Serial Killers | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] it is a case that has haunted the public for more than 13 years and many feared
that the Gilgo Beach murders may never be solved the officer located a body it seem to be WRA in burlap which didn't
make any sense the crime scene gets expanded I'm called and chief we found another set of remains they find another
one and another one we were dealing with a serial killer they're available they're vulnerable and very petite this
killer has a type right does he want the petite uh body because he wants to feel
more empowered and More in control I want the world to know like my sister mattered I want answers
you just want answers an arrest more than a decade in the making in a serial killer case
that's baffled law enforcement and the public 59-year-old Rex hman pled not guilty I dropped my phone I couldn't
believe it so just who is Rex hman an architect who ran a company called RH consultants and Associates Rex hello how
you doing good to see you when a job that should have been routine sud becomes not routine yeah I get the phone
call Rex hurman is a mystery man Rex is capable of presenting himself one way to
one person one way to another person my first memory of Rex was that he was very
big imposing scary angry he was bullied he was bigger than everyone else the kids would gang up on
him and Rex was very smart too he's a smart person very smart he liked to shock people he was
interested in power games Rex loved hunting and he loved guns going out shooting hunting that was
his passion all petite all bound in burlap bags the burlap on the bodies that's points right at a a hunter it was
DNA collected from a pizza slice he tossed in a Manhattan trash can that came back back as a match with hair
found on the victims that's where we obtained you know his full profile from from the pizza crust left in the Box in
terms of speaking to my client the only thing I can tell you that he did say uh as he was in tears was I didn't do this
everyone's just trying to put the pieces together I want to know what I missed I
think we all want to know what we [Music] missed [Music] [Music] not far from this quiet stretch of Gilgo
Beach on Long Island New York investigators uncovered the hidden remains of four young
women the mystery of who they were and how they got here might have stayed a secret if not for a woman named Shannon
Gilbert [Music] in the early morning hours of May 1st 2010 23y old Shannon working as an
escort call 911 State Police yeah there somebody asking [Music] me the call came from a neighborhood not
far from Gilgo Beach these people are fting to kill me Shannon starts running knocking on doors
where are you Shannon she screams and then nothing Shannon was gone hello [Applause]
hello canine searched the area exhaustively for Shan and Gilbert Dominic Fon was chief of detectives at
the suffet County Police Department months passed without a sign of the missing woman and then in December 2010
near Gilgo Beach a police officer and his K9 named Blue found human remains everyone assumed it was Shannon
Gilbert but it wasn't Shannon stunned Searchers would go on to discover the remains of four other women
the women were identified as Moren brainer Barnes Melissa Barthel Megan Waterman and Amber Costello like Shannon
all were in their 20s all were online escorts all petite three of the four were wrapped in burlap the kind you can
find in hunting stores they became known as the Gilgo four it's really really hard cuz I miss
her so much 48 Hours has reported on this case since 2010 over the years we've secured
exclusive interviews with the family and friends of the Gilgo 4 Missy can will never forget the wintry day when she got
the devastating news the detectives came to my house and just said that Moren has
been positively identified as one of the victims on Ocean Parkway her sister maren brainer Barnes
mother of two was the first to disappear on July 9th 2007 she was very smart and
very creative she liked being a mom she loved being a mom but life as a single mom living in Norwich Connecticut was
difficult Missy didn't know it but Moren had turned to escort work and that July
went to New York City for a weekend to make [Applause] money on her way home she she called
Missy from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan attention please I could hear the commotions from the train station
from the time that she called me it was poof she was gone she reported Moren missing
eventually officers would tell Missy that after her sister's disappearance someone had used moren's cell phone to
make a call from Long Island it wasn't known then but those those two locations Long Island and
Midtown Manhattan would become important clues in the hunt for a serial killer nearly 2 years to the day that
Meen vanished 24-year-old Melissa bartholomy went missing in July of 2009 also from Midtown Manhattan ly
bartholomy is Melissa's mother how often do you think about Melissa every single
minute of the day it just didn't happen to the girls I mean it destroyed all of our families Melissa moved from Buffalo
to New York City to work as a hairdresser at some point she also began working as an escort and then
disappeared about a week after she went missing Melissa's then 15-year-old sister Amanda started getting calls from
Melissa's phone we agreed not to show Amanda's face she answers you know Melissa where have you
been and this voice is saying oh this isn't Melissa Stephen Cohen was the family's lawyer at the time he was
taunting Amanda and he said do you know what I did to your sister I killed Melissa all I can say is he's sick and
he's going to make a mistake and we're going to catch him those calls from Melissa's own phone may very well have
been that mistake when police Trace them the calls place the person they believe
to be Melissa's killer in Midtown Manhattan the following year Megan Waterman the mother of a three-year-old
girl disappeared from a hotel on Long Island part of you's like missing or it's just like something's
always off we he spoke with Megan's daughter Liliana in 2020 I would do anything to bring her
back but I can't and it just like frustrates me so bad Megan's family says the 22-year-old was a creative but
troubled young woman who loved fashion and was devoted to her daughter what would you say to your mom if you could I
would just want to tell her that like I love her I just want her to know like she has a special place in my heart no
one can ever replace her like the other two women Megan disappeared in the summer on June 6th
2010 she was working as an escort on Long Island no matter what her job was she was a
person and she needs Justice this haunting video from a holiday in express is the last time she was seen alive
moments before she went to meet a client cell phone records later placed her phone in a Long Island neighborhood
called mipa Park Amber costell was the last of the Gilgo for to disappear she lived here
just 7 and a half miles from masipa Park she used to say she was 411 but she wasn't she was like 49 you know I mean
she was small Amber's friend and former roommate Dave Sher spoke with us in 2011 she was amazing person she really
was he says Amber was addicted to drugs and used sex work to support her habit but as amazing as she was was as
tormented as she was after Amber disappeared police say shaller told them about her clients he described one of
them as looking like an ogre and having a first generation Chevrolet Avalanche on the night she went missing
Cher says a client offered Amber $1,500 for the night six times her hourly rate this guy was so relentless he called
several times he was on the phone with her for quite a while each time he says the client got Amber an experienced
escort to do something she never did leave without her purse or cell phone and meet him in his car I walked out the
front door with her she she gave me a hug she's like I love you and she left it was nearly midnight night Sher
says that when Amber left this house she walked down the street and he never saw
her again shaller told us that he didn't see the client's face that night but suspects he had seen him
before so this is a guy you might have seen yeah this is somebody that I seen I might be the one of the only people who
knows who he is it would be more than a decade before sher's description would lead to a break in the case
and a prime suspect to see a timeline of how the case unfolded go to 48 hours.com the shocking developments in a
murder case gotone cold my coworker called me and she said did you hear what happened to Rex and I'm like no a
husband a father an architect stood before a judge charged as a serial killer she says it's Rex I said no way
this house was a main focus and they brought out a lot of evidence I just didn't think it was real a Long Island
community is still a crime scene tonight I even thought to myself it's crazy that
there's two Rex humans out there Mary shelle and Muriel Henri worked with Rex hman and couldn't wrap
their heads around the news we never thought he would be that kind of person it's
shocking in July of 2023 nearly 133 years after the gilo 4 were discovered suffi County Police Commissioner Rodney
Harrison made the announcement authorities believe Rex hman is the Long Island serial killer Rex shman is a
demon that walks Among Us a predator that ruined families the man he calls a demon is a 6'4 architect he's
charged with killing Melissa Bartholome Megan Waterman Amber Costello and is the
prime suspect in the death of Moren brainer Barnes what does my client told me he told me he didn't do
this hman was living about 20 minutes from Gilgo Beach in masipa park the very same town where Megan's phone last
connected with the cell tower and hman worked here at his architectural firm in Midtown Manhattan just blocks from where
Morin disappeared the same area where several of the threatening calls to Melissa's little sister were made the
cause of death with regard to the three victims is homicidal violence a married man hman lived in
this rundown house and has a daughter and stepson with his second wife Assa Assa who was born in
Iceland would take the children to see her family there in the Summers it was during these trips and others police
believed that hman killed the women you never got any kind of hint of another life no two totally Muriel henriquez
worked at Herman's company RH consultants and Associates and spoke exclusively to 48 Hours she recalled a
gift he gave her in the summer of 2007 this is a sweater he asks his wife to bring back from a trip to Iceland
Muriel who says she was touched at the time by Herman's thoughtful gesture now wonders if his wife's absence that
summer gave him an opportunity to kill Moren brainer Barnes who disappeared on July 9th 2007 how do you feel about this
sweater now now no I'm definitely not going to wear this sweater now still she says she saw nothing alarming about the
Rex Herman she saw daily a little bit of a nerd in a way he liked to talk about himself what he knew I mean not a
narcissist but a little bit of a you know I know everything kind of guy pompus pompus she remembers him running
to and from job sites eating fast food on the Run Pizza that was his number one thing police say they found nearly 300
guns in a basement vault when she heard that police had recovered almost 300 firearms from a vault in huberman's
basement she was surprised only by the number she knew him as an avid Hunter going out shooting hunting that was his
passion what was it about hunting he liked I don't know I guess he liked the idea of having a prize stalking prey
