Shaker Heights - Episode 1: A Scream in the Night | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] thank you [Music] thank you welcome to Shaker Heights episode one
a scream in the night on the east side of Cleveland there's a quaint little town called Shaker Heights
it's a planned Community originally designed by the van swergin Brothers Two eccentric railroad tycoons over a
hundred years ago they built Grand mansions and Gardens and in the middle of the town is a
roundabout with a classic movie theater and coffee shop today Shaker Heights is an odd mix of
upper class Blue Bloods and severely poor multi-generational families of immigrants who live on the edge of town
where the big city encroaches nowhere else in Greater Cleveland is the racial and economic disparity of the
region so apparent Shaker Heights is the best and worst of everything we have to offer
but in its heart Shaker Heights is still a small town it's a small town with a small Police
Department used to small town problems and on September 14th 1990 the murder of a young woman tore this town apart
this podcast revisits the murder of sixteen-year-old Lisa Pruitt who was stabbed 21 times and Left for Dead
behind a mansion at the corner of Lee and South Woodland we present to you the mystery as it
transpired from the point of view of the detectives who worked the case each episode presents reenactments of
conversations between Witnesses and detectives that have been taken verbatim from official court documents
a classmate of Lisa's a young man named Kevin young was ultimately charged with her murder but was acquitted by a jury
of his peers you will meet Kevin and other suspects along the way as the police build their case against him and
at some point you will have to decide for yourself did Kevin young get away with murder
or did a group of high school teams influence the investigation in order to protect one of their own
the Mystery Begins just hours after the murder as police sit down with Lisa's boyfriend
Dan dreyford for his first formal interview foreign [Music] this is detective Richard mullaney of
the Shaker Heights Police Department conducting an interview with One Daniel R dryford
at the Shaker Heights Police Department statement followed by interview Daniel's statement please
I was discharged from the Cleveland Clinic at maybe 2 P.M or either that or I left the compound at
2PM and that was the 13th of September I went home put my stuff away and rode my bike to school that's where I saw
Lisa I surprised her she didn't know I was being discharged that day I walked around the school with her and
walked her to her mom's car her mom was waiting for her it must have been about 3 20 P.M
then I hung out with some friends until about 5 30 p.m came home and ate dinner my parents went out and my next door
neighbor cut my hair that's about when Kenny Workman came over I don't know what time at exactly but it was around
8pm and then my parents came home we spent some time with them and then Lisa stopped by after her flute lesson at
about 9 00 PM with her father he was waiting in the driveway she stayed for about five minutes and
she expressed to me then something about that this was the best day in her life because I got out of the hospital and
she got her driver's license and everything was just going right then she said or asked if it was okay if she
stopped by later I don't think she gave me a time and then I was with Ken until probably
10 p.m he left and then I went inside and talked to my mom for a while then Lisa called sometime between 10 after 9
and 10 after 10 and and said that if if she came over it would be between 12 30 and 1 a.m the 14th of September and that
she would just throw a rock on my window or something like that at about 11 pm I watched the news and
then went to my room at exactly 11 32 pm I listened to some music and put away some more stuff from the hospital
my sister called at midnight I talked to her until 12 30. said goodnight to my parents went to my
room and that's when I heard screaming coming from outside near the corner of Lee in South Woodland my father said
that he looked at the clock and it was around 12 30 and we were concerned about the noise
he noticed that I had shoes on he asked me to go check it out so I went out to the front edge of the property and I saw
nothing I heard nothing so I went back inside and suggested my father called the police but we both
agreed that there was nobody out there so not really nothing we could do then I went up to my room put some more
stuff away I think and that's when I remembered that Lisa said she might come over I don't exactly know why or when
but it was at that point that I suspected it could have been her that was screaming so I went back outside
it must have been 12 45 a.m maybe and I waited there for a little bit I think and then I was gonna like walk to where
I might see her coming first I went to the edge of the property then I went a little further and I saw I
saw her bike in the bushes I touched it just to pull it out and make sure it was hers and when I saw
that it was I ran back to my house and called Lisa's house nobody answered I got the answering
machine but I didn't leave a message and then I called 9-1-1 and told them that my girlfriend's bike was in the bushes
and I had heard someone screaming earlier and so they said they'd send a car over
I waited in my driveway in the apron and I led the police officer to where the bike was
I told them the bike's over here and I I assume he knew what had happened he asked if I had touched it and I told him
yeah I asked him if I could tell my parents what was happening and he said that was probably a good idea so I went
in I woke my father up and told him that I thought the screaming had been Lisa and that her bike was in the bushes
then there was I don't know a bunch of stuff waiting around he talked to a police officer and eventually I went to
sleep it must have been around 2 30 in the morning not long after that it seems my parents woke me up and told me that I
had to come here to make this statement so that's it before giving this statement were you
advised of your constitutional rights and did you fully understand them yeah have you been promised anything or
threatened in any way to make this statement no I haven't are you presently under the
influence of any alcohol or drugs no in your statement you referred to Lisa will you give me her full name and spell
it yeah it's Lisa Lee Pruitt l-i-s-a-l-e-e-p-r-u-e-t-t uh to the best of your knowledge
or Lisa's parents aware of the fact that Lisa was coming to visit you no they weren't to the best of your knowledge
were your parents aware Lisa was coming to visit you no they they weren't in your statement you referred to your
next door neighbor cutting your hair would you please give me her full name and spell it
yeah it was it was Kimberly Lampson Rathbone can you describe the clothing you were
wearing at the time the police arrived at your house I was wearing brown moccasins a black bathing suit with
flowers on it and a t-shirt from a Unitarian youth conference in Toledo showing you a white t-shirt brand name
