Natalie Morales’ “48 Hours” investigations | Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] Cass is a rare person. She didn't care what you thought of her. She didn't care
if you liked her. She didn't care if she was too loud or too in your face. She just was.
>> She was your best friend, right? >> Yeah. Yeah. For years. >> I got a pair of loose shorts. this
t-shirt, two Essie nail polishes. >> She got into these things called haul videos where you would go shopping.
>> I will show you what I got and then I'll tell you how much everything cost. >> Kind of spread the word about deals.
>> 99, $7.99, $8.99, $3.50. >> She never really left >> home. I got this for my mom. I got this
for my mom to go with the slippers. I also got this for her. >> She was always there. So, we were really
good friends. On August 25th, 2020, Cassandra's mom, Marie Smith, got up. She left for work.
Everything was fine. When I came home, it was clear that she had used the master bathroom to get
ready to go. All of her makeup was in there. And then I didn't hear from her. I knew she had a shopping day planned
and her friend Alexandra was going to be meeting with her the next day. [Music] I remember I was late by about 15
minutes. I texted her, "Hey, where are you? Hey, I'm sorry I'm late." I got no response. I left panicked messages until
her voicemail box was full. She never just went dark like that before. The morning of the 27th, I had texts
from Marie that said, "Do Cass spend the night with you? Is she at your place? Are you with her?"
"She's not with you. I thought she was with you." And that's when I realized there was something wrong. When did you
call the police? I called them later that day. It started out like uh any other adult
missing person case. The majority of those calls are resolved with no nefarious activity.
Maybe she's out there. The world is so wired with cameras. There is just no way that somebody didn't see something.
>> We're able to see the white car, >> Cassandra's car. >> Cassandra's car. You can see a subject
getting out of the vehicle and start walking away. >> That's damning evidence. That's
incredibly valuable evidence for us. >> You can see him walking across the street. He's dressed in all black, black
shoes, black pants, black t-shirt, blue surgical gloves, and a black fedora. He knew something. He was involved.
But there was something going on there we didn't know about. >> Yeah. She was keeping a secret. She
didn't want to tell me. [Music] [Music] This is Ruby. >> I called everybody. Anybody I could
think of. >> This is going to be complete pet haul only. >> And nobody had heard from her.
>> This I got for $8 and change. It was $9 and change. $5.98. I was hoping that she might be alive somewhere.
>> For Marie Smith, the realization that her daughter, Cassandra Canrell, had been missing for more than 2 days was
almost more than she could take. >> I never thought that I'd be the person sitting here talking about my daughter.
I wanted her found. I don't even know how to explain how wrenching it is. >> Marie's close friend, Christy Sinclair,
says it was agony. >> This can't be happening. This isn't real. She lost her phone. She lost her
car. She had no money. I don't know. Anything but what you don't want to think about. Anything but that.
>> I'll show you this. I made it. This was only $5. As Cassandra's family and friends grappled with her disappearance,
police got to work. Pierce County Sheriff's Detective France Helm was assigned to the case. His first step,
talk to those who knew Cassandra best. How did Marie describe Cassandra? >> Normal.
>> I thought these pajamas, they're too cute. >> Responsible. >> Yeah, responsible. She would, you know,
call let her know, you know, where she was going. Detective Helm learned Cassandra was close with her family and
good about staying in touch. >> They're selling these for $15. >> She enjoyed making those YouTube
shopping videos and love being on stage. She'd even joined a local production of
the Rocky Horror Picture Show where people act alongside the movie. >> Marie says it was a perfect fit for her
daughter. >> She was with a group of people who were a little wacky like her. She was good
and she was adorable. >> Sher Mueller, the show's producer, recalls Cassandra's natural talent.
>> She was playing a character by the name of Janet Weiss. She also learned the character of Colombia.
>> By all accounts, at the time of her disappearance, Cassandra was a happy 33year-old and not someone who would run
off. >> This wasn't the the typical missing person that was going to come home in a
in a couple days. Detective Helm Key canvased the area around where Marie and Cassandra lived and found on a
neighbor's security camera a clip of Cassandra's white Mazda on the morning of August 25th. It was seen leaving the
neighborhood. Did you see any video of the car coming back? >> No. >> As the hours ticked by with no sign of
Cassandra, her family and friends tried to remain hopeful. It was particularly difficult for Cassandra's twin brother,
Rob. Growing up, the two were inseparable and would stay up late at night to watch scary movies. She was
never scared of that stuff. No. >> Wow. >> We laughed at most of it. >> Okay. She's tough girl then.
>> Yeah. >> As they got older, their shared passion for movies evolved into collecting
memorabilia. They even dreamed of opening their own collectible shop. >> Half price, $2. It was only five bucks.
>> But as close as they were, Rob couldn't imagine where his sister went. And he
was filled with remorse about their last conversation. We were having an argument. She wanted to actually come
over on the 25th, but I ignored her. >> The 25th of August, 2020, the day Cassandra went missing.
>> That's a big regret, I imagine, still for you. >> Yeah, cuz then she probably would have
told me what she was doing that day, and I would have at least known where she had gone.
Cassandra's family and friends organized searches. >> I can't imagine what that must feel like
to be out there searching and and knowing what you could possibly be looking for.
>> You put it in the back. You don't think about that. Just help me find a clue.
Help me find a clue. >> And then 3 days after Cassandra vanished, police found her white Mazda
unlocked with the keys still inside. It was almost underneath Interstate 705 which goes into the heart of the
downtown Tacoma. >> It's an industrial area where groups of homeless people often camp.
>> There are cars in the area. It's something happened down here. >> Strange place for a young woman to park
a car and then go missing. >> Yeah. >> Are bells going off then? >> Yeah. Increasingly,
>> she had clearly gotten ready to go somewhere. Where did she go? Who did she go to see? Detective Helgi had ordered
an emergency trace on Cassandra's cell phone to try and find her last known location and he discovered her phone
last pinged about 2 miles south of a tower on Vashon Island in the Puet Sound. One of the first things I did was
just get on Google Earth and strike an arc from that tower to see where it lands. And it showed us landing around
this shoreline at Owen Beach or Point Defiance Park. >> And when you're seeing this huge body of
water, you're thinking, "We're just never going to be able to find this." >> Yeah.
[Music] [Music] [Music] Investigators chasing that last ping from Cassandra's cell phone knew it was
somewhere here in the vast waters of the Puget Sound which is nearly 100 miles long.
>> What's the next step about trying to recover that? >> We debated about that because it's a
needle in a hay stack. It's a huge body of water. >> This is the vicinity that it showed up
as being at. >> But Detective Helm had a starting point. He knew someone likely had tossed the
phone into the water from Owen Beach. Finding it was a long shot, but Detective Sergeant Brent Van Djk was up
for the challenge. He brought the Pierce County Metro Dive Team out to the beach
on a summer day. >> We got lucky with the tides that day. The tide was extremely low, so it made
our search area a little less. >> Van Djk had a plan to dramatically reduce the area where the phone might
be. First, he asked members of his team to throw stones from the beach to simulate how far someone could throw a
cell phone. >> If you picture throwing something from here, it limits the distance that I
would have to search for what he threw. >> The dive team then formed a line, essentially creating an underwater drag
net. >> We had a boat out in the water and a line of people on snorkel that day just
looking down. >> They were told that Cassandra's phone had a case decorated with glitter.
This is the actual underwater footage, the dive team was in the water for little more than an hour when,
incredibly, one of the guys on the line said, "Hey, I think I got it." They saw a sparkle.
I think I got the phone. And it was a phone. >> The phone was sent to a specialist to
determine if any information could be recovered. The hunt to find Cassandra was intensifying as detectives learn more
about her. >> She felt like she could tell you pretty much everything about what was going on
in her life, right? >> Yes. >> Even her deepest, darkest secrets, she would tell you first.
>> Yep. >> And a month before she disappeared, Cassandra confided a secret to her best
friend. She texted me a positive pregnancy test and said, "I think I might be Pger's."
>> And the day she was supposed to meet Alexandra, but never showed up, it was going to be her first ultrasound.
For Detective Fron Helm, learning Cassandra had been pregnant at the time of her disappearance changed everything.
>> This is what is now peing my my interest. Normally in a situation where a pregnant woman disappears, you look at
who the partner is first. >> Correct. >> Cassandra had also told her mother she was pregnant, but didn't provide
details. >> I asked Marie, "Did she tell you who the father was?" And she says, "Well, it was
some guy she met online or through a dating app." >> She told me it was not somebody that she
was actually seeing and that he didn't even live in the area. It was no secret Cassandra was actively
dating using apps like Tinder. And Marie told detectives about an old boyfriend Cassandra was still in touch with, Colin
Dudley. The two had dated back in 2006 while in the Rocky Horror acting group, the show's producer, Sher Mueller. Colin
played a character called the criminologist on stage outside of the stage when he
wasn't performing. He was the head of tech and he kind of ran the cast. But after dating for several months,
Colin and Cassandra broke up. Colin started a relationship with another cast member, Rebecca Fiser, and
the two eventually moved in together. Steve Ammon hung out at their home regularly to play a game called Dungeons
and Dragons. >> Explain what Dungeons and Dragons is. It's not a board game, right?
>> No, not a traditional board game. Uh, it's more of a theater of the mind type
gameplay. Doing things that you wouldn't normally do in real life. A role play a
wizard, a rogue, a fighter. The game always took place in Colin's basement. >> Colin was kind of the dungeon master of
it, the one who ran the show. >> And Steve liked being around him. Colin was quick to help if someone needed
money, he says. And he still remembers the meals Colin cooked for game nights. >> He was a chef by profession, so it was
nice food. >> In 2014, after Colin's father died, he rekindled a friendship with Cassandra.
She assured me, you know, that she was just there to be a friend. She's like, "He's got a girlfriend."
>> According to Marie, Cassandra and Colin would sometimes watch movies or grab a
bite to eat. At some point, Alexandra says even though Colin was living with Rebecca,
his relationship with Cassandra once again turned romantic. And Cassandra told Alexandra that Colin
was the father of her baby. >> She was very excited. She talked about, you know, names and games she wanted at
the baby shower. She She had a Amazon registry already made. Cassandra's only hesitation whether she should tell
Colin. He was with Rebecca and had mentioned he didn't want to have kids, but Alexandra says Cassandra did tell
Colin she was pregnant and he was okay with it. She called me and uh she said, "Well, I told him and it went better
than expected." He was calm and said not to worry about it and that they would talk.
