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Speaker 1: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, breaking news tonight.

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Speaker 2: A gorgeous, young and gifted dancer, just twenty two, found

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Speaker 2: dead in a burning car. The medical examiner discovers bleach

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Speaker 2: in her throat, lighter fluid, and gloves.

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Speaker 3: Found near her burning car.

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Speaker 2: Tonight, her family breaking their silence with a desperate plea

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Speaker 2: for justice. Who killed their daughter? Mercedes. Good evening, I'm

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Speaker 2: Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank

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Speaker 2: you for being with us.

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Speaker 4: So hard to believe I'm never gonna see her again.

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Speaker 1: They missed her so much.

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Speaker 5: She was.

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Speaker 6: So bright, she was such a beautiful, sweet, kind soul.

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Speaker 1: She didn't deserve this, She didn't deserve what happened to her.

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Speaker 2: You are hearing mercedes mother begging for justice. We have

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Speaker 2: an all star panel to make sense of what we

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Speaker 2: are learning tonight. But first, two very special guests joining us.

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Speaker 2: Mercedes parents are with us, Erica and Tom Pillsbury. To

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Speaker 2: both of you, thank you for being with us. Miss Pillsbury,

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Speaker 2: we were just hearing you begging for justice for your daughter,

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Speaker 2: who's absolutely beautiful and so young. Her life just starting.

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Speaker 2: Tell me how you learned Mercedes had.

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Speaker 7: Been killed a year ago?

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Speaker 8: We had a knock at the door and there were

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Speaker 8: two gentlemen standing outside and I shout it up to

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Speaker 8: my husband. We had just come back from a cruise

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Speaker 8: for my fiftieth birthday, and I said, it looks like

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Speaker 8: there's cops. And we kind of assumed it was probably

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Speaker 8: something going on with the neighbors or something going on

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Speaker 8: throughout the neighborhood, and they asked us. They asked me,

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Speaker 8: does Mercedes live here? And I said no, but I'm

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Speaker 8: her mom. Is she okay? And they said does she

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Speaker 8: live here? And I said is she okay? And I

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Speaker 8: just kept repeating is she okay? Is she okay? And

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Speaker 8: they said can we come in? And I said I

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Speaker 8: just want to know she's okay, and they said no,

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Speaker 8: we need to come in.

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Speaker 7: And that's how we found out that she was dead.

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Speaker 8: They told us that she was deceased. Those are the

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Speaker 8: words that she used, and that they didn't have any

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Speaker 8: other information beyond that.

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Speaker 2: Mister Bilsbury, thank you for being with us as well.

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Speaker 2: Do you remember that moment? What is your memory of

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Speaker 2: learning your twenty two year old girl was dead?

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Speaker 9: Well, it was just really really hard because when we

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Speaker 9: come back from our trip, we drive by her place

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Speaker 9: that she lived, and one thing I would always do

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Speaker 9: is I would say to her, Oh, I love you

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Speaker 9: and I miss you. I'm thinking of you. As we

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Speaker 9: drove by, we did like we normally do, and in

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Speaker 9: my heart, it's like if I would have just called

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Speaker 9: her I, maybe things would have been different. So I

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Speaker 9: had a lot of because we were tired. We had

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Speaker 9: just lived and back from the Caribbean, so we're really tired,

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Speaker 9: and we were hungry, and we didn't and it just

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Speaker 9: it just broke my heart. I screamed, I yelled. I

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Speaker 9: didn't believe it was true. I still to this day

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Speaker 9: it's hard to believe that it's true. It just completely

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Speaker 9: shattered our lives in a moment.

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Speaker 2: What were their exact words, Tom, What did they tell you,

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Speaker 2: just that she's deceased.

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Speaker 3: I know you had to have questions.

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Speaker 9: Yes, they said she was deceased, and we asked more questions,

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Speaker 9: but they wouldn't give me answers. How I actually found

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Speaker 9: out what happened to my daughter is I looked it

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Speaker 9: up on the internet. They told us where our daughter

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Speaker 9: was at was Intona, pa Arizona. But I looked it

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Speaker 9: up on the internet and it said body found in

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Speaker 9: burning car and Tonapa Arizona. That's how I found out

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Speaker 9: what actually happened to my daughter.

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Speaker 3: When you would ask them Tom, what happened? What would

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Speaker 3: they say?

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Speaker 10: We can't tell you that right now. It's an ongoing investigation.

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Speaker 3: Miss Pillsbury.

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Speaker 2: Do you remember asking over and over what happened to her?

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Speaker 2: What happened to her? And what did they say?

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Speaker 8: I asked over and over and over and over again

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Speaker 8: and ny and then I said, I said, was she

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Speaker 8: in a car accident?

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Speaker 7: Did she kill herself?

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Speaker 5: Like?

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Speaker 7: What?

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Speaker 1: Why?

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Speaker 6: Why?

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Speaker 8: And they kept saying, we don't know, and we don't

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Speaker 8: have any answer. We're trying to figure that out. They

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Speaker 8: asked us three questions. Was she right or left handed?

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Speaker 8: Where was the address that she actually lived at? And

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Speaker 8: did she have any reason to be near Tona Pa, Arizona.

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Speaker 3: How far was that from your home Tona Pa.

