WEBVTT - Dark Canyon 0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:17.165 School of Humans. The Coroner's office has done an extensive 0:00:17.205 --> 0:00:21.125 amount of forensic in the last several days, and it's 0:00:21.205 --> 0:00:24.685 to my sadness and disappointment that I'm reporting to you 0:00:24.965 --> 0:00:28.845 that it is the confirmed remains of my Trees Richardson. 0:00:33.245 --> 0:00:37.125 On August ninth, twenty ten, eleven months after my Terce 0:00:37.205 --> 0:00:41.365 Richardson went missing, State Park rangers were hiking in Dark Canyon, 0:00:41.885 --> 0:00:45.525 deep in the Santa Monica Mountains. They were looking for 0:00:45.565 --> 0:00:48.165 a marijuana grove farm that they had eradicated the year 0:00:48.205 --> 0:00:53.765 before they found a human skeleton. The rangers were way 0:00:53.805 --> 0:00:56.085 off the hiking trails that are open to the public. 0:00:57.405 --> 0:01:01.005 They had accessed the canyon through a private residence located 0:01:01.045 --> 0:01:05.285 on Payuma Road. Where Dark Creek begins, there's a hiking 0:01:05.285 --> 0:01:09.445 trail nearby, the Backbone trail, and it's possible to climb 0:01:09.485 --> 0:01:12.525 down from that trail into the creek bed if you 0:01:12.605 --> 0:01:16.845 know exactly where to look. So they started down into 0:01:16.845 --> 0:01:19.565 the creek, which is more of a climb than a hike. 0:01:20.285 --> 0:01:24.645 They scaled giant boulders, navigated through steep and jagged terrain, 0:01:24.965 --> 0:01:29.565 and hacked through thick foliage, sharp thorns, vines, and poison oak. 0:01:31.285 --> 0:01:34.845 They found several items of clothing, a pink belt, a 0:01:34.885 --> 0:01:38.965 black braw a pair of blue jeans. This was the 0:01:39.005 --> 0:01:42.285 same clothing that my Teres Richardson had been wearing when 0:01:42.325 --> 0:01:44.845 she was released from the Lost Hills Sheriff Station almost 0:01:44.885 --> 0:01:49.725 a year earlier and started wandering through the dark alone. 0:01:49.925 --> 0:01:54.165 The team marked the clothing's location and then continued their hike. 0:01:55.765 --> 0:01:57.965 They started down the south side of the creek bed, 0:01:58.805 --> 0:02:02.805 and that's when, at around one PM, the supervising ranger 0:02:03.005 --> 0:02:07.885 saw a human skull and a legbone. He also saw 0:02:07.925 --> 0:02:11.445 tufts of hair, which the ranger believed to be African American. 0:02:12.725 --> 0:02:16.005 The ranger's cell phone wasn't working, so he radioed into 0:02:16.005 --> 0:02:19.725 the dispatcher and used his handheld GPS device to give 0:02:19.765 --> 0:02:24.405 them the exact coordinates of the team's location. This was 0:02:24.445 --> 0:02:27.845 only the first and a long line of miscalls that day. 0:02:28.285 --> 0:02:31.645 Miscommunication was a theme that would continue as the afternoon 0:02:31.685 --> 0:02:34.525 turned into evening and my Teresa's family waited at the 0:02:34.565 --> 0:02:40.365 scene desperate for answers. I'm Catherine Townsend. This is hell 0:02:40.445 --> 0:03:16.125 and Gone. In our last episode, we talked about the 0:03:16.205 --> 0:03:18.725 day the remains were found. From the perspective of my 0:03:18.805 --> 0:03:24.725 Teresa's family, doctor Ronda and Tshaka, whose organization REACT had 0:03:24.765 --> 0:03:28.285 been helping them with the search for months. But now 0:03:28.445 --> 0:03:30.205 we want to take a look at that day from 0:03:30.245 --> 0:03:33.765 the perspective of the police in the coroner. A lot 0:03:33.765 --> 0:03:37.045 of what happened that night is contradicted and disputed, so 0:03:37.205 --> 0:03:40.405 much so that the Los Angeles County Office of Independent 0:03:40.405 --> 0:03:45.085 Review did a full fledged report in twenty twelve. They 0:03:45.125 --> 0:03:49.285 produced a fifty five page report. Much of the dispute 0:03:49.645 --> 0:03:53.085 revolves around who made the call to move My Teresa's remains, 0:03:53.765 --> 0:03:57.325 because moving the remains before the Coroner's office could investigate 0:03:57.325 --> 0:04:01.205 the scene destroyed the crime scene and ruined perhaps the 0:04:01.245 --> 0:04:04.845 only chance of uncovering what happened to my trees. It's 0:04:04.885 --> 0:04:07.565 not something and that was in a matter where you 0:04:07.645 --> 0:04:10.565 have passed practices to allow you to do things together. 