>> Detective Helm wondered if Colin knew where Cassandra was. >> We're just trying to follow up with
people who knew Cassandra. You know, places she likes to go that we could maybe look.
Colin sat and talked with Detective Helm on his front porch and the conversation
was recorded. >> This is a recorded statement we're going to be taken from Colin Patrick Dudley.
>> So, you know, we just kind of begin with just simple, hey, tell us about you and
Cassandra. How did you meet? >> I met her at the Rocky Horror Picture Show. We were in a relationship for a
couple of months and then we broke up in 2006. I then started kind of running some of these things by him that that
people were telling me, >> talking to other people, talking to to Cassandra's family and some other
friends, they reported that she was about 10 weeks pregnant. And what we've been hearing is that she's been telling
people that you are the father. >> No way. No. Hell no. Colin was adamant he and Cassandra were
not in a relationship and he was most definitely not the father of her child. >> Asked him, "Are you sure?" You know, no
one night stands, no, you know, hookups after the fact or anything like that. No, absolutely not, he says.
>> In fact, Colin insisted he hadn't seen or spoken to Cassandra since they broke
up back in 2006, except once when he ran into her at the mall. Do you have any no contact with her? No
messages or no Facebook or anything? >> No. >> Hel believed Colin was lying, but could
he prove it? It turned out a clue to finding the answer was in Marie's paperwork.
[Music] Detective Helm believed Colin Dudley was lying when he said he had not seen or
spoken to Cassandra for years. But it was Cassandra's mother, Marie, who provided some proof. She had been
combing through Cassandra's old phone bills where she noticed a mystery number that kept reappearing.
>> We didn't know whose it was because it didn't have a name attached to it. going
back how far in the past? >> Oh, we looked back months and months, you know, as far back as we could see.
This number kept popping up. >> And the last time it popped up, Marie told Detective Helm, was the morning
Cassandra disappeared. >> I said, "So, okay. So, what what's that number?" And she tells me, I immediately
know it's Collins. Helmkkey wanted forensic investigators to take a closer look at Dudley's phone,
which Detective Helm had taken when they had met on Dudley's front porch. >> I told him, you know, I have a warrant
to seize your phone. I read him the warrant, grabbed the phone, and we left. >> Investigators later obtained the phone
records for both Cassandra and Collins phones. They were turned over to Detective Ryan Sammon, the cell phone
forensics analyst for the sheriff's department. Salmon noticed something curious. The
name Cassandra never appeared in Colin's phone. >> What name was he using right >> for Cassandra?
>> He had it under Velma. >> Why Velma? >> We learned later through Cassandra's mother that
she had gone as Velma from Scooby-Doo as a Halloween costume. And it's likely Sammon said that Colin Dudley did not
want his live-in girlfriend to know he was still in touch with Cassandra. Even without the information from her
waterlogged phone, Salmon was able to see when and where she and Colin interacted simply by having those phone
records. >> It's extremely helpful in determining where somebody was during a critical
time frame. People have a cell phone with them almost all day, every day. The phone records showed Cassandra's
white Mazda driving to the spot where it was found. But had Cassandra or someone
else parked it there? Detective Heli knew the city's light rail system was nearby and asked their security people
if they could find any footage of Cassandra's car. What they found proved crucial.
>> We have the video you want. You need to get it down here and look at it. >> These videos have never been shown
publicly. In this video from a moving light rail train taken the late morning of August 25th. Helm could see a man in
a black hat walking away from where Cassandra's car was parked. Then a different camera shows that same man
from a much closer angle. >> He'll cross right in front of this camera. So he comes walking across and
you see >> all black, the blue gloves, the fedora, and he just sits down at the stop.
>> The time was 11:50 a.m. The man sits for 4 minutes and then keeps walking. >> Now he gets up and continues walking.
His face covered by some type of mask is hard to see, but based on his build and
gate, Hel suspected that Colin Dudley was the man wearing that fedora. The detective had been told that Colin often
had asked, demanded even that people call him hat or hatman. >> Was he always wearing a hat?
He would put it on and switch into his persona of the hatman and preferred to be called the hatman.
>> Alexandra McNary had heard all about it from Cassandra. >> The persona was basically the main
character from Clockwork Orange. >> Hi. Hi. Hi there, my little drooies. >> Very
dark. Uh, intentionally so morally dubious. >> Did you see the security video at all of
the man in the hat? I did get to see it. And >> did you look at it and say, "That's
Colin." >> Well, who else would it be? >> In that video from the light rail system, the man in the hat keeps walking
right into the Tacoma Dome Station parking garage, only blocks away from where Cassandra's car was found. Heli
asked security personnel at the garage if they had any footage. The answer was a resounding yes.
>> They find him walking into the parking garage to a truck. >> You can see him using a remote control
opener, gets into the truck, and then as he exits the parking garage, you can see
pretty clearly in the video the license plate, which comes back to Mr. Dudley. That was Colin's Chevy truck, proving
the detective said that the man in the video and Colin Dudley were one and the same.
Detective Helmsy was convinced that Colin had done something to Cassandra and he wanted to get into Dudley's house
immediately. >> We don't have a body. We don't have any true evidence that Cassandra is dead.
We're still hoping maybe she is tied up in the basement. Six days after Cassandra Canrell vanished, a SWAT team
burst into Colin Dudley's house. What do you think is the strongest piece of evidence connecting Colin Dudley to
Cassandra's disappearance? Chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X. Authorities were out in force after they
raided Colin Dudley's house, but they found no sign of Cassandra. >> Cassandra was not found inside, but
Colin was detained temporarily for us to do the fingerprints and DNA. >> Investigators seized several items from
the house, including Colin's Chevy Colorado truck and a black fedora. I don't know if it's the same one he's
wearing in the video or not. There were numerous areas that they identified in the basement where there was possible
DNA blood evidence. They said that the cadaavver dogs showed particular interest in the basement, specifically a
brown sofa in the basement. >> Detective Helm believes something terrible had happened to Cassandra.
Dudley had stopped talking to investigators, but his live-in girlfriend, Rebecca Fischer, a
carpenter, agreed to sit down for an interview. Do you think he would be capable of hurting Cassandra?
>> After a 13-second pause, >> physics would say, "Yes, he's got size and strength on her."
>> Mhm. >> I don't think he would. No, he would not. >> And investigators could not prove
otherwise. Dudley was free to go. >> Why can't you arrest him? >> Well, he's guilty of something, but what
is he guilty of? >> Detective Hel wanted to know every move Dudley made on August 25th, the day
Cassandra went missing. and he said it became clear that Dudley had hatched a wellthoughtout plot to get rid of
Cassandra. >> He had planned this and probably was pretty meticulous in his planning.
>> In his police interview, Dudley said that early on the morning Cassandra disappeared, he visited Costco.
>> So, the first stop he makes is at a Costco gas station. Then he went to a second Costco to pick
up supplies for what he had told detectives was a spring cleaning. Investigators subpoenaed receipts and
the store provided video. Here, surveillance cameras pick up Dudley in the store around 7 a.m.
>> This is where he said he stopped cuz he needed supplies for his spring cleaning.
>> Correct. Yes. >> The video is so crystal clear. We think that probably the garbage sacks.
>> Store records show that Dudley purchased a box of heavyduty trash bags. >> Goes back to his house.
>> Right. >> Detectives say then Dudley dropped off the supplies at home and drove to the
Tacoma Dome Station parking garage, arriving at 8:17 a.m. >> We have surveillance video for that,
too, which shows that truck again. Now, in the back, you'll see a bike. And then
you'll see him get out and put on a helmet and get on a bike and ride it away. >> Dudley left his truck in the garage and
began pedaling home. It's about a 20inut ride. Investigators believe he wanted to
be home by 9:00 a.m. because, as it turns out, he and Cassandra had made plans at his house. Sure enough, text
records show that Cassandra was outside Colin's house at 8:49 a.m. >> She said, "I'm a bit early. That okay?"
>> And he says, >> he says, "Yep, come on down." And those two messages were both deleted out of
his phone. >> And so the two phones are then pinpointed in that same location at the
house for a couple of hours, >> right? For a little more than two hours, neither phone showed any movement. And
it was during this period of time investigators believe Colin Dudley likely killed Cassandra Cantrell.
>> Shows you the amount of premeditation that went into planning this. >> Right.
>> It appears investigators say that around 11:40 a.m. Dudley turned off his cell
phone as Cassandra's phone shows it moving away from the house. Detective Sammon says that's because Dudley had
her phone with him as he drove her car to the spot where he abandoned it near the light rail station. He turns his
cell phone off. >> Mhm. >> But doesn't turn her cell phone off and is driving around with it. What was he
thinking? >> Apparently he wasn't He wasn't thinking well enough. Not as smart as he thought
he was. >> You'll see Cassandra's car. >> Is that it right there? that white wine
coming down. [Music] >> And then you see Dudley in the hat walking away from her car.
Remember how he paused for a few moments and sat down? Detective Salmon believes
he was gathering himself after murdering Cassandra. >> I think he's just physically tired
because of probably how violent the incident was. Detectives say Dudley then retrieved his truck from the garage
where he had stashed it earlier that day, drove to Owen Beach, and tossed Cassandra's phone into the Puet Sound.
>> And what time roughly was that last ping? >> It was around 12:45 p.m. >> But while investigators had discovered
her phone in the water, they still hadn't found Cassandra. They had no idea what Dudley had done with her, but they
did have his Chevy Colorado truck and Heli had an idea. As an investigator, I've been exposed to different
technologies and we knew cars had electronic evidence contained in them. >> Almost every car or truck has reams of
data that can be extracted, as illustrated here. So, this is where the major break in the
case came through. >> You can turn your cell phone off and not necessarily be able to track, but you
can't turn your car's black box off. >> Exactly. >> Heli got a warrant to remove the truck's
black box. Essentially, a computer that tracks and records nearly every move a vehicle makes. He reviewed the data,
which confirmed much of what they already knew from the phone records. But there was something new that caught
everyone's attention. The truck's black box had a record of Colin Dudley's movements on August 26th, the day after
Cassandra visited his house. >> And this is the next morning, >> correct? So, now we're at 6 a.m. And
then, of course, we notice where the vehicle stops that there's a large wooded ravine.
