True Crime Friends and Foes |"48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] Auburn Alabama is home to Auburn University which is a major football school in a college town it happens that
students sometimes may go often you know they may be missing for a little while but they come
back Lori was a student at Auburn University and she had recently graduated June 10th 2006 which is the
fateful day in Lor's life we were going to have drinks at my house we were going
to have um rum runners I believe and watch a movie and just kind of hang out do girl time she called me around 6:30
and said I'm going to stop by the store pick up the drink mixes and then I'll be
headed to your house and then the phone rang about 30 minutes later it rang once
or twice I answered no one was there how many times had she simply not showed up
and not called you never my daughter was a very good person a kind person a loving girl very
studious student she loved Sports loved her dog she had a little Yorkie named Peanut that was her baby when did you
realize that something was wrong I was at work A lady called I believe it was her boss and she told me that I just
want to tell you your daughter Lori has not showed up for work and right away bells and whistles went off I called her
and she didn't answer her phone I called her house several times left voicemails
on her home answering machine you go over to her mobile home the door was unlocked which was not like her the air
condition was running her dog peanut was in the crate we walked through the house she
wasn't there what are you thinking something's terribly wrong there is no way she would
have left peanut this is it it's about 4:40 a.m. 4 days after Lori is missing the car was right here dead in the
center engulfed in flames was Lori in this car Lori was not in the vehicle there was no trace of her
whatsoever I mean none just vanished just vanished and nobody knows what happened to Lori
slazinski I know somebody that knows Rick Enis your daughter had no idea about his past no I met Rick Enis
when he was 12 years old he's sitting back there in that seat behind you and I said where are your
parents he looks right back at me and he says I killed them both [Music] [Music]
I can still see her smile her smile is just edged in my memory to this day Lindsay braa is
haunted by the final call from Lorie slazinski on June 10th 2006 when they were supposed to get together for drinks
and a movie that last call did it indicate it was her phone yes she calls and it hangs up yes and no one's there
just no one was there it was just dead end did you call her right back I did no answer Lori and Lindsay became fast
friends when they met junior year at Auburn University in 2002 I remember the day I met her we just kind of
immediately clicked I could just tell that she was a warm person very friendly just outgoing
loving all those good things Lorie's family her older brother Paul and their parents arleene and Casey were actually
from New York State they headed south to rural Alabama Farm country when Lori was
13 years old just loved animals we always had animals in our house Lorie's mother arleene very student a student
she was a good girl when she enrolled in nearby Auburn University her parents bought Lori a
mobile home to live off- campus in a manicured trailer park popular with students so from valad dictorian of her
high school class was it tough for you to see your baby girl leave the house and head off to University oh yeah it
was very tough I called her every day she's like Mom this has got to stop I was like but you're my baby and I worry
about you don't worry about me I'm fine Lori majored in Psychology and minored in criminal justice she graduated with
honors there she is with Mom and Dad she looks so happy there she was she was over the moon happy after graduation Lor
and Lindsay started working together at a local mental health facility did you sense that she had any enemy in this
world no the day that Lori disappeared June 10th 20 six was anyone with Lori that
day Rick was at her house Rick Was Daryl Richard Andis when I had spoken to her he was in the
background Lori got to know Rick back when she was still a student she hung out at the local bowling alley where he
worked I didn't know much about him at all except he was her friend Arlene says just before Christmas in 2005 Lori asked
if Rick could join them she asked me she said mom he has no family can I invite him she kind of you know felt bad that
he was going to spend Christmas alone he was friendly um very polite Lindsay says Lori often spent
time with Rick so she wasn't surprised that he had been at Lor's home the day she disappeared they were friends so I I
wasn't concerned but now you're at home yes waiting for Lori to come on and you went to bed that night thinking you know
I hope she's okay but the next morning Lindsay started to worry I called her house several times left voicemails on
her home answering machine hey Lori checking on you are you okay where are you you went to work on that Monday
right yeah uh she wasn't there in my mind something's wrong I had Rick's number so I did text him and ask have
you seen Lori where is she I'm worried about her um his conversation back was no I haven't and I'm worried now too
when Lori didn't show up at work a second day that's when Lindsay headed to Lorie's home no one answered and found
her dog peanut in his crate I'm an animal lover so the very first thing I did was let the dog out that's when she
noticed something else strange Lori was missing 3 days but the crate was spotless and peanut seemed happy and
appeared to be well fed as though someone had taken care of him and there was more one thing I remember about
peanut is he wouldn't walk on tile so she had these rugs in her uh kitchen and he would hop on the rugs and the rugs
were gone I noticed that immediately her outside trash can was missing she had one that she had like yard Tools in and
the answer machine had actually been unplugged so those messages were not there by this time Lor's mother heard
that she hadn't been showing up at work I have got to go to Auburn and see what's going on where she is cuz I
called her and she didn't answer her phone she headed off on an agonizing Drive calling her husband an alert the
police finally arriving at her daughter's home and when the police got there what was their attitude well you
know they were like she's got to be missing 48 hours and they didn't really think a big make a big deal out of it
they wanted to just think she ran away Lor's parents could only wait for Lori to walk through the door or
call and finally the phone rang late that afternoon but Arlene says it wasn't Lori it was her friend friend Rick Andis
he said that Lori had gone to make a big drug deal what yes and I was like there
ain't no way that my daughter would not do anything like that did you tell the police what he told you I didn't Rick
told them and the police came to the trailer banging on the door and they raided the mobile home and they found
nothing then just before Dawn that's when Loris linsky's missing car suddenly exploded
into a fireball on a desolate dead end outside a construction site the feelings were just unbelievable of fear and
knowing something really bad has happened who would set her car on fire exactly and
why the investigation shifted from a missing person to a possible homicide investigators dug into Rick's tip about
Lori dealing drugs but found no evidence none that he was telling the truth now investigators started digging deeper
into Rick Andis they wanted to know if he was hiding something from them did you have any sense as to why Rick Andis
didn't have a family no I had no idea why at all eventually you learned I did it's beyond shocking
[Music] this is my daughter Lorie's trailer and do you go into that trailer from time to time just to connect with
her um I do just go in there and think about the happier times this room besides the memories is also a
solemn place cuz you believe some Horrors went on in this room correct yes in the early days of the
investigation back in 2006 Arlene says she became suspicious of Rick Anis when he told her that the night Lori
disappeared she had gone out to make a drug deal and why would he be doing that do you think I think to take the heat
off of him I was thinking this guy is lying through his teeth police suspected the same but without direct evidence
linking Rick Andis to Lor's disappearance police could not make an arrest and the case quickly went
cold did Rick Andis stick around town he was there for a couple of days but within a week after his third interview
he left town he never came back to Auburn again in 16 10 years after Lori disappeared Mark Whitaker a special
agent with the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation started a Cold Case unit he chose The Disappearance of Lorie
slazinski as his first case any estimate how many murder cases you've been involved with in your career probably
about a 100 where does this one rank in terms of Fascination for you as an investigator this number one it was a
very difficult case cuz there was no body we don't know exactly what happened and uh we don't know where she
is but it didn't take long for Rick Andis to become Whitaker's Prime Suspect we couldn't eliminate him his
inconsistencies and his statements made no sense whatsoever we knew Lori was not
a drug dealer I mean she vanished off the face of the earth when he's the last one to ever see
her and when police spoke to Rick hours after Lori was reported missing they noticed these scratches on his hands and
arms right here that is a thumb print where somebody's digging in she's fighting for her life and doing
everything she can to get away from it in Rick's car there were handcuffs this knife and cleaning
supplies and they soon learned something startling about Rick's past turned into
one of the most bizarre cases I've ever been associated with former Alabama State TR Trooper John Clark I was
patrolling this County when I got a call it was March 5th 1993 the call from dispatch said a car
had gone off this very Highway and struck a fence and as my uh headlights take in the curve I see it looks like a
young boy with a backpack it's a 12-year-old Rick Anis and he admits he had been driving the
car Clark searches his backpack the first thing I pull out is is a kitchen knife about that long there's some 12
gauge and some 22 caliber loose ammunition in the bottom of the bag he's sitting back there in that seat behind
you and I said where are your parents he looks right back at me and he says I killed them both I killed them both I
killed them both no tears no emotion nothing Clark then radioed for local police to get over to en's home state
troopers working a involv in a 12y old at the time a show called MPD the television series was following the
officers the boys telling them that they killed his daddy and Mom cameras entered
the home of Rick's mother and stepfather Police Department on the floor of a bedroom are
two dead bodies there's pieces of a baseball bat in the bedroom that has quite a bit of blood on it Rick's own
mother Dolly flowers was shot in the face and then beaten to death with this baseball bat Rick told investigators he
covered her face with a velvet blanket and placed a rose on her chest on the walll Bladers on the door Rick's
stepfather Eddie Joe flowers was known as Elvis for his sideburns and colorful personality Rick shot him in the face
