Family Realizes A Killer Is Living In Their Vents | Forensic Files

Come on outside. Keep your hands rock. What's going on here? Okay, so Ian, is is Thomas snowplan
staying up here? This is the father and son who owned this ranch house in the New Mexico
desert miles from anywhere. Police believe a murderer is hiding inside their home. Thomas Lopez, a man who days
earlier beat his girlfriend to death. Do you know where he might be staying at or anything?
But what makes this [music] interesting is that the son is in fact hiding this man and the father is about to find out
that his son is protecting a murderer inside the vents of his own home. They said he might be in the vent.
Thomas. Thomas, talk to me, man. I know you're down there. We don't come over here for simple
stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, what's dead? On the 24th of February, police were
called to a hospital in New Mexico to investigate something horrifying. 26-year-old Sabrina Calderon had just
been brought in, unconscious, covered in bruises, barely clinging on to life. Um, so her name is Sabrina Cauldron.
[music] is in such like dehydration that her kidneys are failing. She is too sick for
even us to take care. And who brought her in? I believe they said they thought it was
her dad. What is that? [music] Would you say is that something from being being hit?
Probably. She's 26 years old. She should [music] not be in this condition. Right.
Sabrina is in such critical condition that the nurses are almost certain she won't survive. But what made the
hospital so suspicious is that Sabrina's injuries were that of someone who had been viciously beaten. And the man who
dropped her off left almost as quickly as he possibly could. The hospital called in police, but with no leads, the
cops decided to use her emergency contact info and call up her dad to see if he could shed any light on what just
happened. Can you hear me now, Mr. Calderon? Uh, yes. Could you tell me what happened real
quick? Why she has these injuries? Uh, yes. Uh oh. Thomas Lopez. He got her from here. I guess that knife point. He
took her over there and uh where's over there? It's a ranch house. He had her locked up
in the room and he was just beating her. She he was being there every day. That was almost disturbingly simple.
Apparently, a man had taken her at knife point from her [music] dad's home and was beating her every day at a house out
on a ranch somewhere in New Mexico. The cops find it extremely strange that he never contacted police. So, there is
some amount of suspicion to cast on him. Regardless, they ask him for some details about the guy that he claims did
this to her, knowing that if this lead hits a dead end, they know who to suspect next.
Where does he live at? He was just going from place to place. How did you get her?
He ended up taking her to the hospital and I thank God for that. And dropped up and took off.
Do you know what he looks like? I I sure don't. I don't. Say his name one more time.
Uh, Thomas Lopez. Thomas Lopez. Okay. Police now have a name. Thomas Lopez. The victim's father claims that Lopez
was the one who both attacked and dropped Sabrina off at the hospital, which would explain why he was in such a
big rush to leave. Where do you think he resides? Mostly in Carlsbad or in Portales?
I mean, he he just stay wherever he could. I guess it seems like Thomas is going to be
extremely difficult to track down. The cops don't have a description of him. He has a common name and constantly jumps
from place to place without a known address. If this guy had gone on the run, it could be weeks before they
managed to find him. But that's when everything changed. Sabrina briefly woke up and found the strength to confirm
that it was indeed Thomas that had done all this to her. And she managed to give
police the address of the ranch her father mentioned. All before taking her final breath and dying moments later.
Sabrina had just solved her own murder. Immediately, the cops head to the address heavily armed, knowing that they
might come face to face with an aggressive killer. However, there is one problem. Police haven't had time to get
a search warrant, meaning that they have no right to enter the home without permission. That means they're stuck
outside knowing that just feet away a brutal murderer could be hiding. Ian, is that you?
Ian, come to the front door for me. Hold on a second. Who is it? It's the sheriff's office.
Let me let me see your hands. Come outside. Let me see your hands. Let me see your hands. Is the dog okay?
Yes, sir. Hey, Rice. I got contact. I don't have nothing. Okay. Sit tight right here, man.
Okay. Yes, sir. I'm sorry. This is Ian, part owner of this ranch and good friend of Thomas Lopez. Sabrina
had told cops about him and said that he could be vital to tracking Thomas down.