>> On September 22nd, 2020, Detective Sergeant Brent Van Dijk rushed to that ravine, which is 8 miles from Dudley's
house. It was nearly a month since Cassandra had gone missing. I uh got there first and looked over the
hillside and uh you could clearly see that there was a garbage can halfway down the hill.
You could see that the garbage can had a a bag liner and uh some ropes around it.
>> He also spotted blood. >> So you clearly at this point knew you had remains. >> Oh, absolutely.
Helm, also at the scene, wanted to make a quick identification and he knew that Cassandra had a distinctive tattoo.
>> I asked them to take a picture of it, so they took a picture and came walking up
the hill. >> Helm recognized the tattoo immediately. Cassandra Canrell was dead. Helmkey's
heart sank when he thought about calling Cassandra's mother. >> So, I called Marie and uh told her that
I had information uh that I needed to share with her. >> My first question was, "Is she okay?"
>> And he said, "You know, no, I'm sorry. She's not." >> Cassandra's twin brother, Rob, overheard
that phone call. >> The second I heard her screaming, I knew that they had found her.
Colin Dudley was arrested that night and later charged with firstdegree murder. Investigators felt they had built a
strong case. So strong that they decided not to try and retrieve the information
on Cassandra's waterlogged phone. The case barreled toward trial for 2 years. And then Cassandra's friends and
family heard that prosecutors were considering making a plea deal with Dudley. They could not believe it.
>> It was premeditated. It was literally coldblooded. I have no words. >> A lot of anger though.
>> A lot. See more evidence of how the case against Colin Dudley came together at 48
hours.com. [Music] [Music] She was an optimist. She never lost that even up until the end. I believe that
she entered his house hopeful. >> Hopeful that Colin Dudley was getting comfortable with her pregnancy. Instead,
investigators believe he brutally murdered her. An autopsy revealed exactly how brutal.
>> There were fractures, major fractures to her skull. >> So, hit over the head.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Many times cause of death was a blunt force trauma. Investigators say they were never able
to identify a murder weapon, but they did find those traces of blood, likely Cassandra's, in Dudley's basement,
>> basement floor, walls, a stainless steel table and the laundry room sink. >> Police suspect Colin cleaned the
basement multiple times after killing Cassandra and kept her body there overnight before dumping her in that
ravine the next morning. And they believe Colin's living girlfriend Rebecca was home during some of that
time. >> In thinking about, you know, Rebecca's there in the house, too. >> That was my next question.
>> Yeah. >> Was there any thought that she had to have been involved? >> There was no I mean, some people thought
that >> investigators confronted Rebecca. >> Did you have anything to do with the
disappearance of Cassandra on any level? >> Nope. We did not find any information
that she knew that it went on, that she had anything to do with it. They kept separate areas of the house. And so I
could see, you know, her doing her own thing and not going down the basement. >> Yeah.
>> But Rebecca did confirm to police that Colin never wanted to be a father. >> He does not want to be a dad.
Pierce County Deputy Prosecutors Brian Wasen Carerry and Patrick Vincent went to work on proving Collins guilt.
>> I thought this was a very strong case, at least circumstantially. I mean, oddly, it's not one in which we had a
great deal of physical evidence. It was a case that relied on essentially digital records,
>> like that video of Colin leaving Cassandra's car. Those phone records placing Cassandra at Collins house the
morning she disappeared and the data showing Collins truck where Cassandra's remains were eventually found. For the
prosecutors, it seemed like a lot, but they were concerned about convincing a jury at trial.
>> We don't have an eyewitness. We don't have a murder weapon. We don't have a confession.
So when the defense offered to accept a plea deal, the prosecutors negotiated. Eventually, Colin Dudley agreed to plead
guilty to murder in the first degree for killing Cassandra. The prosecutors brought the deal to Cassandra's family.
They were furious. >> But on November 14th, 2022, Colin Dudley formally entered his guilty plea. With
regard to the charge, murder in the first degree have guilty. >> Guilty. >> He was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
>> I I I have no words that would even encompass the frustration, anger, sadness, heartache.
>> Cassandra's family and friends had wanted a trial where the full story was told. They're also upset that someone
guilty of murdering a pregnant woman would only get 26 years in prison. >> You think the system is broken?
>> Very broken in this case. How is it that somebody can do what he did and not have
to spend his life in prison? >> It was a sentiment Steve Ammon shared. He felt betrayed by his one-time friend
and had even written a letter to the judge saying he should not be out at all. He won't learn from this.
Colin Dudley likely will get out and with good behavior, he could be free again as early as 2044.
>> He should never see the light of day again >> because when he gets out, he could be in
his early 60s. >> Yeah. And he's still got all that time to live. Cassandra's family wants to make sure
that no one else suffers the way they say they have. They would like a law in Washington state that if someone is
guilty of knowingly killing a pregnant woman, they would automatically get a life sentence.
>> No possibility of parole. You die in jail. Until there's any sort of resemblance of justice. I'm not letting
this go. And while the family wages that fight, Cassandra's twin brother is trying to
honor his sister in other ways she would have loved. >> You did though finally open that dream
that you had together. Your own store. >> Yes. And I got a big mural of her hanging in the window and then photos
throughout the store of her. It's a living tribute to her. The store is not far from Cassandra's
grave where he and his mom go to visit her. >> You know, say hi, keep her headstone
clean, bring her flowers. >> Do you think what life could be like with her now if she had had the chance
to live her life and be a mom? Yeah, I think about it a lot because she had all of these plans, you know,
she had all of these sweet plans. Marie says her daughter lived life to the fullest, immortalized by that
distinctive tattoo she had of her favorite quote. >> We don't stop playing because we grow
old. We grow old because we stop playing. She always had something up her sleeve.
She would spring little surprises on me. And that's what I miss most is just a happy presence.
[Music] A loving mother of two fatally shot in her home. But how? >> I knew something was wrong with this
case from the start. >> There were so many things that were not done. >> The father's relentless pursuit of the
truth. >> He just led us for 9 years. Still leading us. >> 48 hours next on CBS. Streaming on
Paramount Plus. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] 16-year-old Sarah Yarborough is being
remembered as talented, creative, and kind. >> Sarah was an A student at the high
school. >> Whenever you saw Sarah, she always had a smile. >> This case is about a 16-year-old girl
who had the right to grow up. This case is about Sarah and everything that she should have been allowed to
become. It was Friday the 13th of December of 1991. Her parents were out of town for
her brother's soccer game. She stayed home. >> I was reluctant to leave Sarah. She
didn't want to come, of course, cuz she had her whole weekend planned out. So, she had a friend come over and stay with
her that weekend. We went to a basketball game, went and got junk food at the grocery store, a
little bit of fast food. You know, we're 16. We were carefree. There was absolutely nothing that would make any
of us think that the next morning everything would change. >> So, Saturday morning, Sarah woke up kind
of in a panic. >> She woke up and said, "I'm late for practice." She put on her drill team uniform and
ran out the door. >> She went to the school and discovered that she was early, so she parked in her
car and waited for the rest of her team to show up. >> Shortly after the phone call started,
where's Sarah? Do you know where she is? Sarah was found within an hour. >> Where was her body discovered?
>> So, her car was still in the parking lot. Her body was approximately 100 yards away, still on the school
property. Part of her clothing was removed. She had nylon stockings tied in a liature around her her neck.
[Music] I just remember just saying, "Not Sarah, not Sarah, not Sarah," over and over again.
>> The suspect is a white male, 6 feet tall, with a medium build. >> They had DNA evidence. They had
everything. They had witnesses. >> In that first week or so, it sounded like they had so much evidence. For at
least a short while, it felt like, "Of course, they're going to catch him." And then when they didn't and they
didn't, your expectations change. >> You don't know if it's your next door neighbor. You don't know if it's some
random stranger. There was that constant fear of is this going to happen again? >> We literally had a monster in the
community and we just we didn't know who it was. [Music] [Music] How often do you think about December
14th, 1991 and what happened on that day? quite a bit. It's a very traumatic thing
to go through. >> It's been over 30 years, but the details of that day have never faded for Drew
Miller. >> I had my friend spent the night at my house. We woke up that morning, watched
cartoons, ate cereal, left to go skateboarding. >> Drew, who was just 13 at the time, lived
down the street from Federal Way High School near Seattle, Washington. The school grounds have changed quite a bit,
right? >> Drastically, yes. The tennis court's the only thing that's still here.
>> Drew often took shortcuts through the school to go skateboarding, as he and his friend did that day.
>> We used to hop the fence right here and cut through here. It was freezing cold that day. I mean,
there was ice in all of the mud bubbles. We just, you know, started smashing them
cuz it's fun. You know, it sounds like breaking glass. That's when Drew says they noticed a man
in the bushes. >> Right where you see the edge of this dugout right here. That was all bushes
that were probably this tall. So, we couldn't see him until he stood up. He's just staring at us from the bushes.
That was pretty jarring. But then he just walked out of the bushes. So, then we just assumed he's just smoking weed
or something. The mysterious man kept to himself and walked ahead of the boys. Drew says they didn't think much of it
until they came across a horrendous scene. There in the bushes where the man had
just been was the body of a young woman. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. The way that he left her body, she
clearly fought for her life. Drew says his shock turned to fear when he realized the man who was still just
feet in front of them was now staring directly back at him. >> Does that look still haunt you?
>> Oh yeah. Yeah. It's frozen in my mind. >> The boogeyman then. >> Legitimate boogeyman.
>> The boys raced to Drew's house and police were called to the scene. [Music] When we approached the victim on one of
the pieces of clothing, we saw the name Sarah. >> Detective Scott Strathy with the King
County Sheriff's Office was one of the first officers on the scene. >> And of course, later we found out that
that was Sarah Yarborough. [Music] Even for experienced investigators, [Music] this scene was really hard to deal with.
Just the innocent nature of this young woman in her school drill team uniform with her hot curlers still in her hair.
