WEBVTT - The Murder Years: Ep 2 - Dawn 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:06.920 This series is inspired by true events. The stories you're 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:09.920 about to hear are fictional, and so are the characters 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:11.240 who are played by actors. 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:13.200 I'd make it. 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:22.080 We're back. I'm DJ Johnny Joulton. 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:22.360 Boy. 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:23.479 It's a hot one out there. 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:25.919 Get yourselves to the lake or up backyard pool, or 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:26.520 just turn. 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:26.920 On a hose. 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:28.160 Just stay cool. 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:31.160 Friends. Samantha from Mount Pine just called in to request 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:35.800 Cruel Summer by Banana Rama. Yes it is Samantha, Yes 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:36.199 it is. 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.120 The dog days of summer nineteen eighty four are in 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:47.680 full swing. It's the summer between our freshmen and sophomore years. 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:50.440 Kids are hanging out in now Lake during the day, 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:53.640 smoking cigarettes and jumping from rope swings into the murky 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:57.520 lake at night. They get pretty wasted at friends cake parties. 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:02.840 But for all the summer fun we're having, there's a 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:07.160 dark cloud hanging over me and my friends Tatiana and Melanie. 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:10.720 Lisa Anderson's murder was the worst thing ever. I mean, 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:14.520 it devastated us, but it wasn't like that was the 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:18.600 end of it, because other weird stuff kept happening too. 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.120 In the three months since Lisa Anderson's murder, Mount Pine 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:25.800 has seen two fatal car accidents, one drowning, and a 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:29.959 small plane crash which killed the pilot, the only person 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:33.760 on board. That's a lot of tragedy for one small town. 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:37.400 We hoped people dying and all that dark stuff was 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:41.880 behind us. Little did we know we'd be there for 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:49.240 the next one. 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:56.040 I'm Nancy Clark. This is The Murder Years, Episode two, Dawn. 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:07.040 Nine one one. What's your emergency? 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:09.600 Yeah, I don't know. It's really loud here, but I'm 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:12.799 kind of freaking out. I think I just heard gunshots. 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:14.680 I mean, there are lots of gunshots, but I think 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.280 I just Oh my god, Oh my god. 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:34.239 Saturday, August eleventh, nineteen eighty four is a hot one. 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:38.480 On this particular day, Tatiana, Melanie and I are at 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:41.760 the lake trying to escape the heat when our other friend, 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:47.040 Carla Espinoza joins us. Back in nineteen eighty four, Carla 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:50.000 is fifteen years old and in our grade, and her 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:54.320 mind is like a steel trap. She has not forgotten 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:57.080 a single detail in almost forty years. 0:02:58.040 --> 0:02:59.799 I remember I got sun in at the store and 0:02:59.840 --> 0:03:01.280 I was going to put it in my hair for 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:03.920 the first time that day. I was hoping it would 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:07.120 be way lighter by that night because I got a 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.400 date that night. We were going to get pizza then 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:13.880 go to the drive in. Anyway, the lake was packed. 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:14.560 I know. 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:17.520 I saw Sam Foster there with his parents. They were 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:18.120 on their boat. 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.119 Eighteen year old Sam Foster, a senior at Mount Pine 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:27.160 High School, is not just cute. He's Matt dilloncute. He's 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:31.480 also smart, kind and popular and in love with Don Cartwright, 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:36.120 another eighteen year old senior. We were all envious. The 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:37.920 two were the perfect couple. 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:43.600 Yeah, this is going to be interesting and pretty, hearn's 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.080 talk about. But I'll do my best. 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:50.600 Today. Sam's fifty six years old and owns a restaurant 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:54.960 in town. I'm surprised he hasn't left Mount Pine. In 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:58.920 nineteen eighty four, Sam's girlfriend Dawn would become the second 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.960 murder victim and left less than six months. He agrees 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:04.920 to share his painful memories of that day. 