At this point, the cops have no idea how much Ian knows. But they do know that his house is supposedly where Sabrina
was attacked. For all they know, he could have been involved as well. So, they have to be extremely cautious when
dealing with him and clearing out the house. Who's all here, man? My father, my friend, Bugy.
What's Bugsy's real name? I don't know. Come on outside. Keep your hands to see him.
What's going on here? Smoking staying out here or has he been out here? Um, I've been out here a few times, but
yeah, I see. Is there anybody else inside? You said Bugsy, if I can go with you at the door,
can you call her outside? Yeah. Okay. You want me to go get her? Yeah. Well, just call her from the door,
please. Bugsy is another one of Ian's friends that happened to be staying at the
property around this time. She couldn't have anything to do with the crime, but cops are still pleased to hear that
there might be another witness and someone that could help them track their suspect down. So, what we're doing is
we're asking everybody to come out of the house cuz we're fixing to do a search warrant on the house. And
supposedly, there was an incident a couple of nights ago where somebody got beat up out here. And so, now we're
securing the house to do a search warrant [music] for evidence. Okay. See how Perry keeps looking over
to Ian. It's almost like he knows something is wrong because this isn't the first time that Ian's brought
criminals over to this house. Something police would later bring up. With that said, Perry obviously doesn't want to
give his own son up to the police, so he decides to stay quiet. We're We're good. Uh we're out here with
Ian Wayland and his dad, and so there's nobody else in the trailer, so both are just chilling out here. Work for Temple.
Notice how Ian doesn't say a word. That's because he just hours earlier helped Thomas crawl into the vents
inside his house to hide him from the cops. However, his father has absolutely no idea.
Yeah, we're good. We're good for the next few minutes out here. Uh, just a warrant.
That'll work. Thank you. Well, we don't have it right now. We're getting it. Like I said, we just came
here. Okay. Well, then we don't had to do anything. You say we're securing the house.
You don't actually have a warrant. No, I do not have toan. Ian, Ian, I can't do anything.
Come here. I'm exercising my rights. Ian, come here so we can talk. Okay. Would you mind if I walked inside
with you just so we can make sure there's nobody else inside? Sure. Okay, I I will go with you. Like I said,
I'm not looking for anything except for just make sure there's nobody inside. They're still not 100% sure that the
house is empty. Ian mentioned someone called Bugsy, but wasn't sure if they were still around or not. So, the
officer prepares to head inside and clear the scene with Ian. Thank you. You have to you might have to put on
some lights. Yeah, go for it, man. It make it easier for both of us, man. And you don't have anybody staying with
you currently? No. No. I just want to make sure, you know, not somebody waiting behind me, you know.
Shit's back here, man. So, okay. Do you mind if I walk make sure there's nobody on this side? Go ahead.
Appreciate it, man. Yeah, absolutely, bro. Okay. Thank you. Do you mind if I walk in
here? Like I said, I'm not worried. Go ahead. Go ahead. I'm not looking for anything. Just make
sure nobody's in here. Sure. It happens, man. Um, do you mind if I take a look inside?
Appreciate that, too. Okay. Thank you. My cross be filing. Right on. Do you have just friends stay
from time to time or you got every once in a while, you know? Hey. Hey. Sorry. My bad. Hey, I'm right here.
Okay. Come back here. What? You under the covers. Let me see your hands. What's up?
There's somebody under the blanket there. You under the covers. Let me see your hands.
Let me see your hands. It's not a guy, but you see it's not a guy. Okay. All right. [laughter]
Mind coming with us, ma'am? You're looking for Okay. No, she's fine. Look, you we're not looking for her, but
we do, ma'am, need to ask that you uh come outside with us. Clearly, Bugsy isn't the person they are
looking for, but she would turn out to be extremely useful to the case down the line. She's been staying at the house
recently, so the cops keep her around thinking she might have seen something Ian didn't. The officer then clears the
rest of the house and finds it to be totally empty. In the meantime, the officer outside catches Perry up on
everything that's been going on at the house lately and what they plan to do in the search.
So, you got to refer to this Thomas. Yes. Yeah. Thomas has gotten himself into some pretty heavy at this point. So,
uh yeah, by what I've seen other than I don't care for the dude. Okay. Uh keep this between me and you. Uh
I'm here trying to make [ __ ] right and I apologize [music] for my son. You know what happens?