0:04:10.805 --> 0:04:13.765 This is Lee Baca, Sheriff of Los Angeles County at 0:04:13.805 --> 0:04:16.645 the time, at a press conference, talking about some of 0:04:16.685 --> 0:04:19.845 the report's conclusions, because that persistence always leads to a 0:04:19.845 --> 0:04:24.285 better solutions to stop this press conference audio isn't the best, 0:04:24.605 --> 0:04:26.085 so we're going to walk you through some of the 0:04:26.125 --> 0:04:28.685 conclusions that were made by the Office of Independent Review. 0:04:31.565 --> 0:04:34.685 After the remains were found, it was immediately clear that 0:04:34.765 --> 0:04:38.325 law enforcement personnel knew that this could be my Terce Richardson. 0:04:39.365 --> 0:04:44.165 This was potentially a high profile incident. The search and 0:04:44.245 --> 0:04:47.045 rescue team from Lost Hills drove to the Payuma Road 0:04:47.045 --> 0:04:50.045 address where the team had started their hike. They set 0:04:50.125 --> 0:04:54.125 up an incident command post there. Meanwhile, the Lost Hills 0:04:54.125 --> 0:04:57.605 station notified the two detectives with the La County Sheriff's 0:04:57.605 --> 0:05:00.085 Department's Homicide Bureau who had been put in charge of 0:05:00.085 --> 0:05:04.365 my Teresa's case, Dan Mickelderry and Kevin as Sabado, that 0:05:04.405 --> 0:05:08.125 the remains had been found. Chuck Knowles and Steve Agucci 0:05:08.165 --> 0:05:11.325 were the LAPD detectives who had been investigating my Teresa's case. 0:05:12.445 --> 0:05:15.045 Their contact numbers were on the bottom of the missing posters, 0:05:15.445 --> 0:05:18.245 and they were the detectives who had interviewed my Teresa's family, 0:05:18.965 --> 0:05:21.645 but they were not the ones at her crime scene. 0:05:21.765 --> 0:05:24.285 There are no proper names in the Office of Independent 0:05:24.325 --> 0:05:27.125 Review report, by the way, so just trying to figure 0:05:27.125 --> 0:05:30.165 out who was actually responsible for what takes quite a 0:05:30.165 --> 0:05:34.485 bit of detective work. At two forty five pm, so 0:05:34.765 --> 0:05:37.445 around an hour and forty five minutes after the initial call, 0:05:37.965 --> 0:05:42.805 detectives Mickelderry and Acebado drove to Lost Hill Station. They 0:05:42.885 --> 0:05:45.445 arrived at Lost Hills at around three thirty five PM, 0:05:45.885 --> 0:05:49.005 and they and the Malibu Search and Rescue Team headed 0:05:49.005 --> 0:05:52.885 out to the Payuma Road command post. At the same time, 0:05:53.005 --> 0:05:57.845 the Coroner's Special Operations and Response Team aka SORT was 0:05:57.925 --> 0:06:02.365 also en route to the Payuma Road Post. By around 0:06:02.445 --> 0:06:05.885 four to forty pm, the SORT team made arrange to 0:06:05.885 --> 0:06:09.725 assemble back at Lost Hill Station. They were standing by 0:06:09.845 --> 0:06:12.565 to be taken to the site where the remains were found. 0:06:13.405 --> 0:06:16.725 A helicopter airlifted Michael Dairy and Acebato from the Lost 0:06:16.805 --> 0:06:19.725 Hill station. They were at the crime scene by five 0:06:19.845 --> 0:06:24.005 twenty pm. I'm calling it a crime scene because as 0:06:24.045 --> 0:06:27.165 a licensed private investigator and journalist who has covered true 0:06:27.165 --> 0:06:31.085 crime for years, I know that all suspicious deaths should 0:06:31.085 --> 0:06:35.165 be treated as homicides until proven otherwise, and securing that 0:06:35.245 --> 0:06:38.365 crime scene until the coroner arrived should have been everyone's 0:06:38.445 --> 0:06:43.285 absolute priority. Coroner's personnel were told that they would be 0:06:43.325 --> 0:06:51.965 airlifted to the body shortly, so they waited at the site. 0:06:52.405 --> 0:06:55.925 Detectives made their way to the remains. Michael Dairy and 0:06:55.925 --> 0:06:59.285 Acebado saw a skull, a skeletal leg, and a pelvic 0:06:59.325 --> 0:07:02.725 bone lying about forty feet to the south of the drainage, 0:07:03.325 --> 0:07:07.165 partially obscured by twigs and lee yes. One of the 0:07:07.165 --> 0:07:09.845 detectives took photos of the remains with his cell phone. 