Yeah. >> Jim is a decent, loving human being. There is no way Jim would ever ever have
done anything like that. >> James Kick just doesn't look like an axe murderer. No, but Ted Bundy didn't look
like a serial killer. >> I did not murder Kathy. [Music] On a wintry night near Rochester, New
York, retired detective Mark Liberator is showing us how he helped bring one of the coldest cases in America to trial.
On February 19th, 1982, police officers arrived at this home. Which direction was her bedroom? It's
>> right over here to the right. and encountered a horrific scene. >> Their bed was on this wall.
>> The body of a 29year-old mother, Kathy Krownik, dead in bed with an axe lodged in her head.
>> It was a single blow to the head and she died instantly. According to the medical
examiner, >> Jim Krazik told police he arrived home from work and found his wife's body.
His three and a halfyear-old daughter Sarah was there and unharmed. Minutes later, he showed up at his
neighbor's house, seemingly traumatized with Sarah in his arms. The neighbor called 911.
>> Her husband's here and he can't even talk. >> Kraznik, a Kodak company economist, said
he'd left for work that morning at the usual time around 6:30 and was gone all day. Kathy had planned to stay home to
take care of Sarah. >> You know, the murder in and of itself is baffling and hard to believe.
>> Gary Craig reports for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. >> You had this element where
Kathy's daughter has been left in the house with her murdered mother. It's inconceivable that somebody could
do that. Police spoke with three and a half-year-old Sarah, but she didn't seem to grasp what she had seen. Mark
Liberator and his partner Steve Hunt of Brighton PD say investigators at the scene found no significant forensic
clues like fibers or fingerprints. And in 1982, DNA had not yet become an investigative tool. But it looked like
someone had pushed the pause button on a burglary. And there was a door leading into the house that had a pane of glass
broken out. And there was a mall, which is like a heavier axe on the ground leaning up against the wall. Right next
to that, the axe found at the door and the one in Cathy's head both belonged to the crow's necks. In the dining room,
there were valuable items scattered. >> And on the floor was Kathy's purse with the contents strewn about.
>> There was a tea set on the floor, too. Everything was standing straight up like
it was set there neatly >> and a black garbage bag next to it. Inside was a faint shoe print as if
someone had stepped in it to hold it open. But despite many apparent signs of a burglary, police say nothing was
taken. >> There's an officer involved in this case from the 1980s who hits the nail on the
head. We in Brighton do not handle a lot of homicides. We do handle a lot of burglaries and this was not a burglary.
[Music] [Music] Investigators suspected the burglary at the Kraznik home was staged to cover up
Kathy's murder. And they began to focus on her husband. >> Let's face it. I mean, more often than
not, it's the husband. >> But could Jib Krauss have committed such a brutal murder and left his baby
daughter alone in that house? We spoke to friends and family who said the couple had seemed happy.
Kathy and Jim had grown up in the same small town in Michigan. They met in high school, began dating in college, married
after graduation, and had Sarah in 1978. She was just so excited about her daughter. Just so excited about her.
Kathy Krauss's friend Kathy Beehey, >> and you can tell how beautiful she is, >> says she was a warm soul who lived for
love, but remembers feeling that the last time they saw each other, just 6 months before the murder, something just
didn't seem right. >> Not the vivacious Kathy that I remembered. What was the next thing you
heard? I got a call from my sister and she told me about Kathy being murdered. If Kathy and Jim were having trouble,
they kept it to themselves. But police discovered a pamphlet in the couple's car that offered services
including marriage counseling. And when they went to Kodak, they learned that Jim Krowac had gotten his job under
false pretenses, claiming to have a PhD when he had never actually completed the
program. There was also Kraznik's behavior. Initially, he was cooperative. >> He was willing early on to give
statements. >> Krowzac had spoken to investigators that night and the next morning, even
agreeing to another meeting that afternoon. But when the time came, >> he was gone.
>> Less than 24 hours after he found his wife murdered. >> Yes. >> Krazick's parents had driven from
Michigan and returned there with Jim and Sarah. When Rochester authorities followed them to Michigan, Krownik
continued answering their questions and even provided hair and blood samples. 10 days after the murder, he hired a
lawyer. Police had a suspect, but they needed to establish exactly when the murder had happened.
>> Back in 1982, the time of death gave a a very broad range. The science was that
you really could not pinpoint. Autopsy findings reportedly narrowed the time of death to between 4:30 a.m. and
as late as 7:30 a.m., an hour after Krownik claimed to have left the house. With no direct evidence against him, nor
any clear motive, authorities didn't want to try their luck with a jury. No one was ever charged with a crime.
Krownik and Sarah eventually moved out west. He would briefly wed twice more. And in 1997, he ran into Sharon James,
an old friend, when sparks flew. >> And he asked me out, and from then on, for two years, we dated.
>> Sharon says he told her about Kathy's 1982 murder, but didn't offer details. >> And I didn't want to cry because he
would start getting emotional. What was it that made you fall in love with him? >> Jim is so honest. He's so loving. I
wanted to be a part of his family. They married in 1999 and lived in Seattle. Sharon had no idea that more
than 2,000 miles away in Rochester, New York, someone else would set her sights on Jim Krownik.
Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Dorley. Kathy really needed to have justice.
>> In 2015, the FBI provided resources to help Brighton police with their investigation.
>> I mean, you look at all those boxes of paperwork and evidence. It's It's daunting.
>> Detectives Mark Liberator and Steve Hunt of the Brighton PD took the lead and
they too became convinced that the evidence pointed to Jim Krownik. So on April 16th, 2016,
>> we were just having a lazy Saturday morning and then all a sudden the doorbell rang.
