Forensic Files - Season 8, Episode 24 - Nailed - Full Episode | Forensic Files

Narrator: JUST WEEKS BEFORE TESTIFYING AT A CRIMINAL TRIAL, ONE OF THE KEY WITNESSES, A BRILLIANT RESEARCH SCIENTIST,
WAS MURDERED. FOR 15 YEARS, THERE WERE MANY SUSPICIONS BUT LITTLE PROOF. IRONICALLY, ADVANCES IN THE VERY RESEARCH THE VICTIM HAD BEEN
WORKING ON HELPED NAIL HER KILLER. WHEN YOU ASK FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES ABOUT HELENA GREENWOOD, YOU HEAR WORDS LIKE "BRILLIANT," "QUIET,"
"HONEST," AND "A HARD WORKER." HELENA EARNED A PhD INHEAR WORDS MICROBIOLOGY AND WAS ANT,"
EXECUTIVE IN THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY. AND "A HARD WORKER." >> SHE NOT ONLY WAS AN EXCELLENT SCIENTIST, BUT SHE HAD MARKETING HELENA EARNED A PhD INHEAR WORDS MICROBIOLOGY AND WAS ANT,"
SKILLS, AND THOSE TWO THINGS OFTEN ARE NOT CONCURRENT. >> HELENA WAS VERY FORWARD-THINKING, ESPECIALLY
LOOKING AT TECHNOLOGY. BUT SHE ALSO KNEW THE POWER THAT TECHNOLOGY, BY ITSELF, DOESN'T
MARKET A PRODUCT.LOGY. BASICALLY, IT'S THE HUMAN NEED. IF THERE'S A HUMAN NEED, THERE'S A PRODUCT.
THAT'S REQUIRED. >> Narrator: HELENA AND HER HUSBAND, ROGER, A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, LIVED IN ATHERTON...
A QUIET SUBURB OUTSIDE SAN FRANCISCO. OUR STORY BEGINS ON A SATURDAY NIGHT IN APRIL OF 1984 WHEN
ROGER WAS OUT OF TOWN ON A BUSINESS TRIP. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, A MAN SUDDENLY APPEARED IN
HELENA'S BEDROOM AND THREATENED TO KILL HER.P. HELENA WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, THEN ROBBED BEFORE THE ASSAILANT
MADE HIS GETAWAY. >> DR. GREENWOOD DESCRIBED HER ASSAILANT AS BEING FAIRLY TALL,
SLENDER, ATHLETIC, WITH A COMPLEXION PERHAPS OF A MADE HIS GETAWAY. HALF-BLACK OR HISPANIC PERSON, AN OLIVE COMPLEXION.
SHE COULDN'T SEE HIS FACE BECAUSE HE HAD A HOODED SWEAT SHIRT PULLED UP SO THAT ONLY HIS EYES SHOWED.
>> Narrator: THE ASSAILANT ENTERED THE HOME THROUGH A KITCHEN WINDOW. BUT IT WAS HELENA'S FRIEND WHO FOUND A KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE
THAT POLICE HAD OVERLOOKED. OUTSIDE ON THE DECK NEAR THE KITCHEN WINDOW WAS A TEAPOT FROM
HELENA'S KITCHEN. FORTUNATELY, THE FRIEND HAD THE GOOD SENSE NOT TO TOUCH IT. >> THAT TEAPOT WAS TAKEN INTO EVIDENCE, TAKEN TO THE CRIME
LAB, AND FINGERPRINTS WERE DEVELOPED. IMAGINE THE TEAPOT -- THERE WERE THREE FINGERPRINTS IN THISME
POSITION, AS THOUGH SOMEONE HAD PICKED UP THE TEAPOT FROM THE WINDOWSILL AND PLACED IT ON THEE DECK. FINGERPRINTS IN THISME
>> Narrator: HELENA TOLD POLICE SHE MADE TEA BEFORE GOING TOE BED, THEN PLACED THE TEAPOT ON THE WINDOWSILL.
IT APPEARED THE ASSAILANT MOVED IT BEFORE CRAWLING THROUGH THE BED, THEN PLACED THE TEAPOT ON WINDOW.DOWSILL.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE FINGERPRINTS DIDN'T MATCH ANY ON FILE WITHE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WITH NO OTHER LEADS, THE CASE WENT UNSOLVED UNTIL ONE YEAR LATER. >> A MAN WAS ARRESTED WHILE EXPOSING HIMSELF TO A
12-YEAR-OLD GIRL OUTSIDE AN APARTMENT IN BELMONT, CALIFORNIA. THAT SUSPECT WAS DAVID PAUL FREDIANI.
