Forensic Files - Season 8, Episode 11 - A Wrong Foot - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] police in illinois searched for a killer who was careful enough not to leave
fingerprints but who didn't bother to mask his identity this is how a forensic scientist with
some fancy footwork identified a perpetrator when not one but two eyewitnesses could not
[Music] [Music] july 19 1991 was typically hot and humid in peoria illinois once the sun set and the temperature
subsided it was a perfect night for a cookout it was hot very hot and we had the windows open and
the back door was open casey johnson and her roommate jennifer logsdon spent the
evening with jennifer's fiancee tommy smith after we ate dinner we went up to the
grocery store and got stuff to make blizzards and came back and we moved the coffee
table out of the way and pulled our mattress out into the living room so we could all three lay down and watch tv
they all watched a stephen king horror movie and less than 15 minutes later jennifer fell asleep
[Music] she awoke to sounds that didn't come from the television i could hear screaming she turned and saw tommy
fighting an intruder who was armed with a knife casey ran to the phone to call police
before police arrived the intruder wounded tommy then he went after jennifer i just kept
screaming as loud as i could he just kept stabbing me all over what's going on incredibly jennifer grabbed the knife
from her assailant i fought as hard as i could it was hitting him and kicking but
her actions only fueled his anger the intruder got the knife back and attacked again that's when he cut me twice and
just left me for dead this person that broke into your house if you have any weapons
hello he then found casey in the bedroom on the phone with the police [Music] jennifer managed to run to a neighbor's
home for help i can't move my my throat is split when the police arrived the intruder was gone
i told the police i knew i was dying but go and save tommy and casey but it was too late for 21 year old
tommy smith he was pronounced dead at the scene jennifer and casey were rushed to saint
francis medical center my father came to get me at work and he told me that uh tommy had been killed
and i immediately freaked out in in disbelief you know no it wasn't him you know not
tommy and uh it wasn't soon after that that it finally sunk in that you know he was
he was killed tommy smith's actually worked quite heroic he took it upon himself to apprehend the
suspect and put him in a chair and stand over top of him hold him there until police arrived
and in doing so he sacrificed his life i don't think tommy could have ever lived with one of them getting killed
especially jennifer police hoped the two girls would be able to identify their attacker
[Music] connie smith had to do what every parent dreads plan the funeral of a child
he was the neatest kid a mother could have he was best baby best little boy most
loving young man even if he got mad he never stayed mad long he would have made a great dad
he would have made a great husband because i know he was a great son [Music] tommy's fiance jennifer was in the
intensive care unit near death she had sustained multiple stab wounds a cut throat and a punctured lung
if tommy smith wouldn't have been in that house those those two young ladies wouldn't be
here today they'd be dead and i i believe that [Music] the crime scene gave mute testimony to
the girl's intense will to survive he really did a number on both of the young ladies
they both exhibited a great deal of courage they had very strong constitution they
had a very strong will to live gradually their conditions improved but when they spoke to police
they could remember very little he just kept stabbing me all over and nothing hurt
but and i didn't see any blood either she did to state that a black male had entered the home she wasn't sure how
and i can't remember what he looked like investigators would have to rely on the
crime scene for clues they quickly concentrated their attention on the assailant's point of
entry a bedroom window the outside screen was jarred and out of place and uh and cut
investigators were shocked by the amount of blood found in the home i think once he started cutting he went
into a frenzy and at that point he felt the only way that he could prevent the police from finding out
who did this to these kids was to kill all three of them in one of the bedrooms amid the clutter
police found the wooden handle of the murder weapon when the handle of the knife was located
at the crime scene it speaks of our suspect's panic and his hurry to flee the scene
mrs johnson we had grabbed the blade of the knife and was able to break it loose from the
handle unfortunately there were no fingerprints on it police found a party invitation on the
floor near the point of entry police used black magnetic powder to see if the killer may have knocked it to the
floor during the struggle they were looking for the friction ridges of a fingerprint
on top of the friction ridges are pores and that's where the perspiration comes from when the person sweats and when
they touch an item they may or may not leave their identification through those unique characteristics
on the invitation gary siebenthal found what appeared to be a partial palm print
a print that did not belong to tommy jennifer or casey [Music] while interviewing neighbors
police were surprised to learn that despite the girl's screams no one saw the killer leave the crime scene