>> Hi, Mark Latitar. >> How are you? >> You wanted to surprise him? >> Absolutely. Probably a little bit
surprised while we're here. >> Did Jim at that point think maybe I better call a lawyer?
>> No. No, not at all. Um, on the contrary, she says her husband welcomed them in.
>> Hopefully you get some good news. we just want to kind of revamp everything, go through everything again with you.
>> They said, "We think we know who killed Kathy and we need your help in in in that type of a tone."
>> I'm sure you think about this, who could possibly for a long time, but >> but then Sharon says, "Detectives
Liberator and Hunt suddenly turned up the heat." >> Did you have anything to do with this?
>> I didn't kill Kathy. >> I disagree. >> Well, >> I think you did. And you could see his
heart pounding through his shirt. >> I know. I know he did not murder his wife. >> Sharon, how can you be so sure? You only
have Jim's word for it. >> No. When you're married to a man, you know his heart and you know his soul. Jim
could never, Aaron, never in this world do something so horrific. But the detectives still hope to find
what investigators 40 years ago were never able to find. A smoking gun that tied Jim Krowzic to the Brighton Axe
murder. >> Now, you have to remember back in 1982, there was no such thing as DNA testing.
So, my first thought was, you know, what can we test? >> We sent the evidence from 82 back to the
FBI lab. The results, there was no DNA evidence that directly tied Krownik to the crime, but none tying anyone else to
the murder either. >> The most important thing was finding the absence of someone else's DNA within
that home. >> But to charge Jim Krownik, they wanted to prove his wife had died before he had
gone to work. >> We need a definitive time of death. [Music] In order to prove Jim Krow killed his
wife Kathy, authorities needed to be able to pinpoint what time she died. Back in 1982, the medical examiner was
only able to say that Kathy was killed sometime between 4:30 and 7:30 a.m. And since then, other experts have agreed
with her. In 2018, prosecutors then turned to Dr. Michael Boden. Boden, a forensic pathologist,
has been hired to work on a who's who of who done it cases. from OJ Simpson to the assassination of JFK to the reported
suicide of disgraced finance seer Jeffrey Epstein. Using the same file from 1982, Boden
said it appeared Kathy died at about 3:30 a.m. hours before Jim Krowix said he left for work. He's the only medical
examiner to reach that conclusion. You know, some people may say that we're looking for an opinion,
>> but if in fact Dr. Boden had agreed with the other medical examiners, would you
have hired him? >> Absolutely not. >> Prosecutors went before a grand jury and Krauss was indicted on November 1st,
2019. >> Do you have any doubt about Jim Kraznik's guilt in his wife's murder? >> I have absolutely no doubt.
Attorneys Bill East and Michael Wolfford both believe Jim Krowzik had zero motive
for murder. >> They had a wonderful relationship. They had a wonderful family. >> Jim Krownick went to work. Someone came
in and killed Kathy Krownik. We think that someone was Ed Larabe. >> Ed Larabe, a monster just down the road.
He was just a violent son of a gun and terrible, terrible human being. >> Larabe hunted women. He was a
psychopath. >> Before dying in prison, Larabe was locked up for a total of 32 years on
charges that ultimately included attempted murder, robbery, and his sixth specialty, rape.
In 2014, Ed Larabby, who was suffering from ALS, contacted the FBI claiming he was a serial killer and one of the
victims he listed was Kathy Krauss. >> Larabe lived very close by and she was someone that uh he was going to pray on.
>> The idea that decades earlier Ed Larabe might have murdered Kathy doesn't come
as a surprise to investigators. Everybody from back in that time frame is familiar with Ed.
>> Police went to question him shortly after Cathy's murder, but Ed Larby wasn't talking back then. They filed
their report and then backed off. And is it fair to say the police dropped the ball in that case? Because you've got a
sexual predator within minutes of the house and they they don't do anything more than visit him once. Oh, I think
it's very fair to say that to have apparently ignored Ed Larby in 1982, whether he did or didn't do it is
clearly was just a major lapse in the investigation. >> I don't know that I'd use the phrase
drop the ball. And unfortunately, the officer and the sergeant who approved that report are both deceased.
Still, the FBI and detectives Liberator and Hunt don't believe Ed Larby murdered
Kathy. This is a guy who has a long history of hurting women and he's confessing to killing Kathy Kra.
>> Yeah, but was way off base. >> Why are you so sure it's not Edward Larby? >> Because his confession didn't match up
to the facts. As simple as that. Larabe said Kathy had dark hair when in fact she was blonde. That she was heavy set
when she wasn't. Authorities were convinced that Jim Krownik, not Ed Larabe, wielded that
bloody ax, but the case could hinge on mere minutes and prosecutors proving that Krazik was
at home when Kathy was killed. You look at the evidence, it's clear she was killed in her sleep.
[Music] An opening statements today for the James Krauss trial 19. >> The stage was set for a gruesome drama
in search of its final act. >> Really? How would you describe the last 40 years on your family?
>> This been a terrible It's just god awful. And >> Kathy's cousin Susie Jakamovich
witnessed the shift in Kathy's father, Bob Schlloer, who today believes Kraznik is a killer, but for years was certain
his son-in-law was innocent. >> I just don't think that he would that he would do such a thing.
>> I mean, had there ever been a real serious problem in their marriage that anybody had heard of? Not that I knew
of. >> But investigators believe the marriage was secretly crumbling. >> He snapped is what we believe. He just
snapped. >> People look at Jim Krownneck. He just doesn't look like an axe murderer.