Fruit of the Loom size large 42 to 44 with the Insignia on the front and purple and black
letter stating spring conference 1988 Toledo Maumee Valley and also containing the words the search for self
and the initials why are you you on the front is this the shirt that you're describing above that you're wearing
yeah that's it were you wearing these clothes all day and if not will you describe when you
change clothing and put on other clothes I might have changed into the T-shirt when I was discharged from the hospital
but I'm not sure I I might have also put it on when I got up I did take the T-shirt off when I was
having my hair cut and put it back on afterwards I think I took it off when I went to sleep at about 2 30 on the 14th
and I put on a blue button up when the police arrived because I made basically because I couldn't find the white
t-shirt which was sitting near the clothes shoot I was wearing a different pair of shoes and I was wearing the
moccasins up until the discharge and then I switched into a pair of Converse All-Stars until probably 12 30. I had
taken the shoes off at some time during the night and put my moccasins on to go check the screaming outside
could you describe the converse All-Star shoes you were wearing yeah they were size nine Chuck Taylors
Ty died in many different colors they're high tops could you describe what you remember of
the screams that you heard it sounded like someone a female was being forced to do something they didn't
want to do it lasted for at least 15 seconds but I can't say for sure when you heard the
screams where were you in the house I was in my room which is facing Lee Road it's on the second floor
there's a room uh on the North side or the South side of the house it'd be on the north side
when you heard the screams what exactly were you doing I was just listening to a
tape and putting some things away I had a lot of bags of stuff from the hospital
so I was just basically tidying up my room what tape was it you were listening to it was uh rem's album document it was
a live version recorded in Holland on October 12 87. while you're listening to the tape or you wearing headphones no I
wasn't when you heard the scream was your window open or shut it was shot was there a storm window on the outside
of your window and do you know if it was down no not a storm window but there was a screen a
pane of glass and a shade half pulled down with curtains over that that were half closed normally it would have all
been shut but I'd opened it on the day before I'd left for the hospital was the door to your room leading to the hallway
open or shut my door was open and a door leading to my parents hallway was slightly open and
my parents door would have been slightly open is there a bathroom between your room and your parents room
yeah but it's blocked off by a wall unit in my room and locked on their side so that I understand you correctly you
cannot see from your room into the bathroom or into your parents room no I can't see anything not not even the
door after you heard the scream what action did you take all right I went to my window pulled out the shade and looked
out and that was when I heard my father say did you hear that and I said yeah did you open the window
oh yeah I opened the window you know I closed it a couple minutes later though after opening the window what did you
hear outside oh the screaming still continued so that I understand you correctly you
heard the scream your father yelled to you something to the effect did you hear that you opened the window and then you
heard the screaming continue yeah was there any pause in the screaming or was it continuous
now it was it was a a bunch of short screens you stated previously that the scream
sounded like it came from a female is that correct yeah in your opinion was this scream from an
older or younger female I I can't tell I don't know did you hear any words crying out or was
this just a scream no no words just just a scream after the screaming stopped what what
action did you take well while the screaming was still going on I went downstairs and out the front door to see
what I could see how far out the front door did you go out the door to the sidewalk right to
the edge of our property when you walk down the front door what route did you take to reach the sidewalk
there's a sidewalk leading from our door right to the edge of our property it's it's like a turnaround type sidewalk it
has two entrances to it did you walk out onto the city sidewalk which runs parallel to the Lee Road
at that time I only stopped on one block or section of City sidewalk when you reach the front door as you're walking
out into the yard still hear the screaming no it was it stopped by then from the time the screaming stopped to
the time you reached the sidewalk on Lee Road in your opinion approximately how much time passed from 30 seconds to two
minutes maybe when you reach the sidewalk what did You observe I didn't see or hear anything
out of the ordinary was there any traffic on Lee Road at this time I don't think so
so that I understand you correctly you didn't see any traffic either North or Southbound on lead Road or anything East
or westbound on South Woodland I only looked South on Lee Road and and didn't notice traffic and I don't remember
looking at South Woodland not that I recall there was nobody walking on the sidewalks no nobody was your father with
you at this time and if not where was he my father was at the door at this time when you were on the sidewalk
were you wearing the clothes you described yes how long did you remain on the sidewalk and and what did you do next
I stayed for about 10 seconds and then I walked back to the house told my father
that I didn't see anything he and I went up to his room where I don't know I I think that's where I
suggested calling the police oh after you heard the scream did you leave your room and go directly downstairs and
outside yeah after I looked out the window and answered my father see your father in the hallway on your
way down yeah I did did you have any conversation with him at that point yeah he said oh
good you're dressed will you go check and see what's happening after you went back in your father's room you state
that you suggested that the police be called did either you or your father contact the police at this time
no although my dad had his hand on his phone as if he was going to contact them but then we decided that there was
nothing we could do it had been almost three or four minutes since the screaming
was your mother awake at this time as she woke up during the screams did you have any conversation with your
mother at this time while you're talking in the room with your father I don't recall what did you do then
went to my room and cleaned it some more I guess you stated you went outside a second
time is that correct yeah it is how long was that after you returned to your room
maybe 15 minutes maybe a bit less did did you advise either your father or your mother that you're going back
outside no to your knowledge were they awake at this time I'm not sure and I didn't