This was just pure unadulterated evil. [Music] Investigators believed this was a
sexually motivated murder. >> She was partially clothed. Her jacket, her undergarments, her bra had been
removed and placed next to her body. >> Police discovered that the car Sarah had
driven that morning was parked in the school parking lot about 300 ft from where her body was found. There didn't
really appear to be any sort of a struggle in the car itself. >> Detective John Free with the King County
Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit would later join the investigation. >> She had a container of orange juice that
she had made that morning. It was just sitting in the front seat. Nothing was tipped over. So, the question was, how
did she get from her car to this hill? What led her there? Sarah was one of these people that would
help anyone with anything at any time. And part of our working theory was, was she coaxed into following, you know, the
suspect? Did he say something like, "I'm looking for my lost dog," or, "I can't find my
car keys." Perhaps Sarah in an attempt to assist this person may have followed him to
that area. >> Tell me about this one. >> That was less than a week, I think, before she died. I said, "Could I take
your picture cuz your great grandma really wants a picture of you and your drill team?" And she goes, "Okay."
>> It was just too incredible to believe that it could even happen. Sarah's parents, Laura and Tom
Yarborough. >> I mean, who thinks that your daughter's going to be murdered? >> Tom and Laura had the excruciating task
of having to tell their two sons the tragic news. Sarah's youngest brother, Andrew, was just 11 years old at the
time. >> At that age, you probably never seen or heard your parents cry much, but that
that pain in the voice is very, very vivid. Sarah, who had just started her junior year in high school, had big
plans for her future, starting with college. >> She didn't want to go to a state school.
She wanted to go to a school far away. She loved to travel. >> I actually would hear her say, "I can't
decide if I want to be a museum curator or an engineer like my father." Yep. >> And I was always rooting for the museum
curator. Liberty Barnes, Christy Gutierrez, Amy Pero, and Mary Beth Tommy were some of
Sarah's closest friends. >> So, this was after the last day of 10th grade. And we're just kind of goofing
around afterwards. And that totally I mean, you can see there's Sarah right in the middle of it being goofy.
[Music] >> The fiery red hair. Was that her personality a little bit? >> Yes. Yeah.
>> She was artistic. She was creative. She was smart. She was feisty. imaginative,
>> all of those things. >> She would be the last one to wait for someone, always be there with a smile.
She would help with homework. It was her ultimate kindness. After Sarah was ripped from their lives,
they say their sense of safety was gone forever. You grow up getting all the safety
conversations with your parents and bad things can happen and it's all this sort
of like vague possibility out there and then all of a sudden it was like no no no no it can really happen. It really
did just happen. >> It was all hands on deck. The sheriff's office put everything they had into
solving this case as as soon as they could. >> And the killer left behind important
evidence. Sarah had not been raped, but the killer's DNA was found on pieces of her clothing.
>> There was semen found on her underwear and on her jacket. We had a full male DNA profile.
DNA technology was new back in 1991, but investigators hoped that DNA would someday lead them to Sarah's killer. In
the meantime, they had eyewitnesses. >> I thought for sure somebody would know him.
>> Drew and his friend, who was with him the morning they found Sarah's body, worked with police, and a sketch of the
man they saw in the bushes, was released to the public. Police would later release a more elaborate sketch. I very
vividly remember going through yearbooks going, "Okay, who looks like this sketch?" Everyone, it felt like at one
point was was a suspect. >> But as days went by and as leads dried up, police kept coming back to Drew and
his friend. >> They just made me feel like I was the only person that could help them solve
this. I know that wasn't the intent, like, you know, the officers are just doing their
best. How much pressure were you feeling? >> It's unimaginable pressure. >> And despite everyone's best efforts, it
would take years to find Sarah's killer. >> This case was never forgotten. [Music]
[Music] In early June of 1993, one and a half years after Sarah Yarro's murder, local media were there as
students gathered in the courtyard of Federal Way High School to honor her. >> Bill Fuller, a family friend who helped
spearhead the move for a memorial to remember Sarah, unveiled it with help from Sarah's younger brother, Andrew. It
was quite a day. A lot of tears as they looked at it and could could see Sarah in that bench.
>> Bill Fuller has known the Yar Bros for years and his daughter was in Sarah's class.
>> Sarah was fun to be around. That was probably what we missed the most is she was fun to be around.
The bench reads carpedium, sees the day, a mantra Sarah lived by. Encased in bronze are some of her favorite
possessions. Ballet shoes, a replica of Sarah's beloved dog, Gibby, and books. >> Nice that people cared about her so
much. >> Andrew Yarro, now an adult, admits that he struggled as a young teenager. It was
especially difficult to see those sketches around town of the man police believed murdered his sister.
>> You know, there was drawings of the person's face all over in businesses in town. You know, I do recall that quite a
bit. Just having that kind of a constant reminder. >> Looking back, I feel like we didn't do a
very good job with the boys. I think that we were so consumed by our own grief that we didn't take time to help
them. >> I think we didn't really know how to help them. I mean, it wasn't something
we had experience with. We didn't know anything about grieving ourselves or how to help them through it.
>> And they weren't alone in their grief. Shannon Grant, the last friend to see Sarah alive, says she lived with
constant regret. >> I wish we could go back and do it all over again. That I would have asked the
other dr members what time practice was, you know, maybe dropped her off. I mean,
there's a lot of the whatifs. >> The milestones were especially painful. >> There was survivor guilt.
>> Like, why am I filling out my college applications when Sarah wanted to go to
college? >> This isn't fair. >> Every joyful occasion had this >> Yes. >> sorrow that went with it.
>> That was There's one missing from the crowd here. Graduation Day, June 12th, 1993, was an
emotional day, but even more so since it fell on what would have been Sarah's 18th birthday. Laura Yarro came to
support her daughter's friends. >> I do not know where she found the strength to do that.
>> She loved that green dress, right? >> Yeah, she wore green quite a bit with her hair.
Lori Yarro says Sarah's friends helped ease her grief somewhat, and she thinks she filled the void for them as well.
>> Sometimes they would say, "Well, I'm going to date this person, and I just wanted to let you know cuz I wasn't sure
if Sarah would approve of this person." >> So, they would seek approval through you. You became sort of their surrogate.
>> Yes. >> As life slowly moved forward, investigators kept working the case. I describe it as like a relay race where
the baton was handed off from one detective to the next over the years and decades. I kind of refer to myself as
the fifth beetle in this investigation. >> By the early 2000s, investigators had
received over 3,000 leads, and advances in technology made them hopeful. They entered the DNA from the crime scene
into the recently established KODS system, a national DNA database that includes profiles of convicted
offenders. >> The strategy was to continually try to see if there would ever be a match while
also investigating leads. >> But over time, there appeared to be no match. >> For us to have DNA evidence from the
suspect, but not have that linked to anybody, it just didn't make sense. It it seemed hard to believe that the
suspect hadn't committed any other prior crimes where his DNA wouldn't be in the
system. >> That's when he says detectives realized they had to go in a different direction.
>> My name is Colleen Fitzpatrick and I'm one of the pioneers of forensic genetic
genealogy. In 2011, investigators reached out to Fitzpatrick to inquire about using
forensic genetic genealogy, the practice of using software to compare unknown DNA
profiles to information from public DNA databases and searching family trees to identify suspects. Genetic genealogy is
well known now and has been used to solve numerous cold cases, but at that time it was in its infancy. When I
started in this field, it didn't exist. >> Fitzpatrick says most police agencies
had been skeptical of this new investigative tool. >> The police thought I was crazy. You
know, this little old lady with a crazy idea, and I was actually almost laughed out the room,
>> but the King County Sheriff's Office took a chance on Fitzpatrick. >> It was for free. I just wanted to see if
it worked. What are you going to lose if you try something? >> The Yarros were encouraged.
I think it wasn't until we met Colleen Fitzpatrick that I really began to think, oh, you know, they're going to
find this person. >> And it didn't take long before Fitzpatrick came up with a name of a
possible suspect that surprised just about everyone. Everyone went, "No way. From the beginning, it was very
promising and the story took some really bizarre twists. In 2011, 20 years after Sarah's murder,
when forensic genetic genealogologist Colleen Fitzpatrick started working the Yarborough case, she traced Sarah's
killer's family tree back to a man named Robert Fuller, whose family had come to
America on the Mayflower. I found numerous matches to the name Fuller. When Fitzpatrick gave the name Fuller to
the King County Sheriff's Office, they immediately knew of one person with that last name. Bill Fuller, the Yarro's
close family friend who helped get that memorial bench built for Sarah. >> Naturally, that piqu our interest.
>> From the beginning, Sarah's family and friends believed Bill Fuller had nothing
to do with Sarah's murder. He didn't look at all like the suspect. The wrong hair color. He's short. He's not tall.
He just didn't fit the profile at all. Fuller's age didn't match the profile either. He's 79 years old now, but was
48 years old at the time of Sarah's murder, at least two decades older than the man Drew Miller described.
>> There was no way that I could be even remotely connected to the case. He fully cooperated with police and
voluntarily gave them a DNA sample. It didn't match the DNA found at Sarah's crime scene. Yet, Fitzpatrick remained
optimistic. >> The good news is that we came up with a possible last name to investigate, and
this was the first break in the case in 20 years. Fitzpatrick knew that Sarah's killer was
in the Fuller family tree somewhere. So, she and her team went back to work. And
as the years went by, she knew she was only getting closer, especially after 2018 when forensic genetic genealogy was
used to identify the Golden State Killer. Golden State Killer really started the big revolution. Things had
evolved that we had the data to work with. The technology was in place that we could go for it.
Then in September of 2019, Fitzpatrick's team made a breakthrough. They came up with two new possible suspects, brothers
Edward and Patrick Nicholas, who, as the DNA showed, were distant cousins of Bill
Fuller. You know, this is 8 years of on and off and looking at it, never giving up. This is it. This is exciting.
>> Edward Nicholas was a registered sex offender. His DNA was in the system, was
in Cotus. >> But Edward's DNA wasn't a match. So they zeroed in on his brother Patrick, who in
2019 was a divorced loner who lived a couple of towns away from Federal Way. >> We learned that he was working at a at a
auto parts store. Lived alone, uh, no children, no friends or acquaintances that would even visit him. Everything
that he did was mostly by bus. He wasn't driving. Detective Re says he discovered that
when Sarah was murdered, the bus route Nicholas often took happened to go past Federal Way High School. Back then,
Nicholas was just 27 years old and around that time looked very much like the description of the sketch.
>> It looked promising at that point, but we still needed to get a DNA sample from
him to match up to the DNA evidence that we had. So, in late September 2019, investigators came up with a plan.