>> What's the axe murder look like? >> Bob says that over time, Krowzik began separating Sarah from her mother's
family. >> We didn't see Sarah anymore. Not only was Kathy taken away, Sarah was taken
away. >> Sarah's a grown woman now, firmly standing by her dad, as sure that he's
innocent as prosecutors Constance Patterson and Patrick Gallagher are certain he's Cathy's killer.
>> No doubt at all. >> Absolutely no doubt in my mind. >> Time itself had been a daunting
challenge in this case. So investigators pursued evidence that didn't rely on the
frailties of memory, like the physical crime scene. >> I wanted to not only prove that that
Kathy was clearly killed in the early morning hours, but also prove that it was a stage burglary.
>> Authorities argued the scene was staged by someone who had no idea what a burglary looked like.
>> Uh the house wasn't ransacked. In fact, there was cash on the dresser in the room where Kathy was killed that wasn't
taken. >> The broken glass, the placement of that mall. >> They wanted us to believe that the mall
was used to break that pane of glass. >> That silver tea set barely disturbed. >> And when you looked at the pieces that
don't fit, the reason they don't fit is because it was a stage burglary. >> Then there was that faint shoe print
investigators found inside this garbage bag. The only way that gets in there is when the the bag is being opened, when
items are being placed in that bag, >> and somebody is putting their foot on there so they can hold it open.
>> So, you're stepping on the edge of that bag, holding one edge, and you're placing that silver in the bag.
>> Investigators say the print was from a boat shoe. >> There's a picture in that bedroom where
you can see next to the bed, you can see these boat shoes. And >> and whose shoes are those?
>> And those are James Krauss shoes. But the shoes Krazac wore back then were not
tested to see if they were a match. And his lawyers say it's not just the wrong theory. It's the wrong man.
They say it's Ed Larabe, that career criminal who before he died had confessed to killing Kathy.
>> He lives four-minute walk away. >> But there's the problem of Larabe's MO. Remember, he was a repeat sex offender.
Was there any sign that Kathy had been sexually assaulted? >> None whatsoever. >> Do you believe that there was tunnel
vision in this investigation? >> I think there was this overwhelming urge and desire to solve the crime and
it had to be Jim Krownik. >> Cameras were allowed into the courtroom as lawyers made their final pleas. The
mystery of Kathy Krownik's death remains to this day and we submit it has not been resolved by this trial. Common
sense tells you this was a stage burglary. Those are the only reasonable inferences that can be drawn from this
case. There are no eyewitnesses. There are no ear witnesses. There is no direct evidence. That was the case 40
years ago. and that's the case now. >> But Gallagher reminded the jury that pathologist Michael Boden put Kathy's
possible time of death at 3:30 a.m. >> Common sense tells you she died early that morning.
>> As we said at the outset, there was no new evidence, simply a new opinion by Dr. Boden. We don't think that cuts it.
>> The case would now go to a jury. Jim Krowzix's fate will now be determined by 12 strangers.
Altogether, it takes the jury less than 10 hours of deliberations. >> The four person, please rise.
>> To reach a verdict. guilty. >> Jim Kraznik is guilty of secondderee murder. >> I remember standing up and I saw this
one deputy across from me and I said, "Oh, please let me hug my husband." He said, "No, no, I I can't.
>> We got our justice for 40 years. Thank God we got it. The jurors we spoke to insisted they
decided this case on the evidence. Evidence they admit had divided them at the start.
>> I just kept thinking someone else really could have done this. >> The forensics did not point to anybody
else. >> The most important thing to me was the stage burglary scene. They said that the
stage scene was a critical clue and there was something else they seemed to agree on that it was impossible to say
exactly when Kathy died. >> We threw out all of that testimony. We it it meant nothing to us.
>> But their verdict means everything to Kraznik's heartbroken daughter Sarah who
spoke on her father's behalf at sentencing. I've been blessed with the most extraordinary parents. Sadly, they have
both been taken from my life. My mother's killer got away with her murder, and my father's life has been
taken by a failed justice system that convicted him of a crime he did not commit.
>> But Sarah's grandfather, Kathy's father, has a different message for Jim. >> And Jim, I hope you live to be 100 years
old and enjoy your new home. And finally, it's up to Jim Krownik himself to take one last opportunity to
address the court. >> I did not murder Kathy. >> I love Kathy with all my heart and with
all my soul. >> The judge is unmoved, giving this 71-year-old Kraznik 25 years to life
behind bars. >> You're going to stand by him no matter what. Oh, absolutely. >> But 6 months after Jim Krowac was
sentenced, he died of cancer in prison. Sharon, Sarah, and Jim's legal team are appealing the verdict, hoping to clear
his name. Line up for a new season of 48 Hours. Two important cases, two all new
episodes. 48 Hours, Saturday, September 16th on CBS. [Music] [Applause] I have visible
holes in my memory from when I was a kid. You know, trauma and it's a different kind of trauma
because there's a monster involved. It's 30 years later. I can't imagine many things that are as terribly
lifechanging. I was two weeks away from my 17th birthday. What could I have done? What could I
have done? >> Okay, I've got the command on the phone down there. >> A week ago today, uh Sarah Wood, a
12-year-old, left this church and was traveling a short distance about a mile to her home. She made it about halfway
and uh we found her bicycle at around 4:30 that afternoon. I am Dusty Wood. I am Sarah's older
brother. >> I was 16 when she was abducted in 1993. >> We need to know where Sarah is.
Please help us find her. >> When I got a call from my sergeant that there was a missing girl, they didn't
say runaway. He said missing child, which was unusual. So, I immediately drove up there. This is a church uh that
Sarah's father was pastor at at the time. The day that this happened, she was here doing school work.
>> Tell me where she rode. >> She would have gone right out out here and right down this road.
