Mysterious Disappearances | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] serial killers can be very difficult to predict they're constantly thinking
about hunting for human beings and police reported another grandfin to hurt and to kill her car was later found
abandoned on I45 the highways are a particularly good effective hunting ground once you commit your murder
you're good to hit the road again the 12-year-old disappeared April 3rd while jogging near her
home she's a beautiful child how soon did you really know that something awful had happened when we
first went out to search and we didn't find her when there was absolutely no sign of her we knew then that something
terrible had happened Kelly Cox locked her keys in her car after taking a college field
trip to the Denton Police Department she was last seen making a call from a pay phone not knowing where your daughter
was how do you describe that there's really not a way to describe it I had nightmares for years that she was being
hurt or harmed every day the pain does not go away Tiffany Johnston went missing from
a Bethany Car Wash Tiffany was abducted and broad daylight she just vanished Tiffany was my baby daughter my shadow
anywhere I was at Tiffany was with [Music] me been a week since Jessica Kane disappeared her car was found abandoned
on I45 she would not go somewhere without calling and that's why we know something's wrong and we got to find her
childhood friends came together to hold a vigil praying she would be found until
she's found and someone proves that she's not alive she is alive to us and we're still
searching could it happen again was it going to happen again William Reese was on the top of the list very early on
Reese is the primary suspect in the kidnapping of Laura Smither I think most investigators felt
like he was responsible for multiple girls but you couldn't couldn't get him on it no the case went on for number of
years and no one ever forgot the pain from [Music] 97 he had to cooperate or those girls
were gone forever today's March 1st 2016 if you're comfortable with it I would like to go
through these four different incidents Mr occurred are you okay with that yes these offenders they love to brag about
themselves and I took this throw blacket I had and I laid it on top of her so it
becomes something that's fun for them a little bit of a cat and mouse game stuff
you're saying I don't remember that they are pathological liars and then you immediately buried her after that yes
sir they lie about things they don't even have to lie about you can't necessarily trust what he says you have
to verify this is the area that he brought you to but I mean you were looking and you weren't finding her
right some folks thinking that maybe the information was not accurate I have no reason to lie to you guys and that he
was playing us certainly we were hoping it was going to be a little bit faster uh than it was but you can see that
truly confirms a needle in a hay [Music] stack [Music] [Music] there was a very scary killer who was
going up and down I45 that is correct killing young women that is correct Interstate 45 runs through the swamps
and the derel oil fields between Galveston and Houston the highway marks a trail of
unsolved murders that stretches back for decades and friends with Texas Deputy Chief of Police Josh Roger says
1997 was a particularly deadly year we were living in such a false sense of security it was quite a shock to the
system when we got educated and you got educated the hard way the worst way absolutely the worst way on April 3rd
199 7 gay smi's 12-year-old daughter Laura an aspiring ballerina went out for a run and never returned as days pass
thousands of volunteers on foot and on Horseback combed the swamps and fields around their home in Friendswood keep
your eyes open this is what we're looking for the US Marines even flew in to help we just wanted to say thank you
to everybody we are going to find her what does this say your T-shirt this says pray for laa I was also there in
1997 with the family gay Bob and Laura's younger brother David are you surprised
by the outpouring of concern Sympathy uplifted by it it's just the only thing that's
getting us from one day to the next the beginning of the ballerina exactly yeah I was taking her backyard at the other
the house there's no doubt she's coming home I went into denial immediately I I would not accept any
other scenario other than somebody had taken her to end if I prayed hard enough she'd
be released to come home to us that's how I coped then came the devastating news 17 days later when Laura's
decomposing body was found in a retention Pond 12 mil from her home by a father and son walking their dogs we
thought it was you know like a dead animal in the water something like that certain Jason he says no said animals
don't have socks I screamed into the phone that's not Laura that's not Laura that's I
couldn't accept it I can still hear my screams in my nightmares and then of course we had to
tell David for something there are no words how old was David at the time nine he not only lost his sister in a way he
lost his parents we were physically there but we were emotionally absent part of
us was gone part of us was ripped out after weeks in the water Laura's exact cause of death could not be
determined investigators also couldn't be sure if she had been sexually assaulted in spite of the unknowns a
suspect emerged pretty quickly a man named William ree it was the third day that Laura was missing that he was on
the police radar that quickly yes the third day and why because he was a a sex offender Rees have been released 6
months before Laura's murder after spending 10 years in prison for two rapes in his native Oklahoma he was now
working in Friendswood Texas he was building a residential subdivision and was a bulldozer operator and on the day
Laura went missing because of rain police learned ree was let off work at 9:00 a.m.
which would have taken him right in the direct path of Laura Smither investigators searched Reese's truck and
found fibers from replacement floor mats that were consistent with Trace fibers found on Laura's socks these weren't
Factory floor mats these weren't common fibers while police continued to investigate Laura's case Reese remained
free and was traveling back and forth between Houston where he worked and Oklahoma where his mother lived then in
July of 1997 in Denton Texas a university town along the stretch of Interstate connecting them 20-year-old
Kelly Cox disappeared to describe it it's like martians picked her up she just vanished Kelly's mother Jan bam
says Kelly had gotten locked out of her car after a class trip to the Denton police station she had gone to a nearby
gas station parking lot to use the pay phone very busy area with police officers everywhere Jan knew something
was wrong when Kelly failed to pick up her then toddler Alexis from daycare that afternoon she would never have left
her daughter she was only 19 when Alexis was born she took such responsibility and she import embraced
being a mom m oh my gosh she embraced it and I know she absolutely adored this one over here in addition to raising
Alexis now 27 years old Kelly was taking a full load of courses at UNT the University of North Texas in Denton she
was maintaining straight A in college all a on her fin a week after having yeah week after after she had Alexis she
took her final exams and pulled all eyes on the I mean she was very very driven Alexa says she remembers little about
her mother except the anguish of her being gone I remember looking for her you do looking underneath the bed mhm I
remember looking all around the house look in closets she would look under the bed and say Mommy Mommy the days of
searching turned into weeks than then months we can get this face out there Jan was on local TV pleading for help
finding her daughter I don't want it on a back burner I want her face out there but unlike Laura Smither Kelly was a
young woman not a child and as the case dragged on Jan says she didn't feel that
finding Kelly remained a priority for police Jan still remembers a conversation she had with one member of
the department 3 months after Kelly went missing and he said you should just consider yourself lucky we're even
working on this case most police departments would have just turned her picture in to the missing person's
Clearing House and been done with it that was heartbreaking Jim was certain that someone had abducted Kelly but was
at a loss police had no body and no strong leads and the case soon grew cold I don't think did I ever completely not
think when the phone would ring that maybe it was something about Kelly just 11 days after Kelly went missing up in
Oklahoma and not far from William Reese's Hometown another young woman was about to
vanish She'll always be my baby She'll always be a granddaughter and she'll be a
wife Kathy Do's daughter Tiffany Johnson 19 years old and newly married was just
starting to build her [Music] life on July 26th 1997 she vanished from this Bethany
Oklahoma car wash leaving her car behind her car mats were hanging on the car wash rack her money her
paycheck everything was in her car the next day Tiffany's partially clothed body was found in tall grass
here just off the interstate 15 miles west of that car wash she had been strangled and sexually
assaulted she had rope Burns around her wrist she had black and blue places on her
face no one at the car wash reported seeing anything out of the ordinary so whoever took her had to be pretty
calculating and thinking about the surroundings oh yeah and Tiffany would fight a few days after Tiffany's murder
Kathy says she got a phone call from a man she knew from her town of anad Darko William ree he called to tell me he was
sorry that he had heard Tiffany had gotten killed and how did he sound when he called you sincere all he said was
I'm sorry to hear about your daughter how did you first meet William Reese I met him at the
restaurant Kathy was a waitress in town and knew Reese's mother and when Reese was released from in 1996 and came home
Kathy had given him a ride to get a new driver's license did you know what he had spent
time in prison for no they acted like it was no big deal and would you have even
guessed that he had been convicted of violent crimes toward women oh heavens no it never occurred to Kathy that ree
could have anything to do with Tiffany's murder I couldn't see someone that I knew that would kill Tiff
because they knew how much she meant to me as for investigators they found the Killer's DNA on Tiffany's body but they
weren't able to develop a profile at some point Kathy did you give up thinking they're just never going to
find the person who killed my daughter I never gave up because I made a promise to
Tiffany when I buried her that I would not give up until we found who did it why was it so important to
find who killed her cuz I didn't want him killing someone else's child if you have my daughter I pray
