The Daughters Who Disappeared | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] serial killers can be very difficult to predict they're constantly thinking
about hunting for human beings police reported another grandm find to hurt and to kill her car was later found
abandoned on I45 the highways are a particularly good effective hunting ground once you commit your murder
you're good to hit the road again the 12-year-old disappeared April 3rd while jogging near her
home she's a beautiful child how soon did you really know that something awful had happened when we
first went out to search and we didn't find her when there was absolutely no sign of her we knew then that something
terrible had happened Kelly Cox locked her keys in her car after taking a college field
trip to the Denton Police Department she was last seen making a call from a pay phone not knowing where your daughter
was how do you describe that there's really not a way to describe it I had nightmares for years that she was being
hurt or harmed every day the pain does not go away Tiffany Johnston went missing from
a Bethany Car Wash Tiffany was abducted in broad daylight she just vanished Tiffany was my baby daughter my shadow
anywhere I was at Tiffany was with [Music] me been a week since Jessica Kane disappeared her car was found abandoned
on I45 she would not go somewhere without calling and that's why we know something's wrong we got to find her
childhood friends came together to hold a vigil praying she would be found until
she's found and someone proves that she's not alive she is alive to us and we're still
searching could it happen again was it going to happen again William Reese was on the top of the list very early on
Reese is the primary suspect in the kidnapping of Laura Smither I think most investigators felt
like he was responsible for multiple girls but you couldn't couldn't get him on it no the case went on for number of
years and no one ever forgot the pain from [Music] 97 he had to cooperate or those girls
were gone forever today's March 1st 2016 if you're comfortable with it I would like to go
through these four different incidents occurred are you okay with that yes these offenders they love to brag about
themselves and I took this throw blacket I had and I laid it on top of her so it
becomes something that's fun for them a little bit of a cat and mouse game Stu you're saying I don't remember that they
are pathological liars and then you immediately buried her after that yes sir they lie about things they don't
even have to lie about you can't necessarily trust what he says you have to verify this is the area that he
brought you to but I mean you were looking and you weren't finding her right some folks thinking that maybe the
information was not accurate I have no reason to lie to you guys and that he was playing us certainly we were hoping
it was going to be a little bit faster uh than it was but you can see that truly confirms a needle in a hay
[Music] stack [Music] [Music] there was a very scary killer who was going up and down I45 that is correct
killing young women that is correct Interstate 45 runs through the swamps and the derel oil fields between
galvaston and Houston the highway marks a trail of unsolved murders that stretches back for
decades and friends with Texas Deputy Chief of Police Josh Rogers says 1997 was a particularly deadly year we
were living in such a false sense of security it was quite a shock to the system when we got educated and you got
educated the hard way the worst way absolutely the worst way on April 3rd 199 97 gay smi's 12-year-old daughter
Laura an aspiring ballerina went out for a run and never returned as days passed
thousands of volunteers on foot and on Horseback combed the swamps and fields around their home in Friendswood keep
your eyes open this is what we're looking for the US Marines even flew in to help we just wanted to say thank you
to everybody we are going to find her what does this say your t-shir this says pray fora I was also there in 1997 with
the family gay Bob and Laura's younger brother David are you surprised by the outpouring of concern Sympathy uplifted
by it it's just the only thing that's getting us from one day to the next the beginning of the ballerina exactly yeah
I was taking in her backyard at the other the house there's no doubt she's coming home I went into denial
immediately I I would not accept any other scenario other than that somebody had taken her we the strength to endure
if I prayed hard enough she'd be released to come home to us that's how I coped then came the devastating news 17
days later when Laura's decomposing body was found in a retention Pond 12 miles from her home by a father and son
walking their dogs we thought it was you know like a dead animal in the water or
something like that son Jason he says no said animals don't have socks I screamed into the phone that's
not Laura that's not Laura that's I couldn't accept it I can still hear my screams in my
nightmares and then of course we had to tell David for something things there are no words how old was David at the
time nine he not only lost his sister in a way he lost his parents we were physically there
but we were emotionally absent part of us was gone part of us was ripped out after weeks in the water Laura's
