Murder in Pinyon Pines | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] being in the military in law enforcement I've seen a lot of people die I've seen a lot of really bad
things but you never think anything's going to happen to you not that you're above
it it always happens to somebody [Music] else nothing could have prepared me for
what actually [Music] happened the deputy showed up at my door all he said was you need to call your
dad my dad started crying and he told me that there had been a fire at my mom's house the only people living in the
house was my mom Vicky her boyfriend John and my little sister Becky we're still waiting for positive
identification on three bodies found at a burned out home in pinion Pines we knew right away that everyone was
dead maybe my mom fell asleep with a cigarette or a gas leak but what happened was much much
worse I learned that Becky was found in a wheelbarrow apparently she had been placed in this and set on
fire my baby sister was gone this was the front of the house and the wheelbarrow was found here we know
that it was brought to this spot because there were tracks rolled out that way why bring her body towards the front
of the house we think it was to pose her and they wanted to leave some kind of symbol make it as personal as possible
that's hate she was obviously the Target and when I heard the wheelbarrow situation that's
when I knew it was him waiting for my precious boyfriend say hi Robert hi guys because he had threatened to kill her a
lot of the evidence pointed toward Robert Pape and Christian Smith Robert Pape was Becky's
exboyfriend Christian Smith was Robert Pap's best friend 7 years 7 years when by before
anything happened yesterday police arrested 25-year-olds Christen Smith and Becky
friedley's ex-boyfriend Robert P we know Robert and anyone who knows him knows how ridiculous the accusations
are my son Christian saves lives he saved lives in Afghanistan he doesn't take lives there's no way it's
all very obvious that there's no way Robert Pape and Kristen Smith are accused of three counts of
murder and if you just look at all the evidence it just doesn't fit it doesn't work this is not the case that should be
brought against these two men there is not a doubt in my mind that they have the right people I I know that
they [Applause] [Music] [Music] do 48 Hours murder in pinion Pines it was a vicious triple homicide
but there were almost no Clues Left Behind that's because a fire consumed the crime scene destroying vital
evidence with the investigation hampered from the start it would take nearly 12 long years to bring this case to trial
and to its emotional conclusion Troy Roberts brings us the murder in pinion [Music]
Pines [Music] this Foundation is All That Remains of the freedley home in pinan Pines
California on the evening of September 17th 2006 Tanya friedley's childhood home was burned to the ground there's
not a day that goes by that I don't think about what happened I miss them every day
inside the home investigators have found the bodies of Tanya's 53-year-old mother
Vicky friedley and her 55-year-old boyriend John Hayward it was later determined they had both been shot the
homicide unit is treating this as a homicide outside in a burning wheelbarrow were the charred remains of
Tanya's 18-year-old sister Becky her body too badly burned to determine the cause of death the worst part is is that
my baby sister I was supposed to be the one to protect her and be there for her that's my
job Tanya then a deputy sheriff in another town relayed the devastating news to her sister Drew an Air Force
medic stationed in Japan at the time I think it's just mortifying when you find out that somebody could be that horrible
and Sinister like something you'd seen in a a horror flick as opposed to real life for Drew and and Tanya it's hard to
reconcile that horrific murder scene to their storybook upbringing on the property their father Ron freedley had
built their home himself in the mountains high above the desert heat of the Coachella
Valley it was just a nice place it was country it was definitely out of the city and I liked it it was a
great place for the kids to grow up Ron doed on his daughters and so did his wife at Vicki my mom was just very
kind-hearted wonderful woman she loved being a mom um she loved gardening she loved sewing and quilting and cooking
you know that was really important for her to teach us how to cook even from a very very young age the youngest of the
sisters was high-spirited Becky freedley Becky was always just an amazing person
I mean even when she was small always had a smile on her face she was always there for you she SM art Becky used to
actually help Tanya and Drew with their homework and and you know she's four years younger than them she got along
with everybody she really did she was just a fun happy person but the happy times as a family
didn't last Ron and Vicki divorce after 13 years of marriage she was a good person but we we sort of grew
apart as the years passed t and Drew also left home Becky remained behind with her mother who eventually found
love again with contractor John Hayward my dad called Vicki his cupcake because she was just so
sweet kitty Hayward is John's daughter they were drawn together because they both loved the outdoors and they loved
living up there together and I would be like Dad why are you guys living up here
just come down to the city there's what is up here and and he would always say like it's free up here no one will ever
bother us and this is the safest place that you can be then came that night in September at
first no one could imagine who would want to hurt John Becky and Vicki I really had no
idea the finger was being pointed at everyone I think there were all kinds of rumors rumors started circulating that