that you would return her we want her back home just 3 weeks after Tiffany's murder back in Lamar Texas it happened
again we're not going to let her go Jessica Kain was about to graduate high school the 17-year-old was last seen
leaving Clear Lake Area restaurant on August 17th 1997 when she didn't come home by curfew Jessica's father CH Kane
went out looking for her I had been to all the places where I thought she might be and I was on my way
home it's actually just about 3 or 4 miles from the house on the side of the road he spotted her truck on the
shoulder of I45 but Jessica was gone and there was no sign of struggle once again search parties comb
the area for yet another missing girl more than a 100 volunteers searched on foot along the marshes and through
the brush tracking dogs were called in to help we were the most broken people at that point gay and Bob Smither still
reeling from the loss of their daughter Laura Just 4 months earlier felt compelled to join the surge
we didn't hesitate we went immediately the search for Jessica C widened today across the Salt Grass and
scrub that surrounds the marshes in the the search went on for weeks but there was no sign of Jessica and no clue who
had taken her we wondered could it be the same person who took Laura from us you know we just didn't know as gay
wondered about William Reese and his involvement a story emerged about another cas
where the victim survived everything happened so fast back in May of 1997 3 months before
Jessica C disappeared a 19-year-old mother Sandra saot stopped at a convenience store off of I45 in Webster
Texas she noticed a man staring at her from the parking lot his truck was out there parked but I wasn't really paying
attention when Sandra left and went to a waffle house across the street she saw the man
again he followed me to the waffle house and I parked and he asked me if I needed
help and I go get help for what and he goes will your tires flat but just moments later The Stranger
was forcing her into his white pickup truck at knife point he was just telling me to keep my mouth shut I mean I was
terrified she says he sexually assaulted her in the truck and then they started speeding down the
interstate and the only thing I was thinking like he's going to kill me I rather jump and kill myself than him
doing that to me and that's just what Sandra did as the truck sped down I45 she opened the door jumped out and hit
the pavement and then I got up started [Music] running Gravely injured Sandra managed
to get help and reported the incident 5 months later in October of 1997 during a meeting with Friendswood
Police Webster investigators noticed that that Sandra's description of her abductor pickup sounded similar to the
truck that friends with police had searched in Laura smi's case belonging to William
ree okay if y'all would get shoulder shoulder uh with the guy on the on the red circle on October 16th
1997 Reese was pulled in for a lineup number four step to the red circle want you take quarter turn to the
left when he walked out and I knew that was him no no doubt that was him you can allow Bo get the truck get
the truck William Reese was immediately arrested and charged with kidnapping he pleaded not
guilty he was finally behind bars but not for any of the murdered girls did you attack Laura
SM face of glass I want you to repeat after me in a loud clear voice do not scream
do not scream get in the truck be the truck William Reese was defiant he denied kidnapping Sandra SAA and
slashing her tire but after his arrest investigators were determined to TI him to lores smi's murder too think you're
being unfairly treated Mr Reese yeah I did I didn't friends with deputy chief Josh Rogers says they thought they found
another link when they searched Reese's apartment he had a horse blanket that was multicolored most of those colors
were also found on one of Loris smi's socks so the evidence was was uh strong and they already had those other fibers
on Laura's socks that match Reese's floor mats still the da at the time did not feel that was enough evidence to
charge ree with Laura's murder and was that frustrating very very I got very very angry I felt that
the system had failed us and failed Laura but Friendswood detectives weren't giving up they pulled records to trace
Reese's movements during the previous summer and discovered that Reese might be connected to the other unsolved cases
there was a fuel charge from Denton on July 15th the same place and date of Kelly Cox's
disappearance it was the first time Kelly's mother Jan bham had heard the name William ree he was now also on the
radar of Denton police that you know caused them to want to check Kelly's fingerprints against anything in
his truck or car did they find anything fingerprints anything connected to Kelly
no they did not friends with detectives also found records showing Reese had used a pay phone in the town where
Tiffany Johnson's body was found less than an hour after she disappeared and the owner of the car wash after seeing
his picture says re was a frequent customer with that Reese joined a list of possible suspects anyone along that
route during that time period uh he was looked at investigators were also now eyeing him in Jessica kain's
disappearance and used bulldozers to look for evidence at the horse ranch where he had
worked but they came up empty-handed and in April of 1998 as suspicion swirled around William Reese
in several jurisdictions he went on trial for the kidnapping of Sandra sea you went to the trial why for
Laura I had to be there for Laura I got very angry with what I learned at that trial because of course
it puts everything in your head at what he had done to Laura gay Smither says she was
especially upset when she heard the testimony of Reese's two rape victims from the
1980s remember he had been released from prison for those attacks just 6 months before Laura was
murdered they came down and testified and I was mortified to hear what he had done to those two young
women the jury didn't take long they went out and minutes later was a guilty verdict William ree was
convicted did and sentenced to 60 years for kidnapping Sandra sea I think a lot of people felt like
that was probably going to be the best that we were going to be able to do um is just to keep William Reese off the
streets again but Laura's case remained officially unsolved and the Smithers wanted to see Rees charged up in
Oklahoma Kathy doy continued to pressure investigators to solve Tiffany's murder
at first i' call every week it was always the same thing they didn't have anything it would take more than a
decade before Kathy says her calls were finally answered all I knew was that I've got a
victim whose car was at the car wash in 2012 retired police chief Lynn Williams had recently started working on cold
cases at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations or the OSB I and was assigned to Tiffany's case the car was
abandoned the keys were in ignition the doors were unlocked no witnesses there was that DNA evidence
from Tiffany's body so really DNA was going to be your only hope that was my frame of mind but the DNA had already
been tested twice without success we are worried usually that there's nothing left to test
Wendy Duke is the supervising criminologist at the OSBI Cold Case unit she found two samples from Tiffany's
body that had not been totally consumed in earlier testing and was able to develop a partial male profile from them
it's exciting even if it is a partial profile because it was a partial profile Duke could only compare it to a profile
from a known person and the team slowly eliminated suspects from the file until they got to William Reese and what was
the result and he could not be eliminated from that partial profile on the swab from Tiffany the da in Oklahoma
thought it was enough to charge Reese for Tiffany Johnson's murder and after all those years of waiting Kathy finally
had some news and I said oh my God why Tiffany that was my main thing why Tiffany Oklahoma law enforcement also
shared the news with Texas investigators including the Texas Rangers who wondered
if William Reese might be willing to talk to them about their cases they went to visit ree in prison
and to their surprise he agreed to talk further if they could take the death penalty off the table the Smithers
agreed and so did Jan bham as long as Reese help police find Kelly that's a huge decision to make
before you even know oh I know and basically I said I wanted answers I wanted to know what whether my daughter
was alive or dead what would you do with the difficult decision that the BAM and
Smither fames faced chat now on Facebook and X je what are you doing what are you doing
what are you doing look look when they would find a body anywhere and then they would confirm who
it was and it wasn't Kelly and I'd go oh it's not Kelly and then I'd go but it was
somebody's daughter almost 19 years after Kelly Cox's disappearance her mother Jam was
finally close to knowing what had [Music] happened in February 2016 William Reese was moved from prison
to the Friendswood jail after agreeing to give investigators information about their three Texas cases he hoped his
cooperation might help him in Oklahoma too he told us that he wasn't going to play games if
we weren't going to play games investigators took Reese out to this remote Field South of Friendswood where
he said Kelly Cox's remains were located Reese hadn't yet told them if he was responsible for her death he doesn't
give any confession no but it's clear that he's got some involvement correct police spent long days and nights with
Reese in the jail and out in the field looking for Kelly's remains and during that time ree started telling
investigators about his encounter with Kelly Cox and Denton he claimed they got into a fight in the gas station parking
lot after he bumped into her and she spilled her soda on him I started curing her I think I pushed her that's when she
hit me with the coke I slapped her then it was over she was fighting back yes okay what
happens next and then I grabed her around the throat I show her Reese had just confessed to murdering Kelly Cox
but investigators weren't sure if his story was true they hadn't found any sign of Kelly in that field but as they
kept looking this was not the only major Revelation to emerge I remember going to
work at construction job site it's a rainy morning soon reys was telling investigators what he said happened to
Laura Smither on that rainy morning in Friendswood I hear something Slam against my
miror and uh it scared me so I stop I got out and that's when I look in the ditch and I seen L Smithers laying
in the ditch and uh she wasn't breathing Reese claimed that Laura had died instantly after he had hit her with
his truck by accident but he later changed that story claiming Laura had survived but when he tried to stop her
from crying he accidentally broke her neck psychopaths are incredibly callous individuals they are without guilt and