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:09.160 I remember the moment I started liking Don car Ryan. 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:15.200 It was ninth grade in biology class. She was so pretty, 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:20.760 like unbelievably pretty. Plus she was smart and a really 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:24.280 good writer. She wrote with the school newspaper, the Mount 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:30.599 Pine Messenger. Well so, anyway, well, she finally a couple 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:35.520 years later, gave me a chance and we found love 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:41.400 like that deep teenage love that well you can only 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:42.880 really understand if you've had it. 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:48.520 And on this Saturday night, August eleventh, is there official 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:52.880 one year anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend. But their plans 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:55.680 for a perfect evening would turn into a nightmare. 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.480 Oh yeah, I was playing in A real nice night 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:07.320 started with dinner. 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:10.640 I had seen a recipe. 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:14.719 In one of my mom's magazines for broiled chicken breast 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:20.279 marinated in mayonnaise and Italian dressing. I was going to 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:26.600 make that. I can't believe I actually made that. Oh gosh. 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:31.080 So anyway, after the lake, I went to shop a lot. 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:33.840 I got a disc out there. I got the chicken 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:37.719 and some salad stuff and Spomoni ice cream, you know 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.039 the kind with the with the three flavors and the 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:46.800 little candied pieces in it. It was it was Don's favorite. 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:50.159 Back at home, I have say goodbye to my parents 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:53.480 who were going to a cookout. I took a shower, 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:56.599 and yeah, and I got dressed. 0:05:58.839 --> 0:05:59.880 I was so excited. 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:03.760 I ran to open the door and stand in front 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:06.880 of me was Dawn smiling, and behind her was her dad, 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:11.200 and Don's dad waved as he backed out of the 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:16.960 driveway in his cream convertible buickre Vi Era. Man, that 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:22.520 car was so cool, and I well, I poured some 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.919 rum from my parents' liquor cabinet, uh, and we toasted 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:30.000 and we sat in the dining room. I tried to 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:34.520 make it special, you know, fancy tablecloths, candles. I used 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:38.120 my mom's good china. She would have killed me, but 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:43.120 Don was impressed, just as I planned, and we ate. 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.320 After dinner, we headed out and my mom's powder blue 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:51.080 Forward station wagon and into the driving. 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:53.719 We went to see Red Dawn. 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.600 It was about American high schoolers fighting the Russians who 0:06:56.600 --> 0:07:00.279 invaded their town, which which felt kind of real back done. 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:09.360 But I also chose that one, you know, because they 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:10.640 had my girlfriend's. 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:10.600 Name in it. 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:15.320 Tatiana and I are also at the drive in that night, 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:18.160 but we aren't there to see Red Dawn. We're seeing 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:21.720 the Karate Kid. Carla and her date are there too. 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:25.840 We were at Karate Kid, and my dude brought pillowcases 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:28.000 to put up on the side windows in case we 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:32.120 wanted to make out. Most cars back then had jackets 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:36.440 or pillowcases up for privacy. I'm not sure kids watched 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:37.840 the movies much back then. 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:47.040 Yeah, I brought a couple of pillowcases too, so yeah, 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:50.680 I put the cases up. Don moved closer to me 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:59.160 and mccuddled. Half Way through the movie, nature called and 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.160 I went to the bathroom, and then I stopped at 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:06.800 the concession stand. I ordered Dawn a hot pretzel, which 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:11.080 was her favorite, got some popcorn for me, and two cooks. 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:15.960 I remember I couldn't hear how much it was over 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.720 the noise from the movies, and so I asked the 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:20.080 guy to. 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:21.280 Say it again. 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:24.800 And then suddenly. 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:36.599 Nine one one, what's your emergency? 