Okay. Not dude. Okay. That's Yeah, obviously not the guy we're looking for. So, Mr. Whan.
Yes. Um, so they're fine where they are right now, but what it's sounding like is uh
the investigators are wanting to do the entire property covered in the search warrant. So,
what does that mean? Well, meaning the car is going to have to stay here. They can they're okay in there for now.
Um, but they and they are asking the the entire property. Y'all want to go through the [music] barns and
Yes, sir. That's what it's sounding like. We could probably go do that right now.
Well, the warehouse is locked up and the barn's unlocked. Okay. But I could take y'all on a tour if you
want. Yeah, we're going to wait for them to get the paperwork done just so that I
don't think I'll be honest with I don't think Thomas is hiding in the shop or something like that. But on the off
chance that he is, I don't want him to have the uh the ability to talk to a lawyer and say,
"Will they illegally search the barn?" Even if we have permission at this point, we're just going to kind of stand
by and do it through the by the books so the paperwork. Okay. The thing is, Officer Rice was wrong
thinking that Thomas wasn't hiding on the property. Had he gone looking for him on his own, things could have ended
much, much worse for him. However, the day is coming to an end, and it's time for the officers to go over everything
they've figured out so far. However, they can't risk Ian or Perry overhearing any of this. See if you can figure out
why that might be, and we'll reveal it after this clip. She's been living here. Probably. Did you ask her? I've asked
her question. I would ask her cuz if she has been living here, she might have witnessed this.
Sorry, I don't mean to be on edge, but you Yeah, especially after Yeah. But um I guess the way it's looking she died
from that whole situation like those beatings. I see. I'm guessing there was some internal
injuries. Okay. So it wasn't like he tracked her down and the way it seemed. Okay.
The officers are clearly trying as hard as they can to conceal the exact details
of the case from Ian and Perry. That's because detectives plan to interview them later. So, the less information
that gets put into their heads, the better. This is usually for two main reasons. If they're guilty of something,
this stops them from changing their answers to hide evidence based on what they know. Or if they're just a witness,
it stops them from giving answers based on what they heard from the cops rather than what they actually saw, protecting
their credibility in court. It should be made clear that this isn't the first time that cops have been dispatched to
Ian's house. And in fact, multiple criminals had been arrested here before, though never Ian himself. He just seems
to hang around with the wrong people. Let me tell you, okay. Hey, listen. They're expanding the
search to the whole property. He cannot take the car. Okay. So, okay. So, the thing is with it is
you guys physically yourselves are not being detained. Okay. Other than I guess today, any other issues going on?
Okay, that's that's good, I guess. Unfortunately, no. you know, got a nice place out here. I'd be more
selective about who comes out. Yeah. Dude, honestly, I used when I lived out in the county, if I had friends over and
they brought somebody I didn't know, I would straight up tell them, "Guys, I'm cool with all y'all." But I don't know
him. He said, "And if I don't know him, he doesn't need to be here." If you haven't noticed, the longer this
goes on for, the more uncomfortable Ian seems to get. And as that continues, the
cops start to get more suspicious, too. After having multiple criminals caught and arrested on his property, you'd
think he'd start to be more careful about who comes over. That's what made the cops suspicious here. If he's been
hanging around so many criminals, he might feel obligated to cover up for them. That's the main thing on the
officer's mind when he decides to bring Ian to the interview room. But they actually decide to wait before
questioning him. They have a fairly large number of witnesses for the case, so they want to get as much information
from the others first before talking to the riskiest of the group. Ideally, they'll get information that could help
catch Ian in a lie and force him into telling the truth. So, they start by questioning his father, Perry, the owner
of the property. Too many people coming and going. [music] I'm getting sick of this.
So, you were in your room. They had been there a couple of days. Um, you heard her getting slapped. You knew she was
getting slapped by the way she was sounding. You peeked out. Ian was telling him, "Hey, y'all need to calm
and quit this or whatever he said." the girl outside, this Elizabeth chick um and some other guy gave the girl that
was being slapped after she said, "Y'all need to help me." But that apparently was two different
women. See, I thought the girl that would got beat up was not this girl. I don't know. I'll stay back in my room.