they are without remorse marelen ool is a retired FBI profiler we asked her to review the case records and Reese's
videotape statements to try to understand his psychology I've not assessed him not met
him and I'm just going from my own experience but looking at his cases looking at his behavior I would say in
my opinion that he manifests traits of psychopathy you wanted the truth so I'm telling you the TR and once police got
him talking I had a raptor and a married Raptor Bree didn't seem to want to stop
SE I jumped curve it was right there old tul says that Reese was probably enjoying the attention and to break from
his routine this whe what's the worst thing that you can do for someone that has a
tendency to love exciting challenging stimulating things you put them in an environment like prison where they get
bored so when you offer them the opportunity to come out and assist law enforcement they're going to jump at
that after a week of fruitlessly searching for Kelly Cox reys offered to help them
find another victim Jessica Kaine whom he said he had buried in a different field closer to Friendswood and while
Rees didn't have an agreement with the da in that case said being against drinking he started telling that story
too claiming he had had an argument with Jessica outside the restaurant where she
was last seen scene and that she followed him down I45 for 30 miles I don't know why I just pulled over she
pulled up behind me started yelling and I went off on her again okay then you end up choking her out then yes sir on
the on I 45 on I 45 but even as Reese admitted murdering Jessica he would not admit to raping her or Kelly or Laura do
you believe that most likely every one of his victims was raped I do I believe that they were because I believe that
that was really the intent of the crime if that's his motivation sexual motivation why doesn't he admit that is
that typical in some cases I would say that's that's typical because in their eyes that makes them look pretty
pathetic that you have to attack someone strangle someone beat someone up in order to be sexually gratified go ahead
with the next one that's the war in Oklahoma City can finally even though he could again be facing the death penalty
investigators were able to get ree to talk about the last case they thought he was linked to from
1997 Tiffany Johnston who re said he had encountered at that car wash in Oklahoma
I was spraying clean up underneath my truck that's when that girl yelled hey I sprider little sorry I thought she said
something I said I started curing matter her and me and her got into it he knew police had his DNA and admitted having
sexual contact with Tiffany after forcing her into his horse trailer was fighting un Snapp her overalls I don't
know why once again reys made a point to blame his victim for the violence that followed she hit me in the back of the
head with her horseshoe pissed me off started squeezing her around the throat and I grabbed that lead rope wrapped
around her pulled it tight four victims and four confessions but with no sign of
Kelly Cox or Jessica Kaine not everyone believe Rees was telling the truth there
was some folks thinking that maybe the information was not accurate and that he was playing
us go inside the case and see more of the evidence at 48 hours.com as we dug and we continued to not locate
anything there certainly wasn't as many investigators helping at the end of it as they were at the beginning of it in
March of 2016 after 25 days of digging and with William Reese's guidance there was
finally some news they found Jessica K's Remains What was that day like very emotional we were sad but also we were
joyful as well to have located uh the remains Jessica's parents asked for privacy as they processed the news and
buried their daughter four investigators finding Jessica corroborated William Reese's stories and re-energized the
search for Kelly Cox and after another two weeks of painstaking work they found her
I had nightmares for the first time where she had to wake me up screaming never had nightmares like that before
her nightmares were being down in a hole it was just after Kelly and Jessica were found
Oklahoma County Prosecutors Jimmy Harmon and Ryan Stevenson have William Reese transported back to their state to face
a capital murder trial for Tiffany Johnston we typically only seek the death penalty on the worst of the worst
murderers and Mr ree certainly fit that bill Reese pleaded not guilty even though prosecutors had the DNA evidence
and his chilling words from his tape confession that's when I grabbed her around the throat choked her when the
trial began in May of 2021 Reese's defense fought to keep that video out but the judge decided that the jury
would watch it and hear all his statements where he admitted killing Laura Smither Kelly Cox and Jessica
Kaine all relevant says Stevenson for showing that Reese had a pattern all of that being in such a short time period
we wanted to be able to show the jury that this guy wasn't stopping he was stopped Sandra SAA and two women who say
re sexually assaulted them in 1997 all testified at the trial prosecutors say this testimony was crucial to correct
the self-serving stories that ree told on those tapes you never quite get the full story out of William ree he always
tells it in the way that makes him look best prosecutors think the true story is
that Reese would set traps for his victims he would sometimes create the situation in the case of Sandra Sea by
slashing her Tire presented himself as the Good Samaritan and he would then attack them after 9 days in that
Oklahoma court room the case went to the jury it took them less than 2 hours to decide finding William Reese guilty of
murdering Tiffany Johnson Reese was sentenced to death I'll never forgive him for killing Tiffany he should die
but instead of being sent right away to death row reys first made one final trip
back down the interstate to Texas where he agreed to plead guilty to murdering Laura Smither Kelly Cox and Jessica
Kaine it took almost 25 years but you finally got Justice for Laura didn't you yeah and for Jessica and Kelly and that
was very important to Bob and I in exchange for his guilty pleas Reese received three life sentences in the
Texas cases gay Smither made a statement at one of those hearings I spoke about Laura and how we had an empty seat at
our table for the rest of our lives and then I told him that I I forgave him for
what he did you forgive him for ruining your lives you lost Laura who had her whole life ahead of her forgiveness does
not mean I condone what he did nor does it mean I will ever forget what he did forgiveness was for me to not live in a
in a cage of Rage that's what forgiveness is with Laura's case now resolved gay and Bob
could devote more time with their son David now 34 and his children gay also travels the country training law
enforcement on handling missing persons cases I'm here to tell you what happened
with the prayer that you will be inspired by Laura's Story to never give up the bams wanted a way to share their
memories of Kelly and and created this statue in her Honor on the UN campus where Kelly had once been a student
hoping to remind people to be aware of their surroundings you've got to live but you can do that in a smart way and
be safe Jan says like every family touched by William reee she's having to learn how to live with grief I cry every
day I used to say to people if you don't want to see me cry then you can walk away cuz I am going to cry what are you
doing how do you want people to remember your mother just the way she was she was
a ball of fun she was a beautiful young woman who had a lot going for her she was driven
and she was doing it for [Music] me [Music] two gruesome murders unsolved same area
same MMO ambushed stabbed multiple times can a man known as the zombie hunter help police find a killer and then he's
defending the world against zombies it was like he was hiding in playing sight 48 Hours next on CBS and streaming on
Paramount [Music] Plus Andre McDonald had a very very strict regimen she followed it
daily nice drop it that a girl she would be at the gym at 5:30 in the morning in
the office by 8:00 on March 1st they had no indication she would be late she didn't show up for
work this was very significant to her employees they called the gym and found out she never showed up to the gymm
which is like a religion to her I Colin Andy repeatedly it's going to voicemail you know the anxiety starts steading in
like I start panicking for anging to be missing is not possible the biggest issue for me were
the fact that her phone was missing her purse was still there her keys were on the counter and her Vehicles were still
there if her vehicle's there her purse is there her keys are there if she's missing is there a concern of an
Abduction the deputies obviously didn't know what to think at this point they were just beginning the
investigation what we did learn is andrean McDonald a beautiful Jamaican woman was brought to the United States
by uh Andre her husband as a major in the Air Force and and had top secret security
clearance they began a assisted living business where they in short order became
millionaires the picture of the American dream she's not boastful or anything like
that she's just that humble person andreen had a great reputation in not only the assisted living community here
in San Antonio and we're on the side of the street this morning and we're giving
out food for those less fortunate and she was very very generous with her wealth and her time God bless you kind
of a a rising star of the of San Antonio absolutely a very much so a rising star they were always laughing together
they were always joking around the home didn't seem to be in terrible disarray no furniture was
knocked over or anything was broken I found there was blood on the wall in an area that was kind of odd
there was blood and hair on a light switch we assumed that something happened there it was a crime scene of
some sort I was on social media and I saw that initial poster that came out with
her face and then it says missing on the top andrean is not the person to go take
off somewhere no one knows where she is supporters for Andre McDonald renewed their search efforts when the months
went by and the days went by and they haven't found anything in my mind that's not such a bad
thing because if they're not able to find something that solidifies her being dead I mean she's alive right and she's
[Music] somewhere [Music] [Music] [Music] in the afternoon of March 1st 2019 after
29-year-old andreen McDonald was reported missing by her mother Moren a bear county sheriff's deputy arrived at
the McDonald home in an upscale gated community in San Antonio within minutes Sheriff javar Salazar says his Deputy
made a disturbing Discovery one of my deputies had seen what they believed to be Blood on the wall and possibly