stalking prey and winning he like to win and while she says it never occurred to
her that Huer could be dangerous she does remember a time when his tracking skills unnerved her it was her 40th
birthday and she had booked a cruise vacation where are you going I said I'm you know I'm going to be in the middle
of the ocean you're not going to find me in the middle of the ocean he said oh yes I
can Muriel didn't think much of the comment until the second day of her trip there was a white envelope under my door
it was a note from him the note said I told you I could find you anywhere he had photos from hunting
trips Mary shelle worked with Huer in the summer of 2010 it was the same summer that both
Amber Costello and Megan Waterman vanished he would talk about you know the meat in particular that bare meat
could keep in the freezer for months hearing authorities now say that some of the victims were wrapped in a burlap
that Hunters often use was chilling the burlap really got to me since Herman's arrest Mary has written about her
experience with him she's also talked to other former female employees who said they weren't always treated with respect
he would have one of them uh clean the toilet if he thought the cleaning person hadn't done a good enough job a woman in
the office yes he more than once commented on women's bodies if someone perhaps had gained some weight you know
that kind of that kind of thing John perzy grew up with hman he says hman was bullied as a child I
remember meeting Rex when I was in first and second grade he was a loner not many
friends the children were super mean to him made fun of him and teased him but John says he never saw hman fight back
he was big enough that if he got upset and started swinging he would hurt somebody but he never
did as hman got older John points out things didn't get much better it was rejected by many girls we all go through
that awkward stage growing up and it seemed like that awkward stage I stayed with him longer than
usual still he says many in the community find it hard to believe that Huer is the notorious serial killer
living a double life for more than a decade people were saying oh my God I can't believe we have a serial killer in
our town and we grew up with and we walked amongst the killer another classmate of hans's actor Billy Baldwin
took to social media media when the news broke tweeting it was mindboggling Rex hello how you doing the
awkward Long Island teenager grew up to be a confident and seemingly successful architect antoana Mira met and
interviewed him in 2022 Born and Raised on Long Island okay been working in Manhattan since 1987
there's nothing in my interview that made me think that this person in front of me uh is a dangerous
person Antoine is a hotel food and beverage manager in New York who loves real estate he has a YouTube Interview
show where he handpicks guests whom he thinks are interesting and accomplished I'm an architect I'm an architectural
consultant I'm a troubleshooter Antoine says hman was well known for his skill at helping companies and individuals get
building permits when a job that should have been routine suddenly becomes not routine yeah I get the phone call got
you correct what really stood out for me was he was very very very smart and known says Anan for his ability to find
loopholes in the rules he was pleased when he was doing it that he could that he that he could out out with
the the system that's it folks that was Rex but antoan says he remembers it was hard to get Huer to crack a smile it's
selfie time selfie time not even during the signature sunglasses selfies he takes with every guest two
three can you spile that [Music] is if police are right Rex hman was able to hide a life as a serial killer
and if he did his habit of eating pizza on the go would turn out to be his [Music]
[Applause] undoing for more than a decade after the discovery of the Gilgo 4 Rex Herman's
name never appeared on a suspect list until a new task force was formed with suffk County Police Commissioner Rodney
Harrison and suffi County DA Ray tyranny in February of 2022 we formed the task force and then a mere six weeks
later Rex hman was identified for the first time a suspect in 6 weeks so how how did
they do it it turns out that buried in the original case files were a number of critical clues that the new task force
was finally able to connect remember Amber's roommate Dave shaller she's like I love you you know she gave me a hug
and she left he had told BCE about one of Amber's clients and his vehicle just a large built man and that
he was driving this this first generation Chevy Avalanche a first generation Chevy Avalanche with a
description of an ogre-like man and the make and model of his truck police took a closer look at Amber's phone records
from 2010 shaller had told them that before Amber disappeared there was one particular client calling
incessantly he called several times he was on the phone with her for quite a while each time police back then knew
the client was using a burner phone that's a prepaid phone that anyone can buy and use
anonymously and they knew that Moren Melissa and Megan had all been in contact with Burner numbers right before
they disappeared in 2012 with the help of the FBI they determined that most of those
calls connected to cell towers inside a small area of mipa Park they called called it the box so how large an area
is that box it's you know a couple of blocks within within mipa Park the new task force began the search
for a large built man who also lived in that small area and owned a Chevy Avalanche at the time of the
disappearances was there a aha moment when all of a sudden his name came up once we were able to attach the
Avalanche inside of that massive peal box which then attached to Rex hman that was a moment where we said okay there's
something here the task force now had a prime suspect and when they looked at H's personal cell phone records They
found that his phone was in the same area as those burner phones when they were used to contact a victim in mipa
park or in Midtown Manhattan it was always consistent tyy says this was also true
for those awful calls Melissa's family got from that man using her phone back in 2009 he said do you know what I did
to your sister and he said well I killed Melissa the task force says that it confirmed that hman does in fact use
burner phones investigators say he had two different burner numbers in 2022 and they say they watched him put
money on one of those accounts accounts here and according to court papers the team also documented three email
accounts using fake names including John Springfield Thomas Hawk and Hunter 1 1903 and all linked to those burner
numbers and prosecutors say that hman was using a burner phone to send these selfies to solicit and arrange for
sexual activity one of those account linked to heuerman prosecutors wrote was used to conduct quote thousands of
searches related to sex workers sadistic tortur related pornography and child pornography there was a lot of uh
torture uh porn and depictions of women uh being abused uh being raped and being
killed investigators also say that while they were busy watching hman hman was trying to watch them conducting searches
on the task force and the Gilgo victims not only pictures of the victims pictures of their relatives their their
their sisters their children uh and he was trying to locate those individuals the circumstantial evidence was building
but investigators also had physical evidence from the Gilgo 4 including one male hair that was found in the burlock
app used to quote restrain and transport Megan Waterman's body and they wanted to
see if they could link it to hman police tailed hman and when he threw out this pizza box in this trash
can here in Midtown Manhattan they pounced the pizza which was you know obviously very significant tyy says that
Herman's DNA that was found on that pizza crust was consistent with a DNA profile from the hair found with Megan
Waterman's body and that DNA profile is only found in .4% of the population that was a
remarkable day it was you know the weekend and you know you read you get the report and you read it and then you
read it again and then you read it a third time and then you read it a fourth time uh and then you start making calls
with the DNA the search histories and the burner phone evidence the team felt it was time when we
decided to take down the case we you know it was a sudden decision we did see him contacting a number of sex workers
using a burn phone which obviously is concerning pling clothes officers arrested him around the corner from his
office I don't think he had any clue I don't think he had any clue that we were on to him
police spent 12 days looking through Herman's home pulling those guns out of the basement and digging in the backyard
they say it will take some time to comb through what they have now and they were
tight lift about what they found has the search been great question and answer is yes
you elaborate on fruitful you said yes it's fruitful there have been items that we
have taken into our possession that makes it fruitful and one more big piece of evidence taken into possession a first
generation Chevy Avalanche hman once used and it was sitting on property he owns in South Carolina when they
recovered it we were able to seize that Chevy Avalanche pursuant to a search warrant and we're certainly going to
analyze that but there were female hairs found on some of the victims's bodies that don't belong to the victims
so who do they belong to what do you make of the evidence against Rex hman join the conversation
now on social [Music] media after Rex Herman's arrest his quiet neighborhood in masipa park was
overrun by investigators and media focusing intense scrutiny on the ramshackle home and its remaining
residents his stepson Christopher Sheridan daughter Victoria hman and his wife of more than 25 years Assa erup
there life going forward is always going to be the wife or the children of suspected serial killer that's what it's
going to be from now on attorney Bob Macedonia represents Assa erup who has since filed for divorce from hurman he
says she was as stunned as anyone by the accusations she had no idea how this going on the allegations are shocking
nobody wants to think that they've been living with sleeping next to a serial killer for the past 25 years as it turns
out ASA may have inadvertently helped Focus the investigation on her husband investigators say they've identified
strands of female hair that were found on two of the victims one hair on Waterman comes back to his wife or the
DNA profiles are consistent and then the DNA profile from Costello is consistent
with the wife although prosecutors have evidence that Assa was out of town when those murders occurred they will have to
explain how those hairs got on the victims suffk County DA Ray Tierney says it could be as simp simple as transfer
you live at home with a spouse uh a little bit of your hair falls on your shoulder as well as your spouses then
you go out and you interact with a third party and that hair gets on them Assa erup has not been charged or named a
suspect in any of the murders you don't believe that Rex huan's wife was involved in this in any way there's no
evidence to indicate that no along with the public scrutiny of Assa there's also
been some report from people that perhaps know all too well what she's going through Carrie rosson the daughter
of serial killer Dennis Raider who named himself BTK tweeted Assa and her kids are also victims I can tell that they