>> Narrator: BELMONT WAS ONLY SEVEN MILES FROM HELENA'S HOME. THE SUSPECT, WAS DAVID PAUL FREDIANI, WAS A
42-YEAR-OLD ACCOUNTANT WITH NO PRIOR ARRESTS. SINCE FREDIANI RESEMBLED THE MAN HELENA DESCRIBED, POLICE
COMPARED HIS FINGERPRINTS TO THOSE FOUND ON HELENA'S TEAPOT. SINCE FREDIANI RESEMBLED THE MAN THEY MATCHED.BED, POLICE
>> ONE OF THE THINGS I ASKED HIM WAS -- HE HAD DENIED EVEN BEING COMPARED HIS FINGERPRINTS TO THOSE FOUND ON HELENA'S TEAPOT.
INVOLVED IN THE INITIAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST MRS. GREENWOOD. I REMEMBER ASKING HIM, "YOU NEVER ASSAULTED THIS WOMAN?"
HE SAYS, "NO, I NEVER DID ANY OF THAT." >> THEY THEN TOLD HIM, "WE HAVE YOUR FINGERPRINTS."
AND THAT POINT, ACCORDING TO DETECTIVE SHAPOO, FREDIANI TOOK A DEEP BREATH, LET IT OUT, BEGAN TREMBLING -- HE COULD ACTUALLY
SEE HIS CHEST MOVING IN AND OUT -- AND MADE A STATEMENT TO THE AFFECT AS, "I WAS REALLY DRUNK WHEN I DID THOSE THINGS."
HE THEN ASKED FOR A LAWYER AND REFUSED TO MAKE ANY MORE STATEMENTS. >> AT THE PRELIMINARY HEARING, WHERE BOTH HELENA AND FREDIANI
WERE PRESENT, SHE WAS ASKED IF SHE COULD IDENTIFY HIM, AND SHE COULDN'T, NOT POSITIVELY.
AND OUT OF THAT ARISES ONE OF THE GREAT MYSTERIES OF THIS WHOLE CASE. >> Narrator: BUT THE FINGERPRINTS ON THE TEAPOT WERE
ALL THE PROSECUTION NEEDED, SO THE CASE HEADED TO TRIAL. SADLY, HELENA GREENWOOD DIDN'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO TESTIFY IN
ALL THE PROSECUTION NEEDED, SO COURT.SE HEADED TO TRIAL. >> Narrator: WHILE HER SEXUAL-ASSAULT CASE WAS PENDING,
HELENA GREENWOOD AND HER HUSBAND, ROGER, MOVED FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO SAN DIEGO. SHE TOOK A NEW JOB WITH GEN-PROBE, A BIOMEDICAL-RESEARCH
FIRM THAT WAS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO DIAGNOSE DISEASE THROUGH DNA. >> IT WOULD BE MORE SPECIFIC OR MORE ACCURATE.
IT WOULD ALSO ALLOW THE TESTING TO BE MORE RAPID, CUTTING DOWN TESTS THAT WOULD TAKE SOMETIMES WEEKS JUST TO DAYS -- OR THINGS
THAT WOULD TAKE DAYS, JUST DOWN TO MINUTES.RAPID, CUTTING DOWN >> Narrator: ONE MORNING BEFORE WORK, HELENA WAS AT HOME ON THE
THAT WOULD TAKE DAYS, JUST DOWN TO MINUTES.RAPID, CUTTING DOWN PHONE, MAKING LAST-MINUTE PREPARATIONS FOR AN IMPORTANT
COMPANY MEETING. >> HELENA WAS VERY PROMPT. SHE WOULD ALWAYS COME IN AT 9:00.NY MEETING.
>> Narrator: BUT ON THIS DAY, SHE NEVER ARRIVED. CO-WORKER SAM MORISHIMA HAD A FEELING THAT SOMETHING WAS
TERRIBLY WRONG. >> BECAUSE SHE WOULD HAVE AT LEAST CALLED. AND AGAIN, SHE WAS VERY PRECISE ON HER ARRIVAL, ESPECIALLY IF
SHE HAD A MEETING WITH SOMEONE. >> Narrator: CO-WORKERS CALLED HELENA'S HUSBAND AT WORK.
