Young Killers | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] I've never spoken publicly before about any of this. Never really fully healed from any
of what happened. It's like waking up every morning and having the same phone call.
911. What is the address? That's your emergency. 911 call came in October 2nd, 2017. It was called in as a welfare
check. Something happened at my ex-husband's house over the evening and my two children came to my house this
morning. Okay. And what did they tell you exactly? Their dad's gone. Their older sister's gone.
Where are we? officer set the scene for us. This is Benson Street. And for me, this is just another welfare
check. But we don't know what we're walking into. What is your ex-husband's name? Aaron
Frier. I learned that he was a good guy. He was a good dad. What is your daughter's name? My oldest
daughter's name is Ellen Frier. How old is she? She's 15. Ellie was in the marching band. Very
bright, very intelligent. With the older daughter missing, it was very suspicious. We didn't really know how
suspicious it was until we saw what we saw when we got here. Enough for police. Knock yourself.
We clear the house and in the living room, based on the blood splatter, there was a serious assault,
probable murder that occurred. So time was of the essence. Absolutely. Time is always of the essence. You know
it. The only information I had was from the patrol officers and what Sierra was able to tell us on scene.
[Music] I remember waking up in the middle of the night. We know at around 5:30 that Sierra heard
the glass breaking. I just started listening. just listening to try and understand what was
happening. I was certain she had heard the assault, but she hadn't realized that. Thank God she didn't walk out and
interrupt this thing. I was very terrified. Based on what she had seen at the house, she knew somebody wasn't
okay. She went over to the couch. She felt something wet and when she pulled her hand up, it was covered in blood. I
just was in like a state of shock. Sierra could not locate her father Aaron and her teenage sister Ellie. We treated
it as a missing person's serious assault until we know otherwise. Everyone was out
looking. There was also a potential that this was what we could refer to as a nobody homicide. And those cases are
always tough to work. As of right now in my family, there are two family members
missing. It's still like an open wound every day. [Music] [Music] The quiet city of Medford, Oregon, was
shaken by Maggie Frier's desperate 911 call in the early morning hours of October 2nd, 2017.
I don't know where my ex-husband or my oldest daughter is. I understand that something happened at the house.
Something happened over there. Maggie Frier's ex-husband, Aaron Frier, and their 15-year-old daughter, Ellen,
nicknamed Ellie, were missing. My concern is for the both of them. We don't know where they are. You can only
imagine all the things that were running around in my mind. I didn't know who was
dead and who was alive. When Medford Police Officer Logan Boyd arrived at Aaron's house, he found that
gruesome scene. There is blood everywhere. Blood spattered walls, shattered glass,
and a trail of blood to nowhere. See, it starts from there and kind of goes all the way out in the dirt. It goes out
towards the carport. Yeah, that's not good. This led investigators to notice what also was missing. Aaron Frier's
car. Seen here on a neighbor's security camera leaving the Frier home around 5:30 that morning.
We're kind of dealing with what I would describe as like a two-headed monster. An all hands on deck call went out to
every Medford police detective, including Detective Bill Ford. We didn't know at that particular time whether
this was a missing person case or a kidnapping. We just didn't know. Detective Shannon Reynolds, Bill Ford's
colleague and wife of 20 years, had a different take. In my mind, I automatically assumed that the
15year-old daughter was the victim of a homicide. So, a case like this, where did this one sort of fit in? Probably
one of the most interesting um heinous um crimes I've seen in my career. Investigators hoped Ellie's younger
sister, 11-year-old Sierra, might shed light on the unknown. Detective Reynolds, who specializes in crimes
against children, was tasked with interviewing her. Sarah wasn't like outright crying. Um, but you could tell
she was worried. Who was she worried about? Um, her dad and Ellie. I try not to really think about that time a lot,
but Sierra, 18 years old at the time of this exclusive interview, still finds it
difficult to speak about the day her father and sister vanished. I was, you know, just a child and
um I'm sorry. The second of three girls, Sierra says she loved being in the middle. I get to be an older sister and
a younger sister, so I get like the best of both worlds. I like the connection and the
bonds that we have. Sierra says her older sister, Ellie, loved music and could play many
instruments. [Music] A skill Ellie seemed to have picked up from their father. One time he tried to
teach me how to play the drums, but I wasn't very good at it. So, in 2016, Sierra's parents, Maggie and
Aaron, ended their marriage. Sierra says the divorce took a toll on her and her sisters.
It affected us a lot. It was actually not a very great experience for everyone involved.
Sierra says that when her parents separated, her dad moved into that small two-bedroom house. Maggie and Aaron
shared custody and the girls would stay with their dad every other weekend. In September 2017, Sierra decided to live
with her dad full-time. I want to be around him and fill my life with him. Then around 5:30 a.m. on October 2nd,
2017, the Frier family was forever broken. Sierra was asleep in the bedroom she shared with her younger sister. I woke
up and it was just pitch black. I remember waking up to like a dinging noise over and over and over
again and I heard glass shatter and I heard the fight that occurred. The sound was coming from the living room. So then
what does she hear? Because she really is sort of an ear witness to all that happened. She heard her dad yell the f-
word. She heard dragging. She heard things being moved. After that, it was completely
silent. Did she have any idea what was going on at the time? No. She was frightened enough to stay in her room
until she felt like it was okay to come out. When Sierra finally did come out, she found that horrific scene. It
had to be so scary, though. So scary. Sierra told Detective Reynolds that before leaving her room, she had seen
something out of her bedroom window. She could see people walking back and forth.
Sierra saw two young men outside of her dad's house. One was a person Sierra didn't know. The second was someone
Sierra immediately recognized. It was Gavin McFarland. He was Ellen's boyfriend at the time.
This was her big love. According to her, he was a great guy, but according to my
parents, he was not a great guy. Sierra insinuated this was a little bit of a forbidden love. Dad had forbade Ellie
from seeing Gavin. This was the break investigators had been hoping for. Once we have a name, Gavin McFarland, now we
got a picture. Now we know who we're looking for. The search for Aaron and Ellie Frier.
And now Gavin McFarland was on. We probably had 70 75 people out on the streets of Medford.
Ellie and Aaron's phones were found in the house. Investigators now began tracking Gavin's phone. We started
getting cell phone tower hits up in the East Medford area. Patrol officers immediately headed in that direction. A
patrol sergeant locates the car. That was huge. As the officers approached Aaron Frier's vehicle, they realized
that something wasn't right. We could see there was blood on the outside of the bumper that had been dripping down.
When this trunk is opened up, there is large amounts of blood. I mean, it is soaked into the carpet. But no Aaron and
no Ellie. But the car was still warm, so the police knew they were close. We had
tons of people up there driving around looking for them. And then just an hour later, investigators couldn't believe
who they found next. [Music] Their dad's gone. Their older sister's gone. Then just 4 hours after that 911 call
reporting her missing, Medford police found Ellie Frier. She was alive, seemingly unharmed, and had been walking
down a busy street with Gavin McFarland. They're walking down the sidewalk in plain sight. Plain sight. So now we know
Ellie's safe, which made two things clear. Aaron Frier was the victim. And based on all that
blood in his car and at the house, time was quickly running out to find him. We had Aaron out there either seriously
injured or deceased. Walking along with Gavin and Ellie was someone investigators hadn't been
looking for. Do you have ID with your name on there? Uh, no I don't. I hardly ever carry my
ID around. Okay. He turned out to be Russell Jones. Thanks. Have a seat real quick. A friend of Gavins.
I won't make it hard on you. All right. Russell had apparently made an impression on Sierra Frier, says
Detective Shannon Reynolds. He matched the description of that second young man she saw at her father's house that
morning. So, she got a really good look at this person. Investigators now had a witness placing Gavin and Russell at the
crime scene. Detective Ford says he wasn't sure what to make of Ellie being found with them.
That doesn't mean that Ellie's involved in something. But Ford says that she, Gavin, or Russell might hold the key to
finding Aaron. Ellie, Gavin and Russell are separated. Detained and transported to the Medford
Police Department for questioning. Hi. Hello. Detective Stephanie Jackson was tasked with getting Ellie Frier's
account of the previous 24 hours. So, what have you been up to today? I haven't been home and now I'm really
concerned about what's been going on. Mhm. Where were you? Out. Ellie was saying everything had seemed
normal when she left her father's house for a long walk. And you were walking down the street, it sounds like, today?
Mhm. Who were you with? I was with my friend. According to Ellie, she had run into those friends, Gavin and Russell,
only by chance, not long before being spotted by police. And so, everybody is really
concerned because we actually don't know where your dad is right now. That's really disturbing to hear. Maybe he was
looking for me. We are very worried about your dad. So am I. Ellie was saying she had no idea
where her father was or what happened at the house. So, where did all the blood come from in
your house? I don't know. Around that time, Detective Ford was preparing to interrogate the other two
detainees. Strategically, he decided to let Gavin wait in a holding cell and began interviewing Russell. Spin around
in your chair there and face me so I can talk to you. He's a talker. Very, very talkative. So,
I kind of knew he would have a hard time keeping his mouth shut. Yeah, I have nothing to hide. So, Russell was ready
to talk, but he wanted something first. A cigarette. I talk better when I have a
cigarette. Detective Ford took him outside. Just kind of smoking and joking is what
we call it. The camera didn't record audio, but Detective Ford says Russell began telling him that he and Gavin had
gone over to the frier house early that morning. He told us that he was trying to help
get Ellie out of a bad situation. That bad situation, according to Russell, was Aaron Frier.
And the first thing that he tells us is he's not a good person. Aaron Frier is not a good person. Correct.
He didn't elaborate further about Aaron, but Russell was claiming he and Gavin were only there to secretly move Ellie
out. So, the next thing I tell him is, "Look, Russell, we got detectives out there
right now pulling video from every house, the alleys. So, if this ain't the truth, you need to be truthful with me
right now." And he looks me square in the eyes and he says, "Well, 95% of it's the truth and there's five 5% of it's a
lie." So, I'm thinking automatically, well, what's the lie here? Detective Ford decided it was time for a new tactic and
tried appealing to Russell's conscience. I look at him and I'm like, you know, Russell, I don't want a child to find
Aaron out there somewhere, come across something like that. I said, can you take us to Aaron?