exact cause of death could not be determined investigators also couldn't be sure if she had been sexually
assaulted in spite of the unknowns a suspect emerged pretty quickly a man named William ree it was the third day
that Laura was missing that he was on the the police radar that quickly yes the third day and why because he was a a
sex offender ree had been released 6 months before Laura's murder after spending 10 years in prison for two
rapes in his native Oklahoma he was now working in Friendswood Texas he was building a residential subdivision and
was a bulldozer operator and on the day Laura went missing because of rain police Learned reys was let off work at
9: am which would have taken him right in the direct path of Laura Smither investigators searched Reese's truck and
found fibers from replacement floor mats that were consistent with Trace fibers found on Laura's socks these weren't
Factory floor mats these weren't common fibers while police continued to investigate Laura's case Reese remained
free and was traveling back and forth between Houston where he worked and Oklahoma where his mother lived then in
July of 1997 in Denton Texas a university town along the stretch of Interstate connecting them 20-year-old
Kelly Cox disappeared to describe it it's like martians picked her up she just vanished Kelly's mother Jan bam
says Kelly had gotten locked out of her car after a class trip to the Denton police station she had gone to a nearby
gas station parking lot to use a pay phone very busy area with police officers everywhere Jan knew something
was wrong when Kelly failed to pick up her then toddler Alexis from daycare that afternoon she would never have left
her daughter she was only 19 when Alexis was born she took such responsibility and she embraced being a
mom m oh my gosh she embraced it and I know she absolutely adored this one over here in addition to raising
Alexis now 27 years old Kelly was taking a full load of courses at UNT the University of North Texas in Denton she
was maintaining straight A in college all a on her f a week after having yeah week after she had Alexa she took her
final exams and pulled all eyes on the I mean she was very very driven Alexa says
she remembers little about her mother except the anguish of her being gone I remember looking for her you do looking
underneath the bed mhm I remember looking all around the house look in closets she would look under the bed and
say Mommy Mommy the days of searching turned into weeks than then months we can get this SP out there Jam
was on local TV pleading for help finding her daughter I don't want it on a back burner I want her face out there
but unlike Laura Smither Kelly was a young woman not a child and as the case dragged on Jan says she didn't feel that
finding Kelly remained a priority for police Jan still remembers a conversation she had with one member of
the department 3 months after Kelly went missing and he said you should just consider yourself lucky we're even
working on this case most police departments would have just turned her picture in to the missing person's
Clearing House and been done with it that was heartbreaking Jim was certain that someone had abducted Kelly but was
at a loss police had no body and no strong leads and the case soon grew cold I don't don't think did I ever
completely not think when the phone would ring that maybe it was something about Kelly just 11 days after Kelly
went missing up in Oklahoma and not far from William Reese's Hometown another young woman was about to
vanish She'll always be my baby She'll always be a granddaughter and she'll be a
wife Kathy Do's daughter Tiffany Johnson 19 years old and newly married was just
starting to build her [Music] life on July 26th 1997 she V vanish from this Bethany Oklahoma car wash leaving
her car behind her car mats were hanging on the car wash rack her money her paycheck everything was in her
car the next day Tiffany's partially clothed body was found in tall grass here just off the interstate 15 mies
West of that car wash she had been strangled and sexually assaulted she had rope Burns around her
wrist she had black and blue places on her face no one at the car wash reported seeing anything out of the ordinary so
whoever took her had to be pretty calculating and thinking about the surroundings oh yeah and Tiffany would
fight a few days after Tiffany's murder Kathy says she got a phone call from a man she knew from her town of anad Darko
William ree he called to tell me he was sorry that he had heard Tiffany had gotten killed and how did he sound when
he called you sincere all he said was I'm sorry to hear about your daughter how did you first meet William
Reese I met him at the restaurant Kathy was a waitress in town and knew Reese's mother and when reys
was released from in prison in 1996 and came home Kathy had given him a ride to get a new driver's
license did you know what he had spent time in prison for no they acted like it was no big deal and would you have even
guessed that he had been convicted of violent crimes toward women oh heavens no it never occurred to Kathy that reys
could have anything to do with Tiffany's murder I couldn't see someone that I knew that would kill Tiffany because