check so I understand you correctly you went back outside the second time because at the time you realize that
Lisa Pruitt might be coming over to see you is that correct yeah at that point did you think that the
screams that you heard might possibly have been from Lisa Pruitt now I I didn't think that for a couple
of minutes but then I thought it might have been her and when you went outside the second time what were your exact
routes of travel and what actions did you take and also what did you discover if anything
I walked down her sidewalk to the edge of the property continued down towards South Woodland on the city sidewalk and
then I saw Lisa's bicycle and then I ran home called her house Scott the answer machine didn't leave a message and
called 9-1-1 why did you call Lisa's house I was hoping that maybe it wasn't her bicycle and that she'd been home and
I felt that if it was her bicycle her parents should know describe the bicycle you saw when you
walked down the sidewalk in the exact location in relation to the sidewalk in your residence
the bike was approximately 30 feet from my house in the bushes on the right hand
side of the sidewalk and it was a purple girl's Miata when you say 30 feet from your house was
that 30 feet south of your property line yeah how far in the bushes was this bike
located not very far the bushes are only about four feet thick until you get into
the yard it was not hanging over onto the sidewalk and I don't know how far into the bushes but it was it was Within
Reach was the frame of the bike parallel or perpendicular to the sidewalk it was
parallel did you ever see this bike before oh yeah it's it's Lisa's bike so you knew when you saw the bike right away
that this was Lisa Pruitt's bike no I thought it was but like I wasn't sure after you found the bike did you
physically touch it at all yeah I I grabbed it just so I could get a closer look at it
then what did you do that's i i stuffed it back in the bushes and ran to my house
when you grab the bike to look at it did you pull it out of the bushes I I don't recall if the bike ever left
the bushes but it was in it was in Arm's Reach so I might have lifted it out of the bushes but I can't say for sure
after you examine the bike did you just let it drop or was it being supported by
the bushes the bushes were so thin that it was it was being like slightly supported so it did fall a little bit
so at that point you had an idea that this bike might be Lisa's is that after looking at it yeah
did you call out for Lisa or did you do anything further checking um do any further checking of the area
to see if you might possibly locate her no was there anyone you observed walking
in the area this time nobody what are your thoughts at this time I was I guess scared that something had
happened to Lisa so that's why I ran to the house and tried to call her on the phone
when he called Lisa's number which is what it was 283-7373 the answering machine was on at that
number is that correct yeah did you listen to the whole message no once it started I hung up uh to the best
of your knowledge what did the portion of the message you listen to state knows it was something like you've reached or
sorry we're not home but I I could tell it was her mother's voice immediately after you hung up you called
9-1-1 is that correct yeah I did at that point you made your mother were father aware of your fears
no why not uh too busy calling and running around I wasn't I wasn't thinking straight it was
just like a rush after you called the police what did he do ran to the apron and waited for them to
to arrive before the police arrived did you go back to where the bike was uh did you check the area at all or call
out in an effort to locate Lisa no have you ever had sexual intercourse with Lisa Pruitt yeah
when was the last time two months ago when you last saw Lisa Pruitt on the evening of September 13 1990.
what was she wearing I only remember that she had a pair of faded jeans when was the last time you saw Lisa
Pruitt just after nine on September 13th in my driveway when she got into her dad's car
do you remember anything else about her clothing the last time you saw her such as the top she was wearing or her shoes
no I remember her hair was down and she always wears a white ring on her finger and a chain around her neck that has a
metal nut on it like this are you right or left-handed I'm right-handed to your knowledge did Lisa Pruitt D have
sexual relations with anyone else during the time that you had a relationship with her
no at any time since you have known Lisa Pruitt did you strike her physically never
after you went to the sidewalk to wave for the police how long was it before they arrived must have been four minutes
during those four minutes did you leave the area where you were standing for any
reason no I just stood in one spot until the car arrived what did you tell the first officer who
arrived at your house well I just I told him where the bike was and he didn't ask
many if any questions he wasn't very responsive after you told him where the bike was
what did he do he looked around the bushes and then walked back to the sidewalk in front of
my house and told me to go inside and that someone would be coming in to talk to me also he said it'd be a good idea
for me to wake my parents could you describe what you did next I ran into the house via the front lawn
went to the back door went up the stairs woke my father and told him that the screaming had been leasing that her bike
was in the bushes and that there were police outside after explaining this to your father
what what did you do next I took him outside through the front door because I believe he wanted to talk
to the police officer but they weren't inside out I think I showed him where the bike was
then at some point did you again talk to the police officers at your house yeah about a half hour later I don't
recall anything about the conversation except that I noticed the police officer was smoking
could you describe any physical contact you had with Lisa Accenture release from
the hospital well I I hugged her and kissed her when I got to school I hugged her and walked her to her mom's car at
school she touched my hair after I had it cut and while at my house I hugged her and
kissed her as she was leaving to the best of your recollection how many times in the past has Lisa come
over to your house late at night twice maybe once can you describe when this was and and
how she got together this would have been four months ago and she got there on her bike
unto the best of your knowledge to did either her parents or your parents know about her visit four months ago
no they don't have you ever known Lisa to carry anything for self-defense no do you believe that she had any fear of
being out on the streets late at night I I wouldn't know have you and Lisa had any disagreements
or arguments lately well we only ever had one disagreement and and that was in mid-july
do you have any further knowledge of what happened to Lisa in the early morning hours of September 14 1990.