He didn't beat an eye. He's just like, yeah, I'll take you to him. The veteran detective wasted no time.
We load Russell up. He's actually sitting in the seat that you're sitting in now. Okay. We got him handcuffed in
front. He's basically telling us, "Okay, turn right, turn left." They were ascending a rural mountain
pass 20 m outside town. And all of a sudden, Russell says, "Stop. Stop right here.
[Music] [Music] Where did you stop your car back there? Uh, probably right where that rock is.
Do you see the body right away? You could see the tarp. You couldn't see any portion of the body. Right here in this
green tarp. Detectives descended the wooded ravine and pulled back that tarp, revealing
that just 6 hours after that 911 call, they had found Aaron Frier. It was obvious that he was deceased.
When you found out your husband was dead, what did you think? Uh uh I was just completely shocked. I didn't
know what to think. Maggie says the police hadn't yet told her Ellie was in their custody being questioned or even
that she had been found. I was very worried about the fate of my daughter. I had no idea if my daughter was even
alive, too. Maggie then faced the unimaginable task of sharing the news of Aaron's death
with their two younger daughters. The reality was almost too much for then 11-year-old Sierra.
I just really didn't want to believe it for a really long time. While investigators began processing the
scene, Detective Ford drove Russell Jones back to police headquarters. He says Russell was claiming that all he
had done was help dispose of Aaron's remains. He's like, "I'm not going to be a witness against Gavin."
Russell was saying Gavin was Aaron's killer, but that Gavin had been provoked. His story was that Aaron had a
rifle and was pointed at Gavin. So So making it seem like a self-defense because if he had a gun pointed at him.
Exactly. You can sit in that chair over there. Okay. Back at the station, Detective Ford returned Russell to the
interrogation room while detectives gathered for a briefing. You're listening in on my conversations, aren't
you? That's when Russell began taunting them through the camera. I can still twist your little
mind. Don't piss me off. This, I imagine, got everybody to stop what they were doing and gather around
the monitor and watch this. That's what you do. So, we can play it the easy way or the hard way. He would go into these
rants and making demands and stuff. Gavin and Ellie are to be released to me. And Russell was claiming he still
hadn't been totally truthful. And Mr. Ford, you want the whole story? Cuz I did miss a few parts.
For her part, Ellie was now saying Russell was the one responsible. I I believe that Russell's the one that
killed my father. All right. With the conflicting claims, Detective Ford decided it was finally
time to interview Gavin McFarland. I know I'm in serious trouble, aren't I? Well, we need to figure out what
happened. Gavin started by saying how volatile Aaron Frier could be. He's threatened my life. He's like, "No, stay
away from my daughter. I'm going to kill you." One month earlier, Gavin had called the
police, claiming Aaron had shown up at his house, banging on his door, threatening to kill him. I don't know
what caused him to not like me anymore. Detectives discovered at least one reason, Gavin's age. He was 19 years
old, dating 15-year-old Ellie. And making things worse, Gavin was now claiming Ellie was going to have his
baby. She told you she was pregnant. I've known for about 2 weeks now. While Gavin was admitting to having a sexual
relationship with a minor, itself a crime, he was accusing Aaron of being the one who had been abusive to Ellie.
The anger had just been building up because of the things that Ellie had been telling me. Mhm. Try to protect
Ellie. My possible trial. Gavin was claiming he and Russell had gone to the house that morning. But
unlike what Russell said that Aaron had not confronted him with the gun, instead
Gavin was saying Aaron had been in the living room asleep on the couch and that Gavin had crept in armed with a baseball
bat. Then Gavin made a startling admission. I just acted on instinct. Okay, what happened?
I just swung the bat downwards. It was dark. I couldn't see. How many times do you think you hit him? Like five or six,
maybe? Five or six times. Yeah. The physical evidence would back up Gavin's story. Aaron had died from blunt
force trauma to his head and a bat was recovered from a tree branch above where his remains had been found. So, this is
a lumin bat discoloration. You can see it's red here. This is all blood. Testing would confirm the blood was
Aaron's. And he demonstrated for us in the interview room how hard he swung it down on Aaron's head.
I went over the shoulder the first time and then I started going up above my head.
I mean, there were five distinct blows to his head. Explaining that dinging sound Sierra Frier had heard. They
fractured his skull. caved his skull into his brain. I'm I'm really sorry. And investigators soon found evidence
that Aaron's murder had been meticulously plotted for weeks. They discovered notes some in Russell's
handwriting at Gavin's house. We found several murder plans and they actually had plan A, plan B. There were
multiple plans and I think ultimately they come up with the bat and based on what you could see from the
planning, who's the mastermind of all of this? Ellie, believe it or not, Detective Ford
says he believes it was Ellie who wanted Aaron murdered, pointing to messages Ford says she sent to Gavin. In one she
says, "We need to make sure he's dead by the time we leave his house." And in another, she asked, "You want to kill
him now, don't you? And then you can kill him in less than a minute, right?" She's pushing it
all. She wants to be with Gavin. She wants to be out from underneath the authority of her father. Ellie wanted me
to kill him, but I didn't want to. Detective Ford says Ellie might have made up those abuse
allegations, possibly as a way to motivate Gavin to kill her father. She is very
manipulative. From me watching that entire interview, she lied. Are you Ellie? No. And lied. How old are you?
18. And lied. How did Gavin get in the house this morning? He wasn't in the house.
After several hours, Ellie did eventually admit some of her role, even saying that she had handed Gavin the
murder weapon. And what do you say to Gavin? I said, "I'm ready when you are." Okay. What did you mean by that? When
you do this, we're in it together. What did you mean when you said when you do this? Kill my dad.
With evidence, they all conspired to kill Aaron. Gavin, Russell, and Ellie were charged with his murder.
From the day after she was arrested, there was this narrative and her side was never
told until now. The story that the state has, why is it the right [Music] one? My daughter left to go stay at my
ex-husband's house for the weekend and never came home. I imagine that moment haunts you still.
Of course it does. My child never came home. After hours of worry, Maggie Frier was
finally told her 15-year-old daughter Ellie had been located. I got a phone call from a police
officer, that they found her. But worry morphed into anger when she was then told Ellie had been arrested
for her father's murder. Go and take a seat. And I said, "So, you've had my daughter in your custody in
interrogating her, and you never once called me to let me know so I could maybe get her some
representation." Alisa Kaplan eventually became one of Ellie's attorneys. She says the narrative about Ellie Frier has
been wrong from the very beginning. In this case, she was made out to be the mastermind or something. You know, she
planned all of this when she was 15 years old and they were 19 and 22. She was the manipulator. She was the
manipulator, right? And that this was all because of her relationship with an older man. But Kaplan says this crime
actually happened because of the alleged abuse Ellie suffered at the hands of her
father, Aaron. She was sexually abused, emotionally abused, and physically abused.
abuse that Ellie described in her police interrogation. He used to be a good father, but he started getting abusive
about three years ago. I picked out a bunch of things, but reading from the case file, Kaplan
recounted several allegations of molestation and abuse. Warning, the following may be
disturbing to hear. Her father would grab at her breasts. He told her to give in to him. And he tried to take my
clothes off and I slapped him away. I was trying to pull. He would masturbate on top of
her when he thought she was sleeping. Felt so dirty and so ashamed of myself. He pushed her
downstairs. Called her [ __ ] idiot, stupid. Slutshamed her. And you would pit me up against the wall and you would
call me those names. And then when he would get drunk, it would all get worse. As a police report shows, three of
Ellie's friends told investigators that Ellie said her dad abuses her. Ellie shared that her dad was rough on her and
emotionally and physically abused her. And Ellie said her dad mentally and verbally abused her. But Ellie admits
she never told her friends about the sexual molestation. And neither Ellie nor her friends told the police about
any kind of abuse before her father's murder. And as far as allegations of abuse, was there any evidence whatsoever
that your detectives could find to back up what Ellen Frier was saying happened to her? No, there was not.
Detective Ford says with Aaron's death, the possibility of proving abuse may have died with him. We can't go to Aaron
and ask Aaron, "Were you abusing your daughter?" We may never know the truth. If she told her mom, did she tell her
mom ahead of time? Have you thought about having a conversation with your mom about that? No, I'm horrified to
even talk about it. Who have you talked to about your dad masturbating? I told Gavin about it, but that's it.
Ellie told Detective Jackson that the first time she had told Gavin was 2 days before he bludgeoned her father to
death. Cuz I know this is hard to talk about. I know. Why me? Why did he do it to me? I don't I
have no idea what he's done to my sisters. I see a teenager who would do anything
to survive and to protect her sisters. Detective Shannon Reynolds says 11-year-old Sierra was asked if there
were any problems at home. She actually only had good things to say about her father. When Detective Reynolds
interviewed the youngest Frier daughter, she recalled the last conversation she had with
Ellie. Minutes after their father's murder, she had said that Ellie had woken her up and she said she was
leaving and that she was leaving because mom and dad were abusive. Before Reynolds could say anything, the
8-year-old gave her opinion on the matter. And she told me, "My mom and dad were not abusive." Both of Ellie's
sisters told Reynolds that what Ellie had called abuse was actually their parents disciplining her for sneaking
around with Gavin. Cuz they took her electronics away and they yelled at her. What do you say to that? Yeah. Well,
they were younger, right? This is actually very common in families where there's abuse that there's one child who
takes on the majority of it and want to protect the others in the family. You know, you you describe her as this
protective older sister, but yet she left them there at the house. How is that protecting them? Yeah. And I think,
you know, those are things that Ellen will live with for the rest of her life. And she clearly understands how much
damage she has caused her sister. Detective Ford says that with no evidence to back up Ellie's abuse
claims, he remains suspicious that she may have made it all up to manipulate Gavin. Seen here with Ellie on a store
security camera hours after the murder. And it turns out Ellie was never pregnant. I think you got to look at it
two ways. Maybe she thought she was pregnant or maybe she's using that to influence
Gavin to kill her dad. Ellie's legal team says Ellie did think she was pregnant, which is why she
bought a pregnancy test while at the store. Investigators say it's clear Ellie Frier has an issue with the truth.