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Speaker 8: From our homes, Probably about one hundred and twenty miles

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Speaker 8: from Mercedes house.

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Speaker 7: It's probably about.

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Speaker 10: Seventy sixty three in that ballpark, sixty three to seventy

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Speaker 10: miles from her house.

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Speaker 3: Would she have normally been there?

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Speaker 11: No, No, it's in the middle of nowhere. It's if

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Speaker 11: you're not familiar with Arizona. It's one of the where

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Speaker 11: that she was found is on the interstate that is

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Speaker 11: like one of the busiest interstates because it connects Arizona

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Speaker 11: to La So there's a ton of traffic that are

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Speaker 11: driving on that highway twenty four to seven.

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Speaker 3: When you saw that online, Tom, what went through your mind?

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Speaker 2: Because why would she be there? Why would her car

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Speaker 2: be on fire with her in the car in the

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Speaker 2: back seat? As I've read the report, why would she

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Speaker 2: be that far away from.

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Speaker 1: Your home and her home.

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Speaker 9: I honestly couldn't fathom why she was that far away

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Speaker 9: from her home, wasn't it? But she actually was not

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Speaker 9: in her own car.

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Speaker 2: You're right, So I'm very curious why she had been

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Speaker 2: taken there to Robin Drieke joining me, behavior expert, former

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Speaker 2: FBI Special Agent, chief of the FBI Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis

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Speaker 2: Program and author of Sizing People Up, a veteran FBI

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Speaker 2: agent's manual for behavior prediction. Wow, Robin Drake, you and

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Speaker 2: I have seen similar scenarios, both of us have as

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Speaker 2: investigators and myself as a prosecutor, and there is typically

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Speaker 2: a reason a vehicle is as the Pillsbury said, out

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Speaker 2: in the middle of nowhere set on fire.

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Speaker 3: Explain.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, obviously they were trying to whoever the assailant was,

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Speaker 5: the murderer was, was trying to get rid of the evidence,

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Speaker 5: trying to get rid of her. And it was this

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Speaker 5: whole thing just rings of sloppiness, potential stalker in here

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Speaker 5: and missing. You know, they found gloves in the car,

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Speaker 5: lighter fluid. I mean, just it just rings of a

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Speaker 5: lot of rough things gone sideways in a lot of

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Speaker 5: different ways.

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Speaker 2: Another thing, I don't know that I would say that

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Speaker 2: things are going sideways because I believe that is exactly

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Speaker 2: the killer's intention to take this girl look at her,

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Speaker 2: a gorgeous twenty two year old, gifted dancer, to take

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Speaker 2: her out in the middle of nowhere and burn that

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Speaker 2: car with a hopes and also in somebody else's car

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Speaker 2: so her car could be traced back to her through

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Speaker 2: the VEN number, which can endure a fire because if

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Speaker 2: they got that vin which is basically etched onto a car,

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Speaker 2: that could trace the VEN number on the car back

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Speaker 2: to the owner, which would be Mercedes. So in a

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Speaker 2: different car not belonging to her, out in the quote

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Speaker 2: middle of nowhere, and I guarantee you Robin Drake. The

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Speaker 2: killer hoped her body would be burned beyond recognition.

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Speaker 5: Right, And I agree, Nancy, And what I went by

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Speaker 5: sideways on this one, I don't think it looked very sophisticated.

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Speaker 5: It looks like a potential serial stalker who's just setting

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Speaker 5: on his course of doing horrendous things in his life,

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Speaker 5: and she might want one of the earlier victims of his.

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Speaker 5: And that's why it's so imperative that the police get

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Speaker 5: off their brelets and find this guy, because it's going

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Speaker 5: to happen again unless they do.

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Speaker 2: Doctor Michelle Dupree, joining US renowned forensic pathologists, medical examiner

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Speaker 2: and author, Doctor Dupree, You can't just set a car

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Speaker 2: on fire and expect to get rid of DNA in bones.

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Speaker 2: That doesn't happen. What would it take in order to

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Speaker 2: totally destroy a human.

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Speaker 1: Body, Nancy?

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Speaker 12: It takes a lot, a lot harder than a vehicle

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Speaker 12: fire can usually get. One thing that we've also found, though,

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Speaker 12: is if that car was driven there by someone else,

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Speaker 12: the soot and the interior side of that car can

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Speaker 12: actually still yield fingerprints if they touched that rear view Mira,

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Speaker 12: That soot can act like fingerprint powder and there may

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Speaker 12: have been fingerprints on the rear view Mirra or on

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Speaker 12: the seat lever that moved it up or down, So

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Speaker 12: there is still a lot to be done in this investigation.

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Speaker 1: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

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Speaker 2: Also joining us from twelve News Phoenix investigative reporter Bianca Bono.

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Speaker 3: Bianca, thank you for being with us.

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Speaker 2: Tell me what you can about the discovery of that car,

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Speaker 2: the discovery of Mercedes, twenty two year old Mercedes and

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Speaker 2: the car and apparently bleach and her throat.

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Speaker 13: Yeah, Nancy, I think that's what's made this case so

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Speaker 13: difficult to grasp for our community and why it's reached

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Speaker 13: people nationwide is just the horrific nature in the way

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Speaker 13: that Mercedes was found.