HE IMMEDIATELY DROVE HOME AND FOUND THE FRONT GATE LOCKED. WHEN HE PEERED OVER THE FENCE, HE SAW HIS WIFE'S BODY.K.
>> ROGER WAS IN TOTAL SHOCK, AND HE FIRST CALLED GEN-PROBE. HE DIDN'T CALL THE POLICE.
HE CALLED GEN-PROBE.L SHOCK, AND HE FIRST CALLED GEN-PROBE. THAT SHOWS HOW DISORIENTED HE WAS.
>> WE RUSHED DOWN TO THE HOUSE. THE POLICE TAPES WERE UP. THEY WOULDN'T LET US THROUGH THE GATE, BUT YOU KNEW THAT -- JUST
FROM THE TALK THAT WAS GOING ON -- THAT HELENA WAS ASSAULTED, UH...RIGHT BEHIND THAT GATE DOOR, IN THE COURTYARD.
>> Narrator: THE CRIME SCENE APPEARED TO BE STAGED.ASSAULTED, IT HAD THE EARMARKS OF AATE ROBBERY, BUT NO MONEY WAS
MISSING FROM HELENA'S WALLET. >> YOU HAD HER PURSE THAT WAS STREWN ABOUT.NO MONEY WAS
THEY PRESERVED ALL OF THAT FOR FINGERPRINTS OR OTHER EVIDENCE, OF WHICH, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WERE NONE.
>> THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE LEFT. OBVIOUSLY, HE WORE GLOVES. I MEAN, ONE SAFELY CAN ASSUME THAT, I GUESS.
>> Narrator: AND IT WAS CLEAR THAT HELENA VALIANTLY FOUGHT HER ATTACKER. >> THIS WOMAN PUT UP A HELLACIOUS FIGHT.
OBVIOUSLY, IT WAS EVIDENCED BY THE FACT THAT HER FINGERNAILS WERE ACTUALLY -- TWO OF THEM WERE FOUND AT THE SCENE.
SHE HAD BROKEN THEM OFF WHILE SCRATCHING THIS PERSON. >> Narrator: AT THE AUTOPSY, THE MEDICAL EXAMINER DISCOVERED
PETECHIAL HEMORRHAGES INWHILE HELENA'S EYES, AN INDICATION OF STRANGULATION. THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
BUT UNDER HELENA'S FINGERNAILS WERE TINY TRACES OF WHAT APPEARED TO BE BLOOD. UNFORTUNATELY, THE SAMPLE WAS TOO SMALL FOR FORENSIC ANALYSIS.
>> I MEAN, WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN THERE'S A BIZARRE MURDER -- YOU KNOW, A STRANGULATION IN BROAD DAYLIGHT?
YOU THINK MARITAL TROUBLE. YOU THINK CRIME. YOU THINK DRUGS.L TROUBLE. I MEAN, HELENA NEVER GOT WITHIN A THOUSAND MILES OF ANY OF THOSE
THINGS, AND THAT SIMPLY DEEPENED THE MYSTERY. >> Narrator: HELENA'S HUSBAND,N ROGER, WAS THE FIRST PERSONTHOSE
THINGS, AND THAT SIMPLY DEEPENED POLICE INTERVIEWED. >> HE WAS JUST SO MAD AT THE POLICE AT THE TIME, BECAUSE HE
WAS JUST -- THEY WERELY DEEPENED ACCUSING -- I MEAN, HE WAS A >> HE WAS JUST SO MAD AT THE SUSPECT.T THE TIME, BECAUSE HE
AND HE WAS JUST SAYING, "WHY ARE THEY, YOU KNOW, DOING THIS TO ME?"E WAS JUST SO MAD AT THE >> WHENEVER A WOMAN IS KILLED,
THE PRIME SUSPECT IS GENERALLYRE THE HUSBAND, AND STATISTICALLY, THAT BEARS OUT.