are going through hell and from Melissa Moore the daughter of Keith jerson a serial killer known as a Happy Face
Killer for taunting authorities with letters signed with a happy facee she reached out immediately to myself and we
put her in contact with Assa at a press conference Macedonia announced Mo set up
a GoFundMe page for Assa which raised over $50,000 money he says will largely go to
medical bills Assa is battling breast and skin cancer and because Rex hman was a Sole Provider for the family macedonio
says she will soon lose her health insurance Assa would like me to express her thanks
for the support she's received um she's going through a very difficult time asa's children have also paid a heavy
price her daughter Victoria who worked for her father at the architectural consulting firm and her son Christopher
are both now unemployed ASA struggles to support them says macedonio while she's
also trying to figure out how to start over how is she getting through every day I'm honestly yeah minute by minute
she has no one else to turn to it this time family and friends have been hesitant to have her come over because
they don't want the media attention she gets followed wherever she goes for the moment she and her children
continue to live in the house in masipa park which the family says was excessively damaged during the police
search seen in these photos provided by asa's attorney it's a daily reminder of the UN imaginable crimes her estranged
husband is charged with and the investigation that continues into what else he may have
[Music] [Music] done Rex hman awaiting trial is lo locked inside a suffi County Jail in a
60 ft cell he denies killing Melissa bartholomy Megan Waterman and Amber Costello their vo is now silent as the
sand where they have been ruthlessly discarded how sure are you as you're sitting here now that stman is the Long
Island serial killer so we're just at the beginning stages of this case but we would not have brought this indictment
if we weren't confident in our case he took away Somebody's Mother Somebody's Daughter somebody's sister and not just
one person multiple individuals hman is currently the prime suspect for the murder of Meen brainer
Barnes and for investigators and obvious question still hangs heavy if hman is a killer are there
other victims I mean isn't there a real concern that there may be other victims out there always who's to say that
there's not more bodies out there that we need to investigate in 2011 police did find
other bodies along Ocean Parkway after finding the Gilgo 4 there is victim number five Jessica Taylor an escort who
went missing in 2003 another set of remains police called Jane do number six is now
identified as Valerie Mack also working as an escort number seven to investigator
surprise they found a toddler girl number eight an Asian male dressed in women's
clothing number nine a female skull belonging to Karen verada an escort who disappeared in
1996 number 10 female remains from a victim cops nicknamed peaches because of a tattoo on her torso although her
remains were found six miles away police say DNA confirms peaches is the mother of that
toddler none of those victims has been linked to Huer men is it that you can't connect him yet or you believe he
probably isn't the person who killed these other other individuals I don't know investigations also spread to Las
Vegas in South Carolina where hman owns property with detectives there taking a fresh look at cases of missing
women and then there's Nikki brass I remembered him because one he's massive and how many massive like 6'5
Architects work in Manhattan live M you're going from brown and blonde now a hairdresser Nikki claims she may be one
that got away she told us she used to work as an escort and while we canot substantiate her story Nikki claims she
can't shake her memory of the night she says she was solicited for sex by Rex hurman and says she fled the restaurant
where they met I had never gone anywhere and like felt fear my go was tell me I needed to get away and I've never had
that before Nikki says what she found most disturbing is that hman himself brought
up those bodies Bound in burlap by Gilgo Beach he wanted to like really get into
it like he asked me how I thought they could get rid of the bodies without being caught in that area and I said
I've never been over there I've never even seen Gil go Beach and his response was well it's
really dark and desolate I'm John Ray and I'm the lawyer Nikki is now represented by John Ray an
attorney who is also representing Shannon Gilbert's [Music] family in December of 2011 investigators
finally found Shannon here in the marsh not far from Gilgo Beach but they don't believe she was murdered it's an
unfortunate incident but right now we believe that she just ran into the marsh and unfortunately drowned a former
investigator told us that he believed Shannon was high on drugs that night and says her death was an accident something
John Ray just can't believe while he doesn't think Shannon was a victim of hman he does believe she was murdered
and points to that 911 call it absolutely makes no sense that she's found where she is except that
someone else put her there or killed her there while questions remain about Shannon's last hours there's no question
she's the reason so many families May finally be getting answers that they have long waited for we spoke to her
sister Sheree in 2011 my sister you know didn't make that 91 call I don't think that these other
women would have been recovered either now investigators hope that with an arrest they can give the victim's
families who stood with them a sense of justice end of Peace I've gotten to know know the
families and I'm inspired by them and I'm impressed by their [Music] patience a local Legend has it that this
place Gilgo Beach was named for a skilled fisherman called Gil these silver gray Waters once his secret
hunting ground today this Beach area is better known for a Relentless Hunter of human
prey a serial killer whose chilling presence can still be felt in the Ocean Air four students connected by
friendship then by tragedy zanna's family speaks for the first time she was always fun she was uplifting Kay's
parents believe that killer was there before he had to know when people are coming people are going 48 Hours next on
CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus [Music] us personally I could sort of relate to
Kathy Blair and just thinking about what that would be like as a woman to be home
alone that is the Boogeyman story for every woman right awful an intruder is in your house yeah
someone is stabbing [Music] you what's happening dead off this is a case that sticks with you
throughout your life my name is Derek Israel I was working in the homicide unit when this case uh
occurred uh my name's Carrie scandin and I was the lead investigator on the C Kathy Blair
[Music] murder Kathy was a larger than life she's my big sister I have always thought everything Kathy did was amazing
how would you describe her from a students's perspective she was so kind um just believed in me wholeheartedly it
still makes no sense who kills a choir director who does that a monster uh I get notified that there's
been another murder the victims are an elderly couple they were the best parents you could
ever wrong they were just sweet people like anybody's grandmother and grandfather
right from the get-go it started sounding really familiar it's so violent and it's eerily
similar to Kathy Blair's and when we saw the connection we just continued to work the investigations
together you know Carrie and I both kind of came to the conclusion that there was
a serial killer working here in Austin I was uh out testing a thermal scope I needed to get some video of some
deer Rob Leaf has this thermal imaging scope it's been night vision rifle scope so I saw the car pull up and park I
zoomed in with the scope and by the time I had zoomed in someone had gotten out walked over to the
sidewalk that is just unbelievably chilling the last thing they were expecting was high resolution thermal
video this video showed the murderer walking towards Kathy but's house the actual killer the actual
killer [Music] [Music] these days in Texas it seems like all roads lead to Austin the Sleek skyline of the Lone
Star Capital glittering a Boom Town that welcomes newcomers chasing facing dreams it's a city charged with life an
unlikely place to find tragedy as dark as the death of a dreamer like Kathy Blair she loved life you loved being
around her what were the things that were important to her she had I think a sense of justice right and wrong kren
mat is Kathy's younger sister um she was bossy and even as kids in California it
was clear Kathy had a passion she was always singing she had a god-given talent which was her
voice it was music that led Kathy to Austin Kathy went to UT Austin to get her master's degree in vocal performance
she loved Austin but love didn't always work out for Kathy she divorced twice still her affair with Austin held
firm and by 2013 Kathy was renting a house on a quiet street here on tamarak trail it was home she loved the people
here she loved the vibe in a city known around the world for music Kathy Blair fit right in she
had Melody and rhythm in her soul but you wouldn't find her singing the blues here on Austin's Fame Sixth Street
instead she chose a more spiritual stage for her [Music] talents Christian Coral Society was a
positive social setting the kids were kind to each other Barbara Sally's daughter was one
of hundreds of students touched by Kathy's Talent as a choir director and teacher I think she lived breathe at s
music Barbara along with Kathy's student Kristen de Groot met with us to share their memories of Kathy she was so kind
um just believed in me wholeheartedly which uh was something I really needed and for Kristen Kathy was a role model
she and I were the same music needed to be in our lives or we would die she was their teacher and their Mentor one of
her friends called it the Cathy Nation the Cathy Nation the Cathy Nation it was December 6th
2014 Kathy's son Joe was staying with her while waiting for his assignment from the Navy after a night out he came
home to tamarak Trail what he found was shattering and echoed across that Cathy Nation think my mom is dead there's a
lot of blood broken we K my mom Joe what's your mom's name her name is happing [Music]
Bo this case was clearly different really right from the right from the Geto starting with
the location oh this is a nice neighborhood this is a place where people I think feel safe a l of up until
this case which would frighten and chill Austin and shock veteran detectives scanland and
Israel one of the first things I thought of I'm like why this yeah why this house
there's nothing that makes this house stand out from all the other ones this is the living room right here then in
Kathy Blair's bedroom there's a fullsize jewelry case right here large drawers all the drawers have been pulled out and
they're stacked up so it's like someone dumped them out and then put them in a pile right here someone who had time to
do that correct a jewel thief who had time because Kathy Blair was already dead this murder started right here on
the bed 53-year-old Kathy Blair lay alone asleep in her own bed she awoke to the
Ultimate Nightmare yeah Kathy Blair fought like hell choked stabbed and finally slashed
across the neck the wound is a fatal wound but she still has time you know to put up that fight she she fought for her
