Murderous Demise | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[music] [music] >> Carol Kennedy was a 53-year-old divorcee. She was a mother of two children. She
was an artist. She was an educator. She lives in a somewhat secluded area outside of town.
A lot of open land. I just loved Carol immediately. We were very good friends. She was an absolutely beautiful, pure,
loving person. July 2nd of 2008, Carol Kennedy was murdered in that house. This all starts that Carol Kennedy's on
a phone call with her mother. Next thing you know, the mother hears her say, "Oh,
no." And all of a sudden, the call is disconnected. Sheriff's Office, Maria, how can I help
you? Mother suspects something's not correct, and she called 911. I was on the phone with my daughter, and she
screamed and said, "Oh, no." And the phone's gone dead. Can you go check? And next thing you know, the police
arrive. Somebody looks through the window and sees a dead body on the floor. She sees blood all over the
place. The person who killed her was very upset with her. There's no reason to whack her seven, eight times over the
head with a club. It was a horrific crime scene. We knew very little other than the fact that she
had been clearly beaten to death. It's horrible. Just horrible. I I mean, I just can't believe a person
would be so cruel. >> [music] [bell] >> My name is Joseph Mora. I'm a private investigator. I was hired by 48 Hours to
look into this case. This was a passion passion crime. This was clearly somebody who knew her, and
therefore, the suspects are very limited. And to all a good night. My brother Steve and Carol were together
for about 30 years. They were just crazy in love for each other. Steve was a very
successful financial advisor. He had just been promoted to the senior vice president at UBS. So, he had a very
strong position and a job that he loved. I always had a sense they were both deeply in love with each other and that
the marriage had become toxic. Steven DeMocker puts himself approximately a mile, mile and a half
from this exact location the night of the murder. He claims that he went for a bike ride.
So, obviously, being the ex-husband and putting himself in the area, he becomes a suspect immediately.
I want to be cooperative, okay? And and I'm hoping, like I said, I I do my best to rule people out.
He's the only person that [music] hated her. She was just too good. No one else could
do that to her. They already don't believe him. They didn't buy his initial story. They don't
buy the alibi of riding a bicycle. They're saying, "Oh, we got our guy." Steve couldn't [music] do this to
anyone. Certainly not to Carol. Not to the mother of his children. From the defense point of view, the
biggest aspect of reasonable doubt in this case is the lack of physical evidence. There was none on his bike.
There was none in his car. There was none in his house. There was none in his clothing. There should have been
something. As an American, you're entitled to you're innocent until proven guilty.
Boy, we found out that that wasn't true. If you decide that you're going to arrest Steve DeMocker for the murder of
his wife without any physical evidence whatsoever, you better have a very strong circumstantial case.
They cannot put Steve inside that murder scene. So, there's nothing we're going to find in that's going to tie you
there. I wasn't there. I wouldn't do that. Okay. What we do know is the DNA under Carol
Kennedy's left fingernails is a complete profile. And it's not Steven DeMocker. >> [music]
>> I'm Maureen Maher. Tonight on 48 Hours. End of the trail. >> [music] [music] [music]
[music] >> I think it was really extremely shocking. >> [music] >> And you just don't expect something like
that to happen here. The murder of 53-year-old Carol Kennedy had a devastating impact on her friend
and neighbor Jan Wheeler. I didn't know anything about it until the next morning
and there was the yellow tape across. So, I stopped. And I said, "Hey, my good friend lives there. Is Is
everything okay?" And they said, "No, it's not." And they said she's dead. Carol had been a teacher and a therapist
working with addicts at a local women's clinic, but she was mostly known around town as an artist, a printmaker.
Printmaking is a fine art form that brings the disciplines of drawing, painting, graphic arts all into one
arena. She spent hours in this studio working alongside fellow artists like Barb
Wills. To me, her artwork gave her her voice. Nobody was judging her. Nobody was
hurting her. The bitterness of her divorce with Steve could be clearly seen in her work,
according to another friend, Betsy Pettit. And I think for her, it definitely showed.
Especially the colors. They were much darker, much moodier. He was a fun-loving person. He wanted to
have fun, and he wanted to be around us. Steve is the oldest of nine children. He
taught me how to canoe and swim and ride a bike. And he was just the the best big
brother you could ask for. As he's a very gentle, nonviolent guy. Which is why his family was so shocked when
police claimed they had a strong circumstantial case and arrested him in October of 2008, 3
months after Carol's murder. Carol Kennedy's body was discovered laying in a pool of her own blood.
At Demarkers' trial, the horror of the crime was hard for some to reconcile with a successful stockbroker sitting at
the defense table. When I met him, he he was clearly in in shock. Uh clearly was
trying to hold his family together. Rich Robertson is an investigator for Demarkers' defense team. Robertson
walked us through Carol's home. So, what do we know about Carol's activity that night? What was she doing? Well, when
Carol got off work, probably about 5:30 in the afternoon, she went to the store,
bought some salad, came home and went for a run. Robertson saw the gruesome crime scene
within days of the murder. It was clearly a violent crime scene. Just the blood spatter on the wall, on the desk.
It was just all over. I mean, it was it was all the way to the other wall. How do you have
this much blood and there's no bloody footprint, no bloody fingerprints or handprints
anywhere? I mean, it's like a ghost came in. Right. Well, look Defense lawyer Larry
Hammond insists there was no record of any violence throughout the DeMakers marriage. Someone might say, "Well, a
great theme here is that this was a a very contentious divorce, which causes most of us to think, well, it must have
been violent. There must have been threats. There must have been protective orders."
>> And was there any of that? >> No. Was there ever any >> Not at all. None. Anywhere.
>> No. No. I never saw him act violently. He's very controlled. Even DeMakers girlfriend at the time of
the murder, Renee Girard, says that he often spoke fondly of his ex-wife. He shared a lot
about his marriage and he shared it in um many stories that were heartwarming and
joyful and as something he regretted losing. But Carol's friend Jan says in truth,
Steve was angry about the divorce. Oh, he was furious. He was absolutely furious that she would have the nerve
to do anything against him because she never had. >> [music] >> But clearly, Carol had finally had
enough. Enough of a husband who by all accounts had become a serial philanderer. Towards the end, she was
like, "You know, I I think I've counted 17 affairs he's had. The first one that she was aware of was
um her midwife and he were sleeping together while she was pregnant. And so why would she stay with him then? She
loved him. He's just very charming. You know, he will tell a woman exactly what she wants to hear. He could
be a bad guy from a morality standpoint, if you will, but that doesn't reflect a motive to kill
Carol. Do you think you can make Steven look like a likable guy to the jury? >> Um what you may think about him as a
good guy or a bad guy have nothing to do with this case. >> [music] >> Caught in the middle are the couple's
two daughters who are called to testify. They have lost a mother, but believe in
their father's innocence. It was the first time the full family had been together in a while and it was after the
divorce had been finalized and it was actually very pleasant. Katie tells the court about the last time she saw her
mother as the family gathered at the airport to see her off on a trip abroad four days before the murder. It was very
emotional. There was just nothing but expressions of love and gratitude and happiness and I looked back and my dad
had his arm around my mom and my mom had her arm around my sister and they were all waving to me.
So that was the last memory I have of my mother. And Charlotte talked about the last text
she and her mother exchanged on the day her mother died. I had just gotten a new
job and she was asking me how my training was. Do you remember what the last text message you got back from your
mother was? I do. I love you in all capitals. Have they been supportive of Steven? Oh,
incredibly supportive. Unanimously supportive. >> Over the last 23 months since your
mother died, has has your relationship with your father changed in any particular way?
Um I mean it's difficult to stay as close when you can't hug your dad, but uh we've remained as close as possible.
The jury would have to decide if the man described as a loving father could have
killed the mother of his children. Defense attorney John Sears tells the court the state has [music] no case.
It's always the husband. If it's not him, who else is it? They jump to that conclusion.
Is there any physical evidence, DNA, blood, hair, fibers, anything that matches Steven DeMocker? There's no DNA
of Steve DeMocker anywhere in that house. But there is DNA under Carol's fingernails that belongs to someone
else, a man whose identity remains a mystery. If he was the attacker, should have been his DNA, and it was not.
Still, Joe Butner of the Yavapai County Attorney's Office is emphatic that DeMocker was the only one who had the
means, the motive, and the opportunity to kill Carol. The evidence will show that while Mr.
DeMocker was on his bike ride, his cell phone was off. By the way, his phone is dead. Battery's
dead. Okay? All of a sudden, he's out of the grid. Most people say you go out of the grid,
there's a reason why you're out of the grid. >> Within miles of the serene beauty of the
Arizona red rocks, Carol Kennedy's life had come to a violent [music] end. And many in the town of Prescott
believed her ex-husband, [music] Steve, was her killer. I think he took everything from her including her life.
Everything. >> [music] >> The autopsy concluded that Carol had suffered seven major skull fractures
from a blunt force object, possibly a golf club. Tell me here, and I don't know who it
wasn't you right now. Investigators searched DeMocker's home immediately. They found a bag of golf
clubs, but one was missing. A Big Bertha 7-wood like this one. Well, authorities may have strongly
suspected the missing club could be the murder weapon, they were never able to find it. Obviously, the number one
suspect is the husband, but they certainly had just cause to suspect him. Neither the prosecutor nor the sheriff
has ever been willing to speak to the news media about Carol Kennedy's murder. So, we asked private investigator and
CBS News consultant Joe Mora to outline the case against Steven DeMocker. He's got some problems with his uh story.
June left on June 5th. One of the biggest problems, DeMocker was unreachable for 5 hours the evening
Carol was murdered. He always had a phone on and charged so that his daughters could reach him
anytime, day or night. Except that night when according to DeMocker, his cell phone battery had died. That becomes a
very strong point for the police and certainly puts the suspicions on Steve DeMarco. On a crime, you're looking for
the motive, but you're also looking, was there time to do these things? You're looking for that window.