She lied during that interview for no reason. Kaplan says much has been made of the many lies Ellie told during her
police interrogation. As a parent, we all we all know that our kids sometimes do that. But Kaplan says
the real focus should be on the hours and hours and hours Ellie spent in that interview room. I have the right to
remain silent. She asked to not talk. She said, "I want to remain silent." Right. She was there for 10 hours
straight. But with your wishing to remain silent, it's really difficult to kind of get to the bottom of all of
that. Let's talk. a minor without a guardian or attorney. Is it normal to keep a
15-year-old in an interrogation room for 10 hours like that? Yeah. I mean, there's no law against it. So, we gave
her breaks. I found blankets. There was times where she laid on the floor and slept.
Kaplan says that although it may have been legal in Oregon, it wasn't right. And look, police have their jobs to do.
I get it. I just think the rules are really different when you have a kid and in that she looks like a kid.
She's acting like a kid. She's in fear like a kid would be. A kid who Kaplan says was taken
advantage of by someone she calls another abuser. 19-year-old Gavin McFarland. a grown man reaching over to
a 15-year-old girl who was so vulnerable. No matter what her text messages said, no matter what her
involvement was, I don't even understand how you don't look at that as him being
the controller. Detective Reynolds says she saw some of that controlling behavior on
display in letters Gavin wrote to Ellie after they were arrested. [Music] He was saying that she needed to be sure
to say that her dad was abusing her. And he was telling her, "We're going to take this to a jury and we're
going to win the jury over." And the way to do that is to cry. Make sure you cry.
[Music] [Music] I've given everything I can and when this goes to court, I would like to be
tried as an adult. But there would be no trial. In January of 2019, a little more
than a year after her father's death, Ellie Frier took a plea deal. How did you feel about that decision?
I didn't like it cuz I'm pretty sure that she did it cuz she was scared. I don't think she wanted to go to court.
Ellie Frier pleaded guilty to an adult charge of conspiring to murder her father, Aaron.
I'm first like to say that I'm sorry for all the causes. The deal was brokered by a different
defense attorney. According to court documents, that attorney wrote that Ellie Frier's codefendants, Gavin
McFarland and Russell Jones, were going to be testifying against her and say that she was the mastermind behind all
of this. It was her idea from the beginning. Ellie's text messages would have been used against her at trial,
too. Elisa Kaplan began working on Ellie Frier's behalf in 2024. I run the criminal justice reform clinic. We are
looking at Ellen's case mostly because we believe that she has an excessive sentence. And what is her sentence? 25
years. McFarland and Jones also took plea deals with Gavin McFarland pleading guilty to murder and murder conspiracy
charges. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Russell Jones entered a
no contest plea to conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to 15 years. Kaplan is fighting to reduce Ellie
Frier's sentence. She says Ellie should not have been sentenced to 10 more years
than Jones for the same crime. She was 15. He was 22 and her sentence is so much bigger
than his. The idea that Ellen is the master manipulator. I mean, she's a 15year-old. I mean, don't they bear more
responsibility because they're the adults? I don't I wouldn't agree with that. Ellie is absolutely just as responsible
as Gavin, except Gavin was the one that took and held the bat in his hands. Detective Shannon Reynolds isn't as
certain as her husband about Ellie Frier's role. I go back and forth. The mastermind of it, I initially thought
was Ellie. Then reading the letters from Gavin that he wrote to Ellie telling her
what she needed to say. Then I started to think maybe Gavin was the mastermind of all this. I go back and forth. Ford
says regardless of who crafted the plan, all three are responsible in the eyes of
the law because without her this wouldn't have happened. Without Gavin, this wouldn't have
happened. I doubt without Russell it could have happened. I want to be very clear. She was involved. She
participated. She was a co-conspirator. No doubt, right? She takes full accountability for her role
in this crime. Ellie Frier, now 23, has been serving her sentence in a juvenile detention center. In December of 2026,
she'll be moved to an adult prison. and she recently earned two master's degrees, one in psychology and another
in justice studies, which by the way is not that easy to do when you're in prison. She's really incredible. I am
very proud of her. I've always been proud of her after what she went [Music] through. Aaron's dead. Who's going to
speak out for Aaron? Sierra Frier will My dad was a kind man who loved me and my sisters and always tried to fill my
life with joy. He was a great father to me. He goes with me wherever I go. Sierra has
joined the National Guard, something she says her father always wanted for her. It's mind-blowing that that the little
girl I interviewed is now grown up. The fact that she's joining the National Guard lets me know she didn't let this,
you know, derail her life. A life Sierra has had to live without her father, whose memory has been marred by those
abuse allegations. A 48 hours producer asked Sierra about them. Ellie claims that your father abused her. What do you
have to say to that? Uh, I don't really want to talk about that just cuz I have my own feelings about it. Sierra is just
as guarded when it comes to her thoughts about her sister Ellie, though the two have maintained a relationship over the
years. It's very hard to explain because a lot of people wouldn't understand. I've got my own feelings about her.
But Sierra's feelings about her father are very clear. I love him and I'm so sorry for everything that happened.
I have faith and I have hope that one day, you know, we'll meet again. [Music] [Music]
Was the Ferris family a happy family? No. A wealthy man's murder leads to a mother's unthinkable accusation. I want
everyone, especially my children, to know I didn't do this. I know who did. 48 Hours is all new CBS next Saturday,
10:9 central and streaming on Paramount Plus. [Music] Like many things in life, the facts of
this case are not simple. They're not black and white. It's easy to forget how symbolic this trial was of a greater
problem in the world. You will hear strong, compelling evidence that explains the real reason for this very
sad and tragic killing. It's been 6 years. Is it still hard to believe that Blaze is gone? It took a
while for it to set in, but I'm at peace with it. Maybe that's all that we were supposed to
have. Happy birthday, dear. There were like 19 years with so many moments of brilliance and beauty.
Bla1 was very creative. Definitely when we were little kids. Did you want cheese? Sure. We were like attached at
the hip. I think of him as somebody whose potential for life was completely obliterated.
Bla1 Bernstein was gay and his killer was a member of a neo-Nazi group. Undercover officers made their move on
Sam Woodward. What have you learned about neo-Nazis? They're everywhere for now. They're all over the internet.
They're here in Orange County. I believe that this was a hate crime. The 26-year-old's appearance has changed
dramatically from the time of his arrest back in 2018. At the trial, Sam looked like a spitting image of Charlie
Manson. It was absolutely terrifying to look at. The evidence will show you that
the defendant killed Bla1 Bernstein because he was gay. He was gay and Jewish. Hate crime or crime of passion.
The difference is the possibility of parole. Bla1 Bernstein was found with 28 stab wounds.
The prosecution has a bit of a higher bar here because they also have to show that Sam murdered Bla1 because of his
gay identity. He had developed his long-standing beliefs against Jewish people and gay people.
What happened that night was not a hate crime. We knew that he was going to present some story of what happened that
night. Not the targeting of someone because of his sexual orientation. What kind of story could he come up with? Sam
Woodward never planned to kill Bla1 Bernstein. Homophobia, sexual repression, hookup
culture. It almost never ends the way that this story ends. We don't have any control over what the outcome is. It
could be innocent. I'll let a jury decide. [Music] Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] [Music]
The why is the single most important issue you will need to decide. Not who is responsible for the death of
a young man, but exactly why he was killed 6 years ago. For Jeannie Pepper and her husband Gideon Bernstein, those
six years were painfully marked by co delays, shifting lawyers, and legal strategies.
Slow justice is no justice. It's not fair to victims, and it's not fair to the deceased. Finally,
came April of 2024. Jeanie and Gideon were more than ready for their day in court. We're impatient. We want to get
on with our lives. But not before telling the story of their firstborn child, Bla1 Bernstein, how he lived, and
why they believe he died. Murdered because of who he was. Targeted by hate. It's not safe for you to be a lot of
different minorities. Now, the victim in this case, and nobody disputes that he was a victim, was stabbed to death. Ken
Morrison would defend Samuel Woodward, charged with firstdegree premeditated murder. Morrison squared off against
prosecutor Jennifer Walker. And where we start is with who was killed, Bla1 Bernstein. And He was 19. He was gay and
Jewish. The silent, ghostly presence in the courtroom was Blaze. That slender, curious, playful
young man with a big world. Images that refuse to fade. Are there pictures or things that flash
through your mind that you think of Blaze? Always every day. It was just weeks after Bla1's death
that we first met Jeanie and Gideon. Wounds raw. They shared bittersweet memories of the son they described as
magical. And the first time I saw him and I looked in his eyes, there's something about this baby. He's he's
going to change the world someday. Heya, that's gonna be the intro. What do you miss most about Blaze?
Yeah, that's it. His quirky personality. He was different. He liked to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
I call him the unicorn. He was magnificently creative. It was late summer 2016 and Blae, who'd
already achieved so much, was headed to an Ivy League school here in Philadelphia, the University of
Pennsylvania. There'd be new friends, mentors, and challenges, and Blae seemed ready for it all.
He really hit his stride. A creative writer thinking about a career in medicine. He was finding himself.
Then came winter break, sophomore year. Blae headed home. He was really looking forward to being with us, too. There
were holiday celebrations and Hanukkah candles. The budding chef cooked up a gourmet meal. And then sometime on the
night of January 2nd, 2018, Blae secretly left his parents house. It would be the last time. that night. When
did you realize that he was missing? We didn't I didn't know that night. We didn't even know. We thought he slept in
and the next day we were I I had my aha moment when I was at the dental appointment.