hair and in the backyard normally beautifully landscaped another troubling clue a random burn
pile right here I saw the burn pile we found a zipper from Andre's blouse it was Andre's blouse
mhm Andre's husband Andre Andy McDonald told the deputy that when he woke up he got their daughter Elena to school
before reporting to lackan Air Force Base where he served as a cyber warfare analyst once he learned andreen was
missing Andre rushed back home but he quick headed out the door again to act on a hunch that andreen who suffered
from migraines might have gone to a nearby hospital for treatment Andre's arrival to the
hospital was captured by surveillance cameras lead investigator Frank stubs on that tape he comes in you can see him
asking for McDonald and they tell him there's somebody in room three named McDonald he arrives back back to the
house what does he tell them he tells them that she's in the hospital but when the deputy called the hospital he
discovered that the McDonald who had checked in was not andreen McDonald Andre told deputies that he
rushed back home before seeing his wife because he had left his cell phone at home and wanted to let Moren know he had
found andreen there was some indication to him that she was there and injured to
some extent unfortunately the Major's hunch turned out to be wrong when I heard I was oh God I was so upset I was
just thinking that she's some place that we can find her and for Andre's mother-in-law Jackie who lived in
Florida there was uncertainty I had called andrene's phone about a thousand times already saying
andreen whatever it is please please just call me back what concerned everyone was the fact Andre
would never just disappear she was known for her sense of responsibility and dedication to her family and
business how would you describe andreen she knows what she wants and she will never stop until she
get it I did come in before he did right andreen did defeat me and she is so excited
andreen created an assisted living business in San Antonio called Starlight homes when she was just 22 and according
to Andre's close friend Andrew Russell in order to start the business Andre he liquidated his 401k Andre bankrolled her
dreams and he sold the BMW that he owned they were doing so well they were doing
everything that would make any mother proud Starlight homes thrived and under Andre's watch the tiny homebased
business transformed into a multi-million doll Enterprise in just 7 years when I started my assistant Li I
only started with three residents today Starlite homes living we have two locations in the San Anton
area childhood friend Mandy says Andre's success was born out of humble beginnings growing up in Portland
Jamaica we didn't have a lot and so we figured if we wanted to get somewhere in life it would be in America that's where
the dream was Andre's dream of coming to America came true at 19 when she met Andre he was also a native of Jamaica
who at the time was a captain in the US Air Force Andre had returned home to Port Antonio in May of 2009 to attend a
funeral where he met andreen who was 10 years younger was there an attraction right from the beginning she was excited
when she met him excited about the captain in the Air Force they both decide for her to come
to America they married that July was happy to know he had met somebody that he could have a life with that life
would soon include a baby girl Elena Elena was at the center of Andre's World which made her disappearance so
perplexing says Jackie I don't think andrene would just get up and walk away and leave
Elena and nobody hear from her that evening a forensic crime unit examined those stains in the bathroom
and confirmed the initial belief that they were blood while you were going through the house was Andre there yes he
was did you see any signs of bruising on his body any signs of of any injuries that perhaps he'd been in a struggle
nothing that we could that we could determine investigators were hoping Andre had some answers but he said the
last time he had seen his wife was the night before and they said what Andre described raised more questions than
answers he had told them they had come home from the tax preparers office and that that they had argued
over um the business and he went up the road got some gas and just cooled off we were able to obtain video
evidence of him going to the Shell station Andre said when he returned home he and andreen went to separate
bedrooms but according to investigators what Andre didn't mention was the text exchange that happened at the gas
[Music] station for investigators the text messages found on Andre's phone revealed
a marriage in turmoil including allegations of betrayal accusations of unfaith in these text messages correct
that's correct we have uh a printed copy would you mind reading these from his phone
andreen responds if you bring up aubit again I will divorce you myself auin Hall a businessman living in Port
Antonio Jamaica who according to investigators was andrene's ex-boyfriend and potentially her current lover in
response to Andre's threat of divorce Andre text I don't care if you get a divorce you brought auin into our life
auin dated andreen when she was a teenager say investigators Andre's close friend Mandy says the two rekindled
their romance in 2017 during one of her philanthropic trips to the island auin has always been
that first love it wasn't something andin got over emotionally Mandy says They carried on their fair in secret
until the summer of 2018 when andreen got two new tattoos an initial a tattooed on her hand and a date tattooed
on her wrist Andy was definitely suspicious of what it meant with a Suspicious Mind Mandy says Andre went to
work to solve this tattoo mystery he went and he did his own digging it was on social media where Andre discovered
an interesting photograph of auin branded with the same exact tattoo that was also on Andre's hand and those
numbers 14376 they're ain's birthday day month and year she told me that she impulsively got the tattoo she knew it
was something stupid to do enraged Mandy says Andre threatened divorce unless andring cut off contact with auin
covered up her tatto tattoos and promised to never travel to Jamaica without him she did cover up the tattoos
she didn't want to lose half of everything she worked hard for at Andre's 40th birthday party Mandy
says by all outward appearances that McDonald's seemed to be getting along but just 13 days later on March 1st
2019 that's when andreen disappeared the once festive home had transformed into a crime scene as investigators
worked the McDonald residents until 2 the next morning when they couldn't locate Andre's cell phone investigators
checked to see if her credit cards or passport had been used all dead ends we came up dry on on on all of these
inquiries at this point all we had was a missing person Within hours of his wife's disappearance Andre McDonald was
a person of interest he stopped answering questions and lawyered up at 2: p.m. the next day an undercover
investigator assigned to watch the McDonald's house noticed that the garage had been damaged and Andre was backing
out of the driveway the investigator followed him to a nearby gun shop where additional investigators who were called
to the scene observed Andre purchasing a 9mm handgun and ammunition we were under the assumption
that he was purchasing a gun to probably harm himself when Andre walked back to his
car investigators confronted him their violent takedown may be disturbing to viewers investigators moved to detain
the Air Force Major and turned him over to military authorities for a mental evaluation meanwhile investigators
returned to the house with a search warrant and checked andrene's car while there some objects caught their eye
there was a shovel there was an axe an axe uh there was a like a hatchet kind of Mall there was trash bags there were
gloves and a couple of gas cans and there was more inside the garbage can in the house
was a receipt from Lowe's that had been torn up detectives were able to obtain surveillance footage from the hardware
store items that were purchased the day after andreen went missing this is Andre
McDonald coming into the Lowe's he's going to purchase several items you can see him with a basket here you can see
there's a shovel in the basket now he comes up here there's two gas cans there's a a mul or a
hatchet here's that axe what's at play here it appeared to us that now that his wife is missing um it
pointed to the disposal of her body look at that cart full of ill will right yes and in the corner of the
garage investigators would uncover what they say was the most damning evidence of all we found a hammer and clothing in
the garbage the clothing that we found appeared to be Andre clothing investigators say they found traces of
Blood on the pocket of these genes what's on the claw hammer that's of Interest the lab determined that there
was the presence of blood on the hammer and the DNA that they obtained from that
that blood sample was from entry we concluded that that hammer was probably used as the murder weapon this is
significant very significant 48 hours into the investigation detective stubs believed he had
discovered key evidence that implicated Major Andre McDonald in his wife's disappearance investigators located
those items stained with Andre Green's blood inside the family's trash can this missing person's case had become much
more Sinister and it's pointing toward what the evidence was pointing towards a murder but there was a problem none of
the evidence collected proved that a murder had actually occurred turning a missing person's case into a homicide
case is very difficult on March 3rd 2019 the Air Force concluded its evaluation of Andre
and released him Civil Authorities quickly moved in and placed him under arrest daughter my family what do you
have to say about this entire investigation but it wasn't for murder Major Andre McDonald was arrested for
tampering with evidence based upon that torn receipt found at the house listing the items he had purchased from the
hardware store Andre's arrest left his mother Jackie in a State of Shock and disbelief I saw that Andre was taken
into custody and I just collapsed I know he loved Andre why would he harm her and for Andre's mother Andre's
arrest left her head spinning oh God Andre could not hurt andreen that's what I was saying but who
else adding to everyone's sense of shock confusion and suspicion was Andre's decision to stop cooperating with
detectives Andre's face told us there was no way in hell we were going to break him and make him tell us what had
happened Sheriff Salazar went on local TV after asking for help we are asking anybody with any information on her
whereabouts to give us a call at 210 335 soon after the community of San Antonio along with family and friends
came out in droves to look for and dream including a volunteer search Party formed by former Air Force Airman Bobby
green Bobby took us out to one of the areas where he searched for and dream right now we're behind a hospital we
