Stunning Prison Interviews | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] hello Melissa hi it's been boy more than a decade since I first met you mhm when
we first met did you ever think you'd still be here this long no why am I still in
here I just don't understand you may remember in 2009 Melissa kazinski was working at a
Lincolnshire daycare she was given 31 years in prison for the death of a 16-month-old who was in her care since
then she and her supporters have been fighting back calling this a wrongful conviction it
hurts she doesn't blind there she's the kind of person that would take her shirt
off her back and help other people this is my baby this is my youngest I just want her
home I used to work at the minie daycare I think it was definitely more than a job to her the kids were her
number one priority I feel like the kids brightened her day do you believe that Melissa kazinski
had anything to do with Ben kingan's death zero she had nothing to do with it I am Melissa kosinski's current attorney
she loved Ben Ben loved her and what she told the police was that she threw him to the floor you
threw him on the floor yeah show us how hard you threw him on the ground like that did you hurt that baby no I did not
I would never do that you've got her isolated in a small room with these two men for hours I never put my she's
trying so hard to be the good girl the compliant girl I want to help you guys so much she's not equipped to deal with
a situation like that we're not going anywhere until we get the facts here the only way for me to get out was to make a
confession a false confession is there any evidence that corroborates the confession that Melissa
made zero we would never take someone to trial with just a confession this child
had a fractured skull there was extensive injuries to this child internally it's clear that she killed
Benjamin do you believe there was a skull fracture there is no fracture the evidence had been manipulated
if I take these sliders here you can manipulate this photo so somebody went in and they altered the
contrast to make it look like that on screen somebody took x-rays that were completely clear and turned them into
unreadable images yes I can't think of an innocent explanation so you're saying that either the prosecutor's office or
the coroner's office but somebody representing the state did this yes yes a former daycare worker convicted of
killing a toddler tries again today to be released from prison their case was before the prisoner Review Board in an
effort to get clemency people have to know the truth I have to keep pushing fighting no matter how much it hurts I
want people to know I'm innocent [Music] [Music] Melissa kazinski has served 16 years of
a 31-year prison sentence for the death of Benjamin kingan a 16-month-old whom she cared for at an Illinois daycare
center she has long insisted she is innocent this is not where I belong I'm going to
continue to fight no matter what cuz I did not do this we've been covering this case for
more than a decade and over the years Melissa's appeals have failed but she and her attorney Kathleen
zelner are not backing down now they're taking their fight out of the court system and straight to the governor of
Illinois JB pritsker and his prisoner review board we're asking them to declare that she's
actually innocent and release her we are also saying commuter sentence the story began on January 14th
2009 Melissa then 22 years old was working as a teachers assistant at the mini subbi daycare in Lincolnshire an
affluent suburb of Chicago Ben King and attended daycare there along with his twin sister and
their two older siblings I came to work and uh I saw Ben he was fine normal happy
playful late that afternoon after the kids were fed a snack and cleaned up Melissa says she put Ben down on the
carpet and he crawled into his bouncy seat on the floor he's sitting in his bouncy chair playing with his blanket
and he was uh starting to kind of fall asleep which was normal the teacher working with Melissa
stepped out of the room briefly leaving Melissa alone with the children that's when Melissa says she
noticed something wrong with Ben he didn't look right I took his little hand and I touched his hand and I'm like Ben
Ben he did not wake up at all I saw orange foam coming out of his nose and um I'm
sorry Melissa called for help her older sister Crystal kusinski also worked at the daycare at the time I hear on the
intercom someone help me help me help me I ran in then started CPR immediately was that like for you Crystal um I dream
about it a lot like I see it in my you know my head 911 was called I have a child who was uh
who's foaming who's not breathing paramedics responded Ben was taken to the hospital
he was pronounced dead an hour later me and my sister fell to the floor and we're just we're just Bing what
happened to him and how I don't I don't understand an investigation was launched
according to this police report during an autopsy the pathologist Dr yup Choy told a detective that he observed a
skull fracture extensive bleeding inside Ben's head and that the injury was caused by another person using strong
force within hours prior to Ben's death and yet Ben had no Cuts or obvious wounds on the outside of his body no
serious bruises the pathologist listed the autopsy as pending further studies police brought in the daycare
workers who had been with the toddler on the day of his death somebody did something determined to find out what
happened to Ben after Melissa was read her rights it's routine and protocol for us detectives began pressing her for
answers I have a good idea that you've seen what happened or you were involved with what happened cuz you were the only
only one in the room at the onside of this Melissa denied over and over again more than 60 times doing anything to B I
never put my I did not drop him but the detectives didn't stop you're there it's
not like there were 50 people in that room with you all these years later Melissa still remembers what it was like
being in that room they weren't listening to anything I said after 9 hours under pressure and without an
attorney Melissa changed her story she said she thought if she told the investigators what they wanted to hear
they would let her go home we're not going anywhere until we get the facts here the only way for me to get out was
to make a confession a false confession I wasn't thinking at all you weren't thinking of the consequences of doing
something like that no all I could think about was just going home he starts acting
up and you get mad at him and you throw him on the floor you threw him on the floor yeah really hard when Melissa was
taken to another station for booking she repeated the same story to another investigator okay after spending 14
hours with police Melissa kusinski was arrested for the murder of Benjamin and kingan even though she almost
immediately took back the story she told police no I'm innocent Melissa's parents Paul and
Cheryl kusinski still remember receiving the news and I said what did you think possibly not at all she had hurt this
baby Noe Noe she is the kind of person that would never never put her hand on someone
else's child but Melissa had told investigators that she did and after that the manner
of death on Ben's death certificate was listed as homicide law enforcement announced they
had solved the case Miss kazinski uh admitted to police that she had taken the infant boy uh and thrown him on the
ground they made her look like a bad person and she's not that type of a person Melissa's family would make it
their mission to clear her name my parents sold everything that they had I put all my effort into getting her freed
they had no idea how much of a fight they were in for he was very healthy baby just a happy
happy little boy in November 2011 nearly 3 years after the death of Ben kingan Melissa kusinski went on trial for
murder the state argued that Ben was a perfectly healthy toddler leading up to his death Matthew D martini and Steven
sheller prosecuted the case how would you describe what the parents have gone through when somebody takes Challenge
from you I don't think there's anywhere to describe what they have gone through Dr Choy the pathologist who
conducted the autopsy testified about that skull fracture he said he had seen and how he believed the child's injury
was recent and consistent with having been thrown to the floor by someone but Melissa's trial attorney Paul DeLuca
told the jury about a head injury Ben had previously received it was noticed at the daycare 3 months earlier Melissa
was not even working there at the daycare center after Ben's death multiple people including daycare
teacher Nancy kinger told investigators about it head I we called Mom called the
doctor but prosecutor Steven sheller argued that the earlier injury was insignificant the pediatrician actually
examined Benjamin's head had felt around um said there was no issues that Mom should just keep an eye on him then
never had an issue after that that's not what defense experts said they noted that after the injury
there were possible signs of head trauma medical records showed that in the days
after the injury Ben was lethargic and had a persistent fever and another daycare employee Holly who asked that we
identify her by her first name only only testify for the defense about the last time she saw Ben 2 days before his death
Melissa walked into the room and she was holding Ben and she said like he's not feeling well and it was almost
immediately after she said that that he threw up like everywhere the next day one day before
he died Ben was kept home from daycare prosecutor Matthew de Martini argued it was a stomach bug or a winter cold he
was given Pedialite and put to bed he woke up the next day and he was fine but the defense maintained that Ben's prior
injury was so serious that any new impact could have had major consequences and then did have a habit of throwing
his head back he would be sitting on the ground and he would just kind of LUN his
body backwards and hit his head you know I guess you call it like he was a headbanger Nancy calinger recalled that
Ben had done that twice on the day of his death I put him on the floor and he immedately and then I walk toward the
sink and he himself again prosecutors insisted that Melissa had hurt Ben this child did not explode or implode on his
own and they pointed to her confession she became frustrated holding Ben she threw him to the floor
prosecutors told the jury that the fall was so severe it caused that skull fracture at trial they mentioned a skull
fracture more than 30 times but was there one well most of the experts who testified from both sides agreed there
appeared to be a fracture in autopsy photos one defense expert said she couldn't say for sure and according to
Melissa's attorney Paul Deluga the x-rays the prosecution had provided before the trial were unreadable for
trial I said Do we have any better images and it was no the state's Final witness pathologist Dr Manny Montes gave
the most Vivid and damaging testimony at trial he said he examined the body and felt the fracture with his bare hands Dr