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Speaker 14: Because, yes, as you guys have mentioned, she was found in.

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Speaker 13: A burning car on the Iten Freeway, a very busy

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Speaker 13: freeway that connects Phoenix to Los Angeles, so it didn't

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Speaker 13: take long for passerbys to report the burning.

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Speaker 14: Vehicle to nine one one.

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Speaker 13: But what's more disturbing is the torture that Mercedes endured

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Speaker 13: before she was found burned. The medical examiner reported that

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Speaker 13: they had found a bullet wound, a gunshot wound.

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Speaker 14: She had bleach in her throat.

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Speaker 13: Clearly, whoever did this to her, whether it was a

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Speaker 13: person or a group of people, they wanted to send

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Speaker 13: a clear message.

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Speaker 14: And again, just.

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Speaker 13: How brazen they were in doing this to her and

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Speaker 13: then lighting this car on fire on the Iten Freeway,

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Speaker 13: the busiest freeway that we have in Arizona. They were

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Speaker 13: trying to send a very clear message. So we were

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Speaker 13: aware that a body had been found that night, but

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Speaker 13: we were not aware that it was Mercedes Vega until

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Speaker 13: months later. Investigators have been keeping information very close to

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Speaker 13: vest to the best in this case, and here we

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Speaker 13: are over a year later, and there are still no

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Speaker 13: answers in terms of what happened to her and more importantly,

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Speaker 13: who's responsible.

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Speaker 2: Well put bian Cabono to Tom and Erica Pillsbury. Mercedes parents,

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Speaker 2: I can't even imagine you're suffering after you put all

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Speaker 2: your love, all your time, all your energy, all your.

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Speaker 3: Money, your hopes.

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Speaker 2: Really a lot of parents me, all the hopes I

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Speaker 2: once had.

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Speaker 3: Are all in my children.

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Speaker 2: Now I'm hoping for them and for their happiness and

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Speaker 2: their joy and their success and their fulfillment.

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Speaker 3: And then to learn this about.

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Speaker 2: Your daughter, the fact the circumstance of bleach bleach in

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Speaker 2: your daughter's throat.

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Speaker 3: Who could do that to this beautiful girl? When did

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Speaker 3: you learn this?

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Speaker 6: We learned about the bleach in her throat about six

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Speaker 6: months after she died. The day before they released her autopsy,

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Speaker 6: they told us they called and said, just to warn

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Speaker 6: you there was bleach in her throat. We've been told

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Speaker 6: virtually nothing. We've found things out, mainly from the Internet

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Speaker 6: and from the.

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Speaker 8: Media about our child, everything from how she died she

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Speaker 8: died in a fire so that there was blake in

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Speaker 8: her throat, to seeing the last moments of her life

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Speaker 8: on video that someone had posted on TikTok or Twitter

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Speaker 8: or something.

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Speaker 4: In the early morning hours of April seventeenth, the her

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Speaker 4: Qualifier Department responds to our report of a burning car

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Speaker 4: on the north hand shoulder of the Iten Highway west

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Speaker 4: of to Nopa, Arizona firefighters find a twenty eighteen Chevrolet

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Speaker 4: Malibu on fire. Once the fire is put out, a

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Speaker 4: deceased human body is found in the rear passenger seat.

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Speaker 4: At one fifteen am, Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputies are called

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Speaker 4: to a scene to assist the Arizona Department of Public

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Speaker 4: Safety on a death of investigation. Investigators are able to

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Speaker 4: talk to the man who called law enforcement about the

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Speaker 4: car on fire. Robert Miller tells officials he saw a

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Speaker 4: person walking around the outside of the vehicle.

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Speaker 2: To Bianca Bono, joining US investigative reporter with twelve News Phoenix,

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Speaker 2: to me, that is studying the fact that we still

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Speaker 2: don't have the killer, and there is a witness that

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Speaker 2: spots walking around the car as Mercedes is inside and the.

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Speaker 3: Car is on fire.

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Speaker 13: Not only is there a witness on the Iten Freeway,

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Speaker 13: but there are also video cameras all over mercedes apartment

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Speaker 13: complex in Tempe where she was last seen. There are

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Speaker 13: witnesses in surveillance footage from the area of Tempe where

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Speaker 13: her car was later found abandoned, parked illegally, and we

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Speaker 13: now know that it was not Mercedes, as we've suspected

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Speaker 13: all this time who left her vehicle there. So there

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Speaker 13: are cameras everywhere, and where Mercedes lived is not far

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Speaker 13: from ASU's campus as well, so there are so much

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Speaker 13: foot traffic, There are people everywhere, there are surveillance cameras,

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Speaker 13: and as you mentioned, yes, on the Iten Freeway, there

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Speaker 13: are cars passing by.

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Speaker 14: It was called into nine to one one right away.

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Speaker 13: So the fact that there's a lack of answers at

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Speaker 13: this point is just so troubling, not only for the community,

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Speaker 13: for ASU students in Tempe, but obviously for the Pillsbury's

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Speaker 13: family and all of Mercedes friends who have been handing

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Speaker 13: out flyers on a regular basis and have been doing

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Speaker 13: so much advocacy work on their own and really taken

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Speaker 13: matters in their own hands to try to get this

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Speaker 13: thing solved. Because yeah, I mean, the fact that somebody

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Speaker 13: or people that are capable of doing what they did

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Speaker 13: to Mercedes are still out there is very concerning for

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Speaker 13: everyone who's seen this case, all.

