Driven by Control | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] I hate seeing people get away with stuff and I like figuring stuff out my
name is Ian iavo and I was the lead detective in the Sarah Harris case Sarah Harris she was
incredibly bright um one should always pursue knowledge no matter the topic very energetic very fun did Sarah have
any idea how beautiful she was honestly I don't think she did Sarah Jane Harris Sarah hopes to become an
anesthesiologist she was shocked that she won the Miss Marilyn petique pageant she had thought from a very young age
that she would want to be a doctor she wanted to help people in 2020 Sarah needed wisdom teeth pulled
she initially met James Ryan as a patient at his oral surgery practice I'm James Ryan I mean it's not just that we
say that we care but we really do we take pride Dr James Ryan was a well-respected oral surgeon a lot of
people knew him and thought very highly of him so she gets the teeth done she starts getting all these text messages
and they're from Dr Ryan and he says by the way I'm looking to hire someone as a
surgical assistant do you know anyone she says something like well what about me Mom and he offered her the
job she then became an employee and then his girlfriend and his living girlfriend Sarah's life appeared
glamorous on the outside but behind closed doors I mean that wasn't necessarily the case
I would have never ever thought that her life would end the way it did Montgomery count
911 my girlfriend I think overdosed I'm trying to resuscitate her right now and what is your first and last name j Ryan
I'm doing so compression and is responsive is she breathing she's not breathing when the two responding
officers um got to the house they saw Sarah she's laying on the floor what did authorities think had happened
to Sarah that day she overdosed and we don't know if it's an accident if it's suicide or if it's a homicide the
decision was made to charge him with depraved heart murder I think most of our audience will have never heard of
depraved heart murder I have never seen it before you have to show an extreme indifference to human life James Ryan
provided those drugs that caused her death that doesn't mean he's guilty of murder another way of presenting this
case would be you never intended to hurt her I knew this was not just some simple
accidental overdose this was much more [Music] [Music] was she sleeping on the couch last night
yeah she would do that sometimes it's the morning of January 26 2022 Sarah Harris lies unresponsive on
the floor of the room in disarray her boyfriend Dr James Ryan tearfully talks with police at the scene the
conversation is recorded on a body camera as they ask him about the night before we're watching TV know that she
said you should probably go to bed because you're tired and you have to work tomorrow so I did uhhuh what time
did you go to bed probably about 10 or 11 Ryan has already told authorities he's a doctor and that he thinks it's an
overdose and he says it's happened before and I did CPR and brought her back this time Sarah doesn't
survive Dr Ryan has suggested where she got at least one of her drugs of choice a powerful anesthetic
she used to take propol to she used to steal that from my office how they got into her body I've caught her before
with um like injecting herself with things and why she was bipolar also so she would could be really angry or could
be really happy Ryan had called Sarah's family with the awful news that morning but her
mother Tina just didn't believe anything he said she immediately suspected James
Ryan was responsible for Sarah's death she arrived at the scene about 20 minutes
later I started kicking and hitting him and screaming up the mail let the mail let the mail what did he say
happened he said he went to bed and left her alone and came down and she was unresponsive in the morning authorities
say they found wrappers from syringes tourniquets and saline bags next to the kitchen sink and Drug vials in Sarah's
purse Tina thinks Ryan arranged it that way he wanted to look like it was a suicide Tina had long held suspicions
about Dr Ryan he had encountered Sarah Harris more than a year earlier not as a girlfriend but as a patient to get her
wisdom teeth out Dr Ryan is somebody who's practiced for over 20 years he has incredible credentials Mary fulan is a
former prosecutor and defense attorney and a CBS News consultant we asked her to use her Decades of courtroom
experience to help analyze this case he's esteemed and regarded in his community as one of the best at what he
does Tina haris says the first time her daughter met Dr Ryan for her teeth in the summer of 2020 the doctor was
professional but she does remember at the time feeling it was curious when his interest in Sarah seemed to change she
starts getting all these text messages he asks her how are you doing and she says I'm fine and he starts sending
little emojis what are you thinking as her mom I thought it was a little bizarre that he added a little happy
face and I thought well maybe he just likes using emojis she says that's when Ryan had mentioned
he was looking to hire someone as a surgical assistant I thought well you know maybe he just thinks that she'd
really be a good addition Dr Ryan hardly seemed like a threat he was divorced with three grown children and was
involved with a woman with whom he already had a baby at 47 he was more than twice Sarah's age he said no I
don't need your resume just come on in for a working interview I said well I'm proud of you honey that's
pretty incredible he's going to teach you all this stuff at the beginning Sarah seemed to
love the job but Tina says as the holidays approached an extravagant gift retriggered her suspicion that Dr Ryan's
interest in Sarah was more than professional what was it a diamond necklace that's quite a gift I said okay
he's after you I said you got to put your foot down instead in early 2021 she says Sarah and announced she had agreed
to go out for a meal with Ryan who was ending his other relationship he seemed to win over Sarah and Tina admits in
their early days as a couple even she found him impressive as a mother was a part of you excited she was dating a
doctor well I was excited I was excited because he had a wonderful reputation and she says Ryan was generous he would
Le Sarah a new car and take her and her family on trips all expenses paid Tina says in a way he spent time courting her
too you know he would say I would love to have you as my mom Sarah's so blessed to have you Tina says she and Sarah
always had a special bond we were very very close she says Sarah was close to her
three siblings too especially older sister Rachel Rachel took it upon herself that she was going to be the
protector but there had been a rough period during Sarah's youth in Suburban Maryland like many young people she
experimented with drugs and had problems moderating her mood she suffered from anxiety when did she first struggle with
depression I noticed depression coming about when she was about 14 15 years old she would start feeling down but Tina
says Sarah is still excelled in high school craving knowledge and the skills that came with it um it's currently
hanging in the in Paris she learned German Spanish Russian and sign language to she put a lot of pressure on herself
especially with her grades before long Sarah got her social bearings she fell into a great group of
kids they would sit out in the living room play the guitar play the piano sing she was at a music festival in
2018 when 21 one-year-old Sarah caught the eye of Henry Peterson 7 years older I feel like it was like stars colliding
and uh meeting someone like you're supposed to meet they lived 7 hours apart but he says they quickly became
emotionally Inseparable we talked about everything you could think of in terms of a future um marriage and children and
family he says the distance eventually made them drift Peterson broke it off though he says he still imagined they
would end up together she and I never stopped talking the love was always there by her mid 20s Sarah had gotten
into modeling and competing in beauty pageants and in 2020 she'd won that Miss Marilyn petite pageant the next year is
when she started quietly seeing Dr Ryan and by that summer they had decided to live together and that's when everything
goes downhill [Music] [Applause] by the end of the summer of 2021 Tina Harris says James Ryan was dominating
Sarah's life boss boyfriend even letting her live rentree in his house but instead of flourishing Sarah seemed
anxious and depressed she saw a psychiatrist who gave her that bipolar diagnosis her complexion starts to
change she starts to lose weight on a family trip to Key West that September Tina says Sarah had been
asleep when a drunk Dr Ryan revealed something unsettling he had first noticed Sarah in
the park when she was just 14 I used to see Sarah walking the neighborhood and playing at the park with her
friends and he says then I found out she worked in the toy store so I would take
my kids there so I could see her and I remember when she dressed up as Elsa from Frozen and she looked just like
Elsa and then he said yeah and then I found out she worked at one of these restaurants and so I would go in there
for dinner so I could get her as my server it sounds like Dr Ryan was obsessed with he was he was very much
so by their next trip to Florida a month later she says Sarah was acting strangely she wore a bulky longsleeve
sweatshirt despite the Heat and it seemed like she and Ryan were always fighting and she goes I hate him I don't
want to be here I want to go home and when they returned to Maryland Tina saw the full horrifying picture of what
Sarah's life had become she says she called Sarah on October 28th 2021 phone rang rang rang she finally
picked up she could barely talk her words were extremely slurred so I said Sarah what's going on what's wrong with
you she goes oh I'm just really tired mom you knew something was wrong yeah well I knew she was slurring Tina says
she and Rachel left for Sarah's house minutes later and we walked into hell what did you see well Sarah
answers the door she smells it looks like she hadn't bathed in a week or more she looked horrible she'd weighed 120
when she'd had oral surgery with Ryan Tina says but Sarah was Skin and Bones now and Tina says there was more The Ivy
bags needles laying all over the floor syringes tourniquets bloody Footprints bloody paper towels and there were drugs
but bottles and vials everywhere Rachel gathered them up and photographed them I
never looked at the drugs and I wish I had I do think some people watching would think how did you
not look at what the drugs were of course I just wanted to get her out she says Sarah had offered an innocent if
unconvincing explanation she goes I've just been dehydrated mom he's just hydrating me I said I'm turning him in
and Sarah starts crying mom you can't do that please don't do that she's begging
me I grabbed her arms and I pulled her sleeves up and she had needle marks from here to here all over her arms bruises I
became hysterical against her better judgment Tina agreed to hold off on calling authorities but she says she
insisted Sarah move back home just Days Later Tina says Ryan convinced Sarah to come back to
him in the following weeks Tina says Sarah seemed to be getting better she started cooking eating even going to
church but on December 3rd 20121 Tina says her daughter answered the phone slurring again Rachel Harris jumped into