using this shotgun Rick told cops he was mad that his parents planned to move he said he
didn't want to leave his school for 2 days investigators believe he lived with their bodies while continuing to go to
school investigators say they found what they describe as an's to-do list that included killing his three stepsisters
so he wanted to kill all three of you oh yeah I feel very blessed to be here and
not to be one of his victims Donna fur Angela flowers and Tina ston are all Eddie's daughters Tina was 20 when her
dad was murdered it's changed everything my dad was my world I'm never getting to see him again
the sisters say dolly was a sweet outgoing woman who met their father in church Rick was the polar opposite every
time I would go and visit my dad and Dolly they he would go into his bedroom and close himself off he'd come out and
eat and then he'd go back back in his room what is the longest conversation you ever had with him 5 seconds maybe he
didn't talk to nobody what did your father think of Rick he just said he's just a little different than than y'all
were when y'all were coming up he just thought that they were in a new relationship and you know that it would
he would outgrow it and things would get better over time but just 10 months after they married the happy couple were
dead he was 12 years old and had murdered two people brutally murdered them at age 12 Rick Andis
couldn't be tried as an adult he spent 9 years in juvenile detention in Alabama and was released after he turned
21 it was now up to agent Whitaker and his team to determine whether Rick Enis had murdered
again should juveniles convicted of murder get a second chance chat now with the for 8 hours te on Facebook and
[Music] Twitter Agent Mark Whitaker knew what Rick Enis did to his parents and his instincts told him Andis
had done something horrible to Lori 2 but now he had to prove it the burn site that's found on the
14th the car was right here facing out back toward the bowling alley there's nothing else around here at the time
there's not Apartments it's just a paved Road The Blaze destroyed whatever evidence there was in the car but an
investigator reported finding a tiny item on the ground nearby and he found a handrolled cigarette butt about right
here and he collected that it was not tested kind of got lost in the shuffle the case agent retired Whitaker's team
now submitted it for testing and there was this gas can that had been found nearby it was right in this area right
here it looked like one that had been missing from the bowling alley where Rick had worked and it's right here
1,000 yards from the bowling alley 30 yards from her car Whitaker's partner JW Barnes showed us something that for
police tied everything together these railroad tracks these are the same tracks that go right by the bowling
alley they run right across the street from where L's car was found burning I've always thought that's what inis
used for transportation was walking down the railroad tracks cuz it's a straight
shot you're not going to be seen unless you want to be seen and those railroad tracks run by Lor's house and in that
house were signs of a violent struggle says Whitaker these areas you see right here that have been cut out that's where
the scuff marks were they were black just like the bottom of her shoes and and it was even some up as high here so
it's obviously those was are struggling here with somebody kicking their legs probably up in the air remember Lorie's
dog peanut seemed happy and taken care of my theory is that Rick Enis stayed in the house after he had murdered L I
believe so it's the only way to explain it we don't have a cause of death but I've always thought that he strangled
her the scratches that he had all over his arm were just indicative of Defense wounds when your fighting somebody
Whitaker says the phone in the corner of the bedroom was missing its cord it was
a long cord and it ran all the way through the room and what do you think that cord was used for I think it was
used to bound her to tie her up yes sir could it have been used to strangle her sure that phone C was missing that's not
the only thing that was missing there were those three rugs in the kitchen they were kind of strategically put out
so that peanut Lor's dog and hop B know and be back on carpet the rugs turned up
he says a few years later and has had a former roommate who reached out to law enforcement and told them hey there's
this guy left behind three rugs Peter I want to show you something else Lori had a table set up about right
here and on this table days before Lori went missing a love letter was left here
for her from Rick people who knew Lori said Andis wanted to be more than just a friend friend police say Andis told a
buddy that Lori rejected him and he was devastated by that so do you believe this rejection may have been a motive
for murder I think that's what sent him over the edge I I absolutely do despite the mounting evidence agent
Whitaker still needed something more that tied Enis directly to the crime scene as far as I'm concerned he is
investigating this case like glorious own daughter I mean he has a picture of Lori
in his house I've had her in my closet it made me think about her every day when I was getting ready for work when I
would put my Ties on I would just remember what I was supposed to be doing every single
day and then it's like 1:00 in the morning and JW calls me JW Barnes found exactly what they needed in the Case
Files collecting dust for 10 years he goes I just found a report that was in an envelope that hadn't been opened
Whitaker could hardly believe it when Lori disappeared in 2006 police collected evidence from her trailer but
by the time the results came in no one followed up the report contained critical evidence Rick's DNA was
identified in semen found on Lor's bed sheet and in Blood on the interior of the front door and it turned out his
blood was also found on one of the rugs investig tigators say we're in Lor's kitchen you got his blood on a rug here
you got his seing back there you got his blood on a door most people's blood is not inside somebody else's home unless
something really bad had happened 12 years after Lori disappeared there was now enough evidence to charge
Rick Andis with her murder but by this time Rick Andis was happily engaged to school librarian
Elena Atkinson and living 500 M away in Virginia he was designing and building portable living structures called Yurts
for Sharon Morley's company Morley liked Andis from the moment they met he was just so open and friendly and had a
great sense of humor but on August 6 2018 Rick's birthday Morley saw a task force of lman arve walking out of the
woods they were hiding behind trees they had the place surrounded it was a highlight of my
career to make the phone call to Arlene and Casey slinsky that morning to tell them that we just took Rick inis custody
for Lor's murder was this kind of a Bittersweet moment for you most definitely yes I
guess psychologically I never accepted the fact that she really was gone and I I cried big time
yeah later that month Andis appeared before an Alabama judge with Lor's parents facing
him I guess he kind of seemed surprised that we were there what did you want him
to know that we finally got you you're not going to get away with us news of an's arrest quickly spread I
read it and I'm like thinking to myself it's Rick boo says he was friends with Rick and suddenly remembered a
conversation he had with him years earlier at a bar when he asked him why he left Alabama what did he say he just
mainly said I had to get rid of a and I'm thinking H this guy's just messing around with me but that changed
when he learned of Rick's arrest and it was real he wasn't joking I couldn't sleep the whole night he called
Whitaker's task force and it was just unbelievable what inoc told him but the most explosive news of all came later
and Incredibly while Whitaker was with Anis at another court hearing an investigator from Au PD comes up to me
and tells me you're not going to believe this that handrolled cigarette butt next
to the car has his DNA on it I wanted to do a somersault in the courtroom but I couldn't everyone now was prepared to go
to trial but the courts quickly ground to a halt because of the pandemic and Arlene slazinski suffered more losses
first her son to cancer and then her husband Casey to co got to call him I think you better come when I got there
he was gone you lose your daughter you lose your son and then you lose your husband
how do you go on with all this I guess my faith my friends family and I just did not want to die
not knowing what happened to my daughter or seeing Justice being done but Rick Enis was determined to
prove police had it all wrong and he wasn't the only one fighting to prove his innocence they
have the wrong person there's there's no way his fiance Elena Atkinson do you believe Rick had anything to do with
Lor's disappearance with her death no I do not you not only do I believe Rick is
innocent I believe that he would have given his life for Lori if he had been there that's the kind of person he is
and she believes that despite the fact that she knows Rick murdered his mother and stepfather when he was 12 people
would wonder why is it hard for you to believe that he could kill again she says Rick told her something
about what happened with his mother mother something that convinced her he had nothing to do with what happened to
[Music] Lori Rick Enis is one of the most compassionate generous kind people that I've ever
known Elena Atkinson has been in love with Rick Andis for 4 years I love his intelligence I always
joke with him and tell him I fell in love with his brain first but just two months into their
romance Elena an amateur genealogist was researching Rick's ancestry when she stumbled upon news that he had killed
his mother and stepfather my first thought was what in world happened in his home life that
pushed him to that point Rick would tell her something she didn't see in any article Rick it's Peter vanent with 48
Hours reached by phone Rick told us what he insists happened I was molested by my mother
Rick says his mother sexually abused him and he snapped I exploded and the result was
that I I took my mother's life and then have took my st's but remember back then
he told authorities he killed his parents because he didn't want to move I was deeply ashamed about my mother
molesting me and I had a really hard time talking about it still we could find no evidence to corroborate Rick's
abuse allegation you know I Rick I have to tell you obviously I I have no idea what happened uh a skeptic would say
you've conveniently accused the mother that you murdered of molesting you and she can't defend herself you understand
how that's difficult for some to believe well I mean it it's something that I work through with a a
psychiatrist what I did when I was 12 is the greatest regret of my life Rick insists he's no longer that angry
12-year-old now 41 Rick Enis would stand trial for yet another murder I never murdered
lorinsky she was a very close dear friend of mine I never would have hurt her prosecutor Jessica venieri is sure
that is a lie but at trial she wouldn't be allowed to tell the jury anything about Rick's
past this is by far the most complicated case of my career he becomes a venti's first hurdle was convincing the jury