0:07:10.765 --> 0:07:13.725 They then searched the area for any additional evidence and 0:07:13.805 --> 0:07:16.765 walked to the GPS coordinates where the items of clothing 0:07:16.805 --> 0:07:23.805 had been found. Later, my Teresa's mother, Latisse, would question 0:07:23.885 --> 0:07:26.485 the accuracy of those GPS coordinates that were given to 0:07:26.525 --> 0:07:30.125 them by the detectives. Some of my Teresa's family members 0:07:30.125 --> 0:07:33.645 pointed out that although the terrain was rough, the GPS 0:07:33.725 --> 0:07:37.525 coordinates were physically not far from nearby homes. The clothes 0:07:37.565 --> 0:07:39.725 were found about one thousand feet from the house where 0:07:39.765 --> 0:07:43.245 detectives began their hike. The belt was found about five 0:07:43.325 --> 0:07:47.085 hundred feet from the house. These coordinates would become crucial 0:07:47.165 --> 0:07:51.325 later when other investigators and family members tried to retrace 0:07:51.365 --> 0:08:00.005 the detective steps. After dropping off the detectives, the helicopter 0:08:00.125 --> 0:08:03.205 was supposed to pick up the coroner's office personnel, but 0:08:03.245 --> 0:08:06.605 the pilot got a distress call. Teen hikers were struck 0:08:06.685 --> 0:08:10.245 halfway up a cliff in a canyon at five point 0:08:10.205 --> 0:08:13.805 forty three PM. The helicopter flew there, then picked up 0:08:13.845 --> 0:08:17.925 the stranded hikers and returned them to the trailhead. The 0:08:17.965 --> 0:08:20.925 helicopter was then due to fly back to Lost Hills 0:08:21.325 --> 0:08:27.565 to pick up the Coroner's office personnel, but when they 0:08:27.605 --> 0:08:30.205 were just a few minutes out, they got another call. 0:08:30.685 --> 0:08:33.605 This time a female hiker had fallen off a cliff 0:08:33.725 --> 0:08:37.765 in another canyon, so they re routed, dropped a paramedic 0:08:37.805 --> 0:08:40.725 down to treat the team for suspected fractures, and then 0:08:40.765 --> 0:08:44.565 flew her to a hospital in Pasadena. After dropping the 0:08:44.565 --> 0:08:47.725 injured hiker off at seven o three, the pilot flew 0:08:47.765 --> 0:08:51.565 back to the Lost Hill station. But by now the pilot, 0:08:51.845 --> 0:08:55.205 who had thirty years of experience by the way, knew 0:08:55.285 --> 0:08:58.165 that they were running out of daylight and out of fuel. 0:08:59.125 --> 0:09:01.605 The pilot later said that he did not have enough 0:09:01.605 --> 0:09:04.125 fuel to fly to the Lost Hill station, pick up 0:09:04.165 --> 0:09:06.925 the coroner's team, drop them off to view the remains, 0:09:07.325 --> 0:09:15.245 and then get everyone safely back out. Exactly what happened 0:09:15.245 --> 0:09:18.645 next is in dispute, and a lot of it sums 0:09:18.725 --> 0:09:21.165 up what was going on with the investigation in general. 0:09:23.005 --> 0:09:26.005 Perhaps The most important was the series of cell phone 0:09:26.045 --> 0:09:29.285 calls that took place between the homicide detectives who were 0:09:29.285 --> 0:09:33.165 in Dark Canyon, their lieutenant, and the Coroner's office personnel 0:09:33.285 --> 0:09:36.845 back at the command post. Then, as it is now, 0:09:37.325 --> 0:09:40.285 it was hard to get reception, so police said that 0:09:40.365 --> 0:09:44.605 a lot of the calls were dropped. While this was 0:09:44.645 --> 0:09:48.365 going on, the marijuana reconnaissance team made the call they 0:09:48.405 --> 0:09:52.765 were getting out, so they hiked out at around six pm. 0:09:53.565 --> 0:09:57.165 This left the search and rescue personnel and the homicide detectives. 0:09:58.045 --> 0:10:01.925 At around eight pm, the LAPD homicide detectives made a 0:10:01.925 --> 0:10:05.205 critical decision that would change the direction of the case forever, 0:10:06.365 --> 0:10:11.005 because that's when detectives Macklderry and Acebado decided they were 0:10:11.045 --> 0:10:15.765 taking the remains out. Law enforcement teams have been known 0:10:15.845 --> 0:10:20.805 to stay overnight with remains, why not this time. According 0:10:20.845 --> 0:10:24.605 to the report, the homicide detective said he thought about 0:10:24.685 --> 0:10:28.485 leaving the remains overnight, but said that quote he did 0:10:28.525 --> 0:10:31.525 not know whether someone had noticed the activity and could 0:10:31.605 --> 0:10:34.445 possibly come into the canyon overnight and disturb the scene. 