they knew how much she meant to me as for investigators they found the Killer's DNA on Tiffany's body but they
weren't able to develop a profile at some point Kathy did you give up thinking they're just never going to
find the person who killed my daughter I never gave up because I made a promise to
Tiffany when I buried her that I would not give up until we found who did it why was it so important to find who
killed her cuz I didn't want him killing someone else's child if you have my daughter I pray
that you would return her we want her back home just 3 weeks after Tiffany's murder back in Lamar Texas it happened
again we're not going to let her go Jessica Cain was about to graduate high school the 17-year-old was last seen
leaving a Clear Lake Area restaurant on August 17th 1997 when she didn't come home by curfew Jessica's father CH Kane
went out looking for her I had been to all the places where I thought she might be and I was on my way
home it's actually just about 3 or 4 miles from the house on the side of the road he spotted her truck on the
shoulder of I45 but Jessica was gone and there was no side him struggle once again search parties
combed the area for yet another missing girl more than a 100 volunteers searched
on foot along the marshes and through the brush tracking dogs were called in to help we were the most broken people
at that point gay and Bob Smither still reeling from the loss of their daughter Laura Just 4 months earlier felt
compelled to join the serve we didn't hesitate we went immediately the search for Jessica kanaine widened
today across the Salt Grass and scrub that surrounds the marshes in this the search went on for weeks but there was
no sign of Jessica and no clue who had taken her we wondered could it be the same person who took Laura from us you
know we just didn't know as gay wondered about William Reese and his involvement
a story emerged about another case where the victim survived everything happened so
fast back in May of 1997 3 months before Jessica Caine disappeared a 19-year-old
mother Sandra seot stopped at a convenience store off of I45 in Webster Texas she noticed a man staring at her
from the parking lot his truck was out there parked but I wasn't really paying attention
when Sandra left and went to a waffle house across the street she saw the man again he followed me to the waffle house
and I parked and he asked me if I needed help and I go get help for what and he goes well your tires
flat but just moments later The Stranger was forcing her into his white pickup truck at knife point he was just telling
me to keep him MTH I you know was terrified she says he sexually assaulted her in the truck and then they started
speeding down the interstate and the only thing I was thinking like he's going to kill
me I rather jump and kill myself than him doing that to me and that's just what Sandra
did as the truck sped down I4 45 she opened the door jumped out and hit the pavement and then I got up started
[Music] running Gravely injured Sandra managed to get help and reported the incident 5 months later in October of
1997 during a meeting with Friendswood Police Webster investigators noticed that Sandra's description of her
abductor pickup sounded similar to the truck that friends with police had searched in Laura smi's case belonging
to William Reese okay if y'all would get shoulder shoulder uh with the guy on the on the
red circle on October 16th 1997 Reese was pulled in for a lineup number four step to the red
circle want you take quarter turn to the left when he walked out I I knew that was him no no doubt that was
him a loud voice get the truck get the truck William Reese was immediately arrested and charged with kidnapping he
pleaded not guilty he was finally behind bars but not for any of the murdered girls did
you attack Laura face of glass I want you to repeat after me in a loud clear voice do not scream
do not scream getting the truck be the truck William ree was defiant he denied kidnapping Sandra SAA and slashing her
tire but after his arrest investigators were determined to tie him to lauris smi's murder too think you're being
unfairly treated Mr Reese yeah I did I didn't friends with deputy chief Josh Rogers says they thought they found
another link when they searched Reese's apartment he had a horse blanket that was multicolored most of those colors
were also found on one of Loris smi's socks so the evidence was was uh strong and they already had those other fibers
on Laura's socks that match Reese's floor mats still the da at the time did not feel that was enough evidence to
charge Reese with Laura's murder and was that frustrating very very I got very very angry I felt that
the system had failed us and failed Laura but Friendswood detectives weren't giving up they pulled records to trace
Reese's movements during the previous summer summer and discovered that Reese might be connected to the other unsolved
cases there was a fuel charge from Denton on July 15th the same place and date of Kelly Cox's
disappearance it was the first time Kelly's mother Jan bham had heard the name William ree he was now also on the
radar of Denton police that you know caused them to want to check Kelly's fingerprints against
anything in his truck or car did they find anything fingerprints anything connected to Kelly no they did not
