When You Think You’re Smarter Than Police | The Interrogation Room hosted by Vivica A. Fox | Forensic Files

if you are someone you know is experiencing domestic violence call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at
1-800-799-7233 observing the signs this sort of micro Expressions have discussed
[Music] dissatisfaction with life in general I could never please detecting changing
stories I'm trying to help you and I'm trying not to sign this we got a guy who's getting all kinds of advice from
everybody most of all don't talk to anybody aggressive to volunteer information that
will simply be twisted and used against me spotting when to hold back Steiger actually feels quite hard done by he
feels that he was helping police with their inquiries I have put myself here as a result of being cooperative
and when to close in my only goal in this was to locate Cassandra I'm broken I feel like giving up
I'm Jessica a fox and I'm about to give you exclusive access into the secrets of
the interrogation room see how the world's finest detectives armed with only their wits hone in on their
suspects break down their lies and expose the shocking truth we'll examine the signs a suspect is
lying while revealing the expert techniques that result in an all-important confession and justice for
the victims and their families this is a very intelligent man and this is going to be a very very interested
interview [Music] [Music] in Pensacola Florida 53 year old businessman Henry Steiger has violated
his parole conditions after being convicted for fraud he is being held at Santa Rosa County
Jail while cops investigate his financial activities I'll take these off while we talk and
make it a little more comfortable okay nice people in that same chair let me ride back with you okay okay
[Music] Henry how you doing oh not so great I think you guys know that though okay
he's got bags under your eyes are you sleeping okay no I'm not sleeping okay [Music]
I don't know do you really do you really care but detectives Alverson and Wilhite are
not here to talk to Steiger about his fraud charges they're here to talk about a different
investigation entirely I want to talk to you about some other stuff and uh it's come up and if you want I I would
like to talk to you if you want to talk to me I'll try okay 25 year old nurse Cassandra Robinson has
been reported missing by one of her sisters Sandra is the mother of Henry steiger's
18 month old daughter Evelyn at the time of her disappearance nearly six months ago they were living together even
though according to Steiger they were no longer romantically involved until its arrest for the unrelated
Financial crime Steiger had been helping the cops with their investigations around Cassandra's disappearance
[Music] in a previous interview at his home Steiger explained that after Evelyn's
first birthday Cassandra had decided that she would go away for some time alone to recharge her batteries
it was planned in advance what was planned she said she was going on vacation oh yeah we had the little
birthday party and her bags were right there ready to go so I knew she was leaving and she knew
she was leaving and she left under the terms of much needed vacation which I was very sympathetic
for but Cassandra's family haven't heard from her in nearly six months and neither has Tiger
Kenny help detectives shed light on where she might have gone even though I've been told many times
never talked to the police on many different sources and even though I've had my own negative
experiences with talking to the FBI and the police in previous previously last year sure I've also had negative
experiences talking with the two of you I've lost every very short period of time so I'm
reticent that will only in the worst case scenario simply be twisted and used against me
[Music] tiger I was quite impressed with how intelligent he is he's obviously very
clever this is a man who loves his daughter and he's very family orientated I lost my business
you got my car you got my my child is separated from me which is the worst thing and um you know I gave you the red
so I'm losing the house my only goal in this was to locate Cassandra and find out what happened to
her you know when when we came to your house that's what from what we talked about you know we didn't talk about your
finances we did talk about my finances for some reason why did we pick that up I I have no idea it was at the initial
home interview around the time of Cassandra's disappearance that Steiger inadvertently alerted the cops to his