0:10:35.245 --> 0:10:37.405 The detective was also aware that there were teeth in 0:10:37.405 --> 0:10:40.965 the upper jaw of the skull, making identification possible, and 0:10:41.125 --> 0:10:46.085 was concerned about losing critical evidence end quote. He later 0:10:46.165 --> 0:10:48.845 said that he believed that people being in the area 0:10:49.165 --> 0:10:53.005 could attract wildlife overnight, which could damage the crime scene. 0:10:53.685 --> 0:10:57.165 The homicide detective said he believed he had permission to 0:10:57.205 --> 0:11:04.965 move the remains, but the coroner's office disagreed. According to 0:11:05.005 --> 0:11:08.645 the Office of Independent Review report, the coroner captain said 0:11:08.645 --> 0:11:11.085 that the detective told him that it was getting dark 0:11:11.565 --> 0:11:15.125 end quote. He wanted permission to move the bones or 0:11:15.165 --> 0:11:18.285 remove them without us actually going in and being able 0:11:18.365 --> 0:11:20.485 to help them with it or conduct any kind of 0:11:20.525 --> 0:11:24.645 scene investigation. End quote. The captain also said that the 0:11:24.685 --> 0:11:27.845 detective had told him quote he told me that he 0:11:27.925 --> 0:11:31.565 saw only a skull and pelvit bone and legbone. He 0:11:31.605 --> 0:11:34.365 believed that the rest of the remains had been washed 0:11:34.405 --> 0:11:37.565 down into that location and the animals had scattered the 0:11:37.605 --> 0:11:39.965 rest of the remains, and that we would probably not 0:11:40.125 --> 0:11:42.765 be successful in any subsequent search of the area to 0:11:42.805 --> 0:11:47.125 find anything additional end quote. This is an extremely bizarre 0:11:47.165 --> 0:11:50.085 statement for a homicide detective to make. He has just 0:11:50.245 --> 0:11:53.285 arrived on the scene, and before any forensic testing has 0:11:53.325 --> 0:11:56.685 been done, he decides that they won't find anything else. 0:11:58.765 --> 0:12:01.125 But when they lifted the pelvit bone out of the debris, 0:12:01.685 --> 0:12:05.165 they saw something else, a large portion of the skeleton 0:12:05.605 --> 0:12:09.965 still intact that had not been previously visible. So at 0:12:09.965 --> 0:12:13.685 that point the homicide detectives knew, despite what they had 0:12:13.725 --> 0:12:16.565 just told the coroner's team, that they had much more 0:12:16.765 --> 0:12:20.925 than just three bones at that site. Still, the homicide 0:12:20.925 --> 0:12:23.845 detectives doubled down on their decision to move the remains. 0:12:24.725 --> 0:12:27.205 A Malibu Search and Rescue team member picked up the 0:12:27.245 --> 0:12:30.325 skull and placed it on a plastic sheet, which was 0:12:30.365 --> 0:12:34.165 laid out in a body bag. The recovery personnel gathered 0:12:34.205 --> 0:12:36.925 all the small bones they could see and placed them 0:12:36.925 --> 0:12:40.565 with the rest of the remains before they left the scene. 0:12:40.925 --> 0:12:43.965 The team at the remain site laid out a silver 0:12:44.045 --> 0:12:47.925 rescue blanket and taped off the area with orange tape 0:12:48.125 --> 0:12:51.725 to mark the location so that when they returned, investigators 0:12:51.765 --> 0:12:54.885 could find the site. The remains were then loaded into 0:12:54.925 --> 0:13:02.725 a body bag and airlifted out by the helicopter. Finally, 0:13:03.045 --> 0:13:06.485 the next morning, the coroner's team was taken to the 0:13:06.525 --> 0:13:10.125 site where the remains had been found, but they received 0:13:10.125 --> 0:13:14.045 conflicting GPS coordinates and were unable to reach the location. 