friends with detectives also found records showing Reese had used a pay phone in the town where Tiffany
Johnson's body was found less than an hour after she disappeared and the owner of the car wash after seeing his picture
said says Reese was a frequent customer with that Reese joined a list of possible suspects anyone along that
route during that time period uh he was looked at investigators were also now eyeing him in Jessica kan's
disappearance and used bulldozers to look for evidence at the horse ranch where he had
worked but they came up empty-handed and in April of 1998 as suspicions swirled around William Reese
in several jurisdictions he went on trial for the kidnapping of Sandra seaw you went to the trial why for
Laura I had to be there for Laura I got very angry with what I learned at that trial because of course
it puts everything in your head at what he had done to Laura gay Smither says she was
especially upset when she heard the testimony of Reese's two rape victims from the
1980s remember he had been released from prison for those attacks just six months
before Laura was murdered they came down and testified and I was mortified to hear what he had
done to those two young women the jury didn't take long they went out and minutes later was
a guilty verdict William ree was convicted and sentenced to 60 years for kidnapping Sandra
sea I think a lot of people felt like that was probably going to be the best that we were going to be able to do um
is just to keep William Reese off the streets again but Laura's case remained officially unsolved and the Smithers
wanted to see recharged up in Oklahoma Kathy doy continued to pressure investigators to
solve Tiffany's murder at first I'd call every week it was always the same thing
they didn't have anything it would take more than a decade before Kathy says her calls were
finally answered all I knew was that I've got a victim who car was at the car wash in
2012 retired police chief Lynn Williams had recently started working on cold cases at the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigations or the SBI and was assigned to Tiffany's case the car was abandoned the keys were in ignition the
doors were unlocked no witnesses there was that DNA evidence from Tiffany's body so really DNA was
going to be your only hope that was my frame of mind but the DNA had already been tested twice without success we are
worried usually that there's nothing left to test Wendy Duke is the supervising criminologist at the OSBI
Cold Case unit she found two samples from Tiffany's body that had not been totally consumed in earlier testing and
was able to develop a partial male profile from them it's exciting even if it is a partial
profile because it was a partial profile Duke could only compare it to a profile
from a known person and the team slowly eliminated suspects from the file until they got to William Reese and what was
the result and he could not be eliminated from that partial profile on the swab from Tiffany the da in Oklahoma
thought it was enough to charge Reese for Tiffany Johnson's murder and after all those years of waiting Kathy finally
had some news I said oh my God why Tiffany that was my main thing why Tiffany Oklahoma law enforcement also
shared the news with Texas investigators including the Texas Rangers who wondered
if William Reese might be willing to talk to them about their cases they went to visit ree in prison
and to their surprise he agreed to talk further if they could take the death penalty off the table the Smithers
agreed and so did Jan bham as long as reys help police find Kelly that's a huge decision to make
before you even know oh I know and basically I said I wanted answers and I wanted to know what whether my daughter
was alive or dead what would you do with the difficult decision that the binm and
Smither family's faced chat now on Facebook and X je what are you doing what are you doing
what are you doing look look hi when they would find a body anywhere and then they would confirm who it was
and it wasn't Kelly and I'd go oh it's not Kelly and then I'd go but it was somebody
daughter almost 19 years after Kelly Cox's disappearance her mother Jam was finally close to knowing what had
[Music] happened in February 2016 William ree was moved from prison to the Friendswood jail after agreeing
to give investigators information about their three Texas cases he hoped his cooperation might help him in Oklahoma
too he told us that he wasn't going to play games if we weren't going to play games investigators took Reese out to
this remote Field South of friendwood where he said Kelly Cox's remains were located ree hadn't yet told them if he
was responsible for her death he doesn't give any confession no but it's clear that he's got some involvement correct
police spent long days and nights with Reese in the jail and out in the field looking for Kelly's remains and during
that time Reese started telling investigators about his encounter with Kelly Cox and Denton he claimed they got
into a fight in the gas station parking lot after he bumped into her and she spilled her soda on him I started curing
I think I pushed her that's when she hit me with the coke I slapped her then it was