that Lori was in fact dead she called Lor's mother arleene to the stand did she make contact with you after her
brother died noen have you ever received a birthday card no a Mother's Day card have you ever heard from your
daughter in any way since that Thursday before she disappeared no Lindsay braa was next seemingly
setting up a motive telling the jury that Lori rejected Rick she told me about a letter that he had written her
was it a love letter yes she told me that she wasn't interested him in him that way and Terry Boo would take the
stand to recount that troubling remark he said Rick made he had to tr that she was a white piece of trail
park trash the district attorney built her case with t testimony about the scuff
marks on the wall and the blood in Lorie's trailer Rick Seaman on her bed and the cigarette butt with Rick's DNA
found near Lor's scorched car they've got problems with this evidence but defense attorney William
Watley claimed that handrolled cigarette was planted arguing police could have taken it from Rick's home had cigarette
button didn't come from B the defense suggested Lori was responsible for her own disappearance they portrayed her as
a drug dealer you knew that Lori had grown marw yes Lindsay insisted however that it was only for Lor's personal use
for herself or so she didn't have to purchase any but to drive home their points Watley called Rick Anis himself
to the STA spent a lot of time with her Rick insisted he had no reason to hurt Lori did you you write a letter to
Lori um yes sir I did I I asked her if she wanted to date it would have been a month or two before she went missing I'm
not certain but even though she turned him down Rick says they were still intimate now did you ever have sex with
Lori um yes sir so what about what he said to Terry Booth Andis says it never happened did you never got drinking with
Terry Boo yes sir did you tell Terry Boo that you strangled someone yes sir Rick I will show you some
photographs here and those rugs given to police by his former roommate Rick claims they were not from Lorie's
trailer where did you get these from Target you get any of those more that's sir Rick says Lori was fine when he left
her that Saturday he says he headed off to sell some weed and he claims she was off to do the same the last time you saw
Lori did you have any kind of an argument with her no sir did you break into Lor's trailer that
Saturday I did not did you kidnap Lori no sir did you kill Lori I I did not did you burn Lor's car yes sir so what about
the knife handcuffs and cleaning items in his car Rick says it had nothing to do with Lori
he was moving things from his apartment and those scratches on him back in 2006 police say he had no explanation but at
the trial he had an answer I I got them from playing with my dog venieri barely made it to the podium to start her
cross-examination is there anything else you'd like to blame on ven tiary questioned Rick about that blood on
Lor's door blood of Lor's trailer has your DNA in it how did that get there I have no
idea and the question vinary really wanted an answer for she never got where did
you I didn't tell B's body anywhere who did I have no idea both sides had their final chance
to persuade the jury defense attorney Watley told the jurors there wasn't any evidence that a crime had even been
committed there's no evidence that Lori was kidnapped there's no evidence that she
was forly taken against her will venieri attacked Rick's defense and this is you was upstairs
vener insisted that the volume of evidence against Rick Anis was overwhelming even if police still
couldn't find Lorie's [Music] remains and she reminded the jury that Lori would never just take off she would
never ever ever laid peanut F Never After 7 Days of testimony it was now up to the jury to decide I'm
terrified I only get one shot at this but you just never know what a jury is going to
do do you believe Rick Enis is a changed man see more of the investigation into Lor's disappearance at 48 hours.com
[Music] all right and L gentlemen jury g b to this case hand that to the B please
ma'am when the jury came back into the courtroom did you look at their faces yes I did it was very hard to read their
faces I still wasn't sure what the verdict was going to be please stand nearly 16 years after Lorie slazinski
vanished the jury reached a verdict during their second day of deliberations we the jury find the
offended darl Richard Enis guilty of offenseive C murder guilty of the murder of Lorie
slazinski give me a sense of what that meant to you sheer relief joy that he was finally
convicted and would never get to do this to anyone else again I'm thrilled that we were able to
to bring Justice for Lori after such a long time immediately following the jury's verdict da vener went to our lean
with a proposal Rick was now facing a possible death sentence but that would trigger years of appeals and legal
wrangling to spare arleene all that veneri suggested offering Rick life without parole Arlene agreed it's s the
court that you be prisoned the penitentiary of the state of Alabama for a term of why without the possibility of
coron Elena Atkinson was stunned just complete shock disbelief I was devastated she was so certain Rick would
be exonerated she'd made plans to celebrate a celebration Rick told us that he would be part of I thought that
we were going to go and have a nice dinner and that I was going to get to start my life over
[Music] arleene headed home to savor the Bittersweet Victory after this verdict did you have a conversation with Lori I
did I just said Lor justice has finally come we've waited for this for a long time and I hope you're all celebrating
and with the entire family and I wish you were all here to see this day this tragic murder the Ripple
effects across your family it's just incredible it has left a very large void in my life I was getting ready to retire
I mean I could have been enjoying my grandchildren possibly um just spending time with my daughter who I
loved this is lorri at her trailer and peanut who she absolutely adored and vice
versa we brought peanut home with us and he stayed with us till he was I guess about 16 years old and he died every
time we mentioned Lor's name he it would I don't care where he was in the house it was like he just heard her name and
he run in there and like where is she it just totally amazed me that he he never forgot her
never did you ever think that 6 years ago we would be here today with her husband and both her children gone this
tragic story has brought new friendships into Arlene's life Mark Whitaker is my hero him and his wife are like family to
me now this was on her graduation day Casey her and me that's a great photo and this was her a month before she
disappeared at her cousin Jennifer's wedding with her cousin Thomas wow not a care in the world no she's one of the
bravest women that I've I've ever met you showing all these to me just makes everything more real for
me beautiful girl thanks for sharing those with me you're welcome I could tell she seems to be happier now
I can't thank you enough for it it was just wonder I love you too you're one tough
[Music] [Music] lady a wife and mother was said to have gone for a bike ride and never returned
the initial thought is kidnapped she had used a spy pen to make SI recordings it's like James Bond would they help
solve the case Nothing Is What It Seems 48 hours Saturday on CBS [Music] when you hear the name Gabby petito what
comes to mind a young aspiring blogger who love life love Adventures how a girl who was on
the cusp of beginning life and whose life was tragically taken from her the FBI announcing a medical
examiner said says the body found in Wyoming was indeed that of Gabby petito the coroner calling her death a
homicide Brian lre I believe made his decision to kill himself after he killed Gabby
Patito investigators say human remains found in Florida this week are those of Brian laundry the only person of
interest in the death of his fiance Gabby petito Gabby Patito has been gone for over a year now is this case over
no this case is far from over my name is Mary F Jan and I'm a former Federal prosecutor and defense
attorney there are still a lot of questions for Gabby's parents the primary one being would Gabby petito
still be alive today if the case have been handled differently hello hello and good
morning we came to know Gabby petito and Brian laundry because they were putting
themselves out there in social media documenting their travels throughout America this young couple in love living
out of their van seeing what the world had to offer live in the dream my name is Dr Chris Mandi and I'm
a forensic psychologist but what we come to learn is that that was a veneer all the
chocolate mountain I know it's a river of chocolate much as I know Gabby and feel like I know Brian you just never
know when it comes to relationships we've been lucky so far at all the places we've stayed but I'd say this is
one of the best so far anyone that's met the two of them has been like they seem
like such a nice couple but a lot of couples look nice on Instagram about a month into their trip
Gabby and Brian have a lot of arguments it gets physical a witness reports it to the
Moab police hey how are you I'm good I'm with Moab police they respond and now we
see that there's trouble in Paradise he walked me out of the car and told me to go take a breather but I didn't want to
take a breather I'm fine I look at I hope she doesn't have too many complaints about me I'm just uh know I
feel bad after get so public when you look back could that Moab police stop than a game changer oh
absolutely it's hard not to wonder what would have happened uh to Gabby if either Gabby or Brian had been arrested
that day two people went on a trip one person returned and that person that returned isn't providing us any
information where we believe the circumstantial evidence demonstrates that the laundry
family was aware that their son had murdered Gabby and that they were aware of the location of her mans they refused
to communicate to petito family as human beings How could somebody not pick up that phone and say I'm so sorry we don't
know what happened what can we do to help and the only reason why you wouldn't is if obviously something went
a foul Gabby is the most amazing person I've ever met I've never felt a pain like
this I have screamed into the air what happened because I want answers we will get Justice for her no
matter what [Music] [Music] Gabby potito's road trip in the summer of 2021 started as an adventure story I
love the B months later it turned into a nationwide search for a missing woman the search for missing 22-year-old Gabby
Patito is now a multi-state effort before ending here earlier today human remains were discovered with a discovery
of her remains and Grand Teton National Park it has now become a cautionary tale
ultimately her death will hopefully lead to many women being rescued and saved from these situations well before it
gets to murder former prosecutor and CBS consultant Mary fan says Gabby's story is really about recognizing the warning
signs of domestic violence which are often hard to read there are people who believe that Gabby petito story didn't
have to end the way it did if only the warning signs had been picked up on would it have been
[Music] different to most eyes Gabby petito and her fiance Brian laundry were compatible