But you saw a woman getting beat, but I didn't think it was her. She was already in Carl's bad, right? Is it
time? She just barely got in crawls back. Probably Friday. It seems that Perry absolutely heard
Thomas attacking at least one woman, but wasn't able to confirm who it was. He backs up Ian's propensity to let anyone
and everyone over to the house and tells the cops that it was bound to end up badly eventually. If Perry can identify
the girl that he saw Thomas hitting though, it could be a massive help for the cops as it would mean all the
evidence lines up and they can begin their search for him immediately. Supposedly you just got the you got the
faces mixed up cuz you don't see him. Sure, but you know what? Thought I thought there's two
there. And there was there is Thomas did beat up another girl that he has warrants out for his arrest
now, too. That's why he's running. Does he beat up every woman he comes in contact with?
See, I thought we was talking about another woman. I knew this I knew of this chick. The picture you showed me, I
knew her going to the ER, but the chick that I heard through the wall saying, "Y'all got to help me." was
not her. Perry is saying that he had heard Thomas beating a girl up, but that it was a
completely different girl to the one that they were looking for. So now there was even more reason to catch him as
soon as possible, as [music] it seems like this wasn't an isolated incident at all. Maybe I'm confused cuz Okay, once
she went to the ER, she never went back to the house, right? Okay, [clears throat]
I'm thinking of another chick. Does that make sense? No, but we'll figure it out.
I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry. This whole thing is just confusing this for me. [music] I need to be more
involved. I know with who comes and goes, but you know, [music] he thinks he's a grown ass man
now. Ian's going to have to start putting his split down about who stays at the house.
Made it simple. Well, we need to get this man. [clears throat] Perry unfortunately didn't have much
else to add. So now they turn their attention to Bugsy, their surprised witness, who might just have the answers
they're looking for. Okay. Cuz you might have might have seen or heard something that happened out
there at Ian's house a couple days ago. Um, honestly, I just got there today to do some laundry, so I have
Well, Ian says you were out there a couple of days ago whenever this incident happened. Okay.
Oh, okay. Do you know Thomas, the guy that's always out there with Ian and all them
guys? I mean, I've seen him a few times out there. Yeah. I mean, even if I was if I
was there, I didn't I mean, I didn't see none of that. Did you hear any of it? I didn't. At first glance, it seems like
Bugsy might not be as much help as they anticipated. But things can change quite
quickly when a witness is told just how serious the situation is. That's why the
officer decides to let her in on what happened to Sabrina and see if that jogs her memory at all.
The reason we're here is because there's a girl that was with Thomas today. [music] She started having complications
from what Thomas and Sabrina had an altercation over. Okay. She is now deceased.
Unfortunately for the cops, this didn't change [music] the fact that Bugsy hadn't seen anything at the house.
However, she was able to give them one piece of information that could end up proving infinitely more useful than what
they were hoping for initially. She gave them the address of another house Thomas
was known to stay at. Inside that house is actually another one of Thomas's victims, and the police are about to
discover that he's actually a serial domestic abuser. This is crucial to build a strong case against Thomas.
Gooding yourself? Pretty good. All right. Looking for Thomas? He's not here. Um my my friend
Mon'nique, that's her boyfriend. Okay. She asked me to stay here because she's Is Mo'Nique not here either?
No, she not. She went She went out to Clovis. Okay. And I'm just watching. Do you know where Thomas is?
He's not supposed to be here. I just really need to talk to him. He's not supposed to be here. We changed
the locks for the locks for him. She's really scared of him. So Oh, yeah. Yes. We changed the locks.
[clears throat] Okay. Was she battered a while back? Yes. Is that what that Do you mind if we just make sure he's
not in the house? That's fine. What's that? I'm her friend. But nobody else is in this house.
Yeah. Um the only thing is that she called me since she scared me. My boyfriend changed out the box
for her. He took her phone. Oh, he took her phone. Well, you're saying her? Who? Who are
you talking about? She hasn't been here all day. back in the day here, sir. But she still lives here.