And DeMarco himself admits he went for a bike ride on a trail near his ex-wife's
home. Now, the situation is is he lives 8 miles away from here. So, why that particular
day he decides he's going to drive 8 miles to go bike riding. And and like I said, the proximity of where the trail
is. I know. We were riding. Wish I had chosen a different trail. I wish you had chosen a different trail,
also. And he came back with very visible scratches. >> And he got a lot of scratches. I was
watching your legs. You got You got there. You got there. His alibi remembers that he's out riding a
bicycle, and he gets flat tire. So, that means he's got to walk the bike back. So, it's very possible he could have
scratched himself in the trail. But, his problem was things were happening at the
wrong time, at the wrong place. Investigators found shoe prints and bike tracks directly behind Carol Kennedy's
house that they say incriminate Steve DeMarco. There was multiple prints in that area. It was uh very leafy, and
sticks were there, but you could tell someone had been there. An FBI expert determined that those impressions came
from a specific kind of shoe, a brand called La Sportiva. Did you find any shoes that seem to be comparable to the
impressions that you observed in these photos from the crime scene? Yes, I found one shoe that could have made
those impressions. And a receipt showed that DeMarco had purchased a pair back in 2006.
But, investigators could not find them when they searched his home. Basically, all they really have is a footprint that
may or may not look similar to some shoes that he may or may not have owned. Prosecutors tell the jury another set of
impressions found near Carol's house are from tires that have a tread just like those on DeMocker's bike.
>> Did you find any dissimilar characteristics between those? I don't think I know.
Now, we know it's a very common tire. So, 90% of the people around here probably have the same tire.
Um but then do 90% of the people wear the same type of shoe that left that partial print? And perhaps most
damaging, after DeMocker's arrest, investigators discovered that Carol's ex-husband had conducted some rather
interesting internet searches on his computer. Including how to kill someone and make
it look like a suicide. That doesn't look good. Yeah, no, it doesn't look good. His position is he was doing
research to write a novel. His sister, Sharon, insists it's true. Steve's been interested in writing for a long time.
He's actually a really good writer. And he's been working on a manuscript for a long time, long before the murder. I've
been doing a lot of the editing for him. He's talked with a number of us about it.
But the big question remains, why? Why would Steve DeMocker kill his ex-wife? The divorce was settled on May
27th. Murder occurred on July 2nd. They were just resolving the last little details about that divorce settlement.
Everything had been decided. Still, the prosecution was convinced the motive was money. After the Dow dropped
18% last week, it was 2008, and the economy was tanking, especially in the world of finance. Steve liked to spend
money. He liked his things. He liked nice hotels. He liked first class everything.
Steve DeMocker had a mountain of expenses, and now he owed Carol $6,000 a month in alimony. But it did become
clear that he was in significant debt, >> [music] >> what to most of us would seem
insurmountable. While his family admits that he did borrow money from them to make ends meet, they are adamant it was
not a motive for murder. He took hits, but his career was solid. He had great earning capacity, and he would have
rebounded and as did everybody else. Still, Carol's death would be a windfall. And was there a life insurance
policy involved that he would have benefited from? There also was a life insurance policy that he had no interest
in and hasn't benefited from. There were, in fact, two life insurance policies [music] totaling $750,000,
both payable to Steve DeMocker. But, the defense claims not only is money not the motive, there is another
suspect. This man. From the moment Steve DeMocker was charged with his ex-wife's murder, his
family not only felt a profound [music] loss. It's like, okay, we lost Carol. Now, we
lost Steve. His parents also lived with the fear of having their son put to death.
I kept going over the moment. And I could picture a clock at a quarter of 12. And 10 of 12.
And 5 of 12. Counting down, knowing now he's going down the corridor. Now, they're putting him on a gurney.
Now, they're starting an IV that will pour poison into his system. And that was what I went to sleep with at night.
The death penalty was taken off the table before the trial began, but Steve DeMocker still faced life in prison.
Adding to his family's pain was their belief that authorities missed a key suspect, Jim Knapp. Knapp was a friend
of Carol's who was living at her guest house. It was a newly divorced Knapp was quick to arrive at the crime scene and
investigators recorded their conversation with him as he pointed a finger directly at Steve DeMocker. My
intuitive taking the guy comes off to me as a very sneaky manipulative man. And the first thing he
said is, you know, she's got this crazy ex-husband and I I have a feeling it was
probably him. Jim Knapp might have had a reason to disparage Steve. Sharon DeMocker says there was a rumor around
town that Jim Knapp wanted to be more than just friends with Carol. What concerned us was that he was very
enamored of Carol. That's why DeMocker's defense team wants to know why investigators didn't take
Knapp in for questioning or search his residence. He wasn't looked at at all that night. They never looked at his
clothing. They never really inspected his truck. Authorities had a good reason not to suspect Jim Knapp. Unlike Steve
DeMocker, Knapp had an alibi. They realized that Knapp's alibi was he was babysitting his son at his former wife's
house. But even if investigators had wanted to question [music] Knapp again, they wouldn't get the chance.
In a bizarre twist, Knapp was found dead 5 months after Carol's murder. His death
was ruled a suicide. Some people would say because Knapp committed a suicide that it was a conscious of guilt in
reference to his participation in being the murderer of Carol. Unfortunately, he's not alive. We can't ask him that
question. Two weeks into the prosecution's case, there is a stunning development. Steve
DeMocker's trial comes to an abrupt halt when Judge Thomas B. Limbaugh collapses
in his chambers from a brain tumor. During the delay, DeMocker's girlfriend Renee Girard has a surprising change of
heart and ends their two-year relationship. You know, I always wanted to believe that Steve had nothing to do
with this. And I always felt conflicted about that, about whether he had done it or not.
Girard is having second thoughts about her boyfriend's behavior on the night of Carol's murder. His break with routine,
being out without a charged battery for his phone, being out without a flat tire kit to
change his tire when he was a master of preparation for any outdoor adventure. Thanks to new information from Renee,
investigators literally unearth a crucial piece of evidence. What they say is a go bag stashed in a field outside
Steve's house. Renee says he had packed it just in case he had a chance to make a run for it. He was very constantly
gripped with fear, fear of being arrested. He was obsessed with plans to flee, saying, "I'm afraid I'm going to
be arrested for crime I didn't commit." And then came more damaging information from Renee. [music] Remember what
DeMocker's attorney told us? Was there a life insurance policy involved that he would have benefited from? There also
was a life insurance policy that he had no interest in and hasn't benefited from. Well, not exactly.
>> [music] >> Renee told investigators that was a lie. Even though Steve DeMocker, charged
[music] with Carol's murder, could not directly receive the $750,000, he gave instructions to his daughters to
transfer all of it to his defense attorneys. Everybody along the way said, "Yes, it's okay to release money
to the girls." Um what they didn't know, and none of the officials knew, was that
the money would be used for Steve's defense. [music] Based on this information from Renee,
authorities reviewed Steve DeMocker's jailhouse phone calls. You need to understand.
>> I am understanding. Sweetie, you can't hold aside anything. They learned that older daughter Katie,
in fact, had argued with her father to save some of those funds for her younger sister Charlotte's education. If it all
needs to be used for defense, it all has to go to defense. My life is in the balance, and it's more important than
Charlotte's college. But Renee's biggest revelation is about an anonymous email that would have a dramatic impact on
Steve DeMocker's defense when the trial finally resumes. He called a few days before visitation, and said
that he had found out some information about how Carol had been killed. During a jailhouse visit, Steve told Renee and
his daughter Charlotte that a mystery voice he could hear through a vent in his cell told him who was really
involved with Carol's murder. What had the voice told him? People were looking for Jim Knapp because Jim Knapp was
involved in some kind of a prescription drug ring, and that these people were coming to look for him either to collect
money or get something, and that they had gone into the house and and encountered Carol instead of Jim Knapp.
Steve wrote down the details he had heard and showed his visitors this note. DeMocker then asked if one of them would
drive 100 miles south to Phoenix to send an anonymous email with the new information to both the defense and the
prosecution. We interviewed Steve DeMocker in prison by phone. Why would you involve
Charlotte then? That that's just really baffling from a parent's standpoint. >> As a parent in retrospect, I am appalled
that I did that, but I was terrified. We were terrified. All I can say is I was in jail accused of a crime that someone
else had committed. The police were bungling it. DeMocker insists that he absolutely heard a voice in the vent
telling him why Carol was killed. >> Here come these accounts of Mr. Nat's role in Carol's murder, and I don't know
if they're true, but I certainly want them investigated. Do you believe that he really heard a voice through the
vent? Yes. You do? Yeah, I think there was enough information there. That I mean, I
I really have no It's just more of a a gut feeling. There's a lot of chatter that goes on in the jails and for lots
of different reasons. Charlotte carried out her father's wishes, but when it's revealed that Steve DeMocker was behind
the not-so-anonymous email sent by his daughter, a mistrial is declared on November 12th,
2010. It would take another 3 years to get this case back in front of a jury. I don't think anybody involved in this
case could have anticipated all the twists and turns that this case has taken. Five years and one mistrial later, Steve
DeMocker remains behind bars, more than ready for his new day in court. And he's
kept a good attitude. He's He's kept hope. With the new trial comes a new defense
attorney, court-appointed Craig Williams. They cannot put him in the house. And I
felt good about that because I firmly believe he didn't kill her. And I felt that a reasonable jury would say, "Well,
you can't put him in the house with this much blood." For years, there was forensic evidence
that seemed to strongly suggest there might be another suspect in the murder of Carol Kennedy. Remember that mystery
DNA found under her fingernails? By the time the second trial begins, the state has finally determined it belongs to
68-year-old Ronald Berman. But how are Berman and Carol connected? Berman's autopsy was
performed on the same day, on the same table, as Carol's. The DNA under Carol's fingernails
belonged to the person who they did an autopsy on an hour and a half before Carol's autopsy. Are you kidding? Did
they not wipe the table down afterwards? This is a homicide investigation. The defense claims Carol's real killer
may never be found because the crime scene was so badly compromised. There's a photograph of the deputies
standing down the hall and the dog is right there with them. They tramped through that crime scene without any
care about what they're preserving. Why didn't they seal that whole thing off? With no physical evidence to convict or
exonerate Steve DeMocker, That's what happens when you run out of money. The prosecution points to his alleged
motive, money. Emails between the former couple show they were still arguing over
money, despite [music] defense claims that the divorce had been settled. >> Email on June 15th.