>> So, this is where she took a turn. >> Yep. Her her house is not too far up here on the left. This is the area where
the bicycle was found. >> I remember that moment. I'm standing next to my mother and that's when you
know it's all over. It's all over. [Music] [Music] >> We set up a station there. We could do
everything out of that church. >> Descend right up in here. >> There were troopers from all over the
state. >> All over the state there. >> Days went by, weeks, months, >> right? Would either one of you have ever
guessed the turn this case would take on January 7th, 1994? >> No. >> And this was still back in the day of
where telet types would come across. >> One came over about an abduction or attempted abduction in Massachusetts.
>> 12-year-old uh Rebecca Saves. She's simply walking to school. She's approached by a stranger who puts a gun
to her and that broke the entire case. >> She's the key. She's the lynch pin. She
what she's what made it all happen. He got away. Okay, that's what put us out to Louiswis Lent.
>> Lewis Lent came across as just kind of an ordinary guy. He was a handyman. I don't think anybody would have ever
conceived that he was doing what he was doing. I'm Julia Cowie, retired FBI agent and
profiler. He was prepared with duct tape. He had a gun with him. He had a knife with him. He had rope with him. So
he was always ready. He's a child predator. You he enjoyed going out and driving around and in his words hunting
for children. >> He killed Sarah Enwood. He did confess to it. But we don't have Sarah's body.
>> Finding the body is important because then my mother could know where she is.
Do you think Lewis Lent will give that up? >> I don't know. If he does, it won't be
out of the goodness of his heart. He does have a lot to hide. [Music] Heat. [Music]
Heat. [Music] My sister's life ended and I couldn't stop that. Someone hurt her and took her life.
I know at the time I felt like I could have done something, but I couldn't. She was an exuberant person. She was
excited to be alive. >> It's been a little over three decades since his 12-year-old little sister
disappeared. But for Dusty Wood, memories of Sarah have not faded with time. >> Morning, Sarah.
>> What? >> Good morning. >> Good morning. You >> ready to eat? >> No, I want to stay here and play a video
game. Every picture you see of her, it's like a big beaming smile, those bright blue eyes.
>> Dusty says the two of them had a lot in common. >> I'm an extrovert. She's pretty
extroverted. She's not a person in the background. She stuck out. >> Hey, Dad. Dad, over here.
>> She was funny. I imagine she would be funny now. On August 18th, 1993, Dusty, then just 16 years old, was
enjoying a lazy summer day with his family in Sequoia, a small town in central New York.
>> That day, we had gone shopping. Uh we had come home. We just hung around the house. We lived in the country, so there
wasn't a lot of stuff to do. Sarah had made plans to ride her bike to vacation Bible school at the church
where her father was a pastor. It was just about a mile down the road. >> The last time I saw her, she was singing
Dolly Parton. >> Do you remember what song she was singing? >> Working 9 to5. Yeah. She and I were at
the front door. And so I was listening to her as she's working 925. And then she uh got on her bike and was like,
"See you later." >> When Sarah didn't return home later that afternoon, Dusty and Sarah's parents
began to worry. >> So, I remember getting a phone call from my parents at my friend's house. Hey,
did you see Sarah? And me being like, "No." And so at that point, we rode our bikes and came home.
Didn't see her. Soon after, that's when a neighbor came across Sarah's bike hidden in the bushes on the side of the
road, less than a half mile from the family's home. Police were called around 6:00 p.m. New York State Police Trooper
Timothy Blae, who is now retired, arrived at the scene. So, Tim, where was her bicycle found?
>> It was off the grassy area. It was in where the shrubs are. And there was also
some school paperwork that was around. Some papers were blowing around. >> And at the time, did anyone remember
seeing a truck or or a child being grabbed or anything? I mean, she just vanished.
>> Yeah. Well, as you can see, I mean, there's nobody here really to see anything, you know.
>> By early evening, the massive search for Sarah began. We'd be out in the woods searching for
her at midnight, 1:00 in the morning, hoping that we find her in maybe a hole or a she fell down in something.
>> 48 Hours was invited by Sarah and Dusty's parents, Bob and Francis Wood, to witness those early days of the
investigation in hopes that the media attention would help find Sarah. >> Hold for an officer and I'll be right
with you. It would become one of the largest searches for a missing child during that time.
>> The first day was the worst first night. >> We're uh just checking to see if anybody
had any information on the Sarah Woods case. >> First night, of course, you know, I was
up on the road all night, out in the woods all night. Second day, I was on the road all night watching.
>> Swiggle pioneered command post. Bob Wood's tiny church was turned into a state police command post.
>> Command post around. >> The more people we can reach early on while the thing is still fresh in their
minds, the better chance we stand of maybe turning something up that that'll help us.
>> The big thing as far as the uniform troopers are concerned is the door to door.
>> Anything out of the ordinary in the past week or so? >> No. Can that be done with the chopper?
>> The thing that keeps everybody going is the uncertainty. not knowing whether she's dead, whether she's alive, whether
she's a mile away, or whether she's 120 miles away. >> So now all I'm doing is praying and
encouraging people cuz they're doing all the work. >> We've expanded the search operation.
We're probably into the area of 600 square miles. I'm getting in fresh crews. I got more
crews coming in from different parts of the state. >> And we're going to be crawling on our
hands and knees. It's really thick once we get down in there. >> Let's find that guy, bud. Let's go. When
you're dealing with a child, if it hits you personally, it hits me personally, you tend to devote 110%. Let's go try
one. I hope we find this girl. >> Thank you, Lord, for this day. And we thank you now for the good food that we
have. We do ask that you would uh be with Sarah, nourish her, protect her. Please bring her home to us tonight.