own Financial irregularities do you work I do roasting on developing proprietary
technology for roasted coffee as well as new Delivery Systems how long I've been
doing that process of forming all the normal so we had to take one of our kind of
secretary people have him open it back again secretary give us the favor of opening to bank
account along with the opening of the company bank account Julia major had also allowed Steiger to use his name for
the purchase of two cars and the leasing of a storage unit because Steiger had been recently
convicted of Fraud and was still on probation the detectives reported the unusual arrangements to the federal
police as a result of that he has actually ended up in prison because of some sort
of money laundering or irregularities in relation to his finances and now Steiger
actually feels quite hard done by he feels that he was helping police with their inquiries
he is really angry about it and blames the fact that he's in jail on the two investigators who are sitting in front
of him basically he is accusing them of being the reason why he's currently sitting in the situation that he's in
effectively and practically speaking you have disassembled everything that I've been working for
I'm broken I feel like giving up and maybe that's your goal I also know that whenever there is a
significant other he's the number one suspect I get that okay and so you have to start there
Steiger is right although their relationship isn't a conventional one he is the father of Cassandra's child and
the last person to have seen her before she vanished so my the most recent interaction with
my attorney said to me for God's sakes do not speak to any police officers without an attorney present it can never
do you any good that was the last piece of advice I got from my attorney now we got a guy who's pretty cagey he's
in jail he's getting all kinds of advice from everybody most of all don't talk to
anybody whatever you do don't talk okay quiet The Helpful Henry Steiger that detectives first encountered in his home
has changed they've lost his trust which could be disastrous for their investigation into
the fate of Cassandra Robinson stigma may not even be involved in Cassandra's disappearance and so they've
got to build this Rapport they've got to have this sort of relationship where stoker may actually give them some
information which could lead to another Avenue of Investigation so it's really important to do that
all of these things that I've lost are a direct result of a single conversation with you
I mean I I want to be cooperative I think you've seen me be cooperative and yet I have put myself here as a result of
being cooperative so I don't know what to do you wanted to supply a list of questions
that I could somehow prepare to answer or have my attorney look at as it says here
Henry is definitely a control freak he's definitely being said he's the center of
attention he wants to control this interview and he's letting detectives know from the get-go that I want to be
in control here I believe that he's asked for those questions because he feels that he can
he feels that he's mischief-making he feels that he's got the upper hand with the officers and he's trying his utmost
to intimidate them as individuals there's an expression that says those that control the frame control the
outcome and to me that means is that a police interview is dependent upon everyone playing their role and that
means that the police are in a superior position the suspect is in a sort of submissive position but within the
Stagger interview the stagger's not playing his role he's he's sort of manipulating the police officers if you
like so right from the answer I thought this is a very intelligent man and this is going to be a very very interested
interview the stakes are high for both sides of this interrogation for Henry Steiger it's about getting out
of jail and being reunited with his baby daughter Evelyn for detectives Alverson
and will height it's about finding out what has happened to Cassandra Robinson a young mother who has been missing for
nearly six months coming up is Henry Steiger a hero I'm saving you and this child and this
relationship is he actually saving her or is he controlling her or is he a deluded narcissist he's so
overwhelmingly arrogant that he believes in his self prophecy the world that she had more respect for
part of [Music] detectives Alverson and wilheit of the Pensacola Police Department are working
an unusual missing person's case 25 year old nurse Cassandra Robinson was reported missing on June 8th of 2018.
