Forensic Files - Season 2, Episode 1 - The Common Thread - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[dance music] PETER THOMAS: There were many eyes on Lana Long as she walked out on stage for her nightly routine.
She was a popular performer at the Sly Fox Lounge, a club well known for beautiful exotic dancers.
Sometime after the performance, Lana Long had an unexpected encounter. [eerie music]
The crime committed that might have gone unsolved had it not been for a common thread.
[screams] [theme music] [music playing] It's going to be great. Give it to me. PETER THOMAS: One Sunday afternoon,
two boys were playing together on an abandoned highway. Ready? 3, 2, 1-- [wind rushing]
Cool. PETER THOMAS: As they ran through a field chasing a parachute, they discovered a horrible sight--
the nude, decomposed body of a young woman. She was lying face down with her hands bound behind her back.
A cord was wrapped three times around her neck like a leash. Under her body lay a white silk scarf tied in a knot.
CHARLES DIGGS: This killer was trying to make a statement. He could have killed this woman with a lot less trauma.
But the deepness of this bruise, the prominence of this bruise indicated that he applied a lot more force
than it was necessary to end this woman's life. He was violent. PETER THOMAS: The victim was identified as 20-year-old Lana
Long, an exotic dancer who worked at the Sly Fox Lounge in Tampa. Detectives found some faint tire tracks near the body,
but little else. Homicide investigators interviewed Lana Long's boyfriend John Corcoran.
Corcoran hadn't reported Long missing even though they lived together and he hadn't seen her for three days.
He had an explanation of why he didn't report her missing. It was kind of vague.
We were concerned about that. PETER THOMAS: Corcoran admitted that he argued with Long
on the day of her disappearance about the number of men who were calling her at home, asking her out on dates.
Two weeks later, a second body was discovered in a deserted location. GARY TERRY: I can vividly recall getting in the car,
driving to the crime scene, saying to myself, "Please don't let her be bound. Please don't let her be tied up."
It felt like a ton of bricks had just fallen upon me. Because here we go from rarely having
a victim bound to now two within two weeks of each other. PETER THOMAS: The victim was identified as 22-year-old
Michelle Simms, a former beauty contestant who had turned to prostitution to support a drug habit.
Near the body, police discovered some fresh tire prints in the soft sand, but there was something
unusual about the tire impressions. The vehicle had three different tires. Detectives made plaster molds of the tire impressions
for analysis, hoping they would provide some clue to the identity of the murderer.
Because of the similarities in these two cases, investigators believed that both murders were
committed by the same person. This time, however, John Corcoran had an alibi and was no longer considered a suspect.
In the forensics lab, when Michelle Simms' clothing was analyzed, they discovered a tiny clue--
a mysterious red fiber. It was similar to a red fiber discovered at the Lana Long crime scene on the white silk
scarf found under Long's body. On September 18, 1984, the nude body of a third woman
was discovered. The victim, 18-year-old Chanel Williams, who had a prior arrest for prostitution.
This particular case, it was a black female. Her body had been dumped on the roadside.
She was completely nude. She was not bound in any way. There was some clothing found next to her, tied in a knot.
She had suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the head. So when you look at this case, it's totally
different than the other cases. Or is it? PETER THOMAS: The forensics lab found the answer.
Tiny red fibers were discovered on Williams' clothing-- fibers similar to those found on the other two victims.
While detectives launched a full scale investigation, they hoped that these mysterious red fibers
would lead them to their serial killer before he struck again. [music playing] PETER THOMAS: The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department
wanted to know all they could about the mysterious red fibers found on the three murdered women.
Each of the tiny fibers was microscopically analyzed and compared. Under a scanning electron microscope, magnified
more than 1,000 times, scientists noticed an unusual size and shape to the fibers.
Instead of being round or square, the fiber looks more or less triangular, but like a triangle
that's been pinched so that you see the three legs sticking out from the core of the fiber.
PETER THOMAS: The fibers from the three women were all triangular or trilobal. The next task was to identify whether the fibers
were natural or man-made. Since man-made fibers are made from chemicals, scientists use what is called a melting point apparatus
to determine the temperature at which the fiber would break down. The results revealed that the red fibers were nylon.
And by microscopically measuring the light reflected through the fibers, scientists determined that all three
trilobal nylon fibers were dyed the exact same color and were from the same dye lot.
The conclusion, the red nylon trilobal fibers found on the three victims were all from the same source.
Nylon trilobal fiber is used mostly in carpet-- high durability, inexpensive carpet.
Since this fiber masks dirt, it's often used in automobiles and hotels. Next, homicide detectives turned their attention
to the tire impressions found near the bodies. Tire tread experts noticed that there were three