MOST WOMEN WHO ARE KILLED AREYRE KILLED BY SOMEONE WELL-KNOWN TO THEM, USUALLY A ROMANTIC INTEREST, AND THE HUSBAND IS
OFTEN THE PERPETRATOR. >> Narrator: ROGER SAID HE LEFT HOME AT 8:00 A.M. AND WAS AT
WORK AT THE TIME OF HIS WIFE'S MURDER, AROUND 9:00 A.M. RECORDS INDICATED HELENA HAD BEEN ON THE TELEPHONE UNTIL 9:00
A.M., ABOUT THE TIME A NEIGHBOR HEARD A COMMOTION.0 A.M. >> ONE MAN WHO LIVED NEXT DOOR SAID ABOUT 9:00, WHEN HE WAS
SHAVING, HE THOUGHT HE HEARD A HUMAN -- AN ABRUPT HUMAN CRY. BUT WHO KNOWS? >> Narrator: WHEN POLICE CONFIRMED ROGER WAS AT WORK 40
MINUTES AWAY AT THAT TIME, HE WAS ELIMINATED AS A SUSPECT. HELENA'S MURDER ALSO MEANT THAT SHE WOULD NEVER TESTIFY AT THE
SEXUAL-ASSAULT TRIAL BACK IN SAN FRANCISCO. >> GOT A CALL FROMSO MEANT THAT ROGER FRANKLIN, WHO WAS AT THE
DR. GREENWOOD'S HUSBAND. ROGER TOLD ME THAT HIS WIFE HAD BEEN MURDERED IN SAN DIEGO --
THE SAN DIEGO AREA -- WHERE THEY HAD MOVED AFTER THE SEXUAL DR. GREENWOOD'S HUSBAND.
ASSAULT.LD ME THAT HIS WIFE HAD BEEN MURDERED IN SAN DIEGO -- THAT WAS A SICKENING MOMENT, BECAUSE, UM, HE ALSO TOLD ME
ASSAULT.LD ME THAT HIS WIFE HAD BEEN MURDERED IN SAN DIEGO -- THAT HER PURSE WAS FOUND NEAR HER BODY.
HER CAR KEYS WERE THERE. HER CREDIT CARDS WERE THERE. IT DIDN'T APPEAR THAT THERE'D BEEN A ROBBERY.
>> Narrator: DAVID PAUL FREDIANI, THE MAN ACCUSED OF HELENA'S SEXUAL ASSAULT, HAD BEEN OUT ON BAIL AT THE TIME OF
HELENA'S MURDER, BUT INSISTED HE WAS 500 MILES AWAY INUSED OF HELENA'S SEXUAL ASSAULT, HAD SAN FRANCISCO.IL AT THE TIME OF
INVESTIGATORS WERE NATURALLY SUSPICIOUS. >> HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO CONCEIVABLY HAD A MOTIVE FOR OF
INVESTIGATORS WERE NATURALLY DOING THIS. >> Narrator: THE PROSECUTORHO REFUSED TO DROP THEOTIVE FOR OF
SEXUAL-ASSAULT CHARGES AGAINST HIM, BUT EVERYONE WONDERED WHETHER THE PROSECUTOR WOULD EVER GET A CONVICTION NOW THAT
HIS WITNESS WAS DEAD. WHETHER THE PROSECUTOR WOULD EVER GET A CONVICTION NOW THAT
>> Narrator: JUST THREE WEEKS BEFORE SHE WAS SCHEDULED TO TESTIFY IN HER SEXUAL-ASSAULT TRIAL...
HELENA GREENWOOD WAS MURDERED IN HER FRONT YARD. DAVID PAUL FREDIANI WENT ON TRIAL AS SCHEDULED FOR HELENA'S
SEXUAL ASSAULT. PROSECUTORS HAD HIS FINGERPRINTS ON HELENA'S TEAPOT, AND THEYA'S
ALSO FOUND SEROLOGICAL EVIDENCE. >> WE ALSO PRESENTED EVIDENCE THAT THE SEMEN ON THE PILLOWCASE
IN HELENA GREENWOOD'S BEDROOM -- FIRST, THAT IT WAS SEMEN.IDENCE. SECOND, THAT IT WAS FROM A TYPE "O" INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS A
SECRETOR, AND THAT A PGM TYPE, PHOSPHOGLUCOMUTASE, OF ONE-PLUS ALL MATCHED FREDIANI'S A.B.O.
TYPE.TOR, AND THAT A PGM TYPE, PHOSPHOGLUCOMUTASE, OF ONE-PLUS ALL MATCHED FREDIANI'S A.B.O. >> Narrator: DNA TESTING IN 1985 WAS STILL IN ITS INFANCY.