in every way Gabby poo never goes outside coolest Shick you ever met Man by far she she's going to make you
she's going to make you smile Gabby's dad Joseph coolest Shick you ever met simple as that 22 years old a New York
girl from Long Island an appetite for adventure she knew she wanted to take this trip her mom Nicole Schmidt she had
told me about it um probably a year before it started Brian stretching doing some morning
yoga Brian's very charismatic he always comes off as such a sweet person and just kind of like I'm here one of
Gabby's close friends Rose Davis they met soon after Gabby moved to Florida she texted me one of the sweetest
messages I think I've ever got from someone and it was just like you seem so cool I really want to be your friend and
I was just absolutely they made Tik Tok videos together for fun Rose says Gabby was good friends with
Brian back in high school in New York then after Brian moved to Florida Gabby moved there too to be closer to him I
always told her her life is kind of like a movie cuz I was just like this happens in
movies soon they were in love and living together she'd let me know what they did
and you know he he'd make her breakfast and it was always such a cute little thing and they did cute little dinners
in July of 2020 they got engaged they even got tattoos together but Rose says Brian could sometimes exhibit what she
calls toxic traits we spoke to Rose when Gabby was first reported missing when Brian wants something he's going to get
it and I don't mean in a physical way he's going to force it he's just going to I don't want people to say I'm
calling him a full manipulator but he'll manipulate the situation to get what he
wants out of it and you know he didn't want her to go out one night with me and he stole her ID because you can't
get into the bar without your ID and you know this was really upsetting to her you know you're you're engaged it's not
you know it's not supposed to be like that but the couple seemed to put any drama behind them as they got ready for
their Adventure Gabby worked hard at Taco Bell and with Brian at public supermarket saving money for their trip
they bought the van they converted it the goal was to spend four or five months crisscrossing the country having
Adventures even working on organic farms and chronicling it all in real time on social media she was just like I want to
document this this is so cool to be doing and she just kind of yeah kind of like a vlogger just let everyone know
what she was up to she was excited starting her van life digital Journey where she's creating this
whole you know following of van liers and that's what she was really into at the moment they rolled out officially on
July 2nd Gabby posted constantly hello hello and good morning every little detail you can't keep chocolate in
Utah not in July but all those selfies may have been hiding a darker story there everything
behind the scenes you don't know 6 weeks into their trip on the afternoon of August 12th in Utah near
the Arches National Park Gabby and Brian's Instagram road trip came to a shuddering stop driver is showing some
obscure driving possibly intoxicated it was around 4:45 in the afternoon according to this police officer's body
cam currently doing 45 M an hour Zone through here is 25 oh subjects just hit the
curb correction speed limit is 15 what your guys' names Gabby Brian Gabby Brian okay it was the stop that
could have changed everything [Music] [Music] Grand County Sheriff's Office this 911
call was made on August 12th 2021 in Moab Utah four weeks before Gabby Patito was reported missing we're driving by
and I'd like to report a domestic dispute the caller reports seeing what appeared to be an alarming confrontation
between Gabby and Brian Florida license plate white land what were they doing uh
we drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl who was slapping her yes and then we stopped they ran up and
down the sidewalk he proceeded to hit her hopped in the car and they drove off officers from the Moab Police Department
are dispatched and within minutes Gabby and Brian's white van is spotted driving
erratically outside the Arches National Park they're pulled over the officers separate the couple and begin
questioning them over here Gabby is visibly shaken you want to tell yeah I don't know it's just some
days I really bad OCD and I just I was just cleaning and straightening up back before and I was apologizing to him and
saying I'm sorry that I'm so mean and I'm trying to start a blog I have a vog stuff so I've been building my website
so I've just been really stressed and he doesn't really believe that I could do any of it so that's kind of been like a
I don't know he's like down I don't know we have been fighting all morning and and he wouldn't let me in the car before
let you in the car cuz you're OCD told me I needed to calm down right so tell me what's going
on the see this gets worked up sometimes and I try and really distance myself from her so like I I locked a car and I
walked away from her Brian tells police that Gabby attacked him scratching his face and his arm as she tried to get
back into the van had her phone trying to get P got away I was just trying to I know I shouldn't push it I just trying
to push your way to go let's let's just take a minute step back and breathe and she she got people that came to us and
told us that they saw him hit you another officer asked Gabby for more details about what happened well to be
honest I definitely hit him first where' you hit him I slapped you slapped him first and then
on his face he to shut up how many times did you slap him Romeo India a couple and then what and his
reaction was to do what so I happen he just grabbed you yeah did he did he hit you though I mean I mean
it's okay if you're saying you hit him and then I understand if he hit you but we want to know the truth if he actually
hit you you I guess yeah but I hit him first where did he hit you don't don't worry just be honest gra my face like I
guess uhhuh um he didn't hit me in the face like like punch me in the face or anything did he slap your face or what
well like he like grabbed me like with his nail and I guess that's why it looks I then have a cut right here like a PE
touch it burs the officers never directly asked Brian if he slapped or hit Gabby they
also didn't talk to the 911 caller who reported seeing Brian hit Gabby but one of the officers did speak with a second
eyewitness that day witness says I never saw him hit her I saw him shove her but
I couldn't tell if it was an aggression against her or a defense against her so at this point from what unless the
guy's screaming that he he go to jail and did something to this girl it sounds to me like she is the primary aggressive
now in Utah if officers find evidence of a domestic violence assault they are required to make an arrest or issue a
citation an independent investigation would later conclude that the officers did not have a clear understanding of
the law got me this is a very very important question how you answer this question is going to
determine what happens next but the only person who can answer this question is you they mistakenly believed that Gabby
had to intend to harm Brian to require an arrest when you slapped him those times were you attempting to cause him
physical pain or physical impairment was that what you were attempting to do to him no what were you what were you
attempting to do what was the reason behind the slapping and stuff what was what was you were
attempting to accomplish by slapping I was trying to get to stop well doesn't sound to me like she
attempted in ultimately officers on the scene decided to separate the couple for
the night I'm going to give you the keys to the van Gabby was told to stay with the van I'm giving him a ride over to
the hotel okay as the assumed victim Brian was sent to a hotel I really appreciate thank you so much for
everything no problem it's nice to meet you right nice to meet you no one was arrested or issued a
citation forensic psychologist Chris Mandi has worked closely with law enforcement on issues of domestic
violence the officers that responded to Gabby and Brian were compassionate their
hearts were in the right place of wanting to help they were trying to do what they mistakenly believed was the
right thing by cutting them a break weeks later when the body cam footage was released there was a public uproar
newly released video shows what looks like the aftermath of an argument between Gabby Patito and Brian lry for
her friend Rose those images were almost impossible to watch it takes a lot for her to get that hysterical I perfectly
Cal I'm calm all the time and he really stresses me out and so when I saw the body body cam I knew it was more than
just a little argument she's not going to slap him for no reason the release of the 911 call Drew
outrage who was slapping her followers of the story on social media erupted in Anger my blood is boiling at how they
failed this poor girl all I know is this didn't have to end like this police missed an
opportunity Mandi says the officers seem to miss signs of domestic abuse just crazy and
Gabby accepting the blame and I was apologizing to him and saying I'm sorry that I'm so mean because in a
domestically violent relationship it's not uncommon for one party to take the blame for what really is the behavior of
the other party the independent investigator later wrote that it's very likely that Gabby was a long long-term
victim of domestic violence the ramifications of the officer's actions during that stop would
play out in the days ahead and months later would be questioned by Gabby's parents and their
[Music] lawyers just days after that traffic stop Gabby and Brian were back on the
road headed north to Salt Lake City it rained all afternoon yesterday on August 19th Gabby posted an edited 8-minute
video showing their journey together it is really nice and sunny today the video
showed no signs of any tension between Gabby and Brian later Gabby told her mom they were
leaving Utah and driving to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming she was happy she was excited to keep going on her
journey and um that was the last time I spoke to her verbally on August 25th Gabby posted a
series of photos on Instagram and front of a butterfly mural in Ogden Utah it would be her final post on
Instagram [Music] [Music] Gabby never goes outside the Instagram post on August 25th 2021 was the last
time Gabby Patito would publish on social media and shortly after she said she and Brian were headed to Grand ton
National Park Gabby's parents stopped hearing from her she seemed to have been in communication with her parents on a
regular basis throughout the totality of this trip and they were checking in on her
regularly then on August 27th 2021 her mother says she received a strange text message from Gabby's phone
it read can you help Stan I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls Stan is Gabby's grandfather the
mother thought it was odd because she never refers to her grandfather as Stan it was out of character and
disconcerting but as far as the petito family knew Gabby and Brian were still together on their
trip hi my name is Miranda Baker and on August 29th my boyfriend and I picked up
Brian at Grand Tian national park at 5:30 at night at cter Bay 48 hours after Gabby's mother
received that cryptic text Miranda Baker says she and her boyfriend picked up a man she believes was Brian laundry she