perhaps they had been murdered by someone with a grudge against Ron friedley Ron had retired the year before from the
Riverside County Sheriff's Department did you believe that this may have been some sort of Retribution for
your work in law enforcement no I I really didn't I never really was involved in anything where
somebody would have said I want to get back at this guy I didn't have that kind of career so you had no enemies that's
really know investigators looked into that theory and quickly ruled it out but then rumored began swirling about Ron
freely himself I mean it's just natural to think that um possibly the the husband or family could have been
involved and and I understood that going into it um were you interviewed yes I was I was crying probably most through
most of it investigators asked Ron to take a polygraph test that was probably the first time that I really felt like I
was kind of a a suspect so I got up there I took the polygraph and uh the lady came out and she said this is one
of the best tests I've ever given in my career she says it it was incredible you
did fine phone records put Ron 11 hours away at his property in Northern California
when the crime took place and police ruled him out as a suspect but there was one person a
friend of Becky's who says she knew immediately who was responsible this was intentional and he did it and and I've
known since day one he did [Music] [Applause] [Music] it in the first days after the murders
Ron freedley was besieged with questions none of us really knew why it occurred or had a reason for it the last thing I
thought was that it was something to do with Becky but once the initial shock had
subsided Ron began looking at the crime through his investigator's eyes and came
to believe that it was Becky who had been targeted it seemed too personal because of a fear Becky had she was
really really afraid of fire when she was younger her mom was fixing tacos and she had a pan full of hot grease and
Becky had pulled it down off off the stove and it burned on her chest she had third degree burns on her chest so
someone that's with someone intimately would know that she had these scars and was scared of fire Becky's friend jeie
McDaniel was suspicious about someone right away so immediately when you heard the murders your mind went to Robert P
immediately nothing else in my mind there's nobody else that could have done this Robert P was Becky friedley's
ex-boyfriend and Robert got Becky a cro the teenagers started dating in high school and were together for over a year
looks like you guys are getting married at first Becky and Robert seemed happy I
think it was her first love I just think she was madly in love with him a but Jeannie says Robert soon grew
possessive of Becky when her and I went on vacation about 10 months before she died he called about 20 30 times in a
night night just harassing her wanting to talk to her while we were hanging out with friends 20 to 30 times in one night
mhm with I mean minutes within each other in January 2006 Becky and Robert broke up and started seeing other people
but according to jeie Robert's obsessive behavior only grew worse and took an even darker turn shortly before the
murders in September she came to my house three weeks before she died and said he had
even threatened to kill me those are her exact words even threatened to kill me why she said because he wasn't taking
the breakup well and he wanted her and didn't want anybody else to have her that's what she said to me so were you
concerned for her I was but she gave me the impression that it wasn't a big deal
and so I kind of just took her word for it and let it go but after the murders Jeanie says she
went straight to the Riverside County Sheriff's apartment with her suspicions as it turns out Robert Pape was already
on their radar everyone was whispering about Robert they moved pretty quickly in in the direction of of Robert there
was a lot of little tiny bits of information from different sources one of those sources was Becky's close
friend Javier Garcia Jr who had given investigators an interesting bit of information on the night of the murders
he says Becky had told him she was going hiking on her property with Robert and his friend Christian
Smith Tanya freedley believes her sister probably just wanted to smooth things over with Robert my sister was a fixer
she loved with all of her heart and she gave herself to everything she did Garcia Jr's lead placed Robert Pape and
Christian Smith at the scene of the crime the night of the murders with rumors pointing towards the
two men the freedley were sure that the case would soon be solved I kind of felt
a sense of relief um the that they would be arrested but as surely as the momentum had started it seemed to stop
the Riverside County Sheriff's Department never publicly shared any details of the investigation or named
any suspects it was frustrating but they just kept saying they they didn't have it they didn't have enough to to make an
arrest private investigator Lewis balanos saw his friend Ron grow increasingly despondent about 2 or 3
years into this I'm getting updates from Ron and I'm find out that nothing's happening it this case has stalled it's
gone cold Lewis and Ron had met years earlier at the Sheriff's Office where Ron had been one of Lewis's first
training officers now it was time for Lewis to help his old teammate I begged Ron for years two or three years let me
do this for you Lewis had also worked in the Riverside County DA's office although they parted on bad terms he was
certain he could get things moving again I knew that we can get to back on the front page where it needed to be um and
get those phones burning again I really wasn't ready because I really felt in my