thought he might have taken her here to a wooded area as you walk through here what are you looking for you would look
at tree branches that had been pushed away something that was cut fresh uh tire tracks how many miles did you cover
it was hundreds of miles as search efforts continued Andre McDonald was released from jail on where and with his
wife absent Andre took over management of Starlight homes search efforts continued although investigators say
Andre didn't take part days would eventually turn into months of dead ends as the search for andreen went on
investigators dug further into the couple's relationship learning that they had business problems as well as
romantic ones in WhatsApp messages shared with friends there are arguments over who
really was the brains be behind their successful business in one andreen tells Andre Starlight Holmes is my idea my
dream and would not have happened without my drive back then friends like Andrew Russell became worried about the
potential for violence and I have text message from Andre that's saying someone is going to snap Andrew told
investigators that the couple's war of words turned physical the night before a Christmas party at their home in 2018
where the McDonald's got into a physical altercation so when I went into the kitchen Andy and andrene were grappling
on the floor the next morning they were laughing about it I did feel uncomfortable after that I thought the
the situation had become toxic just over 2 months later andrene's blood was spilled in her home and she
vanished finally on the evening of July 11th 2019 133 days after andren had gone missing
there was a break in the case about 7:30 this evening uh the bar County Sheriff's
Office patrol deputies were dispatched to this location for a report of some human remains that were found skeletal
remains were located in a farmer's field just 6 miles from the McDonald home this
man Clifton cundi made the discovery Clifton had taken out his tractor to retrieve a cow skull that had been
spotted right along the tree line of the property I saw the what appeared to be a
human skull in front of the cow skull that must have been a shock a shock yes officials determined that the human
skeletal remains belong to andreen McDonald her sister Cindy Johnson I was at a church
praying for andr I couldn't do anything I broke down it hit us like a storm cuz we still wasn't thinking like
that never I never saw this coming less than 48 hours later Andre McDonald would be arrested and charged
with his wife's murder see more evidence from the case at 48 hours.com Andre's family had waited for
justice for 4 years it hurts every night before I go to my bed I think about her bar County
assistant District Attorneys Steven spear Lauren Scott and Ryan groomer would prosecute McDonald for the murder
of his wife and dream but the prosecution would face an uphill battle despite the evidence found at the
McDonald home the hammer and the blood the prosecution could not say for sure how andreen died because Andre's body
was out in the elements in that field for all of those days Medical examiner's office was unable to specify what
exactly caused Andre's death and does that Stephen complicate your preparation no it absolutely does we say he caused
her death however we don't know how if Andre murdered his wife what do you believe was his motive I believe it was
largely because he felt emasculated she was such a rising star had control of these businesses and I think he was
jealous of that McDonald who pleaded not guilty was represented by some of the top defense lawyers in San Antonio John
convery Zoe Russell and John Hunter how would you respond to the notion that what caused all this was his
Envy of his wife's success I I don't see any evidence of that Andre is a major in
the Air Force I mean he's incredibly successful on his own right Major Andre McDonald had been under house arrest
since April of 2021 but days before his trial was set to begin January 17th 2023 McDonald who had remained silent
about his wife's death began telling an extraordinary story beginning with his own mother Jackie says her son told her
andrene's death was an accident he looked at me and he said Mom I'm going to tell you the truth and he
started to cry McDonald then called Andre's mother and sister Cindy who put the call on speaker phone he gave the
family for the first time details of what happened according to him according to him yes it was a phone call that
stunned his defense team was it shocking to you that he had done this shocking is
a good word for it yeah the entire context of the case changed his best thought thought would be to tell a story
in court McDonald would get to tell his story but not before the prosecution laid out its case in opening stat ladies
and gentlemen inside the trash B in the garage a hammer that hammer has flood on it it is the victim's
blood the defense contended that andrene's death was an accident this is not a murder case it is
a case about the degree and level of responsibility with evidence of accident a mutual
fight all of which happens in the blink of an ey the prosecution also called forensic pathologist Dr James fig who
testified that andrein skeletal remains had severe injuries consistent with being struck by a blunt object she had a
fractured spinal cord a broken rib and a split jaw but the pathologist could not
determine what exactly had caused Andre's death so the way that I have phrased her cause
of death is homicidal violence including blood force trauma after 6 days of testimony and 33
Witnesses the prosecution rested the defense had only one witness defense calls Major
Andre McDonald McDonald described the evening of February 28th 2019 while at the tax preparers office with his wife
he discovered that andreen had started a new business a year earlier without his
knowledge what did that signify to you basically U that meant to me pretty much that she was robing me after a heated
argument that evening McDonald says he left the house to cool off at that gas station McDonald says they continued
their argument over text and when he returned home he raised the possibility of divorce and splitting their business
in half she became extremely irate at the thought of splitting the business charges into the room to confront me so
when she comes into the room you know know I turn around and she comes like right up in my face so at that moment
she spits in my face so at that point grabbed her cuz she's like right in front of me so I grabbed her head I
think we had like a a clash of heads and I think it opened up like a cut somewhere on her face McDonald said
andreen ran into the bathroom and turned on the lights when andren saw her bloody
face in the mirror McDonald claims she attacked him his testimony may be disturbing to some
viewers when she comes she's like throwing like some punches so I'm trying to like duck down and like keep my head
my face from getting hit with the blows I remember like grabbing her like tripping her and then she like Falls and
that's when I kick her life twice but the second kick I think I heard like some type of
weing and then also like in the background I could hear like some footsteps the footsteps of their young
daughter Elena Donald said he left to put Elena back to bed and when he returned about 30 minutes later his wife
was dead I became like pretty frantic at that point because you know she's dead on the floor you never thought I need to
cross-examination prosecutor spear asked if McDonald had thought about calling 911 I never thought about calling
anybody to revive a dead person my purpose at that point was simply to get her out of the house so that my
7-year-old daughter wouldn't see her mother laying on the floor dead after putting Elena back to bed McDonald said
he dumped Andre's body in this field stripped her naked and returned home to burn her clothing which left that burn
patch in the backyard but what about Andre's Blood on the yellow hammer on the face of it the evidence doesn't
square with McDonald's account of an accident McDonald had an explan ation for that he testified that when
investigators finished searching his home he went back to the field Before Dawn angry and armed with the yellow
Hammer a can of gasoline and a plan my plan was to hit the person that caused this whole circumstance and you
felt it was her fault right it's absolutely your fault what did you do with the gasoline I poured it on her and then I
used the the and set it on fire McDonald said when the flame subsided that's when
he attacked his wife's corpse with the yellow Hammer I hit her in the face the neck and I just like hit her again as I
was walking away why that last blow as I was walking away yes I guess I was still
angry when I was walking away after that gruesome testimony the defense shifted gears and tried to refocus the jury on
on their theory of the crime and for the first time the defense brought up why McDonald acted the way he did that night
have you always believed you acted in self-defense yes I've always believed that from the very beginning than the
defense played videos showing andreen giving her husband a piggyback ride and working
out would you describe andreen as a very strong powerful woman yes I would straight up according to McDonald his
wife could lift up to 300 lb yes ma'am when she attacked you were you in fear yes I was in fear of you know being
harmed during that that whole situation they want you to forget and disregard about all his actions closing
arguments defense Council said that this is self-defense folks this is not self-defense it's time to hold this man
responsible for what he did and it's time to find him guilty of murder Andre McDonald did not intentionally
rly murder and dream McDon he acted in self-defense and your duty and your obligation is to say not
guilty thank you after 6 days of testimony the jury got the case all the jury approximately 11 hours into their
deliberation the jury sent a note to the judge that says we're hopelessly dead law what do you make of Andre McDonald's
claim of self-defense chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook [Music] andex after almost 11 hours of
deliberating the jury was deadlocked unable to decide if Andre McDonald was guilty of murder manslaughter or Not
Guilty by self-defense everything was said in the courtroom all the evidence were were
there he confessed on the stand what he did they saw his demeanor I don't know what what was um the problem for jurors
Brandon meden I voted for murder and I saw that we were six and six and Rudy Ruiz at no point did any juror think
that he was innocent or that it was self-defense the problem was wording because people really picked apart the
definitions of murder and recklessness the jury of Six Women and six men spent hours discussing whether
McDonald Had intentionally murdered andreen or if he had recklessly killed her making it manslaughter
