Two Wigs, a Gun and a Murder Part 2 | Full Episode | Forensic Files

foreign [Music] a quiet street in Richmond Virginia as I was getting dressed my husband and I
heard three loud bangs not a street where you'd expect a murder thing I could see at the top of the
driveway my friend and neighbor Fred Javelin he put both hands on my shoulders and he said Megan for Javelin
is lying in his driveway he's dead and Fred jablin wasn't your average murder victim
you've got a university Professor killed in a neighborhood that that's really not
the norm Fred jablin was a totally involved father a super super single parent so who killed Fred jablin people said I
have no idea who would want to do this to Fred but have you talked to his ex-wife
I was married to Fred jablin we have three children I had a pretty nasty divorce
certainly she was a suspect but a Suspect with the seemingly Rock Solid alibi [Music]
bartender called me and said do you remember her and I said yeah I remember seeing her
it's eating pixie haircut I know she didn't kill Frederick apple and she was devastated because of his
death they're definitely two peas out of the same pod Tina and Piper police also suspected Tina it's not
Fred jab ones did I kill Fred Javelin yes um and now police are about to unravel the
clues that will lead to an arrest got cell phone records latex gloves makeup two wigs
twists and turns in this one it's definitely not your normal standard murder two wigs a gun and a murder
[Music] thank you I was looking for this guy Jerry Walters whose name this card was in
we hadn't spoken to him at this point and so one of our goals was to try to locate him
a couple of days after Fred jablin's murder detective Colby Kelly learned more about the round-trip airline ticket
booked under the name Tina Roundtree the person who paid for the ticket was a guy
named Jerry Walters we knew that a bank card in his name was used and was instrumental in making this homicide
happen but we really didn't know what his role was in it if any and so we're trying to figure out who's
Jerry Walters it didn't take them long to learn that Jerry Walters knew Piper Piper Roundtree and I at one time were
girlfriend boyfriend Piper started dating Jerry Walters in 2003 shortly after moving to Houston we
exchanged phone numbers and started talking on Telephone went out to supper a time or two and and it just went from
there she was very sweet great Off the Wall sense of humor which I appreciate it cute obviously
pretty much normal person even though Walters was living four hours from Houston in Baton Rouge
Louisiana they made it work I was in Houston quite often on business so it was it was not difficult I mean I
was there probably two days minimum a week their long-distance relationship lasted for about a year then that
evolved into a continuing close relationship close friendship so close that Walters was one of the
first people Piper called the night of Fred jablin's murder I came home from an LSU football game
about 10 30ish 11ish in my cell phone ring and it was Piper and she said she was
asking me to come to Houston and she said it's important Fred's dead and I said what happened she says well
I'm not certain Fred's dead and she was not screaming but she was not far from Hysteria I would think and she was
crying Walters wasn't able to go to Houston but he did his best to comfort Piper by phone she was very concerned
with the kids but in my whole relationship with Piper she was very concerned but more so obviously this was
to the extreme four days after the murder detective Kelly Tracked Down Jerry Walters to find out why his bank
card seemed to be connected to a murder I think he asked me how well did I know Fred and I didn't know Fred at all I I
never had any conversation with him in my life Walters told detective Kelly he had no
idea who could have used his bank card during the weekend of the murder because he says it had been stolen before then
I don't think anyone on the face of the Earth was more shock than myself to find
out my card was in Richmond Virginia I did not have a clue Walter says he first found out something was wrong with
his card when he tried to withdraw cash from the account I said well Mr Walters the council were drawn and I said why
and I said well you've got pending ATM charges in Richmond Virginia and I said really all right so uh-huh I
said okay get back to you that's when I started getting a little concerned that Jerry Walters card was
floating around a murder scene in Richmond Virginia Jerry Walters called Piper immediately
because if anyone was going to know about his card it was her you see the card wasn't really his although he had
access to the bank account Walters had opened it at Piper's request under his name so that she could hide assets from
her ex-husband I asked her what's the deal on the card how come my card was in Richmond and not
with you and that's when she said well the last time I saw the card was when I went to the tennis club and apparently
someone stole it there and I said well why didn't you tell me and she says well I just hadn't missed it she said if you
don't go to use it you don't know what's gone it kind of made sense what didn't make sense to both Walters and detective