>> We assigned a team of undercover detectives to start doing surveillance on Patrick Nicholas in the hopes of
obtaining a surreptitious DNA sample. >> Eventually, undercover detectives followed Nicholas to a laundromat.
>> They saw him go outside and smoke a cigarette. And Patrick Nicholas was seen throwing the cigarette butt on the
ground that was collected by our detectives. >> That's what you needed right there. That
cigarette butt. >> Yes. >> Actually, he dropped two cigarette butts and a napkin that fell out of his pocket
and all three items were collected. >> The DNA samples were rushed to the crime lab and within days, detectives received
the call they had been waiting for. >> The DNA matched. This was our suspect. >> Perfect match. Yes,
>> Patrick Nicholas was arrested. >> There were so many suspects over the years. Was Patrick Leon Nicholas ever
named as a suspect? >> Out of 4,000 tips, he was never named. >> I was I was pretty in shock.
>> The news was a relief for Sarah's family and friends, who had never given up hope
that they would get answers. One thing the detectives kept telling us was eventually technology is going to solve
this case. I trusted that and they turned out that they were right. And I remember going out to my car and
balling >> just balling. Finally, finally they got him. When Drew Miller, who had seen Sarah's
killer back in 1991, saw Patrick Nicholas's face, he says he knew they had the right person. What did
he look like? >> The same guy, just older. Just the same evil eyes. Those evil eyes stayed the
same >> all these years later. >> Yeah. >> But it was not over yet. >> Why do you think you're here?
>> I have no clue. During his interrogation, who am I being charged for? >> When detectives specifically asked him
about Sarah's murder, he gave an alarming response. >> What we're investigating is is the death
of a young girl named Sarah the young girl. >> Interestingly, he asked what year this
was. >> And that really sent up a flag. >> Why? >> Why would you ask that? He's being told
this is a murder case. We're wondering at this point, are there other victims? >> This is it. I'm not going to say
anything. >> After one and a half hours, Nicholas asked for an attorney and stopped
talking. But his criminal record would speak volumes. >> I am the one that got away.
On a quiet morning in June 1983, 8 years before Sarah's murder, 21-year-old Anne Crony was sitting by
her car along the Columbia River in Richland, Washington, when a man approached her.
>> He seemed normal, kind of friendly, actually. Just friendly. I had asked him if he'd done
any water skiing yet because he said he had just moved to town and he said he couldn't swim. And he said, "My name is
Pat Nicholas." >> After a few minutes of small talk, she became uncomfortable. >> I noticed his voice was getting shaky
and I told him I had to go. I went to close the door and he put a knife to my throat.
Everything kind of stopped at that moment. He told me to take my clothes off. >> Nicholas stuffed Anne's underwear into
her mouth to prevent her from screaming, forced her out of the car, and led her to the riverbank.
>> We got about halfway down the bank, and he told me to stop. I ran and dove in
the river cuz I was thinking he couldn't swim. Swam as hard as I could. >> Swam for your life. I swam for my life.
>> Passers by found Ann at a dock nearby and called police. As it turns out, 19-year-old Patrick Nicholas was no
stranger to law enforcement and had a record. He had raped two women and attempted to rape a third. He'd been
convicted of rape as a juvenile >> and had actually only just been out for a few months when he attacked me.
Days after Anne's attack, he was tracked down, arrested, and plead guilty to attempted rape. He told authorities, "I
realized that I have a problem concerning raping girls." At his sentencing hearing, Anne spoke
out. I was actually very angry and asked the judge for the maximum sentence and the judge did agree and sentenced him to
10 years. So I thought it was over. I thought that justice had been served. >> But Patrick Nicholas did not serve the
full 10 years in prison. He was released after just 3 and 1/2 years and was never
notified. She barely thought of him again until October 2019. >> The police knocked on my door and said
that there were detectives in Seattle that wanted to talk to me about a cold case.
>> They informed Anne that Patrick Nicholas had been arrested again, this time for
the murder of Sarah Yarro. >> They told me that there were similarities in the cases and
I was crushed. It had never occurred to me that what I escaped from was a murder.
>> What's more, if Nicholas had served his full prison sentence, he would have still been behind bars that December
morning in 1991, unable to murder Sarah Yarro. >> How angry are you to hear that he was
released that early? And very, it brought up a lot of the old anger and even more anger because the system
failed. King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Celia Lee and Mary Barbosa describe him
as a serial predator with a clear pattern. All of the women were approached at or near their car. He
would strike up conversation and then pull a knife and tell them that they needed to walk where he would order them
to take off their clothes and then rape them. Nicholas had also been convicted of
sexually assaulting a minor in 1994, three years after Sarah's murder. Five sexual assaults that investigators knew
of, none of which had required him to submit his DNA. So there was no record of him in the Cotus database. But in
pre-trial hearings, the judge ruled that Nicholas's criminal history could not be
entered in as evidence. She found that it would be unfairly prejuditial to the defendant.
>> But the prosecutors were hopeful their case was strong enough. >> All rise for the jury.
>> In early 2023, more than 30 years after Sarah Yarro's murder, her accused killer, now 59 years old, went on trial.
Sarah's childhood friends were there. >> I so clearly remember the morning before
the trial started just going, I don't know if I can do this. like, >> you know, I had so many different
emotions flowing through and it was like, "No, we need to be there." >> There was this absolute love for Sarah
and the Yar Bros that was so strong. >> Did you feel like they were a lifeline for you?
>> Yeah. Be seated. >> You weren't in it alone. You were all in it together. >> As the trial got underway, the focus was
on the DNA. >> What was your strategy then in trying this case? Well, we needed them to trust
the science. >> There was a field that was emerging called forensic genetic genealogy.
>> Patrick Nicholas's public defender, David Montes, challenged how forensic genetic genealogy was used to first
identify Nicholas. >> I want to dig into the science because >> the first time that kind of defense had
been used in Washington state. They used technology that is not only unproven, but just whack really. He's not the
person that killed Sarah. The police needed an answer more than they needed the right answer. And so they turned to
new, untested technology. >> Genetic genealogy is a new field. It really hasn't been tested out. Should we
be making important decisions based on something that is not well or deeply understood? But the prosecutors said
that argument was moot because Patrick Nicholas's DNA matched the DNA found at the Yarro crime scene. And Detective
Free says the numbers were astronomical. >> The odds were one in 120 quadrillion
that >> quadrillion. Yeah. >> Right. That it it was somebody else. If the numbers pointed to Nicholas's
guilt, law enforcement says so did evidence found at his house near the time of his arrest in 2019.
>> It was almost like a layer. There was no working electricity at this house. Stacks of pornography all throughout the
the place. We also found a newspaper from 1994 that had on his front page an article about the Sievo case. And going
through one of the kitchen drawers, we found a torn photograph taken from a magazine, a woman in a cheerleading
outfit. >> When the prosecutors showed that photo in the courtroom, the oxygen left the room.
>> Yeah. >> Montes downplayed their significance. >> I think both of those pieces of evidence
were not especially strange given the general state of his house. There were stacks and stacks of newspapers all over
his house. >> This is evidence tape. >> Patrick Nicholas didn't flinch as the evidence was shown, showing no emotion
throughout the trial. But Sarah Yarro's presence was felt, especially when now retired Captain Scott Strathy carefully
unpackaged and displayed Sarah's clothing that had been in storage for over 30 years. her drill team jacket,
shoes, sweater, even her nylon stockings. >> This was like opening a a time capsule.
>> All of a sudden, they were real things. They weren't even photographs. They were
the things she had on her body when she died. You just you sort of felt yourself
crumble. >> After nine long days of testimony, the case went to the jury. All eyes for the
jury. >> It took them just over a day to reach a verdict. >> I was shaking and like just that like
there was so much adrenaline and so much anticipation. >> We the jury find the defendant Patrick
Leon. >> Everything just dropped and it's like what? [Music] >> Why do you think it took law enforcement
so long to identify Patrick Nicholas as a suspect? Take a look at a timeline of the case at 48 hours.com.
This is the state of Washington versus Patrick Leon Nicholas. >> Sarah Yarro's loved ones had waited over
30 years for this moment. >> We the jury find the defendant not guilty of the crime of murder in the
first degree premeditated. >> Patrick Nicholas was found not guilty of the first charge premeditated
firstdegree murder. I remember dropping my head to my hands. I was angry. I was in disbelief
>> when that first one came in not guilty. I closed my eyes. >> But there were other charges and there
was still hope of a conviction. >> Guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree. Guilty in the second
degree. >> Patrick Nicholas was found guilty of firstdegree murder and seconddegree
murder. The jury ruled both had been committed with a sexual motivation. I remember hearing the family behind me
cryur >> and I made eye contact with the jurors and nodded at them. You know, they got
it. They got it right. >> I feel so grateful for those detectives, >> for the boys, for the previous victims,
for every witness who took the stand. So grateful that all these people came together.
Two weeks after Nicholas's conviction, dozens of people who had been involved in every part of Sarah's case gathered
back at the courthouse for his sentencing hearing. Prosecutors asked the judge to impose extra time to take
into account all of Nicholas's crimes. >> The sentencing hearing was exhilarating
in a way that I never expected. M >> it was probably the most raw human courage I
have ever seen in my life. [Music] >> Sarah's death left our family broken and we've never been the same.
>> The pain in my father's voice over the phone telling me Sarah was dead. Person after person took to the
podium to say all that Patrick Nicholas had taken from them. >> Coming face to face with pure evil that
day has deeply impacted my entire life. >> He took her life and what was sure to be
a brilliant future from her. In taking Sarah, he took the innocence of every one of us
>> to face Patrick Nicholas and to say what they had been wanting to say to his face
for 30 years. Patrick Nicholas is pure evil. >> There was so much power in the room. It
was electric. >> And then Anne Crony, who wasn't allowed to testify at Sarah's trial, started
speaking. >> He just did like a double take and shuddered when Anne stood up. >> Like he saw a ghost.
>> Yes. >> I'm sure he didn't expect to ever see my face or hear my name ever again. We rely
on a system of justice that is designed to protect us from predators like Nicholas. And this system failed me. It
failed Sarah, her family, friends, and countless others. I asked the court to please not make the same mistake.