murder carries a life sentence manslaughter up to 20 years and I think most of us could agree that whatever
happened it was Reckless he left her on the ground and he did not render Aid now the
trick was to try and convince the other jurors that it was murder but as the deliberations
continued some of the jurors had been swayed with nine now for manslaughter mí says the biggest factor in swaying the
vote was Andre McDonald's testimony there was so little evidence and so a lot of people believed because we don't
know anything else other than what he has told us that we have to take what he told us and he was actually able to
convince a lot of the jurors we had that one juror that he said well I've kicked
someone I never intended to kill them medine Ruiz and a third juror were the staunch holdouts for murder no one was
going to change anyone's mind the judge then invoked what's called an Allen charge urging the holdout jurors to
reconsider the evidence and reach a unanimous decision after another hour of deliberations a verdict and Mr McDonald
please stand with your councel to the count of murder charging the indictment the jury finds the defendant not guilty
of the offense of murder has charged in the indictment and guilty guilty of the offense of
manslaughter Andre McDonald was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the Lesser charge
manslaughter Andre's sister Cindy was in disbelief a manslaughter after he spoke with no
remorse no love nothing at all and use Hammer stripper clothes throw gasoline on her burnt her and they gave him
manslaughter that's crazy I I am going to struggle with this thought until the day I
die the prosecution had a mixed reaction to the verdict I was disappointed however the jury rejected his
self-defense argument and held him accountable for at least some for the defense Andre McDonald may not
have walked out a free man but this is a win despite how I believe that this is a
self-defense case I do respect the outcome and Dre's best friend Mandy Hall he's there to tell his story he's there
to make up whatever he wants to make up she she doesn't she can't do that because he took that away from
her Cindy now sees that phone call from McDonald before the trial in a whole new
light as a calculated ploy to deflect blame it's four years it took him four years for him to recognize that he did
what he did and then all of a sudden he's um reaching out to us to let us think that
he's been responsible he didn't mean anything he is lying all a lies it's all a lie after the verdict Sher Sheriff
Salazar reached out to andrene's Father a retired member of the Jamaican army with an unusual
offering I did present Mr Anderson with a gift uh I asked my Deputy to remove the handcuffs from from Andre as they
put him back into the um cell and I gave I presented those cuffs to to Mr Anderson I wanted them to feel some sort
of connection to at least sending him away to to prison I want to tell you that we really appreciate it thank you
very much God bless you for andrene's mother nothing about this tragedy makes sense her daughter
and the Beautiful Life she had created are gone andreen McDonald who came to America became a successful entrepreneur
and found her purpose in serving others sadly the business she created is now closed I'm miss her very
much most times when I think about her I just it's like I feel like giving up and
in those times marine and Cindy lean on one another we're blessed to have each other to take us through this sad
Journey um when I'm weak my mom is strong when my mom is weak I am strong we have to be strong for Alena
Elena now 12 years old is the glue that binds this fractured family a family that still includes Andre's mother
Jackie though she is mainly left with the memories and the pain of what once was I think I heard for Alena more than
I heard for everyone no child should ever have to go through what she went through Moren and Cindy are now raising
Elena it's bittersweet cuz we have Elena Elena reminds us so much of Andre can Mommy get a
kiss love [Music] you a young wife and mother found with a strange mix of drugs at her system hey
there's a needle right here it makes you stop breathing if you have too much was
it murder investigators turned to her journals for answers how crucial were those journals very 48 hours Saturday on
CVS streaming on Paran [Music] plus it was somewhat unusual for someone someone to just vanish out of thin air
especially on the east side of Milwaukee Kelly dwire she is a young woman that is out trying to discover
herself you see this brigh eyed smiling beautiful girl who really seemed to have
a lot of life and vitality we got to spend quite a bit of time together in the yoga room it was
rare not to see her and I had just assumed she was on an adventure of some sort October 12th
2013 she did not show up for work her co-workers were absolutely the first to respond Kelly was very tied to
her cell phone always posting on social media always texting when they called Kelly's cell
phone it went straight to voicemail Kelly dwire is missing Flyers started going out all of the sudden in the
community it was Boom everybody knew that she was [Music] missing there's a sense of urgency here
absolute sense of urgency for certain today authorities and volunteers hunted for clues in her
disappearance I think that people saw those images and realized you know this could be my daughter this could be my
best friend Kelly DWI was an acquaintance of mine we would meet up at aliam a local bar and we would touch
face frequently throughout the week we learned that she was on a number of websites where one would meet men she
was bright sweet just kind-hearted good person she was on websites that could expose you to people very quickly that
are strangers some of her friends made comments that she might be with one of those people right now M DWI was meeting
people that could have put her In Harm's [Music] Way [Music] [Music] [Music] it's like she
vanishes her social media goes dead her debit card goes dead the phone is dead like the rest of Milwaukee
assistant district attorney Sarah Hill found Kelly dwi's sudden Disappearance in
2013 baffling in an age of an electronic footprint if you will it's not there it's like she just isn't
anymore the night of October 10th started out like any other for Kelly she'd been on a date with a man named
Chris Sako Kelly came to Chris's apartment building they go to get a few drinks and have a nice night out at a
place called aliia a cute little uh bar that was uh kind of across the street from the apartment building I remember
her and I having a small conversation of so what do you have to do tomorrow and she goes I actually have off Chanel
Royston was at the bar that night Kelly told her what she planned to do the next
day I want to wake up in the morning I want to do yoga I want to do laundry and just have an easy
day they picked up a pizza from Ian's a little pizza place that's like a block away brought it to the bar we were all
sitting outside on this very long communal picnic bench we were all nibbly on the pizza you know they're sharing it
with us Kelly and Chris decide to call it a night a little after 2 in the morning they head back to uh Mr zaco's
apartment building across the [Music] street Kelly and Chris had been dating for about a year after being introduced
through a mutual friend Kelly had moved to Milwaukee in 2008 and gone to college
when we're in our early 20s that's definitely a Time of exploration when you're trying to find your own footing
as an adult that's it biceps behind the ears lower your chin she always greeted me
with a huget Kelly's Journey of self-discovery had led to yoga class an instructor Ryan hater she was always
excited to see me and excited to get her butt kicked in my class keep your upper
back strong and her energy was just infectious Kelly worked part-time as a n and as a salesperson for an athletic
apparel store where her tight-knit co-workers were the first to sound the alarm when she missed a shift they
worked together and they played together it's like she found her tribe when was the
last time that you saw Kelly dwire it was just before her birthday she was like something big is going to happen I
can feel it this feels really important to me Kelly had just turned 27 and her relationship with 38-year-old Chris Sako
seemed to be taking on greater meaning for her based on what her friends said it certainly appeared to me that she was
extremely interested in him maybe even in love with him Chris's mother Joyce fry he was always into sports he always
had a lot of friends he was a very good golfer my dad took him uh out to the driving ranges I think he put a golf
club in Chris's hand when he was about three Chris graduated from Boston University with a degree in
international business but his love of sports led him to his dream job he was a major Yankee fan and they
did hire him in their IT staff and he just thought that was there could never be anything better and where was his
office it was at the Ballpark that's where at Yankee Stadium mhm that's where his office was so he was in heaven yeah
he really was but Joyce says Chris left New York in search of New Opportunities eventually Landing in Milwaukee in 2009
and winding up at the relocation management company where she worked he was the CIO the Chief Information
officer I became involved in Kelly dwi's missing person investigation Katherine Spano then a detective with the
Milwaukee Police Department would learn about Kelly and Chris's relationship she
says Kelly's reasons for dating Chris were obvious he was educated he was bright he was smart he had a job that
paid him well he had a nice car a beautiful condo down on the east side while some friends thought Kelly might
have been in love with Chris it seems zako might not have been on the same page Chris zako described his
relationship with Kelly dwire as friends with benefits but it did seem Kelly was
keeping keeping her options open Mr zigo didn't make promises to her that he was
being exclusive with her and she also dated some other people Royston recalls another time not long before Kelly went
missing it was a very easy night here at the bar Chanel was out at the aliam bar
when Chris and Kelly invited her back to Chris's apartment at closing time I went
across the street with him for a night cap walked out to the balcony to smoke a cigarette Chris then joined me he was
smoking marijuana Kelly was inside I don't know exactly what Kelly was doing Chanel says she got a bad feeling I just
had this urge that I needed to leave though she just arrived she told Chris and Kelly she suddenly realized how late
it was and that she had to work in the morning I looked at Kelly I said I need to leave and she looked up and said are
you sure I said yep it's okay it's just late later than I thought I need to go home and I walked out what was it what
was your six sense telling you I don't know it just you weren't supposed to be there bad space bad juju you don't need