well well yeah one of the officers told me that someone living between South Woodland and Parkland had reported
screens at what time did you become aware of the fact that Lisa was no longer alive well
at 4am when when I was informed that I was a suspect for aggravated murder just to back up for a minute what time
did you first hear the scream approximately about 12 30 A.M what time did you go back outside
approximately when you discovered the bike I saw a clock at 11 32 and then again in the early morning hours but all
the rest it's just estimates approximately how much time passed between the time when you returned to
the house after checking the house the first time and you went out the second time and discovered the bike
maybe 15 minutes I'm not sure but it might have been five or Twenty at what point during the evening do you
recall that you changed from Converse tennis shoes to moccasins I I took the the converse off sometime after
10 and switched into the moccasins probably 12 30. what do you normally wear to bed
sometimes underwear sometimes underwear and shorts sometimes underwear shorts and a t-shirt and sometimes underwear
and a t-shirt if you had gone to school today what time would you have gotten up 7 A.M
on a school night what time do you normally go to bed like I couldn't really say because I haven't been to
school in four months but I have to be in my room by 11 30. do you have do you ever carry any type of weapon
no after the police arrived at your house and you went back into the house were your parents up at that time no
they weren't awake when you woke your father up what did he tell you what did you tell him I just
told him that the police are outside that the screaming had been Lisa and that her bike was in the bushes and he
asked some questions and it came up that Lisa had mentioned she wanted to come over
at that point how how did you know that the screaming you had heard had come from Lisa I was only 99 sure and I
deduced that because I thought it was her bike and she wasn't home did you tell your father what you
thought had happened to Lisa I don't recall that I ever did how much time passed in your estimation
between the time you woke your father to tell him in the time that myself and other
officers came into your bedroom an hour and a half two hours do you know of anyone who had or might
have had a serious disagreement with Lisa Pruitt which might have caused him to harm her no would you be willing with
your parents consent to submit to a polygraph examination and reference it uh to the murder of Lisa Pruitt
yeah I would did you kill Lisa Pruitt no I didn't do you know who killed Lisa Pruitt
I don't who else besides you and Lisa Pruitt knew that she was coming over to your house after 12 30 a.m on September
14 1990. well we talked about it in front of Kenny Workman subscribe Kenny Workman for me
physically and and where he lives Kenny's about 5 10 slender kind of long blonde hair shaved on the
sides and he looks kind of scraggly and lives in an apartment near Shaker Square
I've only seen it once he's white 16 years old lives with his mother his sister and his mother's boyfriend I think
do you know his address or phone number no he's better friends with my sister he
used to come over a lot when my sister was home but she went off to college and this is the first time I've seen him
since then he just came over to see me and my parents did did he have any conversation with or
did he make any comments about Lisa Pruitt no he didn't we were just sitting on some patio furniture for about two
minutes not really saying anything to one another uh we did say something about we wanted
to shave Lisa's hair she she likes her long hair so I was teasing her then I walked Lisa to the car
how do you know that Ken Workman was where Lisa was coming over well Lisa mentioned it in Ken in front
of Ken to your knowledge prior to yesterday did Ken Workman know Lisa Pruitt or any type of or have any type
of relationship with her he just knew her through me and you would have seen her at school do you
Ken Workman and did Lisa Peru all attend Shaker Heights High School yeah we do Dan how tall are you and and how much do
you weigh I'm five eight about 130 pounds is there anything else that you wish to add to
this statement no [Music] foreign [Music] the next interview the Shaker Heights detectives conducted was with Dan
dryford's Father Robert the interview began at 10 14 a.m the morning after the murder
you will hear a break in the narrative about a minute in since page two of this interview has been lost to time
Daniel had been in treatment at the inpatient unit at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation
since August 10 1990 he was discharged to my Care at approximately 2 p.m September 13 1990.
at that time I took him and his possessions to our home arriving there at approximately 2 30 PM after Dan took
his belongings to his room he left to visit Shaker Heights High School at approximately 3 P.M at that time I
stayed home had lunch and rested he was expected home sometime between 4 P.M and
5 PM the purpose of his visit to the high school was to get a schedule walk through his classes meet teachers
perhaps get his locker at approximately 5 PM my wife arrived home from work and shortly thereafter Dan came home he told
us that he'd not been able to get his schedule but that he hadn't met at least one of his teachers and talked with them
and also he had a chance to meet several of his friends at the high school we had
dinner Dan my wife and I at approximately 6 PM after dinner Dan helped me load some logs in the back of
my van logs which were the result of a tree that was knocked down in last Thursday's storm my wife and I left the
house at approximately 7 pm to deliver the logs to a friend of mine in Cleveland Heights and to stop at several
stores to pick up some things we needed the places we stopped at were my friend's house on Cummings Road in
Cleveland Heights followed by pecock Hardware at Severance Center where I purchased an electrical socket
followed by Heights Pet World at Mayfield in Warrensville where I purchased 50 pounds of dog food
and a bird feed cup for which I used my credit card any not bad Bernie Shulman at Cedar Center where we spent 41
dollars and seven cents on selected items paid for by check we left Bernie shulmans and proceeded home arriving
there at approximately 9 pm when we pulled into our driveway we were greeted at the backyard gate by Dan and a friend
of his by the name of Ken I believe his name is workmen Dan indicated that Ken had heard that Dan was home and wanted
to visit since this was a long distance call charge to my phone the starting in time of the call would be accurately
recorded by the phone company which is 18t during that conversation my wife and I first spoke with Deborah with my wife
speaking on the phone in the adjacent den and me on the bedroom phone during the entire conversation I was
sitting on the bed and Dan was at the foot of the bed listening to the conversation
at some point I asked Deborah if she would like to speak to Dan to which she responded affirmatively
at that time Dan moved to the den adjacent to my bedroom and my wife and I remained in the bedroom Dan then spoke
to my daughter alone until the end of that conversation which was approximately 12 15 am at that
time Daniel went to his room and I began to read a book in my bed my wife was at first reading and later
turned over and went to sleep at approximately 12 30 a.m I heard a shrill and lengthy scream coming from
the area in front of our house the head of my bed is against the Lee Road side of the house and there's a
window adjacent the window was closed although the storm window was up although we're used to unusual sounds
and activities emanating from Lee Road at all times of the day and night this scream was particularly distressing
and alarming I immediately called out to Daniel who was in his bedroom this was relatively easy due to the fact