>> How's it going, guys? Sarah's father doing a good job out there. That's like,
you know, I'm on a precipice and there's a there's a deep dark cliff there. >> Hi. How you doing, hun? Good.
>> I'm glad you're here. >> I really am. And if I step over and and in self-pity and start to go down there,
I may not be able to get back up. >> How you doing? >> I'm doing just fine. >> Francis is strengthening daily. She's in
the Bible a lot. Dusty, he's strong. He's real strong. >> Tell me about yourself.
>> Oh, myself. Yeah. Uh >> I don't know. What we need is a break, a good solid lead that we can take and finish this
case up with. >> And Bob believed police were going to get that break. >> We're doing the state of Texas.
>> If enough people could see his daughter's face, >> somebody stops one of these stores and
gases up 10 minutes later to see my daughter, they could make the phone call we need to get. You see this little
person here? This is my baby. Whatever I have to do, I'm going to do to find this
little girl here. >> Sarah's mother, Francis, made a public plea. >> Whoever behind this, I don't hate you. I don't
hate you. I just want my daughter back. That's enough. I just want her here. Right here with us.
>> Investigators were determined to find out what happened to Sarah. And they did
not shy away from looking anywhere or at anyone. Our entire family was focused on
getting Sarah back. So, you want to investigate me? I'm okay with that. Sarah's got to come home. We'll do
whatever it takes. Period. [Music] When this happened, people realized this could happen to anybody. It could be
their children. >> Retired New York State police detectives Reese Train and John Fallon were state
troopers when Sarah Wood disappeared in 1993. >> My daughter was only 5 miles from there
when this happened at her grandparents house at 3 years old. It's home. >> T and Fallon were part of the army of
investigators from around the state. Thank you for your help. >> Assigned to search for Sarah. We had no
vehicle. She didn't just go into thin air. >> They would join Frank Lawrence, one of
the lead detectives. >> Something or someone had to have taken her. >> There he is right there, Sarah. Channel
2. >> Yet, despite the weeks of media attention that Sarah's case received, Lawrence, now retired from the New York
State Police, says law enforcement still had very little to go on. >> Somebody took her. We didn't know. So
when you don't know, you have to eliminate everything, every possibility, and you start local.
>> And that included questioning the people closest to Sarah, her brother, and her
parents. >> You had to look at the woods. >> The woods were looked at. >> I mean, it wasn't that tough, though.
>> It's very It's always difficult to do that, you know, especially in this case
because they're such good parents. >> Bob Wood was there every day. >> I'm glad you're here, though. You're
helping out a lot. every day. >> Investigation isn't over. Uh, this is one facet.
>> I had a hard time going to every day. >> Once the woods were eliminated, Lawrence
says they turned their attention to investigating known and suspected sex offenders.
>> Each and every one of them had to be spoken with and eliminated. And we did. We did.
>> And they still had nothing. >> We got this section done. Oh, >> despite the long hours and heavy
manpower until a bitterly cold day in January 1994, 5 months after Sarah disappeared,
officer Timothy Blae was working in the command center when a message came in via teletype, a device that police
departments used at the time to share information. One came over that about an abduction or attempted abduction in
Massachusetts that I handed off to Frank. >> Another 12-year-old girl named Becky
Savarice was almost abducted as she walked to school in Pittsville, Massachusetts,
100 miles away. Becky didn't respond to 48 hours most recent request for an interview, but back in 1994, she did
speak with me and told me her remarkable story. I was coming up here. >> It was 7:10 in the morning on January
7th at one of the busiest intersections in town. >> I was listening to my music. He He was
on the side of me. He >> like where I am. >> Yeah. He was saying stuff before. I
didn't know what he was saying. So, I took my earphones out to um hear what he was saying. And then he said, "Do you
see the gun I have?" I was like, "Yes, I I see the gun you have." He's like, "Just do everything I say. Everything
would be perfectly okay." I was like, "All right." >> He had it up against you. >> He had He had about maybe an inch away
from me. >> Were you scared? >> No, >> you weren't scared. >> I wasn't scared. We turned down here to
where his truck was parked. >> Now he wants you to go in the truck that's over there,
>> right? >> You're not intending to go into that truck. >> No, it if I got away, I didn't care if
you shot me. I I just knew I was not going to get into that truck. >> Why? Why did you know that? Was that
something someone had told you or? >> I I just felt it inside me. I knew I was not going to get into that truck.
>> That's when Becky came up with an idea that possibly saved her life. She faked
an asthma attack. >> I started to fake that. I was like losing breath when I was trying to take
my backpack off. Uh when I he tried to grab for me, he got my backpack and said and I just ran. Becky ran into a man
clearing snow off a sidewalk who called the police. At about the same time, a witness called in with three digits from
the truck's license plate. Investigators began searching for the vehicle. >> I remember it well because it was a
blizzard. Despite the snowstorm, a Pittsfield officer spotted a truck with those three digits in its license plate
sitting in a driveway in a residential area. The officer quickly called for backup
>> and they knocked on the door and said, "Yeah, who was driving this truck earlier?"
>> The homeowner told the officers a friend named Lewis Lent had borrowed the truck
and he just happened to be sitting in the kitchen. When police entered the house to question Lent, he denied
knowing about Becky, but willingly agreed to come down to the police station. Had Lewis Lent, that name Lewis
Lent, ever come up before? >> No, not in our investigation. >> Had he ever been connected to a
disappearance of a child? >> No. >> But he had a criminal history. >> Yeah, some minor things like bad checks
and forged checks, things like that, but nothing that approaches this. And when investigators searched Lent's vehicle,
they knew they had the right man. >> They found Rebecca's backpack. They found the gun. They found duct tape and
clothesline rope. Basically, his his kidnapping abduction kit. >> Although the attempted abduction was 100
miles away in Pittsville, Massachusetts. Everyone wondered if Lent could have also taken Sarah.