I will not be pushed any further, Carol. You have extracted all you will extract
from me. You get to start clean while I dig out of a staggering hole. Carol's friend Jan Wheeler believes
Steve was trying to solve his money problems by manipulating his ex-wife. He would play these reeling in games
with her. One of the very last conversations I had with Carol, she was just absolutely in tears. I mean, just
sobbing. I was like, Carol, now what? And she said, now that the divorce is final,
he has come to me last night and said, let's put this marriage back together. And he just wouldn't go away. Wouldn't
go away. Everyone is present. You may call your next witness. Barbara Onan. Steve's
attempts to insert himself back into Carol's life seemed to be confirmed by yet another woman. His long-time
business partner and lover, Barbara Onan. Onan testified that she spent the night
with Steve in a Phoenix hotel room just 5 days before Carol's murder. He was texting with Carol because Katie was
flying out to Africa that day. And they were going to spend the day shopping. That was news to you? That was news to
me. I felt as though I had been had one more time. Um been fooled one more time.
That um there they were still back together. It seemed like the theme of the second
case was to dirty up Steve enough that they would jurors would believe that he could have killed her.
They had to bring all of these things in that made him uh look like a bad guy. He kind of was a bad guy, though.
believe. >> But again, none of that there's no there's no violence in his history.
In the court of public opinion, people say you know, he cheated on her an awful lot, and that speaks to their moral
character. What do you have to say in response to that? I guess all I can say is if every spouse who cheated wound up
accused of murder, we'd have a problem. I regret the mistakes I made during my marriage, and has nothing to do with any
capacity for murder. Did you ever see any violence? No. As she testifies at the second trial,
daughter Charlotte suggests her mother was the one with the temper. And did you ever see anybody
throwing anything or doing anything like that? I very vaguely remember my my mom
actually throwing something at him. I don't recall what it was. Um I think it was something heavy, but
that was the only argument that there was ever anything physical. Democker's attorneys insist that Carol's
tenant, Jim Knap, could be the killer. That he is the one with a history of intimidating women. A next girlfriend of
Knap's, Julie Corwin, testifies that she became afraid of Knap after their breakup. The last words in one of his
emails was quote unquote, "You're not getting off that easy." It just left me hanging. I felt scared.
I didn't know if he was going to come up and shoot me. The evidence is way, way,
way stronger against Jim Knap than it is against Steve Democker. This is a left-handed club. Finally,
after nearly two million dollars spent in taxpayers' money, the jury is about to get the case. That's what happened to
Carol. Her skull was shattered like an egg shell. This is a beating murder by someone who
had everything in the world to gain by getting rid of her. Absence evidence is not evidence. If you
cannot put him at the scene, if you cannot make sure that you have DNA, blood, hair, something to tie Mr.
DeMocker to the murder of Carol Kennedy, you got no case. I know I wasn't at her
house that night and I'm innocent. >> [music] >> As the jury deliberates and the hours
turn into days, it is now a waiting game. Kathy Ray and Trisha Greer were on the
jury. There were questions in the jury room. A couple of the jurors wanted to talk
about alternate scenarios. They just had to be convinced that there was nobody else
because the girls had already lost so much. After 3 days, on October 4th, 2013, word of a verdict has family and friends
returning to court. For Carol's mom, Ruth Kennedy, justice would be seeing her former son-in-law spend the rest of
his life in prison. For Steve DeMocker's family, it would be seeing him walk free. Division 1 is the
second. Has the jury reached verdict in this case? Yes, your honor. Would you hand the
verdict form, please? On the charge of second-degree murder, guilty. Guilty. Steve DeMocker is convicted in
the murder of his ex-wife, Carol Kennedy. To hear the words guilty, I just I simply couldn't believe
it. And then my thoughts went to the girls. And I'm like, "Oh my god, this is this
is just we thought this was going to be the end of the nightmare and it's just the beginning. When they said guilty,
Steve turned around and for a moment we were looking right at each other. What did you say to him?
We'll keep fighting. We'll keep fighting. >> We'll keep fighting. To this day, Steve DeMocker says he is
baffled at how he could be accused, let alone convicted of killing his ex-wife. If you did not kill her, sir, then why
do you think you are in jail right now? That's the million-dollar question. It was so difficult to imagine
that 12 people could look at that evidence and come up with a a verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.
The pieces of evidence that started to sway me was definitely the shoe prints because that [music] type of shoe was
very rare. His phone was turned off, which was very unusual for [music] him. The scratches
concerned me. We heard about the internet searches that he had done on how to make a homicide look like a
suicide. Nowhere in the testimony did we see anything that would convince us that he
was trying to write a book. And if pointing the finger at Jim Knapp was supposed to raise reasonable doubt with
the jurors, I didn't know if he was going to come up and shoot me. It didn't work. We went
through Mr. Knapp's timeline carefully and we just could not make that work. Mr. Knapp did not kill
Carol Kennedy. On January 24th, 2014, Steve DeMocker is back in court for sentencing. The
business suit is gone. This time he's wearing the chains of a a [music] killer. If you want us to abandon Steve, you
need to show us a drop of DNA in that in that house. A drop of Carol's blood anywhere on his body, his bike,
his car, his home, a witness, a video, something before we'll even begin to think that this is
anything less than the conviction of an innocent man. Steve [clears throat] DeMocker addresses
the court for the first time and refuses to accept the jury's verdict. I did not kill Carol. We loved each
other for more than 20 years and to believe me capable of violence against her >> [snorts]
>> I would no more have harmed her than I would harm my daughters by taking her from them.
I'd like to thank my family and I'd like my daughters in particular to know how proud I am
of the strength and the grace with which they have faced both the loss of their mother
and the loss of their father. I love you both. The girls' love for their father is
evident when they beg the judge for mercy. So much of what I strongly value in myself, I learned from that man.
This is the same man who's asserted today accused of killing my mother. Frankly, the lack of facts and the lack
of evidence in this case do not meet do not permit me the luxury of drawing such
conclusions. You are faced with the question of whether or not to give my father the possibility of parole in 25
years. And I ask you that you do. I ask that you not force the permanent loss of a second loved one
but rather allow us to look forward to a time when our pain may slightly diminish
and when we may heal together again. But the prosecutor will have none of it. This defendant is a murdering, lying
thief. No matter what anybody else is going to say about him here today, he deserves the maximum sentence.
As the judge announces the sentence, he has some harsh words for Democker. The thing that I can't get by
is this horrific crime scene. I saw these pictures, and I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to erase those pictures
from my mind. It was brutal murder, and from all appearances, the motive was money.
The sentence I'm going to impose is natural life in prison. Steve Democker will spend the rest of
his life in prison with no chance of parole. For his two daughters, it is a double
tragedy. They've lost a lot, and they have just shown so much strength and grace
through all of this. And they will do well just because of who they are. As for me, I can promise that I will
never forget the memory of my mother. She lives in me every day and will for the rest of my life. She loved people to
a fault and saw the best in everyone, always. >> [music] >> She forgave easily, sometimes too
easily. The world was a better place for the life that she shared with it, and I am a
better person for having been loved and cared for by [music] her. >> [music] [music]
[music] [music] >> Come spend some time with a sweet blonde. If you're looking to get away
or want to relax, give me a call. I got a call a little bit after [music] midnight.
He said, "How much is it?" I told him, you know, "200 for the hour." He said, "Okay."
Philip Markoff is a 23-year-old Boston University medical student. Tall, blonde, good-looking gentleman.
Look nice. He's by all accounts but we would consider a good citizen. I just said, "Hi, how are you?" and he
said, "Good." I said, "All right, come on." and motioned him to follow me into the room.
He has no criminal record. He has a fiance. He seems to be an ambitious, intelligent man who had a future ahead
of him. I shut the door. I turned around and I locked it. That's when he pulled out the
gun. He's very calm. Like he's like he's done it before. My name is Trisha Lafferty and I was
attacked by the Craigslist killer. Craigslist in the prostitution game today is the old yellow pages. It's
easier for aspiring predators to find prey. >> [music] >> Click on the site and you've got your victim for the
night. Julissa was 25 when she died. She was young and she was beautiful. But unfortunately, I think [music] she
went down a very troubled path. Her services are advertised as massages. Massages of a more sexual nature.
Julissa was a fighter. She wouldn't let anybody rob her or take her money. She fought back.
Her killer, who police have identified as Philip Markoff, smashed her over the head with the gun.
And then shot her three times. Striking her in the heart. Boston police say the Craigslist killer
is a 22-year-old pre-med student at Boston University. I discovered that Philip Markoff did
have a [music] secret life. A side of him that his family and friends had no idea existed.
He was participating in these sexual websites. He posted photos of his naked torso.
It revealed a whole new layer to the story. This wasn't simply a robbery gone wrong anymore. I think Philip Markoff
gave in to his demons. He completely gave in to his dark side. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Mr. Markoff died at his own hand. The day that he committed suicide, that was one day after what would have been
his one-year wedding anniversary. It's no coincidence whatsoever, especially when you
>> [music] >> you know, you you hear about what was written on his cell wall. 7 Days of Rage, The Craigslist Killer,
the final chapter. Tonight's 48 Hours Mystery. >> [music] >> In the spring of 2009,
Boston was a city at peace. But then, on April 10th, everything changed. The Craigslist Killer began his 7-day
crime spree. And his first victim was a woman from Las Vegas who was fleeing that city's
crackdown on vice. How did you end up in Boston, Massachusetts? I just picked a city and went to it. I've been
doing it for the past 2 years. What were you doing? What was your line of work? I
was escorting. In this case, a traveling escort. 29-year-old Trisha Lefler checked
herself into the Westin Copley Hotel. No surprise, Trisha went right to where the money is. The Back Bay area is known
for its fancy hotels, exclusive boutiques, and hip restaurants. And how much money can you make in this
field? >> Oh, it's lucrative. A lot of money. Thousands a week? Oh, yeah. She immediately went online to
Craigslist, the web bulletin board, and placed an ad in the erotic services section. What was your headline that you
put in? >> It was something along the lines of sweet blonde come and relax with me.