says he was alone he approached us asking us for a ride cuz he needed to go to Jackson before he came in the car he
offered to pay us like $200 to give him a ride like 10 miles so that was kind of
weird he then told us he's been camping for multiple days without his fiance and
that she was working on their social media page back at their van suddenly says Miranda things took a
turn when there was confusion over where they were going he freaked out he's like
nope I need to get out right now like pullover we dropped him off at 6:09 p.m. on August
29th meanwhile Gabby's mother Nicole did receive one more text from Gabby's phone
it said that there was no service in yosity the last text I received from her phone was August 30th are you you
confident that was from her or you're not sure I can't comment on [Music] that during Gabby's travels she had been
staying in touch with her friend Rose Davis Rose was expecting to hear from Gabby on her birthday so we talked and
my birthday is August 29th so we decided call me then but no birthday call or text came I honestly didn't think
anything of it when she didn't text me or anything cuz she's traveling cross country and you know once it got uh it
got later into it around like 8th and 9th of September that was the point where I was like she would have called
me why haven't I heard from her yet what Rose did not know was that on September 1st Brian laundry was back in
Northport Florida he had driven the van there and he was alone the petito family
knew none of this but they had already become alarmed when they stopped hearing from Gabby Al together and her cell
phone had stopped working did you ever reach out to her boyfriend to figure out what happened
and where where your daughter is we can't comment we're not commenting on that but Gabby's mother did reach out to
police it was actually Friday the 10th that I decided to call police because I had had 10 days 10 almost 11 days was
enough for me to not hear from my child and um I got the runaround nobody wanted
to report her missing um she's an adult she's traveling as a mother I said it's not like her finally that Saturday I um
went personally to suffet County fifth Precinct and now this is where we are Gabby petito was officially declared
a missing person on September 11th just over 2 weeks after her last Instagram post as the nation remembered so many
lives lost 20 years earlier the petito family focused on One Life that of their missing
daughter we're looking for her and only her not the van not the two of them just
just her keep your eyes out and we'll find her a woman disappears on a cross country trip with her boyfriend in a van
on Monday September 13th 20121 the story of Gabby potito's disappearance hit the news the parents
of a missing woman from Long Island need help finding her Gabby's mom and stepdad
Nicole and Jim Schmidt held up her photo for reporters uh Gabby's 22 years old um
she's an absolutely beautiful Beautiful Soul Inside and Out rose Davis was devastated to see her friend's picture
on TV my mom called me into her room and uh Gabby's face was all over the news and uh I kind of just went into
shock what happened to Gabby Patito once it became clear that Gabby Patito had gone missing her mom and stepdad her
father Joe Patito and stepmom Tara set up a fine Gabby page where people could post tips and information she was
reportedly last seen near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming around August 27th
20121 we're home safe and sound I immediately immediately made like a collage of all
of our photos and for a Tik Tok and posted the information Facebook Instagram everything within Days videos
about Gabby's disappearance exploded across social media even people with no connection to Gabby join the search to
help find her we are going to be going to the Grand tons to see if there's anything that we can do to help in the
search of Gabby petito you know the social media has been amazing um watch it getting everybody to post it repost
it we need for her to come back home and anything you guys can do to help us get
there is just appreciated and we just got to keep doing it for Gabby's parents this Spotlight in
the media and online was invaluable but there was one person who wasn't helping solve the mystery of what
happened to Gabby Brian laundry Northport Florida police spokesman Josh Taylor said investigators
were frust frustrated neither he nor his parents would answer their questions even though Gabby had lived with them we
were essentially handed uh the information for their attorney that is the extent of our conversation with them
first word that popped in my brain was coward to be honest with you you're supposed to love her you're supposed to
marry her where is she police confiscated the white Ford van searched it for evidence and then released Ed
posting that Brian was now a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance laundry family attorney stepen bertolino
spoke briefly to the Press on behalf of the laundry family I will hope that miss
petito is located and that she's reunited with her family Gabby's parents responded through attorney Rick Stafford
with a scathing letter we believe you know the location of where Brian left Gabby we beg you to tell us as a parent
how could you let us go through this pain and not help us 6 days after Gabby was declared missing the laundry family
reported that they didn't know where Brian was they said he'd left for a hike at the Carlton Reserve days
[Music] earlier police immediately began to comb the huge local park looking for
Bryan a massive search more than 50 officers and FBI agents combing a 24,000 acre park near Sarasota Florida looking
for Brian laundry anger at the laundry family silence prompted protesters to gather outside the laundry home
demanding [Applause] answers while authorities were searching for Brian in Florida the search for
Gabby in and around Wyoming intense ified it was like a nationwide Hut too you know between social media and all
the other avenues and people were looking for the van people were looking for where it went when it went they were
looking for Gabby petito and in this case all of that social media attention ultimately helped
investigators locate Gabby when Kyle and Jen bethon came forward with information
they had spotted Gabby and Brian's van the bathoon had been in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park around the
time Gabby's family last heard from her on August 27th 2021 the bons had their GoPros rolling
for their YouTube channel when they went looking for a campground we're driving down this road past this van and it had
Florida plates however the van was completely dark we assumed that they were just out hiking or doing something
else once the bons left the park they didn't think about the van again until late on Saturday September 18th
when Jen checked her phone and was stunned to learn authorities now believed Gabby had been in the Tetons
the very same night the bons were there Jen instantly remembered the white van and I immediately got Goosebumps all
over my body I rushed back to the computer and I saw that white specka van and I was like please keep keep going
please keep going and it did and it got bigger and bigger we just some reason instantly knew that it was hers when I
called the FBI I was like I have found Gabby's footage like patch me across to somebody like this is huge because I
knew deep down what it was and I knew how important this footage would be to finding Gabby as instructed the btho
uploaded their footage to the FBI website they also posted it on on YouTube and Facebook just hours later came the
devastating announcement earlier today human remains were discovered consistent with the description of Gabrielle Gabby
[Music] Patito the FBI says Gabby's remains were found at the spread Creek Camping Area
inside Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming an autopsy confirmed the remains
were Gabby's and the coroner determined her death was a homicide by manual strangulation we have no additional
comments Gabby's family asked for privacy but her father Joe sent out a tweet that summed up the moment it read
simply she touched the world hours after it was announced Gabby had been found over a dozen FBI agents
and police officers swarmed the home of Brian's parents police arrived the FBI arrived they were carrying a battering
ram they also announced that they had a warrant I think seeing these FBI agents and police here you wonder do they now
know where he is the next day Northport police the FBI and other agencies ramped up the search
of the nature preserve near Bran's home trains very difficult essentially 75% of
it's underwater 49 days after Brian had returned home without Gabby on October 20th
2021 the FBI made an announcement earlier today investigators Found What appears to be human remains an autopsy
revealed Brian laundry had died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head and there was something
else along with personal items such as a backpack and notebook belonging to Brian
lry that notebook contained writings from Brian explaining what he says really happened to Gabby petito writing
I ended her life I thought it was merciful [Music] before Brian laundry put a bullet
through his head he wrote a story describing how Gabby ptito died it was dark they were running across a stream
she must have fell and hurt herself and he went to help her but she seemed to be
in extreme pain in that small notebook found in a dry bag near Brian's remains he
wrote I ended her life I thought it was merciful that it is what she wanted but I see now all the mistakes I
made it was a self-serving narrative that portrayed that there had been an accident and that there had been a mercy
killing by him of her because she was suffering by stretching it speaks to selfishness and a degree of narcissism
that it was important for how other people looked at him his image you know he had the last
word while Gabby's parents will never see Brian laundry face a jury they are seeking their own version of Justice
suing Brian's estate for wrongful death and his parents for intentional infliction of emotional distress
where attorney Patrick Riley it's our belief that the laundry family was aware that Brian had murdered Gabby and was
aware where her body was located Riley says that belief is based on information from the FBI he says the
FBI believes that Gabby was murdered on August 27th 2021 and that Brian made a lengthy phone
call to his parents on the 28th he says according to the FBI Brian's parents then contacted attorney that same day
how damning is that why would they get an attorney so fast very it's very damning it doesn't pass the smell test
the laundry's attorney issued a statement denying the allegations made in the lawsuits and saying this lawsuit
does not change the fact that the laundries had no obligation to speak to law enforcement or any third party
including the Patito family but there's more says Riley a letter allegedly WR written to Brian by
his mother Roberta laundry Riley says he and Gabby's mom read it while reviewing
evidence at the FBI's Tampa office there was one part that sticks out which is if you go to prison I'll
bake a cake with a shiv in it and by the way the envelope that the letter came in
had written on the front of it Burn After Reading if it can be proven when and if