action Rachel said I'm going to go and check on her when Rachel got there it was worse
than the first time poking around the ground floor Rachel once again pulled out her camera
finding drug bottles and vials as well as a saline bag an IV pole Ivy needles and bloody footprints on a
kitchen mat she was so distraught she left without talking to her sister a few days later Tina confronted
Dr James Ryan she was in no mood for another explanation I just reach across and smack the living crap out of him you
hit him yeah oh I hit him and I said what are you doing are you trying to kill my daughter
Tina says Ryan still insisted he'd only been hydrating her and you still believed it I believed he was giving her
something I didn't know what it was I did not look at the vases all I could see was my daughter and what kind of
trouble she was in but the next day she says Ryan admitted he'd been doing more than hydrating her he'd been giving
Sarah drugs though only to keep her from them someplace else so I told him I said
look you can break it off with my daughter or I'm calling the police and he said well I'll break it off with her
but days turned into weeks and Dr Ryan never did after months of tension Tina says she couldn't keep arguing with her
daughter anymore what was I going to do lock her up you probably wanted to I threatened it and she said if you do
that Mom when I get out you'll never hear from me again and that scared me to [Music]
death within weeks there was a new tragedy for the Harris family Sarah's brother Christopher just 38 died after a
heart attack in Montana I had to sign the papers to take him off life support which um
no mother should have to do his death was devastating to the whole family Sarah posted this tribute
message to her brother never goodbye I'll see you soon big bro and only 18 days after Christopher's
death at about 8:30 a.m. on January 26 2022 Tina says she and Rachel were together when Rachel got James Ryan's
call Rachel started screaming she's holding the phone and James has it on FaceTime and he's got the camera pointed
at my [Music] baby that's there on the ground saying she's gone she's [Music] gone at the time of her death Sarah
Harris weighed just 83 lbs authorities would list her manner of death as undetermined Dr Ryan was not arrested
they seemed to accept his story that Sarah struggling with mental health issues had
overdosed but there would be help from a most UN likely investigator Rachel started trying to
get into Sarah's [Music] eyecloud I just hope that you're happy that I'm with someone who truly truly
loves me 3 months before before she died Sarah left a voicemail for her ex-boyfriend Henry Peterson I've
never trusted anybody as much as I've trusted the man that I'm with right now professionally
emotionally you never let me in that way they' stayed in touch after breaking up so when she didn't answer her phone
after January of 2022 Peterson says he had a strange feeling and decided to go online I Googled her
name and uh uh there's an obituary yeah he says when Tina gave him details he joined her in the belief that James
Ryan the man Sarah said she had trusted more than anybody else was responsible for her
death but First Responders didn't think so they didn't shut it down as a crime scene police seized some drug violence
but left the house unguarded Tina says that's because they believed what Dr Ryan had told them about where she'd
gotten the drugs and how she'd taken them it was an overdose but she says she knew there was
more to it than that though she didn't know how to prove it turns out there was someone very close to her who
did Rachel told me she would find the evidence Rachel Harris decided to ex examine Sarah's laptop to see if it
might contain Clues authorities hadn't seen she didn't know the password but she knew her sister well it took her
about a couple of days to figure out Sarah's password coming through Sarah's computer and iCloud Rachel hit Pay Dirt
a trove of texts between her sister and James Ryan the messages were full of references to drugs including a
tranquilizer named Di Pam and two fast acting surgical anesthetics the type Rachel had seen in the home Dr Ryan and
Sarah shared propop fall and ketamine which is sometimes also used for depression Rachel created a binder
adding the photos she'd taken there Rachel compiled 200 pages of evidence the medical examiner would release
Sarah's autopsy report which showed those same three drugs in Sarah's system research suggests they can all be habit
forming and they can suppress breathing taking them in combination can be lethal
all the while Rachel's building a case yes yes in February 2022 Rachel gave her binder to monomer County Police it
eventually landed on the desk of detective Ian iello an expert in pharmaceutical investigations after more
than 33 years as a cop iello was nearing retirement he decided to come and alone
on a Sunday it was my birthday and nothing was going on you don't get parties when you're this age I'm like
I'm just going to go in the office and look through this binder and just see what I cavello Saul in Rachel's
binder suggested cops at the scene had been wrong about Sarah's death he says reading the text between Sarah and James
Ryan was like watching a murder in slow motion you could see Sarah die Sarah is suffering within the first month of
their relationship she had anxiety she was having trouble sleeping Ryan offers a
quick fix I can give you an injection the anxiety will be completely gone in 6 seconds he writes it will work let's try
it he had already made the decision I cavello says the text suggests that over the months Sarah
developed a drug habit and a habit of asking her boyfriend the doctor to feed it in October 2021 do we have ketamine
here in November we need syringes I feel like in December I just really need sleep she writes can you bring
propol she's actively asking for drugs at no point does he say no iavo says the text suggests Dr Ryan
often brought Sarah the dangerous drugs and that he actually administered at least one about a month before her death
it was December 20th 2021 if you wake up I just went to change after I gave you ketamine just
now he writes he's injecting her while she's asleep no monitoring no anything an
iello points to this exchange from the day before Sarah died is it possible to bring home ketamine when you come she
asks yes I will bring some home I love you Baby Ryan replies the text tell a story they do
so do Rachel's photos from Sarah's house says I cavello though his colleagues lacking experience in pharmaceutical
investigations might not have understood that they had no idea what they were really looking at he says Patrol cops
and paramedics often deal with overdoses of street drugs like heroin and Fentanyl
but the deadly drugs in Sarah Harris's house were masquerading as something else there's a difference
between drugs and medication iello says to the untrained eye the drugs at Sarah look like
medication the paraphernalia around the house might have been confusing too usually what we see is burnt spoons tin
foil uh some hypodermic needles maybe a shoelace or some other string that kind of drug paraphernalia but to I cavello
the syringes and the saline the professional tourniquets and the plastic wrappers at Sarah made it resem an
operating room that's what a lot of it looked like whatever questions responding authorities may have had he
says Dr Ryan offered answers and you've got James saying she did all of this without any other information okay
well we're just kind of going to go with what he says he's a doctor he's a doctor
but I cavello says after reading through the family's binder any credibility Dr Ryan may have had at that day
vanished and on March 22nd 2022 nearly 2 months after Sarah's death James Ryan was arrested for the
murder of Sarah Harris but prosecutors would have to make the case to a jury sometimes it's hard to convince
them maybe especially so in this case because James Ryan's defense is suggesting he was only trying to save
Sarah's life and that she had other ideas [Music] what do you make of those text messages
between Sarah and Dr Ryan chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X [Music]
[Music] I knew the case was solid detective Ian I cavello was sure Dr James Ryan was responsible for Sarah
Harris's death and he had no problem convincing prosecutors on Montgomery County's overdose task force Jennifer
Harrison it's his fault James Dietrich he was the one who was providing those drugs and Kimberly sisle he knew how
dangerous these drugs were was a doctor after all but as certain as prosecutors were that he knew he was
risking Sarah's life they had no conclusive evidence he intended to kill her we never suggested that you can
accept that James Ryan loved Sarah Harris but it does not excuse all the other actions that he took that led to
Sarah's Sarah's death so they charge Ryan with a subcategory of second deegree murder unfamiliar to many people
it's known as has depraved heart murder prosecutors say the charge doesn't require proving the killer actually
wanted anyone dead only that they knew their actions would likely kill someone and didn't care we have to prove that he
did it with Reckless disregard for the value of her life diet gave us an example forance if I take a gun and just
randomly shoot it into a crowd I may not necessarily want or care that anybody dies but that is such a grossly Reckless
Act that someone's likely to die prosecutors also charge Ryan with a slightly lesser charge involuntary
manslaughter plus two counts of drug distribution and one count of possession with intent to
distribute ladies and gentlemen meet Dr James ran opening statements begin on August 16th
20123 there are no cameras in court but there is an audio recording but behind door he was conducting a deadly medical
experiment on his 25-year-old patient turned employees turned living girlfriend the prosecution
portrays Ryan as a controlling older man who got his glamorous young girlfriend hooked on drugs he was stealing
dangerous sedation drugs from his business and administering them to his girlfriend sah
prosecutors say the proof of Ryan's guilt is largely in those text messages Ryan offering to get rid of Sarah's
anxiety in six seconds telling her he gave her ketamine while she was sleeping and on the night before her body was
found apparently agreeing to bring ketamine home to her can you tell us not fa I don't know where to start I was the
first to testify she was my baby Tina Harris is emotional as she relives Sarah's downward spiral just months
before dying I asked to see her arms and she said no Mama but I grabbed her arms and I pulled up the sleeves and
her little arms were covered in Needle marks and bruises and the medical examiner tells
the jury about the Dangerous Drug cocktail that brought her life to a tragic end when people use all three
together those just cause profound strong sedation the drugs can be so dangerous in fact the prosecution tells
jurors that doctors who use these drugs have equipment and protocols in place to
revive patients if needed even though Dr Ryan would follow all of those safety protocol calls in his own office he
would never follow those at home she was chemically dependent on she was chemically dependent on him prosecutors
also call social worker Janice Miller who says that kind of power imbalance is a Hallmark of abusive relationships the
drugs were the way that he controlled her and really ensured that she wouldn't leave the relationship he's created an