that we had a connecting bathroom between our two room and the door on my side of the bathroom
was open I said something to the effect of Dan did you hear that to which he responded Yes I then heard
him move to his window facingly rode and heard the window being opened by myself immediately turned off the
table lamp on my bedside table and lifted the panel on the venetian blind and looked out to Lee Road
I saw nothing unusual as I looked out I can't recall whether there was any vehicular traffic at the time but things
did seem quite quiet while I was looking out the window Dan came into my bedroom
my first inclination was to run outside and see what happened realizing I was Stark naked I quickly
looked at Dan to determine if he was more fully clothed than I scene that he had on essentially the
same clothes on that he had been wearing the last time I saw him I particularly note it and even
questioned him about whether he had anything on his feet I then noticed he was wearing a pair of
brown mocks since this was important to me because I knew he could get out quicker than me Dan ran downstairs to
the front door well I quickly put on a pair of blue jogging pants and a T-shirt and a pair
of sandals a slip-on sandals I quickly ran downstairs after Dan by the time I was on the first floor of the
house Dan had opened the front door and storm door which we kept locked and bolted and was proceeding down the steps
and across the lawn toward Lee Road I myself only went as far as the front steps at that time I asked Dan if he saw
anything he was looking in all directions but primarily towards South Woodland which is in fact the direction that I
thought the sounds were coming from Dan told me he saw nothing unusual I don't know his exact words but they
indicated that there was no unusual activity at the time nothing looked out of place to me either again the general
traffic patterns seemed quiet as well at that time Dan and I returned to the house
neither one of us left the bounds of our property we locked the doors and returned to the upstairs bedroom my wife
remained in bed we told her what we'd seen or not seen there was a brief discussion about
perhaps calling the police I don't remember what my wife and son said but I remember saying or thinking that we'd
seen nothing unusual and then it probably wasn't necessary what was going through my mind at that
time was that the screams may have been coming from a passing car and that the person in distress had probably left the
area I then went back to bed and began to read my book my wife turned over and went back to sleep I fell asleep after
reading less than a page of the book and was woken by my son at that time he was telling me something
about Lisa and a bicycle and the police I wasn't understanding him well because I was just coming out of a fairly sound
sleep but I quickly grasped that something further was going on related to the scream I had heard earlier
I still had on the clothes I put on to go and investigate the screen so I immediately went downstairs with Dan to
see what was happening Dan and I walked out to the front of the property down the driveway at which point I noticed
two police cars parked next to the curb there was no policemen in sight Dan was telling me something about finding
Lisa's bicycle and calling the police I couldn't understand why Lisa's bicycle would be near our house
I gradually found out by questioning Dan that Lisa and he had communicated sometime that evening
and that Lisa had indicated to him that she wanted desperately to see him because she had not seen him much during
the past month that he'd been in the hospital they had apparently discussed the possibility that Lisa would come to our
house that evening I asked Dan how would he know that Lisa was coming and he mentioned something
about her planning to throw a pebble at his window Dan was at that point obviously upset
and stressed by what he'd seen he told me that he had found Lisa's bicycle in the bushes of the house just
to the south of ours that information coupled with the scream I had heard earlier increased my own
anxiety greatly I began to worry more about what might have happened at 12 30 am
I don't know the exact time that all this occurred but it would be sometime after the
policemen had arrived and spoken with my son at that point Dan and I returned to our
house Dan sat and watched television on the first floor while my wife and I tried to
reconstruct what had happened and to see if there was anything we could do to help
the officers at the scene were quite preoccupied with their work therefore there was not much that we could do
so he tried to keep out of their way at one point my wife and I saw what appeared to be civilians on our tree
lawn in embrace we immediately went out to see if there was anything we could do to help
and immediately encountered the parents of Lisa Perez at that time we asked them if they knew
what was happening Mr peret said it looked as if there was a dead girl in the bushes
he attempted to move in the direction of the bushes in question and was restrained by an officer
my wife and I offered to have the perets come into our home until the police needed them they refused our offer
having nothing else to do we went back into our house we came out one more time and spoke to a
uniformed officer asking if we could help or if he knew what had happened at that point he said they were dealing
with Foul Play and we began to suspect the worst we went back into the house and stayed
there until the plane closed police rang our Bell at which point we escorted them
to our dining room table and provided a statement which included some of the above by this time Daniel had gone to
his bedroom turned out the light and was asleep sometime prior to the arrival of the
plain clothes men our neighbor across the street Mrs Hall telefonians spoke primarily to my wife in an attempt to
find out if we knew what had happened in the course of that conversation Mrs Hall used the word murder
during part of that conversation I listened in on our extension my wife mentioned something to Mrs Hall
about Dan's girlfriend and her bicycle but stated that we knew nothing about a murder
this was in fact before the officer had used the term Foul Play to US Mrs Hall was obviously prying for
information and my wife tried to cut her off without discussing the matter further until more
facts were known Mrs Hall is something of a gossip and we didn't want to feed information to her
this is detective Richard mullaney with Shaker Heights Police Department interviewing one Robert C driver
would you give me your son's full name please Daniel Robert dryford is your son a student and if so where
yes uh Shaker Heights High School to your knowledge how long has your son known Lisa Pruitt
they've been classmates for at least a year as far as I know they've also been members of the marching band for as long
as two years and I'm not sure if they knew each other in junior high school I'm only recently aware of her becoming
a special friend among the many friends that Dan has and I have heard him refer to her as his
girlfriend a few times over the past six months she's been a guest in her home on a
couple occasions and I'm sure they've met socially through mutual friends and acquaintances and share interests
could you tell me who Ken Workman is where he lives and his phone number if you have it
Ken Workman is a friend of my daughter and my son he lives in an apartment on North Moreland
I may have his address and phone number at home but I don't know it offhand was there any friction between yourself
and your son over his relationship with Lisa Pruitt absolutely not in fact my wife and I had
gone out of our way to invite Lisa to spend the entire afternoon with us when Dan was visiting home last Sunday
September 9th 1990 unfortunately I never got to know Lisa very well only having met her a couple of
occasions but she seemed like a nice girl and one that I approved of Dan spending