Kelly were some of the other charges found on the card we also were able to determine that wigs were purchased
during this time with that card from wigs.com I personally don't wear wigs before the murder someone had purchased
two wigs one Blonde one Auburn we knew that they were sent to a location in Kingwood Texas we had an address there
was a box there rented in the name of Piper Roundtree which also had Jerry Walter's name on that box and that's
where the wigs have been delivered to he asked me did I think she did it and I said I just can't fathom that that
she did this it would it's not something that I ever recognized in her no but it
was all starting to add up for detective Kelly he was convinced that Piper Roundtree had flown to Richmond Virginia
using her sister's name to kill her husband these things came to White it was apparent she did have a plan and
attempted to disguise who she was and and thought she could get away with it do you think there's any connection
between the murder and this very difficult divorce that she and her husband Fred jablin went through now I
think she was crushed when she didn't get custody of her children we knew that several weeks before this Murder She had
come up and taken the children camping I think that they probably had a really good time and I think that that caused
her to just think this is what I'm missing I'm missing the great time watching my children grow up
experiencing them as they become you know teenagers adults and so forth I think it's probably around that time she
started hatching a plan in her mind of how she could change custody and the way to do that she had been through the
court system that had not worked in her favor and I think she was looking for alternate plans which
ultimately left to uh her decision to kill Fred with Fred jablin dead piper Roundtree
wanted to win back her three kids who were staying with Fred's brother Michael and his family she asked for a custody
hearing in Virginia family court she had asked whether I would go up there and testify at her custody hearing and I
said yeah I wasn't sure if I was going to be up there at that time but I told her I said I will be happy to and what
she was working on is trying to establish that I had eliminated her as a suspect and I certainly had not at that
point detective Kelly was all for Piper attending the hearing scheduled nine days after Fred jablin's murder but not
for reasons Piper thought she's thinking about trying to go to Richmond and have
this custody here in the back of your mind you're saying well if she's in Richmond it would be easier for you guys
to make an arrest right definitely it was not a deal breaker that she was not in Richmond but saves extradition that
sort of thing nine days after the murder in a Richmond Virginia courtroom a judge
made her decision knowing that Piper was Under Suspicion for murder the judge granted custody of Piper's three
children Cali age 10 Paxton age 12 and Joslin age 15 to Michael jablin yeah my client has a constitutional
right to have her children and she's been denied that right Piper left the custody hearing shaken
and little did she know that just minutes later she would be arrested for murder they could have taken this from a
scene from a gangster movie that the police just jumped out with it seemed like machine guns and dragged me off to
tell me that they had they were arresting me for the murder of my my ex-husband after her arrest for murder four months
ago former prosecutor Piper Roundtree is having a tough time adjusting to life Behind Bars
my mom my sister's but she's anxious for her day in court and ready to stand trial for the murder
of her ex-husband Fred jablin I don't think I I would be intelligent if I weren't worried or
concerned but I have an incredible amount of faith all rise and I I trust God God's put me
here for a reason ladies and gentlemen the jury good afternoon in opening arguments
prosecutor Wade Kaiser launches right in with what he says is Piper's chilling motive it all came down to money you'll
hear evidence ladies and gentlemen that pipe around tree had been ordered to pay
child support to the victim Fred jablin who had custody of the children Kaiser says Piper Roundtree was tired of
struggling to pay child support to her ex-husband so she killed him she was over 9 700 in her marriages in making
that child support she blamed Fred and held him accountable for everything that had happened to her but listen to all
the evidence over the next several days when Piper's defense attorney Murray Janus has his turn he tells Juris the
state's explanation of a motive just doesn't add up but you'll hear evidence that she'd made a support payment in
October of 2004. hardly some things somebody's going to do to send money if they in fact had planned to kill that
person and more importantly Janice says there isn't anyone who can put Piper at the
crime scene and see if one single person says we saw that defendant pipe a round
tree take a gun out and shoot Fred jablin we saw her running away although Janice does admit there is a lot of
evidence showing someone committed this murder you're gonna find that somebody was in Virginia somebody flew on a
Southwest Airlines insists the wrong Roundtree sister is on trial there's one name You're Gonna Hear