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Speaker 3: That video surveillance.

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Speaker 2: Guys, Before I say one more thing, I've got to

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Speaker 2: give you a tip line for silent witness.

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Speaker 3: Repeat.

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Speaker 2: Silent witness line is for eight zero witness for eight

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Speaker 2: zero witness for eight zero nine four eight six three

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Speaker 2: seven seven repeat four eight zero nine four eight six

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Speaker 2: three seven seven. I want to go back to the

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Speaker 2: Pillsbury's and then to Sarah Ford joining us an expert.

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Speaker 3: Miss Pillsbury, you stated video.

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Speaker 2: Of the last moments of your daughter's life, to which video.

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Speaker 15: Are you referring the video of her coming out of

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Speaker 15: the vestibule where there is one elevator into her Perkin garage, which.

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Speaker 7: We did not we weren't aware of and had not seen.

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Speaker 8: I w had gone to her apartment, and it was

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Speaker 8: three or three days, I believe, after she had died,

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Speaker 8: and there was still blood on the ground from where

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Speaker 8: she was hit.

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Speaker 7: And I saw this weird.

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Speaker 8: Swirl pattern and the blood, and I was wearing her

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Speaker 8: baby hat, and you know, as a mama when they're born,

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Speaker 8: sometimes they put those little things on.

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Speaker 16: Their heads, and there's a little bit of her blood

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Speaker 16: in there. And I laid in her blood in that

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Speaker 16: apartment complex, and.

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Speaker 8: I looked at that weird swirl and I said, oh

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Speaker 8: my god, she's wearing ten shoes. And she never wore

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Speaker 8: tennis shoes. And I asked the police if she was

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Speaker 8: wearing tennis shoes, and they didn't tell me. And then

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Speaker 8: that video was released of her walking out and she's

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Speaker 8: wearing tennis shoes, and it just there's no video that

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Speaker 8: we had somebody who lived there, they took as they

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Speaker 8: walked out of that vestibule in that elevator and walked

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Speaker 8: all the way over to her actual parking spot and

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Speaker 8: that it's thirty seconds. We know that's where she was

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Speaker 8: hit because we were they didn't clean it up and

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Speaker 8: we were able to see her her blood.

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Speaker 7: And then when that video was released, it was very.

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Speaker 8: Strange for me as a mom to be like, Wow,

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Speaker 8: my kid never wears tennis shoes, but she was wearing

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Speaker 8: tend of shoes.

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Speaker 3: Why does that?

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Speaker 2: Why is that fact so important Erica, that she was

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Speaker 2: wearing tennis shoes.

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Speaker 17: I asked what she was wearing. I didn't get to

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Speaker 17: her at all after she died. I didn't get a

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Speaker 17: lock of her hair. I didn't I wanted just to

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Speaker 17: hold her hand. I just wanted something in the last

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Speaker 17: moments of her life. Seeing that video.

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Speaker 7: Was oh, that's so horrible.

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Speaker 18: But seeing her another time, what last time?

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Speaker 7: It was also a gift.

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Speaker 17: But I just found it very strange that she was

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Speaker 17: wearing ten of shoes, just.

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Speaker 18: Because I'm her mom.

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Speaker 17: And my husband will tell you she used to lay

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Speaker 17: out her clothes every morning, so.

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Speaker 7: She like would choose an outfit before.

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Speaker 18: She went anywhere, and she just never more tennis shoes,

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Speaker 18: which is why we were like, she's going to David

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Speaker 18: Busters because she wouldn't have been going out to sushi.

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Speaker 17: She wouldn't have been.

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Speaker 8: Going anywhere that we could imagine other than daven Busters

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Speaker 8: wearing tennis shoes, because she was.

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Speaker 7: You know, ready to play, ready to.

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Speaker 1: Go have fun.

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Speaker 7: And you could see her face in that still shot

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Speaker 7: that she's smiling and she has no idea what's about

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Speaker 7: to happen to her.

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Speaker 2: Miss Pillsbury, you stated that you did not see her

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Speaker 2: again after she died.

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Speaker 3: Is that right?

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Speaker 7: Yeah?

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Speaker 8: They let me walk into a room and she was

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Speaker 8: in a body bed with the zipper on the back

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Speaker 8: of it so we weren't able to access it, with

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Speaker 8: a heavy blanket on top of her. I've never seen

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Speaker 8: a photo of.

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Speaker 7: Her deceased.

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Speaker 8: I know that sounds strange, but as a mom, it

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Speaker 8: makes me think, well, maybe she's still here. I mean,

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Speaker 8: because all I can do in this world that I

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Speaker 8: found myself in is wish that I wasn't in this place.

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Speaker 3: Miss Pillsbury. I've got to tell you something.

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Speaker 2: I understand what you're saying because when my fiance was murdered,

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Speaker 2: he was shot so many times and his face, his head,

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Speaker 2: his snack, his back. I didn't at that young age,

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Speaker 2: you know, I didn't want to see him, So my

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Speaker 2: last memory of him it's when he drove away that morning.