neither friends family nor the father of her child Henry Steiger had seen her for
six months when someone goes missing and it's somebody without me somebody who's not
wealthy and has the ability to go missing on purpose right it's almost always bad news because most people they
don't move five feet without their telephone I don't care who you are what country
you live in how poor you are you almost always have a phone so when you're not finding any activity on their ATM cards
their public aid cards their telephone and it goes about 72 hours something bad happened but Henry Steiger seems more
worried about his finances and the possible fraud charges than Cassandra's whereabouts
I can tell you that the the situation I'm in with the feds potentially be never ending
they haven't they haven't charged me yet but they could it never ends and you can't defend yourself against
them with a toddler to take care of on the outside it seems Justified for Steiger
to be focused on his incarceration and financial plight but is he also being strategic
Steiger continued to try and bring the whole discussion back to the federal charges the money laundering and the
other items that he's involved in it was his way of trying to control the interview to steer the officers away
from asking the questions for which they're actually there he was trying to avoid the delicate
conversation Around The Disappearance of Cassandra put me in a spot where worst possible condition in my life
well I don't know yourself I hope that's for a a good purpose in the end well I I hope it is you know because
you've got that beautiful little girl you know I you know I I gotta find Cassandra
the detective's primary motive going into this interview is to find out what happened to Cassandra they are going to
show all the patients in the world and do whatever they have to to work through Henry's stumbling blocks the things that
he's upset about the reasons he doesn't want to talk they will do whatever they feel they have to do to get to the point
which is what they need to find out about Cassandra to get past Henry's defenses do Alverson
tries moving to save her ground he stops talking about Cassandra's disappearance and instead inquires about
their relationship Steiger takes the bait what was she was she like just just general disconcert right
unset dissatisfaction with life in general just I could never please her and she was dissatisfied with our
relationship in that I could not give her honestly what she wanted she wanted more of a a peer to peer romantic
partnership kind of relation mostly it became me babysitting her and becoming a a caretaker for her and
helping her up and you know maybe that's the Savior complex in me from being the
big brother so when the relationship converts to and almost all my girlfriend relationships
converted to Little Sister Big Brother relationships and then the you know [Music]
Steiger and Cassandra first met four years earlier in 2014. he claims Cassandra was working in a
strip club but after they became romantic he helped her begin a new life look I've put her through the nursing
school I got her out of Pensacola she asked me help me get out of this drug scene and I made her get her own job and
pay her own rent but I would have to come to town every once in a while and buy 400 worth of groceries for her and
stock her up you know and she was living so meagerly I was proud of her she knows proud of her that relationship
was I'm proud of you for this progress that you're making [Music] when Steiger talks about himself and he
talks about his relationship with Cassandra he does talk about him saving her and he does seem to have this sort
of Savior image of himself and that to me would straight away bring some alarm Bells because is he actually saving her
or is he controlling her is he dominating her how much Freedom did she actually have
in 2016 Cassandra became pregnant despite steiger's description of their failing relationship
Cassandra moved in so to understand the context of the story I moved her in under the
understanding um that I didn't know if the child was mine I didn't move her in case the child
was mine I thought it was unwise of her to have that child in her condition of Life her position in life
I'm saving I'm a saver right I'm saving you and this child and I put them in my guest bedroom so I didn't move them into
my master bedroom I you know I didn't you're not here in the context of us being in a family relationship but I'm
going to take care of you like a family relationship and that's really the best I can do for you
that would be that's even a bigger deal well I mean you know the world changes for you when you realize you have a baby
sure sure and I already loved her so it wasn't like it was an inconvenience do you think Cassandra wanted what she
couldn't have you know I think she doesn't feel like she fits in with her family at all
and I think the opportunity to in a different world than the world she was raised in right a world that she had
more respect for and wanted to be a part of he delivers the traits of a psychopath
he believes that he is the savior his arrogance is overwhelming you watch the interviews and the way that he delivers
his answers and the way that he deals with the officers he is so overwhelmingly arrogant that he believes
in his self-prophecy what he's really saying is that he believes himself to have this special
purpose and his life to believe that he's got some sort of dispensation to do pretty much whatever he wants to whoever
he wants the detective strategy is working no longer upset with them or defensive
Steiger is confidently reaching out and taking the initiative to build rapport you don't much care who what people
think about you more like this guy here who doesn't care what people think about