Mon say said he put his finger in the skull and threw the fracture I mean it was devastating the jury deliberated for
7 hours before convicting Melissa kusinski of aggravated battery of a child and first-degree murder my heart
sunk I know I didn't do this Melissa's family remained determin to prove her innocence I didn't accept
the verage I I knew it was wrong and in 20 12 a year after the conviction Dr Thomas Rudd the then newly elected Lake
County coroner agreed to review the autopsy evidence at the urging of Melissa's trial attorney I saw a
membrane and I thought my God what do you mean when you say you saw a membrane you you see a scab similar to what forms
on your skin except it's in the brain this is a slide of a part of this infant's brain correct by definition if
you have a membrane you have an old injury at Melissa's trial Dr Choy had told the jury he observed no sign of an
old injury but according to Dr Rod Dr Choy had simply missed it he called in Dr Nancy Jones a well-regarded
pathologist for a second opinion and she agreed with Dr rud and noted that the old injury had been healing for about 2
or 3 months a time frame consistent with that bump on Ben's head that was noticed
at daycare how they let that go is beyond me like the defense experts at trial doctors Jones and rud believe that
the old injury was further exacerbated by Ben's headbanging the added fluid of the recent injury pushes that brain down
and shuts down the breathing system that is the the cause of the child's death it
was the old injury the old injury was massive Dr rud phones the now retired Dr Choy who signed a sworn affidavit
conceding that he had missed that Ben had suffered an old injury but he crossed out the word significant and
when asked if he would have changed his testimony at trial Dr Choy said no there's no indication that anything in
there is significant but Dr Rudd suspected that Dr Troy may have also been wrong about another major issue in
the case that alleged skull fracture what should have been done was that whole section
should have been cut out to look under the microscope to see if in fact it is a skull fracture and they didn't Dr rub
believed what Dr Choy and the other medical experts thought was a skull fracture may have instead been a normal
part of Ben's growing skull but it couldn't prove it then in 2015 Melissa's father said he received an
anonymous call that there was a set of X-rays at the coroner's office that had never been turned over to the defense
when Dr rud's staff searched the computer archives they came across these startling
images that were never shown at trial I was dumbfounded there's definitely no skull fracture here
[Music] I've shown this to various pathologist and a radiologist they've all called me
and say there is no skull fracture at in this child at all in 2015 4 years after
Melissa kosinski's conviction and short after those clear X-rays of Ben kingan were found Dr Rudd changed the manner of
death on Ben's death certificate from homicide to undetermined by this point defense
attorney Kathleen zelner had taken on Melissa's case I don't know of a case in America where someone's serving a
31-year prison sentence for a death that was undetermined zelner who has built a
career on getting the Rock wrongfully convicted out of prison was intent on getting Melissa's conviction overturned
and in 2016 Melissa was granted an evidentiary hearing to present what zelner argued
was New Evidence before judge Daniel shanes the same judge who presided over Melissa's trial the New Evidence was
that the images that had been given to Paul DeLuca had been darkened remember the state gave Melissa's trial attorney
Paul Luca a disc containing these dark unreadable x-rays before trial at the evidentiary hearing Dr rud testified
about finding the clear x-rays x-rays that he and other defense experts said showed no skull fracture x-rays that
zelner argued would have changed the outcome of Melissa's trial the skull fracture was the pivotal point in the
states case to convince the jury it was a homicide but at the evidentiary hearing
prosecutors argued that this wasn't new evidence in the case they said that disc
provided to DeLuca had software that could enhance the x-rays and that he simply didn't do enough to brighten them
DeLuca says he couldn't even open the software I call in a secretary call in somebody else in the office no one could
get any better images zelner with the help of an Imaging expert argued that it didn't matter what Duca did that the
x-rays that he had been given had been modified and were inferior to the ones on the coroner's office
computer she also called a witness whom she believed raised more questions about
the prosecution's case Paul foran the deputy coroner during Ben kingan's autopsies Foreman disputed the testimony
of one of the most important Witnesses at Melissa's trial Dr Manny Montes remember Dr Montes was the state's Final
witness who testified that he felt a fracture in Ben kingan's skull but Foreman who said he was there
when Montes came to the coroner's office testified that Montes never physically examined Ben's body or actually touch
the child's skull could he have somehow gone in and looked at Ben's body examined the body without you knowing no
I was with him from the moment he came in the door to the moment he left the state tried to discredit foran by
questioning his memory as well as his mental health Foreman told us he had been treated for bipolar disorder and
depression well it was a personal attack but Foreman wasn't the only defense witness who raised questions about Dr
montes's testimony name Dr Robert Zimmerman a renowned pediatric neuroradiologist who examined the
readable x-rays testified that if that skull fracture had existed it would be clearly visible wasn't there on the
X-ray so I don't think he could have actually seen it but prosecutors stood by their trial Witnesses Dr Mones and Dr
Choy who said they saw and felt a skull fracture we reached out to both doctors for this broadcast but they did not
respond to our requests for comment when the evidentiary hearing ended judge shanes ruled against Melissa
she was dealt a devastating setback today in court that's when a judge ruled she would not get a new
trial in his ruling judge Shane stated that he didn't find Paul Foreman's testimony regarding Dr Montes credible
and he agreed with the state that Paul deuca could have brightened the x-rays and made them
readable it was another let down for Melissa and her family you clearly made a mistake I just don't
understand zelner appealed the ruling but again a disappointment and then 4 years later in
2022 there was a development that few saw coming Eric Reinhardt a new States Attorney in Lake County the county where
Melissa was convicted had taken office zelner says he wanted more information on the discrepancy over the X-rays so he
recommended she retain the digital forensics company Garrett Discovery we paid for him but he recommended him
Andrew Garrett is the CEO of Garrett Discovery Brian Bowman is a digital forensics expert who works for him they
concluded the x-rays were manipulated by someone using a software tool used to view
x-rays how did Paul Duca the defense attorney end up with these very dark pictures I can show you so if I take
these sliders here and I drag them all the way down or all the way up you can manipulate this
photo so somebody went in and they altered the contrast to make it look like that on
screen and then exported that file on the Corner's computer on the Corner's computer Bowman agrees there was little
Duca could do the defense council could have adjusted some of the contrast on the jpegs that they were given but they
couldn't make the images bigger and they wouldn't be able to go in and zoom into
the the depth and have the clarity of the image that the original is but if Ben kingan's X-rays were manipulated who
did it in their report Garett and Bowman pointed to the state you put in here the
state adjusted the settings of the images that resulted in Black washed out images you're saying that either the
prosecutor's office or the coroner's office but somebody repres representing the state did this yes yes this is not a
kiosk computer sitting in a Lobby this is in their custody and control you have to be in the coroner's office to get
access to this what do you make of Garrett Discovery findings chat now with the 48
Hours team on Facebook and X [Music] in late 2022 when Lake County State's Attorney Eric Reinhard met with the
forensic experts experts he recommended and learned of their findings attorneys Kathleen zelner and Paul Duca were also
there Eric was just indignant he was saying whoever had done this manipulation should be held accountable
I believed after the meeting that he believed in Melissa's innocence and he he was going to try to rectify this I
thought um he was going to do something about it but nothing happened say zelner
and Duca and as the months stretched on zelner decided to also look more closely
at Melissa's confession that's the only evidence against her there's nothing that tips this as being a homicide
absolutely nothing hmer asked Dr Saul cassen a psychology professor and leading expert
on false confessions to review the case Dr kson had first analyzed the interrogation back in
2016 when he was a CBS News consultant he told us then and now that it appears police went into that room determined to
get a confession the reason that we were called in in this incident is cuz Ben's
skull was fure what we need to know right now is if this was done by accident or did somebody
intentionally hurt him yeah I I would never put my hands on it her denials were emphatic I've never put my hand on
the chest ever and they plowed over all of them and you know what medical evidence is just doesn't lie okay
remember a detective reported that during the autopsy the pathologist Dr Choy told him that Ben had a skull
fracture and that the injury was recent and was caused by another person using strong force they did an autopsy on B
yeah we're talking a skull fracture there's sometimes accidents happen and I mean they're unavoidable they launch
into an accident scenario I did not drop them did you lose your patience and hit him no did you push him into a
wall mm after nearly 6 hours with investigators you didn't come to work that day with the intent of hurting
anybody Melissa told them it was an accident did you drop the baby yes I wasn't paying attention he
flipped out of my hands but that didn't satisfy the detectives who had left the room periodically to phone Dr Choy that
story you're giving us is a there's no way no way that that would have caused that traumatic of an injury
all you need to do is tell us the truth and we're done they're not saying nothing will happen to you but it's
implied after 9 hours in that room the investigators were finally getting Melissa to tell a story that could
account for a skull fracture you were angry I was angry and aggravated show us how angry you were and show us what
happened and let let's just get this over with and move on okay so I got angry yeah and I went boom I'm going