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Speaker 3: And since that time, it's been many many.

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Speaker 2: Years ago, to this day, I still have dreams that

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Speaker 2: he's alive, about the black body bag, about being zipped open,

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Speaker 2: but then there's nothing in there, just all sorts of bizarre,

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Speaker 2: horrible nightmares because I never saw him dead. So your

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Speaker 2: desire to have seen her is justified.

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Speaker 7: Thank you.

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Speaker 3: I get it.

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Speaker 2: And I want to ask, mister Pillsbury, as your wife

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Speaker 2: is recounting what she has lived through, what does it

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Speaker 2: do to you as you hear her tell this horrible

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Speaker 2: story again?

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Speaker 10: It hurts me deeply.

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Speaker 11: Because I'm here for my family, my other children and

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Speaker 11: my wife, and to see us to.

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Speaker 10: Go through this, and we're living a nightmare every single day.

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Speaker 9: You know, a lot of people are moving on with their.

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Speaker 11: Lives and doing what they have to do. But we,

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Speaker 11: as a husband and wife, this is all we focus on.

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Speaker 11: What I'm at the age in my life that all

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Speaker 11: that matters to me is my wife, my children, and

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Speaker 11: my granddaughter.

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Speaker 6: That's it.

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Speaker 11: That's all I really care about. And to lose one

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Speaker 11: of my children and see what it's doing to my wife.

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Speaker 9: It just it tears me apart. It's like that video

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Speaker 9: that you showed. It's just to sit there and watch it.

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Speaker 9: It's so hard to know that my daughter didn't have

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Speaker 9: a care in the world and she just and then

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Speaker 9: literally thirty seconds later, she was taken from us. And

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Speaker 9: I just it's hard to put into words of what

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Speaker 9: my heart is lost and what my wife is heart

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Speaker 9: is lost, because it's just like she said, it's hard

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Speaker 9: to realize that she's not here.

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Speaker 10: Because she is.

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Speaker 9: You know, she's only twenty two and she was just

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Speaker 9: starting her journey in life, and for someone to take

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Speaker 9: her away from us at the nature of what they did,

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Speaker 9: it just doesn't make any sense. And back to the

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Speaker 9: gentleman's statement earlier where he said it was sloppy, it

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Speaker 9: was done very sloppily.

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Speaker 10: I agree one hundred percent.

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Speaker 19: Using fingerprints, investigators are able to identify the woman found

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Speaker 19: inside the burning Malibu as twenty two year old Mercedes Vega.

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Speaker 19: The twenty eighteen Chevrolet Malibu in which her body was

401
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,240
Speaker 19: found does not belong to Vega. That car has a

402
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,840
Speaker 19: salvage title, vehicle registered to State Farm Insurance, and the

403
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Speaker 19: burning car is sixty miles from Vegas Tempe, Arizona apartment.

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Speaker 19: Mercedes twenty nineteen white Dodge Charger is found illegally parked

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Speaker 19: near First Street and Farmer Avenue, one and a half

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Speaker 19: miles south of where she lives. According to her mother,

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Speaker 19: the car is parked while running with the keys in

408
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Speaker 19: the ignition, so it would be stolen or the MCSO

409
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Speaker 19: has video surveillance of Vegas charger from the time it

410
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,159
Speaker 19: is left parked on the road until the time it

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Speaker 19: is recovered by police. Vega did not park it where

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Speaker 19: it was found.

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Speaker 2: So if they've got video of it from the time

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00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,800
Speaker 2: it was parked till it was found by police, who

415
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,520
Speaker 2: parked it, who got out of the car, it's not

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Speaker 2: self driving, it's not a tesla, So who parked the

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00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:29,679
Speaker 2: car obviously connected to who killed who murdered Mercedes joining

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Speaker 2: me Mercedes parents. But I want to go out to

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Speaker 2: Sarah Ford, a legal director of South Carolina Victim Assistant Network,

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Speaker 2: former prosecutor of Crimes on Women and Children.

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Speaker 3: Sarah, thank you for being with us. Sarah.

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Speaker 2: The burning aspect leaving her by the side of the interstate,

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Speaker 2: burning her like it burned, trash out in the front

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Speaker 2: yard ditch, just treating her like she's less than a person.

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Speaker 20: It's absolutely awful, Nancy. It's devastating for these for mister

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Speaker 20: and missus Pillsbury, but even worse is how they appear

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Speaker 20: to have been treated by law enforcement throughout the investigation.

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Speaker 20: It's certainly understandable for investigators to want to keep information

429
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Speaker 20: close to the best, but for survivors of homicide to

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Speaker 20: find out information from the internet, for the media, for

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00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:23,439
Speaker 20: the public to have information before mister missus Pillsbury is

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Speaker 20: absolutely inexcusable.

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Speaker 7: Absolutely, you know, I'm curious.

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Speaker 2: Back to Bianca Bono joining us investigative reporter twelve News

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00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:37,480
Speaker 2: in Phoenix, Bianca, you mentioned earlier and I'm hearing it

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00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,960
Speaker 2: again from our reporters at Crime Online that there's video,

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00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,480
Speaker 2: and we were just hearing Dave Matt reporting that there's

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Speaker 2: video of her Mercedes car from the time it was

439
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,359
Speaker 2: parked till the time police found it.