Bryan's mother did indeed write that letter it could be very damaging says Mary fulan cuz it shows the mindset of
the mother that she'll do anything to protect her child in addition to the cases in
Florida Gabby's parents filed a lawsuit against the Moab Police Department how's
it going how you doing relating to how they handled that domestic violence stop with Gabby and bran attorney Brian
Stewart the family believes that Gabby would still be Al today if the police officers had had the proper training and
had followed the law in how they responded to Gabby's situation hey how are you according to Stewart the body cam
footage shows there was a fundamental problem the very best thing I can do is call my supervisor and see if I'm
missing something here it's clear that the officers did not have a clear understanding of the law that they were
supposed to enforce that day try to calm down and I'm going to go call Super the Moab Police Department
commissioned the captain of another Utah police department to conduct that independent review of the officer's
actions that day among the report's conclusions there was probable cause for an arrest by choosing not to apply the
statute and affect an arrest the officers left Gabby and Brian in a dangerous situation the report cited other
unintentional mistakes says Mary F genan they didn't follow up with a key witness
which is the 911 caller they did not follow up with questions to Brian Landry about whether or not he grabbed her face
or grabbed her arm they didn't document Gabby's wounds photographically or in the report Mary fulan believes they also
missed some classic telltale signs of domestic violence when he was a girl who was hysterically crying who has
immediately taken the blame who is also trying to minimize her boyfriend transactions all of this while he
remained calm cool and collected through his an interview so I think if you look
at that in the totality and had all those things been addressed we might have had a different outcome here oh
this could have been a game Cher we don't know for sure we'll never know but certainly intervention would have been
more possible under that scenario one of the officers involved told the independent investigator after
Gabby's death quote I would have done anything to stop it if I would have known that was coming what happened
what's going on in a statement the city of Moab said it believed the officer showed kindness you want to come stand
in the shade respect and empathy in their handling of this incident you in the van s you on your way all right the
city intends to implement the recommendations of the independent review which include more domestic
violence investigation related training and legal training to ensure officers understand Utah state
laws the attorneys for Gabby's parents insist their lawsuits are not about money they're about raising
awareness Gabby's mother Nicole told the Associated Press I get people messaging
me all the time that they were inspired by her to get out of a relationship yeah and I think that in
and of itself is a huge huge victory for a family that has sadly uh encountered such tragedy but there can be these
bright lights that come out of these bad circumstances and if there is one to be
shined here it will be hopefully that there will be young girls out there that say you know what I'm going to walk away
I'm not going to stay or I'm going to get myself the help I need to get the strength to walk
away Gabby Patito doing in death what she did in life always described her as this light you know she'll do everything
to bring the light out in you and if she can't she'll give you some of hers [Music]
a conw woman's uniquely lethal plan for identity theft I've seen people killed with knives and machetes and guns death
by dessert I have never seen anyone try to kill another person with a piece of cheesecake until now until now 48 hours
Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus [Music] Ally got along with everyone she was
very bubbly and spirited she always had a smile on her [Music] face Ally what are you doing taking a
picture of her sunsets by Ally follow she wanted to live the college life in in a large University
she really wanted to be involved in a school that had that ranking good football team bald Hing way Stadium
Oxford Mississippi it is the home opener for the home Miss Rebels it's fair to say she loved ol Miss yes Ally loved
miss it was fairly late at night she was going out to the bar and wasn't weird for her to like go
out on her own and meet up with other people at the square where all the bars are she takes an Uber and uh she goes
home [Music] alone Sardis Lake is a big area there's lots of hunting camps and recreational
spaces that people use on the lake the sheriff department here does a really good job of doing their best to patrol
these locations the deputy is on a routine Patrol of that area I don't know what the Moonlight was
like but you're there's nothing around you you're in the pitch black dark it's not like a Lover's Lane or nothing I
mean it's just rule a lot of people don't know about it when you got there what did you find
a white female laid on the ground with multiple gunshot Wings to her back I have not worked a murder where
somebody's been shot that many times when the amulet crew was driving in they noticed the PS in the road ditch
soon as we open the purse ow Miss ID card and a driver's [Music] license hey Morgan This Is mik East as
the county sheriff's department I'm calling in regards to a friend of yours alley hostel I realized I had a Miss
call and it was the police and they were calling about Ally the police came to the door and uh they told us what did
they tell you there had been a homicide and that she was the victim and I still don't believe it here
we [Music] are that led investigators to go and look in her apartment and her room and
they found her Apple watch watch and even though her phone was not there some of those messages still synced to that
watch the hardest thing to do is to go back and read her messages the heinousness of this the
crime itself to shoot her as many times as she had been shot seemed so personal yeah basically almost was like execution
type Style in your mind the motive for murder was get rid of a problem how would you describe this case
a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions [Music] [Music] it's unclear why a 21-year-old student
would be in that area some 30 m away from campus authorities have released limited
details on the case but did say they suspect Foul [Music] Play though it's been years since Cindy
and Keith costell's daughter Ally was found murdered on July 20th 2019 it still doesn't seem real to them it
does seem like she's still away at school and I still don't believe it and here we
are still in denial the costals had visited Ally at her apartment a few days before she
wanted us to stay an extra day she was having so much fun she wanted me to cook our home-cooked meals we went shopping
she loves a beach theme so we just bought a bunch of new Decor you know Cindy and Keith had returned home to St
Louis when Cindy spoke with Ally on the phone just hours before she died it was like 7:00 at night she had just woken up
from a nap because she had a test actually on that day I said what are you going to do tonight she said I'm going
to go out with some friends 24 hours later leet County Sheriff's Department investigator Jared
bundren was hoping Clues from alie's Apple watch might lead to the first break in the case we just started from
there what was she like to you she was like my sister like so many who knew and loved
Ally Maddie Norris one of her best friends in high school was trying to make sense of what had happened I just
was like in shock the two were inseparable it was like if Ally was there Maddie was her I love you too she
was like my other half we have to bunch of adventures together girl things watching
chickflix watching ly [Music] blind driving in her convertible when it came time to go prom
dress shopping she just tried on this red dress and she called her mom was like Mom I have to get this
dress did she have a boyfriend in high school she had boys she had like crushes on but nothing ever
serious she didn't find a date for prom and so I asked her to [Music] be after graduation Ally was thrilled to
be heading to a college steeped in Tradition history and football the University of
Mississippi she liked the preppy life very like girl like pearls Ally arrived in the fall of
2016 but the marketing business major may have had something more on her mind she wanted to meet a southern boy and
get married and have children one day and she thought that would be a a perfect setting for her to meet her her
companion for Life by junior year we were thickest thieves like best friends Morgan Hull went to college with Ally
there's always is like rearranging and redecorating her room too which is always so funny to find little Ally like
moving all the furniture around by herself we were both from St Louis Elizabeth Brock met Ally at a campus
party and became fast friends so then we're like oh my God how did we like not meet until now Elizabeth says Ally was
fascinated by sunsets she had a a sunset Instagram account where she'd post pictures that she took of sunsets
as for dating at College Cindy recalled Ally saying she'd met someone her freshman year she said um I met this boy
he's from Texas she for whatever reason loves the state of Texas and she was really excited to invite him to the
sorority dance that's the boy she really liked what did she first say about him that she
found a guy that was cute that she was stting to like how a crush on that Crush would turn out to be
fellow student Brandon theesfeld from Fort Worth was she really excited about him yes like C Over Heels I think she
took him to most of her date parties that her sity had so when Maddie went down to Oxford
to visit she was looking forward to meeting the new man in Ali's life unfortunately I never met him things did
not go as planned you never met him mm because he never came around never came around how did she feel about that I
mean it hurt her you had like your best friend from high school coming down to visit you
and your crush is Mia Maddie was concerned that there was something about her friend's
relationship that wasn't quite right but other wise Ally seemed to be thriving at
college she loved it she could not get enough of it she finally achieved the goal of going there and she just was
living her life 3 years later her life was cut short now with a clock ticking on
finding her killer Allie's Apple watch proved invaluable to investigators what did the watch tell you the watch was
telling you she was having very lengthy text message coming conv ation with Brandon Brandon theld alli's freshman
year crush it seemed the two were planning to see each other that very [Applause]
[Music] night when investigators discovered that Ali's last text messages were with
Brandon theesfeld they wanted to talk to him and soon we called Blake Saturday early Sunday morning to come in and give
her interview investigators also tried tracking alie's phone on Saturday but it only pinged once in Oxford before the
signal died theld responded but made excuses about why he couldn't meet all weekend finally he said that he would be
there at 8:30 Monday morning and 8:30 Monday morning came no Brandon lefet County assistant district attorney