heart that I I thought the sheriff's department was going to solve it I really did but as the sixe anniversary of the
crime approach with no arrest in sight Ron finally gave Lewis the green light the media Savvy Pi got to work and one
of his first orders of business was putting up this provocative billboard we wanted to do it before before and after
a beautiful picture of Becky and then a simulated picture of Becky in the wheelbarrow on fire it really really
pulled at heartstrings and sickened people we believe the following to be true Lewis also held a press conference
at the murder site with Drew and Tanya friedley we are in this because we believe this case can be solved we know
somebody out there knows something over the next year tips started coming in one
of them from Becky's cousin Daniela Zeno who remembered something that might help
investigators I had spoken to Becky um the night before the murder and she told me that her ex-boyfriend Robert had come
into her work at Denny's and um was harassing her he had harassed her to the point of being removed from the
restaurant Daniela says after the altercation they had discuss going on that hike and I think talk about
whatever their relationship was how it was finishing and where it was and on the seventh anniversary of the crime
Lewis held yet another press conference at the murder site with danela by a sign
the suspects then ignited the accelerant and in turn engulfed Becky in Flames Ron
believes all the media pressure paid off a few months later the DA's office subpoena Robert Pape and Christian Smith
to appear before a grand jury it was just stirring the pot it was something on the news every day about it and I
think they just said all right let's go do something and they did as the grand jury Drew to a close there was news
you're watching KQ the desert's News Leader two arrests after nearly 8 years in the pinion Pines
murderers Pape and Smith were arrested for triple homicide I was very happy it was probably the happiest day of my life
but as investigators were sure the killers were finally in custody two families say they are just as certain
the men are wrongfully accused innocent till proven guilty is a myth it's guilty
till proven innocent and the truth's going to come out it will come out for over 7 years the families of
Becky freedley her mother Vicky and John Hayward have been waiting for this moment my heart was in my stomach seeing
them in the jumpsuits and seeing them in the flesh and seeing them handcuffed Robert Pape and Christian
Smith both 25 found themselves in a Riverside County Courthouse charged with triple homicide both pled not guilty I
think they thought they were going to get away with it but these two men hardly fit the image of typical
defendants neither have criminal records Christian Smith is married and a decorated war hero Robert Pape is also
married in an active member of his church I had a really hard time just keeping it together you know Robert
sister Christie struggled seeing him accused of the brutal murder and burning of three people somebody like
him someone like him being put in that position it's really hard to watch Christie and Robert's mother
Kathleen say he is innocent and not the man he has been portrayed as in the media they tried to make him out to be a
monster a jealous monster and he just isn't that what kind of man is he Robert is an amazing person he's got a good
heart he's got a gentle heart hardworking patient honest he's always there when you need him he sort of takes
care of all of us takes really good care of wife Robert started dating his wife Sarah after his breakup with Becky he
and his wife both have this tremendous heart for Animals he cares about people he cares about animals he's just got the
utmost integrity and Christie and Kathleen aren't Robert's only supporters we've had no less than 10 or 11 people
at every single hearing and there's been 30 33 or 34 people at one of the hearings just
coming to to support and the courtroom can't even fit that many of us people called us immediately after he was
arrested and they were like no this isn't right uh this is not the Robert I know also looking on in disbelief has
been Christian Smith's Father John Conrad Smith I know my son didn't do that I know he's not capable of that
Smith says his son is an honorable man and was living his dream serving his country in the military as part of the
Army's Elite 75th Ranger regiment it was in Afghanistan that Smith says his son became a hero he saved another man's
life who was actually shot through the lung and I have a picture of him pulling him out and two of his battle buddies
and chrisan has one hand on a rifle and pulling his his comrade out and firing back at Afghanistan Christian has won
commendations for Valor and has been awarded two purple hearts this one is when he was wounded did and he was shot
through the arm he got this one this one was when he took the grenade shrapnel he
deserves better than this I mean he's put his life on the line for five years now he's a good guy
Christian Smith may be a war hero now but investigators believe back when he was 17 he committed murder with his
18-year-old best friend Robert Pape Christian Smith and Robert Pape had been really really good friends in high
school school and they both kind of beat to the same drum Robert Pape and Christian Smith both had an extreme
fascination with fire Becky had complained about Robert and Christian to close friend Brandon cougler Harrison
there's one time that they were playing with fire him and him and Christian and that they were they set something on
fire I think it was a match it's not 100% sure though but I remember her getting mad at him over that and not
talking to him for a couple days did your son have a fascination with fire no no there was no Fascination they were