AT THE LAST MINUTE, WHEN FACED WITH THE FINGERPRINT AND SEROLOGICAL EVIDENCE, FREDIANI PLEADED NO CONTEST TO THE
ASSAULT AND WAS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON. BUT FREDIANI SAID HE WAS INNOCENT OF HER MURDER.
>> THEY KNEW WHO KILLED HELENA GREENWOOD, AND THEY KNEW ASSAULT AND WAS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON.
IT WAS DAVID PAUL FREDIANI, BUT THEY COULDN'T PROVE IT. BUT FREDIANI SAID HE WAS INNOCENT OF HER MURDER.
>> THEY KNEW WHO KILLED HELENA GREENWOOD, AND THEY KNEW >> Narrator: EVENTUALLY,D TO HELENA GREENWOOD'S MURDER WAS
IT WAS DAVID PAUL FREDIANI, BUT THEY COULDN'T PROVE IT. RELEGATED TO SAN DIEGO COUNTY'S COLD-CASE FILES AND FORGOTTEN.
OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, HELENA'S PARENTS DIED. IT WAS DAVID PAUL FREDIANI, BUT THEY COULDN'T PROVE IT. HER HUSBAND, ROGER, DEVELOPED'S CANCER, AND HE, TOO, PASSEDEN.
AWAY. IT WAS DAVID PAUL FREDIANI, BUT THEY COULDN'T PROVE IT. >> AND WHO IS THERE TO MOURN FOR HELENA? AND HE, TOO, PASSEDEN.
VERY FEW AND GROWING FEWER. >> Narrator: AND GEN-PROBE WENT ABOUT THE WORK HELENA HAD BEEN
PURSUING BEFORE HER DEATH, LOOKING FOR WAYS TO USE NEW DNA TECHNOLOGY FOR QUICKER, FASTER MEDICAL DIAGNOSES.
DAVID FREDIANI SERVED ONLY THREE YEARS OF HIS 5-YEAR SENTENCE AND WAS RELEASED. HE RETURNED TO HIS ACCOUNTING PRACTICE.
>> THIS IS A VERY EGOTISTICAL, SELF-CENTERED, OBVIOUSLY HE RETURNED TO HIS ACCOUNTING SOCIOPATHIC, PERSON.
"HEY, I JUST GOT AWAY WITH MURDER." YOU KNOW? AND HIS LIFE WENT ON, AND HE PROSPERED.
>> Narrator: AND THAT'S WHERE THE CASE STOOD FOR ANOTHER 10 YEARS UNTIL INVESTIGATORS IN SAN DIEGO'S COLD-CASE UNIT
DECIDED TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT HELENA GREENWOOD'S MURDER. 10 AND DEEP IN HELENA'S FILE WAS A PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT
IMMEDIATELY CAUGHTSECOND LOOK AT INVESTIGATORS' ATTENTION.. 10 SEVEN DAYS BEFORE HELENA'S MURDER, DAVID PAUL FREDIANI WAS
INVOLVED IN A MINOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, NOT FAR FROM HELENA'S HOME.
>> THE DEFENDANT HAD NO BUSINESS BEING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. WE KNEW HE KNEW SHE LIVED DOWN HERE, ALTHOUGH WE DIDN'T KNOW NOT FAR FROM HELENA'S HOME.
HOW HE HAD THAT INFORMATION. BUT IT JUST SEEMED A LITTLE BIT STRANGE THAT HE'S AWAITING
TRIAL, HE LIVES IN SAN FRANCISCO, AND HE TAKES A TRIP DOWN TO SOUTHERNLITTLE BIT CALIFORNIA.T HE'S AWAITING
>> Narrator: AS DETECTIVES LOOKED THROUGH THE EVIDENCE, THEY NOTED THERE WAS A TINY BIT SPECK OF BLOOD UNDER HELENA'S
FINGERNAIL -- AT THE TIME, FAR TOO SMALL FOR DNA TESTING. HAD FORENSIC SCIENCE ADVANCED TO THE POINT THAT IT COULD IDENTIFY
A SPECK OF BLOOD ALMOST TOO SMALL TO SEE? >> Narrator: FOR 13 YEARS, THE MURDER OF BIOTECH-RESEARCH
SCIENTIST HELENA GREENWOOD WENT UNSOLVED. THE MEDICAL EXAMINER FOUND WHAT LOOKED TO BE BLOOD UNDER ONE OF
HER FINGERNAILS. AT THE TIME, IT WAS FAR TOO SMALL FOR DNA ANALYSIS. BY 1998, HOWEVER, WORK THAT GEN-PROBE AND SCIENTISTS LIKE
HELENA GREENWOOD HAD BEEN WORKING ON LED TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN DNA TESTING. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WAS POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION, OR
PCR, WHICH ENABLED SCIENTISTS TO COPY MINUTE DNA SAMPLES UNTIL THEY WERE LARGE ENOUGH TO TEST.
>> POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION ALLOWS YOU TO MAKE A GEOMETRICALLY INCREASING NUMBER OF COPIES WHERE YOU START WITH
ONE. AFTER ONE ROUND OF PCR, YOU END UP WITH TWO AND THEN FOUR AND THEN EIGHT AND SO ON.
THE BIG ADVANTAGE OF PCR FOR FORENSIC WORK IS THAT IT IS SO SENSITIVE. A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF DNA CAN YIELD A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF
INFORMATION. >> IT'S A FORTUNATE THING THAT THEY DIDN'T TRY TO TEST IT AT THE TIME, BECAUSE AS YOU TEST BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL, IT'S
DESTROYED.FORTUNATE THING THAT THEY DIDN'T TRY TO TEST IT AT AND HAD THEY, AT THE TIME OF HELENA'S AUTOPSY, TESTED THAT
DESTROYED.FORTUNATE THING THAT THEY DIDN'T TRY TO TEST IT AT MATERIAL, THEY WOULD HAVE FOUND NOTHING, AND THE MATERIAL WOULD
HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. >> Narrator: WHEN THE BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM HELENA'S FINGERNAILS WAS TESTED USING PCR, SCIENTISTS MADE AN
>> Narrator: WHEN THE BIOLOGICAL IMPORTANT FINDING.NA'S >> ON SOME OF THE FINGERNAIL CLIPPINGS, THEY FOUND ONLY DNA
THAT WAS CONSISTENT WITH DR. GREENWOOD'S. AND ON ONE OF THE CLIPPINGS, THEY FOUND DNA THAT WAS
ESSENTIALLY PURE -- WAS NOT FROM DR. GREENWOOD AT ALL. AND THAT'S WHEN THEY GOT VERY INTERESTED, BECAUSE, OF COURSE,
THE POSSIBILITY IS THAT THAT'SOM THE PERPETRATOR'S DNA. >> Narrator: AND INVESTIGATORS FOUND EVEN MORE EVIDENCE ON
HELENA'S CLOTHING. ON HER NYLON STOCKINGS WERE GRAB MARKS, SO THEY DECIDED TO TEST
THAT AREA FOR MICROSCOPIC TRACES OF BLOOD AND FOUND SOME. THE DNA FROM HELENA'S FINGERNAIL AND STOCKINGS WAS COMPARED TO A
BLOOD SAMPLE FROM DAVID FREDIANI. AND HERE ARE THE NUMBERS. THE ODDS THAT THE DNA UNDER HELENA'S FINGERNAIL AND BLOOD SAMPLE FROM DAVID FREDIANI.
STOCKINGS WAS SOMEONE OTHER THAN DAVID FREDIANI'S WAS ONE IN 23 BILLION. THAT THE DNA UNDER HELENA'S FINGERNAIL AND BLOOD SAMPLE FROM DAVID FREDIANI.
HE COULD HARDLY BELIEVE IT WHEN POLICE ARRESTED HIM. >> MR. FREDIANI CAME OUT OF HIS HOUSE AND BEGAN WALKING TO HIS
CAR, AND THAT'S WHEN WE APPROACHED HIM AND PLACED HIM UNDER ARREST. HIS REACTION WAS -- ALL THE COLOR JUST RUSHED FROM HIS FACE.
HE TURNED WHITE. I THINK HE KNEW AT THAT POINT THAT HE WASN'T GONNA BE LOOKING OVER HIS SHOULDER ANYMORE.
IT WAS OVER. AND, UH, GREAT SATISFACTION FOR US. >> Narrator: DAVID PAUL FREDIANI WAS CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE
MURDER. >> ONE OF THE TRAGEDIES OF MANY TRAGEDIES IN THIS CASE IS THAT ROGER NEVER LIVED TO HEAR THAT FREDIANI, WHO HE KNEW HAD DONE MURDER.