The next day, Bla1 was due to meet his mother for that dentist appointment, but Blae never showed up and wasn't
answering his cell phone. I called Gideon. He asked me if Bla1 had ever come home the night before and I
screamed out, "I don't know." Rushed out of the office and came home. We both did. We flew home and checked Blaz's
room. His wallet, his retainers, his keys, those are all still at the house. His
glasses. Yeah. All of that stuff was at the house. But your thought was, well, it
was just so highly unusual. He wanted to spend time with us. I just kept texting
and calling him and leaving messages all day. Where had he been? We didn't know.
They called police and tried to log on to Blaz's social media accounts. We just jumped on his computer. This was a big
challenge for us. But with the help of family and friends, they logged on to Blaz's Snapchat. That's where they
discovered the night he disappeared, Bla1 had sent his home address to someone. Sam Woodward, a seeming
stranger who never heard the name. Never heard the name before. Gideon and Jeanie
were panicked and baffled. Who was Sam? So Gideon messaged Sam. Please pick up. Sam got on the phone. The Bernsteeen
recorded the phone conversation and would share it with police. and we just cracked in a snap account and saw that
you had been uh trying to find him. So, you're the first real clue to the to the
puzzle here. Sam's pieces of the puzzle began with him meeting Bla1 near the Bernstein's home. I picked him up at 11.
And he said he drove him here nearby Bergo Park with its thick brush and twisting paths and that once there they
parked. Okay. And then did he get out of the car or what happened? Yeah, he got out of the car and uh I got out of the
car, too. And Sam added, Blae, claiming he was going to meet a friend, walked down a path and vanished into the
darkness. I shouted out Blaze. Blaze, but I didn't see anything. I I didn't hear anything. Sam explained to the
Bernsteeen how he knew Blae and why he says they were getting together. It was more of a spur of the moment kind of
thing. Yeah, dude. Let's hang out since you and I were friends when we were at OSHA. OSHA, the Orange County School of
the Arts, where RyaSki, Blae, and Sam were once classmates. Rehea's high school memories of Sam were about to
come flooding back with a vengeance. I got a call from my mom. Rehea, did you hear? And I said, "What?" And she said,
"Blaze is missing." And then my mom said, "Rya, he was with this guy named Sam Woodward." I screamed
in the phone, "He what?" And she was like, "Do you know this guy?" And I said, "Yes, I know this guy. He's
crazy." How different were Sam and Blae. Oh, they were so different. Probably about as different as you could be.
Hauntingly different, says Blaise's oldest friend. So when that word began to filter across Orange County that Blae
hadn't come home and that Sam Woodward might be a person of interest, it chilled Rehea to the bone. Her memories
of Sam impossible to shake. Well, hello ladies. He was drawing guns in his notebook in class. Did you say anything?
No. But you thought this is terrifying. [Music] The spotlight was on Sam Woodward whom
Rehea remembered from high school. He was very quiet, very withdrawn, didn't really talk to people. Sam Woodward, odd
man out, says Rehea. You know, everybody has their click, but I don't think he identified with any of them really. And
as far as anyone knew, the last person to see Bla1 Bernstein alive. The only reason I could think of
Sam meeting up with Blaze is because either number one, he wanted to hook up with him or two because he was planning
to murder him. And as for that story Sam told that on the spur of the moment he and Blae had decided to hang out, it
didn't come close to adding up for Rehea. He had a reputation of being what? Racist, homophobic, sexist. It was
Rehea who was there when Blaz's sexuality was still a secret until along a glistening California beach, he
bravely confided in his oldest friend. So you guys were kind of walking down the beach alone together and he came out
to you. Yeah. Rehea, who would later also come out, stepped up when it mattered most. All I could do was be a
good friend and love him unconditionally. Did you get the sense that Blae had told anyone else that I
don't think that he did. He was kind of upset to say it. Something that clearly was a big secret for him. Yeah, you
know, coming out to yourself is a really mature, difficult thing to do. And what
did you tell him? I told him, "It's okay. If you like boys, that's totally fine. Love who you love."
While he hadn't yet told his parents, Gideon and Jeanie sensed Blae might be gay. We went up to him and said,
"Listen, whatever your situation is, we we embrace it. We love you. We don't care. But in those first days of 2018,
it wasn't just love. It was also an unimaginable fear that consumed Jeanie and Gideon. As the search for Blae
began, Orange County cops spoke with Sam. He repeated what he'd told the Bernsteeen on that phone call. that he
had picked Bla1 up, driven to Bergo Park, and that then Blae had vanished. By January 5th, the search had become
massive. We're out here conducting a search for Bla1 Bernstein. We're here today to get your help to find our son.
Please keep your eyes open for my baby. I want him home with me now. Search and rescue teams and helicopters
searched the wilderness area. And we printed up thousands and thousands of flyers that people in the congregation
put up. Everybody's looking shalom. Rabbi Arnold Rockas coordinated the search from University Synagogue where
Bla1 was an active member and a role model. Please join me in honoring Bla1 Bernstein. Bla1 embraced his Jewish
heritage and confronted its haters. Not only were 6 million Jewish people systematically murdered throughout
Europe in concentration camps at such a young age to see someone with so much talent is a beautiful thing. A good
heart, a good soul. That's what Blae had. Everyone was somehow hoping for good news, including it seemed Sam
Woodward. Okay. So, is this the best number to reach you at? Uh, yes, sir. It is.
On that call that Gideon had recorded, Sam sounded deeply concerned. Yeah, I want to find Blaze as much as you do.
[Music] But Blae was nowhere to be found. Anxious hours stretched into sleepless
nights. I really didn't know if we would ever find him. As the days passed, you know, that it became more and more
difficult. And I thought, we're never going to know. We're never going to know what happened exactly. We're never going
to figure it out. [Music] Um, yeah, that's what I thought. I immediately thought, he's dead. He's
dead just from hearing that he was with Sam. Yes. It was day seven since Blae last
left home. A family, a community was beyond frustrated. Detectives had searched Bargo Park over and over, but
they decided to give it one more look. In the pouring rain, a detective stood right over there. And hidden under a
large tree branch was a mound of dirt. Under the wet, caked earth lay blaze Bernstein.
If not the rain, we would have never known what happened to him. So the rain uncovered his face. Leia and Richard
Bernstein are Bla1's grandparents. We just loved him. I wish I could write like he wrote.
I wish I could cook like he cooked. Where's Blae? Yeah, he's in the front. 48 hours met them just a few
months after Bla1 was murdered. I think the world lost a beautiful soul. They always think of him before they go
to sleep. Their grandchild, once brimming with life and possibility, had been horrifically
slaughtered with a knife. And then the funeral happened and it was shattering. The grief stretched across Orange
County. We're hugging them right now. We're all hugging them. This is our big giant hug
to them. Just want to know why. I don't I don't even want to know because I'm not going to like that
answer. [Music] [Music] 3 days after Bla1 Bernstein was found, butchered and broken. Can you
tell us what happened to Blaze? No comment. Investigators confronted his one-time classmate Sam Woodward. Were
you there when he disappeared at his parents' home? No comment. Undercover officers made their move on
Sam Woodward this afternoon. As he pulled out of his Newport Beach driveway and went down the road, they pulled that
car over and arrested him. Sam Woodward was charged with murder with the personal use of a knife. Then Orange
County DA Tony Rakus. How did Bla1 Bernstein die? He was stabbed multiple times in the neck. What does that tell
you? Well, it tells me that there was a lot of hate for Bla1's parents. The details of his murder were too much
to even imagine. I just try not to think about what that really meant. I don't think that I that I physically can deal
with the trauma of what's happened. As police gathered evidence, the violence that happened in Bergo Park was
revealed. With Blaz's body, his battered phone inside Sam Woodward's car. Blood.
The blood on the headliner uh belonged to both Sam Woodward and Bla1 Bernstein. Bla1 Bernstein's blood was in Sam
Woodward's car. Yes. Yes. And then they went on to search the house. Yes. What kind of forensic evidence did they
gather? There was a knife. The knife had blood on it. Bla1 Bernstein's blood on the knife.
At his arraignment, Sam Woodward would plead not guilty. Investigators would continue to
search for what happened that night in Bergo Park. They would soon come to believe
that Sam had a dark and frightening secret. He was involved in this extreme neo-Nazi
organization, Otawa Division, which does expect its members to explicitly target
members of the Jewish and LGBTQ community. Sarah Moore monitors hate crime, working for GLAD, one of the most
prominent gay rights organizations in the country. She's kept a close eye on the small but violent group, Adamwin.
These are their propaganda videos posted between 2017 and 18. They want to kind of blow up the world as it is. They want
to create something entirely new. And the new thing is what in their mind it would be a white ethnostate for now. And
there's either no Jewish or no LGBTQ or no people of color in that society. How does Adam Roffin recruit? They
recruit primarily online. just a click away and exactly where Sam, whom Ryarovski remembers had trouble
making friends, found some strangers who welcomed and encouraged him. Did you consider yourself a neo-Nazi? I just
consider myself a Nazi. This man does not want his identity revealed, but he says he was once a member of Adam Waffen
and that he came in contact with Sam the year before Blae was murdered. It was like a camaraderie type of
feeling, common interest. And those interests were hating other groups, hating Jews, hating gays, hating blacks.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. How involved was Sam Woodward and Adam Waffen? I know that he was involved.
Involved enough, say investigators, to wear the Adam Waffen mask, give the Nazi salute, make a
pilgrimage to Colorado to meet neo-Nazi leader James Mason, and travel to Texas to attend Adam Waffen's version of a
corporate retreat. They call it hate camp. At hate camps, members will get kind of a 101 training on how to be a
violent extremist. And that bitter January 2018 when news broke that Bla1 had been stabbed to
death allegedly by a member of Adamwin as Orange County mourned. Neo-Nazis reportedly cheered. Everyone celebrated
him like he killed a gay Jew, which in their mind is sort of a jackpot. Gh. It's disgusting.