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:39.080 Yeah, I don't know. It's really loud here, but I'm 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:42.320 kind of freaking out. I think they just heard gunshots. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:44.000 I mean that there are lots of gunshots, but I 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:48.240 think I just, oh my god, oh my god, oh 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:50.640 my god, you need to get someone here right now. 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.040 Where are you calling from? 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:57.559 A paper? At that, I meant sunset four drive in. 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:14.800 Oh my god, I remember this so clearly. Tatiana, her sister, 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.920 and I are watching the movie. Then all of a sudden, 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.920 mount Pine police and emergency vehicles are everywhere. 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:23.960 It was total chaos. 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:26.960 I was terrified. We all were. 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:31.880 At this point. We have no idea what's actually going on. 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.440 But soon we hear people say a woman's been shot 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:36.040 and killed. 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:40.959 It was an incredibly chaotic scene. 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:45.800 That's Detective Kurt Peters. He's retired now, but back in 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.600 nineteen eighty four he was only three years on the job. 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:53.800 And because Mount Pine had so few homicides, Peters mostly 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.160 works in the robbery division, but not on this night. 0:09:58.600 --> 0:09:59.240 They were just. 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:03.400 Talking some people everywhere. I mean, there were two screens 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:08.560 of moviegoers, not to mention employees of the drive, and 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:08.959 there was. 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:09.720 A lot of people. 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.960 And while we wish we could send them home, we 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:17.800 knew they were potential witnesses or maybe one of them 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:23.880 was actually the killer. So the first thing I did 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.920 was talk to the young man sobbing on the other 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:27.400 side of. 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:28.920 The police tape. 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:33.160 He said his name was Sam Foster, and he told 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:38.800 us how victim's name was don Codwright. She had been 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:43.720 shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:49.840 So I told the detective somehow, and I don't even 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:53.280 know how I got words out. I was at the 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:57.160 concession stand when I heard something, and then a few 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:00.920 months later, saw people looking at the direction of our car, 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:08.720 so so I ran over and that's uh, excuse me, 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:14.000 that's when I saw Dawn. She was slumped over and 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:19.160 pleading from her chest. 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:26.080 I couldn't got rid what I was seeing. He was distraught. 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:29.480 He said, everything was okay, you went to the bathroom. 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:33.559 Then the concession said he said he was nowhere near 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:35.640 the car at the time of the shooting. 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:43.880 Well he uh. He asked me if I owned a gun, 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:47.959 and I told him, yes, a rifle, but it was 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.440 at home and I had only used different hunting with 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:56.240 my dad. And then he asked if I had any 0:11:56.320 --> 0:12:01.079 motive for killing Dawn, and that's and I really lost it. 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:03.560 Shit. I wanted to marry that girl. 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.880 We are all freaked out in really just wanting to 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:11.040 go home, but to the cops, we're all potential witnesses, 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:15.479 so we end up staying at the drive in for hours. Meanwhile, 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:18.800 our parents are finding out about the shooting on the news. 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.080 Yeah, Dan, I'm here at the sunset for drive In. 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:25.840 There was a shooting during the eight o'clock screening of 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.160 Red Dawn. Please tell me there is one victim who 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.440 is deceased after being shot in the chest and a 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:33.120 killer who is still on the loose. 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:42.480 Detective Peter says a quick assessment of the crime scene 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:46.120 leaves him believing they were two shots fired, one that 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.760 went into the frame of the car and one through 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:52.840 the windshield, and they're thinking the killer used a nine millimeter. 