to be here Chanel wasn't the only one to get the sense that all might not have been right in Kelly's
World Kelly like many women her AG had been active on several dating websites even though she was seeing
Chris and I'm thinking that that was the main person she was seeing she was dating other people there were other
people other men involved and her friends were concerned she made a few statements they were usually prompted by
the friends observing bruising on her wrists or her neck and wondering why she has those
bruises she told one friend uh she kind of laughed about these bruises on her neck and wrists and laughed it off as a
as a crazy night right and change the subject yes as police face the daunting task of
finding Kelly would her love life provide their first clue there are some evil people out
[Music] there [Music] 9129 I'm 23 so on Monday October 14th I started my shift at 400 p.m. I learned that
Kelly DWI a young woman had been reported missing and had not been seen or heard from since the previous Friday
as Kelly dwi's family and friends continued to search for her Milwaukee detective Tammy TRL mlan arrived at the
scene of Kelly's last known whereabouts 3 days earlier Chris sako's apartment building they come right through this
door and he actually holds the door open for [Music] her you can see that on the video yes
you see two people that are chatting walk past that camera then there's another camera that catches them turning
the corner to the elevator and you can see Kelly in her typical I think outgoing fashion she's gesturing with
her hands a little they bend the corner and then that's the last time that she is ever seen Alive by
anyone now it was time to talk to the the other person in that video treml mlan sat down with zako in his 18th
floor apartment he came off as a pretty nice guy he said she would hang out with
him a couple times a week he used the word party they party together somewhat shockingly zako didn't
hold back telling police exactly what he meant by party as he described how he and Kelly had ended their evening they
walk back and they do L of cocaine they have a couple more drinks he says there was sex and they both passed out on
opposite ends of his couch zako said Kelly left around 9:00 the next morning adding that he heard
the front door click shut behind her there was only one problem with that while I'm speaking with him I get a text
message from one of the other investigators who had been watching video downstairs with the manager and he
simply just says in the text she doesn't come out as treml mlan focused on how Kelly could have slipped out of this
high security building undetected zako seemed more interested in shifting Focus away from himself well
you know she's messing around with a lot of other guys there's some other guy you
know kind of trying to take the attention away from himself that may have been zaku's intention but that's
not what happened in your bones in your gut based on your instinct and your training and experience you felt like
you were looking at a suspect yes police needed a way to search sako's apartment for evidence because he had
told TRL mlan he'd used drugs there they were able to get a search warrant what'd
you find lines of cocaine on top of a magazine uh some canisters of marijuana in the refrigerator painkillers uh pills
and marijuana pipes smoking pipes they should tell you how cold it is in this place before they zako was
arrested for drug possession during his interview he seemed flip even when asked
routine questions about his medical history anxiety nothing like that I had anxiety they brought me in okay but no
uh I'm not taking anything for it okay no but no bipolar schizophrenia I suppose that's all open
to interpretation by somebody zaco's interrogation finishes abruptly let's call my lawyer but while
they had zako in custody police get a warrant to search his cell phone hoping to find clues in Kelly's
disappearance they were stunned to find a video of zako and Kelly DWI engaged in
a sex act where Kelly appears to be in distress she can't breathe she's straining for breath when was this video
taken that video was taken approximately 3 weeks before she went missing and there was more incriminating
evidence disturbing pictures of Kelly on Zak's phone still photographs that are very concerning as well because she
appears to be unconscious on his bed but police could not link those images to Kelly's disappearance and despite zako
being a person of interest they could only charge him with drug possession but that search of his apartment LED police
to a bizarre Discovery in his bathroom during that first search warrant the police observe the shower curtain hooks
with the torn fragments of shower curtain not knowing what a torn down shower curtain could mean and concern
that Kelly is never seen exiting the building they then bring in a canine to conduct a sniff for the order of
decomposing human remains and that police caber dog Molly would deliver some stunning
results there's an indication at the outside of the apartment door in the parking garage on the level he parked
his car on the dumpster door on the 18th floor Molly alert alerted on the hallway guest
bedroom guest bathroom she went on to the master bedroom got up onto Chris zaco's bed she seemed to be sniffing
vigorously on top of his bed and gives her final formal trained alert for police that moment changed this case
forever they now believed Kelly was dead and her final moments had been in Chris
sako's apartment and if Kelly died on that bed where did the body go that's what we needed to
find out and Chris zaco had those answers and at that point it was turning into a
homicide investigation not having enough to charge zako and not knowing where Kelly's Body could be police search
zaco's home electronics for more clues they examined an external hard drive and some discs that were found in a spare
bedroom what's on that hard drive that hard drive has a number of Hardcore child pornography
videos very extremely extremely disturbing zako disavowed any knowledge of the child pornography police found if
you're an IT guy you collect stuff so you collect old hard drives you collect discs you collect you know you just
collect it equipment and that particular hard drive was from his former uh place
of work in Boston he didn't know it was there and you believe him I do believe him
yeah it had been two weeks since Kelly disappeared zako was arrested again this time for possession of child
pornography by early November 2013 he was out on bail and awaiting trial on the drug and child porn charges
girlfriend uh no I mean I date multiple people but before zako had lawyered up in that first interrogation it would
turn out he'd said something that would come back to haunt him okay so nobody you consider your girlfriend right now
no there's a couple girls that I would like to be my girlfriend but it hasn't moved that seriously yet I
guess he began dating a young woman in 2009 he was living two different lives towards the end there was more
touching more of the smiling towards each other there was more affection there than there had been towards the
beginning according to Chanel royon before Kelly DWI disappeared it seemed her relationship with Chris zako was
evolving did Kelly ever tell you that she was falling in love with Chris she never told me but you could tell you
know how she would look at him that she was looking for something more and I think that she did love him at that
point it turns out zako may have been in love as well with someone else he was in
a very serious relationship with a woman who he was dating at the time that he was seeing Kelly and this young woman
knew nothing about the relationship with Kelly and did Kelly have any idea about
this other woman absolutely not and neither did investigators until this other woman's
brother after seeing zako arrested on the news reported to police that his sister Megan had been dating zako for
more than 3 years when I went to interview the long-term girlfriend Megan and I had a lot of photographs from the
search warrants with me and I was able to have her identify different objects within the
apartment they learned that a number of things were missing she described that guest bathroom there should have been a
shower curtain there should have been a little rug and some matching decorative towels all of those things were gone and
she was surprised to see that she she identified the shower curtain hooks that were bent and torn identified the fact
that they were not like that when she had last been in there and it's in that very bathroom where the sniffer dog had
alerted detecting human remains exactly Megan also identified one more missing item there had been a large
travel golf bag lying in front of the TV that had been there for weeks and weeks
that they literally would have to step over to get into the bathroom and that was missing
a travel golf bag possibly like this one is commonly used by golfers to protect their clubs it's all padded corre very
large very large it was padded it was silver and uh she thought it was maybe 2 2 and 1/2 ft wide detectives wondered if
zako had a more Sinister use for the bag could Kelly's Body have fit inside that
travel bag yes absolutely absolutely but how did zako get that bag out of his apartment the there is no
video of zako leaving on any of the 28 surveillance cameras in the building there's no camera on the elevator so he
could take her body in the travel golf bag um out of his apartment into the elevator down to the first floor and out
that door to the garage without being captured on any cameras but there are cameras inside the garage and yet no
image of zako with that bag the garage is the only area where the cameras would be motion activated some
of the investigators think hey he just got lucky with it it took months of painstaking work
for Milwaukee PD investigators to piece together Chris sako's movements on the days after his date with Kelly dwire
Lieutenant Eric goldbranson worked the case as both a homicide and Cold Case Detective
at 10:06 a.m. we have Chris zako standing by the driver side door when he leaves that building at 10:08 a.m. Kelly
dwi's phone it goes dead what do you think happened to the phone at that moment broken powered down thrown in the water
the river is very close by zako is next seen back in his garage 16 minutes later standing by the trunk
of his car if you look closely in that image there's a gray or silver object lying in the vehicle above the trunk
level I think that's consistent with the travel golf Bay so you believe Kelly DWI
is in the trunk of his vehicle I do investigators believe that because the kadav dog Molly told them so the
cadav dog not only hits on all those things in the apartment but the dog hits on the car also in the trunk and on the
door handle and inside the vehicle over the next 8 hours video shows zako coming and going several more
times loading items into his car before finally leaving for the day at 6:16 p.m.