>> Got a call from the lieutenant. He says, 'Well, go home and pack a bag and you're
going to Pittsfield. [Music] Almost 12 hours after the attempted abduction of 12-year-old Becky Savarice,
New York State Police Detective Frank Lawrence struggled through a snowstorm and finally arrived at Pittsville,
Massachusetts, eager to speak to Lewis Lent, but he would have to wait his turn.
>> There's similarities, but it's a Pittsfield case. Okay. They would talk to him then and we get him in between.
>> And he was willing to talk to you? >> Yeah, he talked to us. And during their
conversations, Lawrence says he and two other New York investigators made sure Lewis Lent understood why they were
there. >> I actually showed him this poster and I said to him, "Lou, this is who I'm here
to talk to you about." So, he knew that eventually we're going to be talking about this. Okay.
>> How did he react? Did he >> He He was He was He was flat. >> Flat. >> Yeah. He was flat through the whole
thing. Did that make you think he had no idea who she was? >> I I didn't really care. I was going to
find out. That's what we were there for. >> But getting Lewis Lent to admit anything
was not going to be easy. Although Becky Saves and a witness picked him out of a
lineup, it took Lent until the next morning to admit he had tried to take her. Lewis Lent was arrested and charged
with kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. But New York investigators were not done with Lent.
They started to ask him questions about other missing kids. >> We talked to him. We spent a lot of time
with him. >> And that's when Lawrence says he and New York investigators came up with a
strategy. >> We found out that he was religious. >> So he says they brought a Bible into the
interview room. >> That Bible sat on the table in front of him. anytime he would wander, okay, we
would use the Bible and we go, Lou, you got to tell the truth and this comes from the heart. You got to tell us the
truth. We would go back to the Bible. And Lawrence says the strategy appeared to be working because as the hours went
by, Lent started to reveal things about himself and some very disturbing plans for the future that involve kidnapping
young victims. >> He told us about his master plan. Once he found the acceptable vulnerable
individuals, he was going to bring them back to his house and put them in like a ceue like I
describe it as a coffin, but keep them alive so he could use them and have them whenever he he wanted them.
>> Investigators would later find the beginning of his horrifying construction project when they searched Len's bedroom
and found this wooden partition wall. And things only got worse. He wanted to talk about Jim Bernardo.
>> Jimmy Bernardo was a 12year-old boy who had gone missing three years earlier in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A month later, hunters would find his body. The case had stumped local
investigators for years, but now Lent was about to tell everyone what had happened to Jimmy.
He was riding his bike through a strip mall in uh Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Lewis Lent was a janitor at the cinema
center there in Pittsfield. >> When Jimmy stopped in front of the cinema to wake for a friend, that's when
Len said he offered him money to help him clean the movie theater. Jimmy agreed.
>> And then once Len got him inside, he overpowered him and kidnapped him. Lent told investigators he drove Jimmy 200
miles to a rural and isolated area near his hometown of Reynoldsville, New York.
Then he said he strangled Jimmy to death and left him there. >> He had details that only the killer and
the police knew. >> As horrific as that revelation was, investigators kept pressing him about
Sarah Wood. >> The more we talked about Sarah, we're probing. He's responding. >> And then five months after she went
missing, Lewis Lent finally confessed. Lent admitted that he had kidnapped, raped, and then murdered Sarah M. Wood.
>> She was vulnerable. He was hunting and he found the victim. >> And just like Jimmy Bernardo, Detective
Lawrence says Lent's account matched details only known to investigators. Lent knew specifics about what Sarah had
been wearing and details about her bike that had not been made public. >> He knew that the chain on the bike was
broken. And he also said that the bike was a little bit big for her. >> I didn't know that. I found out later
that it was. >> Then Lawrence says Lent drew them a map showing where he said he buried Sarah's
body. >> This is just a copy obviously, >> right? that this is actually what Louis
did. >> He drew that. I handed him a piece of paper and this is what he drew. >> And where did he say he put her?
>> Al Route 28 up by Blue Mountain Lake. >> Blue Mountain Lake is located in a remote woody area near Racket Lake in
New York's Aderandac Mountains. And within hours, police from all over New York State were dispatched and
searched the area. Bob Wood was there along with Dusty who was a senior in high school.
>> It was very cold. It was ridiculous and it was tons of snow. Remember a lot of
helping? A lot of people. >> How you guys doing for tariffs up here? >> Was that a time when you thought you
might be able to bring Sarah home? >> Yeah. >> For over 50 days they searched for Sarah
in the aderondex. >> It was 30 below zero. We could only stay outside for 20 minutes at a time. We
were in waist high snow. We had shovels. We're digging. We're looking for any evidence at all having anything to do
with Sarah. And we were hoping we somebody would come up with something that had something to do with her. It
just didn't happen. >> As investigators continued to look for Sarah's body, Lent would face murder
charges in both Massachusetts and New York. It was a rare occasion where everyone was laser focused on one event,
which was find Sarah, bring him to justice. [Music] Before Lewis L could be tried for Sarah
Wood's murder in New York, he first had to face charges in Massachusetts. In 1995, Lewis went on trial and was
ultimately convicted for Becky Savarese's attempted kidnapping and was sentenced to 17 to 20 years.
Almost 1 and a half years later, after taking a plea, he was given a life sentence for murdering Jimmy Bernardo.