0:13:15.165 --> 0:13:18.365 It would be another two full weeks before the coroner's 0:13:18.445 --> 0:13:22.005 team was able to find the remains. When the team 0:13:22.165 --> 0:13:24.805 was finally able to hike into the area on August 0:13:24.845 --> 0:13:28.925 twenty fifth, they found a lot more bones, and they 0:13:29.285 --> 0:13:32.885 and the public began to wonder what else had the 0:13:32.925 --> 0:13:39.725 homicide detectives missed. Anne Sobil wrote an article about what 0:13:39.845 --> 0:13:42.365 went down that day for the Malibu Surf Side News. 0:13:42.965 --> 0:13:46.005 She spoke to ed Winter, he was the assistant coroner 0:13:46.005 --> 0:13:48.885 at the time. She wrote that he told her quote, 0:13:49.285 --> 0:13:53.205 since coroner's personnel did not witness this procedure, they cannot 0:13:53.245 --> 0:13:55.765 attest to the care with which the remains were handled. 0:13:56.165 --> 0:13:59.965 End quote. Winter told Soble that the Coroner's office has 0:14:00.005 --> 0:14:03.565 a skeletal recovery team with specialized skills for handling this 0:14:03.685 --> 0:14:08.765 exact situation. If the Coroner's office representatives were not able 0:14:08.805 --> 0:14:12.485 to get to the scene, documenting the crime scene becomes critical. 0:14:13.485 --> 0:14:17.845 Remember those photos that were taken by detectives. At some point, 0:14:18.245 --> 0:14:20.445 ed Winter said that if he couldn't get to the site, 0:14:20.965 --> 0:14:23.765 he would need to see those photographs to determine if 0:14:23.765 --> 0:14:27.605 the remains could be moved. But the photographs apparently never 0:14:27.645 --> 0:14:31.925 made it across his desk. The Office of Independent Review 0:14:31.965 --> 0:14:35.245 report states that at least one detective took photos of 0:14:35.285 --> 0:14:37.925 the body on a cell phone but was not able 0:14:37.925 --> 0:14:41.325 to email those photos, and that some of the rangers 0:14:41.365 --> 0:14:43.565 hiked out of the cannon with a flash drive containing 0:14:43.605 --> 0:14:47.525 some photos, but the images that were on the flash 0:14:47.645 --> 0:14:50.765 drive apparently could not be downloaded back at the secondary 0:14:50.765 --> 0:14:55.165 command post at Lost Hill Station. The photos that were 0:14:55.165 --> 0:15:00.525 taken of the crime scene are reportedly not of usable quality. 0:15:01.245 --> 0:15:05.285 According to Mike Kessler's article in Los Angeles Magazine, of 0:15:05.325 --> 0:15:08.165 the the pictures that were taken by the rangers were 0:15:08.285 --> 0:15:12.525 given to the coroner. He writes, quote, those images have 0:15:12.645 --> 0:15:16.325 not been disclosed or publicly discussed, but a well placed 0:15:16.325 --> 0:15:19.565 source says that like so many facets of my Teresa's case, 0:15:20.245 --> 0:15:23.645 her remains have generated more questions than they've answered. Her 0:15:23.725 --> 0:15:27.245 right leg, caked in soil and sprouting weeds, sat about 0:15:27.245 --> 0:15:29.965 two yards upslote from the body a top amount of 0:15:30.045 --> 0:15:33.045 dry mines. The femur of the leg had been removed 0:15:33.045 --> 0:15:35.685 from the soft tissue, as if it had been pulled 0:15:35.685 --> 0:15:38.045 from the top of the thigh. There was nothing but 0:15:38.085 --> 0:15:40.885 a narrow duct where the bone should have been end 0:15:40.965 --> 0:15:47.725 quote to the chagrin of not only the Ela County 0:15:47.725 --> 0:15:50.125 Sheriff's Department, but to all those that know my trees, 0:15:50.685 --> 0:15:53.765 particularly your mother and father, that this became an extraordinarily 0:15:53.805 --> 0:15:58.645 emotional and charged investigation. On August twelfth, at nine thirty am, 0:15:59.525 --> 0:16:03.885 the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department held a press conference. Immediately, 0:16:04.085 --> 0:16:10.085 we went into that area, retrieved those remains with the 0:16:10.165 --> 0:16:13.925 Corner's office, turn the remains over to the corner's office. 0:16:14.365 --> 0:16:18.525 The Corner's office has done an extensive amount of forensic 0:16:18.805 --> 0:16:23.045 in the last several days, and it's to my sadness 0:16:23.045 --> 0:16:26.485 and disappointment that I'm reporting to you that it is 0:16:26.525 --> 0:16:31.885 the confirmed remains of my Terrace Richardson. They confirmed that 0:16:31.925 --> 0:16:35.885 the remains were my traces. Sheriff Lee Baca called the 0:16:35.925 --> 0:16:41.645 discovery tragic. Life is fragile. Let's let the family have 0:16:41.805 --> 0:16:45.405 their time of greeting, Let's let this lady be buried 0:16:45.405 --> 0:16:49.605 in dignity, and then let's go forward with the investigation 0:16:49.685 --> 0:16:53.725 of the office innefen review. We have nothing to hide 0:16:53.805 --> 0:16:56.725 in this case. The point is there's a lot of 0:16:56.725 --> 0:17:00.205 factors beyond just the Sheriff's Department that need to be explained. 