addict Dr Ryan and his attorneys did not agree to be interviewed by 48 hours but
at trial they argue Sarah Harris may have played an important role in her own demise suggesting that after wrestling
with mental illness she was now losing her battle with anxiety depression and drugs their focus on Sarah Harris is
obviously her mental illness the defense suggests Sarah may have begun stealing the drugs herself they want the jury to
know about her Facebook post about seeing her deceased brother soon but the judge won't allow
it but they are allowed to tell jurors about a text Sarah sent Ryan months before her
death she said I've lost my will to live I've lost my will to live do you think there's any chance
Sarah was suicidal absolutely not absolutely not where's the indication of a suicide on the scene there is none
detective iello says the drug bottles found found in Sarah's purse were too far from her body for her to have given
them to herself these drugs are fast acting she's going to be out in seconds how she put all the medication in her
purse then went and laid down not possible she wouldn't have cleaned up somebody else had to have done
it but according to CBS News consultant Mary fulan the defense argues that detectives mishandled the seene that
there's no way to know exactly what happened including who administered the Fatal dose they didn't test to see if
his DNA or fingerprints were on those syringes Dr Ryan chooses not to testify the defense argues he was a loving
partner who was just trying to help Sarah this is a case about caring for somebody and possibly loving them to
death his lawyers call a friend who saw Sarah using drugs before she began dating Ryan and relative who saw them as
a happy couple in closings prosecutors remind the jury that to convict Ryan of depraved heart murder it doesn't matter
whether or not he actually put the drugs in Sarah's body or even whether or not he wanted her to Die the act of giving
her the drugs is him handing her a loaded gun but with the jury agree if you were a juror in this case
what would be your your verdict and why learn more about the case at 48 [Music] hours.com I try to believe the best in
people and my for as long as Kyle Stevens can remember his friend Dr James Ryan has done right by people he was
pretty straight lace clean cut guy when he talked about Sarah how did he sound in the beginning he seemed enthusiastic
and excited but Steven says at a certain point Ryan did reach out with a concern
he had asked about how to best be helpful and supportive to someone in that place of depression and possibly
addiction did it make you wonder if he was actually asking about Sarah yeah but I didn't press so Steven says he had no
idea what was really going on between the two then he discovered his friend was arrested and headed to trial when
you heard the verdict what did you think I was taken back after a nearly 2 we trial it takes
jurors Less Than 3 hours to reach their decision as to count one murder in second degree guilty
on August 25th 2023 they find James Ryan guilty of the second deegree depraved heart murder of Sarah
Harris relief yeah relief they also convict Ryan on the manslaughter and drug charges my heart
just felt satisfied Sarah's voice was heard through this Tina and Rachel speak at a press conference after the verdict
she was this beautiful beauty queen and she wasted away at the hands of Dr James
Ryan and again at sentencing months later he is a predator he is a wolf and she's
floating fling bar until his life is been but James Ryan's lawyers had submitted supportive letters from his
friends and a legal filing which detailed that James Ryan had his own struggles with drugs and mental health
Ryan addresses the court and insists he didn't administer the lethal dose but takes responsibility for not preventing
Sarah's access to the drugs that killed her the words do not exist to convey and
express the level of remorse I feel though the guidelines suggest a sentence of 15 to 25 years for this case of
depraved heart murder the judge has something else in mind it is the sentence of this court that you be
committed to the Maryland Division of Corrections for a period of 40 years with more time for the other
counts it's a total of 45 years in prison a 45e sentence puts James Ryan in a category with some violent murderers
you know 45 years for James Ryan is basically life patients rely on doctors and their expertise in their advice and
I think she's sending a very loud message to the medical community and State's Attorney John
McCarthy wants to send a message to lawmakers the depraved heart murder charge may have worked in this trial but
it's a difficult crime to prove in other overdose cases we need tougher laws as early as 2015 McCarthy began pushing to
streamline Maryland law so state prosecut leaders can more easily convict dealers and Distributors who Supply the
drugs that lead to overdose deaths but it hasn't been easy we're not at a place in Maryland right now that the
legislature seems very interested in creating new crimes and new penalties Ian I cavello who read murder
between the lines of this case and retired after the trial says he still thinks of Sarah often I did everything I
could um for her so does her ex-boyfriend Henry Peterson who looks back at their breakup
with regret I guess I always thought she was going to be there a regret Sarah seemed
to share he showed us a letter she wrote him years earlier when their relationship ended you made me feel
alive now that you're gone I feel so many pieces and parts have died with you as if to preserve his connection to
Sarah Peterson still practices a kerto he played at her [Music] grave where today a mother who faced
great loss with even greater courage struggles to face the future without Sarah and her brother so close in life
and death that she actually buried their ashes in the same casket I hear Sarah tell me
Mama it's okay what do you want your daughter's legacy to be I want people to remember my Sarah
as a light a brilliant young woman who cared about others and loved life loved it
[Music] as a kid growing up in Chicago there was one horror movie I was too scared to
watch it was called Candyman but did you know that the movie Candyman was partly
inspired by an actual murder listen to Candyman the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder wherever you get
your podcasts I'm eron morard of 40 8 hours and of all the cases I've covered this is the one that troubles me most
listen to murder in the Orange Grove the trouble case against Crosley green wherever you get your
[Music] podcast there's definitely Mysteries involved in this case it was a cold Halloween morning
even had some snow on the ground the call came out at 5:37 in the morning my my wife
sh KOB trickle had called our Dispatch they met us on the porch exactly where's the house it's
right here it's this one with red and white did he seem upset I mean there were tears coming down and was hard to
understand was choked up we go up to the door start making announcements inside hey's Police
Department looking to my left is when I first see Kristen I kind of focused in on her jaw
moving I can see the movement of her jaw got a in a shirt she you yeah y so she was still alive we were hopeful
could she be saved no after you did your autopsy how did you rule on Kristen trickle's death
homicide or suicide suicide suicide y the victim's family in this right out of the gate was just adamant that this
was not a suicide the scene was kind of unusual we had a female with a large weapon laying in bed and it's not common
to see that you have a replica a very similar type of gun can you show it to me sure how large oh it's pretty hefty as
you can tell it's a hand I'm a little surprised yeah it's awkward to maneuver not something you'd easily turn on your
yourself we had evidence that led us to believe that kobby trickle had killed his wife I do not believe he did it I
was Colby trickles defense attorney when he called 911 she was still showing signs of Life had he intended to murder
her it just seems odd that he would call immediately I think it's very possible that Kristen trickle picked up a gun
that night in great anguish and Ed her life a professional came in and looked at the life of Kristen dug into
basically every aspect of her life got into who Kristen was prior to her death so basically this is a
psychological autopsy trying to figure out the State of Mind of a person who died that's difficult to do isn't it
yeah and had this ever been done in the state of cancer before never in a criminal case no
[Music] [Music] Sergeant Brandon halman of the Hayes Police Department vividly remembers the
dark cold Halloween morning as he arrived at Christen trickles home the bedroom she was in is actually
this window on the left oh the bedroom's right there yeah that's the bedroom right there and the moment he found the
26-year-old near death in bed I could see the firearm from what I could tell initially a larg caliber revolver and
laying across her abdomen about like this how was she dressed uh almost fully undressed she
was just wearing underwear after Kristen showed signs of life the sergeant quickly moved the revolver away from her
and carried Kristen into the living room for CPR the only injury that I could see at
that point was the the entrance wound and where was that entrance wound underneath her uh chin here there was
nothing the First Responders could do for Kristen I went out to Colby on the porch and told him that she had done
hello my name is Brandon Hopman I'm the sergeant working today how man's body camera was only recording audio that day
she died and I'm so sorry are Sergeant hman says he asked Chris's husband Kobe to go to the police station
so he could tell investigators what happened did he seem to be cooperative he was yep agreed to go up we got him
some shoes at the station Kobe said that hours earlier Kristen had come home from
Walmart where she worked in the gardening center and the couple had played video games he went to bed before
his wife he said and woke up to his ears ringing and then found Christen lying next to him with a gunshot wound to her
head [Music] up she was just looking at me I what did you I ran over to my phone and I called 911
Kobe told investigators that while he was on the phone with 911 he checked Kristen's pulse but felt nothing and
then picked the revolver off her body where was the gun at it was laying by her neck I pulled it
back what did you do with the again for a moment he says he thought about taking
his own life I started put in my head was on the phone they said they were sending
people thought maybe they can help her while Kobe trickle was still at the station Kristen's aunt delin and uncle
brt rice a local Pastor found out Kristen had died I got a call from my mom and worst phone call ever to get she
said Kristen's dead she's been shot and it was just awful I said Mom that can't be right that can't be right that
doesn't even make sense but more baffling was that Kobe had said Kristen's death was a
suicide what did you tell investigators initially we just don't think she would do this oh 100% I said there's no way of
all the people I know in this world the last person that I would ever think would take their own life would be
Kristen because of the joy she she has it's so out of character to Kristen and how she solves problems she's not a
runner from problems delin and brand wri say Kristen's family and her two dogs meant the world to her the thought of