How long before you start getting phone calls? Right away. Right away? Mhm. This is so easy, isn't it? Very easy.
What Craigslist does is basically provide services. And these prostitutes have been
providing services for years. You know, if it's not the yellow pages, it's going
to be Craigslist. They find a means to advertise their services. Joe Mora, a Boston-based private investigator and 48
Hours consultant, says that by acting as her own boss, Trisha was increasing her
risk. There's a street prostitute, she's going to have a pimp down the street or across
the street or on the corner who's protecting her. Somebody using Craigslist, you know, getting a fancy hotel in
Boston, she's on her own. But that April night, when Trisha saw the man who answered her ad, she felt
perfectly safe. He looked nice. [music] He looked young, good-looking, obviously.
But once the door was closed, this good-looking young man pulled out a very dangerous-looking gun.
I backed up a little bit. He just said, you know, if you do everything you're asked, no harm's going to come to you.
And [music] he said, "Lay down, put your hands behind your back." And then when he
started to walk towards me, he put the gun back in his pocket. The man put on some black leather gloves and took out
some plastic zip ties like these. [music] He knelt down with one knee in between
my legs and took my wrist [music] and put the tie around one of them first, and then
he tied the other one. What are you thinking as he's as he's doing that, essentially putting handcuffs on you?
I'm thinking like what does he want? I'm shaking. I'm you know, I'm scared. It dawned on me later that he could have
very well killed me. I had about $800 in cash. He grabbed that, [music] put that in his pocket. As
he took her credit and debit cards, he made no attempt to disguise his face. But he was intent on getting his phone
number off her cell phone. >> [music] >> Was he wearing his gloves when he did that? No.
How dumb is that? Dumb. >> [music] >> Dumb, and as it turned out, he was more than a little weird. He picked up
[music] a pair of my underwear that were on the floor and put them in his pocket.
What did you think to yourself? If he would have looked at my face, it would have been like, what the hell are
you doing? At that point, the gunman began walking around the hotel room looking for
something. And he said come here, and I went into [music] the bathroom, and he basically tied me to the doorknob.
I got really scared. He took a knife out of his pocket and cut the phone lines. He came back over to me and taped my
mouth. He put three pieces of tape over my mouth. Trisha noticed that he had yet to put
the gloves back on, meaning that his fingerprints were all over that tape. After he leaves, what do you do?
Within 20 to 30 seconds, I was out of my ties. Are you worried he's on the other
side of the door still? >> Yes, I'm worried he's listening through the door. Um, I look out the peephole.
There's the nothing There's nobody out there. I opened the door very slowly, stuck my
head out, looked both ways. Nobody was in the hallway. I crept down the hall to see if he was
maybe standing by the elevator. Nobody by the elevator. I'm still shaking. I'm still nervous.
[music] So, I went back to the room, grabbed my room key, shut the door, and went and knocked on
the on the next-door neighbor's door and I said, "You know, can I call security?
I've just been robbed at gunpoint." The next day when I went down to the [music] police station to look through
some photos, they had a surveillance photo of the man [music] that I described. A photo taken at the hotel?
Yes. These stills taken from a hotel security camera were the first shots of the man who became known as the [music]
Craigslist Killer. You could tell it was him? Yes, I could tell it was him. Wasn't he [music] aware that there were
security cameras that people could track him down if something did go wrong? Sometimes, because there's security
cameras everywhere, it's almost like they're not there. He figured that the crime was simple. He was going to do the
robbery. He was going to walk out. She's not reporting it. Nobody's going to be checking video if he was here or not. He
figures it's a clean, clear-cut case. He's out of here. Trisha remained in Boston waiting for
the police to release her cell phone when, on April 15th, they called. And they said, "We need to talk to you.
It's really important." 5 minutes later, knock at the door. And then they handed
me a photograph. And I said, "Wow, this is a really good picture of him. Where did you get it
from?" And they just stopped and looked at me and they were like, "Is that him?" I said, "Yeah, this is
him." Was this before he came up to my room? They said, "No, this is taken [music] from a different hotel."
And they said he murdered another girl last night. >> I've been working [music] at the Boston
Globe for 5 years. I've been doing this beat specifically for about 2 years. Reporter Maria [music] Cramer covers the
crime and police beat. She is also a 48 Hours consultant. You have some good contacts? In the
police department? I probably shouldn't say that. >> [laughter] >> I I get by. In the spring of 2009, Maria found
herself at the center of a white-hot story. I got a call from my editor on April 15th telling me that there was a
report of a woman shot at the Copley Marriott in Boston. The dead woman was 25-year-old Julissa
Brisman, an aspiring [music] model from New York City. I knew immediately it was going to be a
big story [music] and as more information began coming down the pipe, it was it was just getting
bigger and bigger. That's because the police had connected Julissa's murder to the robbery of
Trisha Leffler just days before. Both women had advertised in the erotic services section of Craigslist, [music]
had been restrained with plastic ties, and once again, stills from the Marriott showed this tall, blonde,
>> [music] >> preppy-looking man leaving the scene of the crime. What frightened a lot of people is these
pictures of a person that doesn't seem to have a care in the world. The media labeled him the Craigslist
killer. >> [music] >> The case really began to take on a life of its own. And now, all eyes were focused on the
20th-floor hotel room [music] of Julissa Brisman. What do police believe happened in that
room? Police believe that the attacker immediately pulled a gun on her. He got at least one plastic tie on her wrist.
At that point, she fought back. 48 Hours producer Paul LaRosa, along with Maria Cramer, has written a new
book about the case called Seven Days of Rage. It is published by Simon & Schuster, a division of CBS. Her killer
shot her right at the front of her room. When he opened the door to flee, she fell outside the room.
A guest from New York City was staying in a room just down the hall from Julissa.
This witness, who we'll call Jill, told LaRosa what she saw and heard. Jill was in her room
reading a mystery novel. And all of a sudden, she starts hearing like a commotion down the hall.
And eventually, she poked her head out the door. And what she saw down the hall was a woman who was half in and half out
of the >> [music] >> of the doorway. She wasn't moving. Jill decided at that point she was going to call security.
The guard bent over, started moving the hair away from the woman on the floor, and he saw a lot of blood. And once he
saw the blood, the guard said, "Get in your room." He said to Jill. She stayed in the hallway and watched to
see what was happening. And uh he immediately, you know, started talking into his walkie-talkie. He said, "This
is an emergency. We need paramedics." Less [screaming] than an hour later, Julissa Brisman, only a week away from
her 26th birthday, was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center. Later that night, cops called her mother
Carmen in New York City. And Carmen called [music] Mark Pines, a photographer who was helping Julissa in
her career, and also was a family friend. She just told me that Julissa [music] died.
You can't go back from a statement like that. It's definitive. And we just started crying. [music]
More than words, we needed to share feelings at that point. The details, I didn't care about the details at that
point. My heart was so broken that, you know, all I could do was cry. [music] For her family and Julissa's many
friends, her murder was a tragic [music] end to a life just beginning to turn around. What we know about Julissa
before this is that she was a party girl. You know, she was living the high life in New York. I mean, she was a
young, beautiful girl in New York City and she took full advantage of of of her youth and her beauty to, you know, to
live it up. But at the time of her death, Julissa had stopped drinking and had radically changed her appearance.
Her friend, Mark Pines, says she was happy. >> [music] >> She would smile with her whole face.
She'd smile with her mouth and her eyebrows at the same time and she had eyes that were like just this amazingly
positive, optimistic saying in her eyes. Action. Pines featured Julissa in this video about cell phones. Go ahead, try
calling me. You're not going to reach me. He also wrote a song about her. >> [music]
>> Julissa was trying to get her modeling and acting career going. But in the meantime, there were bills to be paid.
>> [music] >> So, she began to offer what's known in the trade as sensual or erotic massages.
Was Julissa a prostitute? No, not from what I'm told. She was disgusted by it. That said, she was definitely operating
in a [music] world that could become dangerous. With two victims plucked off Craigslist,
one dead and one terrorized, critics blasted the site as a virtual bordello filled with all too real [music]
prostitutes. Sex and crime are always around even before the internet, but the internet
[music] makes it just so much easier. The Craigslist Killer knew that all too well.
Just 2 days after Julissa's murder, he dipped into Craigslist yet again to find his next victim.
If you had [music] somebody targeting women in nice hotels in a busy part of the city where a lot of tourists hang
out, that was a huge concern for police. [music] In Boston, the police kept watch on the
city's downtown core determined to find [music] the killer who was choosing his victims off
Craigslist. Then, just 2 days after Julissa Brisman's murder, >> [music] >> the Craigslist Killer found a new target
60 miles from Boston at a Holiday Inn in Warwick, Rhode Island. His victim was a stripper from Las Vegas
who asked that we not use her real name, so we'll refer to her as Amber. She was
dancing [music] at a local strip club in Providence. Amber would not do an on-camera
interview, but did talk to authors Paul LaRosa and Maria Cramer. She goes there often with her husband. She dances at
the Cadillac Lounge. During her downtime, Amber advertised on Craigslist offering
private lap dances in her hotel room. >> [music] >> One of these people matched the
description of the man who attacked the two women in Boston. For the third time in 7 days, a woman
willingly opened her door to this clean-cut young man. She turns around in the room. She turns back to
this guy. What happens? The guy had a gun and he was pointing it at her. She said he was nervous and his hand was
actually shaking, the gun hand. And he said, "I'm broke. I don't want to kill you. I just need cards and money."
What does she do? Well, she was scared. She said, "I'll give you whatever you want."
He immediately tied her up with these plastic handcuffs, laid her on the ground, and started looking through her
room. Same kind of zip ties that had been used in Boston. Exactly. At that point, her cell phone started to
ring and the gunman got very nervous when the phone kept ringing and ringing. He said, "Who's calling you? Why are
they calling now?" The caller was Amber's husband and her business manager. He was in the hotel lobby waiting for a
signal from Amber that everything was okay. When he did not get it, he began calling
and headed up to his wife's room. Suddenly, there was a man coming through the door because her husband had the key
to the room. The gunman pointed the gun at Amber's husband. Amber's husband took off down the hall
one way. The attacker took off the other way. The gunman escaped, although security
cameras captured his image in the stairwell and lobby. How dumb is it to show your face to
these people? What we might think of stupidity police are I are more inclined to call arrogance.