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:58.080 Around midnight, Detective Peters arrives at the Cartwright home. He 0:12:58.120 --> 0:12:59.920 has to break the news to Don's parent. 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:02.800 It was late when the doorbell rang. 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:07.000 Don's father, Michael Cartwright comes to the door in pajamas. 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:11.800 Heart writes, now in his late seventies, he agrees to 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:13.760 share the family's heart wrenching story. 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:19.880 I actually couldn't compute what I was being told. I 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:25.640 was like, you're telling me my daughter's dead. Our dawn 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:35.880 has been murdered. It felt totally surreal, like our whole 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:41.240 world just ended. And I thought, look, if it's that 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:44.439 kid in the leather jacket that she's got the major 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:52.559 crush on, I'll break every bone in his body. 0:13:57.520 --> 0:14:00.840 Detective Peters says, a little after one am, he meets 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:04.120 with Sam Foster and his parents at Mount Pine Police Station. 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.080 I started by asking about his relationship with. 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:15.000 Don, and I told him we were so happy, so 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:18.640 in love. We were going to attend State College next 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.280 year together. Don was going to study early childhood education 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.080 and I was going to study hospitality management. 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.120 I asked him again about what he did in the 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:31.680 hours before the shooting. 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:35.400 And I told him how my parents went out that night, 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:38.120 I went to the grocery store and then home to 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.320 get ready for our anniversary dinner. 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.880 I then asked him if he knew anyone who might 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:50.280 want to hurt Don, and he just moaned and started 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:51.160 sobbing again. 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:59.680 I remember, yeah, I told him, yes, I know someone. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:01.080 Who might want on debt. 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:17.160 Sam Foster is at police headquarters telling Detective Kurt Peters 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:22.400 he may know someone who would want his girlfriend Don gone. 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:25.040 I told him I maybe knew someone who would want 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:29.160 to hurt Don. I said something did happen earlier in 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:35.040 the day that I hadn't shared with him yet. Well, 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:40.200 my ex girlfriend, Michelle had actually come over. I didn't 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.360 let her in, but she sat on my front steps 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:48.360 and said she she wanted me back. She didn't care 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.760 that I love Don. She was going to get me 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:52.320 back no matter what. 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:57.120 Sam's referring to nineteen year old Michelle Smith, who graduated 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.400 the year before. She and Sam met while working at 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:02.520 Shop a Lot and they dated for almost a year. 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.720 Apparently Michelle was still hung up on Sam and determined 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:07.480 to get him back. 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:12.520 I told Michelle she needed to leave. I was getting 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.600 ready for Dawn and my anniversary dinner and we were 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:22.440 going to the driving later. Yeah, Michelle was pissed, really pissed, 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:27.000 but I wasn't sure she was capable of hurting anyone, 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:32.320 I mean physically at least, and I told Detective Peters that. 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:38.640 So Michelle knew they were going to the drive. Then 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:45.800 I wondered if her obsession with Sam was strong enough 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:51.760 for her to commit murder. So Sam said Michelle was 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:55.880 living with a few roommates and he gave me the address. 0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:01.920 When I got there, though I knot but no one answered. 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:07.000 I hope she hadn't skipped out, and then found out 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.639 her mom's adevsk and went there. 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:13.320 At this point, it was like the three in the morning. 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:18.840 I knocked and a short bald man in boxer came 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:22.520 to the door. I introduced myself and asked who he was. 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.480 He said it was how How Michelle's stepfather, Michelle's stepfather. 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.920 I asked if he knew where Michelle was, and he said. 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:32.960 She's with her mom there at the hospital. She's with 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:35.919 her mom, and they were at the hospital. 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.679 Michelle was having some abdominal pains. 