There were people congratulating this accused killer for what he has done. Killing my son, congratulating him. Had
you ever heard of Adam Waffen? No. Before this, but we should have because we're a perfect target for that group.
Because of Sam's involvement in Adam Waffen, 7 months after Blaise's murder, prosecutors upped the ante, adding a
hate crime enhancement, a murder motivated by prejudice. As the story unfolded that the murder
was related to homophobia and anti-semitism, well, then the anger in the community ratcheted up.
For some, it brought back the darkest of times. It must seem like all of this hate was behind you. That's something in
the past. You can't forget it. You can't forget it. Never. It's a murderous echo from her
past. All too real for Grandma Leia, a Holocaust survivor. Once a little girl forced by
Hitler's Nazis to wear a yellow star. Yes, we did wear this. It's a horrible irony that what you escaped is is
following me. Sam Woodward was locked up in the Orange County Jail. He would begin his
yearslong journey through the justice system. It included a revolving door of defense lawyers who raised questions
with the court about Sam's mental health and his ability to defend himself. In 2022, Sam Woodward was found
competent to stand trial. Investigators say they also mined Sam Woodward's phone and social media
activity. And along with the Nazi propaganda, they found something else. Sam had visited gay dating and
porn sites. And he had exchanged flirtatious messages with Blae. So they matched twice on Tinder.
Lewis Keane, a reporter for The Forward, would cover the case and report on the conversations between Sam and Blae. Bla1
admits that he's gay. Bla1 says, "I think you're hot." And Sam says back to Blae, "You're not too bad-looking
yourself, Bla1." So, they kind of had this flirty interaction. Maybe Sam was like closeted and wanted
to hook up. Rya moved to New York City where she lives as an openly bisexual woman. She
still wonders about Sam's intention and Blazes that tragic night in Bergo Park. The defense may argue that Bla1 made a
move on Sam and Sam freaked out. Okay. And if you freak out, does that excuse you stabbing somebody?
April 2024. Stuff is getting real. The jury's being picked. Finally, Sam Woodward
headed to trial. Over time, the case had taken on even greater meaning. There's a
lot at stake here because it's not just about getting justice for Blaze, but it's also about what precedent this is
setting for other LGBTQ plus people who have been or might in the future be in similar situations.
Bla1's parents steadied themselves to relive the night that shattered their lives. I know that a lot of things will
be said that are probably untrue because that's what happens at a criminal trial. I have an opportunity to defend
Bla1 and that's what I will do. See more evidence in the case at 48 hours.com. [Music]
Please come to order. Superior Court is now in session. The people call Genie Pepper. It's the final thing that I have
to do for my son is be there and make sure that there is some form of justice. Good afternoon, Miss Pepper. It took
more than 6 years for Jeanie and Gideon to get this day in court. I just want to
thank you for being here and I'm I'm sorry that the circumstances, but it comes with terrible memories of the day
they lost their son, Blae. You remember where you were when you got the phone call? I do remember that. Yes. And why
does that stand out in your mind? Because it was the beginning of hell. The couple have to come face to face
with their son's killer. But the killer, Sam Woodward, doesn't seem to want to be
seen. Can I ask you to move the hair out of your face a little bit? Maybe pull the hair on the right
side of your head away so we can see you, please. Thank you. Even before he took the stand, Sam
Woodward was already an eerie presence in the courtroom who got everyone's attention. Sam looked like Charles
Manson, so you couldn't really see his face. No, you couldn't really hear him all the
time. Reporter Lewis Keane. If you're in the jury, he looks extremely menacing. Do you want to look him in the eye?
Not really. I don't care. He's meaningless to me. Can I nag you one more time to move your hair out of
your face a little bit for us? Blaze, we love you and we want you to come home. Back when they were
frantically searching for Blae. Please keep your eyes open for my baby. I want him home with me now. Sam Woodward told
them he didn't know anything about what happened to their son. I didn't see where he went. I searched all over for
him. I couldn't find him anywhere. But his looks have changed dramatically. And so has his story. Do you remember
what you were thinking when you were driving the knife down again and again and again?
an anger like nothing I'd ever felt in my whole life. There's absolutely no question Sam
Woodward killed Bla1 Bernstein. The evidence will show that Samuel Woodward is guilty of homicide. The
question for the jury is why this homicide was committed. Sam's defense attorney said in opening arguments that
we were going to hear from Sam about something that happened that night that provoked Sam into killing Bla1. The
challenge for defense attorney Ken Morrison is to prove voluntary manslaughter, that Woodward acted
impulsively. There was no cold, calculated decision to kill. And the knife, according to the defense,
it wasn't ever meant for murder. From the time Sam was a boy scout, Sam was never without one. Did you ever carry a
pocketk knife with you in your pants pocket? Yes, I would almost all the time. Did you have a knife in your pocket when
you're with Bla1 Bernstein? Yes, I did. The killing happened in less than an hour. Prosecutor Jennifer Walker argues
this was premeditated murder and a hate crime. You'll see the cell phone evidence, the DNA evidence, the
defendant's words, the defendant's hate. In the nearly three months at trial, Walker painstakingly put on more than 20
witnesses, including the same former Adamwin member who spoke with us, now a witness for the prosecution who still
wanted his identity concealed. Do you recognize that? Yes. What is it? There's a picture of Samuel Woodward. All to
build the case for the added hate charge and a greater sentence. The difference is the possibility of parole. If it's no
hate crime, then it's 25 years to life with the possibility of parole. If it's a first-degree premeditated murder and a
hate crime, Sam faces life in prison without possibility of parole. The facts of this case are not simple. The defense
uses a timehonored tactic, suggesting the victim is not as innocent as he appears. You will learn that Bla1
Bernstein was not killed because of who he was, but because of what he did. Tell us
what happened. In Sam Woodward's version, Sam, can you pick your head up? Move your hair. Bla1 was toying with him
and threatening to out him. Once they were in Bergo Park, Sam says he smoked a joint. Eyes started nodding off. Sam
says he thought Blae took a compromising picture. I saw my pants unbuckled. I could practically like feel
something somewhat close to my leg. And he had his phone in his hand. He tells us that he believes that Bla1
is taking a photo of his privates. I just came undone. I went in a state of just terror and I asked,
"What are you doing? What are you doing?" And no photo was ever found. So there's no evidence that Blae actually
took one. What were you afraid of? I grew up in a home with my mother and my father and I love them more than I
can imagine. My father though he there's no way not a chance people like him just even thinking about the
look on his face if he saw something like that if he'd heard about something like that that got out
somehow. I couldn't fathom that. Sam grew up in an ultraconservative Catholic household. He had parents who
believed homosexuality was a sin. But Sam also seemed to have really conflicted feelings about his own
sexuality. What you come away with is just immense sadness of all these external forces coming to bear on his
life. He did what he did and what he did can't be undone. Any idea how long it took to stop
stabbing Bla1? No idea. No. It was one of the most awful things I've ever heard. And you
know that Bla1's parents are sitting there for months of this trial. They've been hearing their son is accused of
sexual assault. You can't really imagine what that's like. Genie Pepper walked out of the
room. For the prosecution, the only predator in this story is Sam Woodward. He has a
6-in knife out. And Blaze is the predator. Blaze is the problem here. That's what's being sold to you by the
defendant. He was interested and fixated on hate. Adam Waffen Division had that outlet for him.
Only two people know what really happened that night. Sam Woodward has had his say. Bla1 Bernstein isn't alive
to tell us. You should find him guilty of the first-degree murder with the hate crime. It's the only reasonable
conclusion. Do you have any hesitation? Do you have any doubt? Now it's up to the jury.
[Music] [Music] The passage of time has been doubly hard for Bla1's grandparents, Richard and
Leia. Still waiting for justice for the grandson they loved and lost. I miss him
all. Everything about him. He was loving and caring. He was handsome, too. Bla1 and his exceptional appetite for
life. I tried to treat him as just a normal kid, you know, and he to he turned out
uh sorry he turned out well. On July 3rd, 2024, the jurors began their deliberations.
I don't want him to die. I want him to suffer every day of his life. Is there a part of you that wants to
look that young man in the eye? No. Why not? Because he's a footnote in history.
Whether footnote or headline, grandparents, parents, rabbi, oldest friend. It felt like forever. I was
nervous and I felt anxiety because I was not sure what the verdict was going to be.
2,364 days after his arrest, Sam Woodward's fate is on the line. Living and dying in prison or someday possibly
walking free. It's my understanding that you do have a verdict. Is that accurate?
We have. It took the jury eight hours. The verdict being read, there's no way to describe what it's like. Sort of the
emotional intensity of the moment. We, the jury, find the defendant, Samuel Woodward, guilty of the crime of
first-degree murder. But as soon as the jury says guilty, I heard Jeanie say, "Oh, thank God.
guilty of murder, but was it hate? Did Sam target Bla1 because he was gay? The jury spoke again. We the jury find it to
be true that the defendant Samuel Woodward committed hate crime first-degree murder.
[Music] Outside the Orange County courtroom, all that pain and uncertainty overflowed.
Good afternoon. My name is Todd Spitzer. I'm the district attorney of Orange County. The current DA offered thoughts
on love and law. We don't care who you love or who you want to be with. You deserve to be a free person with free
will and love who you love. And that needs to be protected. We are thrilled with the verdict which holds
Samuel Woodward accountable for the brutal, violent, painful murder of our son, brother, grandson, cousin Bla1 Bernstein
on January 3rd, 2018. His parents will never get to speak to him again and that loss is incalculable.
The Woodwards also lost their son. He's going to prison. When the verdict was that the murder was
a hate crime, that essentially meant that there is the proof that Bla1 was murdered because he was gay and Jewish.