different tires on the vehicle. The impression of the front tire was simple to identify.
It was an extremely common model made by the Goodyear Tire company. The right rear tire was manufactured by the Goodyear
company as well. It was a low price model called the Viva. But there was something unusual about the tread.
It was a white wall tire and was on the rim with the white wall side facing inward.
The left rear tire could not immediately be identified since it was not among the thousands
of known tire treads in the FBI's computer database. So investigators sent the tire impression to the Goodyear Tire
Company in Akron, Ohio, to see if they could help identify it. Goodyear's tire expert recognized
that it was a specialty tire and a very expensive one not sold in retail stores.
It was a model called the Vogue made by the Vogue Tire and Rubber Company and was used exclusively on Cadillacs.
The tire impression showed that it too was a white wall tire, which was placed on the vehicle with the white wall
side facing inward. If the detectives could find the vehicle with this unusual combination of tire treads,
they would have the vehicle which left the tire tracks at two of the murder scenes.
They also suspected that this vehicle would have red nylon trilobal carpet. Gary Terry decided not to release
this important information to the press. GARY TERRY: Serial killers watch the news
and read the newspaper just like anybody else. We were aware of the experience up in Atlanta, Georgia,
with the Wayne Williams case. I had personally talked with the investigators up there.
He changed his pattern after he saw it described in the newspaper. He began reading about trace evidence,
so he began dumping the bodies in the rivers to wash the bodies and destroy latent or trace evidence.
PETER THOMAS: Deputies believed that the killer was cruising for victims along Nebraska Avenue, where
prostitutes usually congregate. Female police decoys walked the strip dressed as prostitutes in an attempt to lure the killer.
The number of patrol cars in the area also was increased. Author Anna Flowers described the search for the killer
in her book, "Bound to Die." ANNA FLOWERS: I've talked to a lot of officers who say, "I have to think like the killer
in order to catch him. I worry, what would it take for me to become the killer?"
Interesting thought. PETER THOMAS: Despite police efforts, a fourth nude body was discovered in a deserted area.
The victim, 28-year-old Karen Dinsfriend, who had turned to prostitution to support a drug habit.
Deputies knew that the serial murderer had struck again when they found red nylon trilobal fibers
in Dinsfriend's clothing. The pattern that we saw here, the way that these bodies were
left, the way that they were strangled, the way that they were tied indicated that we had a serial killer.
PETER THOMAS: Despite leaving behind the fiber and tire track evidence, the killer was smart.
But his next target, a 17-year-old girl, outsmarted him. [suspenseful music] PETER THOMAS: 2:30 AM.
After working the night shift at this donut shop in Tampa, Florida, 17-year-old Lisa McVey rode her bicycle home
along a dark, deserted street. Suddenly, a man jumped from behind a parked van, knocked Lisa off her bicycle, grabbed her by the hair,
and forced her into his car. LISA MCVEY: God help me. I was thinking I was going to be killed.
Oh, my god. Just help me. PETER THOMAS: He drove McVey to an apartment. Over the next 24 hours, she was repeatedly raped and sodomized.
Blindfolded, petrified, and convinced she would die, Lisa McVey made an important decision.
I had the life of God in me. I wanted-- I had the willingness to live, to survive.
That's it, the survival part. When you're in something like that, you would be surprised yourself what you're capable of.
[suspenseful music] PETER THOMAS: While still blindfolded, McVey was permitted to use the bathroom.
She left her fingerprints everywhere she could-- under the toilet seat, around the sink, on the hair dryer.
LISA MCVEY: If I had died, if I was killed, I want them-- as far as the police or whoever found me-- to know that I was there and I tried.
GARY TERRY: Lisa was a very sharp young lady. I personally feel what saved her life was her actions.
And those actions were to say yes sir and no sir to every demand that the suspect made of her.
PETER THOMAS: At 3:00 in the morning, after 24 hours of captivity, Lisa, still blindfolded,
was forced back into the car at gunpoint. ANNA FLOWERS: She was very street smart.
Although she had been blindfolded, she could see under the blindfold enough to give police very important data.
LISA MCVEY: I was trying to get a good clue, idea of what area I was in. I wanted to know where I was coming from.
And I remember leaning back in the chair-- I could see under the blindfold-- that I saw two hotels side by side each other, practically.
I remember the 275 goes in between them. And it was a Howard Johnson's and a Quality Inn.
PETER THOMAS: Lisa noticed the word "Magnum" on the dashboard, saw that the seats were white and that the car
had red carpet. Her abductor stopped the car for a few minutes and Lisa heard a familiar sound--
[beeping] A 24-hour bank teller machine. LISA MCVEY: I heard the sound of the keys, of the buttons
on the machine. PETER THOMAS: A short drive later, he stopped the car, opened the door, put Lisa on the street along with her clothes,
warned her not to remove the blindfold for another five minutes and drove away. LISA MCVEY: Freedom.
Wow. I'm alive. I'm here. What do I do now? I look both ways. And I fell to my knees and I started crying.
PETER THOMAS: Lisa McVey was taken to the hospital and her clothing sent to the forensic lab for analysis.