over and over and over again that's the name of Tina Roundtree and Janice says all the evidence will point to her
I think you'll hear evidence that Tina had certainly at one time a gun herself a 38 caliber you won't hear any evidence
that Piper Rountree owned a gun Piper is obviously aware of her attorney's defense strategy but when she spoke with
us before trial she wouldn't flat out accuse her sister of murder did your sister Tina did she do this
couldn't say I don't know is she capable of something like this I'm not going to answer that
all arrives no matter now before the Lord shall be in the church the whole truth
I do have a seat please with the trial underway prosecutors call Jerry Walters to the stand to help show that Piper
hatched an elaborate plan to get away with murder using the bank account Walters had
opened for her was Piper Roundtree his name on the car no it's not Piper approaches that blonde wig and
prosecutors say Piper wore it the weekend of the murder so it would look like her sister Tina committed the crime
did you at any time order any wigs no sir okay judge our next witness is Kathy Molly prosecutors say Piper also
used Walter's card to buy that airline ticket booked in her sister's name to fly to and from the murder how is this
ticket paid for my credit card right here Kathy Molly the agent remember selling a
ticket to a woman using the name Roundtree and for the first time in court Smiley would you look around the
courtroom and see if you can identify the person to whom you sold that ticket on October 28th
that lady right there looks familiar a witness is able to identify Piper in fact Molly says the brunette checked in
as a blonde but the hairs don't like that at all it's much shorter in the colors a lot
darker that's not all Molly's biggest surprise she says Piper was carrying a gun what do you recall unusual about
checking bags of anything nothing she just told me right away that she needed to check a firearm
she just commented that it was her father's gun and she was taking it to him but that gun wasn't the state Smoking
Gun they say Piper not only got on that plane to Richmond they can prove she spent the weekend there within miles of
the crime scene it was Piper's own cell phone that would do her in we started looking through the cell
phone records and recognized the number to uh Papa John's Pizza Henrico County detective Chuck Hannah
was given the job of tracking the cell phone calls to see if anyone could place Piper in Richmond so we called Papa
John's Pizza and asked if a individual with the last name around tree had ordered a pizza they stated that a
person with the name around tree did and that person had it delivered to room 171
in the Homestead Suites that led detective Hannah to the manager of this hotel who remembers the guest in
room 171. she said she had a reservation there her name was Tina Roundtree and it's that
witness Tamiko James who was able to place Piper Roundtree in Richmond at a hotel located just miles from the crime
scene would you point to and identify that individual what is the defendant here
and then a second eyewitness takes the stand Raymond Seward says he saw Piper on Saturday morning just a few hours
after Fred jablin's murder a medium Bill medium height and blonde hair where is she
that lady right there Seward remembers Piper returning a car to his rental agency near the airport
the same airport where that flight carrying a passenger named Tina Roundtree would later take off she was
it's not a hard way to get to the airport and if eyewitness testimony wasn't enough to put Piper in Richmond
prosecutors say they have Piper caught on tape they say the woman seen walking into a
Richmond Virginia gas station is the defendant Piper Roundtree in disguise the tank will will show a white female
enter the door it's a mountain of evidence that they hope will knock down any suggestion that it was Tina
Roundtree in Richmond the weekend of the murder you have to concede it doesn't look good
right no it doesn't look good I suck I certainly see that you know my mouth fell when I saw these things like oh my
God now prosecutors take their case one step further they set out to show how Piper
made sure that when she shot Fred jablin she wouldn't miss out Mac McClanahan knows both sisters he
dated Tina and he worked with Piper when you went with Piper to work early in the
week of October 25th to Galveston did you ride together there we did and back yes okay
on one of their rides home together Mack told Piper he was going to stop at a shooting range tell the members of the
jury what Piper said when you brought that up she said she wanted to go with me had you taken Piper to the gun range
prior to that day no Piper shot a few rounds then decided she wanted to rent another type of gun so
she went to the front desk and made an exchange she returned with a 38 caliber revolver
same type of weapon used to Gun Down Fred jablin days later did she fire the 38 she did
Saturday morning around 6 30. and when Matt ran into Piper a few days after the murder he found out just how nervous
Piper was about their trip to the gun range I told her I was sorry to hear what had happened and she hugged me and