his time with were you aware that Lisa Pruitt was to visit your son between 12 30 a.m and 1
a.m on the morning of September 14 1990. no the first time I had an inkling of that was when Dan awoke me and announced
that he had found the bicycle and the police were outside were you aware at any time prior to the
above incident that Lisa Pruitt may have visited your son under similar circumstances no I had no inkling that
may have happened when you and your wife were in your bedroom just prior to hearing the scream
you stated that your bedroom and your son's bed bedroom have a bathroom in between
and that the door leading from the bathroom to your bedroom was open was the door leading from the bathroom
to your son's bedroom open no so that I understand you correctly from where you're lying in your bed you could
not visually see your son in his room is that correct I could not see him when you first heard the scream outside
and you and your son went to investigate did your son come into your room prior to going downstairs and outside
yes when Dan went outside to investigate the first time did you follow him outside yes
how far did you go outside the house the first time I went to the front steps could you repeat for me how your son was
dressed at that time as near as I can recall he had on a pair of shorts a T-shirt and some brown moccasins
was that a white T-shirt I think it was white with some writing on it my recollection is that it was the
one we later found on the bookcase next to the closed shoot your white t-shirt brand name Fruit of
the Loom size large 42 to 44 with writing on the front and purple and black ink containing the words spring conference
1988 Toledo Maumee Valley and also containing the words the search for self and the
letters why are you you is this the shirt that Dan was wearing that could very well have been it if not
it is one very similar to it at the time I was more interested in getting dressed
myself and getting downstairs the clothing that I was most focused on with Dan was the shoes because as I said I
was concerned that one of us have shoes on so one of us could get outside quickly Dan has mainly t-shirts and if I
were to have to swear to it I could not swear that was the one but it was one like it
from the time you came home from the store at approximately 9 00 pm on the evening of September 13 1990 and so you
saw your son wearing the brown moccasins Did You observe him wearing any other shoes on that evening I have to say that
I wasn't aware of what he was wearing on his feet until I asked him if he had something on his feet and we were
preparing to go downstairs prior to that I hadn't noticed what he was wearing you have to remember that I
was separate from him most of that period he was downstairs and I was upstairs to your knowledge does your son Dan own
a pair of Converse high top tennis shoes which are multi-colored or tie-dyed he has shoes like that yeah
you stated that when you and Dan went downstairs and outside the first time to investigate the scream was the front
door locked because I was concentrating on getting dressed as fast as I could and rushing down the stairs and Dan was
already dressed and going down ahead of me I only know that Dan got out ahead of me
I don't have a specific memory of whether I saw Dan unlocking the door in any case and it does not take long to
open our door when you first heard the scream and you're going outside did you have any thoughts as
to what might have happened when I heard the Scream number one I immediately Associated it with female
voice in my mind number two it was intense and somewhat prolonged it may have passed through my
mind that that's another one of those rowdy kids or people in cars that we sometimes encounter on Lee Road
but there was enough urgency in the scream that it did make me want to run down and see what happened thinking what
might have happened it always occurs when you hear something like that is that somebody might be being attacked
but then we've heard noises like that on Lee Road where people clowning around or
playing pranks again there was enough urgency in this scream for me to want to see what was happening aside from that I
guess a lot of things race through your mind at a time like that why you were going outside did you at
any time call your son to tell him not to go out before you went out or did you feel any apprehension about
him going out there alone I don't remember saying those specific words or words to that effect and any
apprehension I may have had was lessened by the fact that I myself was hot on his
heels therefore I think I would not have had any apprehension anymore than for myself
and I probably would have felt better with both of us out there than either one of us alone
when you heard the scream did it seem to come from one location or to the sound of the scream seemed to move
at all all I can recall is that it seemed to come generally from the front of the house
and perhaps towards the south end of the property but it can't be absolutely certain
because it did happen kind of fast I can remember looking out the window trying to pinpoint the location
expecting to see cars or people and when I didn't see that my next reaction was to quickly get down and
find out what was happening I can't say if it was moving or not in your opinion did the scream seem to come from a male
or female and if you can't approximate age as young or old but I've already said that it sounded
like a female and I'm not sure how to equate pitch with age so I can't answer the second part of
that question all I can say is that it was rather high pitched which probably makes me think female
could you tell me if the scream was a continuous scream or were there breaks in the screaming
it was fairly continuous there may have been one or more brief very instantaneous breaks
but the overall impact of it was a prolonged more continuous from the time you went back in the house
after talking to the Pruitts until myself and Sergeant Reed rang your doorbell how much time passed approximately I
find that very difficult to answer because at the time I was not looking at any clocks
and my wife and I were trying to determine what it was we should be doing to help and responding to that
neighbor's telephone call and as I may have forgotten to mention we made one or two calls to the
Cleveland Clinic nurse who had dealt with Dan in the hospital so in the midst of all that I was not
aware of the passage of time how many windows are in your bedroom to the face Lee Road and four others
two-faced Lee Road two-faced South Woodland and two others face the back of the house
when you heard the screams which window did you look out the one that faces Lee Road which is the
north of the two that faisley road which is on my side of the bed did you look out any other windows when
you heard the scream no we have Venetian blinds first thing I did was turn off the light
then Dan was right there is there anything else that you wish to add to the statement I can't think of
anything right now the following day this is Saturday September 15 1990. the police interviewed Dan
dryford's mother Gene at 10 38 A.M I was at work until almost five o'clock P.M so when I got home at around five
o'clock pm Dan was not home his father said he had gone up to the school so I didn't see him until he arrived home I'd
say about 5 30 pm we ate dinner around 6 PM then my husband and I went out shopping and I
think it was close to 7 pm when we came back at about 9 00 PM maybe before 9 pm Dan was there with Ken it
was shortly before 9 pm we were in the process of unloading the car Dan and Ken helping us carry the
bags in when Lisa walked in the open door which we had propped open it was about 9 pm
I spoke to her and asked if her father wanted to come in and she said he was listening to something on the radio and
would be happy to stay out in the driveway that she could only stay for five minutes
Dan took her out to the back patio I went and closed the car down shut the doors did a few things and realized that