>> After everyone spoke, Judge Josephine Wigs addressed the court. And when I think about this poor child,
this poor child and what she experienced fighting for her life. >> Judge Wigs put her fist on the thing and
said, "This was a child." She kept saying that and all I could think was, >> "Oh my gosh,
>> that's right. >> We were children." >> Yep. Nicholas received a sentence of almost
46 years. For Sarah's family and friends, the sentence brought mixed emotions. I don't know that this is
justice. It is a verdict and it is putting someone away for something that they did. But he got 30 years that she
didn't get. >> It makes me mad that he was free for so many years. And who knows however many
other people were hurt during that time. I I don't know that we'll ever know and
that could have been avoided. >> Forensic genetic genealogy helped solve Sarah's case, but prosecutors say
similar technology could have identified Patrick Nicholas years earlier if only familial DNA searches were allowed in
Washington state. In a familial DNA search, an unknown DNA sample is compared against profiles already in
COTUS to search for possible family members. Remember, Patrick Nicholas's brother's DNA had been in COTUS for
years. >> The legislation just doesn't exist in this state to allow that search.
>> California uses it. the UK, as I understand, New York, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Florida.
>> Do you think it's time to get that law changed? >> We do. We do. >> The Yboro agree and hope that Sarah's
case can make a difference. >> I would like to know that other parents don't have to wait 30 years.
>> What do you hope her legacy is? I think her legacy is she was always someone who
brought people together. She's brought all the people together that attended the trial. That's the kind of person she
was. >> For Drew Miller, who at 13 found Sarah's body, the connections made at trial
finally brought him some peace. Knowing he's in prison is fantastic, but knowing
her family and friends is way more important to me cuz that's what's given me the actual healing that I needed.
>> This is probably the beginning of our junior year. >> Sarah's friends will always remain
bonded by the past and Sarah's stolen future. Not only was she beautiful, her soul was
beautiful. And the grace and the beauty that she carried and left with all of us, we won't forget her. We will never
forget her. [Music] >> New CBS Next. >> He's not breathing. A surgeon's girlfriend found dead.
>> Provided those drugs. >> Was this a case of a controlling doctor's depravity?
>> This was not just some simple accident. This was much more. >> A new 48 hours next on CBS and streaming
on Paramount Plus. [Music] What is your emergency? >> A shot fired. >> What is your name?
>> My name is Anor Spivey. Me and my wife in her army. I accidentally shot her. >> You accidentally shot her?
>> Yeah. >> Houston, please. >> Where you at, ma'am? [Music] Sir. >> Yeah. >> Back here.
>> All right. Where's the weapon? >> Right here. >> Stay away from it. I don't want to see
it in your hand. You understand? >> Where she at? >> On the floor. Yeah. >> Where you at?
>> His leg. >> All right. >> Show the leg. >> Okay. >> We was arguing, tussling with the gun,
and we had been arguing all day. >> Okay. Go ahead and put your hands behind your back. Okay. Mr.
>> Renard Spivey was a long time deputy sheriff and the deceased was his wife Pat or Patricia Spivey.
>> Spivey who also worked for a time as a TV judge show baleiff is now charged with his wife's murder.
>> There was a lot of publicity because he had been on a very popular reality TV
show Justice for All with Christina Perez. All rise. Court is now in session. >> He was the perfect person in front of
everybody else. I think he thought the camera was always on. >> When it comes to how your mom died, do
you think it was accidental? >> No. It just it didn't make sense. It didn't line up. The security cameras,
how important were the security cameras and the evidence? I think they were very
important. On the surveillance, you clearly hear the three gunshots. One, two, three. The prosecution's theory is that
he shot her and then shot himself to cover it up. You don't accidentally shoot someone more than once.
>> Was the autopsy consistent with an accidental shooting? >> Well, ultimately, I guess that's the
million-dollar question. >> Whose finger was on the trigger? Who was the aggressor?
>> She was threatening him with a gun. >> If he is the aggressor, then this is a
murder. If she is the aggressor, this was either self-defense or an accident. This is the 9 mm gun.
>> This is the actual gun. >> It's caught. Now, there is no external safety on this gun. And so any slight
pull of the trigger would cause it to go off. >> There was no single piece of physical
evidence that really conclusively pointed towards a particular verdict. >> Did you intentionally shoot your wife?
>> No, ma'am. I love my wife. [Music] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] [Music]
It was just after 3:00 a.m. in the warm Houston summer of 2019 when first responders arrived at Renardo
Patricia Spivey's home and found 52-year-old Patricia dead in the closet from multiple gunshot wounds.
>> We can definitely see a wound in her abdomen right there. >> Okay. >> Will it be the entry point?
>> It it looks like it. >> We don't know if that's the only one, but that's definitely one there. There
signs of life. Her husband, Renard, had a bullet in his leg. He told officers the two had been arguing and fighting
over a gun when it fired. >> What' you shoot? >> We was tling in the chest. >> Renard Spivey, a sheriff's deputy with
Harris County, worked as a baiff in courts. >> You're a deputy sergeant. >> And played a baiff on TV.
>> All right. for justice for all with Judge Christina Perez. >> I'm giving you one more chance to tell
me the truth. >> Renard didn't say much more about what happened. Police detained him and had
him transported to a hospital. [Music] [Applause] >> Patricia's 83-year-old father, who
suffered from dementia, was also living with the Spy. He was sleeping when the gunshots erupted.
>> What? What happened? >> You didn't hear anything? >> I haven't did anything. >> I know. We just need your statement.
>> First responders on the scene wondered how a gun could go off multiple times by
accident. >> If you get shot once, you're not going to make the gun go off again.
>> That's what I'm saying. and why a man of Renard's size around 6'3 and weighing around 290 lbs would
need to struggle with his smaller wife to take control over a gun. >> Saying you're that big and you're
fighting for the gun. >> I don't know, but that was a big dude. That's a big dude. A big dude.
>> He's got a bunch of trophies inside. Bodybuilding trophies. >> Just got to call homicide. And it it
just doesn't it doesn't make sense, bro. It was more like what happened because like I said,
>> Patrina Marshall, Patricia's daughter from a previous relationship, arrived at
the scene. >> Did my mom do something? Did Renard do something? Like, what did somebody do
something to them? Like, I didn't know what to expect. >> Patrina says an officer told her mother
had died during a struggle with her husband. >> When he told you she didn't make it, had
to be very tough to hear that. was, >> but you held it together. >> I don't know. Something really weird
happened to me. I don't know. It's just like I just kind of shut down and everything just became really numb.
I still have not cried. >> Patrina says she regrets not seeing her mom for one last time.
>> I just didn't get that. And I'm like, man. So, she's just sitting in that closet just the whole time. So, oh my
god, I'm crying. >> Patrina never thought her mother's life would end this way. Her mother fell
quickly for Renard. >> It was like her first everything. That was her first house.
>> And it was Patricia's first marriage, Renard's third. >> When we met, I did like we kind of hit
it off and stuff like 5 years after Patricia's death, Renard shared with us his feelings for Patricia.
>> She was a fun person. >> She was spontaneous and she was just a beautiful person.
>> Renard had popped the question in 2013 after Patricia pointed at a ring she liked at a store.
>> Right there where the ring was said, "Come here. We'll show you." I proposed,
got on my knees and proposed to her. >> And if she said yes right away, >> she said yes. and we had fun. We
celebrated in Hawaii. >> And then they built their dream house, a 30,000 ft home with a threecar garage.
But within a few hours of Patricia's death, Renard found himself under suspicion for murder. At the hospital,
detectives wanted to interview Renard, but he refused. He would later tell us why.
>> At that point, had you already gotten an attorney? I had a union rep who was our
attorney and he came to the hospital. Union rep. We said, "Do not talk to him." >> While investigators tried to figure out
how exactly the shooting unfolded, the medical examiner was conducting an autopsy on Patricia. According to the
report, Patricia had multiple gunshot entry and exit wounds. The fatal shot piercing through her lungs and heart. 48
Hours consultant and former prosecutor Lisa Andrews reviewed the case for us. >> The multiple shots is definitely what
gives everyone a lot of pause as to why it's not an accident. The medical examiner ruled it a homicide, which is
an intentional killing. >> On July 29th, 2019, Renard Spivey was charged with his wife's murder. What was
that like for you now being behind bars for somebody who had been on the other side of the law for so long?
>> It was it was tough. It was real tough. What I've been through, I wouldn't wish
it on my worst enemy. >> Renard's twin sister, Renee Spivey Frasier, says she found out her brother
was arrested when she got a call from a relative. >> And I just couldn't believe what I was
hearing because I knew he loved her unconditionally. Renard's friend Gerald Graham, who
Renard has mentored over the years, couldn't believe it either. >> Like he's the big brother, the the
father, the uncle. >> I just want to thank y'all for all the the wellw wishes. And
>> I have never seen Spivey in any kind of altercation. I never seen him raise his
voice. Renard Spivey hired prominent criminal defense attorneys, brothers Dick and
Mike Darren and Mike's son Michael Darren. >> One of the things that we were able to
see in this case is they had a camera system in their home and I watched their relationship.
We wanted to see if there was anything there to provide a motive for wanting her to be harmed or dead or that there
was trouble in the relationship. >> It was very loving relationship as I could tell.
>> But yet we know on that night somebody went to bed angry. >> It looked like she went to bed angry.
He did not. [Music] 48 hours after he was charged with the murder of his wife, Harris County
Sheriff's Deputy Renard Spivey posted bond, $50,000. I was in jail probably a couple of days
>> and returned to the house he used to share with Patricia where investigators believed he intentionally shot her.
>> When you walk in that door, do the memories come flooding right back. >> Well, as soon as you go in the door and
then you go in the bedroom, bam, it hits you. >> Renard Spivey insists his wife's death
was an accident. >> I love my wife. You know, I did everything for anything. and anything
she wanted, I always treat her like my queen. >> But Renard never gave a statement to
police about how the events unfolded that night. And Patricia's family questioned the
circumstances around her death and why Renard was free on bond. Patricia's cousin, Cibil Shepard.
>> I don't think that his bond was high enough for murder. being a sheriff. I think he got a lot of uh privilege in
that instance. >> Patricia's loved ones call her the caregiver of the family. >> She was kind of like the glue. Her being
gone really is is you can you notice it that she's she's gone. >> She did anything that she could to help
people out. And you can see that just from taking care of her dad, you know, just taking on that responsibility.