Mickey Mallet says that's when the decision was made to start tracking his phone when they do that midm morning uh
on a a real time situation they can see where he is what did you find out that he was on Interstate 55 headed North
toward Memphis from here to go to where he lives in Texas that's probably the most common way to go they can see his
location moving away from Oxford District Attorney Ben Creekmore says with theld appearing to be on the Run
investigators got an Affidavit of arrest for murder and immediately sent out a bulletin when we saw that his truck was
leaving Oxford there was a bolo for his tag a bolo on Lookout it didn't take long for the Memphis fugitive task force
to spot these Fells about an hour and a half two hours later they caught him at the gas station bundren says theld was
sitting at the pumps in his pickup truck which had easy to spot license plates the tag on the plates says take
it hard to miss very hard to miss a dash cam captured thel being taken into custody police immediately alerted
investigators in Mississippi about what they found in the truck and on his clothing he had a 40 caliber gun
consistent with the caliber of the shell casings that were found on the scene and
he had blood on him bundren headed north to pick him up he was calm you know read him his rights
he invoked his rights wanted his returning he was picked up in Tennessee we asked him if he would sign a waiver
expedition to come back to Mississippi and he signed it we brought him back with th felt in custody
investigators began retracing his steps the weekend of Ali's murder they learned that he had been
popping up all over Oxford starting on Saturday he stayed with some friends they said it was very casual um they
went bowling uh normal stuff but there was nothing normal about what he brought to a friend's house on Sunday said he
came in to his house carrying a gun and unloaded the gun in the house brought in
a six-pack of beer and said that they set up for a while when he got up the next morning he was
gone while theld wasn't talking to investigators he would eventually talk to an attorney Tony fice hired by his
family he had a life full of Promise uh received uh lots of love in a good Christian family fice learn theesfeld
was a doctor's son he seemed to have enjoyed a typical Texas childhood he liked outdoors hunting fishing he was a
soccer player he had never been in a fight in school no History of Violence it wasn't long after arriving
in Oxford that theld met Ally he met her at a local bar uh they dated casually uh
during their freshman year I think she was uh more enthralled with Brandon than Brandon was with her quite candidly
according to fice their relationship became complicated ated when they were sophomores did he actually block her
from his phone yes she had uh texted him so much late at night when she's out and
uh drinking and partying and uh it got to the point where he did block her phone yes but something shifted by their
junior year and the two got back in touch I think she saw this as a mutual romantic Endeavor and Brandon did not
see it that way which would explain one thing so when did you first meet him I never met him alli's closest friends
didn't know theld at all Morgan says she'd only met him one time get so odd that we were her best friends and we
still really didn't even know him that well like when this happened we didn't even know his last
name but in August of 2019 feld's name was front page news that's when the case was presented to a
grand jury the evidence included pictures of the gun and shell casings and this letter investigators recovered
during a search of his apartment apparently written by theld the weekend Ally was found dead prosecutors say it's
a confession the letter that he's written to his mom and dad concerned about what he's done theesfeld wrote
that he'd always had terrible thoughts and this is the end for me I'm either going to prison or going to die he also
wrote I know I'm going to get caught he confessed I think he did he he didn't say he committed the murder you could
argue that it was a confession an apology to his mom was an apology Tony fice says he spoke to theld about the
letter and says it was also something more a suicide note he writes a goodbye note to his family tells them that he
loves them uh apologizes for what he's done I am told by Brandon that he has the gun to his head and then passes out
the grand jury handed down their indictment Capital One murder at the Time Jake Thompson was a reporter for
the local paper the Oxford Eagle he says th Feld face the death penalty for kidnapping and murdering Ally it rocked
Oxford to its core because you know Oxford takes in these people they they're one of their own for four years
5 years however long you're here and so it was it was tough for both the academic and the university and the
citizens of Oxford in late September theesfeld appeared in court to enter a plea not guilty it's the big question
you know of course why did it happen and that was something that we were all initially trying to to figure
out investigators hope to find some answers in hundreds of text messages between Ally and theesfeld and what they
discovered included some lifechanging news the first messages about it started in early April
[Music] we're stuck can't move forward days are just rough when you think about her not being
here that makes you feel what sad and like [Music] broken back up as Ali's friends and family waited for
Brandon theesfeld to go to trial for her murder prosecutors were building their case all right they were hoping text
messages between the two could provide insight about what may have led to her death we know more about what he may
have been thinking and we know more about what she may have been thinking what was the relationship between these
two well that that might be different depending on who you ask I think it would be fair to say that she looked at
it with a more serious eye over the entirety of their relationship feld's defense attorney Tony fice from
Brandon's standpoint it was a casual sexual relationship they were never boyfriend and girlfriend they didn't go
on dates like he didn't pick her up take her anywhere after to dinner none of that but he would tell her that he
wasn't good enough for her and that's why they couldn't be together Morgan and Elizabeth say was an odd relationship he
definitely manipulated her carried out over text I think we were just more like upset with how if she would show us like
texts from him or tell us things he would say that we really unkind to her so you knew she liked this boy yeah yeah
but she never really had mentioned him at least to me over time or that he was you know even in the scene at all was
there anything in her behavior that suggested things weren't normal see and that's thing she's told
me everything in life but never disgusted him Cindy and Keith say they have not read their daughter's text conversations
uncovered by investigators no we haven't read any of it will you I don't know if
I can in April 2019 just 3 months before her death Ally was getting ready for during semester
finals what her mom didn't know was Ally was focused on a different kind of test
a home pregnancy test when you learned about that was that something so out of line
for Ally in her behavior big time yeah on April 14 she texted Brandon theesfeld a photo of an inconclusive home
pregnancy test and this message like it's a very faint blue line but I don't know I guess I can wait and see if my
period comes th feld's response well all right we will see but if it is pregnant
we are not keeping we can get a pill she was definitely worried she thought she might be pregnant in this text Ally it
seems was anxious and conflicted I'm not saying what I am going to do because I don't know what's happening but even if
you don't want to be involved like I am really pretty and sweet and I know I will meet a real man one day it appeared
thel did not see fatherhood in his immediate future I'm serious no kid at all it will ruin my life she was trying
to get into contact with Brandon about this and she had texted him and he would either just ignore her or do the thing
where he would tell her okay like I will come over tonight and we can talk about
this and then he would never show up so she talked to you about about this yeah she came to us right
away investigators would later learn after Brandon theesfeld received news about that pregnancy test he had been
searching the internet for mother wants kid father does not yes he did um suggest an abortion uh initially there
was uh talk about that he regrets that but uh that did occur that's Memorial ized in the text messages so in your
mind if she was pregnant she would have had the baby she would have given it the
world honestly Ally despite the ambiguous test result would text these fell day and night many of her messages
are long revealing and troubling says forensic psychologist Chris Mandi he was not involved in the case we asked him to
read some of the text messages these lengthy pretty much one-sided conversations that were initiated by
Ally you know with very little in return from Brandon make this a very lopsided investment into this relationship this
exchange begins on Monday April 15 2019 at 12:57 a.m. with Ally writing I lived it up this weekend and was drunk
247 I did that so my body might decide haha no not today then at 2:37 a.m. she texts I thought about it if you want to
talk to me in person that would be better th Feld responds almost 9 hours later I can talk tomorrow I'm busy today
I'm still going to have the decision of the pill to me there's several layers there you sense that at all based on
what you've read that he has any desire to keep her on the sideline it appears that he has no desire to keep her on the
sideline from what I've seen in these communications he's communicating just enough for a purpose to try to influence
her into terminating the pregnancy if indeed she is pregnant that seems to me to be his only investment in any of
these communications Mandi says Ally may have been trying to get Brandon thel's attention with texts about her drinking
in the past 48 hours I've literally drank a full bottle of tequila two bottles of champagne seven beers a glass
of wine I I can't even imagine someone her size being able to consume that much alcohol that's a lot of alcohol to
consume for somebody of her size and for many people if not most people my concern would be you know alcohol
poisoning or an overdose from alcohol which is why I raised the question of how much she's drinking or it's being
exaggerated to show hey to tell Brandon I'm self-destructive come to my rescue you got to help me I'm desperate do you
believe brandan believed she was pregnant I know that Ally claimed to have been pregnant so the question is
why would she claim to be pregnant if she were not pregnant hence my conclusion is that uh she wanted a
serious relationship with Brandon which in her mind could have included marriage
the text messages had created a digital map of a complicated relationship they also gave investigators clues about
where theesfeld was heading a week before Ali's death on Friday July 12th theld would
take a road trip home to Fort Worth Texas that same day Ally texted him a photo of two more ambiguous home
pregnancy tests less than 48 hours later at 4:16 p.m. he posts a disturbing photo on social media
he does a Snapchat saying with with a picture of this 4orty caliber gun and there's a chilling caption finally