not troublemakers they were good kids but prosecutors plan on using Robert's words against him just a few months
before the fire here in pinan Pines Robert had an instant message conversation with his then girlfriend
Sarah in that exchange Robert seemed to offer a solution to Sarah's problems with an ex-boyfriend well if you know
where he lives we can professionally burn his house down considering how Becky Vicki and John were killed it's a
very concerning statement this is 8 month 8 months prior to the homicide the Riverside County Sheriff's
department and DA's office wouldn't comment on the investigation but 48 Hours obtain a copy of the grand jury
transcripts during the proceedings both men pled the fifth but when questioned by police years earlier they denied they
ever went near Becky's house and said they never had any intention of hiking with her Robert and Christian told
police during the interview that they were heading to church that night apparently they made a phone call on the
way there and the church was in fact closed when those plans fell through the boys said they headed back to
Christian's dad's home to hang out and play video games where was your son the night of the
murders you know what I wasn't in town well what did he tell you when you eventually saw him we were here the boys
said they eventually wound up at this Middle School where they shot paintball guns nobody saw Christian or Robert at
the school playing paintball nobody the their only Alibi is each other but it was the boys cell phone activity that
night that raised the most red flags to investigators they put themselves on the
other side of town and the cell phon say differently at 7:13 p.m. Robert's cell phone pinged near the start of Highway
74 the road leading up to the freedley home minutes later both Christian and Robert's cell phones went silent from
about 7:30 to 10: p.m. the time frame investigators believe their murders took place they came out of their way to find
Becky hard to say of John and Vicki were collateral damage tracks and Footprints
at the scene Place Becky's attack near the desert behind the house Becky was then placed in a wheelbarrow and rolled
back towards the house and set on fire what kind of evidence was recovered from the scene that links this crime to
these two young men well we know that at at the point where the wheelbarrow rolled from where they put Becky in the
wheelbarrow that they found a business card and on that business card they eventually found DNA that was consistent
with DNA belonging to Christian Smith inside the home it was determined Vicki had been shot with a 40 caliber
handgun and John Hayward with a shotgun before the house was set on fire when investigators searched the
boy's homes a year later they found shotguns similar to the one us used in the crime no handguns were ever
recovered but in Robert's house there were accessories to the type of gun that may have killed Vicki in that search
warrant they recovered ammunition to 40 cal and recovered a holster to a Glock 40 that's a powerful
piece of evidence you believe that police have the right men oh I'm confident they have the right to guys
absolutely but defense lawyers charge investigators ignored other possible suspects and the evidence will never
hold up at trial you have the wrong person [Music] here for Tanya freedley hearing the
specific details of the murders has been difficult to think about how they must have been pleading for their lives how
scared all of them were is horrifying and believing that one of their alleged Killers was someone Becky once loved has
been especially painful for Ron friedley she loved him a lot and and that's probably one of the saddest Parts about
the whole story is you know she loved him to death and he threw it all away threw it all
away for nothing but nothing is what defense lawyers say the state's case is based on and I kept
looking for the proverbial other shoe I went over it I just didn't see it Richard Blumenfeld represents Robert P
and says the case against his client is built entirely on questionable and hearsay evidence he points to Becky's
cousin Daniela Zeno who said Becky had told her about a fight at Denny's the day before the murders Robert had gone
to Becky restaurant and there' been a scene an argument and they'd been asked to take
it outside and so on and so forth that never happened never happened never happened nobody could substantiate that
that anything like that ever happened bloomenfeld says a grand jewelry should have never heard daniela's testimony or
the evidence about the IM exchange between Robert and Sarah in which he seemingly suggested burning down her
ex-boyfriend's house weld argues it was said in a joking fashion there were probably over a 100 pages of these
conversations and they took one excerpt out of context it was clearly not seriously said bloomenfeld also denies
that Robert threatened Becky's life and says there would be no reason for him to
be jealous or want to harm Becky because he had already moved on he wasn't seeing
Becky any more seriously she was trying to uh revive their relationship but he moved on he was with Sarah
whether Robert had a motive or not Christian Smith's alleged role never made any sense to his attorney John
Patrick Dolan the motive if you can believe this is he's Robert's friend and he went along with
him that's it there's no connection with Kristen and Becky there's nothing that suggests he has any animosity toward her
it's a pretty weak argument Dolan thinks all the evidence is weak starting with the boy's lack of sell phone activity
around the time frame of the murders he says it doesn't prove anything it is unusual for for a