Yes. Yes. She hasn't had contact with him that you would know of. She pretty much wanted
nothing to do with him. How long ago was it was their incident that happened? That was [music] yesterday. But she
called me and told me to come to to come change out her locks because she's scared of the one.
It turns out this is the home of the other girl that Thomas had reportedly been beating, which if anything is
worrying the cops even more since we know he's not limiting his violence to one girl. It would make sense if he's
hiding out here waiting for this girl to come back home. The homeowner, however,
is telling the cops that he's not here and she's not seen him for days. Is she working or where is she at?
Um, she just got out of rehab and well, she went to Clovis with her daughter. Oh, I mean I guess that's what I mean.
About yesterday. Does he have any friends around here that we know that he hangs out with?
Family know of him because she's my friend, but I know she don't have nobody. He
terrorizes her. Do you think he still has her phone? Oh, he does. Get that number.
He does have her. The officers continued to search every room in the house as well as the attic, but weren't able to
find him anywhere. According to everyone they' talked to, Thomas had gone off the
grid and was nowhere to be seen. But there was still one person they hadn't talked to. [music]
The one person that they knew was acting strange from the very beginning. Ian Whan. If anyone was going to know where
he was, it was going to be Ian. So later that night, they brought him into the interrogation room for hopefully the
last interview that they need in this case. Their their cameras are down, so I'm
using this thing. Okay. Okay. I'll explain to you why we're here talking. You're not in any kind of trouble. Okay.
Oh my god. I'm not in any trouble. You have any idea why you might be down here?
Well, yes. Because of the fight or whatever, [music] I guess that Thomas had, right? Do you know anything else about
it? No. [clears throat] Remember, Ian hasn't been told any details of what actually happened yet.
He doesn't know that Thomas killed Sabrina or even that there was a physical exchange, but that's all about
to change in just a few moments. Tom, let's talk about Thomas Lopez. When was the last time you seen him?
It's been about like a day or so. A day or so. [music] What about his girlfriend Sabrina?
About a day or so. Okay. What happened between Sabrina and Thomas? I just like heard an
altercation. I didn't like see anything. I just heard them screaming at each other enough to where it alarmed me. And
Were they inside your house when they did that when they were screaming? Okay. Was there any anything physical
going on or just screaming? Did you see anything physical? Did you hear anything
physical? Did you hear yelling stop or stop or anything? Mhm. [clears throat] No. So, whatever you heard screaming and
stuff, where were they at? Like I guess it would be like down towards the kitchen area. I don't know.
I heard them yelling and whatnot and I went out there and I was like, "Hey, man. Are y'all okay?" And they just
like, "Yeah, man. Fine." You know, and what did she say? Nothing. It's clear Ian was around when
the fight happened, but it seems like he didn't realize how bad things had actually gotten. Apparently, Sabrina was
actually crying when he went to talk to them, but he just figured it wasn't his business and went back to sleep in his
room. Do you know what the fight was about? I don't. And honestly, I've got so much
stuff of my own crap. Like, okay. When was the last time you heard from Sabrina?
I don't know Sabrina. Like, I I'm not making this up. Like, but she was that's Thomas's girlfriend
or whoever. I I don't even know that. Like, I just know that that that there was an
altercation between I I don't even know if this Sabrina is if this is who like messed up teeth.
I'm assuming that's who it was. So that day that whenever we went out there with
extension, as the officer mentioned earlier, Ian has a habit of letting people that he
barely knows stay at his house. But it turns out this is a recipe for disaster. Since people know he likely won't get
involved in their business, they see this property as an area out in the middle of nowhere where they can do
whatever they want with no eyes on them at all. Initially, this only resulted in
smaller crimes, robbery or drug possession. But this time, it turned into something much more serious. And
Ian is now about to find out exactly what happened. Do you know why I'm here? No.
Remember I told you last time we don't we don't come over here for simple stuff.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember you told me that. So, what's up? She's dead.
You'reing me. What happened? Do you know? Well, from what she told us before she
died was that she was getting her ass beat by Thomas over that your house in the barn with the cough.