life Kathy's here and there's blood all around her so much blood that it formed the timeline of a murder there's a light
switch and on that light switch we saw blood like a a blood swipe that told us that the perpetrator had come in here
after the murder and switch that light on there are more blood swipes on these drawers that tells me the murder of
Kathy Blair occurs before these drawers were words soon spread across Austin and
across Cathy Nation I just said no that's not what happened that cannot possibly be what happened was Kathy
Blair the kind of woman who might have an enemy who would do that no she didn't have a malicious bone in
her body why does someone come in here and and murder someone in order to steal a
little bit of jewelry you know it doesn't make sense it would be the first in a hideous
series of Senseless events it's just one of those moments where you're in disbelief you think you're living in a
dream this does not happen but it did happen and the killer left almost no evidence no DNA no
fingerprints no fingerprint and no blood from the killer no Israel and scandin would need all their street smarts and
then some because just N9 days later I get notified that there's been another murderer for Austin detectives Israel
and scanland images of Kathy Blair's death were harrowing attacked in the middle of the night and it was a really
horrific scene but there was no physical evidence from a killer who made virtually no
mistakes and that meant there was no clear suspect then suddenly the search for a
suspect changed in a way no one could imagine it was around 1:30 a.m. on the night that Kathy Blair died and one of
her neighbors was out for a late night walk what what he saw and what he did would give the detectives their first
big break in the case I was out testing a thermoscope I needed to get some video of some deer
and we've got some deer up and down the street Rob Leaf lived a few short blocks
from Cathy Blair so this a thermal scope so it picks up a heat signature wow it's
like daytime except it was the dead of night and Rob was only looking for deer I saw
the headlights a car coming up I saw the car pull up and park and on this street
on this street Rob kept recording this is video he recorded that night with a scope like this one I
zoomed in with the scope and by the time I had zoomed in someone had gotten out and walked over to the sidewalk you can
flip the setting to Red to see the image more clearly did you focus in on the card I first focused in on the person
and turns left on tamrock Kathy Blair Street the next day Rob flew to Las Vegas on a planned trip with old friends
reading the news on my phone and saw a murder story I clicked on it I saw the address Rob raced back to Austin he
checked the video of that stranger on his street and I called Austin Police and how important does the video end up
being in Kathy Blair's case very very important the video was tantalizing but blank on images that did
not give off heat so you couldn't actually identify the man a license plate number or even if there was anyone
else inside the vehicle still there was one important clue it gave us an idea of
what kind of vehicle our murder suspect arrived at the crime scene with and it was a sedan of some
sort these cops needed much more evidence then 9 days after Kathy Blair's murder in another peaceful Austin
neighborhood just 15 minutes from Kathy home they would get it the victims are an elderly couple
murdered overnight viciously viciously Sydney Jr Johnny and Brenda want their parents to be remembered as
the outstanding people they were not the Grim headlines they became Billy and Sydney Shelton were hardworking and
happily married for 64 years we were never rich but not once did daddy ever complain about it not once did Mama ever
complain about it a life well- lived and peacefully slowing down Billy was 83 her husband
Sydney 85 these are sweet people that'll you know send you on your road with some
cookies home nurse da catola was making her scheduled visit on December 15th 2014 I knocked nobody answered front
door was splintered it was clearly had been busted open Dow nervously headed to the Shelton's modest bedroom their room
had been ransacked and then to the left I saw him on the bed and I I ran I just turned around and I ran Sydney and Billy
Shelton had been beaten and stabed the knife is still present yes in one of the victims that's correct is it clear that
it's also a burglary yeah I was seeing some of the same things the same things found at Kathy
Blair's murder scene starting with an empty jewelry box and again the drawers were pulled out they had been emptied
and stacked three people had been slaughtered in their own beds the crime scenes were eerily similar and
investigators were privately wondering was there a serial killer loose on the streets of
Austin if word gives out that there's a serial killer it kicks it to an entirely
different level so investigators kept their worst fears to themselves but why would any killer Target Kathy or Billy
and Sydney who cops determined didn't even know each other none of these people had any enemies that we could
figure out what is it that connects these people together besides the killer every lead was chased down then almost 3
weeks after Kathy was killed the name of a stranger surfaced Tim Parlin he done yard work at Cathy's house and a friend
reported Parlin was weird and rude I go to our computer system it was a simple and easy search Tim Parlin had spent
decades in prison and he sto jewelry and he stole jewelry specifically jewelry at
night are you hopeful at this point yeah I [Music] am so this is the in town sweets Tim
parand where here is living at the time the murders happened Israel and scandin went to look
up the lifelong convict the detectives snapped these photos of Tim Parlin told him we're
homicide detectives so he asked us a few questions as well about the murder well
yeah like so how'd she die wow that's bold you know stuff like that he's susing it out to see what we know cat
and mouse it is Parlin spoke to the cops in the hotel's parking lot but when they asked to see
his room he refused claiming his wife was inside and asleep and you drive away and what's the conversation I said this
is our guy you did yeah and Derek says I don't know yet a return trip to the in town suits
just a few days later pays off Parlin wasn't home but his wife was expl explain what we were investigating and
she knew the Shelton his wife knew the Shelton Tim parlan's wife knew the Shelton from church and Tim Parlin had
worked in Kathy Blair's yard it was tenuous but it was a connection she gave us permission to search the apartment
did you find anything we did a pawn receipt this is that pawn receipt for a piece of jewelry a a nugget pendant and
it turns out that pendant belonged to Kathy Flair it was pawned on the same the Catholic Blair was
murdered we found out that his sister had a green Toyota Harlin had been using his
sister's car a green Toyota its outline appeared similar to the car in Rob Leaf's video and one caught on security
footage approaching that Austin pawn shop less than 24 hours after Kathy was murdered we took it we had it towed
towed and tested on the passenger seat traces of dried blood blood belonged to Kathy Blair that
was in that car Austin was on edge Kathy Blair was found dead inside her home hoping for an
arrest the wait for justice has been troubling for her students family and friends my name is himma Muller and I'm
an anchor at CBS Austin news it was very very shocking in the community and it was really unsettling but now Justice
was closing in on one man Tim Parlin but you're thinking one guy still oh yeah do you believe Rob Leaf's video can
help ID Kathy Blair's killer see more of what Leaf captured that night on Facebook at 48
Hours when Kathy Blair's blood was found in Tim parlan's car detectives Israel and scanland were convinced that he had
killed her at that point we're all jubilant we're super excited we got our guy Parlin fit the bill perfectly he had
done yard work for Kathy Blair and was a career criminal with a long rap sheet of
burglaries now I just need to question him confront him hopefully he'll confess if he doesn't we have hard physical
evidence to tie this guy to the murder Israel had parland arrest did for an unrelated parole violation and brought
in for questioning seemed like a pretty short and straight road to charging Tim parlon with murder it turned out it
wasn't a short road and it certainly wasn't a straight road the first step was to get Parlin to
corroborate some of the details of Cathy's murder I just straight up told him that you know we knew that he had
killed uh Kathy Blair what's his response I didn't do it and this was the thing he really liked to say these hands
didn't kill anyone so the detectives asked him who did but Parlin wasn't giving up that
information so easily so after hours of this conversation he finally says okay I'll tell you who it was and that's when
he said Sean Gant Ben alkazar who is that that's what I said who is that did you think he was stalling oh yeah yeah
yeah this sounded completely made up and I knew as soon as he said it that he had
screwed us cuz now he had to now we got to go hunt some mystery guy down and prove that he didn't commit a murder
with their lead suspect behind bars for now the detectives reluctantly contacted
parlan's mystery man sha Gant benel Kazar had never been in trouble with the law he had a degree in microbiology was
once a high school science teacher and seemed an unlikely acquaintance of a serial jewel thief this guy lived in G
Galviston he didn't cause any trouble gamp and elgazar readily agreed to meet with them that night at the galvaston
police department CU see C all right we're investigating a murder in Austin and in particular we're looking at Tim
Parlin as the person that we we believe committed the murder I'm completely in the dark on this um who was
murdered he tells the detectives he barely knows Parlin that he just met him a few months earlier when his sister
began dating parlan's nephew so we started talking okay when was the last time you were in Austin well I've been
in Austin a few times for the last month he was in town during the the weekends of both of those
murders and on top of it he was staying with Tim Parlin the thing is honestly I want to help you guys out because this
guy wolf and chep's clothing basically didn't tell me anything about his his past and I'm starting to feel like he
set me up like a py or something the detectives knew from parlan's criminal record that he did have a history of
being a master manipulator did Tim ever approach you about doing burglaries and before long the mystery man who
initially said he knew nothing slowly started to crack Gant velkazar now says he was sitting in the car when Parlin
went into Kathy Blair's house so where are you sitting in the car passenger seat Well if he's sitting in the
passenger seat then why is there blood in the passenger seat but gamp Ben elazar had an explanation he says Parlin
came back to the car clutching a bloody pillowcase came back with the sack had blood on it threw it in the passenger
floorboard and I took a peek at it had jewelry in it and I didn't want anything to do with it when did you figure out
that it had something to do with the murder the fact that it had blood on it was not a good
sign then about 4 hours into the interview no I'm just wondering his rest as he walked down a hallway and he was
walking in front of me I looked up and it just I mean I got to chill because I was like that's the same walk as the guy