tell you something right now we this is very specific this is going to leave a specific Mark like a fracture then they
gave Melissa a scenario of why she got angry we think in this situation the other babies are screaming crying and
what she did he starts acting up and you get mad at him and you throw on the floor you threw him on the floor yeah
she needs to get out of there she can't take it anymore I so sorry okay we understand the detectives who
interrogated Melissa did not respond to our request for comment Dr cassen raises
concerns about how long Melissa was in that room approximately 10 hours and how particularly vulnerable she
was about 2 and a half years before Ben kingan's death Melissa had reported she was
raped she was enclosed in a small space pinned down and sexually assaulted now she's pinned into the corner of her room
I can only imagine that while this would be normally stressful for the average person it would be even more stressful
for somebody with that history the defense recently had Melissa evaluated by a psychologist and psychiatrist
they diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder they also assessed her as having borderline intellectual
functioning she scored at a 4.8 grade level in sentence comprehension which could help explain
why she believed she could go home even after she had confessed to murder I'm just kind of curious how long much more
cuz not much longer we're on the phone right now we're trying to get this done as quick
because I just want to go home spend time with my parents and puppy let me get she had no idea what was happening
the confession in my mind is worthless there are multiple reasons why she might have given this confession this isn't
just a vulnerable suspect it isn't just interrogation tactics that are highly deceptive it's
both the jury at Melissa's trial heard about her low IQ but the judge would not allow a false confession expert to test
testify zelner believes that testimony might have changed the verdict if Melissa kazinski had not walked into
that room as she had insisted on attorney would she be imprisoned today no absolutely not they had absolutely
nothing there's no eyewitness there was no video the reason Melissa kazinski got
charged is she confessed but if Melissa didn't harm Ben kingan what happened to the toddler it
raises more questions about that earlier injury the one that was discovered at the daycare months before his death
several employees there remembered a coworker she was working at the that happened her name is BR what I
believe I only heard I didn't see anything is that she put it in the crib and I believe he threw himself back she
quit the day after Brenda didn't have testify at Melissa's trial and the defense was
never able to track her down but we did a number of people have said that Ben was hurt when he was with
[Music] you Melissa ciny was interrogated for hours about the injury Ben kingan received just before his death
but what about the daycare worker who was reported to be with Ben a few months earlier when he got a lump on his head
she didn't return our calls but when we located her she agreed to speak to us on
the condition we obscure her face and identify her only by Brenda her first name on October 27th
2008 there was a report of an injury on Ben King and do you remember that that no I don't the way it's been described
is from some people is that Ben was with you and you were putting him in the bed
they heard a bump and and then he had a bump on the back of his head no did that
happen with you no but you did stop working the very next day I did I I was just kind of tired of being there I
don't recall a bump and I don't recall ever bumping him so do you say it didn't happen or you don't remember it
happening it didn't happen Brenda has never been charged with harming Ben intentionally or accidentally but
attorney Kathleen Zelmer is adamant the Ben sustained a serious injury that day I think that his parents were misled by
the daycare center about that incident and according to these police reports it wouldn't be the first time that the
daycare allegedly tried to cover up the seriousness of a child's injury the daycare was shut
down by state authorities shortly after Ben died in April 2024 more than 12 years
after Melissa's conviction with no success in the court system zelner filed this clemency petition asking Illinois
governor JB pritsker to exonerate Melissa or release her for time served I believe this is her best chance for
Freedom before a scheduled hearing Lake County State's Attorney Eric Reinhardt spoke to an attorney representing Ben
kingan's family and then he wrote this letter to the prisoner review board stating his office strongly opposes
Melissa's clemency petition were you shocked by that totally I believe he thinks in his heart that she's
innocent Reinhardt would not do an on camera interview or speak to us on the record but in that letter to the board
he stated that there is no new evidence in the case and that Melissa's petition for clemency does not establish
innocence on July 9th 2024 zelner went before the prisoner review board to make her case for Melissa's Freedom what we
want to do today is focus on who is this person and how did she end up in the position that she's in convicted of the
first degree murder of a child but also they are making an impassion blea for Ben kingan's parents
my name is Amy K and I am here with my H we are the parents of Benjamin pingan who was murdered from Melissa cinsky
threw him to the ground back his because of her actions Andy and I are adamantly
opposed to Melissa kusit released we continue to read about how there's no justice for Melissa but where is the
justice for V and for Andy and myself and our surviving children we hope that you as the prison review board and the
governor will deny her petition for Clowny Amy and Andy kingan declined our request for an
interview following Amy's statement zelner was then given the chance to respond there is no question that the
death of a child is probably the worst thing that could ever happen to a parent but the only way that a parent get
closure is with the truth and the truth has not come out on this case I know that she is
innocent after the hearing it was up to the prisoner review board to make a confidential recommendation to Governor
pritsker as to whether Elissa should be released if you had a chance to talk to Governor pritsker yourself M what would
you say I would say just please look at my case I didn't do this Holly who worked at the daycare
with Melissa believes her so much so that she wrote this letter to the Governor from the time Melissa was
arrested for Benjamin's murder I have always thought she was innocent the evidence does not point to
Melissa I can only imagine how Ben's family is going to feel knowing that I'm saying Melissa's Innocent but an
innocent person should not be in jail when we first met the kusinski family back in
2014 5 years after Melissa's arrest they still had her bedroom set up today that room is still set up just as
it was Paul and cherl kazinski haven't given up hope that their daughter will be home soon she's daddy's little
girl we did ever see again and we're just going to keep on until she comes home [Music]
[Music] CBS next Saturday a young grad student is shot and killed it still doesn't feel real was
this just a random act of road rage it's not a violent crash no or was it something much more personal W there's
our connection 48 hours is all new CBS next Saturday 109 Central and streaming on Paramount
[Music] plus she doesn't do the in-your-face type of uh homicidal maniac kind of
thing she's not a shooter she's not a stabber but I haven't seen somebody this ruthless in a long time I've seen a lot
of murders I've seen people killed with knives and machetes and guns with vehicles
strangulation Suffocation I have never seen anyone try to kill another person with a piece of
cheesecake until now until now I'm a private investigator here in New York City I was hired to hunt down
and assist in the apprehension of Victoria Nasi rova as a perpetrator she's one in a
million there was a call from Patrol stating that we have a woman Olga who's lying in bed who appears to be under the
influence of something and she's advising that there are items missing from her bedroom then she tells me this
tale of how this woman Victoria nazarova came to her home she arrived with what she described as the best cheesecake in
New York she says please have this cheesecake Elga says okay I'll try the piece of the cheesecake immediately she
felt extremely ill nauseous um sweaty dizzy and she said I've never felt like that before I don't know what was going
on she passes out within a very short amount of time Olga is fighting for her life someone was trying to kill you who
did you think Victoria Victoria nazarova yep it's vazer pan in the cheesecake a sedative primarily used in
Russia apparently it has no taste and a little bit too much can produce an overdose Victoria found someone that
resembled her I think she wanted to kill this woman and assume her identity Victoria nerova is dangerous arrogant
cunning I didn't know how dangerous she was until I found out the trail of bodies that she was leaving behind in an
unconscious State the only thing I remember I just took one bite of fish and I was out of it in 5 minutes for a
week I was in the hospital police tune discovered that she was wanted for something far more serious
this is for murder this is for murder right here I believe that Victoria felt the
the walls were closing in on her Victoria nasirova had to be taken off of these streets I'm not a killer I'm
woman only woman I think anybody that trusts Victoria has something to fear [Music]
[Music] she is a very colorful criminal in his 20-year career as a New York police
detective Kevin Rogers says he never met the likes of Victoria nazarova extremely
Brazen diabolical and even the street smarts of a career cop left him unprepared for what he says she did I've
never dealt with a case where cheesecake that's laced with poison is utilized it started on September 2nd
2016 with what seemed like a routine call it was a call from Patrol saying that we have a woman advising that there
are items missing from her bedroom the woman was a Beauty Stylist named Olga svick who did eyelash
extensions at a nearby salon Patrol officers told Rogers she'd reported items including purses had vanished from
her home grabbed my partner and we headed out to this uh woman's house she told him she had just returned home from
the hospital where she said she'd been in and out of Consciousness with severe dizziness and nausea Olga's bedroom is
the top right window when he got to the scene Olga a Ukrainian immigrant still seemed a bit woozy can you remember at
all the police asking you questions no I don't remember the only thing she remembered was that a
frantic client from the salon had come to her house a Russian woman named Victoria nazarova who had wanted her
eyelashes extended in a hurry I need an emergency eyelash repair done please please please Olga said I I never have