>> Television, radio, and newspaper outlets. Then on June 6th, 1996, Lewis Land arrived at Herkimer, New York
to a media frenzy. >> And the district attorney wanted justice for Sarah Anne Wood and her family.
>> Jeffrey Carpenter is Herkimer County's district attorney. He wasn't in office
when Sarah Wood was murdered, but he has studied Lewis Lent's case files. He says
the DA's office thought Lewis Lent was going to plead guilty to killing Sarah, but without warning, Lent changed his
mind. >> But it's my understanding that when he entered the courtroom and he saw certain
members of the public, especially I think her family, he decided on that day he did not want to enter a plea.
>> Days later, Lent would change his mind again and finally entered a guilty plea.
>> What do you remember of him sitting there? I couldn't believe how small a man, you know, I couldn't believe it.
Not imposing. >> Almost 4 years after Sarah Wood was abducted and murdered, Lewis Lent was
sentenced to 25 years to life. He was sent back to Massachusetts to serve the rest of his life in prison.
>> He will never cause harm to anyone else. >> But it was not over for the Wood family
and New York State Police investigators. They still needed to find Sarah. >> He changes his story so often, it's hard
to hard to tell what's the truth and what's fiction. >> In fact, Detective T says Len's original
story that he buried her in the Racket Lake area turned out to be a lie. He cashed a check on August 18th in
Pittsfield at 6:18 p.m. So, he did not physically have time to abduct Sarah at around 2:30 p.m. and then drive to the
Aderondex, dig a grave, bury her, and then drive back to Pittsfield to cash a check. So investigators continued to
visit Lent in prison, hoping that over time he would reveal where he buried Sarah and perhaps even disclosed the
murders of other victims. Detectives Fallon and T say they visited Landon prison about 20 times. Isn't it
difficult at times though for the two of you not to just jump across the table and grab him?
>> No. One of the things you have to do is you have to leave hate outside of the
room when you go in. >> They didn't push him, but during their conversations, Lent revealed that he
often suffered from blackouts and claimed he had an evil alter ego that he called Steven.
>> He has this dichotomy. This is the word he used. He has a really good side that
studies the Bible and actually was a traveling minister. Then he has this evil side and he has these uh
uncontrollable compulsions. This is the way he put it to do terrible things that
he could not stop. Somehow Lent managed to hide that evil side from nearly everyone he knew.
>> Lewis Lent spent the last year. >> Back in 1994, 48 hours correspondent Richard Slesinger
interviewed some of Lent's friends. >> This sidewall here, it was caving right in.
>> Right. And uh >> he helped you with that too, huh? >> Oh, yes. >> To Phil Shalies, who is legally blind,
Lent was a good Samaritan. >> Just came over and said, "Well, I'd be glad to give you a hand. I hear you're
doing uh work on your foundation." He said, "I'd be glad to help you out." We built a border all the way around. We
put in probably hundreds of hours working together in that salary. It was definitely hard work. He
>> And he did that all out of the goodness of his heart. And yes, I did. >> To Frank Colette, the dean of students
at a Bible school that Lent attended, he was a gentleman. >> He was intelligent. He was unassuming.
He was quiet. Uh, one thing about Louie that everyone remembered was he always had his hand out to to shake your hand
when you were meeting one. And if you didn't watch out, he give you a big bear hug.
>> He had a lot of children with him, young kids. The kids would play video games,
and then they would come in, go to the movies, and he would bring them home. to Richard Bowman who employed him. Lent
seemed like a mentor to children. >> They called him the big brother. >> They did.
>> Oh, yeah. >> The kids. >> Yes. >> Bowman owned the movie theater where Lent worked as a janitor for six years.
And he thought he knew Lent very well. >> I I hired him. I worked side by side with him.
What's What's >> Tell me what's going on. >> I just feel as though I may have missed
something that he might have said or done that would have keep me >> that would have let
>> just just give me a clue that there was something wrong with this guy. People
have trouble understanding that you can have this very religious, god-fearing, nice, polite man in contrast that to his
other side where he is hunting and praying on and killing children. Those can exist in one person. Julia Cowie is
a retired FBI agent and profiler who worked on cases like the Golden State Killer. She now hosts a true crime
podcast called The Consult, Real FBI Profilers. >> This podcast is about criminal
profiling. >> Callie has never met Lewis Lent, but at our request, she reviewed his background
and studied his confessions. She says that what appeared to be Lent's desire to help people could actually have
served a selfish purpose. by helping all these people. This is a way to maybe hide who he really is to gain people's
trust. When you do that, you can manipulate them. You can control them. It's strategically motivated as opposed
to being motivated by true emotion. >> Just like other serial killers she has studied, Cowi says Lent is completely
selfcentered. >> His needs come before anybody else's. Obviously, he had no regard for his
victims. He has no regard for victim's families. >> Something Reese Tr says he has seen
firsthand. >> He knows what emotions are that other people have, but he doesn't feel them
himself. One of the things that he said in the past that is that the murders ruined his life. He's remorseful that he
got caught, that it ruined his life, but he doesn't think in terms of it ruined anybody else's life. He just doesn't
think that way. >> Lewis L so quickly admits to kidnapping and and killing Sarah Wood. Why not tell
it all? Why not give all the details? >> It's just a secret he wants to hold on to. It's his. It's the only thing he has
that's his own that he can control. And a bit of sadism. Knowing that family members want answers. continuing to hurt
them is something I think that he feeds off of. It's it's there's some enjoyment
in there. Most killers don't tell us everything. They rarely give the full story.
>> Instead, Lent reveals what he wants when he wants on his own timetable. And in
2013, he revealed something new. >> I've described it as speaking directly to the devil. He really is the devil.