it you uh I do really yeah okay I think everybody you know has a heart I do have a heart
very compassionate pensional so I do care Steiger tries to ingratiate himself with
the detectives he tries to build a rapport and at one point the detective shows a photograph of his own child
shall we this is my do no wrong okay she can do no wrong so they they sort of build up this
camaraderie but from the detective side of the coin that is good because he's building that friendship that Rapport
that trust and that may then present a false sense of security which may allow Steiger to put his guard down because
again it's about getting the truth you should know that I respect you and what you're doing in your job and that I hope
I haven't said anything to make you feel like you've actually been very special to me okay good you've never said
anything I've had people say all kind of crazy stuff yeah it's always been very respectful
so after you know use that against you when the detective asked him did Cassandra were threaten to take the baby
away from him they're trying to give him a uh it's a segue into going well and how did you feel about that and what
were you willing to do about it and how far are you willing to go to prevent that from happening and that's one of
those questions you hope he bites on and maybe he over commits to it she used that against me before she knew it was
mine before I don't remember what's mine she did that all along did it ever make
you nervous when she would say that kind of stuff that she was gonna actually do it her
whole life made me nervous yeah she's not a controllable person right when she said that she was going to go
on her vacation did she say that she was going to take Evelyn with her no no she needed a vacation from the schedule
and you were like okay I wasn't like that it was like I was sympathetic to her reason for
wanting to go which was the schedule the schedule is driving her nuts so in terms of starting his responses in
respect of his daughter and his partner you know most of the two very different responses when he speaks about the
partner this sort of micro expressions of disgust if you slow down the footage you'll see those crinkle and it's a sort
of bad smell sort of you know they're almost imperceptible to the human eye so that tells me that you know he adds up
to contempt really for her and not much respect it's clear that he really idolizes the daughter you know she's
gone on a complete pedestal how long was it didn't reach a bottle when she's done with it Like a Surgeon
she just hands it to me right without looking at me take it I take it set it on the table
and then she curls up and goes to sleep and then in the middle of the night or when she's thirsty she'll
sit up and just point get me something and I'll reach for the bottle there's different colors of bottles and she
knows which one she wants is that the love of a father or is that somebody who doesn't want that child to
be a possession of someone else so the love of a father wouldn't take away jealousy hate and all the other
indicators in this particular person's case he does not want Cassandra to be part of this child's life
so can we go back to our life please Henry Steiger has opened up about his relationship with Cassandra claiming
they were no longer romantically involved when she disappeared and despite her being the mother of his
child he has portrayed her as an unreliable absent parent for whom he has little respect
but for the cops this is a red flag they believe a controlling deluded narcissist
has revealed himself now that Henry is feeling confident detective Alverson is ready to move in
with evidence that they've been holding back on in an attempt to finally get to the truth about Cassandra Robinson
coming up shocking evidence Steiger can't deny [Music] do you recognize these containers
at this time the owner could there be an explanation well it is and that's my problem
even at this point he contact responsibility that's who he is to his call Henry Steiger says his on off girlfriend
Cassandra Robinson went away on vacation but never returned that was six months ago claiming their
relationship was already over when she left he has been happily so parenting their daughter Evelyn ever since
the interrogation room has become a place of trust and friendly chat as Steiger and the detectives compete to
charm and seduce each other but their game of cat and mouse is about to end we've got to appreciate you know the
more that obvious child is missing she's been missing for some time and in most people's minds you know
they're be fronted they'd be fraught they'd want to do everything they could to find the person you know they'd be
anxious crying to be waves of different emotion anxiety anger fear not knowing what's going on and yet this is a man
that just wants to have fun with the cops so Henry thought he was a filibuster he
thought that he was doing everything right in order to obfuscate what the officers were asking he didn't think for
one minute those officers any form of evidence to link him to The Disappearance of Cassandra
cops have been busy investigating steiger's life they've discovered he owns a large
trailer for storing hot air balloon equipment it's parked at business associates
Shelby Johnson's property on the outskirts of Pensacola in this investigation things have developed and
I've learned more about you and about this whole situation so two days ago Mr and he said that you had a trailer on
his property that had the balloon stuff in it is that true that you have a trainer
over there at his property that has your ballooning stuff in it how long has it been parked there
I don't know um he told me about mine where was it parked before that um it was at my house