Simple as that. Ferea, who Blae first came out to on that California beach. In my head, I was
telling Blae, "We finally got him." Like, you know, case closed. And says the prosecutor, Sam Woodward,
should pay the maximum price. He faces life without possibility of parole, and that's what we'll be asking for. Thank
you. Experts who monitor Adam Waffen say it has largely dissolved, but that the threat of hate groups remains today.
You said, "Love who you love." It sounds so simple, but it's not. Mhm. Just because you're accepting
of yourself, that doesn't mean that everybody's going to see the same way as you do, you know?
[Music] Can you picture Bla1 if he was alive today? No, I don't think I can. Can you still
hear his voice? No. That's kind of sad. Yeah. For Jeanie and Gideon, every day brings reminders of what might have
been. I think about Blae all the time because when I see things, I think to myself, what would Blaze be doing now?
They founded what they call a kindness movement, promoting positivity and random acts of kindness in Blaise's
name. Blaze it forward was a response to Blaise's death. And in Bergo Park, where
Blae took his last breath, there is this. Hundreds of handpainted stones, most left by total
strangers, in the memory of Bla1 Bernstein. This pile of stones has grown and grown and grown. Yes, it's great to
see the messaging. It's always positive and they're getting sent to us from all over the world. Still, still
the silent stones speak of tolerance and bla1 Bernstein's transformation into a kind of martyr. His murder a marker of
rabid hate. His spirit an inspiration to LGBTQ plus people wherever they live and with
whomver they love. Blaz's life mattered and he has a legacy to create good news to inspire people to
be better, to be kinder, to work on repairing the world because it's not too late and we can
make it better. [Music] New CBS Next. A young girl's mysterious disappearance. She just vanished. And a
cat and mouse game with a convicted killer. We don't have Sarah's body. Do you think he will give that up? I don't
know. If he does, it won't be out of the goodness of his heart. New 48 hours, 2 episode season premiere next on CBS and
streaming on Paramount Plus. [Music] My name is Adam Dexter. I am a local news reporter and in the summer of 2021,
I was working as a multimedia journalist for WISC News3. News3 now in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison
is not New York City. It's not LA where there's news happening all the time. A missing person, especially a
husband and wife. That would be news. The Dayne County Sheriff's Office shared this photo of Bart and Christa Helerson
instead spending today interviewing neighbors. There are too many unanswered questions. You know, cars go off the
road. Um things happen. you know, there's a storm or there's a crash or XYZ, you just don't know. My boss was
calling her or emailing her or texting her. I was doing the same. I was texting Bart and there was just never any
response. I met Christa through work at Zimre Body Shop and then I met her husband through her obviously and then
um you know they just did anything for anybody like even people they didn't know. So I'm on the Christa side. We
were related through my dad's side of the family and we mostly saw each other in Wisconsin at our family cottage cabin
during summers and family reunions. They both gave 100% to raising their boys. Mitchell was a little more outgoing,
very easygoing. Uh Chandler was a little more sensitive, a little quieter. Her whole goal for her being a mom was, and
I'm quoting her, she said, "I want my children to be the best men they can be. The biggest concern for me is just
figuring out where they are." Police say the couple had planned to go to their cabin in Langlaid County. Our
investigation began on July 7th when Chandler reported his parents missing. We knew exactly what Chandler had told
us. We knew that his two parents were gone. Uh they had left for the Fourth of July
weekend supposedly to go to their cabin in northern Wisconsin. I've never been assigned to a
case where a couple is gone. We ask even more questions to try to get a story and
get a timeline of when did the Haldersons go missing? And everything was just happening so fast in those
first couple of days. When we first got the email saying that Bart and Christa were missing, it didn't compute. Like,
what do you mean they're missing? Like they went up to the cabin and they it didn't come back. I huh? Did you think
possibly they had been in a car accident and just hadn't been found? I thought about that. Or I did think about the
boat. Did something happen out on the lake? All these stories are swirling around and not making any sense. And
it's, you know, taking weirder and weirder turns. and we needed to search this area um
because of how remote it is and wooded it is and the access to water to see if we could find any evidence. No way I
would have ever ever guessed what was about to be revealed. Never. Nobody saw this coming.
[Music] [Music] Bart and Christa Halderson had everything a couple could want. A
beautiful home in Windsor, Wisconsin, and two sons they adored. 24year-old Mitchell, who worked in tech, and
23-year-old Chandler, a college student living at home. Chandler had big ambitions. He talked of getting his IT
degree of his promising internship at an insurance company and was especially excited about a new job he landed at
SpaceX, founded by one of the richest people in the world, Elon Musk. Everything seemed to be going well
for the Haldersons. So on Friday morning, July 2nd, when Christa just didn't show up at the office, Dan
Croninger remembers becoming concerned. How unusual was it for number one, for Kristen not to show up for
work, not to call and just not show up? How unusual? Extremely unusual. Dan and Kristen not only worked together, they
were close friends. So when she hadn't said anything to me, I was like, "Well, that's kind of weird." It wasn't
something that she would ever do. Dan says he texted and called her several times but got no
response. Later that afternoon, he and his girlfriend drove over to the Halderson home. A neighbor's security
camera shows them arriving. You know, knocked on the door, didn't hear anything. Peered through the
window. The only thing that seemed weird was there was a coffee table on its side. You looked through the door. It
was kind of off to the right over by they had a fireplace over there. Then Dan says he walked over to the garage
window. I looked in, both cars were there. I was like, "Why are both cars here?" And I was starting to go around
the back of the house and then Chandler came out the side door and he came out in a towel saying, "Oh, I just got out
of the shower, you know, hey, what's going on?" I was like, "Oh, we're just looking for Bart and Christa." And he
said, "Oh, yeah. They went had to go up north this morning for an emergency up at the cabin." Dan says he was relieved
to know that Bart and Christa were at the family cabin over the holiday weekend. He kept in touch with Chandler
to see if he had heard from his mom and dad. But he said, "Yeah, they don't have
very good service up there, so you kind of have to wait till the clouds clear before they get a message." On Sunday,
July 4th, Dan says Chandler called him and said he was bored and needed something to do. So Dan invited him over
to watch the fireworks and asked Chandler about his parents. He mentioned that he talked to them and they're going
to be back Monday. All right. When he said that he had talked to them, did he say he talked to both his parents or
just his mom? What did he say? Do you remember? I don't think he was specific. I mean, I was asking about his mom
because I knew she had a doctor's appointment coming up that she was really wanted to be at. I think it had
been rescheduled before. But Christa didn't show up for work on Monday and again on Tuesday. By Wednesday, July
7th, when there was still no word, Dan knew something was wrong. And now she's missed her appointment. So now it's all
out concern. Right. You know, something's happened to her. Right. Right. Dan pushed Chandler to file a
missing person's report that morning. Chandler Halderson walked into one of our precincts to report his parents
missing. Detectives Sabrina Sims and Brian Shunk with the Dayne County Sheriff's Office would lead the team to
track down the missing couple. We had a lot of detectives assisting us with the with the case
load. Their first stop, the Halderson home on Oak Springs Circle Drive. So, when you
first got there, who was home? It was just Chandler. We're inside the house with him and detectives are getting
information outside and so we're either getting, you know, phone calls or text messages of, you know, hey, maybe ask
about this. We're walking around the house with him. He's pointing out things at
the house, things that were missing that his parents took when they traveled to the cabin. While deputies began
interviewing neighbors and friends, Barbie Townsen, Chris's first cousin, who lives in Southern California, knew
only what she had seen on the news, that the Halderson's 23-year-old son, Chandler, had gone to the police telling
them his parents were missing. What does that mean? What does missing mean? and that they had gone up to our cabin,
family cottage, and didn't return. Bart and Chrissa had not mentioned to co-workers or their older son, Mitchell,
that they had been planning to go to the cabin that weekend. But according to Chandler, another couple who he didn't
know, picked up his parents and drove them there. The cabin was a remote rustic lakeside retreat and a treasured family
heirloom. Barbie and Chris's grandparents built it in the 1940s. You know, you start to think of crazy
things because our cabin's up in the woods. And so that's we were worried that are they being held hostage
somewhere? Are they tied up somewhere? The day after Chandler reported them missing, his brother Mitchell and his
fiance drove three hours up north to see if he could find any sign of his parents. Why would they not call? Why
wouldn't there be a text or something? You know, your mind just starts to go down really murky trails because you're
trying to figure out what's going on. Hi there. Hi there. Are you guys um the Halderson? You okay? You are affiliated
with them? Yes. The police met Mitchell and his fiance at the cabin. Maybe we could just take a walk around and see.
You would know the property probably better than we would. Prepared for the worst.
Sheriff's office. Anybody at sight? Now it's your presents. Make yourself [Music]
[Music] known. When the Haldersons disappeared, it stunned everyone who knew them.
Barbie Townsen said neither her cousin Christa nor her husband Bart would just leave on a whim. He was more structured.
She was the more nurturing, you know, indulging mom. It was a wonderful combination. She worked as a customer
service representative for an auto body shop and loved art projects. He was a managing director for an international
accounting firm and enjoyed woodworking. They were 100% about the family. He was
very involved in the scouting and all the things they did. The Haldersons worked together on Father's Day in June
2021, less than a month before Bart disappeared. Mitchell is smiling, and Chandler, who had a mild concussion from
a fall, is wearing a neck brace. Investigators anxious to find out what had happened to Bart and Christa
Halderson asked deputies from the Langlay County Sheriff's Office to help Mitchell, who brought along his fiance,
searched the family's cabin, a three-hour drive north of the family home. When they got inside, it was dark.
There were no signs of Christa and Bart. They also checked a shed. The canoe was
there. It was obvious no one had been to the cabin in a very long time. They're believed to be with another couple.
Someone else at least. Okay. When Mitchell was with the police searching the family's cabin, Chandler was on his
own hunt throughout the neighborhood. Here he is seen on video doorbell cameras going door to door
asking homeowners if they had seen or heard from his parents. It's kind of difficult to track him down.