he said he decided to take his summer sports equipment to his mother's house on a Friday night around 6:30 sure yes
he came over to drop off some golf clubs and his baseball equipment and so there's nothing in your mind unusual
when he showed up with this sporting equipment at your place not at all there's a golf bag that investigators
say went missing a bag that they claim Kelly dwi's body was in did you ever see this golf bag
never 7:30 p.m. and zako is now due at his girlfriend's house for a Friday night
dinner but investigators learn he didn't arrive until about 8:45 there's time that's unaccounted for
and we believe he was possibly looking for areas to dispose of the body during that
time unfortunately detectives weren't able to trace sako's movements from his phone records was his cell phone on or
off it was off when zako did finally arrive for dinner his girlfriend told investigators he
wasn't quite himself he was quite late and he seemed a little bit ruffled a little bit nervous he's fiddling with
his phone claiming it doesn't work when they went to bed she described them as being Restless she described them as
sweating profusely to the point where she actually had to change the sheets she found that very unusual and zako may
have had a very good reason to sweat that night his car is parked near his girlfriend's house overnight we believe
that body is absolutely in that trunk locked inside that golf bag he could not have left that body in his apartment
because that's the first place everybody went to look for Kelly the following morning investigators say zako rose with
the sun still faced with a nightmare he was desperate by Saturday he had to get that body out of that
[Music] [Music] vehicle one day after Kelly DWI disappeared Chris Sako left his girlfriend's apartment and hit the road
where he went that morning would be the first in a series of Clues as to what may have happened to Kelly dwire Chris
zako had gone to a place called The Mouse House what's the mouse house it's a cheese
place this is The Mouse House 80 mi from Milwaukee near Madison Wisconsin one cheese shop in a state full of cheese
shops why would he drive up toward Madison to buy cheese it's a very good question a very good question zako says
he drove 160 mil round trip to buy a half PB wedge of cheese for his girlfriend's parents but the
investigators say that he did it to finally dispose of Kelly's body somewhere in the rural Wisconsin
Farmland between Madison and Milwaukee in case he was spotted do you believe zako actually went to The Mouse House to
create an buy of sorts I do I certainly do police believe that after dumping Kelly's Body zako made his way to this
shopping center on his drive back to Milwaukee investigators say that he walked into a Sports Authority and used
his credit card to buy a brand new pair of sneakers why is he buying new sneakers he may have purchased those
sneakers to replace ones that he used in in dumping the body like he might have been concerned that evidence got on
those sneakers so he had to have new ones to put on here's the slip up I don't know if maybe he just had a
momentary lapse of judgment but that created a paper trail for him okay that paper trail was a single credit card
receipt which gave detectives a critical piece of the timeline we know through the investigation that he purchased the
cheese at 9:55 a.m. and we know that he purchased the shoes at 1211 p.m. the distance between the mouse house and
Sports Authority is 54 miles and it should take 47 minutes to get there but yet we have 90 minutes on accounted for
at that time 90 minutes certainly enough time detectives believed for zako to locate a secluded spot off the highway
but for them to find that spot would be like finding a needle in a hay stack and
without Kelly's Body there was no physical evidence of a crime to charge zako with only circumstance and
suspicion did you want to take it to trial then it was tough what was missing what was missing was her body eventually
Chris Sako did go on trial in November 2014 not for murder but for the child pornography possession uncovered with
the initial investigation search warrants what's the result of that that trial he's convicted of all but one
count one month later zako pleaded guilty to additional drug charges and was sentenced to a total of 19
years so are you done with Chris zako is that it or is the potential murder investigation still hanging over his
head it's still there well we still wanted to be able to find out what actually happened with
Kelly authorities have just identified the remains of 27-year-old Kelly dwire detective where are we we are on a
deadend country road and we are about 45 mil west of Milwaukee um and it's quite
overgrown here but this is the specific area where Kelly DW's body was found for a year and a half Kelly dwire
had been here hidden under these trees just 6 miles from busy I 94 before her remains were discovered by
a local man out for a walk he catches a glint of light Hitting off of something that's whitish in color
and when he takes a closer look he sees what appears to be a human skull 6 days later using dental records
those remains were confirmed to be Kelly DWI when what could not be confirmed though was just how she died there was
nothing on that skeleton to tell us what the cause of death was there was no physical evidence found at the scene
either no shower curtain no cloth no towel no clothing and no travel golf bag but detectives say there was one clue
Left Behind the position of Kelly's skeleton her feet and legs were more over in this area um with one of her
legs completely turned very contorted same thing with her left arm it was behind her back as if she had been
scrunched into some kind of a container like a golf travel bag like a golf travel bag exactly exactly it would
appear that police now had enough evidence to bring Chris Sako back to court for the death of Kelly
dwire it is just too much of a coincidence that her body is found somewhat near where he was shopping on
the day after she goes missing but assistant district attorney Hill wanted more than coincidence to build an
airtight case we wanted to make sure that we had uncovered all of the evidence we would be able to uncover
when you have a case that's going to be largely circumstantial it's absolutely essential you do that and with Sako
already in prison there was no rush it took another two years of investigative work before the state of Wisconsin
charged Chris zako in the death of Kelly dwire and another year and a half to bring the case to
[Music] trial good morning ladies and gentlemen this case is about a young woman named
Kelly dwire almost 5 years after Kelly DWI went missing Chris Sako goes on trial for her
death but surprising to some not for murder Chris zacho was charged with first degree Reckless homicide hiding a
corpse and strangulation Suffocation with the media restricted behind courtroom security glass prosecutor
Sarah Hill presents the state's theory of how they believe Kelly died you will hear evidence that the defendant Mr zako
was basically having sex with Kelly DWI and he winds up killing her I think Chris zako enjoyed taking
women to the brink of death for his own sexual gratification in fact investigators interviewed several women
who said that zako engaged in this type of behavior as far back as high school and that it was that Reckless conduct
that wound up killing Kelly DWI and then Mr zaco had to do something about it Chris uses that shower curtain and
wraps her up puts her into the golf bag and goes down to his parking garage the police have no evidence to believe that
M DWI exited the apartment in either a shower curtain or a golf travel bag Chris sako's defense attorneys Craig
mastantuno and Rebecca coffee say the state has it all wrong someone did Kill Kelly DWI but it wasn't
Chris zacho this case is more about the state wanting Mr zacho to be guilty than
having the evidence to prove it is there any eyewitness to this alleged crime there was no eyewitness no is there a
CSI moment some definitive piece of DNA there was no DNA evidence the prosecution contends that
while the security camera video clearly shows Kelly walking into zaco's building
she is never seen walking out she very well could have left the building in a way that wasn't
reviewed the defense argues there is video from several cameras they never had a chance to examine because it was
not preserved as evidence when the defense went to review all of the video evidence that video was
missing and what about that missing travel golf bag police insist is in the back of Zak's car we've looked at that
picture there is no silver bag in his trunk there is no video of him carrying a bag that would have been a very large
bag to fit a woman who is 5' 7 there was no video of that because that didn't happen the cadav dog evidence seems
significant K9 Molly alerts on the bed in the master bedroom and she also alerts in the garage there's no way
whatsoever to verify what the officer says this dog alerted to it wasn't even filmed and so it's entirely dependent on
a police officer describing what she believes her dog was alerting to and the defense also has an
explanation for that video on zaco's phone where Kelly appears to be in distress the government found a video
that Kelly dwire and Chris zacho made together they are calling it Str angulation or Suffocation a consensual
sexual act is what it depicts that type of sex is depicted in mainstream Motion Pictures like 50 Shades of Gray as being
engaged in with two consensual adults if Chris zako did not kill Kelly dwire who
did I don't know I don't think that we know I think that we know that it could have been a number of other
people the defense says that's because Kelly dated men she had met online and it's the suggestion that she met up with
one of these individuals and that that could be the cause of her disappearance yes yes yes to support
that theory the defense presented a witness who says that he saw Kelly after she was reported missing someone who
credibly said I saw her that weekend in the car of another individual his obser ation of this individual was very brief
at a stoplight I was sure that it was her it looked exactly like her he went to the district station and said I saw
the woman that is being looked for that's on the posters that's on TV did anyone ever follow up with you about
that information no you think he's just mistaken I think he's mistaken I I don't
think he was trying to mislead anybody I just truly believe he's mistaken after N9 days of argument and testimony
the case seemed to rest on one thing the quality of the evidence ladies and gentlemen the defendant killed Kelly DWI
every piece of circumstantial evidence supports that despite the tragedy of M dwi's demise it's not Justice to find
Chris Sako guilty based on conjecture it's Justice to find him not guilty all of the factors pointed to him there's no
other person that could have done it it took the jury only 3 and 1 half hours to reach the same conclusion we the jury
find the defendant Chris zaco guilty of first degree Reckless homicide is charged and C one of the information
finally after 5 years of waiting and wondering there is Justice for Kelly DWI as for Chris Sako he did look at me
when he was being removed what did you see he was devastated and what was Chris's sentence 31
years is that on top of the 19 years yes chisako is a person who's demonstrated that he poses a danger to
society particularly to women and someone is dead as a result that someone was a vibrant and
trusting young woman just beginning to find her way in the world she was a loving person who truly cared about
people and loved so much that she didn't really find much fault in [Music] anyone there's this sense of profound
loss loss for her family her friends you see a loss of a light because of one person's
selfishness and that's a tragedy tragedy is the best word word for [Music] it [Music]
for

"48 Hours" reports on cases of mysterious disappearances in this YouTube marathon, featuring "The Daughters Who Disappeared," "Andreen McDonald: A Millionaire Vanishes" and "The Disappearance of Kelly Dwyer."

00:00 The Daughters Who Disappeared 41:53 Andreen McDonald: A Millionaire Vanishes 1:23:45 The Disappearance of Kelly Dwyer

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 recounts the tragic stories of young women abducted and murdered in Texas, focusing on William Reese's confessions and the families' struggles for justice.

Key points

The Disappearance of Laura Smither. Laura, a 12-year-old aspiring ballerina, vanished while jogging. Her case sparked a massive search effort.
The Search for Jessica Kain. Jessica, a high school senior, disappeared without a trace, prompting another extensive search.
A Mother's Heartbreak. Kathy finally receives news about her daughter after years of waiting. 'Oh my God, why?'
The Search for Kelly. After finding Jessica's remains, investigators intensify the search for Kelly Cox. 'Finally some news.'
Marriage in Turmoil. Text messages reveal allegations of betrayal and a marriage on the brink.
Suspicious Tattoos. Andreen's new tattoos raise Andre's suspicions about her relationship with Auin.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She'll always be my baby. She'll always be a granddaughter and she'll be a wife.

A mother remembers her daughter who went missing.

12:43WatchMar 23, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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