when they mentioned Shelby and the trailer all of a sudden you notice Henry touches his face
he also has this blinking that suddenly starts to happen so there were a lot of non-verbal cues
that he was giving at that time during their their part of the questioning that were indicative of discomfort not
wanting to be there up until that point he's very animated he sits forward he's waving his arms
around he gesticulates you know he's very very animated but as soon as they start talking about the trailer he
withdraws he becomes a lot more quiet and he's now at the point where he's thinking about how do I control the
situation now detective Alverson has been playing with Steiger all along building him up
feeding his ego now she will start to break him down fact by fact so one of the things officers are
trained to do is a thing called staged disclosure what they do is they drip feed things and introduce them into the
interview and that's done in this particular interview to Great effects trailer and took some pictures of it is
that is that it is that your trailer you know we're aware the fact you've got this trailer but then they every few
minutes introduced a little bit more evidence I was back here trying to get the tag
number off the back back here and I detected it an odor an odor that I recognized very well for
doing this job I use analogy of someone juggling balls every time they give starter a bit more
information they're saying right now juggle that now juggle that decomposition from human body
okay so we trailer out and we open up the door has been found under I guess this is your basket for your hot
air balloons so we pulled it out these containers were here do you recognize these containers
at this time the odor decomposition very strong there was the smell of death and we
found this and we found that and then we located this this container here do you recognize this container
and ultimately we've discovered the body that that's I'm trying to figure that out how
in this Barrel sealed in your balloon train part the Shelby's property I'm trying to figure out how and of all
that can happen So eventually what happens is his brain goes into critical cognitive overload so
it can no longer juggle the balls and then what tends to happen is the person just effectively drops the balls and
that's when confessions come something happened when the female detective moves in close
to him that's a specific move that interrogator makes to close the space okay now we're friends we're close and
now we're closer and when I get close to I'm going to touch you maybe because that's going to humanize you all right
that touch is going to disarm you and make you feel like I like you I'm your friend uh it's it's a uh it's an
intimate move on a part of an interrogator it's often will break the dam and he'll just give it up at that
point I don't think it was a planned on purpose because you love little Evelyn and I don't think you would do anything
to harm Evelyn or harm Ellen's mother of course not well it is a story that uh I don't think
anyone would believe and that's my problem even at this point he now knows that he
is caught they have his trailer they have his keys that open the trailer and they have Cassandra's body in the barrel
in the trailer and he's like it's an unbelievable story that nobody else will believe
I can't take responsibility that's who he is to his call it's everybody else's fault
despite being confronted by irrefutable evidence that he murdered Cassandra Robinson Steiger is in no mood to admit
it detective Alverson has conducted a clever non-confrontational interview that's worked very well to this point
but to get a confession from Steiger she will need to penetrate the entrenched narcissism of a remorseless killer
coming up can detective Alverson get a confession he's so arrogant and he believes that he
can control the direction of that interview and Steiger faces the horror of what
he's done [Music] the police interrogation of Henry Steiger Over The Disappearance of his on
off girlfriend Cassandra Robinson has been a high-stakes game of psychology each side careful not to give too much
away finally detective Alverson has played her trump card she revealed that they found Cassandra's
decomposing body in a barrel in steiger's trailer her hope is to overwhelm Steiger with a
chain of shocking evidence that would lure him into a confession is it your trailer yes are these your
containers yes so now we're building on these Admissions and once you get them into the yes mode
and in fact oh is that Cassandra's body up yes and you put it there didn't you Henry yes that's your goal you want the
confession but so far Steiger hasn't surrendered and he isn't done playing games
it is a story that I don't think anyone would believe that's my problem well I would like to
hear it it's not a matter of something that I have any kind of confidence that anybody
would um would really understand this is this is a heavy heavy load for you to be having to deal with I can
imagine what you want your piece with with what occurred I I understand it I'm not not I'm not happy about it but I
understand it I don't think I can get anyone else to understand it so I haven't I haven't explained it to anyone
I haven't shared it with anyone so I guess this is the part where I need an assistant to help me decide what to
say and what not to say I mean I I can't help you and I can't help just tell your story if I don't know it
and I probably need assistance in presenting us professional assistance in presenting that story
he needs and he decides to stop to and to be honest I'm quite surprised that he didn't ask for legal
representation earlier but I think that that's part of his arrogance he believes