THE MURDER -- HE NEVER LIVED TO HEAR THAT THE SAN DIEGO AUTHORITIES WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY MR. FREDIANI AS THE
MURDERER. >> Narrator: PROSECUTORS BELIEVE FREDIANI MURDERED HELENA IN THE MISTAKEN BELIEF THAT HER DEATH WOULD END THE SEXUAL-ASSAULT
>> Narrator: PROSECUTORS BELIEVE CASE AGAINST HIM. HELENA IN THE >> HE WASN'T SMART ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THAT JUST BECAUSE HE
KILLED MRS. GREENWOOD, THAT HER PRELIMINARY TESTIMONY WAS STILL GONNA BE USED. HE DIDN'T REALIZE.
THAT WAS THE ERROR IN HIS PLAN. >> Narrator: HE DROVE 500 MILES FROM HIS HOME IN SAN FRANCISCO
TO HELENA'S HOME IN SAN DIEGO TO STALK THE COUPLE AND LEARN THEIR SCHEDULES. HIS FIRST MISTAKE WAS GETTING INTO A CAR ACCIDENT A FEW DAYS
BEFORE THE MURDER -- PROOF THAT HE WAS IN SAN DIEGO BEFORE THE CRIME. FREDIANI LEARNED THAT ROGER LEFT FOR WORK EVERY MORNING AROUND
8:00 A.M., ABOUT AN HOUR BEFORE HELENA. PROSECUTORS BELIEVE FREDIANI WAITED FOR HELENA OUTSIDE HER
FRONT GATE. HE WAS WEARING GLOVES TO AVOID LEAVING FINGERPRINTS LIKE HE DID WHEN HE ASSAULTED HELENA A YEAR EARLIER.TE.
WHEN HE HEARD HELENA CLOSE THE FRONT DOOR, HE MADE HIS MOVE.DID FREDIANI PROBABLY BELIEVED THE GLOVES WOULD PROTECT HIM AND
DIDN'T REALIZE HE LEFT CRUCIAL FORENSIC EVIDENCE BEHIND.OVE.DID IRONICALLY, IT WAS HELENA WHOE GRABBED IT.D PROTECT HIM AND
>> I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH HELENA'S MIND --ID THAT THIS MAN WHO ASSAULTED HER IS OBVIOUSLY COMING TO DO HARM
TO HER. MAYBE IT'S JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH TO THINK, BUT SHE SCRATCHED THE HECK OUT OF THIS GUY.
WE KNOW SHE DID. I ALMOST WONDER, LIKE, "HEY, I'M GONNA LEAVE SOME EVIDENCE BEHIND
TO SHOW WHO MY KILLER WAS. I MAY NOT SURVIVE THIS, BUT BY GOD, I'M GONNA LEAVE SOMETHING
BEHIND TO TELL YOU WHO KILLED ME." AND I THINK THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS CASE.
>> Narrator: AT THE TRIAL, UNDER CROSS-EXAMINATION, FREDIANI ADMITTED TO THE SEXUAL ASSAULT, BUT HE DID NOT CONFESS TO HER
MURDER. REGARDLESS, HE WAS CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON. >> WE EXPECT VICTIMS TO TESTIFY, AND THAT'S WHAT HELENA GREENWOOD
REGARDLESS, HE WAS CONVICTED AND DID.ENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON. SHE TESTIFIED AGAINST THE DEFENDANT AT THE PRELIMINARY
EXAMINATION, AND THEN HE TRACKED HER DOWN, AND HE KILLED HER, AND NO CONVICTION IS JUSTICE FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO HER.
EXAMINATION, AND THEN HE TRACKED HER DOWN, AND HE KILLED HER, AND BUT IRONICALLY, THE SCIENCE THAT SHE WAS WORKING ON, IN FACT,
HELPED PUT AWAY HER KILLER.

Just weeks before a witness is to testify against the man accused of sexually assaulting her, she is murdered in the front yard of her own home. Investigators immediately suspect her attacker, but they don't have enough evidence to prove his guilt.

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

Helena Greenwood was murdered before testifying against her assailant, David Paul Frediani, who was later convicted using advanced DNA evidence.

Key points

Helena Greenwood's Murder. Just weeks before testifying, Helena Greenwood was murdered, leaving many questions unanswered.
David Paul Frediani's Arrest. Frediani was arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I WAS REALLY DRUNK WHEN I DID THOSE THINGS.

David Paul Frediani's statement during interrogation.

5:01WatchDec 16, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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