more than five minutes had gone by so I shouted out the back door and told them that her father was waiting I saw them
go towards the driveway a few minutes later I looked out the driveway door and heard that they were
still there and again said something to them because I did not like it that her father was sitting there all that time
after that the phone rang many times for Daniel I answered most of the calls and
called Daniel to the phone he was sitting out on the patio with Ken Workman before we left to go shopping Daniel
asked if it was all right if he cut his hair he wanted to spread some papers out
in front of the hall mirror and we said sure and he also found the Clipper set we have and was using those as best he
could when we came back home he showed us how Kim Rathbone our neighbor to the rear
had showed him how to do a better job on his haircut he had obtained prior permission so that
she could come over while we were out of the house one of the phone calls I took for Dan I
recognized Lisa's voice but neither one of us acknowledged who we were somewhere in there my husband went to
bed and Daniel and I talked for a long while about the hospital experience and who he had seen up at the high school
that afternoon I also wash dishes while I was washing dishes Daniel said he wanted to watch the news at 11 PM
which he did Bob called down at that time and asked what we were doing and I said I'm
washing dishes and Dan is watching the news at about 11 15 p.m I went upstairs and
at about 11 31 PM I called down and said Dan the news is over and he apparently shut the TV off and had come upstairs
after that he came into our bedroom several times once I remember he went to our bathroom I just don't remember what
he said or asked the other two times but I would say it was at least three times
that he popped in there at about midnight the phone rang and we don't believe in answering the phone
that late but we heard on the answering machine that it was our daughter Bob stayed on the bedroom phone and I
went to the adjoining office and talked on that phone we spoke for about 10 or 15 minutes and Dan came into the office
and took the extension in the office and I went back in the bedroom and closed the door and he spoke for an additional
five minutes I went to bed I can't remember if I read but I usually do turned off the light
and started to go to sleep I heard my husband shout something like what was that and I could hear in my
mind the echo of a long scream I put it that way because I was mostly asleep but I heard A Long scream
through all the rest of this I remained in the bed with my eyes closed Bob sprang up turned off his light making
the room dark so you can look out better as he looked out or just after that Dan
came into the room remarking that the room was dark or black I heard Bob say your dress go down and see if you can
see something or something like that and I heard him putting clothes on just about the time he left the room he
was right behind Dan I think I heard a vehicle pull away from about in front of our house it was like two
sounds like changing gears with a pause I was very aware of it because we had just heard the scream it's the kind of
thing I listen for when I hear something out of the ordinary I heard no other traffic the next thing I remember is Bob
coming back in the room and I think he asked me if I should call the police and I said something like we're always
calling them let someone else call them oh I said they're long gone what's the use what's the point
I fell asleep again the next thing I know is Dan is waking us up and I had a real hard time waking up
so that I only heard little pieces like the police are here Lisa's bicycle and I'm lying in bed with my eyes closed
didn't want to wake up Bob went downstairs somewhere in there I realized that all this wasn't going to go away so
I got up and threw on some clothes and went downstairs the rest is really muddled from this
point on I just remember snatches like snapshots sometimes we were downstairs sometimes we were upstairs
at one point when we were upstairs I saw a couple embraced on the sidewalk and I
said Bob that must be Lisa's parents and so Dan at that point had already gone to
his room and closed the door so I had spoken to him before that I don't remember what so he went down and
talked to her parents at that point we were under the impression that she had been abducted and we offered that they
should come in or is there anything that we can do and Mr Pruitt got excited at some policeman and I thought we should
go back in I got the feeling they might not be aware that we were there another time I
remember seeing the neighbor across the street in her nightgown I looked out the
window occasionally and I remember I kept thinking why are they still here we have wooden slat blinds so there's no
way to look out without physically getting up and lifting the slats I didn't think this is where they should
be that they should be out looking for her at another point in time I remember saying to Bob they've got flashlights
they're looking around another point we again went downstairs and outside to again ask if there was anything we could
do we felt prior to that we wanted to leave the police alone to let them do what they had to do
they told us someone would be in in a few minutes to take our statements so we went back inside and eventually someone
did come shortly after I saw Mrs Hall in her nightgown in front of her house she
called on the telephone I'm not surprised she asked what was happening who had been killed and I said to her
what do you mean killed did the police tell you that and she said something like no but there's a body or they found
a body or something like that I know she's the neighborhood gossip and I'm very careful with my she might have been
leaping to conclusions I told her we didn't know anything we didn't know about anybody another thing she said was
that the police wouldn't tell her if the person was black or white male or female
I told her that a girlfriend was going to visit Dan in response to that statement and I told her to please not
say anything to anybody I told her that much because she had gone on a great length about hearing
someone breaking branches and her dog barking and seemed quite upset she had heard the screams also
another reason I was hesitant about calling the police was a couple times Bob had gone to help people who seemed
to be in distress and it was a joke and they laughed at him and took off or swore at him
so I always tried to prevent him from putting himself out like that when you arrived home after shopping as
you stated shortly before 9 00 PM do you recall what your son Dan was wearing at
that time one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts all his shorts are colorful and all his
t-shirts are white with something on the front of them so that's it would you say the shorts were light or
dark in color I don't remember do you recall what type of shoes he was wearing somewhere between the time of 5
30 p.m and the time I went to bed he and I had a conversation about the shoes he
was wearing which were tennis shoes I can't pin it down any closer than that except I know they weren't the holy ones
at that point after we got home from shopping I don't know if I noticed his shoes
could you describe Kim Rathbone where she lives and her relationship with Dan and your family
the Rathbone property adjoins ours at the rear line for about 50 feet she is a classmate of dance at the high school is
also in the band they have many fence talks last year she was his wake-up service in that she called every morning
at 7am so they would have to come to the phone and would help wake him up she was going with one of his longtime
very good friends who is Brian Keating to your knowledge does or did Kim Rathbone have any type
of romantic relationship with your son definitely not they're just friends and the body of your statement you state
