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

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brand [Music] [Music] never 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 plan Community
originally designed by the van saren Brothers Two Ecentric 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 16-year-old Lisa puit who was stabbed 21 times and Left for Dead behind a
mansion at the corner of Lee in 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
teens 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 dford for his first formal interview this is detective Richard
melany of the Shaker Heights Police Department conducting an interview with One Daniel R dford at the Shaker Heights
Police Department statement followed by interview Daniel statement please I was discharged from the
Cleveland Clinic at maybe 2:00 p.m. or either that or I left the compound at 2 p.m. 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 discharge that day I walked around the school with her and walked her to her mom's car her mom was
waiting for her it's 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 nextdoor neighbor cut my hair that's about when Kenny Workman came
over I don't know what time at exactly but it was around 800 pm and then my parents came home we spent some time
with them and then Lisa stopped by after her flute lesson at about 900 p.m. 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 till 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 1:00 a.m. the 14th of September and that she would
just throw a rock on my window or something like that at about 11:00 p.m. I watched the news and then went to my
room at exactly 11:32 p.m. I listened to some music and put away some more stuff
from the hospital my sister called at midnight I talked to her till 12:30 said good night 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 going to like walk to where I might see
her coming first I went to the edge of to 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 911 and told them that my girlfriend's bike was in the bushes and I had heard
someone screaming earlier so they said they'd send a car over I waited in my driveway in the apron and I let led the
police officer to where the bike was I told him the bike's over here and I I assumed 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 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 refer to Lisa
will you give me her full name and spell it yeah it's Lisa Lee puit l s a l e e p
r u e TT uh to the best of your knowledge were 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 refer 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 Lamson wrath bone can you describe the clothing you were wearing
at the time the police arrived at your house huh 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
named Fruit of the Loom size large 42 to 44 with the Insignia on the front in purple and black letter stating spring
conference 1988 Toledo Mai Valley and also containing the words the search for self
and the initials y r uu 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 I did take the T-shirt off when I was having
my haircut 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 buttonup when the police arrived because I 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 Allstar till 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 Allstar shoes you were wearing yeah they
were size nine Chuck Taylor tie dyed and many different colors and they're 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
is your room uh on the North side or the South side of the house it'd be on on the North
side when you heard the screams what exactly were you doing 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 Tiding up my room what tape was it you were listening
to it was uh rm's album document it was a live version recorded in Holland on October 12th
'87 while you listening to the tape were you wearing headphones no I wasn't when
you heard the scream was your window open or shut it was shut was there a storm window on the outside of your
window and do you know if it was down no not a storm window there was a screen a
paint of glass and in 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 this what action
did you take huh I I went to my window pulled up 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 and I
closed it a couple minutes later though after opening the window what did you hear outside well 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 no it it was it was a bunch of short screams you st previously that the
scream sounded like it came from a female is that correct yeah and 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 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 walked out 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 and 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 reached the front door as your
walking out into the yard could you 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 2 minutes maybe when you reached the sidewalk what did You observe I didn't see or hear
anything out of the ordinary was there any traffic on Le 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 Lee 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 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 did you 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 um although my dad had his hand on phone as if he was going to contact them but then we decided that there was
nothing we could do it had been almost 3 or 4 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 at this time while
you're talking in the room with your father I don't recall what did you do then well went to my room and cleaned it
some more I guess you stated you went 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 uh 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
realized that Lisa prit 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 puit no I didn't think that for a couple
of minutes but then I thought it might have been her when you went outside the second time what were your exact route
to of travel and what actions did you take and also what did you discover if anything I walked down her side sidewalk
to the edge of the property continued down toward South Woodland on the city sidewalk and then I saw Lisa's bicycle
then I ran home called her host got the answer machine didn't leave a message and called 911 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 ft from my house in the bushes on the rightand side of the sidewalk and it was a purple girl's
Miata when you say 30 ft from your house was that 30 ft south of your property line yeah how far in the bushes was this
bike located not very far the bushes are only about 4T 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 pu'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 I stuffed it back in the bushes and ran to my house when you grabbed 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 Arms Reach so I might have lifted it out
of the bushes but I can't say for sure after you you examined 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 you called Lisa's number which is what it was 283
7373 the answering machine was on at that number is is that correct yeah did you listen to the whole message no I
once it started I hung up uh to the best of your knowledge what did the portion of the
message you listen to State oh it was it was something like you've reached or sorry we're not home but I could tell it
was her mother's voice immediately after you hung up you called 911 is that correct yeah I did at that point you
made your mother were father aware of your fears no why not uh was 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 you 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 puit yeah when was the last
time two months ago when you last saw Lisa puit on the evening of September 13th
1990 what was she wearing I only remember that she had a pair of fade at jeans when was the last time you saw
Lisa puit oh just after 9: 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 puit date 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 puit did you strike her physically never after you went to the sidewalk to
wait for the police how long was it before they arrived must have been 4 minutes during those 4 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 he said it' 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 Lisa and 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 I took him outside through the front door because I believe he wanted to talk to the police officer but they
weren't in sight 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 since your release from the hospital well I I hugged her and kissed her when I got to
school 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 to your house this would have been four months ago and she got there on her
bike to the best of your knowledge did 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 14th
1990 well yeah one of the officers told me that someone living between South Woodland and Parkland had reported
screams at what time did you become aware of the fact that Lisa was no longer alive well at 4:00 a.m. 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 uh approximately how much time passed between the time when you return 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 it might have been five or 20 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 moccas since probably 12:30 what do you normally wear to bed
sometimes underwear sometimes underwear and shorts sometimes underwear shorts in
a T-shirt and sometimes underwear in a T-shirt If you had gone to school today what time would you have gotten up 700
a.m. on a school night what time do you normally go to bed 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 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 wrot side 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 H 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 and 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 puit 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 puit yeah I would did you kill Lisa puit
no I didn't do you know who killed Lisa puit I don't who else besides you and Lisa puit knew that she was coming over
to your house after 12:30 a.m. on September 14th 1990 well we talked about it in front of
Kenny Workman describe Kenny Workman for me physically and where he lives Kenny's
about 510 slender kind of long blonde hair shaved on the sides and looks kind 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 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 puit no he didn't we 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 aware 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 puit
or any type of or have any type of relationship with her he just knew her through me and he would have seen her at
school do you Ken Workman and did Lisa PR it all ATT 10 Shaker Heights High School yeah
we do Dan how tall are you and and how much do you weigh I'm 5'8 about 130 pounds is there anything else that you
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Cellular when Freedom calls we're here to answer call us at 1888 [Music] Freedom the next interview the Shaker