her hurting herself in any way or anyone or anyone is so foreign she would never take her life and not tie up loose
ends with her family make sure her dogs had somewhere to go and they believe they knew her better than just about
anyone else they had watched her grow up it is hard to find a photograph she is not smiling just
fully she had had that smile even though delin and bran say Kristen had a tough childhood her mother left her and her
father when Kristen was 2 years old when she was 17 moved in with her aunt and uncle and
their three kids delin and bran say she thrived she love being with our family she loved the peace in our home Chloe is
brand and D's daughter Kristen was my older sister figure in my life and I really looked up to her and she was just
like always there to make me smile and feel important the family remembers when Kristen met Colby they were both 18
years old Colby attended our church Colby for a time was on the worship team at our church they are the band that
plays the worship music during our services he wowed her with his guitar playing abilities songs that he had
[Music] written but just 5 years later Kristen was dead and Colby was saying she took
her own life coroner Lyall Nord hook examined the scene and looking at the wound he
believed the revolver was in close range to her chin when it was fired and in Nord Hook's experience that was not
unusual for a self-inflicted gunshot wound how would you believe the revolver was being held close to the chin and
parallel to the body like this yeah but detective JB Burkholder had also been called to the house we respond on to
suicides they happen several times a year and to him this didn't seem like suicide having a female with a gunshot
wound especially to the Head uh was uh was unusual for us why why is that more unusual for women you think for women
they're a little bit more concerned about looks even after death and so they think about
that and there was something else when I got there I remember an alarm going off
Kristen's cell phone alarm is heard repeatedly on audio recorded by First Responders I think I actually silenced
it she had set an alarm to get up to get ready for work and had plans for that day a lot of times individuals who are
thinking about suicide they're not setting alarms it doesn't matter when they get
up there was candy set out in the kitchen area she and Colby had planned for Halloween to go on as it normally
would with trick-or-treat and nothing troubled him more than that weapon found at the scene detective
Burkholder wasn't sure Christen was the one who fired it the gun was a full-size
357 revolver a large caliber weapon approximately 11 to 12 Ines it can be hard to handle and so being able to
place that gun under your chin and discharge that firearm just didn't seem very likely for a smaller female in what
was described as a dark bedroom this wasn't an open and shut suicide case there was
questions after his wife Kristen died in the early morning hours on Halloween Kobe trickle spoke with investigators
for more than 11 hours hello what's your name Kobe Kobe yes ma'am I'm so sorry he was asked over and over again
to recount the events of the night before do you guys have any fights anything like that yesterday no Kobe
also told investigators about his job with the US military as part of human intellig there's some interesting places
they send you with being Intel but they sent me to Middle East and they sent me down into Central
America sounds like some movie stuff there first impressions of kobby trickle is that he was a guy who
was in the military he had a I guess a decorated past of overseas tours and then also kobby trickle was a guy who
loved his wife but detective JB Burkholder says he had questions about Kobe's account of the morning Kristen
died after after finding Kristen kobby says he called 911 and as he later told police he picked up the gun and thought
about ending his life what troubled Burkholder is where Kobe put the gun after he changed his mind back on
Kristen's stomach I put it back down and ran outside just very odd it doesn't seem as though if I'm calling 911 if my
wife's dying um on on the bed that I would place the gun back down on her body Kobe was asked if there was any
life insurance on Kristen I have some on me from military but that's it no insurance on Kristen he said and then
was asked if he had anything to do with Kristen's death uh did you in fact kill her
no Kobe left the police station that day but first responder sergeant helpman was
increasingly suspicious about Kobe's actions at the scene he wondered why Kobe didn't demand to be by Kristen's
side as they tried to save her life your wife's inside and here she is you know Bleeding Out dying and you're on the
porch while First Responders were administering CPR Colby was chatting with officers about video games that
conversation was recorded by a police body cam what kind of games do you guys like to play Counter Strike everything
from Call of Duty to Minecraft that day as investigators got a search warrant for Colby's cell phone
an autopsy for Christen trickle was underway at the scene coroner Lyall Nord hook who suspected suicide had looked
for any evidence that someone else was involved like signs of a struggle were there any signs of Def ensive wounds or
any signs that she had fought with anyone before she died no there coroner Nord hook says he also examined
Kristen's body for signs of past physical abuse typically if there's a series of progressive injuries over a
period of time so you can tell that they've been beating on each other in this case I wasn't really seeing that so
I'm going well I have to take the husband's statement at word value you that he was there and the gun went off
and she is dead Nordo says 3 days after Kristen's death based on the information he had at
the time he determined that the manner of death was a suicide but Kristen's Uncle brand and
aunt delin say the more they learned about the facts of the case the more questions they had when I heard that it
was a gun and there's no way we knew Kristen was scared of guns Kristen was also very very private in her body very
modest when I found out she was not dressed that was shocking to me reflecting on Kristen's relationship
with Colby Brandon delin told authorities that for years they were bothered by what they say was K's
controlling Behavior if she didn't immediately respond to a text or wasn't able to answer her phone he would get
very frustrated with her he wanted her at his becking call at the time the Rises say they told
Kristen they had serious concerns about kby we know that she was not happy with us I believe that he convinced her that
we were against her and therefore she separated herself somewhat Kristen decided to marry Colby
and eventually moved almost 300 miles away to Kansas City but life for the couple was
difficult says brand Kobe enlisted with the Army Reserve and did odd jobs Kristen worked at a vet clinic money was
tight in early 2019 the couple moved back to the Hayes area and the rice to say Kristen was coming to their church
again oh we were thrilled we were so thrilled to reconnect with Kristen and it was just
like it was when she lived in our home yeah and in the months before her death they say she was making plans to launch
her pet boarding business she had picked out a little house that's south of town
and has a little Barn behind it and she wanted to turn the little Barn into the the boarding area to the rice family
Kristen seemed happy and excited for her future but after her death brand and delim wondered about
Colby was kby capable of murder as investigators began digging into to Kobe's story they poured over
the data in his cell phone there's several I guess two big aha moment they discovered Kobe had been exchanging
flirtatious Snapchat messages with another woman he um had conversations with her which would be described as a
sex conversation also on that cell phone according to detective JB Burkholder was
evidence that contradicted what Kobe had first told invest instigators when asked
about life insurance on his wife I have some on me from military but that's it cell
phone data revealed that Not only was Kobe aware Kristen was covered by a life insurance policy called sgli for spouses
of military members in the days before her death they say he Googled the amount the policy would pay out detective
Ridgeway was able to find a well I believe it was a screenshot of a search that he had conducted uh 10 days prior
to Kristen's death um asking what his spouse's life insurance would be on November 4th
2019 investigators asked Kobe to return for more questioning 10 days ago you looked up a
life insurance issue when when I I never did you did I never did it if I if I would
die well if your stouse Colby who agreed to talk without a lawyer suggested that
Kristen might have done the search herself on his phone we always gave each other access to each other's phones and
stuff investigators also asked Colby about his online relationship Kobe admitted that it had started a few
months prior to his wife's death after he met the woman on a group chat while playing video games did Kristen find out
about that relationship that I know Kobe told them the relationship was a virtual one that
he had never actually met the woman but investigators discovered he had been texting with her just hours after
Kristen's death while he was still at the police station I guess to his credit he said that he was busy and couldn't
talk right now uh but then he said I wish I could Aaron Cunningham is assistant Ellis County attorney which is
probably the last thing that you should say to a woman you're having an online affair with when you're being
investigated about your wife's death when Kobe trickle left the police station after his second interview
detective Burkholder checked out his claim that Kristen had used his phone to research life of insurance policies we
were able to uh get video surveillance video from the Walmart store what they discovered was that Kristen was at work
at Walmart at the time the cell phone search was made we were able to see that she didn't have access to a phone the
inconsistencies in Kobe's statements kept piling up says Burk holder like this one she keeps the revolver on her
side I have Kobe had said Christen had kept the 3 57 Revolver by her side of the bed but that didn't seem to line up
with what Burk holders saw at the scene when we looked at the scene we saw multiple firearms on what was described
as col's side of the bed there were also photos of the couple's bedroom found on
K's phone so this picture was taken I believe um a month prior to Kristen's death um you see a large framed revolver
on the bed where Colby trickles uh described as being his and do you think that's the 357 that's the only 357 in
the house that we found that tells me that this was col's gun still the investigation
stalled you have all these investigators who are uncovering more and more evidence that there's something really
wrong with this case and you've got the coroner who calls this a suicide I mean that's a problem isn't it uh it it is
and it isn't and it was initially was it sure well certainly as far as their ability to investigate as efficiently as
they normally would Cunningham says that the Corner's determination that Christen
had died by Suicide limited the investigator's ability to obtain search warrants there was still elements of the
investigation law enforcement wanted to follow up on in the winter of 2020 kobby began
collecting payouts from two insurance policies 23,000 from Walmart and $100,000 from the US military meanwhile