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Speaker 1: So who parked it, that's not in the video. There's

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Speaker 1: everything in the video but the perp right.

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Speaker 13: And we have so many questions about this video, and

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00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:06,919
Speaker 13: we only recently got confirmation from the Maricopa County Sheriff's

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00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:11,399
Speaker 13: Office that that surveillance video even exists months ago. The

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00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,560
Speaker 13: Pillsbury's were asking publicly when they finally started speaking out,

446
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 13: because to their credit, they remain quiet relatively about this case,

447
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,679
Speaker 13: giving investigators time to put all the pieces together. But

448
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,560
Speaker 13: for months they've been asking where's the surveillance footage?

449
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,639
Speaker 14: Where are the cameras? There are cameras everywhere.

450
00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:34,159
Speaker 13: And also, you know, for them to find out that

451
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,000
Speaker 13: there's surveillance footage from the apartment complex via social media,

452
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,000
Speaker 13: somebody at the apartment complex choosing to record this video

453
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:45,280
Speaker 13: and posted online and not from investigators is just really troubling.

454
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,360
Speaker 13: But yes, we know that there is surveillance footage out there.

455
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,920
Speaker 13: We've put in records requests, as have several other investigative

456
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,359
Speaker 13: reporters to try to get our own hands on this

457
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 13: footage to see what work we can do to try

458
00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,520
Speaker 13: to track down individuals. We haven't received any of that yet.

459
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,280
Speaker 13: We're hoping to get it soon. But yeah, no question,

460
00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:06,440
Speaker 13: there is video evidence in this case. What is in

461
00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:08,400
Speaker 13: those video images that's just.

462
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:09,120
Speaker 7: Unknown at this.

463
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,240
Speaker 1: Crime stories with Nancy Grace.

464
00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:23,960
Speaker 3: To Erica Pillsbury joining us.

465
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,760
Speaker 2: This is Mercedes mom along with her dad Tom Erica.

466
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:34,000
Speaker 2: Have you asked La law enforcement? Where's the video? Can

467
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 2: I see the video?

468
00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:39,600
Speaker 7: Of course, I asked for all of the evidence.

469
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,120
Speaker 8: I've asked. I've asked, why won't you show it to us?

470
00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,400
Speaker 8: Maybe we can identify the people in the video. Why

471
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:51,440
Speaker 8: haven't you brought us in and questioned.

472
00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:57,480
Speaker 21: Us a A Why Why are we finding all of

473
00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:03,160
Speaker 21: this out via other avenues besides law enforcement?

474
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,480
Speaker 3: What in the hey is going on?

475
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 1: Bianca?

476
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:09,040
Speaker 3: Why that's not right?

477
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,840
Speaker 14: It's not and it's not how cases should go.

478
00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:15,160
Speaker 13: Ever, and unfortunately it's been an issue with this case

479
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,880
Speaker 13: from the beginning, as they mentioned, and now it's to

480
00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,640
Speaker 13: the point where you know, I'll get information from the

481
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,320
Speaker 13: Sheriff's office and I'll reach out to Tom and Erica

482
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,200
Speaker 13: and let them know what I'm hearing, just to confirm

483
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,760
Speaker 13: that they've heard it too, because the last thing as

484
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 13: a journalist I would ever want is for the victims,

485
00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:35,560
Speaker 13: family and friends to be finding out information when they

486
00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:37,040
Speaker 13: turn on the evening news.

487
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:38,920
Speaker 14: It's completely unacceptable.

488
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,400
Speaker 13: And we've been asking why are authorities keeping this information

489
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,200
Speaker 13: so private? Why are they releasing it in the way

490
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 13: that they are. We know that the Sheriff's office is

491
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,480
Speaker 13: now working with federal partners it's unclear exactly who, but

492
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,640
Speaker 13: we know they're not working alone in this case. But again,

493
00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:00,480
Speaker 13: to go over twelve months without any answers, any really

494
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,760
Speaker 13: semblance of closure for these family and friends, it's just

495
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:07,240
Speaker 13: really disheartening. And we're hoping that things changes, they move forward,

496
00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:09,800
Speaker 13: but at this point, the fact that the Pillsburys are

497
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,040
Speaker 13: still learning new information to this moment is really troubling.

498
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,360
Speaker 11: Mercedes Father, I want to thank silent Witness. I want

499
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 11: to thank all agencies that are involved in trying to

500
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:26,280
Speaker 11: solve this case and bring me peace for my wife

501
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:30,440
Speaker 11: and my other children. I want to thank the media

502
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,640
Speaker 11: for being here. I understand it's been kept quiet. We

503
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:41,440
Speaker 11: kept it quiet because we wanted the justice system to.

504
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:40,960
Speaker 10: Run its course.

505
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:44,920
Speaker 11: And now I think it's time that you all know

506
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:47,640
Speaker 11: what's going on and we need to get these people caught.

507
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,920
Speaker 2: Straight back out to mister and missus Pillsbury. You are

508
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:58,680
Speaker 2: hearing mister Pearlsbury speaking begging for justice, begging for his

509
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:05,520
Speaker 2: daughter's killer to be caught. Miss Pillsbury, I see you

510
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:10,480
Speaker 2: breaking down in tears. Is it because you're learning new information?