Died. Mhm. And so whenever you heard him arguing when he said he was getting pretty
roughed her, what did you see him do? Like just slapping her. Slapping her. Well, I just trying to figure out what
happened. And first of all, he's in your house. He know. So we from the very beginning cops figured he
knew a little more than he was letting on. Now he knows exactly what happened, how serious it was, and what the
consequences will be if he doesn't give up everything he knows. Not only will he
be implicated on the crime, but if Thomas is on the property and he ends up harming an officer, that will be his
fault. The question is, is that enough for him to turn in his friend? When was the last time you seen Thomas? When even
Okay. Is he at your house? I don't know. Where does he hide? In your house whenever the cops are trying to get him.
Where did Where would he go hide inside? We're over there. Okay. The house is secure. We're going to search warrant
for it. Where would he be hiding? If he's in your house, where would he be at? You don't want that problem at your
house? No. Like, I didn't know. Have you seen Thomas? Have you seen Thomas today?
Tell me the truth, man. Yeah. I mean, where was he at when you seen him? uh in the house.
Okay. Was he there when the cops got there just a while ago? Um Ian, can we take the
Oh, you can't do that. This is Ian's ultimatum. Ian had been put in a scary position. He knew what
the right thing to do was, but he was also terrified of this footage getting out. Amongst the people he hung around,
he didn't want to be seen as someone untrustworthy, so he asked for the camera to be turned off and told the
detectives the truth. Ian admitted that Thomas was at his house. In fact, he was
hiding in the vents. Apparently, that's where he was the whole time. Now, the cops knew exactly where he was, but
getting to him would be no easy task. To arrest him, they'd have to try everything they could to make contact
with him or else get into the cramped vents with a known killer, right? Damn it. He knows we're here. I
assume he knows we're going to come back, I guess. I don't know. In the interview, they said he might be
in the vent. Uh, yeah, that's what they're claiming is that he might be. So, if he's in A's vent, the only one
large enough for an adult that I know of is when you go in, there's a hallway that goes all the way back to the house.
There'll be a blanket in the hallway right now. As we go in, still clear all the little
areas that we go past. So, I don't want to get fixated and have him come out behind us.
You hit that vent. The only downside is you'll have two rooms to clear in the hallway before the vent. The last door
is literally next to the vent. We'll figure it out if anybody sees something weird.
Several cops made it to the scene a few minutes earlier and have managed to locate the vent they think he's hiding
inside of. Thomas, this is the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office. Come outside. He's not answering or nothing. He might
answer. Let him know if he does. Look around. Sheriff's Office. Deputy Bachman. Call
out, man, with your hands up. Know you're down there. Is that the bank you went in or this?
Is this over? I saw it. It goes down. There's no access back there. Ian had cuz Ian had the screw.
He puts the vent back on so he can do his own. The officers are right. The vent cover
couldn't have been put in place from the inside. So Ian had to have helped him hide. But they'll figure out what to do
about that later. For now, they need to figure out a way to get Thomas out of the vents. To start with, locate his
exact position. And they came up with a creative solution to do this. He's right there. These How far
approximately all the way down there's a bit. Just trying to see if there's a mirror.
I got a good point. This needs duct tape and a mirror. There's probably duct tape
in the garage. Tape a phone and flashlight together. Stick down in there just so we
get some really good light and light up. I just have to confirm. It sounds far-fetched, but after
pointing a phone and a torch deep into the vents, they were able to confirm precisely where Thomas was.
See, it looks like you can see the back of his neck, a jacket. [music] The problem was he still wasn't
responding, and they certainly didn't want to get in the vents with him. So, while another group of officers checked
the outside to ensure he couldn't escape, the cops tried desperately to reach out to him. But quickly, they
started to get concerned about something else entirely. Thomas, if you can hear me, man, answer.
I know you're down there. I We saw you in the pictures. Answer me. Just let me know you're okay, man.
Are you okay down there? Yeah. Don't move, man. at your door. Like you would think that he'd shuffle a
little bit. I haven't heard him. Well, looks like he's moved since. Yeah, but like no noise, nothing.
Thomas had been down there for hours now, possibly even days. The cops know he's there, but they haven't seen his
face or any movement whatsoever. They're fearing the worst, but they still can't
risk going down there with him. That's when one of the officers gets a genius idea.