investigators continued to learn more about his time in the military he was a Reserve officer in the military um that
was never deployed wait so wait a minute so he was never deployed to Central America he had no overseas deployments
that were told to us by by the United States military and he had no experience talking to informants as part of his job
as an intelligence analyst right but even with what looked like blatant lies and an apparent motive to kill his wife
police didn't arrest kobby so in the year after Kristen's death authorities watched as Kobe trickle went on with his
[Music] life it is very frustrating to me I would run into him in public playing music at a restaurant in
town made my skin crawl so whatever storm you're in keep pushing forward posting Facebook self-help videos get to
the outside where you're free and enjoy life but then nearly 2 years after Kristen's death a newly elected County
attorney decided to try something very new that he thought could put Kobe away for
Life go behind the scenes with the 48 Hours postmortem [Music] podcast County attorney Robert Anderson
was just days into his new job in January of 2021 when assistant County attorney
Aaron Cunningham and Detective JB Burkholder pulled him aside JB and I both cornered him and said this is
something that's clearly a homicide help us to get the nails put in this coffin after reviewing the file Anderson
believed that the coroner got it wrong and that this was a homicide on July 14th 2021 he charged Kobe trickle with
the murder of his wife Kristen certainly the insurance money provides motive in addition being in bed next to your
husband naked shooting oneself in the face after having set alarms uh to get up the next day for work after setting
out candy for Halloween these circumstances don't point to a woman who was planning a suicide hey uh you should
step out of the car and come to the back of the car with me when police arrested
Kobe he didn't seem surprised uh detectives I have some questions for you put you under arrest you turn around
your hands behind your back sure and deny killing Kristen I didn't do it and I know I know
many people don't believe that and I respect that I believe him you don't believe that he would shoot his wife I
do not Cassie Ziggler is one of Kobe trickle's defense attorneys he cares about his spiritual life he's a devoted
Christian I don't see that in him this ability to connive and plan all of this in in said she says Kristen had suffered
from depression since childhood I think that Kristen dealt with a lot more pain in her life than people acknowledged I
don't think there's any worse rejection in life than to be rejected by her biological mother at an early age that's
exactly what happened K's attorney felt confident going into the trial the coroner was standing by his assessment
that Kristen's death was a suicide you had the ability you had the power to change this determination if you wanted
to prior to trial yes you could have but you didn't if I've made a determination am I going to change it to
homicide based on an accusation before a court proceeding no so County attorney Anderson knew he
had to do something to convince a jury that Kristen didn't die by su side and that's when he pursued a different type
of autopsy a psychological one an autopsy of the mind and to conduct it Anderson hired a forensic psychologist
Dr Ashley Christensen her job to determine Kristen's state of mind leading up to her death being unable to
speak with them because they're of course no longer here they have to speak with their family their friends their
co-work workers they review any social media Diaries journals um anything that they can christenson's conclusions would
eventually take center stage at Kobe trickle's trial it was September 2023 of the jury and prosecutor
Cunningham began by telling the jury that Kristen trickle was murdered for the oldest reasons in the world this
case is as simple as a b c a and Affair b a breakdown control and C Cold Hard Cash Kobe's attorney disputed that you
may proceed whenever you're ready Z thank you your honor Cassie Ziggler says Kobe's alleged Affair was really just an
online flirtation I don't think there was a plan to have this long-term intimate
affair she also denies that Kobe plotted to kill Kristen for cash and about that
Google search into the life insurance payout zegler says Kobe doesn't remember doing that search but she acknowledges
he had been filling out paperwork around that time for his own military life insurance and if he did do it maybe
that's why it's just a coincidence that this is happening days before his wife unforunately so yeah bad timing
at trial the jury learned that Kobe trickle had not only collected more than $120,000 from two life insurance
policies on his wife he had already gone through it I think he had spent all of the money in approximately 8 months what
did he spend the money on when detective JB Burkholder took the stand he was asked to describe one EXP
expenditure in particular there's a $1,942 payment to true touch dolls were you able to determine what that was this
is a company that made and manufacturers and distributes life-size sex dolls col's attorney says Colby was
having trouble sleeping alone and was quite open about the purchase he went and talk to his mother about it if
you're going to buy a yeah if you're going to buy a sex toy a grown man's not going to go talk to his mother about
this sex doll he's going to buy what was your reaction to that disgusted just disgusted it was described at trial that
he needed this doll for comfort for comfort and warmth we have electric blankets that we use for that when
Brandt rice took the stand he told the jury that his niece had become more assertive in her relationship with her
husband in the months before her death I feel that she had really begun to stand
up for herself proud of her for that and there were texts says Cunningham that seemed to support that Kobe feared he
was losing control over Kristen on April 8th 2019 when Kobe texted that Kristen seemed different and pushy with things
she responded I'm just deciding to stick up for myself just like you I'm taking control of the
situation and then prosecutors called their star witness Dr Ashley Christian son around the time of her death there
was a lot of data suggesting that she had a lot of Hope Dr Christenson testified that Kristen talked to family
members about future plans and seemed optimistic she wanted to open her own either pet boarding or or dog grooming
business and had discussed his goal for opening her business but Christenson also testified that She interviewed
Colby for her report and he offered what sound Ed like a reason why Kristen might
have been stressed he told the doctor Kristen knew about his online relationship with that other woman he
reported that they had L discussed that relationship the week of her death but remember in his police interview Kobe
had told investigators that he didn't think Kristen knew did Kristen find out about that
relationship I know so which is it did she know or she didn't know I believe she
knew whether or not Kristen knew Dr Christensen told the jury she believed that at the time of her death Kristen
was at a low risk for suicide it is my opinion that it is relatively less likely that her death
was the result of suicide I love those words relatively less likely that doesn't tell me
anything we can't know the mind of someone who's going to end their life defense attorney Ziggler does not think
the report should have been allowed in his evidence she points out that Dr Christensen who never met Kristen
trickle did interviews and prepared her report nearly two years after Kristen's death and Zigler believes people's
memories change over time that is a long time to go back and talk to people about
Kristen but prosecutors thought there was another piece of evidence that could bring them a guilty
verdict what do you think is the most powerful evidence against kby trickle chat now with the 48 Hours team on
Facebook and X nearly 4 years of pass since Kristen trickle died from a gunshot wound to her
head how would you describe the last four years hellish on September 22nd 2023 it was Kobe trickle's last chance
to convince a jury that he had nothing to do with his wife's death he decided not to testify but his attorney Cassie
Ziggler called his mother Tina ker to the stand is it fair to say that Christian was pretty reserved
at first when you met her yeah very to herself kryer described her daughter-in-law as a woman who rarely
revealed her feelings couldn't read her very um emotionless it's a drastically different
Kristen says attorney Ziggler than the one her family describes by their explanation just the happiest most
joyful person never stops smiling she almost is walking on water I mean when the real it is we have no idea how she's
really feeling now you find out he's having an emotional relationship with someone else online I just I can imagine
that being the last straw but in his final argument to the jurors prosecutor Aaron Cunningham shows them the weapon
that killed Kristen and says she couldn't have fired it members of the jury this doesn't add out the state is
going to demonstrate it to you prosecutor Cunningham showed us with a similar gun if you look at the autopsy
photos you see a little divot at the 3:00 Mark which is believed by the coroner to be the sight imprint of the
gun that and I knew Kristen was right-handed the Natural Way a right-handed person would hold a gun to
their head for suicide would be something like this or maybe something like this putting the sight Mark
somewhere between 9:00 and 6:00 so for the site Mark to wound up over at the 3:00 angle would be very unnatural
Cunningham showed us how he believes kobby trickles shot his wife while she slept next to him it would be consistent
with the placement of the site Mark that he would have grabbed the gun from his nightstand rolled over in bed and placed
the gun just underneath her chin and pulled the trigger so if you keep it here then this then would explain
appears on her neck here as the case went to the jury Zigler had hoped that they would still have too
many doubts how significant is it the fact that the coroner went to trial still saying it was a suicide when the
the prosecutors are saying it's a homicide yeah it's huge we have to show doubt that's reasonable and I think
there's plenty of that do you that's what Kristen's family feared as well all they have to do is convince one of
those [Music] 12 that they have a reasonable doubt what are we going to do if he walks out
a free man they don't have to wait long less than two hours later there was a verdict count one we the jury find the
defendant guilty of premeditated murder in the first degree of chrisen trickle Colby trickle was found guilty for
first-degree premeditated murder an interference with law enforcement falsely reporting
information what do you remember of the verdict what did you hear just feeling like I could breathe yeah just feeling a
breath the relief for safety for our family I feel like we got our life back yeah after the verdict we spoke with
coroner Lyall Nord hook who said he planned to amend Kristen trickle's death certificate to Now read
homicide he admitted he had decided on suicide before talking to anyone in Kristen's family or seeing the weapon
used to kill her but I'm a little surprised when that have been important for you to make to know the size of the