done that before every bit of work that I do is in my salon Olga had told her client she had no appointments available
but she says Victoria was in the habit of being pushy she'd repeatedly suggested they spend time together
outside of work she started acting like she's my friend you know feeling uneasy Olga refused Victoria's offers to hang
out and she noticed something else about Victoria something visually unsettling I thought she's look like me
an uncanny physical resemblance while Olga turned down socializing with Victoria she relented
to her plea these for eyelash help and told her to come over Olga's uneasy feeling returned when Victoria showed up
at her door with three small slices of Cheesecake it's from like famous bakery like famous
cheesecake Olga says Victoria quickly gobbled up two of the slices and then insisted Olga try the last one did you
eat the entire piece yeah it's like small piece and what happened I got she says she threw up
violently and then after that I don't remember anything so she tells you this story
what are you thinking I'm suspicious with Olga acting wozy Rogers wondered if she was a drug user I said to her I say
all I said I want to believe you however this doesn't add up but she was adamant
adamant this 100% happened and this woman is up to something in the garbage Rogers did see something I
walked over to the wastepaper basket and right there was this plastic container with what appeared to be the remnants of
a pastry something that look good Olga identified it as the cheesecake box Rogers told his evidence team to bag it
and tag it whatever had been in that box Olga said it had made her very sick you
almost died yeah I was in K 34 minutes but Olga admits doctors didn't find anything suspicious in her system still
she told Rogers she was hospitalized twice he called the hospitals to confirm but says they wouldn't divulge patient
information which again led me to believe that maybe she wasn't telling the truth Rogers did try to find Victoria
nazarova but couldn't well it sounds like at that point this case is is almost over dead but a few months later
the case came back to life when Rogers found a new witness a neighbor of Olga's who reported seeing a woman visiting her
the day after the alleged cheesecake incident he told me that a woman had come and gone a few times the neighbors
said the mysterious woman had told him Olga was sick and when he went to check on Olga he walked into a Sur scene and
called an ambulance her room was like a sauna someone had turned the heat on full blast even though it was a Hot
August day and Olga was passed out in the bed barely dressed when she's discovered she's discovered
in this sort of racy lingerie Olga was stunned by this detail because she had been wearing sweatpants so someone
changed you you yeah changed your clothes yeah and there was more pills were strewn all over the floor Rogers
wondered had someone tried to kill Olga and then staged the scene to make it look like a
suicide Rogers realized that Olga had probably been telling the truth all along I do have to make that sort of
uncomfortable apology to her of I'm truly sorry for not believing you 100% at first
Rogers now turned his attention again to finding the suspect in this case Olga's
client Victoria nazarova but where was she Rogers had no way of knowing that someone else was also trying to find her
his name is Herman Weissberg he's a private eye and a retired New York City detective Weissberg was tracking
Victoria through ads on Russian dating sites and social media where he says some of her Outreach seemed designed for
a niche audience she was advertising her Services as a dominatrix you could call
it/ escort he believed Victoria was using online ads to commit crimes of opportunity she would knock out with
knockout drugs taking money watches jewelry whatever she can get and he suspected Victoria had done something
much worse who murdered your mother Victoria [Music] the with the fog of her mysterious
illness behind her Olga fix says she went back to work sharing the story of her heroine ordeal that's when another
client told her something she never expected to hear she said you know one of my uh husband
friend I think somebody also drag him his name is Reuben meet Reuben borov hi Tina how are
you about 2 months before Olga ate that cheesecake Reuben who ran a nearby dry cleaning business met a woman on a
Russian dating site her name Victoria nazarova she said she's a good cook and I said I love to
eat the two arranged to meet at her place for dinner I just took one bite of fish and I was out of it in 5 minutes
Reuben says he passed out and Victoria allegedly went on a shopping spree she took like $800 maybe $1,000 in my all
together in cash 2400 in American Express so she's living high on the Hog on on your money absolutely and then she
brought me here 2 Days Later Reuben was still out of it when Victoria literally took him to the cleaners one of Ruben's
employees took this video she was walking here and there and making some stories to my workers oh we had wine he
drank two bottle of wine I don't remember nothing as Victoria talks to the workers maybe take pill or something
right the camera catches a glimpse of her sitting in the boss's chair luckily Reuben's sister called an
ambulance Victoria would flee the scene before it arrived but not before cleaning him out I had some money in the
basement couple hundred here she took it she took the watch and Ruben believes Victoria nearly took a lot more than
that did you almost die I think so that's how I was oh he was a sick man but private eye Herman Weissberg says
when it comes to Victoria nazarova Olga and Ruben may have been the lucky ones in 2017 Weissberg began working
with this woman Nadia Ford Nadia said her mother Allah alexenko with whom she was very close had gone missing back
home in Russia and so every day you would talk to her every day Nadia says before her mother disappeared she had
mentioned making a new best friend the friend's name Victoria nazarova before Victoria came to New York she was living
in Russia and had become Allah's neighbor in the apartment next door here is your mother mhm standing next to you
right and here is Victoria right and they seem like an Odd Couple you just wouldn't think they'd hang out with each
other she was always trying to be very friendly to her you know and my mom she trust everyone in the fall of 2014 Allah
had told Nadia she would be sending her daughter special gifts her new best friend Victoria would bring them
Victoria would be carrying $6,000 in cash and other valuables including two fur coats to be hand delivered to Nadia
but Victoria never showed and on October 5th Nadia tried to call her mother but couldn't reach her how many times did
you call your mother that day October 5th oh a lot a lot about 100 really 100 times at least at least I tried
everything and she would not answer no so what are you thinking I got afraid because for 8 years she never happened
that she didn't answer the phone never Nadia says she had found Victoria's sudden friendship with her mom
suspicious and that suspicion only grew when she accessed her mother's cell phone records online and I saw the last
person who called her it was Victoria the call had come in at 11:00 p.m. and there were no other calls after it and
that's it and then my heart dropped I just started to have this feeling that something
happened something terrible something terrible happened Nadia decided she had to go to Russia to find out the truth
about 2 years later 48 Hours went with Nadia to retrace her steps we brought her back to her
hometown of krasnodar about 800 Mi south of Moscow near the Black Sea to show us how she
launched her own investigation into her mother's disappearance first Nadia convinced
Victoria to meet her outside her mom's apartment building where she confronted her she says Victoria loudly insisted
Allah was alive and then she ran up the stairs and then I'm like where you going
why are you running and she runs up here are you chasing her exactly yeah Nadia told us she notified police and took
them inside her mother's apartment so when I walk into the apartmentment she quickly realized the place had been
looted nothing credit card's gone nothing nothing family heirloom an expensive jewelry gone everything and
whoever did this also stole most of her mother's life savings $40,000 all kept in a secret Hideaway if
you take this off it was gone this and as far as Nadia could tell what so is Victoria what are the police and the
district attorney and what are these people saying to you just wait she's going to go she's going to come back
undaunted Nadia carried on her search Chris crossing the country posting Flyers like this
one she pleaded with Victoria by text listen I give you everything my apartment money you name it please just
give me my mom back Nadia feared she was getting nowhere when she had an idea Nadia where are we right now we're in
the highway that Victoria had my mom she noticed that most main roads had traffic
cameras what if one of them had photographed vict Toria the night Nadia's mother went missing but you got
to get access to these photographs how do you do that it's Russia you buy things you have money you buy things
Nadia got access to images from local traffic cameras about 100 Mil from the apartment that's the camera I see right
there Nadia hit Pay Dirt that's the camera that showed that my mom was with with Victoria these are the pictures
that changed everything the pictures look blurry but Nadia was certain that this is Victoria nazarova behind the
wheel and equally sure she knew who was sitting in the passenger seat her mom no
doubt in your mind what's the date that this picture was taken October 5th in the morning 10:00 October 5th the day
that you lost all communication with your own mother if the picture could be believed it meant her mother could still
be alive this camera gave me hope Nadia called Russian police about the pictures
and was shocked at their response what does the detective say he said I know I have these pictures with investigators
now working the case Nadia says they confirmed Victoria rented this car with these plates tracked her down and
brought her in for a lie detector test but before the results could come back unbeknownst to the cops Victoria caught
the first flight out of Russia she cannot get away with this with Victoria on the Run Nadia
desperately continued her search for her mother hoping against hope to find her alive I dedicate my life to that I quit
everything and everyone I didn't believe that my mom is not alive but hope turned a heartbreak in
April of 2015 when she got a disturbing phone call charred human remains had been found in a remote area about a
2hour drive from Allah's apartment authorities called Nadia in to make an identification I said no it's not her no
it's it's just remains and then a few minutes later I started looking her teeth and you knew you knew it was your
mother yeah and yeah so I basically recognized my mom by her teeth behind me is the Russian town of
armavir it's about 110 mil from cadar and it's important to this case because it's where Victoria nerova grew up why