in the video remember that spooky thermal video that the cops think accidentally caught
Kathy Blair's killer ambling down the side walk you know it's just the broadness the deliberate
steps I thought it was him I definitely believed it could be him was it actually
Gant benel Kazar and not Parlin who had gone into Kathy's house we started pursuing you know the line of
questioning along the lines of maybe he was in the house he bully you into going into the
house or I was scared and you know he he was taking a threatening tone he told me
to go in the house and get the stuff and finally he admitted I did go into the house and I did steal the jewelry came
in through where the back door you said yeah it was open okay open unlocked unlocked yeah I looked around and kind
of prowled and snu through quietly I turned on a couple lights um in rooms where I didn't see her and I found the
room where she was and she was fast asleep that was the room her jewelry box was in okay and so I I opened the
jewelry box took the stuff out put it in the the thing maybe he went back I don't
know but I didn't kill her I told him that's that's impossible everything you said is true except that
it's not possible she was still alive when you left and I explained that the person who turned on those light
switches you talked about turning on the person who removed that pillowcase you talked about removing the person who
removed those drawers you talked about removing that person had Kathy Blair's blood on on his
hands so the person who did all that killed Kathy Blair I kept pushing him for the reason something happened in
that room when you were there what happened and that's when he said I was standing there I was looking at
her with no room left to lie he breaks down she woke up she lunged at me grabbed the knife started trying to
wrestle it out of my hand and then it was a struggle and I stabbed her in the neck the confession came
unexpectedly the witness was now the prime suspect we had gone to clear the guy and instead he confessed to capital
murder gamp and El Kazar kept talking and claimed that after murdering Cathy Blair he handed off her jewelry to
Parlin you didn't get to keep any of it no he didn't give me anything I got nothing you're going to have to ask him
where he fenced it Sean Gan elazar appears to have gained absolutely nothing from this
senseless murder I've never met anyone who would go into someone's house and sneak in a night and and murder them in
their bed for what reason none for their own gratification that's it we're going
to place you under arrest for capital murder detectives immediately read Gant benel Kazar his rights but they still
wanted to learn what he knew about the murder of the Shelton we started talking again asking about the
Shelton try as they might gamp benel gazar wasn't talking anymore well I wasn't there for that one
I don't know anything about that one by this point everyone is exhausted So eventually he just he terminated the
interview he said I'm done done wish this all had never happened after the arrest detective scandin made
this video of gamp benel Kazar on his cell phone his hunch seemed right that's the
moment that you think that's when I thought it was him two men are in jail in connection with
the murder of a beloved choir teacher 4 days later Austin Police announced that they had made two arrests 30-year-old
sha Gant Ben Al Kazar of Galveston is charged with capital murder 49-year-old Timothy Parlin is also expected to face
charges related to Blair's murder Sean G Ben alkazar he was a UT graduate he had
no criminal record of any kind how did he get involved with a crime like this Tim parland had an answer later
while in custody Parlin admitted to the cops that he had driven gampa alkazar to
Kathy Blair's house and to the Shelton residents on the nights they were murdered and parlan says he knew all
along that gamp and alkazar had killed all three of them investigators now thought they understood what had
happened Shan the Shelton Tim Parlin was a party to that murder and he planned it
he facilitated it he profited from it he assisted in it but you are 100% convinced that it was Shawn who murdered
that couple yes will he ever be brought to trial for it it seems unlikely unlikely because there was no
direct evidence linking gamp and Al Kazar to the Shelton murders and he would always deny he had killed them
prosecutors would focus instead on building their strongest case using gamp and alcazar's confession to convict him
of killing Kathy Blair but when Shan gamp velkazar finally gets his day in court no one
could have anticipated what would happen next makes you worry because this guy cannot be out on the
streets [Music] okay good morning ladies and gentlemen we're here to start the trial in state
of Texas versus sha gazar three years after sha Gant benel Kazar confessed to the murder of Kathy
Blair his trial begins did then and there intentionally commit murder By causing the death you never know what a
jury's going to do MH but it was a very very strong case you're all here today assistant DA's Andrea Austin and David
levingston present the state's case the man who sits Among Us in this courtroom the defendant Shan Gant balazar is Kathy
Blair's killer how hard was it to be there during that trial it was really hard there were some pictures throughout
that that I saw that I can't unsee there was a car that parked while I was on of my walk Kathy's neighbor Rob Leaf
testifies about the video he recorded on the night she was murdered by the time I
zoomed and zoomed back in someone was already out of the car and was crossing onto the sidewalk that someone the
prosecutor tells the jury was sha gamp Ben elazer on his way to murder Kathy Blair I just kind of looked through the
rooms you know and I I turned on a couple lights um in rooms where I didn't see her the prosecution's case hinges on
Gant benel Kazar rambling 5-hour confession where he describes breaking into Cathy's
house she woke up she lunged at me he had a knife out they fought over the knife and
I stabbed her in the neck he didn't just kind of confess he straight up confessed to all the
details of of killing Kathy Blair sign that confession was vital to the prosecution's case he gave enough
details in this confession that were kept out of the media so we could show the confession was from the actual
killer and that he knew enough about this crime to have either been there or done it himself there is no question
that this is a horrible horrible crime gampa alcazar's defense lawyer Ariel Pion makes a bold accusation right off
the top that damning video she just was trying to fight the knife away from me and I was it was all a lie a false
confession coerced by detectives Israel and scanland no I'm just wondering the defense tells the jury
that during that 5minute bathroom break in the hallway when Gant benel Kazar was
not being recorded detectives threatened him law enforcement went down there we believe the evidence will show with the
express idea plan purpose and intent to try to get him to confess to something he didn't do they have to come
up with something they have to argue that it's a involuntary statement but we obviously knew that wasn't true the
exact words were this is important and we're not you're not going anywhere until we finish gamp benel gazar takes
the stand to blame the cops for his confession that if I I didn't explain a reason for having done it even though I
Didn't Do It um I would get the death penalty and he maintains that it was actually Tim parand who killed Kathy
Blair on that chilly December evening back in 2014 were you worried the jury might you always have to worry with
juries you don't get blood on your hands and put it on a jewelry chest at closing
arguments prosecutors insist Gat benel Kazar voluntarily confessed and offered details about the crime only the killer
could have known I think it comes down to a credibility and hopefully are sitting
there thinking this guy confess why are we here the case goes to the jury when the hours started ticking away
2 3 5 6 7 8 n you feel you feel awful were you worried yes the idea that he would get
out was just Unthinkable I mean Sean is going to kill somebody else if he got out after 19 hours of jury
deliberations this time I'll declare a mistrial a mistrial the jury cannot reach a verdict one person held out she
didn't want to consider the confession I mean look that's what this system is about we we're required
to get a unanimous verdict we didn't get a unanimous verdict how hard was it to hear that there was a mistrial and you
would have to go through it all over again really hard yeah that was that was tough with a retrial in the works and
Tim parlan's trial less than a month away prosecutors were worried could they get any jury to convict either of these
men good morning this man Timothy parlon knew that Sean Gant would go in and murder Captain Blair with sha gampa
alcazar's mistrial still fresh in her mind prosecutor Andrea Austin is determined to put Tim parand away for
life he stands trial for both both the murders of Kathy Blair and the Shelton in Texas if you were part of the
crime then you were also guilty of that crime you can convict him even if you don't believe he stepped foot inside
that house because he was there and he participated correct I'm going to ask you to find him guilty of capital
murder detectives were convinced Gant Bazar had killed the Shelton but had no evidence to charge him with their murder
so Tim Parlin would prove to be an easier Target for prosecutors Parlin admitted he drove gamp and alkazar to
both murder scenes and the car Parlin was driving had Cathy Blair's blood in it oh he did much more than sit in the
car he's the one who targeted Kathy he's the one for whatever reason said hey you know what this would be a
good person for you to murder good morning ladies and gentlemen parlan's lawyer Keith Lowman argues that
despite his client having confessed to driving gamp benel Kazar to both murders there is no evidence placing Parlin
inside the two houses he never set foot in either one of these hubs and at the very end you're going to realize that
this man in those hands never participated in any murders after a 9-day trial the jury
doesn't take long to reach a verdict we the jury find the defendant Timothy Pary guilty of the offense of capital
murder guilty Parlin is sentenced to mandatory life in prison without the possibility
of parole for his role in the murders of Kathy Blair and Sydney and Billy Shelton five months later gamp benel
Kazar went to trial a second time for the murder of Kathy Blair the nerves were much higher the second round well
there's a lot at stake a lot of the vehicle parked on the side of the street it wasn't in front of a house again Rob
Le's testimony is critical for the prosecution and uh did at some point did you see an individual get out of that
car yes sir I did I want you to watch this it was a struggle and I stabbed her in the neck I
I didn't look what he does with his hands he's retrieving a memory right involuntarily he's doing this he
remembers doing because he's the one who murdered her the police wouldn't let me
go is my once more Gan elgazar swears the cops coerced his confession and I come out of the bathroom they keep
saying oh we we know you did it there's no doubt you did it and they keep saying
it keep saying it and I just got worn down this time out the jury deliberates Less Than 3
hours we the jury find the defendant Sean G Ben Alazar guilty of the offense of capital
murder we poured our emotions out into this case it was Justice delayed [Music] and yeah but delivered but