You're going to want to push him back this [music] way cuz he's going to have to come out this way.
So, if you introduce gas, you want to introduce it on that. Okay. Have a fogger or [clears throat]
spray. Yeah. I would introduce it down there. You want to do the same thing with a
video. It may make him uncomfortable enough that he'll come out. That going to make you cough.
Turn around. It looks like he's facing us. Hey, his his head's up here for sure.
He went in deeper. Yeah, cuz you don't want them to crawl. So, I would introduce it over there,
[music] too. Pushing him this way. Yeah. Yeah. They're planning to shoot pepper spray
into both ends of the vents, forcing him out. If he was to stay inside, he'd end
up choking and writhing in the pain the gas caused. But it turns out this plan was so smart and terrifying to Thomas
that they wouldn't even have to put this into action. I hear him. Hey, come on out, man.
Dude, come on out. What do you come out and we'll talk? I'm I'm scared, sir. Well, there's nothing to be scared
about. Come on out. Okay, I've been beat up by the cops before. I understand, but nobody's going to hurt
you. I just need you to come out slow. Yep. We'll get you some to go. We'll get some
be got some dirt in there. You want to take the hood off? The concept of being stuck in the vents
with the pepper spray was just too much to Thomas. And with some convincing, they were able to get him out. The ideas
and tactics used in this extraction were far from textbook, but they were incredibly smart. Now they just had one
more job to do. Interrogate Thomas and finally figure out the truth of what happened to Sabrina.
Move all this over here. Okay. You speak English or Spanish? Both. Okay. You want
Preferably English though? Preferably English. We'll stick with English. So listen to me.
We are in America. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used
against you in a court of law. Well, what we are here for is what happened with Sabrina the other
night. That's what all this is about. There is an enormous amount of evidence against Thomas. Remember, everyone
involved in the case has pointed the finger towards him, including the murder victim herself, but that doesn't mean
he's not going to try and defend himself. Notably, without the presence of a lawyer. The story he chooses to go
with though isn't the most convincing. Okay, we we talked to Sabrina. Okay, she told us what happened to her. Okay, I
need you to be honest with me and tell me the truth. Okay, were y'all guys fighting that night?
Just an argument. That's all it was. We weren't fighting. We didn't get past school.
Did she How many times did she hit you? I don't want her to get in trouble, sir.
Okay. How many times did you hit her? I didn't hit her. We just bumping each other like you know what I mean? Did you
shove her down the steps? Spray her across those fingers. I want to show her. That's my kid's mom. But
you guys had a kid together? I don't want to hurt her. So tell me what happened in that bar.
That's when she fell. And certainly we went back there and argued cuz I want we didn't want to be arguing in in that
house. I don't want to get thrown out cuz I I know where I don't have nowhere to live. But
apparently they went out to the barn because they didn't want to argue in the house and Sabrina slipped and fell down
some steps causing all of her injuries. You guys are arguing. Okay. And it did get physical, but you didn't want to
tell me what happened, right? Is that what you're telling me? It got physical, but you didn't want to tell me what
happened. We just kind of like just got in each other's face about it. Was that the same you took her to the
hospital? [music] Um, I mean, it was it was ongoing for like a couple days. So, you guys were just like basically
arguing for two days pretty much. When was the pushing and shoving? I want to say pushing and shoving. We
just kind of a chest pump and whatever. Yeah. When was that? All right. During that that
night when she [ __ ] fell. Okay. So, you guys just do this chest chest p cuz we we don't want to argue in that
house cuz I don't want to get thrown out of there. Thomas is also claiming that he didn't
hit her or even push her around. The worst they did was get into each other's faces and bumped each other's chests. As
I'm sure you're aware, that's not exactly consistent with Sabrina's injuries or what she told the police.
But Thomas's story gets even more unbelievable as he continues. So then you guys go out to the barn.
What happens next? We just sitting there just smoking a cigarette and stuff. We're up there.
So you guys go up and are you like upstairs in the barn? Is that what you're saying?