is that significant because less than a quar mile from where I'm standing right now is where Allah's body was dumped
the body was here Victoria took everything for me my family my life my mom everything by this time interpole
already had issued an International arrest warrant for Victoria nazarova in Allah's
murder Nadia went home to Brooklyn determined as ever to track down Victoria nazarova on a whim she turned to
Facebook and you'll never guess whose face popped up on the screen Victoria was posting pictures all over Facebook
checking in at this place that place beautiful life she flew to Mexico having a great time yeah from Mexico she flew
to New York Nadia reported all this to us police and immigration officials but they couldn't find Victoria that's when
Nadia started working with private investigator and former New York City detective Herman Weissberg he combed
through Victoria's Facebook profile with an experienced eye for detail I I never
look at what people want me to see on these sites I'm I'm used to looking at everything except for what's supposed to
draw your attention in late at night Weissberg meticulously studied every photograph and made a remarkable
discovery right on Victoria's face this particular picture was the most beneficial she's wearing the Rayband
sunglasses that are mirrored and she took a great picture for us to see the dashboard of the car but more
importantly the stitching on that back headr yeah that's just black leather with a light gray stitching on it I
decided the next morning I was going to be at a big parking lot at a train station he walked row after row of
vehicles peering into Windows hoping to find the make and model that had that stitching and it's a big hub for the
railroad of cars in here yeah probably thousands all over the place so it's real easy to look for the kind of detail
I was looking for then a Chrysler sedan caught his eye so you look inside the car and what do
you see all right it's got the same stitching and show me on your phone there's her mirrored sunglasses the
stitching over here turns out that only a Chrysler 300 had this stitching and dashboard layout now the hard part
finding the specific car Victoria was driving again this was such a wild goose chase at this point but Weissberg saw
that a series of likes on Victoria's Facebook page were clustered around sheep's head Bay a Russian neighborhood
in Brooklyn so you sent some of your investigators to look for one of these Chrysler 300s did they have any luck
well yeah we found a bunch of them then uh the next day I had somebody run the license plates and luckily we found one
that came back to a Russian sounding name Weissberg took our 48 Hours crew into the area he searched and called me
to the scene when he again found the Chrysler 300 at the heart of this investigation this is it yeah this is
the car this is the car yeah take a look inside do you see the stitching yep it's
hard to miss now oh there it is now you see how how unique it is right yeah this
is only an area of 8.5 million people and you found the car it wasn't a needle in a Hy stack you had to find a Hy stack
first and when Weissberg went to the address connected to that car the building looked familiar Weissberg had
seen it before in another one of Victoria's selfies when you look at it and you see that that telephone pole and
the location of that manhole cover and that manhole cover and if you look over there you got the telephone pole and
you've got the two manhole covers this is brilliant Herman through that reflection in her in her glasses
you figure out this is the apartment building where the man who owns that Chrysler 300 lives and with Victoria in
the picture you thinking she might be living with this guy it she looks like she took a selfie there and it it all
starts to make sense amazingly the woman Russian authorities wanted for the murder of Nadia's mother was now living
with her boyfriend in Nadia's own backyard four or five blocks away you got to be kidding me no did you try to
go find her no why cuz I would kill her we got lucky early on and we spotted Victoria and her boyfriend out here the
boyfriend was the owner of the Chrysler 300 and lived in that apartment building that boyfriend told us that he
eventually became one of Victoria's victims himself he says not only did she steal from him but that she killed his
beloved beagle Joey apparently Victoria got very jealous of uh the the dog getting some of the spotlight in their
house and uh decided to poison the Beagle allegedly on the beagle's birthday I'm a dog lover so that stuff
that boy I've seen him on TV and Jo the beagle's demise didn't sit well with Victoria's neighbors either she killed
his dog that [ __ ] killed his dog every time you learn something else about this woman you realize that if she
was left unarrested this could have really ended poorly for Brooklyn but now Weissberg knew the hunt
was finally over he says he called interpole and Homeland Security but but neither one agreed to take action so he
alerted the NYPD and on March 20th 2017 the police made their move the woman who
had once posed as a dominatrix suddenly found herself in handcuffs I just cried I I couldn't
believe that it's actually happened it's a miracle detective Kevin Rogers couldn't
believe it when his phone rang Brooklyn advises us that they had this woman Victoria nazarova in their custody Roger
says the cheesecake case suddenly started making sense Olga had something that Victoria wanted and it wasn't money
and it wasn't handbags he says the instant he started reviewing police evidence photos he saw something that
made it clear exactly what Victoria was after this ID of Olga was found in Victoria's apartment the looked eily
similar to Victoria herself I think she wanted to kill this woman and assume her
identity to back up his theory Rogers knew he would need to prove that Olga's cheesecake had been poisoned when he
sent the container found in Olga's house to a lab they found nothing but when Rogers decided to send it for more
extensive testing he got a hit faaza Pam is a sedative primarily used at the time
in Russia it makes you sleepy yeah sleepy then K then death Rogers learned that fasap Pam is
especially dangerous in a hot environment remember the heater in Olga's room had been left on high and
Victoria's DNA was on the cheesecake box all these pieces of the puzzle they've come together absolutely and so you
think this was a planned murder absolutely Victoria was charged with attempted murder for the attack on Olga
assault and Grand lony before trial she agreed to sit down with us at New York's
Riker's Island jail Victoria nazarov yes what do you make of Herman Weber's investigation to see more go to 48
hours.com [Music] we'd heard cruel and colorful stories about Victoria nazarova for months so in
2017 when we interviewed her in jail as authorities investigated her for attempted murder in Olga's case Victoria
nazarova yes Peter vanent please have a seat thank you we weren't sure what to expect
don't you look at this yeah this is Allah yes she insisted she had nothing to do with The Disappearance of Nadia's
mother Allah Victoria did you kill Allah no you did not no there's a woman named
Olga who looks a lot like you who claims that you tried to kill her by giving her
a piece of poisoned cheesecake cake you wanted her dead so you could steal her identity Victoria delivered her answer
using the careful language of someone with a lot to lose I know whom you mean I know this
young woman I can tell you that um I did not force her to eat it you're telling me all of these accusations
against you all of that is false no I admit doing a part of it but I will only talk about it at the
trial Victoria nazarova would be in custody for nearly 6 years as the pandemic caused delays all right can we
bring the defendant out before she stood trial for the poisoning of Olga [ __ ] when the case went to court in
January of 2023 the trial of a woman accused of poisoning her look alike with cheesecake the media were watching
there are elements of this case that you won't find anywhere else the buan the cheesecake in all the evidence you have
what is the most important in your opinion we're looking at it right here it's this container the cheesecake box
from Olga's garbage still has crumbs left inside outlandish as it is assistant district attorney Dino Loris
tells jurors in opening statements this is not a joke it's not just a story they should
see it as a potential murder weapon this defendant intended to kill this woman and steal her identity he calls Olga
first to highlight the human consequences and she's going to explain to you everything that happened to her
everything that she can remember of course she was poisoned with something that impacted her memory cameras were
not allowed to record witness testimony Olga makes it clear that talking about the details of her ordeal is still like
reliving a bad dream and testifying in front of her alleged attacker traumatizes her all the more was she
looking at you oh yeah she looked at me what did you see on her face in her eyes you know she's
smiling she was smiling she was smirking the state also calls Nadia Ford I was trying to get her look look at me look
at the person who mother you killed look look into my eyes remember them for the
rest of your life the judge has strictly limited prosecutors from going into specifics about the murder charges
facing Victoria in Russia so they're hoping Nadia can finesse the details and still get the point across I'll tell you
it was a risky strategy what has she told them that you think helps your case what she told the jury is that something
serious happened in Russia it's one thing for me to say the crime was serious and it's another thing for a
witness to come in and show with her body language with her eyes with her overall demeanor that this was an
incredibly serious crime that Victoria nerova was wanted for I was staring at her I just want her to look at me she
she didn't look at me once it was almost certain in the beginning of the trial that Victoria was
going to testify and I know that she likes to talk as it turned out Victoria declined to
testify and answer questions but something she did say made it into the trial something she said to me in a part
of her 48 Hours interview published online it's in evidence Peter VanZant asked this woman in English there is a
woman named Olga there's a woman named Olga who claims that you tried to kill her by giving her a piece of poison
cheesecake Loris has someone read Victoria's answer into the record I know whom you mean I know this
young woman I can tell you that I did not force her to eat it I did not force her to eat it for me
as an individual she's guilty with that statement where in that answer does she say I didn't poison
anybody miss nazarova is not guilty of these chares but defense attorney Christopher Hoy
doesn't call a single witness to help him prove it instead he argues the spectacle of this case obscures the
specifics details that amount to reasonable doubt there's no direct evidence of anyone seeing Victoria