that he can control the direction of that interview he believed he was more intelligent he believed that he had the
brains to overcome the evidence the detectives all these factors that were going to point at him and at this point
he realizes he's not and he does need help before Steiger shuts the door completely
detective Alverson makes a final move she tries to connect him emotionally with the brutality of what he's done
[Music] by showing him a picture of Cassandra's remains what she looks like after
spending an extended period of time in this Barrel in a trailer in the heat is definitely to gauge Henry's response see
what how does it affect him is this something that's going to make him feel like he needs to talk to her he needs to
confess like what's good what's it going to do what's interesting to me is that Henry
actually just stared at it and then lean forward and had a really good look at the picture which I thought was very
telling they've got the evidence they've got enough to convict him there's no question about it but everybody listen
you do an interrogation to get a confession that's your goal that's the end game
but will it be enough to get Steiger to confess I want to believe that you're I want to believe you're a good person
and if you're going to be you know you're you're a good dad that's what I was believing
thank you that you're not leaving me any other choice but to believe this is a bad
thing and a monster did that um well you think I need the opportunity to explain to you with professional
assistance I understand hi I don't know if I'll stay again unless you come and let me come over
here that I wish you the best thank you don't pray for Evelyn and pray for you thank you
praying for Cassandra and Cassandra's family okay thank you everyone and those candles are lit and she blows
them out tell her to make a wish I hope her soul wishes and every year that her mom was here
I think that he that's definitely an indication to Henry what he actually thinks of Henry
um that he feels like Henry's ripped the mother of Evelyn away and that's what the perception of so this nice guy
game that they were playing the whole time was really their job with Steiger in jail and going nowhere
the cops spend another two weeks Gathering evidence an autopsy report concluded that
Cassandra had been murdered but because of the decomposition of her body the manner in which she was killed could not
be determined nevertheless on July 27th of 2018 Henry Steiger was charged with the
second-degree murder of Sandra Robinson they obviously charged Henry with second-degree murder in this
investigation because those were the elements of the crime that they could prove
possibly one of the elements of first-degree murder the premeditated part was absent in the evidence that
they had available at the time Steiger pled not guilty determined to have his day in court here he would
finally explain what happened to Cassandra he stated that she died at her own hand
by way of a shopping bag suggesting that she's committed suicide or it was an accident he's suffocating
herself accidentally on purpose just just more ridiculous grasping at straws but when you're desperate you'll say or
do anything the prosecution presented a very different story it was based on forensic evidence and
the extraordinary testimony of steiger's Junior business partner Julian major confessed to helping
Steiger conceal Cassandra's body Steiger told him that after an argument Cassandra decided to leave with their
daughter he had then started to strangle her Sandra was unable to fight back because she was holding and protecting
their child [Music] he was found guilty and he was sentenced to life imprisonment
he did appeal against both these sentences and failed in his Appeals [Music] guys like Henry it's all about them
grave telling everybody they're innocent they didn't commit this crime Etc because Henry wants it his way all the
time [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music]

While serving time in jail for a financial crime, Henry Steiger is surprised when he becomes the prime suspect in the disappearance of Cassandra Robinson, his ex-girlfriend. While he claims his innocence and cites how the police are ruining his life, he has no clue the level of evidence that’s been gathered. Hosted by Vivica A. Fox, THE INTERROGATION ROOM is a brand new true crime series that brings viewers behind the scenes, where real-life murderers and detectives play cat and mouse. Behind every shocking crime is a detective racing to uncover the truth, and it all comes down to the wire inside the interrogation room.

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Brief Summary

Henry Steiger is interrogated about the disappearance of Cassandra Robinson, leading to shocking revelations and his eventual arrest for murder.

Key points

Henry Steiger's Claims. Henry Steiger insists he was helping police with their inquiries about Cassandra's disappearance.
The Stakes of the Interrogation. For Henry, it’s about reuniting with his daughter; for detectives, it’s about finding Cassandra.
Missing Person Investigation. Detectives investigate the disappearance of nurse Cassandra Robinson, missing for nearly six months.
Shocking Evidence Unveiled. Detective Alverson reveals they found Cassandra's decomposing body in a barrel in Steiger's trailer.
The Confession Dilemma. Despite overwhelming evidence, Steiger remains defiant and refuses to confess.
The Trial and Its Aftermath. Henry Steiger is charged with second-degree murder, claiming Cassandra's death was accidental or suicidal.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I have put myself here as a result of being cooperative.

0:50WatchJun 27, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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