A person who just thinks he's smarter than everybody else. Didn't expect to get caught.
But over these seven days of rage, the Craigslist killer made several crucial [music] mistakes.
Showing his face to his victims. Allowing his image to be captured by security cameras.
But his [music] biggest blunder was unwittingly handing investigators a road map to his front [music] door.
One of Julissa's friends found the emails between her and her 10:00 p.m. [music] appointment, the man that she
met at 10:00 p.m. the night that she died, and then called Boston police to tell them, I have these emails. That
means I have his IP address. An IP or internet [music] protocol address is unique to each computer that
sends email. That was a huge break in the investigation. Investigator Joe Mora. That was like leaving the gun at
the scene with your fingerprints on the gun. It's the same exact thing. Detectives began tracing that virtual IP
address and it led them to a suburb just outside Boston. That address led police
to an apartment in Quincy. Specifically to an apartment belonging to Philip Markoff.
Philip Markoff, for the first time investigators could match a name to a suspect and they were shocked to
discover this 23-year-old was a second-year medical student at Boston University. Philip Markoff is a
brilliant student. We know he has an uncommon mind. When they got Philip Markoff's name,
they still weren't convinced. Officers from Boston's elite fugitive squad began an around-the-clock
stakeout. [music] They began their stakeout late Saturday night, early Sunday morning,
>> [music] >> waiting for somebody to come out that would look like the man in these uh
video surveillance photos. And when he did, they realized, "Okay, we've got somebody who looks a lot like
these photos." >> [music] >> One sergeant basically called the the the investigators after watching him all
day and said, "I like him. I like him a lot." But before cops brought him in for
questioning, the DA wanted a positive ID. They reached out to the Craigslist killer's first target, Trisha Leffler. I
got a call that morning. [music] It was the assistant DA in Boston, and she said, "We have a photo lineup for you.
Are you still in Boston?" I said, "No, I'm in New York. I just left yesterday." It was now 1 week after Julissa's
murder, and the methodical Craigslist investigation suddenly turned frantic. Markoff, along with his fiancee, Megan
McAllister, was on the move. They come out carrying a small suitcase and an over-the-shoulder knapsack,
>> [music] >> get into the car, and start heading down Route 95 South. The couple was heading to Foxwoods
Casino in Connecticut. The race was on. Boston authorities were intent on making
sure Markoff did not set foot over the state line. Once that car crosses the state line,
>> they're out of their jurisdiction. So, they were they they were going to have
to make a quick decision. The Boston DA rushed a New York detective over to Trisha's Manhattan
hotel room with a photo array that included Markoff. I went through them one by one.
When I hit number five, I just started shaking. And I said, "This is him." Boston police very excitedly got on the
phone with the fugitive unit and said, "Get him." Back on I-95, the police cars surrounded
Markoff. They pulled him over. They said, "We have a warrant for this automobile. We need to take it back to
Boston. You need to come with us." The police immediately informed him that he was under arrest for kidnapping,
armed robbery, and murder. When Megan was told the news of Philip's arrest, she broke down and cried.
Detectives saw no reason to hold her, and she was allowed to fly to her parents' home in New Jersey
while Markoff went off to jail. As soon as they told me they had him in custody, I just started crying.
I was very, very happy. It was like a [music] weight had been lifted off my chest
to know that he had finally been caught and he can't hurt anybody else. But with Philip [music] Markoff in
custody, the questions were only just beginning. When we come back, correspondent Richard
Schlesinger investigates the two sides of Philip Markoff. I don't really believe in split
personalities. Yet, there were two very just incredibly different people. >> [music]
>> And and they were almost living separate lives. We will do everything we can to hold him
accountable for these terrible crimes. There were plenty of reasons for people to be shocked when Philip Markoff was
arrested. He sure didn't look the part. Handsome young medical students seldom end
[music] up shackled and cuffed and facing the judge in a notorious case of homicide.
>> This is the sort of person you would never expect to be involved in these sorts of crimes and he counted on that.
>> Because he thought what he was sort of hiding in plain sight. He Here he was the boy next door. Exactly. Casey Jordan
is an attorney and a psychologist who specializes in criminal behavior. He presented a virtual identity to
society which everyone could buy into. The guy next door, tall and blonde and handsome, a medical student engaged to a
beautiful girl. So, the last thing his friends expected was this. It was shocking. I went to shock.
Morgan Houston was Markoff's friend and [music] study partner at the State University of New York at Albany.
They were both pre-med. He was dorky, but so many of us are. I mean, I can be a big dork, too.
He might have been a dork, but Markoff was also a star student. In fact, he finished college in just 3
years, graduated summa laude, and was accepted to medical school at top-ranked Boston University.
By 2009, Markoff was a second-year med student and was planning a wedding to Megan McAllister, his college
girlfriend. It was supposed to be a lavish sunset ceremony at this beach resort in New
Jersey. Instead, Markoff ended up in jail and Megan holed up here at her parents'
house in Little Silver, New Jersey. The press pursued her, but she stayed mostly out of sight.
Still, Megan, who had been dating Markoff for 3 years, came quickly to his defense after his arrest, writing
reporters, [music] "Philip is a beautiful man inside and out and would not hurt a fly."
Can you tell us how your daughter's doing? Uh as expected, not well. Megan's father, Jim McAllister, spoke to
reporters in front of the family home 2 days after Markoff's arrest. She's still confident in Phil,
but uh other than that, uh we're saying a lot of prayers. But police were making it more difficult
for people to remain confident in Markoff. They say they found the gun that killed Julissa Brisman in his
apartment. It was like something out of a corny detective novel. The gun, similar to this one, was found hidden
inside a hollowed-out book. It was, of all things, a copy of Gray's Anatomy, like this one, the basic reference book
for all doctors and medical students. They found the gun in a book, and if they show that that gun was the gun that
was involved in the shooting, you got a case closed situation. See you later, he's gone.
And that wasn't all the police found. Remember Trisha Lefler's stolen underwear?
The Boston detective called me from his apartment. He said, "We did find both pairs of your underwear." And police
report finding two more pairs of women's underwear hidden under Markoff's mattress,
though they haven't said whose. But if Markoff was keeping underwear from his victims as trophies, it was
beginning to look like these were more than just simple [music] robberies gone wrong.
It wasn't just about the money. It was if I'm going to get the money, how can I get it and fulfill this
personal need for thrill? Jordan thinks Markoff gets his thrills from a frightening mixture of power,
sex, and control. [music] And one night back in college, after more than a few drinks, Morgan Houston
may have caught a glimpse of Philip Markoff's thrill-seeking. Going up into the tower where I lived,
he cornered me and pushed me up against the wall and was trying to kiss me. And I was saying, "No, Phil, we're just
friends. What are you trying to do?" And I was trying to push him away, and he was being forceful, and I couldn't
I couldn't physically get him off me. And thankfully, one of my very close friends had come along, and he was able
to pull him off me, and I was able to escape upstairs. Were you scared? Yeah. Of course. I've I had no control. He
wasn't listening to me when I was saying no. It wasn't the Phil I knew, but I chalked
it up to the alcohol. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was a hint of what the real Philip
Markoff was like. The day after Markoff's arrest, a report surfaced that he had traded emails with
a transvestite [music] advertising on Craigslist. It appeared that he was interested in
homosexual sadomasochism, and he was interested in being the submissive partner.
Steve Huff is a crime blogger and a contributor to the True Crime Report. Following up on the email address
Markoff reportedly used, sexaddict5385, Huff made a startling discovery. I received a tip that if you added another
eight to that address, there were secondary profiles that nobody knew about yet.
And here is one of the profiles Huff found for sex [music] addict 53885, believed to be Markoff, on alt.com,
a personals website for the very adventurous. It lists these among his interests:
chains, collars, leashes, [music] and experimentation with transvestites, among others. How certain are you that
the the fellow you're reading about on that website is Philip Markoff? >> Oh, I'm certain. I'm certain.
>> can you be sure? The All the evidence points to the person posting uh had the same birth date as Markoff.
Uh he had the Of course, he had the similar handles, the sex addict handle. There's also this.
Boston police have confirmed the torso shot seen here was found on Markoff's laptop.
These secret profiles and his alleged solicitation of a transvestite suggest to psychologist Casey Jordan that
Markoff's [music] public persona was at war with his deeper desires. He really did have this other double
life. Now, that in and of itself doesn't cause people to rob or to kill. But, what it does is very often cause what we
call in criminology a fractured identity. That conflict can actually result in violence.
Police say in February Markoff used a fake ID to buy a gun in New Hampshire, the same gun police report finding in
his apartment. He had the gun. He was willing to use it. And he wasn't afraid of killing at
this point. In fact, as the final chapter unfolds, Markoff shows everyone just how violent
he could be. >> With Philip Markoff behind bars, there is a possibility that Philip Markoff has
done this before. District Attorney Dan Conley made a public plea to other possible victims.
If you have been a victim like these victims have been, please come forward. And for the first time
since Markoff's arrest A short time ago, Philip Markoff's parents left. His father, Dr. Richard Markoff, and his
mother, Susan Haynes, visited him in jail. Do you still believe in your son's innocence?
Markoff's older brother also visited him. His brother John and his wife Deanna And soon after, reports began to
circulate that a distraught Markoff told his brother to forget about it and move
to California because even more damning information would be revealed. It was yet another shock for Markoff's
[music] family who live in upstate New York. His mother worked at a casino. His father was a dentist. Um and by all
accounts, he had a normal, happy upbringing. But by last summer, those happy days
were done. A Boston grand jury indicted Markoff on first-degree murder for killing Julissa
Brisman and the kidnapping and armed robbery of Trisha Lafferty. Markoff was required to appear in
[music] court to answer those charges and for the first time since the case catapulted into the
headlines, the public would get a chance to hear the man at the center of this media hurricane. How do you plead to
this indictment, sir? Not guilty. Not guilty. Markoff sounded confident in his innocence, but he and his lawyer are
in a distinct minority. The police have incredibly strong evidence against Philip Markoff.