weapon to be able to make your death investigation determination the police should have all that information and
it's usually correlated with the pathologist but it wasn't in this case the fact that he had done research on
insurance were you aware of that no were you aware that they found evidence that
he was having an online Affair no they didn't share that with me either if you had known that would you have left that
as suicide no investigators acknowledge they should have done a better job keeping him
informed on November 20th 2023 kobby trickle returned to court for sentencing admitting only that he could have been a
better husband something that I cannot apologize for is harming Chris that morning because I can not apologize for
what I didn't do regardless of that fact I still take partial blame for that morning I always wonder if she would
still be here I that her husband judge Glenn braa sentenced Kobe trickle the court will sentence you to life in
prison with no possibility of Ro for 50 years with Kobe trickle in prison the rers say their family is finally
beginning to grieve the young woman gone way too soon Kristen's Cousin Chloe who grew up
with Kristen wrote a song for [Music] her how often do you think about Kristen all the time every every day every day
you know we drive by that little house the house where Kristen one day hoped to start her dream
business you call it Kristen's house don't you yeah she had a future she had found her faith
again when you were with her you felt loved a beautiful heart a gentle gentle spirit
and she was just an amazing [Music] girl [Music] goodbye new CBS next a young girl found
dead in a swamp did this look like an accident or something else something entirely different a decades old mystery
with a surprising answer oh no oh no I never would have guessed how this ended 48 hours is all new CBS next in
streaming on Paramount Plus [Music] one of my friends mom had texted me cuz she lived pretty close to graine
Lake and she was like look what happened a developing story right now a body found in the banks of Grapevine
Lake nothing happens in Grapevine nothing except for what he did the victim was identified as
Jacqueline Vandergriff hello everyone my name is Jac Vander but friends call me Jackie Jackie vandagriff was 24 years of
age I am currently a junior here at Texas Women's University and my major is nutrition with an emphasis in wellness
and just beyond this area where the shade is pretty much hitting is where we had our crime
scene there are a lot of things that will shock you and this is by far the worst thing I have
seen my manager texts me Charles's just been arrested I felt like the world was spinning like everything was out of
control it's beli that last Tuesday Jacqueline Vandergriff met up with Charles Bryant at a bar in
Denton surveillance video also cell phone pings all put Vander Griff and Bryant together I remember him just being kind
of quiet I immediately said there's no way they have the wrong guy there's no way that he did this are you telling me
there's no evidence that Charles Bryant killed Jackie Vander not direct evidence this is kind of by calling
dealing with these really strange cases the serial killers the ritualistic killings hey how you doing today so good
Jim home with the rangers life good today or not this this is not a a normal homicide I
you know how they kill someone it all seemed to started with Caitlyn how screwed up are you from p
man in the early days it was good after that first month that's when I started to see these warning
signs that he was manipulative very controlling I just told him I can't do this anymore this isn't working this is
over he flipped out he showed up at your dorm room out of the blue you never gave him the
address no you know he trespass in his mind he was seeking Revenge the warrant that we got is for stalking on his
ex-girlfriend who had called the police on him how he was stalking me was completely
related to Jackie Vander Griff's death there's some similarities the way the vandagriff
looked and the way that Brian's ex-girlfriend looked do you think there's a chance a
possibility that he walked into this bar and saw somebody reminded him of you and
took his rage out on her most definitely I I think that he really wanted to kill
me I think that he wanted me dead [Music] [Music] when I first arrived on the scene I saw
a lot of police cars saw fire trucks there was a lot of activity it was September 14th 2016 Just
Before Dawn when John Luna a captain with the Grapevine Police Department responded to a call about a gruesome
Discovery here at Grapevine Lake just off of the worn foot path you have an area that's pretty well
overgrown with weeds but you could clearly see a small area that was burned just beyond where I'm standing there was
a body that was obviously charred it had been set on fire the body found inside a
blue kitty pool was so badly damaged that police could not determine the most basic facts about the victim we didn't
know if that was an adult or a child male or a female the next day using fingerprints
police were able to identify the victim it was Jackie Vander Griff a 24-year-old
nutrition major at Texas Women's University in nearby Denton I chose this major because um I realized the
importance of nutrition and just overall health both named Jacqueline named after
Jacqueline Kennedy one of Jackie Vander Griff's closest friends Jackie Tan they met in high school ever since then we
were Jackie squared and I loved it she made me feel like I could be myself and just be goofy and funny Jackie Tan
remembers her friend as a good student who was focused and trusting that girl smartest girl I've
[Music] known she had her whole life ahead of her she had plans me and my detectives
we went out there for her memorial service and um sorry for Captain Luna the brutality of
this crime hit close to home could it just as easily been my daughter that this happened
to Jackie spent the last evening of her life indented with this man police didn't know his identity right away
but this woman knew him very well he would always give me flowers always especially if he had something to be
sorry about Charles Bryant lived some 20 miles away but he had been making frequent
visits to Denton trying to rekindle a relationship with his ex-girlfriend Caitlyn matthysse who had recently moved
there to attend the University of North Texas he was just trying to win me back and I was just like nothing is going to
work Caitlyn's involvement with Bryant had begun 3 months earlier in June in the
town of Grapevine when it came into the restaurant where Caitlyn was working as a server the day that I met him was the
day after I graduated high school he had lots of muscles um and Tattoos which kind of interested me at
the at the time Bryant was then 29 working as a bartender and personal trainer your
you're 18 he's 29 he's got muscles and tattoos and must have made your mother crazy yeah extremely crazy in a good way
though yeah she cared about me being a mother of adult children is a different role you have to let
go for them to to fly away and grow up with you Caitlyn is the youngest of Karen and H's four
children she says Caitlyn was hard to miss Fireball you know when she's in the house she never walked anywhere she ran
everywhere and Caitlyn ran headlong into the relationship with Charles Bryant that summer of
2016 one of their regular date spots was at the park by Grapevine Lake where this
picture was taken when Karen learned about the relationship she asked Caitlyn to show her a picture of
him I Got This Feeling Just deep inside to my bones an evil feeling and I said he's going to hurt
you he's going to do something bad wow and she's like oh he's nice he's good to me he makes me feel like an adult were
you thinking to yourself you're 18 you're too young to know yes but I didn't want to insult her within weeks
Caitlyn was having serious doubts of her own about Bryan that's when I started to
see these warning signs that he was manipulative he was a bit of a Nar narcissist he thought very highly of
himself he would say things like oh you'll never find anyone better than me it was toxic and he was
toxic in mid August 2016 Caitlyn broke up with Bryant she thought that was the last she'd see of him but the next day
he showed up uninvited at her mother's house and somehow he convinced me to get back with him he was trying to say oh I
can work on this and I can be better and making all these promises but Caitlyn realized she wasn't
interested in promises that was one of the things that my mom taught me people do not change you you can't change
someone at that point I was just waiting for the perfect time to end things a little more than a week later
after Caitlyn moved away to school she told Brian it was over again later that night police found him
on campus just by sheer coincidence I had made a traffic stop and he was driving that vehicle Captain Jeremy pul
was then a lieutenant for the UN campus police he pulled Brian over early in the
morning of August August 24th I thought he was an intoxicated driver by the way he was driving and that was my focus so
right now I'm have to place you on you know a risk so good you can just remain seated it's all good Bryant was not over
the legal limit he was charged with a few outstanding traffic tickets and they let him go later that same day he was
back on Caitlyn's campus again he actually knocked on the door of my dorm room he didn't know prior to where I
lived and he said oh your name was on the door did that creep you out it did at that point I was scared Caitlyn got
him out of there and called campus police captain pul recognized Bryant's name on the report and went along to
interview Caitlyn the next day she told us things like I I just did not like the way Charles spoke to me I
did not like the way he treated me and I made that choice then and there you know
I would do everything I could to help her with this situation pulk issued a no trespass order Banning
Charles Bryant from the UNT Campus but once again Bryan would not take no for an
answer the biggest fear I have as a police officer sometimes is emotion because emotion drives people to
do things you would never imagine [Music] [Applause] [Music] it was my first day there and he walked
through the door and my heart just dropped to the bottom of my stomach it was August 31st
2016 a week since Charles Bryant had tracked Caitlyn matys down at her new dorm and now he was invading her space
again coming into her new restaurant on her first day of work M was like I just want you to leave what did he say to
that he didn't really say anything he looked upset my new co-workers they were like
yeah he was here yesterday looking for you Caitlin asked her manager to keep Bryant out but her manager said there
was nothing he could do I can't work here I don't feel safe enough to work here Caitlyn went back to
her old job ahead hours drive away her mother found it all hard to watch from a distance I said come home it was my
motherly instinct to protect her and in order to protect her I had to have her with
me but Caitlyn thought she'd be safe in her dorm a week later on September 6th what would have been their 3-month
anniversary Bryant was back yet again he show up to to my dorm knocked on my door and at this point I was
shaking I'm all alone I uh actually hid in my sweet mate's closet you hid yes when I was on
the phone with the police they were like we can't hear you you need to speak up and I was just afraid that he was going