Patricia worked as an executive assistant for the Methodist hospital in Houston.
>> She'd go visit people in the hospital. She would go take them food, send them
flowers. If nobody else was thinking of them, she was. >> She just was everywhere helping, taking
pictures, giving her time, just real social. >> She was very accomplished. >> Renard's attorney, Dick Darren, says the
Spibbees had a good life. >> Dude, they were very happy. They they went on cruises together. Every Friday
night they had a special dinner. >> How would you describe Renard Spivey? >> I mean, the idea of a general giant, his
size was you can't avoid seeing how big he is. >> Bernard has been a bodybuilder since his
20s. In the aftermath of his wife's death, he was placed under house arrest, but was allowed to continue with his
training. Actually during that period of time it was more therapeutic for me because I've been doing it for 40 years
cuz that's that's my love. >> He was also free to go to church and spend time with his family, but he
resigned from his career of more than 20 years with Harris County Sheriff's Department. His TV career also took a
hit. >> At the time of Patricia's death, I understand you were still taping. Yes.
>> The the Justice with Christina Perez show. But they miss say before that we were still taping. Then after that we
didn't do any more taping. >> Renard had portrayed the baiff for 9 years and taped more than 100 episodes.
>> He told us it was something his wife really liked about him. And what did Patricia think of your television
career? >> Oh, she loved it. She She was excited. And a matter of fact, I took her to the
couple of Emmys. Patricia's childhood friend, Ezra Washington, had a small part as an extra on that show and
remembered meeting Bernard when Patricia and Renard got together. >> You recognized him right away from from
his time. >> Renard and Ezra became close friends. But over time, even before Patricia
married Renard, Ezra says Renard was controlling with her. >> They were at Papados Friday night. You
know, she'd have a few and he told her, "Don't drink no more. and she said, "Why?" He was like, "Cuz I
said so." And she dumped him. >> The couple got back together, but their problems hardly went away, says Ezra,
and eventually impacted Patricia's relationship with her cousin, Cyibil. >> He didn't like Sil at all. He literally
just hated her. She allowed Pat to have freedom. They would go on this cruise every year and they party, have fun, and
they meet people from other parts of the country. >> She definitely felt, you know,
intimidated by the relationship, you know, that we had. Um, >> Cibil says after the couple got married,
Patricia distanced herself. >> It was more so trying to just put that wedge um between the two of us,
and it worked. I just backed off from it. I didn't want to come between somebody and their
marriage. >> It almost seemed like he was jealous of her relationships that he already knew
she had. I mean, >> he met her. >> Patrina says her mom and Renard had no business being married. She says their
relationship became strained once they moved into their new house. >> They argued quite a bit.
>> What did she complain about with him? >> Mainly it was libido. uh that he he didn't want to sleep with her and maybe
she thought he was taking steroids because his his whole demeanor changed and his attitude towards her changed
>> like mood swings, a lot of up and down. >> Yes. Patrina says her mom looked up some of
Renard's pills and told her she found proof Renard was using steroids. >> In the days leading up to the shooting,
did it seem like things had intensified? >> Yes. >> Renard says he was never controlling
with Patricia, but he doesn't deny there were issues in their marriage and says they began about a month before the
shooting. She thought I was on steroids and stuff and I trying to get her to understand that I my testosterone was
low and I was going to a doctor. >> Renard says a doctor had prescribed him testosterone shots. What about the
steroids? Were you taking steroids at that time? >> That's was the replacement. It's called
It's called replacement therapy. That's That's not steroids. >> Did you feel like you your moods were up
and down too during the time you were getting those shots? Does do the shots affect your mood?
>> No, never. >> Renard had already told police the two were arguing on that fatal night.
>> And she thought I probably was cheating on her or something because we wasn't
intimate anymore. >> And what' you say to her? >> I told her, "No, that's crazy."
>> Security footage in the Spivey's home recorded some of the couple's movements.
>> She is sitting at the table at one point. You walk over to her. What happened? I I when I walked over to her,
I was getting ready to go to bed and every time I walked over to her, she'd turn her phone down and then I was
trying to kiss her. I'm not kissing you. >> Renard says he was curious why Patricia
was hiding her phone from him. After they went to bed, thinking that his wife was asleep, he says he grabbed
her phone from her nightstand and brought it into the closet. >> I want to see what she was looking at.
And so when I grab the phone, I'm thinking she's sleep. I go in the master closet. It's dark. And it wasn't seconds
before, you know, pointing the gun at me. Give me my damn phone. >> Bernard says Patricia followed him into
the closet with a gun. >> And when I turned around and saw her finger on the trigger, I was scared for
my life. [Music] when I turned around, she had the gun pointed at me. >> Tension between Renard and his wife
Patricia turned frightening. He says, >> "I was really scared cuz, you know, put
your finger on the trigger unless you prepared to shoot." when Patricia threatened him with his gun.
>> Where do you keep your gun? >> Uh on the on the dresser. >> So it's on your side of the bed.
>> Yeah. >> And is it always loaded? >> It's always loaded. >> Don't you talk somebody down like as
your police training is to deescalate the situation? >> Well, I was afraid cuz I've never been
in a situation like that before. So, the best thing I knew in my training to try
to take the weapon away from him. >> Renard says he tried to do just that and things unfolded quickly.
>> When I grabbed her wrist, I grabbed the top of the weapon. She pulled back with
a finger on the trigger and it it went off and shot me in the leg. >> So, you got shot first.
>> I got shot first. >> Then what happened? I was in the process of falling down and when I tried to take
the weapon away from me, it went off a couple more times. >> Two more times, he says. Patricia was
hit in the chest and then hit by another bullet in her arm, as illustrated in the
CBS News animation based on defense theory. We're certain that the first shot that hit her went into her left
chest, through her lungs, and into her heart. We think that the second shot that hit her hit her in the right arm
and went basically in and out of the bicep and then into her upper right chest. >> But former prosecutor Lisa Andrews says
it is not certain that only two shots struck her. The medical examiner thought it was possible Patricia's wounds were
the result of three shots. One to the left chest, one to the right arm, and a third to her right chest.
>> There's a lot of controversy about how many times she was actually shot. >> One shot is an accident. Three shots.
>> Well, I mean, that's the question, right? >> Investigators poured over the home
surveillance. Three gunshots are heard clearly, >> but authorities suspected Renard
actually fired the gun four times. Three bullets fired at Patricia and then one Renard would have fired at himself.
>> Shot in the leg, >> wounding his leg to make it seem that Patricia shot him. >> Investigators identified one piece of
sound. You can hear it over the alarm ringing. >> Now, this next clip picks up the tap.
>> They say it's the gunshot recorded about a minute and a half after the three other shots.
>> Different sound. Different sound. >> There was a reason they say it sounds different than the others. Their theory
was that that that sound that fourth sound was a gunshot in a different part of the house and that was him shooting
himself. >> Renard Spivey denies there was a fourth gunshot. >> That wasn't you shooting the fourth shot
to then have >> cover up story. >> No ma'am. >> Renard's attorneys Dick and Michael
Darren also listened to that surveillance tape. >> It is not a gunshot. They say the sound
most likely is the click of another camera in the room being activated. >> And keep in mind, there were three empty
cartridges that were found. >> But Lisa Andrews says there were other things that could point to Renard's
guilt, like his call to 911. >> What is your emergency? >> Uh, shots fired. [Applause]
>> Okay, sir. Is there an actual patient there? Is someone miss shot? >> Yes, ma'am.
>> It's pretty calm. The demeanor does look pretty off to me. >> Okay. Where's the patient?
>> Uh they on the floor and I'm I'm shocked, too. >> They >> He doesn't say my wife or she. It's It's
an emotional step back from from what has happened. >> It took Renard two and a half minutes to
say he accidentally shot his wife. >> Yeah. My wife in the army. I accidentally shot her.
>> It's like he can't bring himself to say what he's done. For him not to reveal
that information with two decades of law enforcement training. To me, that was consciousness
of guilt. >> But Renard says he wasn't hiding anything. >> Well, when you traumatized and to see
your wife shot and you shot too at the same time, it's it's a lot. >> Mhm. Where's the gun? It's going to
>> you can hear the strain in his voice. So, you know he's in pain. He was confused and probably going into shock.
>> But there are other things on that tape that caught Andrew's attention. >> Since she is not awake and not breathing
normally, sir, we need to perform CPR on her. >> I said we need to perform CPR on her.
>> I felt this was also significant. I have no doubt he is trained in how to give
CPR, perform it. >> You can hear what sounds like Renard doing chest compressions.
>> 1 2 3 4 5. >> But a little while later, you can see on the home security cameras, Renard takes
a break without mentioning it to the 911 operator. >> Need to apply firm direct pressure to
your wounds and her wounds, but we still need to continue the CPR. >> Okay, ma'am.
He's on the phone with 911 holding the towel on his leg. Typically, when you're performing CPR,
you don't take breaks. >> Renard says he went to unlock the garage door to make sure medics could get to
his wife as soon as possible. >> I came right back and continue the chest compressions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
>> is then heard breaking down. >> Stand here, Mr. Spivey. Just keep going. You're doing great, sir. If you can
continue, please continue. 1 2 3 4 5 6. >> He loved her. >> Happy anniversary to you too, dear.
>> Happy anniversary to you. He really loved her. >> Renard's twin sister is not surprised
her brother was emotional. >> She lost her life and he still he was hurting. I feel something.
>> But Patricia's close friend, Ezra Washington, says just 2 days before Patricia died. She told him she was fed
up with Renard's controlling ways and his suspected steroid use, which she blamed for the lack of intimacy in their
relationship. >> She said, "You know what?" She said, "I'm done." She said, "I'm leaving."
Ezra says on the day of the shooting, he had multiple phone conversations with Renard and that Renard told him they
were getting a divorce. Ezra claims he confronted Renard about steroids. >> I know you're on them steroids. Okay.
