Larry Altman on his role in the Viens case | Forensic Files

this is a unique case for me I mean for the most part I cover a crime that happens the police do their
investigation I write a story saying they arrest somebody and that's it but this case sort of started where nobody
seems to really be doing anything and I'm writing story after Story saying look at this case there's this missing
woman I'm interviewing people related to it and really nobody else is is doing anything
I remember at one point kind of looking at him going this is off the Record right um and he said yeah well
absolutely we're just two people talking and it was really nice because I wanted
him to look at me as a a person a normal regular person who's having a really bad
day and not a story that he's going to write for his paper and um we talked for over an hour and he got a better insight
to the reality of the lives that had been affected by that night I parked outside and I just I
walked in there was somebody there I said I'd like to speak to David he comes out he's a big man so he's sort of
towering over me and he tells me that he's not doing any interviews um and I should go but I
don't I don't do that um I still asked a qu some questions and and they were just
basic questions like what happened to your wife uh and he told me the same thing
that his wife had walked away and I asked him why and he said it was related to drugs and
alcohol as I'm standing there I know that every question um could be my last one but I
asked him uh if if he loved her and if he wanted her to come back and he said yeah I loved her and I hope
she's safe they called me and asked me if I was going to be around I didn't know why I just figured it it
was going to be either hey we have a development we're making an arrest we'd like to take you
along or they plan to use me in some way they told me three things uh uh first that they had found blood in the house
where uh Dawn and David had lived and they said we believe she is dead and thirdly they believe he was a
person of interest in the case larryman was he played an amazing role in this whole thing because on his
own I mean he he knew how to keep things alive the fact that he's so tenacious and didn't let um people
forget because just when things kind of quieted down he would write another article and he's not afraid of things I
got to tell you he he got kicked out of that restaurant he walked into that restaurant a few times I wouldn't go in
there he was the one that kind of was the poker you know calling the detective you know hey anything new you got
anything to tell me he did what he had to do to help us and and he com at us by doing it Larry alman's a good guy he's
he's amazing

The reporter's articles in the Daily Breeze played a big role in furthering the investigation into the 2009 disappearance of Dawn Viens from her Lomita, Calif., home. Hear more about how this was possible from Dawn's sister, Danya Papin, Dawn's friend, Joe Cacace, and from Altman himself. To watch full episodes of 48 Hours Mystery, CLICK http://cbsn.ws/1cai8zp

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Brief Summary

A journalist investigates a missing woman, highlighting the emotional impact on her husband and the persistence of reporting in unresolved cases.

Key points

The Missing Woman Case. A journalist covers a case where no one else is taking action on a missing woman.
A Heartfelt Interview. An emotional exchange reveals a husband's love for his missing wife.
Larryman's Tenacity. Larryman plays a crucial role in keeping the case alive through his relentless reporting.

Episode highlights

A Heartfelt InterviewAn emotional exchange reveals a husband's love for his missing wife.“I loved her and I hope she's safe.”2:00Feb 2, 2014

Episode quotes

This case sort of started where nobody seems to really be doing anything.

Reflecting on the lack of action in the case.

0:13WatchFeb 2, 2014

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