0:17:02.485 --> 0:17:05.845 At the end of Bacca's statement, journalists started yelling out 0:17:05.925 --> 0:17:10.325 about Michael Richardson. Michael is Mates's father, and he had 0:17:10.325 --> 0:17:13.085 told journalists that he hadn't been informed that the remains 0:17:13.085 --> 0:17:17.165 were my terces until minutes before the press conference. Baka 0:17:17.285 --> 0:17:20.765 responded that the coroner had given him a call, but 0:17:20.805 --> 0:17:24.405 when they brought it up again, things got cheated. Am 0:17:24.405 --> 0:17:27.005 I missing a point here with you? Yeah? I just 0:17:27.085 --> 0:17:30.125 get informed a half an hour ago. You expect me 0:17:30.245 --> 0:17:34.805 to tell the father? Imia, we just did. We just 0:17:34.845 --> 0:17:37.845 did at a news conference. Is a property to notify someone? 0:17:37.885 --> 0:17:43.525 I just funked him. He was contacted by me right now. Now. 0:17:43.525 --> 0:17:46.125 If you object to that, that's you're just asking you? 0:17:46.325 --> 0:17:49.525 Is that proper? What do you think it might be different? 0:17:49.685 --> 0:17:53.165 Is this circumstance? Maybe call him first, notify him first. 0:17:53.285 --> 0:17:56.685 If you don't know until ten minutes ago, who are 0:17:56.725 --> 0:17:59.405 you going to call? If he's here? I was told 0:17:59.405 --> 0:18:02.525 you was here when I arrived. I paid my respects 0:18:02.565 --> 0:18:05.245 to him and will continue to do so. I don't 0:18:05.605 --> 0:18:08.325 stand the purpose of your question. Usually they notify family 0:18:08.365 --> 0:18:10.605 members before they were new. Ed Winter of the Los 0:18:10.645 --> 0:18:15.325 Angeles County Corners Office estimated that my Trees's remains had 0:18:15.325 --> 0:18:17.885 been at that site for six months two years. We 0:18:17.965 --> 0:18:26.845 conducted the pathological exam preliminary also with an anthropologist yesterday 0:18:27.645 --> 0:18:33.165 and the odentologist yesterday evening. The cause of death is 0:18:33.205 --> 0:18:37.325 deferred at this time. It is an ongoing investigation and 0:18:37.525 --> 0:18:41.045 is soon. If we can get causes with mode manner 0:18:41.125 --> 0:18:43.085 cause of death, we will do. I like Liza, you'll 0:18:43.085 --> 0:18:46.565 be able to put one cause of death. Don't know 0:18:46.605 --> 0:18:49.725 at this time. That is in the hands of the 0:18:49.725 --> 0:18:56.765 pathologist and the anthropologist. We did not find anything obvious 0:18:56.845 --> 0:18:59.605 at this time, but it's a long process. Was other 0:18:59.645 --> 0:19:03.285 residents founded the scene, which was Steve Whitmore, the Community 0:19:03.285 --> 0:19:07.005 Information officer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Took 0:19:07.045 --> 0:19:09.005 a few questions near the end of the press conference. 0:19:09.605 --> 0:19:11.485 That's not an area you can walk to, is it? 0:19:12.685 --> 0:19:15.485 I'm sorry? Where? What area? The area where the remains 0:19:15.485 --> 0:19:17.845 were from? No, no, we even walk to it. They'll 0:19:17.885 --> 0:19:18.925 tell you the way you can get to it or 0:19:18.965 --> 0:19:21.285 helicopter in. But I mean, can you get there on foot? 0:19:21.285 --> 0:19:22.965 Is what I'm saying. Yes you can, but there's no 0:19:23.325 --> 0:19:26.805 as far as I know, there's no identifiable trails you 0:19:26.885 --> 0:19:29.885 have to hack your way through, so it's unlikely she 0:19:29.925 --> 0:19:32.045 got there on her own. Once again, we don't want 0:19:32.085 --> 0:19:33.965 to speculate on that, but I will tell you this 0:19:34.045 --> 0:19:37.085 homicide is going to continue. The investigation. They're going to 0:19:37.085 --> 0:19:39.525 try to figure out if they can, which we probably 0:19:39.805 --> 0:19:42.605 it's likely can never do. But