over she was fighting back yes okay what happens next and then I grab her around
the throat I show her Reese had just confessed to murdering Kelly Cox but investigators weren't sure if his story
was true they hadn't found any sign of Kelly in that field but as they kept looking this was not the only major
Revelation to emerge I remember going to work at construction job upside there a
rainy morning soon reys was telling investigators what he said happened to Laura Smither on that rainy morning in
Friendswood our here s Slam against my miror and uh it scared me so I stop I got out and that's when I look in
the ditch and I seen the L Smithers laying in the ditch and uh she wasn't breathing Reese claimed that Laura had
died instantly after he had hit her with his truck by accident but he later changed that story claiming Laura had
survived but when he tried to stop her from crying he accidentally broke her neck psychopaths are in incredibly
callous individuals they are without guilt and they are without remorse marelen o tool is a retired FBI profiler
we asked her to review the case records and Reese's videotape statements to try to understand his
psychology I've not assessed him not met him and I'm just going from my own experience but looking at his cases
looking at his behavior I would say in my opinion that he manifests traits of psychopathy you wanted the truth so I'm
telling you the truth and once police got him talking I had a raptor and a married Raptor Brie didn't seem to want
to stop I jumped Cur right there old tul says that Reese was probably enjoying the attention and the break from his
routine fre what's the worst thing that you can do for someone that has a tendency to love exciting challenging
stimulating things you put them in an environment like prison where they get bored so when you offer them the
opportunity to come out and assist law enforcement they're going to jump at that
after a week of fruitlessly searching for Kelly Cox Reese offered to help them find another victim Jessica Kaine whom
he said he had buried in a different field closer to Friendswood and while Rees didn't have an agreement with the
da in that case I was that being against drinking he started telling that story too claiming he had had an argument with
Jessica outside the restaurant where she was last seen and that she followed him
down I45 for 30 miles I don't know why I just pulled over she pulled up behind me
started yelling and I went off on her again okay then you end up choking her out then yes sir on the on I45 on I 45
but even as Reese admitted murdering Jessica he would not admit to raping her or Kelly or Laura do you believe that
most likely every one of his victims was raped I do I believe that they were because I believe that that was really
the intent of the crime if that's his motivation sexual motivation why doesn't he admit that is that typical in some
cases I would say that's that's typical because in their eyes that makes them look pretty pathetic that you have to
attack someone strangle someone beat someone up in order to be sexually gratified go ahead with the next one
that's the war no clone SA okay finally even though he could again be facing the death penalty
investigators were able to get ree to talk about the last case they thought he was linked to from
1997 Tiffany Johnston who reset he had encountered at that car wash in Oklahoma I was spraying clean up underneath my TR
that's when I girl y hey I sprayed her know sorry I thought she said something I said I started cussing at
her and me and her got into it he knew police had his DNA and admitted having sexual contact with Tiffany after
forcing her into his horse trailer was fighting you un snpp her overalls I don't know why once again reys made a
point to blame his victim for the violence that followed she hit me in the back of the head with her horseshoe
pissed me off started squeezing her around the throat and I grabbed that lead rope grabed
around her pulled it tight four victims and four confessions but with no sign of
Kelly Cox or Jessica Kaine not everyone believed Rees was telling the truth there was some folks thinking that maybe
the information was not accurate and that he was playing us go inside the case and see more of
the evidence at 48 hours.com as we dug and we continued to not locate anything there certainly wasn't as many
investigators helping at the end of it as they were at the beginning of it in March of
2016 after 25 days of digging and with William Reese's guidance there was finally some news they found Jessica K's
Remains What was that day like very emotional we were sad but also we were joyful as well to have located uh the
remains Jessica's parents asked for privacy as they processed the news and buried their daughter for investigators
finding Jessica corroborated William Reese's stories and re-energized the search for Kelly Cox and after another
two weeks of painstaking work they found her I had nightmares for the first time
where she had to wake me up screaming never had nightmares like that before her nightm Mayors were being down in a
hole it was just after Kelly and Jessica were found Oklahoma County Prosecutors Jimmy Harmon
and Ryan Stevenson have William Reese transported back to their state to face a capital murder trial for Tiffany