deliver like Tim Parlin before him sha gamp Ben elazar was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
we're pleased um we miss Kathy this isn't going to bring her back our hearts are never going to completely
heal a few months after the verdict I spoke with gamp benel Kazar via a prison video phone I wanted to ask why why
would a guy who'd never been in trouble with the law suddenly turned into a vicious killer instead with no evidence
of any remorse he repeated what he told the jury that he was innocent the cops had forced him to confess and that Tim
Parlin was the one who had killed Kathy Blair when I went to go see him at 4 4 a.m. um he said well we're going to go
get breakfast and uh drove me out to the place and then said that he had killed her and told me about it Tim parling
confessed to you that he killed Kathy Blair yeah that's right how could you have known the movements of the killer
anything that um I said was something that either uh you know Tim told me or I just made
up and not surprisingly when I visited Parlin at a prison in Northeast Texas hello hello how you doing he pointed the
finger at gampa elazar and claimed he knew absolutely nothing about the murder of Kathy Blair after Shawn viciously
kills Kathy Blair gets back in your car and drives away and he goes back to G he
never said a thing never said a thing he never said Stone Cold individual actually right you've been described as
the master manipulator that you talked him into doing it my IQ is very low and I have a
big heart I believe that it is it's very low actually and I have a big heart so I'm Not The Mastermind behind anything
you're just a big teddy Bearer Behind Bars yeah pretty much were Rob Leaf is The Accidental Hero of
this story someone who never knew he'd be called upon to help solve a murder and you
ended up leaving the neighborhood I did needed to change I did absolutely I would not be where I am as
a a professional actor and musician without her influence Kathy Blair's student Christen degut is moving to New
York to pursue her dream of a career in music one of my greatest regrets is that
I never was able to tell her that she did this for me how proud do you think she would be of
you I I hope she'd be really proud of me they're just evil people in the end there's just
two this broken human beings who you know basically put a path of Destruction through you know two
[Music] families two families who will forever share the same tragedy they were the
best parents you could ever want I just miss her and at the end of the day she's gone
and I can't call her [Music] tonight what do you think really happened watch more of Marine's
interviews with the two convicts at 48 hours.com this is terrifying this is a senseless
murder this is not a minor point this is really a who done it this is a heavy gun this is hate this is
real this is crazy this is the Moment of Truth this is terrifying this is exactly
what I tried to stop CBS News original [Music] reporting [Music] I met Vicki in high school it was like
we were just meant to be we had so much in [Music] common that was my favorite song and to
this day I'll Crank It Up in the car if I hear it it just says something about I guess
kind of like the way I thought of her maybe there was never never a doubt in my mind how much my mom and my dad loved
[Music] us my name is Bill werly I was coming home for lunch I was working on that
side of town I figured whyd hurry and get home for lunch I found Brandon by himself I thought that was unusual for
her not to be there with him I kind of looked around I think for her and didn't find her normal life you
don't expect something bad to be happening she died by strangulation there were a number of uh lature marks
around her neck why why her you know what did what did she do what did we do he's there for 50 minutes probably
before he discovers the body there were definitely police officers that thought that bill wagly killed his wife could
that person be involved you know who else would have killed the wife did they ask you to take a polygraph yeah I took
a polygraph for them and I also took one privately and did that make them less suspicious no it made them more
suspicious why I failed both of them so bill werly for 18 years had to live under the cloud of suspicion that
he killed his wife I don't think they put two and two together that this had anything to do with a serial killer the
this is BTK this is him he killed my mom out of the [Music] [Applause] Shadows for three decades Witchita Kansas has
lived with a murder mystery 10 victims strangle without mercy and a faceless killer who called himself
BTK dealt with very very coldblooded Killers but none who have such a tremendous memory over this many years
I've never dealt with anybody like this hello everybody district attorney Nola f
is Prosecuting Dennis Raider The Man Behind the initials which stand for bind torture and kill we have torture devices
he commented to me at one point I'm sorry I know this is a human being but I'm a monster you'll learn how Raider
became that killer and the untold story of one family's horrific encounter with BTK bill wagly was
victimized and tortured in this whole episode from the day that his wife died the day that she was
killed it not only killed him it put him under suspicion for a long period of time bill wagerle and his children have
been silent about what happened to them for 19 years they speak for the first [Music]
time I remember seeing her across the hallway in school and just thinking you know
wow Bill met his wife Vicki when they were 16 she was just tall and slender and attractive well-kept I mean she just
quiet and you got married when we were 17 young yeah sometimes it seemed like they were
just you know two kids in love when they were just 18 Bill and Vicki had a daughter Stephanie what do you remember
of your mom to me it seemed like she was always happy and bubbly and you know easy going and life was life was good
eight years later a son Brandon was born my life revolved around her and and her
life revolved around the kids in me and her family too those are the important things to
us then came a day so sural that even 19 years later bill werly still seems in shock when when was the last time you
saw Vicki uh when I left for work that morning probably about 8:00 the date September 16th
1986 and I just remember kissing her goodbye which normally I didn't take the time to do that but that morning I
did while bill was at work and Stephanie at school Vicki was home at one point that morning she was heard playing the
piano she was also taking care of Brandon who was then too I was coming home for lunch and just to see her and
Brandon I passed my car on my way home did you know it was your car yeah I was sure it was my car and could you see who
was driving it I saw a person driving it yes but not your wife no what happened when you got
home uh I found Brandon sitting on the floor by himself were you worried at that moment I was concerned yeah I I
didn't know exactly what was going on why why Brandon would be there by himself that that's very unusual what
did you do at that point I eventually went into the bedroom and discovered her on the floor Vicky
had been tied up and strangled then you start to put things together that the person that was in my car probably I'm
sure did this and and and I immediately called 911 but when police arrived and started
putting things together themselves they came to a different conclusion did they believe you I I don't think they did
that's because Bill failed those two lie detector tests the individual that I hired to take the polygraph he said he
believed what I was saying was true he said it's just the stress that I was under did you think it was possible you
might be charged it got to a point yeah I was fearful of that police never had enough evidence to actually charge bill
or anyone else but the rumors persisted for years I remember going back to school and my my friends would tell me
on the playground that you know my mom and dad said that your dad did it that was tough wouldn't it MH what
would you say to them I didn't say anything we knew what the truth was so it just made me more aware of who I was
friends with what about you Brandon yeah I had a a teacher I think in middle school that
had relay to her younger son who had told me that uh me and my dad were bad people and a stay away from us why cuz
my dad killed my mother as you two got older did you wonder what had happened to your mom
yeah what would you think well I can remember from probably age seven or eight my grandma told me that she
thought it was BTK but at that age you know that meant nothing to me so BTK those initials and this symbol
haunted Witchita representing a phantom killer who had never been caught although it had been nine years since
his last known murder Vicki's brutal death seemed to carry his trademark she had been bound and strangled like all
the others before her January 1974 four members of the ottero family are tied up and strangled including two
children 9-year-old Joseph and 11-year-old Josephine who was hanged from a basement
pipe April 1974 21-year-old Katherine brigh tied up strangled and stabbed to death
October 1974 in a note left at the witcho public library the killer took credit for the
ottero murders and gave himself a name BTK for bind them torture them kill them March
1977 another strangling and this time a witness 6-year-old Steve rord what do he
remember that day remember of time Steve was walking home from the store with soup for his sick mother when
he was confronted by a stranger he stops me approaches me shows me a picture asked me did I know who it
was said no sir I don't know who this is Steve ran home but moments later there was a knock on the door me and my
brother rush to the door I beat my brother I left the BTK in my house BTK gave Steve and his two
siblings a blanket of some toys then he locked them in the bathroom the terrified children watched through a
crack at the top of the door as their mother Shirley Von was tied to her bed and strangled what do you remember of
him was he tall ma'am I don't remember how tall I don't remember how short but I remember what his face
looked like it sounds like you feel guilt that you ever let him in your house else that b for the rest of my
life how could you feel guilty about it Steve you didn't have anything to do with this yeah
did answer the door December 1977 BTK bound and strangled 25-year-old Nancy Fox and added a Twist he reported
the murder to police himself yes you will find a homicide at 8843 South then the killer sent a chilling letter
to a local TV station that read in part how many do I have to kill before I get a name in the paper or some national
attention he apparently was pretty irritated by the lack of news coverage former witch police detective arand
Smith says the city was in a panic we worked it with a sense of urgency because nobody knew how long it was
going to be before he killed somebody else but then in 1979 BTK seemed to disappear
so when Vicky werly was killed 7 years later police focused on the most logical suspect her husband I knew there was an
individual out there that did this but to me it just seemed like they weren't looking for anybody
else [Music] [Music] all the the pain and the heartache and just miss her what do you miss about
her everything I mean even even at 10 years old you know she was my best friend I don't think people understand
that that the difficulties that I had and the fears of just raising two kids it was like Stephany was my second