But before it could be analyzed, detectives were called to another homicide. Another nude body found near a highway overpass.
GARY TERRY: And you could tell it was him. There were actually no ligatures on the body,
but you could see ligature marks where he had removed the ligatures. PETER THOMAS: When the forensic lab analyzed the clothing
from Kim Swann and Lisa McVey. They discovered a shocking piece of information. Kim Swann's clothing contained the same red nylon
trilobal fibers as the other victims and the same red fibers were found on Lisa McVey's clothing.
It was disbelief. We couldn't believe that we have-- for some reason, the killer has not killed--
he's let a victim survive. PETER THOMAS: Lisa McVey's courage and determination made her the first known survivor of this serial killer.
Could she provide enough information to find him? PETER THOMAS: When police realized that Lisa McVey's
rapist was the serial killer, the clues she provided took on a new importance. She saw the word "Magnum" on the dashboard of his car.
Only one car had the word "Magnum" on the dashboard, the 1978 Dodge Magnum. A computer search of Dodge Magnum owners in the area
revealed a list of 486 names. McVey also told investigators that her abductor used a 24-hour bank teller machine shortly
before she was released. When the records of all bank machine transactions for November 4 were compared with the list
of Dodge Magnum owners, only one name was on both lists, Robert Long. Robert "Bobby Joe" Long was a 31-year-old part-time X-ray
technician. Separated from his wife, he was the father of two children. Since Lisa McVey was blindfolded during most of her captivity,
she could not positively identify him from photographs. So Bobby Joe Long was immediately placed
under 24-hour surveillance. Long was followed to this movie theater. And when he went inside, deputies
inspected the tires on his car. On the right rear side was a Goodyear Viva. On the left rear side, the expensive specialty tire,
the Vogue. Both tires were inverted with the white wall side facing inwards. They were the same tires and in the same position
as the tire impressions found at two of the murder sites. When Long walked out of the movie theater,
deputies immediately arrested him and confiscated his car for further analysis. The tire treads match the plaster impressions taken
from two of the crime scenes. Long's blood type matched a semen stain found on one of the victims.
But it was the carpet inside the Dodge Magnum that linked long to all of these crimes.
The red nylon trilobal carpet fibers inside Long's Dodge Magnum matched the fibers
found on the murdered women. And they also matched the red fibers on Lisa McVey's clothing.
How was he getting so much fiber evidence on the clothing of the victims? Well, he was stripping his victims down in the car
and he was throwing the clothes in the floorboard of his vehicle. And the victim was kicking the clothing,
kicking it and kicking it. It was picking up the fiber evidence out of the floor of his vehicle.
Fiber evidence is often referred to as a silent witness. It doesn't say a thing, but it just speaks volumes.
PETER THOMAS: When told of this evidence against him, Bobby Joe Long confessed to the rape and abduction of Lisa
McVey, as well as the murders. He also confessed to two additional murders the police knew nothing about and led them to the bodies.
In all, he confessed to 10 murders. BOBBY JOE LONG: It's sad what happened to them
and that I could do something like that to somebody. All the victims, all of them, you know-- and you're talking
about a lot of them, a lot. A lot of lives have just gone right down the tubes because of me, you
know, in one way or another. And it's not a good feeling. It's not a pleasant feeling.
I'm not proud of anything I've done. And the worst thing is I don't understand why.
I don't understand why. Yes, it was bad. Yes, it was very traumatic to my life. But it's made me who I am today.
The challenges in my life, the weaknesses that I had then, it's made me a stronger and better person today.
And that's how I'm able to survive. [music playing] I'm a firm believer that this is not all the homicides
Bobby Joe Long did. You don't start killing the way Bobby Joe Long started killing.
Have we found all the victims? No. Are we going to find all the victims? I doubt it.
Not unless some day he decides to give us the rest of the information and the rest of the story.
[eerie music] [music playing]

Ten bodies had been found between the months of May and November, 1984, in Florida. A 17-year-old female named Lisa McVey was abducted but released, leading police to the perpertrator, Bobbie Joe Long.

Forensic Files is the longest-running true crime series in television history. Evidence and interviews with experts help solve real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world.

Brief Summary

The episode details the investigation of serial killer Robert Long, focusing on his victims and survivor Lisa McVey's crucial information.

Key points

The Discovery of Lana Long's Body. Two boys discover the nude, decomposed body of Lana Long, an exotic dancer.
Lisa McVey's Abduction. 17-year-old Lisa McVey is kidnapped and faces a harrowing 24 hours of captivity.
The Serial Killer is Identified. Detectives connect the evidence from Lisa McVey to Bobby Joe Long, a known suspect.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I was thinking I was going to be killed.

Lisa McVey's thoughts during her abduction.

11:54WatchMay 27, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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