Johnston we typically only see the death penalty on the worst of the worst murderers and Mr Reese certainly fit
that bill Reese pleaded not guilty even though prosecutors had the DNA evidence and his chilling words from his tape
confession that's when I grabbed your around the throat choked when the trial began in May of 2021 Reese's defense
fought to keep that video out but the judge decided that the jury would watch it and hear all his statements where he
admitted killing Loris Smither Kelly Cox and Jessica Kaine all relevant says Stevenson for showing that Reese had a
pattern all of that being in such a short time period we wanted to be able to show the jury that this guy wasn't
stopping he was stopped Sandra SAA and two women who say re sexually assaulted them in 1997 all
testified at the trial prosecutors say this testimony was crucial to to correct the self-serving stories that Reese told
on those tapes you never quite get the full story uh out of William Reese he always tells it in the way that makes
him look best prosecutors think the true story is that Reese would set traps for
his victims he would sometimes create the situation in the case of Sandra Sea by slashing her Tire presented himself
as the Good Samaritan and he would then attack them after nine days in that Oklahoma courtroom the casee went to the
jury it took them less than 2 hours to decide finding William ree guilty of murdering Tiffany Johnson Rees was
sentenced to death I'll never forgive him for killing Tiffany he should die but instead of being sent right away to
death row reys first made one final trip back down the interstate to Texas where
he agreed to plead guilty to murdering Laura Smither Kelly Cox and Jessica Kain it took almost 25 years but you finally
got Justice for Laura didn't you yeah and for Jessica and Kelly and that was very important to Bob and I in exchange
for his guilty pleas Reese received three life sentences in the Texas cases gay Smither made a statement at one of
those hearings I spoke about Laura and how we had an empty seat at our table for the rest of our lives and then I
told him that I I forgave him for what he did you forgive him for ruining your lives you lost Laura who had her whole
life ahead of her forgiveness does not mean I condone what he did nor does it mean I will ever forget what he did
forgiveness was for me to not live in a in a cage of Rage that's what for foress is with
Laura's case now resolved gay and Bob could devote more time with their son David now 34 and his children gay also
travels the country training law enforcement on handling missing persons cases I'm here to tell you what happened
with the prayer that you will be inspired by Laura's Story to never give up the bams wanted a way to share their
memories of Kell and created this statue in her Honor on the UN campus where Kelly had once been
a student hoping to remind people to be aware of their surroundings you've got to live but you can do that in a smart
way and be safe Jan says like every family touched by William ree she's having to learn how to live with grief I
cry every day I used to say to people if you don't want to see me cry then you can walk away cuz I am going to cry what
are you doing how do you want people to remember your mother just the way she was she was a ball of
fun she was a beautiful young woman who had a lot going for her she was driven and she was doing it for
[Music] me [Music] two gruesome murders unsolved same area same Amo ambushed stabbed multiple times
can a man known as the zombie hunter help police find a killer and then he's defending the world against zombies it
was like he was hiding in playing sight 48 Hours next on CBS and streaming on Paramount
[Music] Plus

In 1997 four families are shattered when their daughters go missing. As they grieve, one man claims to have answers. Can he be trusted? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports on the final chapter of a case she started covering more than two decades ago.

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

Brief Summary

The episode covers the abductions and murders of Laura Smither, Kelly Cox, Tiffany Johnston, and Jessica Kane, focusing on the suspect William Reese's confessions and the families' struggles for justice.

Key points

The Disappearance of Laura Smither. Laura, a 12-year-old aspiring ballerina, vanished while jogging. Her body was found 17 days later.
The Tragic Case of Kelly Cox. 19-year-old Kelly Cox disappeared after being locked out of her car. Her mother feared the worst.
Tiffany Johnston's Abduction. Tiffany was abducted in broad daylight from a car wash, leaving her family devastated.
Jessica Cain Goes Missing. Jessica, a high school senior, vanished after leaving a restaurant. Her father searched for her.
William Reese's Arrest. William Reese was arrested for the kidnapping of Sandra Seaw after a lineup.
A Mother's Desperate Search. Kathy finally receives news about her daughter after years of waiting.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I had nightmares for years that she was being hurt or harmed.

A mother reflecting on her missing daughter.

1:27WatchNov 10, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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