Yeah. In that loft. You start up there and then she starts coming back down and she [ __ ] loses her foot. You know,
there she goes down the damn steps. So, where was So, when was the I pick her up, walk her to the house,
and she's like, "Well, if I can't get bear no more, then I need you to take me to the emergency room."
So, when was when was the uh the chest bumping or uh all that? When where was that at?
It's kind of beginning when we got in there, like got in there, then that's when [music]
How'd she fall down the stairs? She lost her footing, you guess. Like, you look at the stairs and they're
inside that place. It's there's a big ass gap between each. It's not constructed pretty good. There's like
some [ __ ] some just put together like [music] are we talking from the top all the way
to the bottom? It's like halfway toward the bottom. She lost her footing. All kinds of [music] junk and stuff
that's in that barn. So, not only did Thomas not have anything to do with her injuries, but
when she got hurt, they'd already made up. He believes that this story has explained away why Ian will have heard
shouting in the house, why they went out to the barn, and why Sabrina got such horrific injuries. This is why it's so
important that detectives keep as much of the evidence as possible secret. He's constructed a story that technically
covers up all the evidence that he thinks exists. And while it's not comprehensive, it would definitely make
proving his guilt in a courtroom slightly harder. But it doesn't explain a huge number of other things like how
the injuries were sustained by a golf club or the drugs Sabrina said he injected her with. Both things he
doesn't know the cops know about. And in fact, he was never able to explain these
other things away. There was simply too much evidence for Thomas to deal with, and he chose to plead guilty at his
trial. Nurses from the hospital told the jury that Thomas had initially told them
she'd fallen down the stairs, too. But Sabrina immediately refuted this claim when she woke up. She said he'd hit her
multiple times with his bare fists, struck her multiple times full force with a golf club, and had her tied up to
a chair in the barn for a large amount of time while this all happened. Even worse, she said this had been going on
for around a month. And for the entire time, she felt as though she had been held captive. Obviously, there wasn't
much Thomas could do against this defense, and he was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and resisting an officer. He
was sentenced to 18 years behind bars.

This is Ian, and his father Perry. They're being questioned by police about their tenant, Thomas Lopez's whereabouts.

Lopez brutally beat his girlfriend, Sabrina, right in their own home. Before losing consciousness, Sabrina managed to name Lopez and give the police an address—but with no search warrant and no idea what Lopez looks like, the police needed the homeowners' help to solve the case.

What none of them realize however, is that Lopez hasn't fled. He's hiding inside the house in plain sight, and watching their every move.

This video was made for educational purposes only. The video is presented to provide genuine footage of police incidents to promote transparency in government while providing educational, informative and newsworthy content allowing viewers to examine and assess public safety material. This is a fact-checked documentary using authoritative sources. The individuals shown in this video have not been convicted of any crime and are legally presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in a court of law. This material is intended solely for educational and informational purposes and represents personal analysis and commentary. Nothing presented should be interpreted as legal counsel, and the observations provided may not include all circumstances or reflect the final charges in each case. This video features real police-related footage shared to support public awareness and government transparency. The content is designed to inform and educate viewers on public safety matters and is presented as a documentary relying on verified and credible sources. All materials used were lawfully obtained through public records requests and are available to the public. The footage is utilized strictly for journalistic, documentary, and educational purposes under the Fair Use doctrine outlined in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act.**

Brief Summary

Thomas Lopez is arrested for murdering Sabrina Calderon after police uncover a web of abuse and deception involving his friend Ian Whan.

Key points

A Murderer in Hiding. Police discover a murderer is hiding in a ranch house, complicating their investigation.
Sabrina's Last Words. Sabrina manages to name her attacker before succumbing to her injuries.
The Search Warrant Dilemma. Police face a legal hurdle as they prepare to search the ranch without a warrant.
Mo'Nique's Fear. Mo'Nique's friend reveals her fear of Thomas, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
Sabrina's Death. The shocking revelation of Sabrina's death shifts the investigation's focus.
Thomas's Location Revealed. Ian admits Thomas is hiding in the vents, leading to a tense standoff.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Sabrina had just solved her own murder.

Sabrina confirms the identity of her attacker before dying.

4:09WatchNov 19, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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