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:41.119 He sat around six o'clock that night before. 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.840 Michelle was having some adominal pain, so her mom took 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:50.399 her to the er. Turns out Michelle had appendicitis and 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.040 was rushed into the emergency surgery. 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:56.840 An officer is sent to the hospital to confirm Michelle 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:00.600 is there. She's been there since early evening the day before. 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:03.160 She has an air tight alibi. 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:07.840 So that was a dead end. 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:12.600 And a while later I was back at my desk 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:16.080 when I was told there was someone there to see me. 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:21.919 I walked out to the lobby and I saw, to 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:27.240 my surprise, Michael Cartwright, Don's dad. He said he needed 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.040 to talk, so I escorted him to an interview brough. 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:32.840 Here's Michael Cartwright once again. 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:36.359 I told that Detective Peters that I thought maybe I 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.720 knew who killed Don. I told him I just kicked 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.080 this guy out of the building I own. I mean, 0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:46.760 this guy was bad news. He was selling drugs right 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:50.200 out of the apartment. He hadn't paid rent in months, 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:52.760 and he was starting to get into all sorts of 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:57.200 altercations with the other tenants. It took a long while, 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.520 but I finally got him out last week. Since then, 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:03.280 I see him around a lot, so much around that 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:04.680 it's like he's following me. 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:06.800 Down. 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:09.080 Even says she'd seen him once at the gas station, 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:13.200 like he appears out of nowhere, and I'm telling you, she. 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:14.760 Was super creeped out. 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:16.680 I told him I would report it. 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.919 I asked mister Carr right the guy's name, and he 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:26.679 said Todd Wilson. So I ran his name through the 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:31.440 system and I learned Todd Wilson was twenty five years 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:36.560 old and he had a record, but mostly for drug 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:38.360 offenses and shoplifting. 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:42.280 I knew we needed to talk to him right. 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:46.720 His last known address listed was the one he was 0:19:46.840 --> 0:19:52.360 just evicted from, so her question was where is it. 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:55.240 I told the detective that his sister might know. 0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:59.080 Detective Peters looks her up and finds her address. 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:03.760 When I got to the sister's apartment, I could see 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:07.200 through the window there was a guy sleeping. 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:07.520 On the sofa. 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:12.399 I was thinking it had to be him, right, I 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:18.800 knocked and the guy stirred. I knocked again, then watched 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.920 him get up and walked towards the door. I put 0:20:22.000 --> 0:20:24.840 my hand on my gun. I needed to be ready. 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:28.720 The door open place where a mess dirty clothes were 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:32.680 strewn around the room. Empty food containers and beer cans 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:35.639 clutted the coffee table and the floor around it. It 0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:39.480 didn't smell too good in there either, like someone had 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:44.680 been microwaving fish. And standing before me at the door 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:49.000 was this unshaven guy, white, mid twenties and wreaking of alcohol. 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.400 I asked him his name. He said, Todd Wilson. Suggest 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.119 who I was looking for. I told him I was 0:20:55.200 --> 0:20:58.160 investigating a murder and I had some questions for him. 0:20:59.400 --> 0:21:03.320 And I was actually surprised when he invited me in 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:04.439 corn and. 0:21:05.960 --> 0:21:06.960 He looked nervous though. 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:11.960 I asked him if he was on anything, any drugs, 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.040 but he said no. He told me he recently got 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:18.480 evicted and he was furious. I'll be able to pay 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:21.840 my rent soon. He told his landlord he was going 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:24.320 to be able to pay the rent soon. But the 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:28.160 dude didn't care. He just wanted him out. I asked 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:33.600 him his landlord's name, Cartwright cart Right. He said, I 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:34.080 think he's. 