Adam Duster, now with the CBS station WCCCO in Minneapolis, worked in Madison, Wisconsin at the time. He immediately
started calling his sources. So, waiting to hear back from the sheriff's office and um my boss at the time, he um was
like, "Well, you can't just sit around, you know, you got to got to go start shooting something and so packed my gear
in my car and drove out there to their street in Windsor." He knocked on the Halderson's front door. The missing
couple's son, Chandler, answered. And so, I'm like, "If you'd be willing, I'd love
to do a quick interview." and he was like, "Yeah, I'll do that, but I don't want you to film me. I don't want to be
shown, but you can record my voice." So, my last uh message I got from them, they
were going to White Lake for the 4th of July. And then that their plan or from to my knowledge, they were going to
Langlade County to a cabin, their cabin. At the time, I got this sense like he was in shock. This is someone who's
roughly my age. And so I'm thinking like, yeah, if my parents just went missing, he probably hasn't slept. He's
probably really nervous. Alex Gravat knew Chandler well. I was roommates with Chandler for a little while. I called
him Chaz. The two friends shared an apartment from 2019 to 2020. We grew up together and we played soccer together,
did Cub Scouts together, um, and just hung out together. He was a great swimmer, so I know that the swim team
really got along with him. Alex says his friend Chandler, who went by the name Chaz, could be a playful guy. He was a a
goon, a hooligan in a lot of senses. What do you mean by that? Yeah, I mean, he would so he would play pranks and he
would make lots of jokes or poke fun at people. Alex described Chaz as popular with women. College student Katherine
Malander, known as Cat, was his longtime girlfriend. He was a relatively attractive guy. I
mean, he he looked good. He had great hair. He kept up on appearances. According to Alex, when they were
roommates, Chaz often bragged to friends about hooking up with different women behind Cat's back when she found out
about it. She grilled him. She was like, "Are you seeing other people?" And he just kept denying it. But Cat remained
suspicious and began tracking her boyfriend on social media. Alex says Chaz became more secretive and moved
back home with his parents and now those parents were missing. Detective Shunk and Sims began follow-up interviews. At
that point, you know, what do we really have? We don't know what we have. Then they got a tip they desperately
needed from the owner of a farm outside town. We received information from someone that yes, Chandler had been out
to my property over Fourth of July weekend. The owner was a friend of Chandler's girlfriend, Cat. The owner
said she was with the couple at her farm on July 4th. She told deputies she was surprised to see Chandler again the very
next day, and this time he was alone. And I saw him coming from the wood line. His car was parked backed up to the
field. So, of course, right from that interview, um, well, we want to go search that property. As deputies began
searching, detectives wanted to know why Chandler had never mentioned he had gone
back to the farm by himself. Police picked up Chandler and took him to the station.
What's going on? Detective Brian Shunk asked him to once again describe the last time he had seen his parents. It's
Thursday morning. I wake up. What time is it? 6. Chandler said his dad, Bart, was at home working
and that later he had dinner with both parents. That's where they told me while we were
eating at they they were going to go with their friends and I was like, "Oh, cool." Um,
and they said they were going cabin. Yeah. We're going up north. While detectives questioned Chandler, deputies
were out searching the farm and made a discovery that quickly changed the tone of the interview. Listen to me. This is
the only chance you're going to have to tell us the truth. Okay? Okay. What we Listen, listen. I'm I can't tell you
what we know, but we know you're not telling us the truth. You need to tell the truth. There's Listen, listen. You
need to tell the truth about what happened and just tell us why it happened. I'm not BSing you. Okay.
So, can we do that? Okay, they're okay. Um, Chandler's request for a lawyer ended
that interview. Detective Sims remembers the moment she learned what deputies told her they had found near that field.
You know, Brian and I were in the command post together and I said, "Um, what did you say?" You know, I just
couldn't believe what I was hearing. They had discovered human remains. On Thursday, July 8th,
2021 in the village of Windsor, Wisconsin, the community struggled to make sense of the disturbing news.
The remains of an adult male have been found on a farm 20 miles from Bard and Christa Halderson's home.
At this point, it's very early in our investigation. Dne County Sheriff Calvin Barrett warned residents not to jump to
conclusions. I don't want to make any uh un corroborated speculations at this time.
The gruesome discovery was made the day after Bart and Christa had been reported
missing by their son, and it was something detectives Brian Chunk and Sabrina Sims had never encountered. The
grass had been matted down, and they followed it to a trail which led to um the discovery of a male
torso that was um concealed with sticks and twigs. That was really the moment, right? It was huge. I think of other
death investigations or homicide cases we've worked and I don't remember a time that I've worked a dismemberment case.
And what other evidence was found out there? We found um some cutting instruments,
some um that were hidden in a an old oil drum, um some scissors, um pruning shears, uh a broken bow saw, and it was
all in the same wooded area where the Halderson's son, Chandler, had been seen earlier in the week. Detective Sims had
a pretty good idea who the victim was. knowing in my gut that that um was most likely Bart Halderson and his son was
seen in that area. Police turned their full attention to Chandler Halderson. He was now a person of
interest and the prime suspect. While tests were being done to confirm the victim's identity, detectives arrested
Chandler and charged him with lying to them. The arrest was based on him providing false information in regards
to a missing person. Christa Holderson's cousin, Barbie Townsen. What did you think? They arrested him for giving
false information about a missing person. That was the first day that I started to suspect foul play
from their own son. I checked my phone and I saw that and it was that he had been arrested and it was pretty wild.
Alex Cvat, his childhood friend, learned about it on social media. My eyes got wide. I I kind of just sat there for a
second reading it. My first thought was if he's being arrested for giving misinformation to the police, I didn't
think that there was really much of a chance that he wasn't involved somehow. But there's someone who had a hard time
imagining Chandler was involved. His girlfriend Cat. She spoke to police just before his arrest. You don't think he
had anything to do with his mom and dad being unheard from? No. I just No. That'd be
crazy. But I just don't see him killing Mr. and Mrs. Holderson. Like he had SpaceX. Like why would he jeopardize
something he like would dream of, you know? Yeah. Like they're his parents. For Christmas, they got him and
his brother matching tool sets. Like come on. Okay. He cooks dinner for them. They
have root beer floats together. They play Mario Kart whenever his parents want to.
But on Saturday, July 10th, 2021, the victim found in the woods was identified as Bart Halderson.
It just changed everything. Like, that moment changed everything. Preliminary autopsy results would reveal Bart had
been shot at least two times in the back. And there was still the troubling question, where was Christa? Christa
Holderson remains a missing person and we continue to ask for citizen involvement.
Christa's coworker Dan Cronier ran through all the different possibilities. Did you at that moment wonder like maybe
Chris was involved in this too? It had definitely crossed my mind start to wonder, well why is Chandler lying? Is
he covering for himself or is he covering for perhaps his mother? Is she involved?
But the more investigators looked, it seemed the only person Chandler Halderson was covering
for was himself. You know, he just lied to everybody. And in his lies, police started to believe they found a motive
for murder. For months, he had been telling everyone, including his childhood friend, Alex Gravat, that he
was enrolled at Madison College during the 2021 spring semester. Did you have any idea he had flunked
out? He didn't tell you? No. It was surprising. Detectives believe his parents had no idea he wasn't in
school. They say when his parents questioned him about his transcripts. The computer savvy Chandler Halderson
crafted a chain of emails that seem to come from the college. Chandler creates people that work for Madison College and
communicates via email with them. You know, Bart's on some of those as well, talking to who he believes is employees
of the school. And do any of those people actually exist? No. In June 2021, Bart Halderson called
Madison College pretending to be Chandler and got an answer he wasn't expecting. Said, "I don't see that you
were admitted in any program." You said they were, you know, the IT degree is in
there, right? No, those are just classes. You might have just took the classes but not be in the program. Bart
learned that not only had his son been lying about that IT degree, but there was no internship with an insurance
company either. And remember that big job with SpaceX. Turns out that was just another elaborate lie. today.
The delusional reality that he concocted, that is shocking to me. According to detectives, Bart was
planning to meet at the college with his son on Thursday, July 1st. Around 200 p.m., Bart, who was
working from home, sent his son this text. I'm ready whenever you are. That text is believed to be the last message
Bart sent. Seven days later, Bart's remains were found. Investigators got a search
warrant for the Halderson home. No weapon was found there, but a shell casing was discovered in the
basement and several areas inside the house tested positive for blood. Chandler, middle initial M, last name
Halderson, age 23 of Windsor, is now being charged with firstdegree homicide, hiding a corpse, and mutilating a
corpse. [Music] On July 15th, 2021, Chandler Halderson was formally charged with his father's
murder. Chandler is currently being held in the Dayne County Jail. I mean, I I don't
know what else to say. like how how could you do that to your father? But where was his mother? Christa
Chandler Halderson had lawyered up and wasn't talking, but someone very close to him was. She had communicated with
him that whole weekend. That loyal girlfriend, Katherine Malander, had a potentially damning piece of evidence
about her boyfriend on the social media app Snapchat. She actually consented to a download of her phone. So that was a
breakthrough. How do you feel about allowing people to track you on social media apps? Join the
conversation now on social media. [Music] Chandler Halderson was charged with his
father's murder, but his mother's whereabouts were still unknown. Lead detectives Sabrina Sims and Brian
Chunk knew if Christa was alive, they needed to find her fast. At that point, we were hoping for
the best. It was one of those things where we just needed to to push on. Detectives turned to Halderson's
girlfriend for help. She had given them permission to download information from her phone. Chandler had lied to her
before and had cheated on her before. And so she um you know would track his location. Cat had convinced Halderson to
let her track his movements using Snapchat, the popular social media app, which allows users to send messages and
share their location in real time. Um and that was an agreement that yes, you will have your locations on so I can see
where you're going. Detectives were most intrigued by messages posted early on the morning of July 1st, the day
Chandler Halderson and his father were supposed to meet with Madison College officials. Halderson, whose online name
was Chazled Dazzle, messaged Cat at 7:30 a.m. I hardly slept. I'm sorry, Be. Why?