mother she she stepped in and kind of took over the werly children not only lost
their mother Vicki they also had to endure The Whispers and rumors about their father for 18
years was there ever a Time Stephanie that you thought your dad might have been responsible for your mom's death oh
no absolutely not never there's a kind of a cloud that rests over your head and oh there's Bill wakerly his wife was
killed and nobody's ever found the killer H and then on a March day in 2004 everything changed it started with
a letter to reporter Hurst laviana this is a copy of the envelope inside the envelope a copy of VII werley's driver's
license and what appeared to be crime scene pictures of her body I looked at the crime scene
photographs and realized they weren't routine crime scene photographs they weren't routine because
police didn't take them the only person who could have was the killer we do not have photographs for it scene because
she was transported because it came in as a medical call so EMS gets there transports her out before police have AR
she for lieutenant Ken landar who ran the BTK task force the letter was a huge breakthrough after 18 years it cleared
Bill werly and exposed BTK as the real killer this monster come into my home and took my wife from me
you know took my life our whole lives away from us as we knew it and and changed us as
people for the rest of our lives for the wagerle and all the families that lost loved ones to BTK the horror
came rushing back we had gone on you know with our lives all these years and then to have all of it come up again and
to have to live through it all again was pretty hard the return of BTK also shocked witch's district attorney Nola
Fon like everyone else in town her her life and career had been haunted by The Faceless killer I was the same as
anybody else with locking my doors checking my phone living in the same fear that everyone else was living with
good evening a new letter and new Clues possibly from Vicky werley's driver's license was only the beginning
throughout 2004 there was a frenzy of chilling BTK communic as the killer scattered Clues
from past crimes all over the city teasing puzzling and frightening kfdi the FBI is now checking out a package
that was found in a Witchita park there were doll grams little dolls one with a noose around its neck the killer POS the
doll to represent the murder of 11-year-old josephin Tero who was hanged he's perverted he's a sexual
offender he is a pedophile there were ser boxes btk's sick play on the words serial
killer he's got to be really twisted to have to manufacture these pictures he is
sexually benefiting as he's drawing this stuff why would he reappear after years
of Silence okay are you ready police believe it was because of a writer named Bob Bady hi excellent book and the
publicity surrounding his new book about the murders this guy always wrote Because he wanted
attention he writes to a television station it says how many do I have to kill before I get some
attention soon enough the killer seemingly jealous of batty submitted his own book to
police and then he made a mistake inside another serial box he sent a note asking
if he could send police a computer disc and still will stay Anonymous so he wrote and he said be honest with me his
words be honest with me if I send you a disc will it be traceable you know put in the newspaper it'll be okay Rex and
send it under this code number police placed an ad in the paper just as BTK instructed he in turn sent
in a disc and was trapped when it reached its destination immediately it was forensically
examined in no time computer experts traced the disc to a local church and a user named
Dennis a Google search did the rest turning up a Dennis Raider president of the Christ Lutheran Church and I looked
at this picture and I had I I went you have got to be kidding me the ghost to a terrified Witchita for
30 years finally had a face and what a face it was BTK was of all things a dog catcher a
Suburban family man with two grown kids and a tidy little house it all seems so normal and then it was kind of like he
fits he just fits he fits the profile he's every man everyone's gut said Dennis Raider but police wanted the case
airtight they wanted DNA they secretly obtained a sample from Raider's daughter it was
taken while she was in college and blood no um paps the daughter's DNA was compared to
seen left at some of btk's crime scenes and it was a close match on February 25th three decades
after the BTK murders began it all ended one of the most notorious murderers in American history was
arrested in the most routine way as he headed home for lunch it was so emotional I can't I
can't tell you how emotional it was it was so great it was like this son of a [ __ ] is gone he is out of
here this is BTK and your job is to get confession from him he needs to say what
he did Witchita police Lieutenant Ken lambar spent his entire career preparing for this one moment confronting the man
he believed to be the serial killer BTK I went to clear all the homicides I just didn't want to clear two or three I
wanted all of them as lambar sat down to interrogate Denis Raider district attorney Nola folston watched from the
next room what was your first reaction I thought he was a geek I know that sounds terrible but he
was just he was so full of himself for the first few hours Raider admitted nothing then lambare took him
by surprise and told Raider there was DNA evidence connecting him to six of the murders including Vicky wager Le
Raider's skin was found under her fingernails then it was like the damn had broken you could not shut this guy
up what was the most surprising part of the confession the the one that that I will never forget is the fact of when he
asked me the question Ken why did you lie to me you li to and what's he talking about when he
asks you why he's looking at the floppy disc he didn't think we could trace a floppy disc because he asked me that
why'd you lie to me if you wouldn't have lied to me I wouldn't have sent it to you because I was trying to catch you
and when I told him I was trying to catch you he says but we had such a good thing going you and I had that Rapport
he really thought that they would be honest with him can you believe that it could have sold him to Brooklyn
Bridge from that point on Raider eagerly spent the next 30 hours reviewing the last 30 years of his life as he proudly
confessed to murder after murder Raider revealed a darker nature than anyone could have imagined it's nauseating he'd
start going on and on and on about each and every one of his conquests while Raider was confessing investigators
began turning up physical evidence against him in his City Hall office they discovered imp plain site a cabinet full
of souvenirs from the killings all neatly filed away Raider called the stash his mother load he had all the
original Communications he had all the evidence all the trinkets driver's licenses all those things were all very
neatly stored all in binders inside Raiders tiny 900 ft house investigators found another stash a
contain container in his closet full of what Raider called slick ads sexual fantasy cards he made using magazine
photos of women and young girls what is wrong with this guy his mind was totally
fantasy driven police theorize these fantasies allowed Raider to go years without killing and were key to his
elaborate double life a life in which the normal activities of Dennis Raider fed the ghoulish appetites of BTK for
instance he told police he used a former job installing burglar alarms to enter homes and troll for
victims he always felt like uh he was very busy and you know whatever you got just whatever you need let him know
because he's got things to do very busy man Denise madx shared an office with Raider at the home security company ADT
in the 1980s Vicky wagerle was killed in the middle of the day when he was working at
ADT and when you were working with him which means he had to leave in the middle of the day and then come back
after killing a woman and brutally killing a woman when Raider admitted to the 1985
strangling of marine hedge a woman who lived on his own block he told police he took the body to his church where he
posed and photographed it it was the same Church where he appeared to be so devout he was elected
president of the congregation we just couldn't believe that they were talking about the dentist
Raider that we knew Paul Carl said has known dentist Raider for 30 years the dentist that
came to church every Sunday the dentist that was was there to help in whatever way we wanted him to help it just didn't
it just didn't make any sense Raider also revealed that He Slipped Away From a Boy Scout camping
trip in 19 1991 to strangle 62-year-old Dolores Davis it was Raiders last murder his fantasy is to take her to a
barn string her up and then do some sexual bondage things with this dead body and photograph her but Raider got
caught in a snowstorm and dumped the body under a bridge instead and it isn't until a couple of weeks later that her
body is actually located underneath this bridge out in the county and they find with it
a mask a plastic mask that's been painted decorated with some eyelashes and lipstick and painted face on it what
made him think he had the right to take somebody that meant the world to me so unjust for Dolores
Davis's son Jeff learning the identity of his mother's killer is a fresh outrage
what sick perverted pleasure can you possibly get enjoying looking into somebody's
terrified eyes as you strangle the life out of them the BTK suspect will be back in
court in about a half an hour a court proceeding is scheduled at 9:00 finally Raider was forced to appear in public
for the first time since his arrest sir I have been advised as your desire to enter a plea of guilty in this case is
that correct yes sir on June 27th in a witch talk courtroom he pleaded guilty to all 10 murders I used a Roose as a
telephone repair man to get in their house Raider's casual Cooperative tone in the courtroom seemed strangely at
odds with the brutal murders he described I was still kind of in a fog I think you know it just didn't seem real
that this person could do these things and then for me it really hit home when he said he walked on up to the door and
heard the piano as I approached it I could hear a piano sound that's when I knew that you know
yeah that was my mom that he heard playing is that the first time you realized this really was the
killer but even as he was admitting what he did Dennis Raider failed to answer to
the biggest question of all what made him do it I remember one of the detectives saying uh the Devil comes in
an angel's disguise it just still doesn't seem it still doesn't seem seem 100% real to me why not that this normal look
you know normal average guy that's married has two kids does all the normal stuff that that he
could do such horrible things to so many innocent people we know Dennis Raider did do
these horrible things the only question is why I was able to speak with him by phone and I met with him twice in jail
cameras however were band this is what Raider told me he says he grew up like any other
child in a loving family and insists he was never abused in fact Raiders courta appointed attorney Steve osbor admits he
tried to find something anything from Dennis Raiders past that could somehow explain
BTK we talked to the family some and you know we didn't see anything that jumped
out at us as abnormal um no trauma no big event that would scar him or or or cause you know something
like this to happen yet as young as seven or eight years of age Raider told me and