The damning security camera stills, Trisha's eyewitness identification, Markov's fingerprints allegedly found on
the duct tape used on Trisha, and >> Most devastating, the 9 mm gun in the hollowed out copy of
Grey's Anatomy. Has a ballistics test been run on that weapon? >> Yes, a ballistics test has been run on
the weapon and has shown that there is a match between the gun and the bullets that killed Julissa Brisman.
But what about [music] Markov's fiance, Megan McAllister, who lived with him inside that Quincy apartment? Is there
any evidence that Megan knew anything [music] of Philip's secret life? >> None. She knew nothing about his bizarre
sex life? No. No, she she she didn't know any of this. Megan, do you have a comment? I know this must be a real hard
time for you right now, Megan. Megan visited Markov twice in jail and told him face-to-face that the wedding was
off. Megan, will you ever see him again? Do you think you'll ever see him again?
That question was answered this past week in a shocking development. The so-called Craigslist killer commits
[music] suicide in jail. The initial reports were that Philip Markoff had killed himself in his own cell
at the Nashua Street Jail, where he was being held and where he was awaiting trial. [music]
He had put a plastic bag over his head in a apparent attempt to asphyxiate himself,
and he had also cut some major arteries. It was left to DA Conley to lay out precisely how Markov committed suicide.
Using a primitive scalpel fashioned from a pen and a sharp piece of metal, he inflicted a series of small puncture
wounds and incisions on his body, including his neck, arms, wrist, and ankles. He hit several veins and the carotid
artery in his neck. All of these wounds are consistent with suicide. >> [music] >> These photos, taken inside Markov's
cell, show that handmade scalpel [music] and the plastic bag he put over his head.
How these photos were leaked to a local Boston television station [music] is under investigation, as is Markov's
suicide. Markov had tried to kill himself at least once before, [music] hours after his arrest, but a
psychiatrist later took him off suicide watch. The way that he did this, um, really
almost virtually guaranteed that he he would die, um, before anybody could find him.
Seems as though he took great pains to make sure he wouldn't [music] be found alive.
If there was a suicide note, it has not been revealed. However, before [music] he died, Markov, a known gambler, played
one last card. In a small space above the door, um, he had written two words in what
appeared to be his blood. And uh, the first word was Megan, and underneath it the word pocket. In this photo, it's
difficult to make out the words, but it's clear that Markov never got over Megan.
Almost to the day, 1 year ago, they were to have wed on this beach. And even as he was living out his final moments,
>> [music] >> he thought of her. The word pocket reportedly refers to a pet name the two had [music] for for
other. And there were several photos of Megan adorning Markov's cell wall. We don't
know what kind of person he is emotionally and and I think that forensic psychologist could have a
fascinating time trying to analyze the significance of that day. The day after Markov's
suicide, Philip's brother John posted a message on Facebook. Rest in peace, Phil. I will always love
you. Those familiar with the case believe Markov was trying to spare his fiance,
who most likely would have been called to testify, the agony of a trial. A fact that does not sit well with the district
attorney. With Philip Markov's final actions, the Brisman family has been deprived of an
opportunity to hear a verdict rendered, to see justice pronounced, and even the chance to tell the court and Mr. Markov,
face-to-face, what Julissa meant to them, and the immeasurable pain and loss inflicted upon them.
I ask you all again to keep Julissa Brisman and her family and her friends in your thoughts and prayers.
Julissa's mother, Carmen, >> [music] >> is heartbroken and cannot bear to speak publicly about her dead daughter or
Markov's suicide. Maybe they would have had some sort of understanding [music] of why their daughter had to die, and
that's been taken away from them. So, that's where [music] the disappointment comes from.
All she has left are her memories and Julissa's dog, Coco, who many said was her best friend.
I think that that's one of the most tragic things is that he went after somebody so vulnerable.
Somebody like Julissa Brisman is easily forgotten, but [music] she was a real person who meant a lot to to quite a few
people. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> It was early evening of August 31st,
2012 when Yancy Noll left work and headed home. He started driving his battered old
Subaru up Interstate 5. At some point, he encountered a man in a BMW. He had no way of knowing that he was
going to be dead in 10 minutes. Yancy Noll was just a guy who lived in North Seattle, had a girlfriend and a
dog, liked to climb mountains. He was one of us. When you prosecute murder cases for as
long as we have, the random nature of death is what gets in your head. He was my best friend for 22 years.
He was my touchstone. He was the guy who kept me grounded. People adored him. The last few moments of Yancy Knowles'
life were pulling up at a stoplight. The BMW pulled up next to Yancy's Subaru. >> [music]
>> Yancy turned and saw this car and this man next to him. He saw the gun pointed at his head and
he saw the bullet that shattered the window and tore apart his face. And then he turned and was shot three
more times in the head. >> [music] >> The witnesses really didn't know what had happened. They heard the shots.
And then they saw the BMW pull into oncoming traffic, screeched out leaving tire marks, going so fast that when the
car hit a hill it took air and then sped out of sight. >> [bell] >> When I arrived that day at the murder
scene, it was dusk. They had yellow crime scene tape around Yancy Knowles' Subaru. There was blood outside the
driver's door. The driver's seat was saturated with blood. When police respond to a murder, they're
looking for a reason. Was anybody mad at Yancy? Did Yancy have any enemies? There
might have been some kind of road incident, some kind of traffic incident. And what are people thinking? That
there's a killer on the loose? There was a killer on the loose. >> [music] >> Anybody could have been the next target.
Police didn't know they were looking for a student of murder. Someone who would kill
just to kill. I'm [music] Peter Van Sant. Tonight on 48 Hours, Student of Murder.
>> [music] >> This case is about the presence of evil in our world. It was like a bomb had
dropped. None of us is ever safe. Any of us could have been Yancy Noll. Prosecutors Adrian McCoy and Kristin
Richardson say the murder of Yancy Noll in 2012, shot to death in his car while stopped at a red light, put the city of
Seattle on edge. The police went all out. They took it very seriously. >> [music]
>> Police are still looking for the suspect. >> Yancy Noll was shot and killed 1 week
ago tonight. >> Right now, the shooter is on the loose. How big a story was this? This was a
very big story. Alison Grande is a reporter for Cairo 7, a CBS News affiliate. We have shootings in Seattle.
We don't necessarily have many shootings in that area of Seattle, that time of day, and that type of victim. What were
you hearing? Did Yancy Noll have any enemies? From talking to his friends, Yancy didn't any enemies. He was an
outdoorsy guy who enjoyed fine wine, loved what he did working as a wine steward at QFC. Hey, what's your name?
Yancy. Bottom line, 42-year-old Yancy Noll was a good-hearted, happy-go-lucky guy.
OH, YEAH. OH, YEAH. And friends say the idea that Yancy exploded into a road rage battle
is ridiculous. He drove like a grandma. He was very, very careful. Longtime friend Brad Kenny. He had a Subaru
wagon, not known for its speed. Was he an angry man? No. Was he impulsive? >> No. Reckless?
>> Never. Verbally abusive? God, no. Not even close. He was so careful and mindful
with how he interacted with people. Investigators suspect Yancy and his killer crossed paths around [music] 7:00
p.m. on Interstate 5, just north of Seattle. It's possible that there was some sort of
confrontation. And Yancy pulled up to the intersection, thinking nothing of it. Do you think he ever knew what hit him?
Never. He was killed instantly, thank God. He had no idea what happened. The details of the shooting were
curious, to say the least. Right here, five shots were fired with remarkable accuracy. It was at about this time of
day, and the shooter killed Yancy Noll just a few feet from other motorists. I heard five rapid shots. They're kind of
like a pop pop pop pop pop. Friends Kevin Watts and Angelo Rama were driving together when they heard those five pops
behind them. The next thing they saw was a car speed away into oncoming traffic.
I drove by and I was like, that's kind of weird that someone wouldn't wait for a red light. Upset that the driver had
run the red light, the two friends hit the gas and gave chase. We couldn't catch up to him. How fast
did that vehicle peel out of here? Zero to 60 in like two, three seconds. He was
gone. Rama and Watts gave up the chase and returned to the scene where a Subaru was
still at the curb with its motor running. The friends had a sinking feeling that those pops they'd heard
likely were gunshots. I saw a lot of blood. I saw where the bullet holes were and I
realized that there was just there's absolutely nothing I could do. The shooter's bullets had hit Yancy four
times in the head. The case was about to consume detectives Frank Clark and Dana
Duffy for the next two years. Yancy had no criminal history, no history of being
a hothead. We really didn't have a lot to go on. >> [music] >> After closely inspecting the crime
scene, the detectives realized Yancy's window was down and the shooter had fired those five shots right through his
own passenger side window. That's so strange to me. The shooter would shoot through the passenger side window of his
car at someone else? Have you ever heard of such a thing? No, it it was strange to
us as well. That was a huge piece of evidence. The police now knew the shooter's car had a
broken passenger side window and there was more. Even though witness Angelo Rama had only glimpsed the fleeing car
for a split second, something registered. My first guess was an M4. It's a BMW car. The one that I saw was a
convertible. It was silver. Was the top up or down? It was down. And when he was
driving by, I noticed it had really, really nice silver rims. Armed with his detailed description, the police advised
the public to be on the lookout for that BMW model with that broken passenger side window.
As for the driver, I looked at the person who was driving the car cuz I'm really good with faces. Kevin Watts
helped a police artist come up with this remarkably detailed sketch of the shooter.
Within a week, the sketch was released to the public along with grainy still photos of the car from a nearby security
camera. We knew that police in Seattle were looking for a silver BMW and they were pulling them over. All over the
city? >> Yes. Yes. Police were desperate to stop the killer from striking again, not knowing if or
when he would. Two weeks went by and then a suspect surfaced who surprised everyone. When you see something like
this from somebody who has it all together, he's not crazy. He's just evil. >> [music]
>> Police are still looking for the who was driving a silver in his 20s or 30s. >> Did witnesses say plea for anyone with
information. In the two weeks that followed [music] Yancy Noll's brutal execution, cops
received hundreds of tips about that dark-haired suspect in a silver sports car.