I don't know. But stuff hasn't really been going well for me lately. So, I'm trying to plan for the next thing to
exploitative me over B. It's going to be okay. Yeah, I just had a great future planned and it's falling
apart. According to detectives, the tone of those messages worried Cat. So, two days later, when Cat checked Snapchat
and noticed her boyfriend's avatar, that's hubby on her screen, indicated that he was nearly 25 miles from home.
Cat saved the image to her phone. It was a Snapchat screenshot um of Chandler almost 9 in the morning um out by the
Wisconsin River. Detectives Sims and Chunk took us to that location on the river where they
had hoped to find Christa. So, where are we exactly? What would you call this area? It's the Wisconsin State lower
riverway. And it's a familiar place to the former high school swimmer Chandler Halderson,
close to his favorite swimming hole. This is him at the same place in a photo taken a year earlier holding a large
knife. Law enforcement throughout Dayne County searched the wooded area. And how
long was he here? 45 minutes, I believe. Just keep in mind in July, but it's definitely far thicker
than what you're seeing here now. Still no sign of Christa Halderson, but search teams refused to give up. Let's
go hit one more area. And that was where they ended up discovering the remains. And what exactly did they find there?
They ended up finding two legs cut into different sections. DNA tests confirmed it was Christa Halderson. The concerned
son, who had reported his mom and dad missing, was now charged with both of their murders. Christa's cousins were
horrified. You couldn't write this. It just wasn't um anything that you could possibly come up with in your head. How
do you make sense of it? We don't. And that's the hard part. We don't have a why.
In January of 2022 at the Dayne County Courthouse, Chandler Halderson went on trial for the murder of his parents. All
right, for the jury. He was also facing charges for lying to the police and for mutilating and hiding their bodies. Our
job is to over the course of the next couple of weeks present evidence to show you the path of what we believe
happened. Assistant District Attorney William Brown that Chandler Halderson killed his
parents, dismembered their bodies, and hid them around southern Wisconsin. Prosecutors laid out a motive. They say
Chandler murdered his parents when his lies were about to be exposed and that for months he had been trying to hide
the truth from them. Among the evidence, those fake email accounts he created. No
one uses a Gmail account as their official Madison College email. No. And his fictitious internship with an
insurance company. I found no record of that person working for American Family.
Investigators believe the murder weapon was a semi-automatic rifle that had been
hidden in a barn at that farm where Bart's remains were discovered. Good afternoon, sir. Could you please state
your name and then spell it out? Andrew Smith. And how do you spell it? Alpha, November, Delta, Romeo, Echo, Whiskey.
The rifle came from this man, Andrew Smith, who testified that he was in the military when he met Halderson online.
How did you meet Chandler Halderson? Playing video games while I was stationed in Germany. Sir, Halderson had
wanted a gun. Smith testified he had no idea what Halderson wanted to do with the weapon. And in June 2021, he gave
him that semi-automatic rifle as a gift. I'm going to give it to someone who might actually appreciate this weapon
and take care of it. And nearly 480 rounds of ammunition. How did Chandler react when you gave him the gun? Oh, he
was happy. What do you mean? How do you know he was happy or how do you how do you know that? Cuz he had a big smile on
his face when I had given it to him as a gift. But the most anticipated witness in this
trial, good morning. Would be Halderson's girlfriend. Did you verbally answer yes to the oath? Yes. Who gave
police that Snapchat screenshot? What is that screenshot of Chandler by the Wisconsin River?
What do you make of the prosecution's case against Chandler Halderson? See more evidence at 48
hours.com. [Music] Could you please state and spell your name for us? Uh, Katherine Melander. For
3 hours, Cat Melander sat on the stand telling the jury about the young man she thought she knew, Chandler Halderson.
Did you go on a lot of dates together? Uh, yeah. We would um grab dinners, um have movie dates, just sit at home and
watch movies, go on walks quite often. Cat told the jury that she was working on July 1st when authorities
believe the murders happened and didn't see her boyfriend in person that day. But you weren't with him. I was not with
him. Did you know that Bart and Crystal Halderson had died? No. According to investigators, Alderson
asked Cat to bring a few cleaning supplies to his home the following day. He told her he had stepped on some
broken glass from the fireplace. She brought him a Swiffer mop and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Kath, did you have
absolutely anything to do with cleaning anything up or their disappearance? No. Investigators say there's no evidence
that Cat had any involvement in the murders. They believe Chandler Halderson acted
alone. Prosecutors showed the jury police video from inside the Halderson home. These walkthrough videos will
document the home as is. At first glance, it seemed neat and clean, but test results revealed what appeared to
be blood. Is that all blood that it's reacting to? This could be blood that it's reacting to. Yes. And that appears
that there's been some wiping or cleanup. For Barbie Townson, the most disturbing part was when the jury was
shown a view of the Halderson home from a neighbor's security camera. I was talking to one of my cousins. We said
one of the images that is going to be seared in our minds is when they showed that video of
the window flickering window from July 2nd and it was the flickering glow from the fireplace for like hours. That is
haunting knowing what was happening. A forensic expert testified that more than 200 bone fragments were discovered
in the fireplace. There's a white area in the middle of that burnt. Based on my training
experience, that appeared to be bone. Halderson's defense attorney, Katherine Durl, did not address the bone and blood
evidence found in the home, but insisted that did not mean her client was the killer. Chandler
Halderson did not murder his parents. He is not guilty of those crimes. She reminded the jury there were too
many unanswered questions. What happened to the Haldersons? What happened in that
Halderson's home? You just aren't going to know what happened. Chandler Halderson himself didn't
testify and his defense didn't call any witnesses. you have to go back and look at everything. Instead, attorney Crystal
Vera closed the case and urged jury to find reasonable doubt. She admits Halderson told a lot of lies, but she
argues there isn't enough direct evidence to tie him to the murders. I guarantee you that the 12 of you that
are going to go back and deliberate are all going to have 12 different theories on what happened. And that's a problem.
I'm asking you to find him not guilty of firstdegree intentional homicide. Prosecutors had the final word. This is
a first-degree intentional homicide. You cannot shoot someone in the back. You cannot chop them up. You
cannot scatter their remains and come to any other conclusion. And there is only
one person who did those things here and that is Chandler Holders and we're asking you to find him guilty. Thank
you. It didn't take long for the jury to decide. Breaking news. In just about a little
over two hours, a jury has reached a verdict in the Chandler Halderson case. We the jury find the defendant Chandler
M. Halderson guilty of firstdegree intentional homicide as to Barde Halderson. Guilty of providing false
information. Guilty of mutilating a corpse. Guilty of firstdegree intentional homicide. Of mutilating a
guilty of hiding a corpse. Guilty on all eight charges. I think it was just overwhelming from
all the work that we put in on it. In March 2022, at his sentencing hearing, "Good afternoon," Halderson,
who had been silent during his trial, surprised everyone by indicating he finally had something to say. Mr.
Halderson wishes to make a statement. Your honor, I want to take this opportunity to state my intent to appeal
my convictions. If there are any lawyers listening and willing to take on my appeal, take a moment to please reach
out to me. It's not that I do not have feelings. It's that I was warned to not show them
due to the scrutiny of this case. Thank you. What was your reaction when he had the
chance to speak and all he did was ask for a lawyer to take an appeal. What was your I was actually disgusted. I just
couldn't believe it. Like you can't even say I'm sorry. We are journed. Thank you.
Halderson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. When do you miss him? Oh, I think about
him just about every day. Really? Yeah. We're building a pond in our backyard. You know, they would love to
see that and love to be a part of it. Mitchell Halderson, Bart and Christa's oldest son, is now living with an
unimaginable loss. Barbie shared a text and this photo that Christa sent to the family just three months before she
died. Happy Easter. Yes, the boys and their women. Mitchell is still at Epic Systems and will turn 25 this year.
Yikes. Chandler is currently interning with American Family Insurance as an IT administrator, but his other degree,
sustainability management, has given him an edge. You see in her text how proud she was of her boys and how 100%
completely believing Chantler. She can't help but wonder what would have happened
if Halderson had just been honest with everyone. If he had just gone and thrown himself at the mercy of his parents,
what do you think Chris and Bart would have done? They would have helped him. They definitely would have confronted
him on it. But after the confrontation and the truthtelling would have come the grace, how do we go forward? How do we
help you? How do we get your life back on track? They would have helped him. [Music]
CBS next Saturday. 48 Hours brings you backtoback episodes all summer long. Next week, Vanished. She disappears
without a trace. We thought we might have taken her here. How many miles did you cover? It was hundreds of miles. 48
hours crime time double feature next Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.
[Music]

“48 Hours" reports on cases involving young killers. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "First Love, Then Murder," "The Life and Death of Blaze Bernstein" and "The Snapchat Clue."

00:00 First Love, Then Murder 41:50 The Life and Death of Blaze Bernstein 1:25:37 The Snapchat Clue

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

The episode details the murder of Aaron Frier and his daughter Ellen, focusing on the investigation and family dynamics involved.

Key points

The Gruesome Discovery. Police find a horrific scene at Aaron Frier's house, indicating a serious assault.
Ellie's Unexpected Return. Ellie is found alive, raising questions about her father's fate.
Ellie's Arrest. Ellie was arrested for her father's murder, shocking her mother.
Ellie's Plea Deal. Ellie Frier took a plea deal, pleading guilty to conspiring to murder her father.
The Disappearance of Blaze Bernstein. Blaze Bernstein vanishes after meeting Sam Woodward, raising alarm among friends and family.
The Discovery of Blaze's Body. In a tragic turn, Blaze's body is found hidden in Bergo Park.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I didn't know who was dead and who was alive.

Maggie's fear during the crisis.

4:42WatchMay 10, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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