Heights detectives conducted was with danford'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 10th 1990 he was
discharged to my Care at approximately 2:00 p.m. September 13th 1990 at that time I took him and his
possessions to our home arriving there at approximately 2:30 p.m. after Dan took his belongings to his room he left
to visit shager Heights High School at approximately 300 p.m. at that time I stayed home had lunch and rested he was
expected home sometime between 400 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. the purpose of his visit to the high school was to get his
schedule walk through his classes meet teachers perhaps get his locker at approximately 5:00 p.m. 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 had 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 6:00 p.m. 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 storm my
wife and I left the house at approximately 7:00 p.m. 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 peock Hardware at Severn
Center where I purchased an electrical socket followed by Heights Pet World at Mayfield in Warrenville where I
purchased 50 lbs of dog food and a bird feed cup for which I used my credit card
ending up at Bernie shelman at Cedar Center where we spent $417 on selected items paid for by check
we left Bernie shulman's and proceeded home arriving there at approximately 9:00 p.m. 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
workman Dan indicated that Ken had heard that Dan was home and wanted to visit since this was a longdistance call
charged to my phone the start and end time of the call would be accurately recorded by the phone company which is
AT&T 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 a.m. 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
Leer 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 facing Le Road and heard the window being
opened I myself immediately turned off the table lamp on my bedside table and lifted the panel on the venetian blind
and looked out to ler 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
at 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 seeing that he had on
essentially the same clothes on that he had been wearing the last time I saw him
I particularly noted and even questioned him about whether he had anything on his
feet I then noticed he was wearing a pair of brown moccasins this was important to me
because I knew he could get out quicker than me Dan ran downstairs to the front door while I quickly put on a pair of
blue jogging pants and a T-shirt and a pair of sandals slip-on sandals I quickly ran downstairs after Dan by the
time I was on the first floor of the house Dan had had open 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 our 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 pattern 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 call 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 that 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'd
put on to go and investigate the scream 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 some time 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 had 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 a.m. 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 we 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
ped at that time we asked them if they knew what was happening Mr pet 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 Petes 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 it happened at that point he said they were
dealing with Foul Play and we 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 plane closen our neighbor across the street Mrs Hall
telephoned 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 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 malany
with Shaker Heights Police Department interviewing one Robert C dford would you give me your son's full
name please Daniel Robert dord is your son a student and if so where yes at shiker Heights High
School to your knowledge how long has your son known Lisa puit 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 2 years and
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 6 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 Morland I may have his address and phone number at
home but I don't know it offand was there any friction between yourself and your son over his
relationship with Lisa puit 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's spending his time with were you aware
that Lisa puit was to visit your son between 12:30 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. on the morning of September 14th 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 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 B 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 and 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 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 clothes shoot showing you a white t-shirt brand named
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 Mai Valley and also containing the words the search
of for self and the letters y r uu 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 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 900 p.m on the evening of September 13th
1990 until 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 multicolored 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
leer 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 raced through your
mind at a time like that while 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 did it
seem to come from one location or did the sound of the scream seem 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 I 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 approximate age as
young or old 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 puits 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 Le Road and four others Two
Face leer Road Two Face 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 leer road which is the north of the two that face leer road which is on
my side of the bed did you look out any other windows when you heard the scream no 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 15th 1990 the police interviewed Dan df's mother Jean at 10:38 a.m. I was at work until almost
5:00 p.m. so when I got home at around 5:00 p.m. 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 p.m. we ate dinner around
6:00 p.m. then my husband and I went out shopping at I think it was close to 7 p.m. when we came back at about 900 p.m.
maybe before 900 p.m. Dan was there with Ken it was shortly before 9:00 p.m. 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 9:00 p.m. 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 5
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 5 minutes had gone by so I shouted out the back door and told them that her father was
waiting I saw them go toward 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 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 watched dishes while I was washing dishes Daniel said he wanted to watch the news at 11:
p.m. 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 p.m. 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 into 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 5
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 sayou dressed go down to 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 we 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 puit 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 night
gown 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
that 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 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 night gown 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 is 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
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
900 p.m. 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 wrath bone where she lives and her relationship
with Dan and your family the Wrath bone property adjoins ours at the rear line for about 50 ft she is a classmate of
Dan at the high school is also in the band they have many fence talks last year she was his wakeup service in that
she called every morning at 7 a.m. so they would have to come to the phone and would help wake him up she is going with
one of his longtime very good friends who was Brian keing to your knowledge does or did Kim Rathbone have any type
of romantic relationship with your son definitely not they're just friends in the body of your statement you state
that sometime after 9 pm. after Lisa prit and her father had left that female whose voice you recognize as Lisa prit
called on the telephone for Dan do you know at approximately what time that was it's hard to tell he got backtack phone
calls it's my impression because I remember thinking she was just here that it was about 9:30 or 9:45 p.m. 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 or had a romantic type relationship with Lisa puit no do you
recall what time that Ken Workman left your home on the evening of September 13th
1990 he was gone by 10:05 p.m. for sure because I looked out on the patio I told
Dan he had to be gone by 10 p.m. did you see Ken Workman at any time later than that that
evening no on the night of September 13th of 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 was a vehicle
pulling off from the area in front of your house Dan and Bob were going down on the stairs so it had to be roughly
around 1 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 had woken and you were 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 cannot 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 and the bushes and that it was Lisa pu's Bank I'm not sure I had already heard
some of that and how I found out those details I don't know when as I woke up there was Leisa puit and bike and so
when I heard it I don't really remember do you recall Dan telling you that he believed Lisa purit had been
abducted he never said that that was in my mind is there anything else that you wish to add to the statement
No it is now 36 hours after the murder of Lisa puit police have completed their interviews with with the dford family
how much of their story do the detectives believe at this time it's hard to say opinion has no real place in
a serious investigation you are 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 p.m. on Saturday
afternoon a good friend of danford'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 puit 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 liked
Lisa for a long time now most girls blow Kevin off because he seems kind of weird
we were at a rabic at Shaker Square me and Shane McGee we were standing by Shane's car talking with Kevin and we
were talking about Dan dford 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 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 puit 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] you can live out your Master Chef dreams when you find a professional on Angie to
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Shaker Heights - Episode 1: A Scream in the Night