that sometime after 9 00 PM after Lisa Pruitt and her father had left that female whose voice you recognize as Lisa
Pruitt called on the telephone for Dan do you know at approximately what time that was
it's hard to tell he got back to back phone calls it's my impression because I remember thinking she was just here that
it was about 9 30 or 9 45 PM but I'm not sure after Dan talked to Lisa during this phone call
did he relate to you any content of the conversation no I don't think I was even
in the room I don't usually ask him about his phone calls are you aware of anyone else who had
dated or had a romantic type relationship with Lisa Pruitt no do you recall what time that Ken Workman
left your home on the evening of September 13 1990. he was gone by 10 05 PM for sure because
I looked out on the patio I told Dan he had to be gone by 10 pm did you see Ken Workman at any time later
than that that evening no on the night of September 13th 1990. did you see Chris Jones or any other
or any other of your son's friends at your residence I don't think so I don't remember the scream that you stated you
heard when you're lying in bed could you tell me approximately what time that was
at some point while I was lying there from the time of the scream to the time Bob got back to the room I looked at the
clock and it said 12 32 A.M after you heard the scream did your son Dan come into your room at any time
yes could you approximate the time between you're hearing the scream and when you
saw your son I heard him come into the room and speak within a minute 45 seconds to a minute after the scream
could you describe as best as you can if the scream you heard was from a male or
female young or old my impression was that it was a female not child not elderly would you say that the scream
was from someone in distress yes was the scream you heard a continuous one or was it a series of shorter
screams continuous could you estimate the time from when you heard the scream until you heard
what you stated was it was a vehicle pulling off from the area in front of your house Dan and Bob were going down
the stairs so it had to be roughly around one minute after from the sound of the vehicle could you determine the
direction it was traveling definitely South towards South Woodland you stated that you heard two separate
sounds as if this vehicle was changing gears is that correct yes I did state that it was like vroom vroom it was a
heavy sound I remember thinking what the hell was that I hear a lot of traffic so
I know a bus a motorcycle a sedan and it was definitely not one of those unless the muffler was modified in some way
could it have been a truck yes after you have woken and you are aware that the police were on the scene
and that something had obviously occurred what conversation did you have with your son concerning this incident
we spoke very little I could tell he was upset I asked him some questions which he answered pretty much in monosyllables
I could not specifically remember what I asked him at the time as opposed to some
later time just enough to understand that without our knowing it that he had arranged with Lisa for her to come over
I remember now that he said she had said she would probably come over and would throw gravel or something at his window
did Dan mention to you that he had found the bike in the bushes and that it was Lisa Pruitt's bike
I'm not sure I had already heard some of that and how I found out those details I
don't I don't know when as I woke up there was Lisa Pruitt and bike and so when I heard it I don't really remember
do you recall Dan telling you that he believed Lisa Pruitt had been abducted he never said that that was in my mind
is there anything else that you wish to add to this statement no it is now 36 hours after the murder of
Lisa Pruitt police have completed their interviews with the dryford family how much of their story do the
detectives believe at this time it's hard to say opinion has no real place and a serious
investigation you're supposed to follow the evidence you listen to the witnesses you attempt
to see if their statements match up with the facts you know as of Saturday afternoon though their
pool of suspects is quite small isn't it but everything is about to change at 4 50 pm on Saturday afternoon a good
friend of Dan dryford's goes to the police station with a story that will alter the course of this investigation
forever he believes he knows who killed Lisa Pruitt I Know Dan from band I've known him
since about 8th grade we've been friends since then until now I've known Lisa since I was in 10th
Grade and I've known Kevin since I was in ninth grade Dan and Lisa have been going out for a couple months now
Kevin supposedly is like Lisa for a long time now most girls blow Kevin off because he
seems kind of weird we were at Arabic at Shaker Square me and Shane McGee we were
standing by Shane's car talking with Kevin and we were talking about Dan dryford and Kevin young said something
like I'd hate to be Dan because he doesn't get any play and me and Shane McGee both laughed Kevin was like why
are you guys laughing and we were both like because Dan gets a lot of play from girls
and Kevin young said well he's not getting any from Lisa Pruitt and I said yes he is he's sleeping with her and
Kevin just freaked he was like that [ __ ] that [ __ ] I hate him I'm going to kill him
[Music]

Shaker Heights - Episode 1: A Scream in the Night

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com

In the early morning hours of Friday, September 14, 1990, 16 year old Lisa Pruett was stabbed to death in Shaker Heights. This is a 6 part true crime series. The bulk of the story comes from actual police interviews. As the story unfolds, ask yourself, who do you think killed Lisa Pruett?Directed and produced by True Crime Garage. Co-produced by The Philosophy of Crime and narration written by James Renner

A BIG Thank You to all of our voice actors!Jordan Bonaparte - www.NightTimePodcast.com Tyler Allen - www.MindsofMadnessPodcast.com Jessica Bettencourt - True Crime Garage & Scene of the Crime Podcasts Mike Bussing - Executive Producer of Truth & Justice with Bob RuffBob Ruff - www.TruthandJusticePod.com Tim Pilleri - www.CrawlSpace-Media.comAaron H - www.GenWhyPod.com & www.FramedPod.com Maggie Freleng - www.MaggieFreleng.com Bill Huffman - My Passion Case and Who killed Podcasts - www.SloBurnMedia.comMorgan - The Captain & Morgan Podcast Jessica Yuan - www.AsianMadnessPod.Podbean.com Melissa Lee - Victimology PodcastScotty Boombox - www.ScottyBoombox.com Jesse P Pollock - Author of “Death on the Devil’s Teeth” & “The Acid King”James Renner - www.PhilosophyOfCrime.com

The full archive of True Crime Garage is available on the Stitcher listening app - for FREE. Our show “Off the Record” is only on Stitcher Premium. For a FREE month of listening go to http://stitcherpremium.com/truecrimegarage and use promo code GARAGE

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Brief Summary

The episode investigates the murder of Lisa Pruitt, featuring interviews with her boyfriend and family, and introduces suspects in the case.

Key points

The Murder That Shook a Town. On September 14, 1990, the murder of Lisa Pruitt tore Shaker Heights apart.
A Boyfriend's Alibi. Daniel Dreyford recounts his last moments with Lisa before her tragic death.
The Scream in the Night. Daniel hears a scream that leads him to suspect something terrible has happened.
Polygraph Willingness. The suspect expresses willingness to take a polygraph test regarding the murder.
The Scream at 12:30 A.M.. A chilling scream is heard, prompting immediate concern and investigation.
Discovery of Lisa's Bicycle. Dan finds Lisa's bicycle in the bushes, raising alarms about her safety.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This was the best day in her life.

4:38WatchNov 17, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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