investigators he became fascinated with inflicting pain on living things he started with animals as a young boy he
first became aroused when he was at his grandparents farm and and they would um uh kill chickens for um for feeding the
family and he became very fixated on the death of those animals and it gets stranger while other
boys of his generation looked up to baseball players Raiders says his hero was Harvey glatman a serial killer who
targeted young single women in Hollywood he was executed in 1959 when Raider was
just 14 but glatman became an inspiration for the boy who would grow up to terrorize
Witchita remember Annette Funicello Raider told detectives quote she was my favorite fantasy hit Target
when she was on the mousers raer imagined how he would kidnap the star mousketeer and quote do sexual things to
her in California reader told me that as he got older he collected detective pulp
magazines depicting women in bondage that the act of tying up a human body became an obsession an obsession that he
managed to keep secret from everyone he knew even when he began killing at the age of 29 for all these years he seemed
just like anybody else here he might have been someone you talked to you might have been standing next to him
here in the library right right this is author Robert batty they wereing looking
for crazy Charles Manson somebody with a history of crime sex crimes uh mental disorders you get on the elevator with
Charles Manson you're going to move the other side of the elevator so you get on
the elevator with BTK you're going to smile and Nod and have a conversation you're never going to suspect this guy I
trusted this man I mean I really trusted him during the time that Denise maddo shared an
office with Raider at ADT you will find a homeless that 14-second phone call reporting
Nancy Fox's homicide was replayed repeatedly on television Denise you worked with him for 11 years I did and
you didn't recognize his voice on that I didn't phone Mr Raider would you please stand
with counsel she also never connected the Killer's Behavior with a Dennis Raider she knew he was polite and even
protective of women I was working around all these guys sharing a restroom with him I was the only woman and he always
wanted to make sure that they put the lid down and no dirty jokes he painted the bathroom for me because I thought it
was a it was really gross well no I mean they were we know from Raider's own letters to police that he admired famous
murderers like Jack the Ripper and Son of Sam but what isn't widely known is how much he borrowed from his hero
serial killer Harvey glatman a warning what you were about to see may be very disturbing back in the 1950s glatman
victims were beautiful young models he would lure them with the promise of a photo shoot glatman bound
gagged and then photographed them in the moments before he strangled them Raider
told me that's where he got the idea these are the pictures Dennis Raider took this of his last killing he shows
her laying on the bed gagged Raider even sketched a drawing of that same victim it was with her eyes open and I very
horrified look on her face and actually reinforcing that uh she knew of her impending
death Raider is proud to take credit for all of this but what he didn't want the
public to know was how far he took his obsession with bondage this is Raider he took these
photographs of himself this one in an open grave he dug for a victim Dennis Raider did not want that evidence to
come out he did not want people to see him in a negative light he wanted people to see him as some gentleman serial
killer we believed that that was totally inappropriate the killing the stalking the fantasy world somehow Raider managed
to hide it all even from the woman who thought she knew him best his wife of 33 years Paul a Raider a bookkeeper they
appeared to be a devoted couple regularly attending church together is it possible that his wife who lived with
him for all those years truly had no idea he was connected to this I'm convinced of it yeah what makes you say
that I've talked to that woman that woman just to be honest is a very very nice woman a saint She is totally
devastated I've talked to his daughter a wonderful wonderful young woman totally
devastated by the actions of this man they had no idea how would his wife not have any idea that she was living with a
serial killer in a 30-year period he disappeared for 10 nights in a 30-year period probably less than a lot of men
in America but he hid so much stuff in the house and she he was pretty neat he uh he had he kept it neat he kept kept
it orderly a lot of this stuff was at his his workplace and he's such a control freak maybe that's the
relationship he had with his wife don't be touching my things why didn't Raider Target his wife he looked shocked when I
asked him that question he said he didn't kill anyone he knew that his victims were just objects he did say
however that his wife was terrified of BTK and that he once reassured her by telling her to keep all the windows
doors locked I wasn't really worried he told me since I knew I was the one doing
all the killing I'll take care of that Steve osbor believes that even if no one had discovered his well-kept secret
Dennis Raider dog catcher scout leader Church president was planning to one day take credit for becoming
BTK I think this was his life's work and he wanted basically to take a bow for it
I mean this this is who he was this is what he did I don't think that he was going to go to the Grave without taking
a bow for this what do you hope happens to Dennis Raider at this point I hope he's incarcerated for the rest of his
life which he will be and that we never have to hear from him [Music] again it is some person within our
community suffering from a mentality disorder leaning toward the fetish for those in wiah who lived
through three decades of fear and [Music] grief it's like a war has ended and there's not really a victory but the
war's over today is a day they never thought they'd see Dennis Raider is about to be sentenced for his crimes I
could see it in his eyes and his face this guy's an animal and he's a [Music] monster to make sure raadar is put in
prison for life the state must present evidence of his killings after we had heard what she had
went through I know for me that's when I decided that I could be strong enough for her to sit through everything that I
had to to get to the end of it it's the least I could do for her for stepen rord
[Music] it is a memory he has tried so hard to [Music] forget I see the same thing all my life
my mom laying there on that bed me looking over that door until now this is the only way
Steve rord could release the Ang and grief he has known since his mother was killed by Raider in
1977 will it be over after the sentencing for you no it will never never be over ma'am never until this son
of a [ __ ] is dead my mom was my life man he took it from me good morning pleas satisfying for you
any point are you guys feeling this morning with the sentencing about to begin rord
and the other families arrived to finally confront the man who caused them all so much pain I waited 14 years I
want him to hear my statement I want him to hear what I have to say district attorney Nola Fon hopes to expose the
real man behind the killer who was invisible and once seemed Invincible this is a man who is
twisted and the community needed to see that all right thank you please be seated it is a day and a half of Mind
numbing testimony he strangled her by tying the Rope tightly around her neck put a plastic bag over her
head did Mrs Davis put up any resistance or fight there was nothing that she could do he stated that it took
approximately 2 to three minutes for her and she felt no more pain finally my name is Charlie o Terell
my name is Beverly pla the families get their chance to speak I want him to suffer as much as he made his victim
suffer although we have never met you have seen my face before it is the same face you murdered over 30 years ago the
face of my mother Julio Terell for the last 5,000 326 days I have wondered what it would be like to confront the walking
Cesspool that took my my mother's precious life if I had your devil nature I would Delight in the fact that your
congregation has turned its back on you that your wife has divorced you that your own children have disowned you you
have now lost everything and you will forever remain nothing thank you your honor my name is Steve rord charlee
vanan was my mother after waiting 28 years for this moment I'd just like for him to suffer for the rest of his life
words fil Steve rord and you know I so your honor uh my name is Bill wagerle Bill werly too is
overwhelmed as his daughter speaks from her broken heart it's been almost 19 years now that my brother and I had the
most important woman in our life lives taken from us it's not fair that we had so little
time with her it's not fair that she doesn't get to see me with her grandchildren my mother begged for her
life yeah he showed no remorse if the families hop to see that remorse from Dennis Raider today they
didn't get it some of them weren't even willing to sit and hear him speak and simply walked out
can you okay uh know the victim's families will never be able to forgive me I hope somewhere deep down eventually
that'll happen when he finally apologizes a final apologize to the victim's families there's no
way that I can ever repay him his closing words ring Hollow it's pitiable for Mr Raider to stand here here looking
all pale and pasty and say how sorry he is you know gosh I'm really sorry well what else do you say after you killed 10
[Music] people at the time of the murders Kansas had no death penalty you Dennis L Raider
be taken by the sheriff of SED County so the judge gave Raider the maximum sentence
175 years they're coming down the road they're now on Prison property and if the families get their way Dennis Raider
and BTK will just fade into the past I hope that people will not correspond with him have anything to do with him
that would probably be a greater suffering to him than if he was put to death or tortured or whatever
[Music] else [Music]

"48 Hours" looks back at cases involving serial killings in this YouTube marathon. Binge-watch the full episodes, which include "The Gilgo Beach Serial Killing," "The Shape of a Killer" and "Out of the Shadows."

0:00 The Gilgo Beach Serial Killing 42:04 The Shape of a Killer 1:24:18 Out of the Shadows

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

Brief Summary

The episode discusses the Gilgo Beach murders, Rex Heuermann's arrest, and the emotional impact on victims' families.

Key points

The Gilgo Four Identified. The remains of four young women were discovered, all petite and involved in escort work.
Rex Hman's Double Life. Rex Hman, an architect, lived a double life, hiding his identity as a serial killer.
Herman's DNA Link. Investigators found DNA on a pizza crust linked to Herman, consistent with evidence from victims.
Victims' Families Hope for Justice. With Herman's arrest, families of victims seek closure and answers they've long awaited.
The Importance of Video Evidence. Rob Leaf's video becomes crucial in identifying Kathy Blair's killer.
A Gruesome Discovery. The Shelton couple is found murdered in their home, raising fears of a serial killer.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I would do anything to bring her back but I can't.

9:35WatchDec 9, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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