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com (http://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 (http://www.nighttimepodcast.com/) Tyler Allen - www.MindsofMadnessPodcast.com (http://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 (http://www.truthandjusticepod.com/) Tim Pilleri - www.CrawlSpace-Media.com (http://www.crawlspace-media.com/) Aaron H - www.GenWhyPod.com (http://www.genwhypod.com/) & www.FramedPod.com (http://www.framedpod.com/) Maggie Freleng - www.MaggieFreleng.com (http://www.maggiefreleng.com/) Bill Huffman - My Passion Case and Who killed Podcasts - www.SloBurnMedia.com (http://www.sloburnmedia.com/) Morgan - The Captain & Morgan Podcast Jessica Yuan - www.AsianMadnessPod.Podbean.com (http://www.asianmadnesspod.podbean.com/) Melissa Lee - Victimology PodcastScotty Boombox - www.ScottyBoombox.com (http://www.scottyboombox.com/) Jesse P Pollock - Author of “Death on the Devil’s Teeth” & “The Acid King”James Renner - www.PhilosophyOfCrime.com (http://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 murder of Lisa Puit in Shaker Heights reveals community tensions and a complex investigation involving her boyfriend and a potential suspect.

Key points

Murder in Shaker Heights. A young woman's murder in a seemingly idyllic town reveals deep social divides.
The Mystery Begins. The podcast revisits the murder of 16-year-old Lisa Puit through detective interviews.
The Scream. A chilling scream is heard at 12:30 a.m., raising alarms.
Discovery of the Bicycle. Lisa's bicycle is found in the bushes, escalating the tension.
Foul Play Suspected. Police indicate foul play, heightening fears for Lisa's safety.
Murder Mentioned. A neighbor's inquiry about a murder raises alarm and suspicion.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This was the best day in her life because I got out of the hospital.

Lisa's excitement about her day and new driver's license.

5:41WatchNov 16, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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