said I love you and she said please don't say anything about the gun range it'll just complicate
things with one of their last Witnesses prosecutors deal a final blow to Piper it turns out The Alibi Piper thought she
had for the night before the murder had fallen through after you've had a chance
to think about it have checked all of your records Kevin O'Keefe who thought he'd seen Piper at the volcano bar on
Friday night now tells Juris he was mistaken were you in the volcano at all on that Friday October 29th no you sure
about that positive thank you battered by dozens of witnesses against her Piper Roundtree a former prosecutor
knows she's in real trouble and now she has to make one of the most important decisions of her life
should she take the stand all rise after listening to the 49 Witnesses testifying against her
that lady right there looks familiar yes sir she's right there with the state's case finished that lady right there
Piper Roundtree is looking like a goner if you could look those jurors in the eyes how would you do it what would you
say I would tell them I didn't do it be truth I believe in God Piper realizes she has only one option
all right next witness take the stand called pipe around tree a little more round this Roundtree if you would
[Music] but you know it's it's risky to do that to take the stand and testify you know
that right yeah so on the fourth day of trial only four months after Fred jablin was
shot dead in his driveway you are Piper and Roundtree is that correct I am Fred jablin's ex-wife Piper Roundtree
tries to answer to a jury for defense lawyer Murray Janice Cuts straight to the chase
his Round Tree did you shoot and kill Fred jablin on Saturday morning October 30th 2004. I did not
when did you first learn that Fred Chaplin had been shot and killed that that evening
what was your emotional condition at that time well I don't remember a whole lot of the
rest of the evening did you ever learn that evening where your children were no in a soft shaky voice Piper Roundtree
testifies it was impossible for her to shoot Fred jablin in Virginia because at the time of the murder she was in Texas
but it isn't just Piper's whereabouts she and her defense team will use as an alibi their strategy is based on showing
the jury what kind of person Piper Roundtree really is do you love your children yes very much
where are they as far as priorities in your life second only to God Piper tells jurors the last thing she'd
do is hurt her kids yes it was not an easy to force but I had no right to take away the
children's father the children need both parents how were you getting along Fred jablin
compared to during the divorce itself um it was an answer to my prayers we were doing very good
and when it comes to her Alibi about being at the volcano bar she insists she was there that Friday before the murder
even though Kevin O'Keefe had told prosecutors he wasn't even there that Friday night do you know when it was
that you saw the defendant in the volcano uh Saturday October 30th right but Piper stands by her story and says
she even remembers floating and drinking with a stranger what was the gentleman's
name that you met up with if you're not uh he said Steve initially and then he said
calm Jerry have you ever seen him again since then no all right Miss guys this round tree I believe you testified
the prosecutors go on the attack Piper's motive for murder is simple a vengeful woman who had lost her children you had
lost custody of your three children completely not completely if it doesn't the order state that you lost physical
and legal custody of your children yes to your husband yes wasn't that devastating to you yes
wouldn't you do anything for your children I wouldn't kill for them no paper however is unable to explain away
the physical evidence at the heart of the case starting with her Jeep parked at the Houston Airport the very weekend
Fred jablin was murdered can you explain why the records from the Houston Hobby Airport show that your vehicle was in
their parking lot on Thursday and Friday and Saturday no I have no explanation then prosecutors questioned Piper about
her visit to the gun range where she practiced shooting just days before the murder with the same type of weapon used
to kill Fred jablin you shot two different Pistols that day didn't you one was a 22 caliber revolver
and the other was a 38 caliber revolver uh that's what they say well you had it in your possession I didn't know what it
was it was a gun and what about that blonde wig prosecutors say Piper needed it desperately for the weekend of the
murder to disguise herself as Tina you wanted the blonde wig so bad that when you've got the box with the paprika wig
in it with the note saying that they didn't have it in stock and that you would have to pay an additional charge
you said send it anyway I want it correct uh Tina had wanted no I'm not asking you
what Tina said I'm asking you you told them yes I did I'll pay the extra money isn't that right and you had the blonde
wig yes sir where is it at uh last time I saw Tina had it if Tina had the wig and Tina was on the
plane then you want this jury to think that Tina committed the murder don't you I have no idea what happened you have