Okay, man. I I I did I got some product from my boy cuz I wanted to get lean for
the cruise, but I ain't I ain't doing it no more. I said, stop lying. Ezra says he told Renard to just leave
the home, but Renard made a comment about Patricia not getting the house. >> I'm a sure. I'm a sure. I said, man,
don't be stupid. >> Ezra says he feels guilty for not reaching out to Patricia to warn her
that night. >> I didn't call. I regret that to this day. >> But he told authorities about his
conversations with Renard. I told him everything. >> As Patrina and Syibble waited for the
case to go to trial, they had arrived at the same conclusion with Ezra that Renard had intentionally shot and killed
Patricia. >> It was more or less his actions afterwards. I didn't see any remorse
from him. I don't think it was an accident. >> But Renard Spivey's loved ones were
convinced he would walk out a free man. He would never ever intentionally pull a
weapon to kill. I knew him. I knew he was going to get a not-uilty verdict. As Patricia Spivey's family waited for
their day in court, the Corona virus pandemic stalled the proceedings. 4 and a half years passed by.
>> That's not justice. >> Renard remained under house arrest, but after some time, his lawyer successfully
filed a motion to remove his ankle monitor. and Renard joined the world of dating apps.
>> I probably was on maybe one or two of them, but you know, you get along, you need, you know, you know, some friends
or something like that. >> On November 28th, 2023, Renard Spivey was back in court. This time, not as a
baiff, but as the accused, facing a life sentence if convicted. >> He looked totally different. you know,
he wasn't the the clean shaven. You know, he had the the gray beard. >> The state told the jury Renard shot
Patricia intentionally after she threatened to leave their marriage. >> The prosecution's theory is that almost
like he snapped. He was angry. They were arguing. He was being accused of things
by her. >> But according to Spivey's attorneys, this was simply a case of self-defense.
self-defense fits because she was threatening him with a gun and he grabbed her wrist and the gun in his own
defense. >> They say what happened next was an accident. >> It was an unintentional
discharge of the gun. Several discharges of the gun. when he told me what kind of gun it was.
I'd had experience with that particular model of a Smith and Wesson semi-automatic.
>> You have it right there. >> There is no external safety on this gun. So, if someone's finger is on that
trigger, all it takes is is a slight pressure >> slight pressure and it goes off.
with someone that's gripping and trying to wrestle with the gun. That's enough pressure to engage the trigger and to
fire the gun. >> Dick Darren says once fired, the semi-automatic reloads itself instantaneously.
>> It recharges in in split seconds. Each time it's fired, it's ready to fire again.
>> We went with Darren to the doorway of the closet in Spyy's house. >> It's a pretty sizable closet. It's like
a >> That's a big closet. >> Big closet. where he showed us what he says happened.
>> He saw that she had her finger on the trigger. With his left hand, he grabbed
her right wrist, >> okay? >> And put his right hand on the top of the gun to force it down. And she pulled
back. >> And so she >> got away from me. >> Okay. >> And when she did that, it it shot hit
him in the left thigh. >> And as it fell, he grabbed her again and grabbed the gun and tried to twist twist
it out of her hand. Uh, her left hand came off. >> Okay. Left hand comes off >> and and the gun went off again and shot
her in the chest. In the chest. >> Then Darren says the gun went off one more time and the third shot hit
Patricia in the arm. >> Her hand by that time was in relationship to her body, almost
vertical >> to her body. That's why when the bullet went in, it went in by her elbow, came
back out, went into her chest. Darren says the powder burn mark on Renard's right hand proves he grabbed the gun as
Patricia fired. >> When the gun fires, uh, this is where the gunpowder that's been fired comes out and that's what
burned his right hand. >> But there was something that puzzled the prosecutors and they raised it at trial.
>> Where she at? >> She's laying on the floor. In Renard's telling, he and Patricia were fighting
at the entrance of the closet, but Patricia's body was found deep inside the closet. Prosecutors believe it was
because he cornered her. >> Her body, as I understand, >> her body, >> where did it end up?
>> Well, it ended up uh over in about the area that you are, but then after >> And why how did it end up here?
>> Because that's where they fell. >> Where she fell. At trial, the defense team painted Patricia as the aggressor,
and they point to her internet activity that evening to demonstrate, they say, that her frustration with her husband
was building. At 2:49 a.m., Patricia posted this meme on Facebook. Characterize people by their actions,
and you will never be fooled by their words. At 2:59 a.m., Patricia is seen on camera for the last time.
At 3:01 a.m., prosecutors suspect Patricia had enough. And you can make out her saying the words, "It's the same
thing," over and over again. [Music] Maybe that's what she said. What did it mean? It's ambiguous. What is she
complaining about? Over and over again. >> At 3:03 a.m., Renard is seen in the kitchen. And then he goes into the
bedroom. 4 minutes later, at 3:07, you hear those three gunshots. along. >> They were in quick succession inside of
4 seconds. >> And at trial, Renard Spivey told the jury his wife Patricia was the one
firing. >> I didn't pull the trigger. >> No, your fingers weren't on the trigger.
>> No, ma'am. Not at all. >> Darren says there is no evidence to contradict that. He says that a crime
scene technician acknowledged at trial that the trigger was never separately swabbed for DNA.
>> She said, "Well, I was afraid that the gun would go off again." Now, that tells
you how dangerous that gun was. >> But Patrina says her mom was not the type of person who would pull a gun on
anyone. >> My mom is not violent like that. It didn't make sense to me. Instead, Patrina believes her mom was in
the closet that night because she was packing. >> I think she was trying to leave that
night. >> Prosecutors had Ezra Washington tell the jury about those phone conversations
with Renard, where Renard talked about his frustrations. >> I just want to give him the truth,
everything that came out of his mouth that I know. But the prosecutors ran into a problem. They say Ezra told them
he spoke to Renard using apps on his phone and they were unable to find records of those calls. Darren says he
doesn't believe those conversations ever took place. Are you saying Ezra Washington then when he testified
because he was a key witness for the prosecution, was he lying when he talked about those phone calls? I wouldn't call
him a key witness, particularly when we were able to show that there was no record of those calls.
>> He didn't talk to me. He lied. >> He didn't talk to me. >> I mean, why would he make that up?
>> I don't know why he would make that up. >> And Renard says he had no reason to kill
his wife. >> Had there been conversations about separation or divorce between you and
Patricia? >> No. >> She hadn't talked about leaving you? >> No. No. All that's lies.
As the case went to the jury, no one knew who the jurors were going to believe. It was tough. People pointing finger at
you. You did it. And I know deep inside that I didn't. >> If you were on the jury, what would be
the most important evidence in this case? Chat now with the 48 hours team on Facebook and X.
>> I've never stopped having hope and had faith. >> On December 6th, 2023, after 12 hours of
deliberations over two days, the jury and Renard Spivey's murder trial reached a verdict.
>> My heart is, you know, I'm emotional. I don't know what to expect. and found him
>> happy anniversary. >> Happy anniversary >> not guilty. [Music] >> I fall to the floor crying
boo crying. My attorneys help pick me up. My family, you know, >> very emotional.
>> Yeah. All >> Renard's sister Renee was relieved. >> I wanted it to be over with because I'm
concerned about him. I'm concerned about his well-being, his life, how he's handling this.
>> But she says there were no winners. >> She lost her life. And I was feeling for
her and his life would never be the same. On the other side of the aisle, Patricia's family and friends say they
couldn't believe the jury's decision. I'm >> I'm just I'm numb. I do not believe that
she received justice at all. I felt like I held my breath and then not guilty. I I'm I don't understand how
they got there. I didn't believe him. Renard's attorney says the jurors just weren't convinced beyond a reasonable
doubt that his client was the one who fired that gun. >> I think was very important to the jury
that the prosecution never proved whose finger was on the trigger. And it's very
important because the prosecution has a burden of proof. And the the gun was so important. the fact that it's such a
dangerous uh design of a gun that will go off so easily. There just wasn't uh enough evidence to
disprove his story. Since the trial, Patricia's family say they've had a hard time processing their
loss. felt like it was way too soon for me to be at her funeral. Facebook has this
these memories and just seems like every other day or pictures will come up and think about
the times that you know we share um the the good times. My mom was still important like she was
important to me. I just miss that unconditional love. I have no anchor. Like she's gone. So
she was my my anchor. Yeah. So yeah, >> I'm hurting. So I know how they feel. Actually, I would like to, you know,
come to their family, go to their family and say, "Hey, look, you know, I loved her, you know, and they knew that."
It's no doubt in my mind that they knew I love Patricia Marshall. >> Bernard says since his aqu quiddle, he
has been active in his community. >> I work for an organization and a volunteer for healing for hoodies and we
feed the homeless every Sunday. >> Leaning on his family and friends. >> A lot of the officers, a lot of other
people, we knew that you didn't do that. We knew that you would get, you know, found not guilty. We know you. We know
your character. We know what type of person you are. >> Appreciate it, man. I appreciate God is
good. God is good. >> But he says he still misses his wife. >> You remember stuff that she used to
like. You remember the music. [Music] >> You remember the food she like. you know what color dress certain things
she like you remember all that so every day it's it's a challenge it's it's still I'm still I can't sleep
at night [Music] I live with it every [Music] [Music] Don't miss true crime anytime you want,
anywhere you go with the 48 hours podcast. Real crimes, real lives. >> Like a John Gisham novel come to life.
>> Real justice. >> There's some questions that have to be asked and need to be answered. Listen to
48 hours on Apple Podcasts.

"48 Hours" correspondent explores true crime in this YouTube mini-marathon. Watch "Kassanndra's Secret," "The Hunt for Sarah Yarborough's Killer" and "Deputy Spivey on Trial."

00:00 Kassanndra's Secret 40:56 The Hunt for Sarah Yarborough's Killer 1:23:02 Deputy Spivey on Trial

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Brief Summary

Cassandra Canrell's disappearance leads to a murder investigation revealing secrets and a complex relationship with Colin Dudley.

Key points

Cassandra's Disappearance. Cassandra Canrell goes missing on August 25, 2020, leaving her family in panic.
Secrets Revealed. Cassandra was pregnant at the time of her disappearance, complicating the case.
Dudley's Alibi. Colin Dudley claims he was at Costco when Cassandra went missing.
Dudley's Guilty Plea. Colin Dudley pleads guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 26 years in prison.
The Investigation Begins. Detective John Free joins the investigation into Sarah's disappearance, raising questions about her last moments.
A Breakthrough in the Case. Forensic genetic genealogy leads to a potential suspect, surprising everyone involved.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I think I got it.

A dive team member's excitement upon finding Cassandra's phone.

11:30WatchAug 23, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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