nazarova putting fanza Pam and she's Kake he reminds the jury Olga's doctors didn't find anything unusual in her
system and he says there was nothing particularly unusual about Victoria's life in New York either she's been just
living in the US using her normal name that's just the point says the prosecutor Victoria's US Visa was set to
expire she was scared of facing charges in Russia and needed a new identity to help her hide there's only two
categories of people that need need someone else's ID you have college kids under the age of 21 who want to borrow
their Buddy's ID to go drink and then on the other hand you have international fugitives who need someone's ID as a
Lifeline to stay in this country and not go back to Russia this is not a case about what
happened in Russia and the defense insists that even if Victoria poisoned the cheesecake it's not enough to prove
she wanted old good dead I submit to you that they have not proven that intent this case has more than you need to
conclude Beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is guilty but will the jury
agree as they file back in what are you seeing on their faces [Music] [Music] when this jury goes off to deliberate
what's going through your mind what's going through my mind is that they understand the Diabolical calculation
that occurred for this crime Queen's district attorney Melinda Katz says Victoria nazarova is a lot smarter and
more committed than the average criminal defendant it takes patience and it takes
planning but it takes the jury in her trial only an hour and a half to reach a verdict how say us to
count number one of the indictment charging the defendant Victoria nerova with attempted murder in the second
degree guilty or not guilty guilty guilty of attempted murder in the second degree were there tears
[Music] yeah at sentencing Olga tells the court her suffering went on long after
Victoria's attack she costus me to lose trust in people I have difficulty trust people
and I cannot know for sure what their true intentions are I'm grateful that this person will
be punished for what she did to me the maximum punishment she can stand up is 25 years in prison you are an extremely
dangerous woman I sentenced you to 21 years in jail judge Kenneth holder decides a 21-year sentence is enough
with credit for time served Victoria may be out in 15 even so she has some Choice
words for the court as she is l way barely audible under her mask she's a narcissistic homicidal
maniac that's what narcissistic homicidal Maniacs say when they something everything goes bad for them
Victoria's time Behind Bars has already been rough in 2018 at Riker's Island in New York she was assaulted by fellow
inmates and suffered multiple injuries to her face and when she's done serving her
time in America Victoria faces deportation and murder charges back in Russia I know there's great satisfaction
for you that Victoria is finally going to prison but it's not for what she did to your
mom is that still an emptiness inside for you I I feel better at least I know now that for next 15 years she's not
going to hurt anyone two of the people Victoria had has hurt most have resolved to draw strength from each other since
tragedy unexpectedly brought them together Nadia and Olga have become the best of friends when we met I feel like
I knew Nadia all my life she's very kind very nice openhearted like you know kind
of remind me of my mom n she's went through hell they seem to know it takes one victim of Victoria nazarova to
truly understand another do you think the two of you will be friends for life I think yes
[Music] a beautiful heart a gentle gentle Spirit a woman found dying from a gunshot wound
crime scene evidence that doesn't add up there's definitely Mysteries involved in
this case then prosecutors take a creative approach a psychological autopsy 48 hours Saturday on CBS and
streaming on Paramount Plus [Music] my name is Carol Dodge and I am the mother of Angie
Dodge who was brutally murdered in June of 1996 and for 23 years I've traveled every road there is turned every stone
there is to find Justice for my [Music] daughter as the officers arrived at the crime scene and found Angie Dodge laying
on the ground and it was obvious that there was a very brutal murder that had happened a lot of blood during the
investigation we came across a significant amount of DNA that we believe is from the
killer would you say that this crime scene provided really good evidence excellent
evidence for nearly two decades police could not find a match to the Killer's DNA so in 2014 they went way outside the
box and searched a public DNA database owned by ancestry.com it led us to this Michael
lre Jr who just happened to be a filmmaker films of homicide um kind of a murder mystery filmmaker then he cuts
off her head my name is Michael ushery uh I'm a filmmaker and was a suspect in the Angie
Dodge case murder abilia it was then I knew it was a girl and she was young got me the reputation of being a
person who is really in to murder and things like that and I shoved her body over in the
shower and just kept stabbing her it was pretty creepy we had uh Louisiana State
Police call him he had agreed to come down to the estate offices there in New Orleans the majority of the time that I
was in the interrogation room I just didn't know what they were talking about they finally had to look at me and
go no we think that you Michael ushery you know we think that you're involved in this murder
case my whole purpose is to find uh who killed Angie Dodge the ability to kill is obviously
somewhere in all of us because it happens every day [Music] [Music] grief has no time limit I just can't I
can't let go I can't let go of her Carol Dodge lost her daughter Angie when she was just a teenager she was
just discovering who she truly was and wanting Independence she says just let me grow
up let me make my own mistakes so you know you don't need to watch me you know you don't need to be my
shadow it was the summer of 1996 in Idaho Falls Idaho a mostly Mormon Community where neighbors knew each
other by name and doors were rarely locked says former chief of police Mark McBride but it was very really very
quiet peaceful Town overall just 3 weeks before her death 18-year-old Angie got her own apartment in this house I saw
her the night that she was killed she said it's so hard growing up and she laid her head on my shoulder and we just
kind of rock back and forth and I'm so grateful for that moment extremely grateful
that my last words were that I love her the next morning Angie didn't show up for work at a local beauty supply
store now we got a phone call on 911 Center about 11:00 in the morning and one of her friends at were
came to check on her and the door was unlocked she went in and she found a body laying there on the floor in a very
bloody crime scene there were no signs of forced entry but there were signs of a struggle you think she fought for her
life yes I do Angie was stabbed and cut 14 times and left half naked the killer ejaculated on her leaving behind what
DNA expert Greg hampikian calls a pristine profile it's a single profile uh complete identification one man to
the exclusion of everyone on the planet police began collecting the DNA of doz of local men and spent months
interviewing everyone Angie knew including this young man Christoper tap although his DNA didn't match and tap
denied any involvement after more than 28 hours of interrogation over 23 days tap confessed to participating in
Angie's murder you were there correct correct did you know Christopher tap no didn't
know had no clue tap told police that the night of Angie's death he and two friends stopped
by her apartment during an argument tap claimed one of his friends started stabbing Angie while he held her down
you hold her down okay while she's being cut you're holding her down while she's
[Music] being but when tap went before a judge he pled not guilty of raping and murdering Angie Dodge I said you Beast
you horrible Beast how could he do this to my daughter defense argued tap's DNA didn't match the killers but on May 28th
1998 it took a jury approximately 13 hours to reach a verdict [Music] guilty nearly 2 years after Angie Dodge
was murder murdered Chris tap faced his punishment with Carol Dodge glaring at him you are guilty of the crimes of
Murder in the first degree and rape his sentence 30 years to life but the murder
of Angie Dodge was still an open case Chris tap did not match the DNA and he wouldn't tell police who
did I just couldn't understand why he would go to prison and take a life sentence and not give the other person
up tap did give authorities several names including someone named Mike how sure are you that he's first name is
Mike I'm dead said positive but police could never make a DNA match so the case went cold but not for Carol Dodge I
never stop looking for the actual person who matches the DNA by 2009 the Killer's DNA had been
entered into the national criminal database known as codus but there was still no match so Carol called
well-known DNA expert Greg hampikian I had this message they don't know who killed my my daughter by then there had
been many advances in DNA technology and so with hampikian help Carol Dodge pushed authorities to use a new
controversial search process called familial DNA it looks for anyone who may be related to Angie's killer which means
going into that database in Idaho of the convicted offenders and looking for a family member that might match this DNA
[Music] partially Idaho doesn't allow familial searches in their criminal database so
hemp pinkan made an even more controversial suggestion a familial search through public
databases I'm the one that went to the idol Falls Police Department and the prosecution saying we need to do this
imagine your one of millions of Americans to open up a kit like this spit into a test tube like this and then
send your DNA off to a commercial database well now that database owns your DNA profile and you may not realize
it but police may be able to access it we're interested in solving a crime and we're going to use any Technique we
can that we can legally use in the summer of 2014 detective surged a public DNA database owned by
ancestry.com they got a hit I was told they got 34 out of 35 markers I believe is that good yeah that's that's a good
investigative lead it was a close enough match to make detective Patrick McKenna
think they had found a relative of Angie's killer so police got a warrant for Ancestry.com to reveal his identity
it was a man named Michael usri senior we know it's not that individual or we would have had 35 out of 35 on
that so that's when we started doing research into the family that led investigators to supect Us's
son Michael usri Jr detective McKenna wondered if this could be the mic that Chris tap once
named and then we started researching him and the films that he was making was a little eery to uh try to think that
that could possibly be a solid suspect in the case [Music] [Music] I have to ask you this question yes do
you have a particular interest in Murder I I don't have a particular interest in Murder um it sure seems like