they're going to try 0:19:42.645 --> 0:19:46.245 to figure out how she in fact got there. So 0:19:46.365 --> 0:19:49.445 that is something. This is not closed. This is still open, 0:19:49.725 --> 0:19:51.725 and that's what they're going to do. Right. We do 0:19:51.805 --> 0:19:54.525 not know. It's likely that we can never find out 0:19:54.565 --> 0:19:57.045 exactly how she got there, but they're going to do 0:19:57.085 --> 0:19:59.845 their very best to figure that out. So that is 0:19:59.885 --> 0:20:03.125 still under investigation and it's still going to be looked at. 0:20:03.605 --> 0:20:07.925 Thank you. Sheriff's officials were quick to say that they 0:20:07.965 --> 0:20:11.525 saw no signs of foul play, but according to the 0:20:11.645 --> 0:20:14.925 La Times, they also said that they did not believe 0:20:15.125 --> 0:20:18.605 that my Trees fell to her death. This doesn't make 0:20:18.645 --> 0:20:23.005 sense in these strange set of circumstances, how could they 0:20:23.085 --> 0:20:26.565 immediately conclude that there was no sign of foul play. 0:20:36.165 --> 0:20:40.325 After many grueling months of searching and wondering, my Teres's 0:20:40.325 --> 0:20:45.685 family and friends finally got an answer. However, it was 0:20:45.765 --> 0:20:48.125 not the sigh of relief they were all hoping for. 0:20:48.925 --> 0:20:52.045 Ronda says that they had to demand that police take 0:20:52.085 --> 0:20:56.085 them to the site where my trees was found. They 0:20:56.125 --> 0:20:59.165 eventually agreed, so they went down to the site with 0:20:59.285 --> 0:21:03.125 Malibu's Search and Rescue and sergeant to We write, so 0:21:03.205 --> 0:21:06.485 when we go down to the creetebeth, Oh, to the left, 0:21:06.525 --> 0:21:10.445 there's this little mound that her thighbone actually was found 0:21:10.485 --> 0:21:13.205 on that little mound. So there's a little mound there 0:21:13.205 --> 0:21:16.605 and taped off with a yellow tape. Right, No, it 0:21:16.605 --> 0:21:20.085 was the orange tape. Sorry, and so but then on 0:21:20.125 --> 0:21:24.805 to the left there's this little gully right and so, well, 0:21:24.925 --> 0:21:26.605 all the other feature and rescue people went to what 0:21:26.725 --> 0:21:29.405 the orange tape was. Tooey went to the gully. But 0:21:29.485 --> 0:21:31.165 I'll follow him because I don't try to do that. 0:21:31.605 --> 0:21:33.165 So I follow him, so he said. Me and him 0:21:33.165 --> 0:21:36.285 standing around, I said, Towey, how from we're we're we're 0:21:36.405 --> 0:21:39.045 right here and everybody else is over there. And he goes, 0:21:39.125 --> 0:21:41.205 I don't know, and I was like, well, what's going on? 0:21:41.285 --> 0:21:43.085 He goes, well, this is where her body was found. 0:21:43.085 --> 0:21:44.685 And I was like, well, why are they over there? 0:21:45.365 --> 0:21:47.685 And he said, I don't know again, and then I said, well, well, 0:21:47.685 --> 0:21:49.645 why are you here, and he goes, well, this is 0:21:49.685 --> 0:21:51.085 where she was. And I said how do you know, 0:21:51.125 --> 0:21:55.485 and he said, because I found her body. And I 0:21:55.565 --> 0:21:58.725 was like two, I thought the I thought the rangers 0:21:58.765 --> 0:22:01.125 found her body. And then he just gave me this 0:22:01.205 --> 0:22:04.045 look and then we kind of had this moment of 0:22:04.605 --> 0:22:07.525 staring and then he called everybody, Okay, guys, come over here, 0:22:07.565 --> 0:22:14.285 this is where her body went. Extracting my Terrece's remains 0:22:14.645 --> 0:22:19.565 was a coordinated effort among LAPD coroners, medical examiners, and 0:22:19.645 --> 0:22:24.725 police with the LASD and LAPD, and depending on jurisdictions, 0:22:25.205 --> 0:22:30.565 there are different processes for extraction. The LAPD Coroner's office 0:22:30.925 --> 0:22:34.925 is the biggest coroner's office in the country. Until recently, 0:22:35.485 --> 0:22:38.045 it even had a gift shop. So a lot of 0:22:38.085 --> 0:22:41.485 reporters shared my surprise that the coordinated extraction of my 0:22:41.565 --> 0:22:48.085 Terce's remains ended up this disorganized. My name is Sally Aikin, 0:22:49.285 --> 0:22:52.805 doctor Sally Aichen, and I am a medical examiner and 0:22:52.965 --> 0:22:57.125 forensic pathologist. We talked with Sally Aichen, the president of 0:22:57.165 --> 0:23:01.605 the National Association of Medical Examiners, about process and procedure 0:23:01.685 --> 0:23:05.125 for extraction. When you're distratched to the scene and there 0:23:05.125 --> 0:23:09.165 remains there huge decides when there remains to be moved. 