It seemed at that time like everybody in the city of Seattle was driving a BMW Z4
or Z3. Then, on September 14th, a woman calls in an anonymous tip. For the first time, this mysterious man has
a name. And she provides a name of Din Bowman and his address, which is less than 10 blocks from the
shooting site. When we pulled up a photo of him, matched the description of our sketch.
Did his hairstyle match? >> Yes, and the age description matched. And yet, the 29-year-old Din Bowman
appears to be the most unlikely of potential suspects. He's a dazzling engineer with an inventive imagination.
>> The golf ball hits the lever of this press, which drives the drill, which spins the wire, which spins
>> Like this Rube Goldberg contraption he created just for fun. It swings over and
hits this water bottle. The bottom of the water bottle is a magnetic plunger. The people that we've spoken to have
described him as brilliant. A genius? Others have titled him as a genius. >> Which then triggers this flamethrower.
Bowman was only a 12-year-old when he entered college. In his 20s, Bowman opened his own business, a boutique
engineering company called Vague Industries that specialized in robotics. And then, in 2007, Bowman met Jennifer
Palm, a successful dentist at an education seminar. >> [music] >> They were married a year later. I
thought they were what I considered to be a power couple, very, very sophisticated. Jason Matta was a friend
of the Bowmans. What were they like as a couple? Loving. The both of them, I think, understood
one another. But it was up to detectives Duffy and Clark to figure out Din Bowman, and they
quickly learned that he had owned a BMW. We wanted to know, does he still have that BMW? Is it still at his house? And
immediately we came up with a plan that we're going to set up a surveillance on his residence, a stakeout. A stakeout.
A tense week went by with no sign of the BMW coming or going. But then the garage
door opens up just enough for the detectives to spot a silver sports car. Based on that information, we're able to
obtain a search warrant. Before dawn on September 21st, 2012, as Din and Jennifer were leaving for work,
[music] police swooped in to arrest Din Bowman. Din was placed in handcuffs and transported down to our office.
So that you know, this is a police facility and everything's being recorded, okay? I just want you to know
that. Bowman has to wait 2 hours for detectives to arrive to question him. While he's killing time, Bowman doesn't
appear to be concerned. He enjoys some snacks and a cup of coffee. Exasperated, Bowman complains his precious time is
being wasted. What do you want, again? Yes, sir. Yes. Uh so kind of getting a little annoyed at how
long this is taking. Do I need to like um I'm sorry, this it it has to take as long as it takes, okay? We
>> He was pretty confused about the whole thing. It was kind of weird. Bowman also
didn't realize that in another room, his wife, Jennifer, had agreed to answer questions from detectives Clark and
Duffy. Have you heard of any murders like within a few blocks of your house in the last few weeks? I'm not sure.
You're not sure? It's a yes or no question. I'm not sure. We call it the I'm not sure interview.
I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Because her responses were overwhelmingly I'm not sure. So, your
honesty right now is paramount. >> I understand. I'm not sure what I can tell you.
Jennifer didn't know that the detectives had already inspected Din's BMW and had
discovered from these markings that the passenger side window had been replaced.
Remember, investigators were certain the killer had fired through that glass. The first thing we did was open the
passenger door and you could see glass shards in the well of the door jamb. Also, within the garage, there was this
fresh smell of paint. >> [music] >> That's because the BMW's silver rims had been painted black.
What about the paint smell that we're smelling in there? I'm not sure. Do you know anything that goes on in
your house? For nearly 4 hours He bled all over the freaking streets of Seattle, okay? investigators hammered
Jennifer for answers. >> And I'm tired of you sitting there playing dumb. While the interview was
going on investigators entered the Bowmans' house, which was surprisingly bare. We knew that Jennifer was the primary
breadwinner in that household and we knew from serving some of our search warrants that she made probably $250,000
a year. But when we got into the home, she had hardly any bedroom furniture. Her mattress laid on the floor. As they
went room to room, investigators discovered a small arsenal of weapons and ammunition.
Everything except the suspected murder weapon, a 9 mm Glock. When detectives finally got to Bowman,
they hoped he would answer a few questions, but Bowman was smart enough to shut down the interview. You want to
talk to a lawyer or you want to talk to us first? Well, I guess I'd like to talk to a
lawyer. Bowman might have been done with the detectives, but they were far from finished with him.
You're going to be charged with a crime. Of what? Murder. Of what? Of who? Murder of a human
being. Okay. >> [music] >> It was something to see. At least 45 friends of murder victim Yancy Noll
packed a Raymond court this morning [music] to get a look at this man. You watch this man walk in and you see this
unassuming person and you go, "Why? Why would you Why would you do this?" Dean Bowman has been in custody for 4
months for the murder of Yancy Noll and at this hearing, Bowman learns his bail is set at a stunning $10 million,
a sum he cannot make. He hasn't shown any sign of guilt or even fear. Brad Kenny is [music] desperate for answers.
It just fills you with so much anger. While Bowman appears stoic in court, prosecutors say the alleged killer has a
quirky side that emerges in hundreds of recorded jailhouse phone calls with his wife, Jennifer. They had pet names. Din
was Bunny. And Mrs. Bowman, Jennifer, was Snuggles. Bunny and Snuggles. >> Bunny and Snuggles. When they talk to
each other, they talk in baby talk. Hi Bunny, how are you? I'm doing good. How's my little snuggle cake?
I just wrote you an email. >> Yay! It's very strange. Very strange. I miss so many things right
I know. I don't have a Snuggles. You don't have a Snuggles on next to you. Everyone warned us, don't listen to
the jail calls. Don't listen to the jail calls, you'll want to throw up. I was just going to say laugh laugh laugh
laugh laugh Meanwhile, back among the grown-ups, detectives Frank Clark and Dana Duffey
were methodically building their homicide case against Bowman. They discovered that for years, the
tech-savvy genius had been downloading these books, articles, and videos to his computer on the subject of death and
murder. It's not that he just had a little bit of it. He had tons of it. And then, there was Bowman's obsession
with this man. Bond. James Bond. And it showed in Bowman's computer videos. That's Din Bowman driving a car at high
speeds [music] around an obstacle course. And here, he is blasting away in shooting demonstrations where he proved
[music] he was an expert marksman with either hand. I don't believe that Din Bowman
got up that morning thinking, "Today's the day that I'm going to shoot somebody." This
situation presented itself somehow. But once it did, then all his self-training and research
kicked in. We're going to talk about shooting through glass. And one of Bowman's videos made by a firearms
expert really shocked police. I've come into a situation where I feel threatened
by somebody off to my passenger side. It was a play-by-play of Nancy's murder. Of course I
recognize, I come down, I grip, I cross parallel, extend, touch, press. If you want to know how to shoot
somebody in traffic from your very fancy sports car, it was an awfully helpful video. He
didn't even have to roll down his window. Prosecutors came to believe Bowman wanted to kill someone just for the
thrill of it. Why would he commit this murder in broad daylight where there are witnesses around who could see his car,
perhaps see him? What's the fun of it if there's no challenge, if there's no witnesses, if there's no need to get
away, to speed off, and fly through neighborhood streets, and hide your car in your garage? That was the fun for
him. Soon after the murder, police say that Bowman went to his computer where he had
his vast library of murder-related books, including "Arrest Proof Yourself". How to cover up a murder,
how to get rid of a gun, how to get rid of gunshot residue. And police say Bowman now had an accomplice,
Jennifer Bowman, aka Snuggles. Do you understand how serious this is right now, Jennifer? Jennifer to me seemed
very, very nervous. Tell us the truth. Poor eye contact, I could see that she was shaky. Tell me the truth right now.
I have told you the truth. Jennifer never asked for a lawyer and handed over her purse where police found
receipts that aided the investigation. Do either of you have the belief that Jennifer had prior knowledge of this
attack? I don't think she had prior knowledge, but I believe that at some point Dan told her what happened. She
had to know something because the next day she went to Portland with him. Why'd you go to Portland?
It was just a little day trip, a little road trip. A trip that led to this auto glass shop where police say Bowman began
to cover up his crime, [music] his wife by his side. She was very standoffish. She didn't say much. Repairman Jeff
Shields. He just seemed like he needed a window right away. Bowman told Shields the BMW window had been shattered by a
thief while he and Jennifer were eating in Portland. What time of day was the window broken? Um we found it um in the
afternoon. >> And approximately what time? It was right after we ate lunch. But detectives
say a restaurant [music] receipt from Jennifer's purse told a different story. They were never there for lunch. They
went there at at dinner time. >> [music] >> Three weeks later, the Bowmans visited a
tire store in northern Seattle. Manager Doug Haskett says Bowman used the name Peter while his wife avoided eye
contact. She was a blonde and she just kind of looked at the ground. She really wouldn't talk to anybody. Bowman bought
four cheaper tires to replace the expensive BMW tires. How would he get new tires? Because during our
investigation, the media released that there were tire tread tracks left at the scene. Why did he get new tires?
I'm not sure. I >> Were the old ones Were the other ones worn out? I'm not sure. What if we put you on a
polygraph test today? You'd fail it like a sack of potatoes. I mean, I can tell you're lying just
looking at you. Police say they later found the set of expensive, practically new BMW tires
inside Bowman's workshop at Vague Industries. The murder weapon was never recovered, but prosecutors felt they had
enough evidence to try Dinh Bowman for first-degree murder. Please raise And he would soon take the stand and tell a
story he had long kept secret. If I didn't do something right then, I was going to die.
Frank, what do we have here? Peter, we're in the evidence warehouse of the Seattle Police Department. Two
vehicles, side by side, once again, just as they were on that summer evening in August 2012.
>> This is Dinh Bowman's BMW roadster Z4 and Yancy Noll's Subaru. What brought them together is unclear.
The result of their encounter is not. What goes through your mind when you look inside
this car? Sadness, devastation for Yancy. His family lost a a loving member. Murder is is very ugly. It's
never pretty. And now, on November 19th, 2014, two years after Yancy Noll was [music]
savagely gunned down, his alleged killer enters the courtroom to face the charge
of first-degree murder. Please rise. Court is now in session. >> By the time of trial, he looked like he
was 13. Din Bowman is transformed. Gone is the confident, cocky young man who first met with detectives.