teenager not to use their phone for 2 and a half hour well you could say that you could also say that he was having a
shower having dinner and he had a paintball gun and he went out and tested it out near a middle school and he
didn't make any calls for 2 and a half hours it's really not that uncommon at all but before the boy's phones went
silent there was that sell Tower ping that put Robert and presumably Christian at the start of Highway 74 up to p
Pines didn't the Ping show that Christian and Robert were somewhere near Becky's home well that's one of those
really interesting anomalies CU a ping doesn't show at all that Kristen was anywhere near that home Dolan says that
3 minutes before Robert's phone pinged near Highway 74 Christian's phone pinged off a cell tower miles away and I can
tell you that uh prosecution is going to have a hard time getting over Mr Smith's
phone being on the other side of the Coachella Valley when they say Mr P's phone was pinged sometime near
the time that there would had to been an Ascent up the mountain but the states FBI experts say
cell phones at higher elevations sometimes bounce off other Towers pinging phones are not investigators say
there is hard evidence putting Christian at the scene that DNA on the business card and that puts him there and we know
that he has denied ever being there Dolan questions whether the DNA na is Christians as the prosecution says it
unequivocally is and argues that even if it is a match Becky could have previously picked up the card from his
client She carries it up to her house she drops it on the ground that doesn't prove he was there it simply proves he
touched a card and they have to have something more than he touched a card to prove he was there committing homicide
and if Dolan dismisses the DNA evidence he says the gun evidence is almost laughable what the argument was by the
district attorney was he had access to the kinds of guns that were used do does that make anybody guilty because they
have access to the kind of gun that was used with no ballistics with no measurement with no slugs with no
nothing and Christian's father says that the entire argument is moot anyway as far as his son is concerned because the
guns were with him in another state the weaken of the murders they were with me they got put in the trunk of my car the
defense believes that other people should have been looked at more closely like Javier Garcia Jr that friend of
becku who had first turned investigators towards Robert and Christian saying they
were all going hiking so Javier says Becky says something how do we find out whether or not that's just him making up
something because it points things elsewhere some friends say Garcia Jr wanted to be more than friends with
Becky and Dolan and Blumenfeld point out that while their clients phones didn't ping up in the mountains where Becky
lived Garcia Jr's did if you follow the route that he alleged that he took it puts him right by Becky's
residence why was he driving in the area near the time that this took place and I
was told that Javier garciaa would not testify at the Grand Jury unless he was granted immunity why does he need
immunity if he doesn't have anything to do with this Dolan also points out that Garcia Jr's father is an investigator in
the DA's office raising question questions about a possible conflict of interest interesting question about that
there was an investigation by the way and to be fair we have to say the Attorney General came down and looked at
it said doesn't look like there's any conflict of interest here and and I accept that for now but I don't accept
it forever he was extremely forthcoming with the police and was instrumental in their investigation former Federal
prosecutor Eduardo Roy represents Javier Garcia Jr he says Javier's only role is
that of key witness and not as a suspect he was asked to testify before a grand jury yes he was did he he did not why we
were there and then it was decided that they didn't need him did you ever ask for immunity for
Javier I asked to for them to be clear before I made him available that he was not a Target or a suspect of the
investigation why because I'm a very good lawyer that's why Roy says the reason why
Garcia Jr was driving in the area before the murders was because he wanted to join the group going hiking but Becky
told him not to come so he turned around and went home and what the police did was track where he was police determined
Javier Garcia Jr was back on the desert floor at the time of the murders and ruled him out as a suspect and Daniela
zmenu independently backs up Javier's story that Becky planned to go hiking with Robert and a friend
the night of the murders they had a definite plan to go hiking the three of them the freedle believe the evidence
circumstantial or not paints a damning picture when you put it all together it's them I can only hope and pray that
a jury of their peers will hear the evidence and come back with a guilty verdict
I call it the drive of Tears almost every Saturday for the last 6 months John Conrad Smith makes the
hourong drive to visit his son at the Riverside County jail I just think about Christian and I cry all the way up and
all the way back Smith says Christian has missed a deployment with his unit and is all but certain to miss out on a
huge life event his wife Jackie is about to give birth to their first child he's
not going to be there for that birth he's not going to be able to see that birth and it's horrible I mean he's
taking it he's taking it hard and to see him in that orange jumpsuit it breaks my
heart it breaks his heart Robert Pap's mother Kathleen has also been having a hard time seeing her son Behind Bars the
thought goes through your head like will I ever be able to touch him but there is another parent out there