it based on your film I know it does but I I really have quite an aversion to it
but authorities investigating the brutal murder of Angie Dodge weren't so sure precisely at 2:00 three uh
gentleman came to my door in December of 2014 more than 18 years after Angie's murder Michael usri Jr was living in New
Orleans when two detectives from Idaho Falls and a Louisiana State Police Officer brought us to a state police
office near the New Orleans super doome and started grilling him they said so what about your travels
to Idaho have you ever been to Idaho and um I had in fact actually went up there with some friends for just one
night he was 19 years old back then and he and his friends drove to Rexburg Idaho passing right through Idaho Falls
well they were really interested in that a little surprised that we were were able to actually Place him in Idaho
Falls it was a big red flag for detective Patrick McKenna it's kind of weird but I just really didn't didn't
get it then one of the officers pulled out a warrant and swabbed his cheek for DNA at that point I went hey what what's
going on here you guys should I get a lawyer once they had his DNA they drove Michael usri home without any
explanation I just basically stood on my sidewalk in a days it was a call to a close friend that finally shed some
light and uh he said well what's the case what what is this and I go well they wouldn't tell me anything except
that it was a high-profile murder case in Idaho Falls so he gets on the computer and within 20 seconds he's like
oh yeah this is the case right here it's some girl named Angie Dodge the filmmaker whose movie featured
a convict describing how he stabbed a woman to death watched her inside spill out all over the floor was now suspected
of doing just that to Angie Dodge I mean it was very much a case of an Overkill they stabbed her and cut her and it was
just a a Butchery people were like wow what does this imply you know for your career what
is for your life life for your family for your family's name usri remembers being terrified spending days hold up at
home worried what police would do next pretty sure that they were tapping my phone
calls uh possibly staking me out certainly checking my computer searches but usri knew he hadn't killed
anyone and he wanted answers a local newspaper reporter showed him a copy of the warrant invest instigators used to
obtain his DNA and right there the answer to the question why him dated back about 17 years and I went wow this
is because of my dad the filmmaker's father Michael estri senior participated in a genealogy project at his local
church a sample of his DNA went to that public data base which was later purchased by
ancestry.com and that's where police came across it there are 34 out of 35 LLS that match it seems shocking to me
34 out of 35 DNA markers sounds like a stunningly close match to Angie Dodge's killer but the reasons police honed in
on him instead of any of his other relatives are detailed in the warrant I told you was Mike is the first
name okay remember Chris tap told police police a guy named Mike was involved in
the murder police took to Facebook and found his profile Bingo Facebook showed asri had friends living in the Idaho
Falls area and then there's 's films and then bludgeons her to death with this very
Hammer the more usri read the more Furious he grew that anyone would think he was a killer but even more troubling
was the idea that Angie dodges killer might be someone in his family just knowing that somebody in my
family would possibly do something like that is disturbing I mean to say the least you know
[Music] [Music] Michael usri worried every day he knew that Idaho Falls Police suspected him of
murdering Angie Dodge and the uncertainty of what would happen next kept him up at night until January 13th
2015 more than a month later they sent me an email and it says Michael ushery Jr we just wanted to let you know that
your DNA did not match our crime scene DNA something you already knew in an email from police Michael lri was
officially cleared of the murder of Angie Dodge but he was still thoroughly traumatized you were angry at
ancestry I was angry at everybody the police scientists you know these database companies you know how could
they misfire so bad 48 Hours asked ancestry.com about Us's experience in a statement they said they will not share
any information with law enforcement unless compelled to by a court order or search warrant usry's case they say was
unique and the only time they have received a formal legal request for DNA related
information after what happened to usri ancestry.com told us they took action the public database used by authorities
was made private and can no longer be accessed by the public or police can't control fate and what happens to you so
I just figured that this was there was a reason for this uh happening Michael usri decided he wanted to try and
prevent it from happening to anyone else by making a documentary about his experience he was shocked when Angie
Dodge's mother was willing to talk what he didn't realize is that Carol Dodge had an agenda of her own she's fairly
certain that a killer is in my bloodline I remember Mike and I sitting down and I
says okay Mike here's a piece of paper now I want you to write down from your great-grandfather to your grandfather to
your dad and he did me a genealogy sheet my grandfather he had six other brothers
Carol just wonders hey maybe it's somebody you don't even know maybe it's an illegitimate son of one of your papy's
brothers despite all that Carol Dodge and Michael usri have forged a rather odd close Bond
you're a really special person you are too Carol and after hearing Carol and Angie's Story the focus of Us's
documentary changed dramatically to Carol Dodge's search for her daughter's killer he immersed himself in the case
starting with the man who had confessed Chris tap I times to be stab before you let go that first time usri quickly
learned that Chris tap was now claiming his confession was forced and the Idaho Innocence Project headed by that DNA
expert Greg hampikian was now working to set tap free based on the DNA is there any way that Chris could have been in
that room no not based on the DNA the more Carol Dodge learned about DNA the more she questioned questioned Chris's
confession that he held Angie down while she was being stabbed it wasn't until I
started studying science that I said it's impossible how could Chris admit in doing what he said he did and there be
no physical evidence but it wasn't just the science that bothered Carol Dodge she believed Chris tap's confession was
coerced by the detectives who interrogated him I mean come on man I mean you're the Heat of the Moment she's
putting up the fight do you know you're caught you're right there in the middle I watch it right and it's so frustrating
this was Chris tap when we first met at 40 years old he'd been inmate number 56265 for 20 years you look at that
20-year-old kid you know and you realize God I was just an idiot think hard about
it I know it's I know it's there you know says his confession was a lie a story fed to him by police and then
forced back out of him on tape you can see them specifically pointing out facts to me or or giving little inuendos there
should be the stairs going up okay so you went up these stairs or hints of how the murder went down well it's a porch
that goes outside it all started because Chris tap's friend a man named Ben who also
knew Angie was arrested in Eli Nevada for assaulting a woman at knife point to investigators the crime seemed
similar to the attack on Angie so while Ben was in custody in Nevada investigators brought chrisen for
questioning emphatically I said I had nothing to do with it I don't know what you're talking about I'm going no way
but instead of leaving it at that tap then just 20 years old operated I felt like trust him they're not going to do
anything wrong he doesn't know they can lie to him and most innocent people have
no idea that the interrogators can lie to you first tap was told there was irrefutable evidence that his friend Ben
killed Angie and that tap was there when it happened pretty sure we're we know what
happened and who did what how when where and why tap kept denying all knowledge of the crime did you or scream or
anything like that I wasn't there but detectives persisted and even though he had a lawyer tap kept talking and so
when they offered you a polygraph seemed like a good idea yeah seemed like a great idea I had nothing
to hide no no reason not to do it but tap was told he was being deceptive and detectives promised him
full immunity no jail time in exchange for the truth as long as he hadn't participated in the actual
murder that's when tap says he started telling police what he thought they wanted to hear now are you sure Ben's
there yes you positive yeah yes okay tap told detectives he was there when Ben killed atie Dodge God he told him no
don't do it don't do it yeah okay so did did he have the knife [Music] then yeah but just hours later
detectives learned that Ben did not match the Killer's DNA A desperate Chris tap started changing his story blaming
several other friends for the murder I continue to lie I continue to give them story after story and it they should
have just stopped but they didn't but Chris why didn't you stop I didn't think I could when none of the men he named
match the DNA tap says police still refus to let up after 23 days and seven interrogations Chris tap confessed to
participating in Angie's murder and authorities voided his immunity agreement you're holding her down okay
while she's being cut you're holding her down while she's been cut that's what was the end of it all
that's what brought me to prison authorities have repeatedly dismissed tap's claims of a forc
confession until an astonishing Discovery would change the game you're fine never before seen videotapes of
seven polygraph exams administered to Chris tap tapes that convinced even Carol Dodge that Chris tap is innocent
Chris tap basically just got railroaded Carol Dodge took on a new mission to free the Man convicted of her
daughter's murder and find the killer who left his DNA even if it turned out to be a member of Michael 's family
[Music] [Music] you always got to have a little faith got to have a little hope I haven't
accepted this as my an I can't imagine spending one day in prison let alone 20 plus years Mike heee
is a retired Superior Court Judge who believes so strongly that Chris tap is innocent he's spent the last four years
trying to prove it when you look at the interrogation videos he knows nothing so Chris tap Ben he struggles let it out
for details let it out you're there why cuz he wasn't there hee runs a wrongful conviction project called judges for
justice and took on tap's case after watching the interrogation tapes I wasn't scared I wasn't even down
the stairs I wasn't nowhere around judge hee became convinced that Chris tap had been coerced to changing
his story an astounding six times and knew that something was missing I was concerned he went from one day saying I