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:36.120 The same guy whose daughter got killed last night. 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:39.600 I think he's the same guy whose daughter got killed 0:21:39.680 --> 0:21:43.080 last night. I asked him if he confronted the landlord, 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:45.960 if he provoked the guy after he got thrown out. 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:48.600 He said no, no, I haven't seen the guy since, 0:21:48.640 --> 0:21:50.879 and no, I didn't do anything to his daughter. 0:21:51.080 --> 0:21:53.760 He swore he didn't do anything to his daughter. I 0:21:53.840 --> 0:21:57.080 asked him where he was last night and he stuttered. 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:03.320 Then he said he went to the movies. Seriously, he's 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:04.120 admitting this. 0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:07.040 I asked maybe he had proof, and he said yes, 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:11.040 and he had the ticket stub. 0:22:11.400 --> 0:22:12.240 In his wallet. 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:16.679 Detective Peter says, Todd Wilson opens his wallet and pulls 0:22:16.680 --> 0:22:18.879 out a ticket stub for the seven point thirty showing 0:22:19.000 --> 0:22:23.280 of Red Dawn. But when Peters examines the ticket more closely, 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:27.280 he sees it from the Mount Pine Cinema downtown, not 0:22:27.440 --> 0:22:28.639 the Sunset four driving. 0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:30.760 I was like, damn it. 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:34.439 I would still need to interview the employees at the 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:38.280 movie theater to confirm he was actually there. I mean, 0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:40.600 he could have gotten the ticket stub from a friend, 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:45.440 but he had it already. He didn't know I was coming, 0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:49.960 And it seemed like my gut was telling me this 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:52.200 guy was not the killer. 0:22:56.680 --> 0:22:59.520 Detective Peter says after his interview with Todd Wilson, he 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:02.639 goes home to get a few hours of sleep. It 0:23:02.680 --> 0:23:07.280 may be a long road to catching his killer. As 0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:10.560 the days turn into weeks with no real leads, Detective 0:23:10.560 --> 0:23:14.879 Peters says he's at a loss. Then a call comes 0:23:14.920 --> 0:23:19.960 in that gives him some direction. Uh. 0:23:20.040 --> 0:23:24.800 Yeah, I don't get my name or anything, but I 0:23:24.800 --> 0:23:27.280 think I know where that gun, the one that was 0:23:27.359 --> 0:23:28.760 used to kill that girl at the drive in. 0:23:30.000 --> 0:23:30.959 I think I know where it is. 0:23:38.160 --> 0:23:42.040 Several weeks after Don Cartwright's murder, lead, Detective Peters gets 0:23:42.040 --> 0:23:43.080 an anonymous tip. 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.919 Yeah, that gun, I heard It's in the lake behind 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:50.439 the drive in. 0:23:51.720 --> 0:23:55.960 Peters says all tips are taken seriously, this one, especially 0:23:57.200 --> 0:23:59.720 since Mount Pine doesn't have a dive team they asked 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:03.280 for from the county. Turns out, the county's dive team 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:06.080 is responsible for a total of two hundred and eighteen 0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:10.760 lakes and bodies of water. Officer Cliff Nelson will lead 0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:12.960 the crew of ten in the search for the murder weapon. 0:24:13.960 --> 0:24:17.640 He's long since retired, but he graciously agreed to take 0:24:17.720 --> 0:24:19.800 me through what they did that day at the lake 0:24:19.840 --> 0:24:20.720 behind the drive in. 0:24:22.040 --> 0:24:26.400 Normally we use specialized equipment for searching, such as metal detectives. 0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:29.800 It was just, you know, it was just impossible. This 0:24:29.920 --> 0:24:32.880 lake was topped to bottom, thick with weeds. It was murky. 0:24:33.359 --> 0:24:36.159 We couldn't even see down there. So we had to 0:24:36.160 --> 0:24:39.320 come up with a different procedure, which was walking it 0:24:39.520 --> 0:24:43.119 and stepping on things and picking them up and seeing 0:24:43.119 --> 0:24:47.719 what it was. So we decided to link arms and 0:24:47.760 --> 0:24:51.240 we walked slowly, trying to feel with our feet with 0:24:51.320 --> 0:24:53.520 every step, out of the area where we thought the 0:24:53.560 --> 0:24:56.560 gun would be about the size of a football field. 0:24:56.640 --> 0:25:02.119 Right then, about thirty minutes in, officer yells, hey, I 0:25:02.119 --> 0:25:05.960 think I just stepped on something. He reaches down, pulled 0:25:06.040 --> 0:25:08.879 up a gun was a nine millimeter jackpot. 0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:11.560 Yeah. I mean it was a good day, you know. 0:25:12.040 --> 0:25:15.240 Detective Peters was very pleased, I can tell you that. 0:25:16.520 --> 0:25:21.640 So now we got the gun, but it had been 0:25:21.720 --> 0:25:26.360 underwater and maybe wiped clean, so there were no viable 0:25:26.359 --> 0:25:29.320 prints on it. But we were able to run the 0:25:29.400 --> 0:25:34.919 ceial number and it came back registered to Leslie Perkins. 0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:39.600 Detective Peters heads out to talk with forty one year 0:25:39.600 --> 0:25:42.919 old Leslie Perkins, who lives in a modest home on 0:25:42.960 --> 0:25:46.119 a cul de sac, the last street before the industrial 0:25:46.160 --> 0:25:50.120 part of town. The house is run down, it could 0:25:50.200 --> 0:25:53.919 use a paint job. Actually, newspapers covered the windows in 0:25:53.960 --> 0:25:57.080 lieu of curtains. When Peters knocks on her torn up 0:25:57.080 --> 0:25:58.920 screen door, a boy appears. 0:26:00.600 --> 0:26:04.520 Kid looked around fifteen years old, maybe fourteen. His clothes 0:26:04.520 --> 0:26:07.639 were dirty, his hair matted. I asked him if Leslie 0:26:07.680 --> 0:26:11.560 Perkins was home, and he said yes, that was his mom, 0:26:11.640 --> 0:26:13.000