who wakes up each morning thinking these men are exactly where they belong one of the first things I do in
the morning is I get a cup of coffee and I go outside I think about Becky and I think about those two boys in jail after
years of waiting the freedley and haywards feel they are one step closer to justice as they wait for a trial date
to be set it's a nice feeling knowing that they're going to have to answer for what they did if the jury finds them not
guilty so be it if they found guilty then they're going to pay for the crime that they committed but the case was
about to take an unexpected turn 8 years after the murders the prosecutor assigned to this case walked inside this
courthouse and asked that all charges against Robert Pape and Christian Smith be dropped a bombshell out of an India
courtroom today charges dropped really emotional yeah I mean I'm just happy I I'm not
yeah I'm happy he's coming home as a matter of fact I'm going to go get him right now the DA's office offered little
explanation for their decision in a prepared statement they said legal issues had Arisen during the grand jury
proceedings against Robert Pape making it appropriate to ultimately dismiss the charges against both men the system
worked I have faith in my son and that's that's all I can tell you the dismissal
was so unexpected that neither man was in the courtroom that day Christian's dad broke the news to him from outside
the jail you've been released you you've been released your mom and I and everybody everybody's here the baby's on
her way we're just waiting for you to get the paperwork done and for you to walk out that door we're all waiting
outside for you son and just a few hours later Christian Smith with Robert Pape closely behind want out
together Christian held is the two Meek old daughter Zoe for the first time just
want to be with my beautiful baby girl and my amazing wife and loyal family and my brother's over over in the
military that have been loyal to me throughout this whole thing I just hope I can just move on
with my life and put this behind me Robert's family was waiting for him at a location
nearby what was it like hugging your son when he want out oh my gosh that first time holding him you know I just I
didn't want to let him go but I had to scoot over and let let her hug him let his wife hug
him but it may not be completely over for papen Smith the da can technically refile charges against the men if new
evidence emerges Tanya fre has always been convinced that they had the right man and I have thought about if they get
away with murder to know in my heart that Christian and Robert took my family from me and could get away with it I
hope that they have to think about this every day for the rest of their [Music] life
in June 2016 Robert Pape and Christian Smith were rearrested for the murders the state says the charges were based on
a new informant who claimed Smith had made an incriminating statement better cell phone tracking and more evidence
that links Christian Smith to that business card founded the crime scene and they say in 2018 in January oh we
had a fingerprint match that we couldn't make since 2006 sounds a little fishy Christian Smith's
lawyer John Patrick Dolan says investigators had tunnel vision I think they began with the conclusion that my
client and Mr Pape are guilty and tried to collect evidence to support that rather than evaluating the evidence and
see where it takes them the trial began in April 2018 almost 12 years after the crime Dolan and pape's new attorney Jeff
Moore launched a vigorous defense raising question about The credibility of the State's new informant who has had
his own legal troubles and the accuracy of the cell phone tracking and forensic evidence this is about as paper thin
case as I've ever seen after more than a month of trial the case went to the jury
they would deliberate 10 agonizing days before giving word that they had finally
reached a verdict Robert Pape and Christian Smith were found guilty of first deegree
murder in the deaths of Vicky freedley and John Hayward Pape was found guilty of second degree murder in the death of
Becky freedley I waited 11 years 9 months for this day and I'm I'm very happy there is no closure Becky's gone
Vicky John they'll never come back but what the victim's family see as the right verdict is viewed as a terrible
Injustice by two other families Robert Pap's mother was devastated a jury has finally decided who was
responsible for the murder of three people in pinion Pines but the destruction left by that terrible night
remains my sister was a beautiful person inside and out and I want that remembered I want to remember her for
her not for how she [Music] died [Music]

A triple murder, a young woman set afire in a wheelbarrow. Police have suspects until a courtroom twist changes everything. "48 Hours" has the latest on the case including an emotional verdict. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

The episode covers the Pinion Pines triple homicide and the long fight for justice involving Vicky, John, and Becky Friedley.

Key points

A Devastating Loss. Tanya Friedley recounts the tragic news of her family's murder and the aftermath.
The Arrests. After years of investigation, Robert Pape and Christian Smith are arrested for triple homicide.
Claims of Innocence. Families of the accused assert their loved ones are innocent despite the charges.
Charges Dropped. In a shocking turn, all charges against Robert Pape and Christian Smith were dropped.
Guilty Verdict. After nearly 12 years, Robert Pape and Christian Smith were found guilty of murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

My baby sister was gone.

1:38WatchApr 30, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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