taking my baby back to Oxford [Music] by the time Brandon thel drove back from Texas to Mississippi he'd left a digital
footprint and prosecutor say it revealed a deeply disturbing web search history he is doing some computer searches on
how to get away with crimes how to conceal crimes planning preparation type stuff how to tie people up how to lure
them in he did a search on for Ali's friend Morgan it was an eerie reminder a few months before this
happened Ally and I watched the Ted Bundy movie together extremely Wicked shockingly evil vile and we just sat in
her bed and we ate popcorn and snacks and we were like this is so mess up and then months later you know this happens
to Ali what explanation do you have for what he was thinking when he's making these searches well he certainly has
some uh searches that could be troubling it depends on how you view those when you start looking at someone's search
history you're watching TV you've got all sorts of news shows uh that feature Ted Bundy attorney Tony fice says the
search history doesn't prove theld had been planning to shoot Ally he says there's an innocent explanation for why
his client brought that pistol back to Mississippi that's not outlandish that in our part of the country in
Mississippi in Texas uh people people shoot we've got shooting ranges here in Oxford so we deny that it was brought
back for the sole purpose of killing Ali but it was clear to prosecutors thel's trip to Texas and the computer searches
were part of a carefully laid out plan when you put it together would appear to us what his purpose was in bringing the
gun back a gun that apparently he didn't even know how to use if you sit there and you go through all of his Google
searches he don't even really know how to work a gun he was Googling hollow point ammo and what button does what on
a Glock pistol on Thursday July 18th shortly before 2: in the morning Ali text thievel a photo of her
stomach the following day Friday July 19th the day before her death theld texts Ally are you going to be home
today cuz I could visit almost 2 hours later Ally texts him another photo and this message like it isn't like I'm not
that small anymore and I can pretend I'm fat right now but I don't know it's getting hard after a few more texts from
Ally th fell writes just let me know when you are back from going out is your house private right now the horrifying
irony is that text messages from him to her were asking is it a good environment
are your friends going to be there and you could assume that she's thinking he wants to talk about the pregnancy issue
and to work on the relationship in his mind he's thinking I don't want any Witnesses when I get her
in the car with me minutes before midnight a security camera captured Ally walking out of a
bar in Oxford Square then around 1:30 in the morning prosecutors say theesfeld and Ally take
that dark and desolate drive to Sardis Lake Once you turn off that paved Road onto the dirt road and then another 10
minutes to get to here there's no one out here I mean this is an abandoned Fish Camp yes ma'am assistant district
attorney Mickey Mallet and investigator Jared bundren took us to the place where
it happened where there's now a makeshift Memorial I mean I can only imagine what was going through her head
wasn't she alarmed wasn't she concerned you know in her mind she may not have had a reason before that to be in the
same kind of fear um you know we'll never know but I think she was just so blinded by her
desperation to talk about what to do in their relationship investigators found cans of
white claw hard Seltzer on the picnic table 11 shell casings were discovered on the ground would did ballistics tell
you ballistics told me he was sitting either AC cross RoR on that side of the table uh he fired one shot there was one
Shas here and the other 10 were in that area coming around the table they was not all in one spot it like started and
started coming all the way around he circled her yes and with every move he was fired me even one round hit the
table right there and he just left her here left her here theesfeld knew all about that place
on the lake he'd been there his freshman year his attorney told us what theld says happened that night he had been
drinking all that day she had been drinking they're listening to music they start talking Brandon has some cocaine
he goes to the truck uh does a little cocaine inside of the truck goes back to the picnic table theesfeld he says goes
back to his truck again grabs his pistol and fires a shot across the lake she states oh you're
crazy you sit there and talk then he shoots her remember at was shot at least nine
times why it just came out of nowhere I'm not sure out of nowhere Brandon denies that
it was planned when he took her out there I don't think Brandon would have been in this situation but for his
choice of consuming alcohol and then using cocaine so you're saying in that moment under the influence of alcohol
and cocaine he snapped that's what I'm saying it was out of Rage out of rage and rage for
what maybe he thought he was going to be a father and he wanted to end it his own
way [Music] the evidence against Brandon theesfeld according to prosecutors was overwhelming there was a lot of planning
on th feld's part about what he was going to do I'm not saying it was smart the way he did it but pretty good
indication that he was looking for a remote location so her body would not be discovered no doubt in your mind that
this was premeditated no doubt no doubt heat of passion no no was cold and calculated this was calculated over a
very extended period of time which is why it was capital murder in Mississippi a capital murder charge means another
felony crime was involved and in this case prosecutors say that crime was kidnapping they believe theld lured Ally
into his truck under the guise of working the relationship out when he had a 40 Cali pistol
and had planned her murder all along thel's attorney says that theory might be tough to prove a trial they were
going to have to show that we kidnapped Ally she voluntarily gets in the truck they're going to try to say that we
tricked her that's a very very big stretch with thel facing a possible death sentence and prosecutors knowing a
capital murder trial could be grueling emotional and risky for everyone involved they presented the defense with
an offer if you get a plea offer other than death then guess what you've got a scenario
where a plea to a lesser charge of first-degree murder is certainly more attractive and that's exactly what
happened on August 27th 2021 Too Close Brandon thel dressed in an orange jumpsuit pleaded guilty to first-degree
murder Ali's family and friends were there wearing her favorite color pink the judge sentenced Brandon to life
in prison reporter Jake Thompson was in the courtroom we never saw a motion from
him until uh they The Plea hearing where he spoke or read a little bit he broke down in tears that was the first time I
he showed emotion feld's audio was muffled when he faced the judge and addressed the court he said in part
quote there is no excuse for my actions I have asked God for forgiveness and I hope one day that you will find it in
your hearts to forgive me Brandon dville stood up and accepted responsibility in
open court and the realization of the consequences of his actions are very real and sobering there is no parole for
murder in Mississippi so let me tell you that is a terrible penalty why did he say he killed her there is no
justification for his conduct and I believe no good explanation for what he did does he say why though no I'm just
telling you to the best of I mean there there is no good answer I think what has
been explained is he's impaired uh on alcohol he's drunk he's impaired on cocaine we certainly know uh what that
does to someone's mind you know was he justified absolutely not were they arguing not to my knowledge did the
allegation of pregnancy going uh on and on and on contribute to that certainly could have he shared with us that he
didn't uh he didn't know but uh he didn't believe that she were pregnant but he he said he didn't believe she she
well he doubted that she was he doubted she wasant he doubted that she was pregnant prosecutors say the home
pregnancy test results were inconclusive alli's autopsy report however was definitive
we know medically she was not pregnant could ally have been pregnant in the months leading up to her
death according to a text message she sent theesfeld in early July Ally says she had been bleeding and believed
something was wrong there was some evidence that would have uh that could indicate she had a miscarriage do you
believe she was pregnant I do at some point I do to your knowledge was she pregnant we
just don't know she could have been but also the results were inconclusive so we
really just aren't sure prosecutors believe what happened between Ally costell and Brandon theld is a
cautionary tale now I can't imagine how there could be any way possible that Ally could have known that Brandon thfi
was capable of doing what he did to her if she had any idea that this is what this person
was capable of she would never have gotten in that truck I think love can blind us to
certain things that other people can see that we can't Brandon thel's family chose not to participate in our
broadcast his mother asked his attorney to share these words when I heard Brandon was was being spoken to by the
police I still had no single thought that it could be him now after 2 years and knowing more of the details of their
relationship I'm heartbroken for every person this impacts and crushed that our son did not share with us any of the
turmoil he was trying to manage I encourage every parent to regularly sit down with their children teenagers young
adults and discuss with them that there will never be anything too big too complicated too out of control that they
cannot tell you about we will always pray for the family and friends of Ali [Music]
Castell Cindy and Keith are holding on to their memories how are you doing it's the the the quietest moments that are
the most haunting chose my life my everything for her friends Ali's love love for sunsets still shines through
Ally what are you doing taking a picture for sunsets by Alex follow it so every time we see a sunset or a pink sunset
we're like that's Aly and we just try to live for her and bring her light into the
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Brief Summary

Lori Slazinski's disappearance leads to Rick Andis's arrest; Ally Costell is murdered by Brandon Theesfeld after a complicated relationship.

Key points

Lori's Last Call. Lori Slazinski's final call to her friend Lindsay before she went missing.
Rick Andis Arrested. After years of investigation, Rick Andis is arrested for Lori's murder.
Rick Enis's Arrest. Rick's shocking arrest reveals a deeper story of innocence and guilt.
The Verdict. After years of waiting, the jury finds Rick Enis guilty of murder.
Gabby's Story. Gabby's tragic story highlights the warning signs of domestic violence.
Gabby's Last Instagram Post. Gabby's final social media update showed her in front of a butterfly mural.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I killed them both.

Rick's chilling admission about his parents.

14:13WatchSep 7, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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