police thought they had solved the case when they found blood on the screen door
of a neighbor's home gene brown and he explained that he had cut himself on the on the lower leg carrying the garbage
out earlier in the night test revealed the blood was browns and investigators found broken glass in
his trash can which brown said had caused the cut brown's palm print did not match the
print on the party invitation at the crime scene and neither jennifer nor casey identified their next-door neighbor as
the assailant police suspected the killer lived nearby since he fled the scene on foot
and it was the foot which would lead police to the killer gary siebenhall refused to give up in
the search for tommy smith's killer in reviewing the case siebenthal recalled something jennifer and casey
had both remembered about the intruder i ended up taking the knife away from him because he had
socks wrapped around his hand she did describe him as wearing she thought khaki shorts
he was also described as being a black male approximately six foot six foot one slim
build with a mustache and the girls remembered something else the intruder was barefoot
why would a killer enter a home wearing socks on his hands but nothing on his feet
and if the killer lived nearby why didn't he cover his face he's breaking into a home where people
can recognize and will certainly recognize him and i think by the fact that he went in
there quietly armed with a knife that his intention all along was to do great harm to both the young ladies
living there but the fact that he was barefoot quickly became the central focus of the investigation
that led a little insight into what the strange print was on the card because it didn't look like a palm print
to the crime scene investigators it was something strange that they really hadn't
hadn't seen before suddenly it occurred to c benthal that the print on the party invitation might
not be a palm print at all if you look at certain parts of the palm they they can mimic
parts of the foot because they have the same characteristics they have dots short ridges and bifurcations and
triforcations was it possible that the perpetrator knocked the party invitation to the floor and then
stepped on it if so the hot muggy july night created the perfect conditions for leaving a print
behind how he does that is is is through the uh to the moisture that the individual leaves in his
fingerprints and his palm prints siebenthal began the painstaking task of identifying the print
using a microscope and the pointer he examined the friction ridges every bifurcation and trifurcation which
are points where one line divides into two or three police have a fingerprint database they
can refer to but they don't collect footprints on a hunch police asked the girl's next-door
neighbor gene brown for his we took his footprints through a search warrant but taking footprints is something that
the average person doesn't have to do when they're taken into custody sibenthal compared brown's footprints to
the print on the party invitation you have to look for the uniqueness of those points
of identification and we found it on the outside left heel printed gene autry brown
gary siebenthal had a match and it was the first time in the history of the peoria police department that a
footprint had been recovered from a crime scene while he had no shoes on i'll have no
idea but uh it wasn't very smart it wasn't the smartest thing you can do the average
person doesn't realize that their footprints in fact are inherent to that particular person
they are as individualistic as fingerprints are so you know he would have been as well off to leave the socks on his
feet and put another pair on his hands in a search of brown's home police discovered a set of knives which
were identical to the murder weapon and they also found casey johnson's purse police found bloody socks with the
broken blade of the murder weapon inside and in one of the socks was jean brown's wedding ring
finally investigators found tiny traces of blood in brown's hair he must have had a great deal of blood
on him when he left [Music] the house after attacking the three individuals and he had still had blood on his body
dna tests of the blood sample showed it was from all three victims tommy jennifer and casey
gene brown was arrested and charged with murder he had a wife he had a cute little boy
he had a family that cared for him you know and because he chose drugs he took my
son away from me when you entered the house and started across the bedroom towards
the door i didn't see anyone until i got in the living room by that time the guy
dumped me grabbed me [Music] do you understand that you have the right to remain silent and you do not
have to talk to me or answer any questions unless you voluntarily choose to do so correct
when police confronted gene brown with the mountain of evidence against him for the murder of 21 year old tommy smith
and the attacks on jennifer logsdon and casey johnson he confessed did you stab him with the knife
i can't say i stabbed him so i don't know i don't know he was struggling it was more or less he was trying to get
the knife and i was trying to keep the knife but at the same time he was being cut
did you and he struggle for any length of time i'd say about 45 seconds what ended the struggle
he walked away fell to the floor brown admitted using crack cocaine on the day of the attack