0:23:10.525 --> 0:23:16.045 So it depends on the jurisdiction. So every every death 0:23:16.085 --> 0:23:19.405 investigation system in the United States has laws that they're 0:23:19.445 --> 0:23:25.205 subject to, so it really depends on how that law 0:23:25.925 --> 0:23:29.845 those laws impact the office. But in my state, the 0:23:30.565 --> 0:23:34.045 body more or less belongs to the medical examiner or 0:23:34.165 --> 0:23:41.045 corner so we that's considered our jurisdiction. So some of 0:23:41.085 --> 0:23:43.845 the things around the body at the scene, like things 0:23:43.925 --> 0:23:46.685 in the hall or things out doors, are part of 0:23:46.725 --> 0:23:51.605 the death scene investigation performed ordinarily by law enforcement. But 0:23:51.685 --> 0:23:56.605 the body is is ore is under our jurisdiction. So 0:23:56.645 --> 0:24:01.085 in my office we determine when all bodies moved and 0:24:01.365 --> 0:24:05.245 arranged for it to be moved and passed it appropriately. 0:24:06.245 --> 0:24:10.005 And is that something you would tell the police. So 0:24:10.565 --> 0:24:15.445 if we're talking about a homicide, the police would inform 0:24:15.525 --> 0:24:18.325 us that they have a potential homicide victim at a 0:24:18.405 --> 0:24:22.405 location and they may process parts of the scene around 0:24:22.445 --> 0:24:24.485 the body that they leave the body to us. So 0:24:24.645 --> 0:24:29.525 we get contacted, come to the scene, we package the 0:24:29.565 --> 0:24:33.285 body and label it appropriately and have a transport team 0:24:33.485 --> 0:24:36.165 that moves the body to our facility. So in the 0:24:36.205 --> 0:24:42.125 case of the homicide, I'm there labeling the body, making 0:24:42.405 --> 0:24:47.525 sure we've collected trace evidence appropriately at the scene, which 0:24:47.605 --> 0:24:49.925 might be things like touch DNA that you might do 0:24:50.005 --> 0:24:53.005 at the scene instead of during the autopsy, and then 0:24:53.085 --> 0:24:57.365 package the body in our transport moves it. It's packaged 0:24:57.365 --> 0:25:01.725 in a body pouch with an evidence take and that 0:25:01.765 --> 0:25:05.965 comes to our facility which is secure obviously, and then 0:25:06.005 --> 0:25:11.205 the evidence tag is not broken till autopsy. So there's 0:25:11.205 --> 0:25:13.845 a really specific protocol for how it needs. Everything needs 0:25:13.885 --> 0:25:18.125 to be moved and tagged. Yes, yes, just to make oh, 0:25:18.205 --> 0:25:20.805 that it's done appropriately so that we can durify that's 0:25:20.885 --> 0:25:26.965 done correctly. The day after my Teresa's remains were found 0:25:27.365 --> 0:25:31.565 on August eleventh, twenty ten, a forensic pathologist from the 0:25:31.565 --> 0:25:37.925 Coroner's office conducted an autopsy. Here's what they found. In 0:25:37.965 --> 0:25:42.605 the autopsy report, the pathologists noted the remains were a 0:25:42.685 --> 0:25:47.845 nearly complete human skeletal remains with no evidence of anti 0:25:47.925 --> 0:25:51.685 mortem trauma, so there were no broken bones that would 0:25:51.685 --> 0:25:55.645 have suggested trauma before my Teres's death. A fall, for example, 0:25:55.925 --> 0:25:58.405 that could have potentially contributed to a cause of death 0:25:59.125 --> 0:26:02.045 and no trauma to the fingers or toes, except for 0:26:02.085 --> 0:26:05.485 a small amount of post mortem activity that investigators suspected 0:26:05.845 --> 0:26:10.045 had been caused by animals. The pathologists consulted with a 0:26:10.085 --> 0:26:13.965 forensic anthropologist from the coroner's office, and they determined that 0:26:14.005 --> 0:26:17.565 a small number of bones were still missing. These included 0:26:17.605 --> 0:26:20.925 the hyoid bone and other neck bones, the cossacks, and 0:26:21.005 --> 0:26:24.885