to hear my voice I did hear him say Caitlyn I know you're in there just open up I have something for you and I'm like
God what what do you what do you have for me I don't want it Bryant left flowers send a two-page
letter when police arrived he was gone I heard him say hey it's Charles I have something for you he not for sure was
him yeah I know it was him here 27 myself and 443 in a police found him outside 10 minutes later you school here
no what's your name now in running cloth and arrested him for trespassing but you know you're not
supposed to be up Brian posted Bond and was released within hours although Caitlyn had
already blocked him on her phone email and social media he created a new email address and wrote to her later that same
day here I am heartbroken and with a criminal record for bringing the girl I love
flowers that's when it became really serious for me if an actual physical arrest doesn't stop the behavior then
you're you know something is wrong Captain pul helped Caitlyn get an emergency protective order and because
Brian had kept trying to reach her after his arrest how you doing Charles you have your ID with you poke had his
officers go to Brian's house the next day and charge him yet again this time for stalking this was his third arrest
in 14 days I told him if he continued to communicate with Caitlyn I would use every email I would use every text
message I would use every phone call as a reason to have him rearrested 2 Days Later Bryant posted a $5,000 Bond and
got out of jail he was telling his roommate that I was the the crazy one in this
relationship so all of his friends were kind of coming at me and they were like why you need to like drop these charges
against him by September 13th Bryant was back in Denton just a half mile from Caitlyn's dorm in an area she had told
him about back when they were still dating I was talking about going up to fry Street and like meeting new people
Bryant went to fry Street public house that night at about 700 p.m. an hour later Jackie Vandergriff walked in asked
about a job and ended up in a conversation with the bartender and Charles Bryant about 45 minutes later Jackie
posted a message on her Twitter I'm glad I decided to get off Tinder and walk to
a bar Jackie's friend Jackie T Jackie was a very social person whenever she went
out she would make friends with everybody and it wasn't even flirty it wasn't anything you know she was talking
to the bartender talking to other people at about 9:00 Jackie left with Bryant and the bartender she and Bryant
went to another bar nearby and started talking to a group of women by 9:45 it was raining and
everyone was headed out Jackie left with Charles Bryant I feel like she felt comfortable
enough with him that night because she had been hanging out with him for so long that she was like hey well whatever
he's just going to drop me off it's not that far and I'll be good once in his car Bryant stopped at a
convenience store this was the last time Jackie Vander Griff was seen alive the day after she was found dead there
was a new post on her Twitter never knew I could feel like this it was just really bizarre police suspected it was a
message from her killer they knew they had to move quickly to ID the man Jackie had been with they had some luck when
they tracked down the women Jackie met that night one of the friends that was with
her had gotten a business card from this person because he was a fitness instructor now that Grapevine Police had
Charles Bryant's name they learned about that restraining order so in my eyes that played into him as being a good
suspect Grapevine Police called Captain pul who was in the middle of a road race
the first thing he told me was Charles Bryant was their main suspect in Jackie's murder and I immediately just
sat down on a park bench in the middle of the race it floored me Bryant was emerging as a
strong suspect but Grapevine Police did not have physical evidence connecting him to Jackie's death so for now Bryant
was free and pulk was worried about what he might do next I called Caitlyn and I
just asked where are you I was like does this have to do with the murder that happened in Grapevine and he's like I I
I can't tell I can't specify that to you Caitlyn but are you safe right now and what did you say I said I think
so she might have been wrong in the days after Jackie's murder Charles Bryan sent
Caitlyn several emails including this picture writing on it first kiss under this tree Once Upon a Time that photo
was taken at Grapevine Lake he might have taken that picture that same day that Jackie was killed
it was September 2016 and Caitlyn mathys Charles Bryant's ex-girlfriend was very
worried he might have been involved in the brutal murder at Great Fine Lake just days before I was waiting for more
news to come out cuz at that point they hadn't even um arrested him yet will you
worried he was going to come after you I was I thought that's exactly what he was
going to do the emails and picture Bryant had recently sent Caitlyn were proof that he
was still thinking about her in the days after Jackie was killed but they were also proof of something else it was
prohibited for Charles to communicate with her in any manner and then if he did he would have been violating that
order Captain poke thought they could use those violations to help the Great find police who didn't have enough to
make an arrest yet so I told the detective we can get a warrant signed on some evidence we just got and at least
you know get him off the street you go by Charles you go by Dean Charles okay Charles Bryant was arrested
on September 18th for violating Caitlyn's restraining order Grapevine detectives were hoping they'd soon find
more evidence connecting him to Jackie's death he's brought to the Great Vine Police Department for an interview and
right away he's beginning to distance himself from having any almost any interaction with Jackie recognize who
she iside a bar and at the same time we begin serving a search warrant for his residence what can you tell me about
her that's about it I guess it had been 4 days since Jackie's body was fat found plenty of time to
dispose of any possible evidence but Captain Luna at Grapevine PD says they found a lot at Bryant's home including a
large military style knife you know what her purse was found in there too Brian had no way to answer for any of it
including two more items police found while he was in custody video of him buying a shovel the
night Jackie disappeared and a Kitty pool missing from his backyard that matched the one
Jackie's body was found in we have video of you with this girl me you're at the bar you're walking around Walmart at
4:00 in the morning buying a shovel she's found dead in a pool that came from your
backyard he even got to the point at the end of his interview with our detective
where he said well I must have done it I I I don't remember doing anything everything points to me it's like I had
to have done it an open and shut case not even close although there was overwhelming evidence
that Bryant had disposed of Jackie's body there was no evidence yet that confirmed how Jackie had died or that
Bryan had killed her and that's when they reached out to me and asked if I could come in and spend some time with
him and and interview him and see what I could get because you have a an exp expertise in dealing with this kind of
personality right this is kind of my calling Jim Holland is the senior member of an elite team of Texas Rangers a
select division of the Texas State Police he specializes in interviewing some of the country's most prolific
killers and analyzing their thoughts hey how you doing and Charles Bryant seemed to fit
the bill Jackie's body had been dismembered before being set on fire how do you begin to understand a mind that would do
that a lot of these people actually want to tell you uh they want to tell someone
at first Bryant kept to his claim that he didn't remember a thing yeah it's crazy I really don't remember me in this
world the idea that he doesn't remember doing it oh no it's absolute nonsense so
you knew Charles Bryant remembered exactly what had happened oh yes absolutely and your job was just to pull
that out of him right you know you're not a violent dude you haven't uh haven't really been in trouble Holland
says his strategy was to try to make friends with Bryant and get him talking you know you obviously work out I mean
you're stud right you don't want him to look at you as a law enforcement officer
you want him to think of you as a friend a Compadre a drinking buddy you know you
kind of go back to what two boys would talk about in a high school locker room you know about the the girl they kissed
on Friday night you don't have any issues with girls just blow mind and Holland suggested possible scenarios to see if
Bryant would take it from there okay so so something happens bam there there's a
snap and we need to figure out what that is and maybe you know she got mad maybe
she's giv you all the signals and and then cut you off I mean there could be all kinds of different things going on
here right I mean chicks right you know chicks you know as we're going through the interview there I'm watching him I'm
um I guess in a way a human lie detector I'm um I'm reading him and I'm throwing
things at him in which I know the answer and I'm looking for his responses whether they're false uh or
true under the pretense of helping Bryant remember what happened Holland suggested they do a memory exercise what
we're going to do is these mind exercises which means we're going to move back in time Bryant who first
claimed he didn't know who Jackie was then seemed to remember her he said he could see her coming into the
bar she's looking for a job that's what it was and offering her a ride makes sense it was raining I probably would
offer to ride home there's tons of things in this that I can tell you right over a pizza as Holland tried to steer
Bryant to confess he probed about a but what does everyone want to know yeah why and who's the only one who
can tell us that Holland eventually cut to the Chase and asked if what happened with Jackie
was really all about Caitlyn was there a time that you pictured her as this girlfriend that did you wrong or did
anything like that come into play the level of nonsense that came out of his mouth at different points about
that was just astonishing do you think Charles Bryant looks around the bar and sees Jacqueline Vander Griff ah she
looks like Caitlyn it wouldn't surprise me if he actually Mook her at first you know that saw her from behind and
thought man you know my ex is here I think in his mind that whole night I think that's what he
pictured after the murder right after the murder he took Jackie's phone and used it to add me on
[Music] Facebook when Texas Ranger Jim Holland was brought in to interrogate Charles
Bryant the nature of the crime made him wonder if Bryant's brain was wired like the serial killers he'd encountered in
what way is the mind of a serial killer different from common criminal you know generally people like that tend to be
sociopathic or or Psychopathic mindsets and it's just a different game psychopath would be someone who's
basically born with a a scar on their brain and a sociopathic mindset is um something that Society has brought on
something happened to them that changed their psyche something maybe had happened in his childhood Christy Dixon
got a glimpse of Charles Bryant's psyche firsthand she met him on a dating app the year before Jackie Vander Griff's