511
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:12,720
Speaker 3: What is it?

512
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:14,880
Speaker 1: I miss my.

513
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:26,200
Speaker 7: Little girl that frustrated. I'm I feel alone, miss. I

514
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:32,480
Speaker 7: feel that there's so much more that could.

515
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:36,880
Speaker 16: Be done that hasn't been done.

516
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:39,000
Speaker 7: I miss Merceding.

517
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,760
Speaker 17: So much, and I'm.

518
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:52,600
Speaker 18: Just can't understand why and how we are being told.

519
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:57,160
Speaker 8: If things were being told, and we're how, I'm worried about.

520
00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,760
Speaker 17: My little girl, how she died.

521
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:06,120
Speaker 2: I'm trying to make sense of what we are learning.

522
00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:11,480
Speaker 2: To doctor Michelle Dupre joining, US renowned pathologist and medical examiner,

523
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:14,680
Speaker 2: what is conflagration?

524
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:16,240
Speaker 3: What is that?

525
00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:22,760
Speaker 12: It's actually thermal injuries from fire. This unfortunate young lady

526
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:25,760
Speaker 12: was in the fire, was in a car that was burning,

527
00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:28,280
Speaker 12: and she was still alive during part of that time.

528
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,960
Speaker 12: This is torture, no matter how you look at it.

529
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:35,760
Speaker 2: So when you say thermal injuries, what are you talking about.

530
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,960
Speaker 12: I'm talking about actually heat. Heat can cause damage as

531
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,760
Speaker 12: well as actually fire burning the body. This person was

532
00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,280
Speaker 12: on fire part of the time.

533
00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:50,160
Speaker 2: It's my understanding that she died of smoke inhalation. Would

534
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:53,640
Speaker 2: that be consistent with conflagration.

535
00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,400
Speaker 12: Yes, it would. She was not alive for very long

536
00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,320
Speaker 12: because there was no discussion of soot in her lungs,

537
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:04,480
Speaker 12: but there was in her nasal passages, so she would

538
00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:09,960
Speaker 12: have died from the carbon dioxide carbon monoxide rather from

539
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:10,479
Speaker 12: the smoke.

540
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:12,960
Speaker 14: She would have died relatively quickly.

541
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,760
Speaker 2: From that, guys, I'm trying to piece together what happened

542
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:22,280
Speaker 2: just before Mercedes Vega was kidnapped and murdered.

543
00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:22,920
Speaker 3: Listen.

544
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 22: Mercedes Vega talks to her mom and dad. On April sixteen.

545
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 22: Erica and Tom Pillsbury are on the last day of

546
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 22: their vacation in the Caribbean. Mercedes tells her mom she

547
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,400
Speaker 22: has plans to meet friends at David Buster's for dinner.

548
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,840
Speaker 22: Erica and Tom Pillsbury returned to Santane Valley, Arizona the

549
00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:43,840
Speaker 22: next day, April seventeen.

550
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,800
Speaker 2: Straight back out to Mercedes parents were what was your

551
00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,880
Speaker 2: understanding of what she was doing that day?

552
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:51,800
Speaker 3: That evening.

553
00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:57,720
Speaker 8: We knew she had gone to Chipotle and gotten food

554
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:03,000
Speaker 8: and gone back up to her apartment, and we believed

555
00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,920
Speaker 8: at that point, or I believe at that point, she

556
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:11,880
Speaker 8: was probably just considering stately in for the night, but

557
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,279
Speaker 8: there were several people asking her to come out and

558
00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:24,880
Speaker 8: meet them, and ultimately she made the worst decision to

559
00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:29,160
Speaker 8: leave her apartment, and I believe that there was someone

560
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:33,560
Speaker 8: there waiting for her and.

561
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:37,960
Speaker 9: They took her right, is that statement that we had

562
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,719
Speaker 9: talked to her and said that she was going to

563
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,279
Speaker 9: We did not talk to her. We were flying when

564
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:47,000
Speaker 9: all this took place, so we weren't even in We

565
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,600
Speaker 9: were probably still in Miami at the time, so we

566
00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:53,080
Speaker 9: actually physically never talked to her and knew she was

567
00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,520
Speaker 9: showing to David. Butser's at all. That's just what we

568
00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:00,279
Speaker 9: have found out. It's through information. I just wanted to

569
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:03,399
Speaker 9: clarify this was that via text we didn't talk to Yeah,

570
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:05,879
Speaker 9: she was talking to someone via text, not us.

571
00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:07,960
Speaker 10: We were not involved in that text. She knew we

572
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:08,880
Speaker 10: were out of the country.

573
00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:09,319
Speaker 3: I see.

574
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:10,879
Speaker 10: Yeah. I just wanted to make that clear.

575
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,400
Speaker 2: We did not to Robin Drake joining us, a former

576
00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,600
Speaker 2: FBI special agent. I want to talk to you about

577
00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:22,880
Speaker 2: the forensic evidence because I can see video surveillance a

578
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,760
Speaker 2: Mercedes coming out from the elevator going to her car

579
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:31,239
Speaker 2: that is where she was attacked. I don't believe she

580
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:35,560
Speaker 2: was dead at that time because later bleach was poured

581
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:36,400
Speaker 2: into her mouth.