[Music] As detectives Fallon and Train continued to question Lewis Len about Sarah Wood
and other possible victims, in 2013, he made yet another confession. >> He ended up admitting to uh killing
Jamie Lusher. Nine months before Sarah was abducted, Jaime Lusher, a 16-year-old teen with disabilities,
disappeared in Westfield, Massachusetts, just 40 miles from the Pittsfield area.
>> Again, he was riding his bike um through a parking lot of a friendly restaurant.
>> His bicycle was later found in a wooded area close by. Len told investigators
that after he kidnapped and murdered Jaime, he discarded the teenager's remains in Greenwater Pond in Beckett,
Massachusetts. >> We had divers go actually with the Massachusetts State Police divers and
they all dove the pond and uh nothing was found. >> As he has done many times before, Lent
would later recant his confession. Authorities decided not to charge Lewis Lent with Jaime's murder, hoping that
one day he will lead them to his body. >> At this point, we're not interested in
further prosecution. He's not going anywhere. >> At a press conference shortly after the
confession, Jaime's sister talked about the grief she endured since her brother went missing.
>> Anybody that knows me knows I talk about this. I think about this every day. It's this searing heartache in part that
keeps authorities motivated to find the missing. So soon after Lent confessed to
killing Jamie, DA Jeffrey Carpenter got permission to take Lent, who was serving his life
sentence in Massachusetts, out of prison and back to New York. This time they drove him around hoping he
would reveal anything that would help them find Sarah. >> So really, what did we have to lose? We
had to do it. We drove to the Massachusetts border. We drove to the Vermont border. He took us to where she
was abducted. He took us to where he claimed he murdered her. But after three long days and over 600 miles of driving,
Carpenter says New York authorities ended the operation. >> The consensus was he absolutely knew
where she was. He just was not going to tell us >> before Carpenter sent Lent back to
Massachusetts. He recorded this conversation with him. >> You know, we spent some time here last
couple of days. Hope you feel you were treated with respect. All the way. >> Yeah. Treated well.
>> Yeah. >> Well, that was our end of the bargain, right? >> Yeah. >> Right. >> Yep.
>> What was your end of the bargain? >> Do the very best I can to find Sarah. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. >> Is that what we've done? >> That's what we've done. I would say that
uh I tried. I was absolutely sure that I knew the route, but when it came down to it, I
could only get partial of what I what I actually where I actually >> what was going through your head when
you're talking to him. >> Anger. He does not forget details. He recalls details. He recalls many things
until he wants to pretend he doesn't remember. A decade after that fruitless search in
November of 2023, investigators were back out looking again. This time at the Green Mountain
National Forest in Vermont after Detective T identified an area with landmarks that Lent had talked about
during their many conversations. >> Just too many things matched up. A lot of a lot of a lot of boxes were checked.
What's more, search and rescue dogs taken to the area had alerted to a possible body there.
>> So, we were hopeful, optimistic that we would find something there, and we we
never found anything. >> But authorities kept looking. Earlier this year, detectives went back to the
seller that Lent worked in with Phil Shalley's to see if they missed something in 1994.
The search turned up. No new evidence. Do you feel in a way that you might be running out of time? Lewis Lent is in
his 70s. >> It's a concern, but that's one of the things we can't control. >> Regardless of the challenges,
authorities say they will never stop looking for Sarah Wood and Jamie Lusher. Dusty Wood says he chooses not to think
about Lewis Lent. And every day I'm less angry because I devote my energy to positive things.
>> Every year Dusty and some family members participate in the Ride for Missing Children. Ready?
>> Rolling. >> A 78 mile bike ride that was created in Sarah's honor by Bob Wood. The writers
wore jerseys that were turquoise and pink, the colors that Sarah wore when she was abducted.
Riders stop at schools along the way to talk about abduction prevention. The most important thing for us as a family
is to protect kids and make sure that if there's anything that can be done to protect them from monsters like Lewis
Lent, that it be done. Riders pay silent tribute to those children whose families hold out hope
that they will be found alive. and to children who went missing and are never coming home like Sarah M. Wood.
Dusty says he and his family are grateful to their community who have supported them since the beginning.
There will be never a way to repay the kindness of strangers. That opened up the possibility of giving the
best chance to my sister. >> He's not sure if they will ever find his sister's body, but he is at peace.
I'm waiting for the day I see Sarah in heaven. And I know that day is coming. And that
makes me feel good. [Music] [Music] 48 hours. Don't miss an episode. [Music]

“48 Hours" reports on intrepid investigative work and unforgettable cases. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "The Lost Daughter," "The Brighton Ax Murder" and "The Unending Search for Sara Anne Wood."

00:00 The Lost Daughter 41:25 The Brighton Ax Murder 1:08:14 The Unending Search for Sara Anne Wood

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode examines the unsolved cases of Tiffany Sessions and Sarah Wood, focusing on their families' search for justice.

Key points

The Disappearance of Tiffany Sessions. Tiffany Sessions, a 20-year-old college student, vanished without a trace in 1989.
The Emotional Toll of Hope. Pat Sessions reflects on the emotional burden of searching for his missing daughter.
The Discovery of Evidence. Detectives found toe prints on band-aids linking Paul Rolls to the crime scene.
The Search for Tiffany. Years later, a search for Tiffany Sessions leads to new evidence linking her to Rolls.
The Excavation. A team excavates a site hoping to find Tiffany's remains, but faces disappointment.
Kathy's Murder Investigation. The investigation into Kathy's murder reveals inconsistencies and leads to a suspect.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

At 20, you don't think anything's going to bring harm to you.

0:16WatchOct 18, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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