death he seemed pretty quiet and reserved almost like he was shy by the second or third time that we were
hanging out um I noticed he was getting pretty attached pretty quickly and I just was not there it was very casual to
me after she broke things off he continued to pursue her Bryant even told her that he loved her Christie says
they'd never even shared a kiss it was a little too much too soon too fast I work
with abused children and that to me kind of stuck out christe says that's when she asked Brian about his childhood he
told her he had been molested a claim that 48 Hours could not independently verify I remember thinking that makes
sense I'm not a psychologist or anything but his behavior sort of came off to me
as maybe an abused child or someone who is just needing that extra love that most
people probably aren't seeking still Christy thought he was harmless and stayed in touch I thought
he was just a really nice guy and felt sorry for him I'm not an angry guy I'm not aggressive as Ranger Holland
continued his interrogation he wanted to see if Bryant would answer the key question how did Jackie Vander Griff die
her autopsy didn't provide many answers there's a lot we didn't know we didn't know where it occurred we didn't know
exactly how it broke down and so that's what my goal was Holland wondered if the
crime had a sexual element but initially Bryant denied anything sexual took place
I Rec call having sex you don't no no I Rec call having sex after three more hours of interrogation Bryant said they
did have sex kinky sex according to Bryant Jack wanted to be choked with an oversized zip tie that just happened to
be in his car she didn't fight you in any way when when you're putting it on the consensual sex aspect of it was
was one of those things that that no I I felt strongly that he was lying about and Bryant also claimed that neither he
nor Jackie had tightened the zip tie intentionally okay so you think he just tighten up on it own basically that's
that like it had a snag on something or okay then what happen remember she's not responsive
Shak are you just thinking this is a complete and total lie yeah it's total fabrication did he kill her yes
absolutely when you deal with these people it's it's so rare that you would sit down with them and they would just
tell you A to Z this is what occurred and they're always going to leave out things
that make them look really bad in other words there's an excuse I'm not a bad person I didn't mean for this to happen
it was an accident although Bryant was evasive about how Jackie died as Holland led him through the memory exercise
Bryant went into gruesome detail about how he disposed of her body K what do you see in the
pool garbage BS right now tell me exactly what you see occurring after that go down that true and what happens
next put it on fire the fire why do you burn the body s out even if he couldn't admit to murder
Bryant seemed a waver between denial and acceptance at one point conceding that the evidence showed he had to have done
it I can't fight it it's obviously me after an intense 6-hour interrogation and with mounting evidence Charles
Bryant was finally charged with Jackie Vander Griff's murder Christy Dixon could not believe the
news that night I actually was scared to go to sleep I had nightmares he had never threatened me before but just the
fact that someone that I felt that I knew had murdered someone potentially I was
terrified for Caitlyn matis her worst fears were confirmed and when she tried to learn more about the woman Bryant
killed she made a shocking discovery on Facebook I looked up Jackie Vandergriff and I
realized oh my God I'm already friends with her Caitlyn says that digital friendship began after Jackie's death
you got a friend request from Jackie vandri yes Caitlyn believes that Facebook friend request could only have
come from one person Charles Bryant that really sounds diabolical it was Brian pleaded not
guilty to Jackie's murder his defense was the same story he told Ranger Holland these two young people met they
consumed a lot of alcohol our position is they had sex kinky sex i'llbe it and she died Brian's court appointed defense
attorney glennis McGinty says Jackie Vander Griff's death was a tragic accident are you telling me there's no
evidence that Charles Bryant killed Jackie Vander not direct evidence prosecutors Lucas Allen and Anna
Hernandez belied the evidence they did have would be enough but they also knew that most jurors want a motive and they
weren't sure they'd be able to tell this jury why they thought Jackie was targeted you have to wonder what is
driving person to do something like that in your minds there is no doubt that the
murder of Jackie Vander is connected to the stalking of Caitlyn matys yes I think we believe that definitely she
might have just been victim number one with Caitlyn being victim number two to help prove this the prosecution
was hoping the judge would allow Caitlyn to testify against her ex-boyfriend turn
stalker in open court I felt [Music] [Music] sick Jackie was the most special [Music]
person I know I'll never meet someone like her again in April 2018 a year and a half after Jackie Vander Griff's
untimely death Charles Bryant was standing trial for her murder her friend Jackie Tan could not bring herself to be
there I wanted to go but I'm going to be honest I couldn't look at him Charles Bryant would have to answer for a long
list of items the prosecution had collected including that giant zip tie the shov purchase the night Jackie died
and that large knife which police believe he used to cut up her body all found at his
house this is something that you pray every night does not happen to your child when they go off to school
investigators had also found a stun gun in his car with Jackie's DNA on it but it appears Jackie was spared at least
one har prosecutors Anna Hernandez and Lucas Allen say the medical examiner was able to run tests on Jackie's remains
and found no evidence of sexual assault there was Zero evidence to support that they had any type of sexual encounter
prosecutors say this undermines Bryant's story that this was kinky sex gone wrong
his attorney glennis McGinty how could they have had sex if there's no evidence no evidence to the degree of no sperm
found in her that doesn't mean they didn't have some type of consensual sexual uh encounter she likes it Le
making out prosecutors chose not to play that interrogation tape for the jury which meant Bryant would have to take
the stand if he wanted jurors to hear his version of events he elected not to shouldn't he be explaining to the jury
why he's not at fault for her death and then that flies in the face of our constitutional rights but the defense
knows it has an uphill battle to convince a jury that Brian is not guilty of murder while admitting he disposed of
Jackie's body if he's says it was just an accident why didn't he call for help sure fair question
intoxicated panicked and his mind would not process all of that to make a rational decision that you or I would
have made call the police but Bryant went further than simply discarding Jackie's body much much further and
prosecutors wanted the jury to hear their Theory a huge piece of that story was the
socket but before the jury could hear from Caitlyn the judge would have to rule on whether or not to allow this
evidence how is he his boyfriend local TV cameras were there when without the jury presid he Caitlyn took the stand
and faced her ex I was disgusted just to see his face did he look at you did you
meet eyes at one point we had to when they made me describe to the court what he was
wearing and he just had this smirk on his face there's nothing really that can prepare you for that is there no the
second I walked out those doors I started balling in the end the judge ruled against Caitlyn being able to tell her
story to the jury it was definitely a real blow to us that was the right decision why he had not been convicted
of anything with Caitlyn as the jury went out to deliberate the defense was hopeful I don't believe that they could
prove that he murdered her I don't think that they proved that but would the jury
agree they were out for a little over 2 hours and even without hearing Caitlyn's
story We the jury find the defendant Charles de Bryant Jr guilty of the offense of murder Mr Charles Bryant was
found guilty of Jackie Vander Griff's murder and dismemberment to your way of thinking was Justice
yes I knew she was up there and said thank you because prosecutors had no evidence Bryant committed another crime
at the same time as Jackie's murder like rape or kidnapping he was not eligible for the death penalty he was sentenced
to life as terrible as it is to say but I wanted the death penalty under Texas law Bryant could be
eligible for parole after 30 years Caitlyn says she feels like she's still looking over her shoulder and always
will be I fear that when he gets out he'll come and find me and do something to either me or someone that I love
that's my biggest fear ever since this happened Caitlyn and her mother have been thinking about
Jackie and her family this whole time I wanted to reach out but I didn't know how they felt nearly 2 years after
Jackie died they finally met her grandmother bless her heart she immediately came up to us and to Caitlyn
and hugged her and said I've been so worried about you these past two years [Music]
wow Karen why is this the part that gets you he took away their little girl and the the pain I saw in their
eyes I could feel their pain and yet the grandmother was telling Caitlyn she was
worried about Caitlyn yes you sound like very special people they [Music] are Caitlyn says she struggled with the
fact that she survived and Jackie did not this so easily could have been you and some days I wish it
was it's just the guilt that eats me up sometimes I would have easily taken her place if I had the
[Music] chance 48 Hours don't miss an episode [Music]

"48 Hours" reports on cases involving the desire for control. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "The Depraved Heart Murder," "Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind" and "The Murder of Jackie Vandagriff."

00:00 The Depraved Heart Murder 41:17 Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind 1:23:19The Murder of Jackie Vandagriff

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

Sarah Harris's tragic overdose leads to Dr. James Ryan's conviction for depraved heart murder after a toxic relationship and investigation reveal alarming details.

Key points

A Mother's Instinct. Tina Harris immediately suspects Dr. Ryan's involvement in her daughter's death.
The Unraveling Relationship. Sarah's relationship with Dr. Ryan deteriorates, leading to her tragic end.
James Ryan Arrested for Murder. Nearly two months after Sarah's death, James Ryan is arrested for her murder.
Verdict Reached in Ryan's Trial. After a nearly two-week trial, jurors find James Ryan guilty of second-degree depraved heart murder.
Kristen Trickle's Death Investigation. Investigators explore the circumstances surrounding Kristen Trickle's death, initially ruled a suicide.
Kobe Trickle's Suspicious Behavior. Kobe's actions after his wife's death raise questions about his involvement.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just reach across and smack the living crap out of him.

Tina confronts Dr. Ryan about Sarah's condition.

16:20WatchMar 8, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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