582
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,480
Speaker 3: Okay, so if.

583
00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:41,919
Speaker 2: She had already been dead at that time, I don't

584
00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:47,520
Speaker 2: think the bleach would have occurred. That said, her car

585
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,239
Speaker 2: is caught on video surveillance. Remember, she's not taken in

586
00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:56,640
Speaker 2: her car. Her car is taken there, and it's left

587
00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,879
Speaker 2: far away, still running keys in ignition, hoping somebody would

588
00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,760
Speaker 2: steal it and they would be pinned with a murder.

589
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:08,040
Speaker 2: But the car should be full of forensic evidence, such

590
00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:09,600
Speaker 2: as fingerprints or even DNA.

591
00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:14,880
Speaker 5: I totally agree, Nancy, it's the fuddling that we don't

592
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,920
Speaker 5: know more at this point. I think the victim assistance

593
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:22,160
Speaker 5: program has failed miserably, has been pointed out, and the

594
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,680
Speaker 5: amount of evidence DNA evidence, video evidence, fingerprint evidence, I

595
00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:30,520
Speaker 5: think should be overwhelming. It leads me to think that

596
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:34,120
Speaker 5: again I'm still caught on the stalker side of this thing,

597
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,600
Speaker 5: the serial potential serial stalker, but also potentially someone is

598
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,480
Speaker 5: either so isolated that we can't find them, or they're

599
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:45,080
Speaker 5: being protected by someone and potentially someone undocumented, so there's

600
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:49,400
Speaker 5: no footprint to follow up on, or gross incompetence of

601
00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:50,320
Speaker 5: the investigators.

602
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:52,640
Speaker 3: Now let me understand from you.

603
00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:57,279
Speaker 2: Bianca Bono, joining US investigative reporter twelve News, explain to

604
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:01,200
Speaker 2: me one more time. Her car, her car that she owned,

605
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,040
Speaker 2: was taken from where to where.

606
00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:06,400
Speaker 13: It's unclear exactly where it was taken but we know

607
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,520
Speaker 13: where it was found. It was found in Tempe, Arizona,

608
00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:12,920
Speaker 13: not far from Mill Avenue, which is the busiest street

609
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:17,520
Speaker 13: in Tempe. It's essentially on Arizona State University's campus, and

610
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:21,839
Speaker 13: it was outside of a very popular restaurant. So authorities

611
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:25,400
Speaker 13: tell us that they found the car on April eighteenth.

612
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,960
Speaker 13: We know that Mercedes was last seen leaving her Tempe

613
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:34,400
Speaker 13: apartment complex late on April sixteenth, So where it was,

614
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,759
Speaker 13: you know, taken from, exactly when it was dropped off

615
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:41,680
Speaker 13: yet that information has not been publicly released. But again,

616
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:45,840
Speaker 13: investigators confirmed that they do have surveillance footage showing the

617
00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:48,399
Speaker 13: car being dropped off at that spot in Tempe, where

618
00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:51,160
Speaker 13: again it was left running with the keys inside.

619
00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:57,200
Speaker 2: To the Pillsbury's Tom and Erica Pillsbury speaking out for justice,

620
00:37:57,239 --> 00:37:59,000
Speaker 2: what is your message tonight?

621
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:05,360
Speaker 8: The most important thing that I can say is to

622
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 8: anyone here in Arizona. Any child, any mother, any father, anyone,

623
00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:16,760
Speaker 8: Please just be aware.

624
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:24,480
Speaker 18: I just look around, share your location, tell.

625
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:25,280
Speaker 7: People where you're going.

626
00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 8: Make it a habit to say mom, dad, friend, brother, sister.

627
00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:40,520
Speaker 8: I don't care who I'm heading out down to my car.

628
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:49,880
Speaker 8: I'll text you when I get there. Just give accountability

629
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:58,600
Speaker 8: to yourself that you're gonna share your location and where

630
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:03,239
Speaker 8: you're at, because the people that did this to my

631
00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:09,640
Speaker 8: child are less than human and they're still there, They're

632
00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,280
Speaker 8: still out in walking around.

633
00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:19,840
Speaker 2: Let me remind everyone that there is a reward for

634
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:25,320
Speaker 2: information leading to the discovery of the person that murdered

635
00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:32,600
Speaker 2: the Pillsbury's little girl Mercedes Vega the tip line for

636
00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:37,600
Speaker 2: eight zero witness four eight zero nine four eight six

637
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:43,200
Speaker 2: three seven seven. We stopped to remember American hero police

638
00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:49,000
Speaker 2: officer Luis Weska, just thirty years old. Officer Jusca shot

639
00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:53,760
Speaker 2: multiple times before having his badge, gun and vehicle stolen,

640
00:39:54,600 --> 00:40:02,719
Speaker 2: leaving behind grieving brother Emiliano, mother Edith so Lily. American

641
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:08,040
Speaker 2: hero police Officer Luis Huesca. I want to thank all

642
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:13,440
Speaker 2: of our guests, especially the Pillsbury's for being with us tonight,

643
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:18,319
Speaker 2: but especially also to you for joining us. Easy grace,

644
00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:20,160
Speaker 2: signing off good night,