Do you want to talk to a lawyer or you want to talk to us first? Well, I guess I'd like to talk to a
lawyer. And in his place is what appears to be a clean-cut college student. This
guy doesn't look like a killer, and that's not at all uncommon for defendants to change their appearance in
order to appeal to the jury. Bowman's mother, a native of Vietnam, and his father, a Boeing engineer, are in court
every day to support their only child. But his cooing wife, Jennifer, his Snuggles, is nowhere to be seen.
We are ready to begin opening statements. Prosecutor Adrienne McCoy tells jurors that the motive for murder
wasn't greed or jealousy. This was a fulfillment of a quest. But something far more macabre. A quest
to know what it would be like to kill someone. McCoy attempts to take the jury inside
Bowman's mind by showing these training videos recovered from his computer. We're going to talk about shooting
through glass. From video to thousands of pages of research on killing another [music]
person, prosecutors paint a portrait of a premeditated murder. It was the equivalent of the Library of Congress on
death. Have you ever seen anything like this before in your career? Not even close.
Why was all that stuff on his computer? >> He hoarded [snorts] information. He had
a lot of things on his computer that are totally bizarre. Having possession of it
doesn't mean anything. Mr. Bowman was actually trying to create a library of basically everything. Bowman's lawyer,
prominent defense attorney John Henry Brown, whose former clients include serial killer Ted Bundy, says there's no
evidence that Bowman ever read or watched any of these materials. There were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands
of pages about engineering techniques, but also there was all this bizarre stuff
that the prosecutors used in order to make up their motive. As the defense presents its case, Brown
[music] takes a big gamble. You swear or affirm under penalty He puts Din Bowman on the stand.
I felt like it was just this crazy bad dream and like I was just run like I was running
from a monster. And Brown knows he's risking it all on Bowman's ability to sway jurors and convince them that he
was the victim of road rage. If I didn't do something right then, I was going to
die. Bowman explains that it all began when he accidentally cut off Yancy Noll on the Interstate.
>> There was sort of a a stream of swearing. I think the the the phrase that caught my attention was
um "You better learn how to drive that fancy car, boy, or you're going to get yourself
up." Bowman says Yancy closely followed him off the Interstate to this traffic light
where they both stopped. And it was that point when I got wham. Yeah. That wham, Bowman says, was a wine
bottle thrown by Yancy that hit him in the head. He's an absolute liar. That's sacrilegious to Yancy. He would never
throw and waste wine on somebody like that. I remember seeing his eyes really like bulging
and like as he was kind of as he was yelling, I would describe it as just like violent hatred that you would
I'd only seen in the movies. Did you think it was possibly a gun? Yeah. Yeah. I was scared.
Fearing for his life, Bowman says he pulled out his 9 mm Glock, pointed it at Yancy, and fired.
You intentionally shot him. Yes. Was it your intent to kill him? No. Road rage is by definition not
premeditation. And Bowman says he shot Yancy Knoll in self-defense. >> I remember opening my eyes, seeing that
I had the gun in my hand, and I had just dropped the gun and stepped on the gas. Though Bowman claims
he was the victim, he didn't call the police. Panicked, Bowman says he collected evidence from his car,
including the wine bottle and the gun, and threw it all away. Throwing away of the evidence that would support his own
story. This is a guy who's genius-level IQ, right? Well, well, yeah, but a lot of geniuses
I know don't have a lot of common sense. >> You threw away the evidence that you
could show the police to prove you were not a criminal. Right? I didn't think they would even believe
me. But prosecutor Kristen Richardson isn't buying a word of Bowman's story. You think that most husbands would go
home to their wives and say, "Oh my god, I almost got killed." I figured the more
that he talked, the worse it was going to get for him. You're an expert, shooter.
What was your target? I There was no aiming involved in this. Okay, well you did a pretty good job,
didn't you? Cuz you hit him four times in the head, including the temple, right?
Um that surprised me. For 3 days, Richardson hammers away at Bowman. You lied to your parents. You lied to your
wife, right? >> Is that a question? But he never loses his composure. Mr. Bowman, you have no
trouble answering yes or no to Mr. Brown. Is there something wrong with the way I ask questions of you?
No. It seemed like a strange question. Okay, well that's the first no I think I've
gotten from you, so I guess the point's been made. I have nothing else. Thank you.
You missed the point, don't you think? As Jim Bowman steps down, the question is, did he convince the jury that he
killed Yancy Noll >> [music] >> to save his life? But I think Jim deeply believed that the jury would see that.
Self-defense is justifiable homicide. Or simply for the thrill. Is he guilty of murder in the first degree?
Yes. >> [music] >> I will never forget Yancy. Every time he hikes this trail, Brad
Kenny thinks of his friend Yancy Noll. I really miss him. It's just never going to be over. And I'll always miss him.
I mean, it's good to be here, but it's um it's really difficult. Please rise. After 3 weeks and 31
witnesses, Din [music] Bowman's murder trial is coming to a close. He hasn't shown one iota of remorse. He's just
completely stoic. I think we're ready for the jurors. On December 9th, 2014, more than 2 years after Yancy Noll's
murder, and coincidentally Din Bowman's 32nd birthday, jurors begin deliberations.
>> It's the worst part of the job, waiting for a verdict. But, it's just the nature
of it. You always doubt yourself. One person not doubting [clears throat] himself is Din Bowman, as he confides to
his wife, Jennifer, in recorded jailhouse phone calls. We should chastise the jurors if they take longer
than tomorrow. Jennifer has not appeared a single day of Bowman's trial, but she
stays in constant contact, and has no doubt whatsoever of his innocence. This is obvious. They need to acquit. I tell
could they consider anything else? You have to be completely irrational to believe anything else. Be seated,
please. On day three, the jury returns. I understand the jury has reached a verdict.
I will read the verdict form. We, the jury, find the defendant, Thomas Ben Bowman,
guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree as charged. Guilty. The jury didn't buy Din Bowman's claim
>> he killed Noll, but says it was First degree murder required premeditation. It's a total surprise to Bowman, but
sweet relief to Yancy's girlfriend and his supporters. The verdict is read. What was that moment like for Din? Well,
he was so emotionally upset. He said, "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I
can't believe it." Three weeks later, a very different-looking Din Bowman is back in
court for sentencing. Mr. Bowman made some bad decisions. The once-cocky boy genius is gone [music]
as the reality of the guilty verdict sinks in. And his parents step forward to beg the
judge for mercy. I know this is my fault. >> [snorts] >> Defense attorney Brown must finish
reading her statement. >> Our son's acts are our faults. My husband and I, we provided and
allowed him to learn a gun for self-protection. Brown, a seasoned trial lawyer, can't help but
show emotion as Din's mother asks the judge to send her to prison in place of her only child. I please ask you to
allow myself to substitute any punishment by placing myself in Din's role. It was heartbreaking to watch his mother
at sentencing for her to offer herself in his place to do his punishment for him.
That's real. Moments later, it's Bowman's turn. Din, are you able to speak? But Yancy's girlfriend and his
supporters refuse to listen. I'm disappointed that the jurors didn't believe me.
And the first words out of Din's mouth when he's asked to make a statement at sentencing it not about his parents or
his heartbroken mother or Yancy's friends or family. It's I can't believe the jury didn't believe me.
That's his focus. I don't envy your task of having to make the burden of deciding my fate. It's
and I'm sorry for placing you in that situation. >> [panting and laughter] >> And all I can ask
is for your mercy and for your help. >> [laughter] >> As the judge is about to deliver
Bowman's sentence, he has something he feels compelled to say. I feel very sorry
for your parents, Mr. Bowman, and I want to tell them that it is not their fault.
Mr. Bowman is responsible for his own actions. Bowman gets 29 years and 1 [music]
month, slightly less than the maximum. The case against Dean Bowman is over, >> [music]
>> but the police feel there's unfinished business. Was Jennifer >> [music] >> misleading or dishonest or lying at any
point during this questioning? Yes, she was. I would very much like her to be charged
with a crime. The crime of helping her husband cover up Yancy's murder. Frank, would you like her to be charged with a
crime? Yes, I would. Jennifer today has changed her name and her job. She opened
the door, but we tracked her down in Seattle. Hey Jennifer. Peter Van Sant, 48 Hours. Why did you
lie to detectives? Why did you help your husband cover up a murder? You can talk to us.
No answers still. Ultimately, the state attorney chose not to bring charges against Jennifer, and
she in turn has cut off all ties with the man she once endearingly called her bunny.
Today, the house the couple lived in sits empty. The two cars at the heart of this case remain in a police warehouse.
But, the memories of Yancy Noll remain as alive as ever. Ready first. Ready? Ready? Ready? Get it.
>> [music] [music] [music] [music]

"48 Hours" stories exploring the events that led to murderous crimes. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "End of the Trail," "The Craigslist Killer: Seven Days of Rage" and "A Student of Murder."

00:00 End of the Trail 42:23 The Craigslist Killer: Seven Days of Rage | 01:24:08 A Student of Murder

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.

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Brief Summary

The episode details the murder of Carol Kennedy and the trial of her ex-husband Steven DeMocker, highlighting evidence and emotional impacts.

Key points

The Suspect Emerges. Steve DeMocker, Carol's ex-husband, becomes the prime suspect shortly after the murder.
The Trial's Unexpected Twist. The trial halts abruptly when Judge Limbaugh collapses from a brain tumor.
Steve DeMocker's Fear. Steve expresses his fear of being wrongfully accused of murder.
A Promise to Fight. After the verdict, a promise is made to continue fighting for justice.
The Craigslist Killer Strikes Again. After Trisha's terrifying encounter, the Craigslist Killer murdered another victim, Julissa Brisman.
The Arrest of Philip Markoff. Philip Markoff, a second-year medical student, was arrested for the murders and robberies.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was a fun-loving person. He wanted to have fun.

Description of Steve DeMocker by a family member.

6:36WatchMay 23, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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