not I don't the evidence pinpoints Piper in Richmond near the scene of Fred jablin's murder
Hotel records and receipts show Piper used the bank card she said was stolen I didn't know what had happened to the
card there's one more staggering piece of evidence those damning cell phone records calls made from Piper's cell
phone from Richmond to Texas just after the murder what happened to the cell phone
I don't know well the crimes being committed you don't know where it is that's what you're telling these people
I'm telling them that I didn't have the phone from probably that I remember last
time I remember it was Tuesday before that you lost the telephone on Tuesday where did you find it on Saturday I was
at Tina's house because you want to you want this jury to think that Tina committed to murder
you're willing to put it on her aren't you no sir thank you man you can have a seat next to your Council
Piper steps down she has done all she can now it's up to this man Marty McVeigh the lone witness who can
physically put her a thousand miles away from the murder and where is your office the present
time in Houston Texas now sir tell us if you will jumping up to Saturday October
30th 2004. did you ever see paper Roundtree on that date I did and where was that
sir in my office and could you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what time you saw her
approximately 4 30 that afternoon give or take five minutes are you sure of that time sir yes sir
McVay is Piper's very best witness because it's impossible for Piper to have been in two places at once McVeigh
says she was in his Houston office at the exact same time police say she was on an airplane returning from murdering
Fred jablin how many people have you talked to about the Tom Piper Roundtree was in your office on Saturday October
30th that's them yes sir oh gosh then I've talked to the prosecutors here I talked to the detectives again in
Houston in the Houston Police Department I've talked to Paige Akins from the Times Dispatch
local newspaper reporter Paige Aiken ends up becoming part of the very story she was covering well not mistaken if
you would she takes the stand to testify about what Marty McVeigh told her and how he employed mistaken I'm a
reporter at the Richmond Times Dispatch have you been assigned any heavy in fact
been covering the case involving Miss Piper Roundtree I have Paige Aiken swears that McVeigh had told her that
Piper had stopped by his office the day after the murder not the Afternoon Of The Murder did you ask him when prior to
Sunday October 31st he had last seen Piper Roundtree yes he said it had been quite a while uh about a year I believe
Marty McVeigh is put back on the stand and sticks to his story and dates had you seen pipe around tree before Sunday
October 31st yes and when was that on October 30th all right we'll be at recess till
tomorrow all right when it's all over Piper Roundtree seems dazed and exhausted do you think you conveyed to the jury
I hope so that's all I can say is I hope so are you afraid yeah yes I'm afraid [Music]
I was amazed about the evidence that police collected the documentation they did the witnesses
throughout Piper roundtree's murder trial the brother of the victim Michael jablin has watched closely focused on
the woman who was once part of his family any doubt in your mind that Piper round tree is guilty
there's no doubt and I was very sad about the whole thing hearing it how somebody with such a high level of
Education could have plotted such an event Piper's mother Betty Roundtree sat in
the courtroom every day she can't believe her youngest daughter is a killer do I think she's guilty no I do not
she's had so much love in her life and she's such a gentle kind person I honestly cannot believe that she did
this [Music] the jury deliberates for less than an hour ladies and gentlemen have you been
able to reach a verdict in these matters would you hand it to the sheriff please
we the jury find the defended guilty of first degree murder Frederick jablin is charged in the indictment Joanne Lawson
yeah Beverly Owens is this your party yes Holly pace is this your verdict yes no
one seems surprised not even Piper within an hour the jury hears more testimony and then will recommend her
sentence anywhere from 20 years to life they were extremely extremely close Betty Roundtree pleads for leniency so
the children who'd already lost their father won't lose their mother too her whole life was just with those children
taking them different places reading to them have a seat please Michael jablin is not
vindictive just sad and searching for answers how do I explain to young children that their mother killed their
father they've lost both parents basically now how do I explain that to these children how does anybody explain
something like that less than an hour the jury decides to recommend the harshest penalty we the
jury having found the defendant guilty a first degree murder Frederick Javelin fixer punishment at life in prison
foreign [Music] the five-day trial included nearly 60 Witnesses and 80 pieces of evidence who
has now been sentenced to life in prison [Music] it's over how do you feel right now I
think we feel good we get the result that we anticipated having in the long run but um it's nice to see the jury