after having dinner with his wife and infant son brown said he needed money to buy more cocaine
went to bed got up put my clothes on went next door he removed his shoes so he could walk quietly and used his
socks to cover his hands to make sure he didn't leave any fingerprints he entered the victim's home through an
open window by removing the screen but he never realized his feet could leave the very same prince as his
fingers just as distinctive just as incriminating tommy smith fought valiantly but was no
match for brown's knife [Music] jennifer slipped out of the house when brown was in the other room
casey survived by playing dead after she was attacked prompt medical attention save them both
[Music] tommy smith's best friend still struggles with the absurdity of it all it disgusted me that somebody would take
a life like that for a dollar so he could go uh get high it it was very very senseless a very
senseless act you know losing him so early what made it bearable was he had 20 years and he enjoyed every one
of them he knew how to enjoy life despite his confession there are still parts of brown's story
detectives don't believe [Music] jennifer and casey live next door to brown police think that brown broke in with
the intent to rape and kill the two girls and didn't realize that tommy smith had stayed over that night
he deliberately went to barefooted just to stop it to hold the noise down he wore gloves to avoid leaving
fingerprints he took a knife with him that was still encased in a cardboard sheath so that he would not
injure himself [Music] he took no it made no effort whatsoever to cover his face
and he's going into the home next door it takes a it takes a bit of an evil individual
to take a life hand to hand let alone attempt to take three he went from a sneak thief to a murderer
within moments in exchange for his guilty plea gene brown was sentenced to life in
prison for the murder of tommy smith and 30 years for each count of attempted murder
he did this in order to escape the chants facing the death penalty in a trial it was a capital case and
i think probably it was a good move on his part little did gene brown know that tommy smith's mother would not have
pushed for the death penalty i could not stand the thought of another mother standing over a casket
with her son so cold and another family going through what this family's went through
you know having a son in prison for the rest of his life is bad but nothing is worse than burying one
[Music] i don't really know where to begin i don't know why it just happened but it did
and all the time i've been sitting there talking to you guys i wish there was a way that i could take it back
but it's done he would express remorse and state how sorry he was that this thing had happened
but at the same time he would protect himself but not being able to recall just what had occurred
did it happen and i'm still asking myself why i don't i don't know why jennifer logsdon is now married with
children but she still lives with emotional and physical scars from that attack said he was sorry he didn't mean
to to do it [Music] and i can't forgive him yet yeah i think he got what he deserved
you get caught doing something you say i'm sorry would you say you're sorry if you didn't
get caught i'd say i don't i don't know i don't believe that if gene brown hadn't gone barefoot that
night investigators wouldn't have recovered the valuable footprint that placed him
at the crime scene well i think it's the greatest army of all to be so smart and get caught
she goes to show you the best laid plans of mice or men you know he he in fact tried to go in barefoot
so that he would be quiet and be able to move through the house quietly and in fact left behind you know tremendous
piece of evidence when you're able to point out to your suspect that they in fact are the best witness
that we have against themselves and in the case of this particular footprint that was left
he did seal his own fate [Music] [Music] you

Police were puzzled by an obscure print found at a crime scene where one man had been killed and two teenage girls were seriously injured. Neither of the girls could identify their attacker. But one simple clue helped track the footsteps of a killer.

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.

#truecrime #forensicfiles #fullepisodes Click here to watch full episodes from Forensic Files - Season 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gAB0hcY3Z0&list=PLC4mqmKvz1IbdnLKfCt8--pOV0xEpMIP5 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

A brutal 1991 attack in Peoria leads to a murder investigation and the capture of Gene Brown through a unique footprint evidence.

Key points

A Night of Horror. On a hot July night, a cookout turns deadly when an intruder attacks.
Tommy's Sacrifice. Tommy Smith bravely confronts the intruder, sacrificing his life to save his friends.
A Mother's Pain. Tommy's mother reflects on her son's potential and the tragedy of his death.
The Investigation Unfolds. Police discover a footprint that leads them to the killer, Gene Brown.
Confession and Remorse. Gene Brown confesses to the murders but struggles to recall the events clearly.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I knew I was dying but go and save Tommy and Casey.

Jennifer's last words to police after the attack.

3:19WatchDec 16, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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