wasn't there and the next day you're standing above her like this like her head's right here yeah I'm at the crime
scene and I stabbed her I couldn't see how he made that jump so I went back to look at the polygraph and my jaw just
dropped help to say that I'm nervous in between Chris's nine interrogations detectives said administered seven
polygraph exams all of them were recorded but no one had ever bothered to look at the tapes because polygraphs are
inadmissible in court and the sound is barely audible your polygraphs are typically used to
assess The credibility of the witness when they're done honestly and how was the polygraph used in this case this
case was used to trick Chris tap into giving false testimony our poly experts says it was used like a psychological
rubber hose to get him to implicate himself in the murder of Angie Dodge judge heee says that detectives in
the case broke the rules in the polygraph room and thought no one would ever notice United States Supreme Court
has held that it's improper to threaten you can't threaten because it leads to false confessions they threaten him with
the gas chamber being accessory to murder and being a conspir to murder know accessory that's being charged with just
like the person do they get person they figured no one's going to look at the polygraphs so it'll be
hidden no one will ever see it hee says Chris tap was brainwashed I'm scared you're scared the reason why is cu you
subconsciously remember Chris tap eventually comes to believe that the polygraph is an all- knowing scientific
instrument that can read his subconscious and is telling the machine that he was at the
crime I wouldn't say this [ __ ] you [Music] trapped Chris finally says yes I stabbed
her because Ben threatened me and then Chris said did I do it the police officer walks over says give me your
hand like he passed the PO and that gets Chris tap 30 Years to Life charged with the death penalty ugly
stuff do you remember that moment yeah scared scared that's pretty much the day my life ended but tap never told anyone
about what happened during those polygraph exams I didn't know what they did in the polygraph tapes was wrong I
didn't know if I would have known these things 20 years 15 10 years ago then maybe we wouldn't be here today Idaho
Falls Police deny any wrongdoing and I don't remember seen in their interrogations or polygraph exams do you
think the polygraph was used as a coercive tool I don't know that was the intent I
think the intent is find out the truth over the years the courts have upheld tap's confession as valid and admissible
and not the product of coercive police conduct I don't think they were trying to cause harm it wasn't any malicious
intent I don't think it's hard for me to wrap my head around what the police are
thinking John Thomas is Chris tap's appellate attorney it's okay you made a mistake just say hey I made a mistake we
got the wrong guy let's all rally around and let's get the right guy Mike heee was hoping that the newly
discovered polygraph tapes would be enough for a judge to Grant Chris tap a new trial those polygraph videos now new
evidence they're the wedge to get Chris in front of a judge to see the coercion that went
on I hope he walks out a free man it's not often you hear the mother of a victim say that about the only man
serving time for her daughter's murder [Music] true it was March 2017 and Chris tap was
just two weeks away from two hearings that his lawyer John Thomas hope would set him free we have too much evidence
showing that Chris tab wasn't there have you ever found DNA that matched Chris tap at the scene no but police
chief Mark McBride maintained that given tap's confession the absence of his DNA
at the crime scene proved nothing then in a stunning turn of events the District Attorney's Office wanted to
make a deal tap's murder conviction would stand but the rape conviction would go
away and there would be no Pro probation Chris tap would just take his lumps on his 20 years and and walk walk
a free man Victory tap took the deal that was in 2017 2 years later I've got a full-time job I'm
married I've actually become that productive member of society that I truly thought I could become meanwhile
Carol Dodge never stopped hunting for Angie's kid killer I've done a lot of research on technology and I was bound
determined when I was going to solve my daughter's [Music] case not long after Chris's release
Carol got some help new police chief Bryce Johnson says he already had his sights set on Angie's case I talked to
all the detectives and I kind of told him let's not worry about what's been done over the past 23 years we have one
Mission it's to find out who left left this DNA sampled it wasn't easy but 2 years later
there was news today we are here to share developments in the homicide investigation of Angie Dodge on May 16th
2019 thank you and thank you for being here Chief Johnson told the world they had finally found and arrested the man
who matched the DNA Carol inspired us all to try harder and to do better the thing about Carol is she knew more about
DNA than I knew about DNA what Carol knew is that this woman good afternoon CC Mo and a company called parabon
nanolabs had been making huge strides in solving cold cases using genealogy and public
databases this is our 56th case this year at parabon using genetic genealogy to identify unknown suspects and victims
Moore and parabon were able to generate an even more complete DNA profile vangie's killer than ever
before that profile could now be uploaded to a large public DNA database called Jed match a free website that
allows people to upload their own DNA Profiles In Search of relatives in return if users opt in their data can be
accessed by law enforcement when we upload that data we get a list of people that share significant amounts of DNA
with the unknown suspect Moore found a family tree that she was confident contained a killer and it was
Michael Us's family tree he apparently was a split off of the usri family from something like over
a hundred years ago so we're talking about right family tree but the branch is way off on the other side way off
yeah did you know anything about this sort of offshoot of your family no totally
not now detective Sage Albright and Captain Bill Squires were laser focused on the men in this way off branch of
Us's family tree it had been Whitted down to a list of persons that I think was around 10 or 11 people that we were
able to reduce down further just because they weren't in Idaho at the time or they were 3 years old at the time left
with six possible suspects Detectives had to secretly collect their DNA following them around for days waiting
for discarded cigarette butts soda cans or plastic straws one guy was a tobacco chewer the detectives came out kind of
scooped that up we sent it off the lab came back negative it wasn't the person we're looking for then they started
running out of men and a fear set in the thing we were concerned about is there a
child out there that nobody knows about right does someone have a baby and it's not in the genealogy record they were
right and this obituary miraculously LED CC Moore to a missing Usery this woman Helen Darnell had a daughter who was
once married to an usri after their divorce a son was born under a different last name Brian
drips when we looked at that name uh we realized we had talked to him in the first days of the investigation he lived
across the street from Angie I literally said you got to be kidding Brian drips he was right across
the street that it took me 23 years when they had it in the first 25 pages of the
investigation the police report indicates that the day of Angie's murder a young police officer who was canvasing
the neighborhood had briefly questioned a then 31-year-old Brian drips everyone in that neighborhood got got a knock on
the door drips denied any knowledge of the crime and police never asked for his DNA about 7 weeks after the murder drips
left Idaho Falls he was living in Idaho about 300 mil away when a cigarette butt
linked his DNA to the crime and detectives picked him up for questioning it was obviously he was nervous he he
put on a pretty good game game face but his his hand started to shake for several hours drips denied any
involvement in Angie's death and then when we told him we have your DNA at the crime scene uh he there was there was a
noticeable change in his demeanor and eventually he he told us that he had been involved detective Albright says
trips also reported that he acted alone that meant Chris tap could not have been there to months after drips
was arrested tap was back in court there's clear convincing evidence the defendant was convicted of a crime for
which he not connect this time to be fully [Music] exonerated this case is the world's
first exoneration by way of genealogical DNA testing I'm extremely happy for him I
hope that he could piece together his life again but usri says he still has doubts about the use
of genealogy kind of a scary thing to me to think about what this world is going
to be like um if all of our genetic codes are in a computer database once it's in a computer uh that's almost like
more permanent than carving something in stone nowadays but I think that we really really need to be uh cautious and
and and take a step back and look at this technology Carol Dodge disagrees without technology without genealogy
research uh we would have never found Angie's killer it is the key that opens the door to Justice
[Music] [Music]

“48 Hours" reports on cases that took us into prison. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "Unraveling the Case Against Melissa Calusinski," "The Case of the Poison Cheesecake" and "The Twisted Case of Angie Dodge."

00:00 Unraveling the Case Against Melissa Calusinski 42:01 The Case of the Poison Cheesecake 1:22:52 The Twisted Case of Angie Dodge

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

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

Melissa Kazinski fights wrongful conviction for toddler's death, claiming innocence amid evidence manipulation and a coerced confession.

Key points

Melissa Kazinski's Fight for Innocence. After serving 16 years for a crime she insists she didn't commit, Melissa fights for her freedom.
New Evidence Emerges. In 2015, new X-rays are discovered that challenge the basis of Melissa's conviction.
Melissa's Confession Under Scrutiny. Experts question the validity of Melissa's confession, citing her psychological state and interrogation tactics.
Daycare Incident Raises Questions. Reports of a prior injury to Ben at daycare lead to further investigation into his death.
Investigation into Victoria Nazarova. Private investigator Kevin Rogers uncovers a dangerous pattern of behavior from Victoria Nazarova.
Nadia's Desperate Search. Nadia Ford embarks on a relentless quest to find her missing mother, Allah.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is not where I belong.

Melissa Kazinski's declaration of innocence after years in prison.

5:00WatchFeb 22, 2025

Tension

70/ 100High tension

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.