validate our investigation and bring a little bit of justice as close as we're going to get here anyway
[Music] within minutes of the verdict we talked with Piper in a holding cell Piper a jury is spoken
guilty life in prison yeah what's your reaction to that sentence I think I'm still in shock
it hasn't hit you yet has it in spite of all the evidence and the jury's Swift verdict Piper Roundtree
still insists she's innocent for the record you're still are saying that you did not kill your ex-husband I didn't
it didn't I mean obviously it looked like I didn't you didn't do it no I didn't will you get an opportunity at all while
you're serving a time to see your children would you do you know anything about that I hope so
I'm gonna be happy to talk to them anything you want to say to them I just love them and miss them
what kind of mother would do this I think that's a very good question I don't know what kind of mother would uh
would would uh leave them without a father and without a mother I don't know it's really hard to
understand that it's very sad when you have to think about that I really think that she thought she could do this and
then just walk into the sunset with her three kids I think that's how she thought this was
going to play out Megan McCrary Fred's neighbor and friend as no sympathy for Piper Roundtree and what was she
thinking did she not understand the impact this was going to have on her children's lives
I mean she extinguished four lives that day she murders her ex-husband and basically destroys the childhood of her
three children I just I don't understand what she was thinking the verdict may be in but what was the
jury thinking as they watched the halting testimony of Piper Roundtree wouldn't you do anything for your
children I wouldn't kill for them no I think that was one of the most serious moments of the trial for me because it
was the nail in the coffin it was a nail in the coffin when she took the stand yeah for me that was going from 90 to
100 guilty Joe Howe and Timothy James spoke to us about the impression Piper made the four
or five words that we got out of her weren't a whole lot and they were not convincing when she took the stand I
mean it almost seemed like you know she could kind of you know turn her tears on
and off do you love your children yes very much and of all the evidence against her what
was it that sealed Piper's fate the cell phone records you could very easily track exactly where she was and what she
did cell phone tractor all the way get the whole time and what if Tina Roundtree the sister Piper pretended to
be the sister many people say was Piper's best friend it's impossible to know whether or not Tina knew that Piper
was going on a trip to murder her ex-husband but based on how close they were um it's hard to imagine that Tina was
not knowledgeable in some sense that something very serious was going to take place she would stick up for her sister
and I think she would do anything short of murder for her sister your name came up a lot during the trial it was almost
as if the defense was to blame Tina Roundtree for the murder what's your reaction to that
they're just trying to set a possibility of doubt in the juror's mind but you didn't mind
oh I am being used I don't care about fashion doesn't matter you know I don't care it doesn't make it I mean it's I
think it's a stupid defense but the jury is certain the Right Round Tree was convicted however months after
the trial Tina Roundtree herself would be convicted of tampering with evidence after the murder of Fred jablin she
would be sentenced to nine months probation but this jury would sentence Piper to a
term we the jury fixer punishment at life in prison far more severe why life in prison we didn't ever want
her to come back into her children's lives because it would have been reliving the
murder [Music] [Applause] [Music]

A beloved professor is gunned down, but the clues are stranger than the crime. "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Harold Dow reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

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

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Brief Summary

Piper Roundtree was convicted of murdering her ex-husband Fred Javelin amid a custody battle, leading to a life sentence.

Key points

The Shocking Murder of Fred Javelin. A university professor is found dead in a quiet neighborhood, shocking the community.
The Arrest. Piper is arrested for the murder of her ex-husband just minutes after a custody hearing.
Piper Roundtree's Alibi. Piper claims she was in Texas when her ex-husband was murdered, but evidence suggests otherwise.
Piper's Motive for Murder. The prosecution claims Piper's motive was revenge after losing custody of her children.
The Verdict is In. The jury finds Piper guilty of first-degree murder, sentencing her to life in prison.
Piper's Mother Pleads for Leniency. Betty Roundtree asks for mercy for her daughter, fearing for her grandchildren's future.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I was married to Fred jablin, we have three children.

1:21WatchJun 2, 2023

Tension

80/ 100High tension

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