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Speaker 1: I never met, y'all.

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Speaker 2: I don't even know him.

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Speaker 1: I know who he is.

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Speaker 2: He came into a restaurant that I worked at with

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Speaker 2: his family and my friend who knew him. Do you

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Speaker 2: know that Gil Fernandez, who we didn't kill Billy. I'm like,

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Speaker 2: oh my god, and I was freaking out, and then

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Speaker 2: I couldn't wait on him. I'm like, oh my god,

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Speaker 2: I think he killed my brother.

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Speaker 3: Laurie Halpern is convinced that ex Miami police officer Gil

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Speaker 3: Fernandez and is Apollo Jim Co owner Bert Christi were

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Speaker 3: the men behind her brother Billy's.

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Speaker 4: Nineteen eighty six murder. She's not the only one.

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Speaker 5: They got wins somehow that he had information. He suspected

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Speaker 5: he said something out loud that somebody overheard and had

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Speaker 5: got back to Bert or Gil or both, and so

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Speaker 5: they took him out.

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Speaker 3: That was Prosecutor Cindy Imperado, who believe Fernandez and Christi

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Speaker 3: were running a crew of fellow bodybuilders that were responsible

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Speaker 3: for a string of ripoffs and shakedowns, some of them deadly,

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Speaker 3: and when they feared Billy knew too much about their

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Speaker 3: criminal activity, Christie ordered Gil to make the threat disappear.

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Speaker 5: Whether he did it or not. Nothing's been proven. I mean,

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Speaker 5: he hasn't been charged with it, but that was the

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Speaker 5: theory of the case. So you had a police officer

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Speaker 5: who was ripping off drug dealers and killing them and

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Speaker 5: then killing anybody else that might witness it.

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Speaker 3: If true, it may account for Billy's execution style murder

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Speaker 3: in October of nineteen eighty six, the murder of his

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Speaker 3: friends Mitch Hall and Charlotte de Drought in May of

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Speaker 3: nineteen eighty seven, and the executions of two of Gil's

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Speaker 3: own crew, Jimmy high Note and Harry Pollier just six

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Speaker 3: weeks later. All of them were members of the Apollo,

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Speaker 3: which means all of them could have had the goods

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Speaker 3: on Fernandez and Christie.

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Speaker 6: If Billy was killed because he knew too much, which

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Speaker 6: is the theory that I'm working on, then anyone that

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Speaker 6: he could have put into prison by giving that information

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Speaker 6: or led that information out, that's who would have benefited.

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Speaker 6: So if Billy had information that could put someone in

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Speaker 6: jail with what he knew, then killing him is going

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Speaker 6: to benefit that person or those people.

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Speaker 3: And that may even include members of organized crime.

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Speaker 6: There were multiple people that gave information saying that Burt

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Speaker 6: Christie was working for the Columbo family out of Chicago.

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Speaker 6: Was Billy just in as much danger if a Columbo

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Speaker 6: family didn't know about him?

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Speaker 7: Yeah, I think he was.

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Speaker 6: But I think that a little bit of pressure from

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Speaker 6: maybe bosses so Burt Christie would seal a deal for

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Speaker 6: Billy and it really seal his faith.

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Speaker 3: But if that were true, and Billy was in possession

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Speaker 3: of information that could endanger Fernandez and Christie's operation, a

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Speaker 3: larger question still looms. How would Gill and Burt have

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Speaker 3: known that Billy was a potential threat? After all, according

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Speaker 3: to Mark Lopez, there were plenty of guys at the

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Speaker 3: gym that knew what was going on and were smart

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Speaker 3: enough to look the other way.

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Speaker 8: Do you have to realize something that people were very

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Speaker 8: afraid because, you know, if he and d was the

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Speaker 8: one committing these murders, they thought if they went in

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Speaker 8: or cooperated, they were going to be in a jackpot.

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Speaker 3: Was Billy's mere proximity to the rumors swirling around the

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Speaker 3: Apollo really a reason to kill him?

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Speaker 4: It seemed unlikely.

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Speaker 8: It just was a guy that I don't think anybody

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Speaker 8: thought was tied up. And you know a lot of craziness, right,

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Speaker 8: So I think it was just shocked for most people,

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Speaker 8: like why would anybody kill this guy?

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Speaker 3: But if Billy had indeed gone to the police, that

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Speaker 3: was another story. When Billy's friend, Mitch Hall was killed

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Speaker 3: six months later, Mitch's sister came to believe that the

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Speaker 3: motive behind both their murders was right there in black

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Speaker 3: and white.

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Speaker 9: My brother came to me and he said, Billy Helpurn

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Speaker 9: died and I'm going to find out.

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Speaker 4: Who killed him.

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Speaker 9: And he went to the police station and he was

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Speaker 9: killed the next day. So I'm assuming there was a

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Speaker 9: leak in the police station and somebody said Mitch Hall

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Speaker 9: knows who killed Billy, and then they went and killed

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Speaker 9: him that next day.

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Speaker 4: Billy's sister, she'd been harboring the same.

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Speaker 2: Thought, like you were going to tell what you knew

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Speaker 2: about Billy and none then you get killed. Who in

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Speaker 2: the police department is a bad guy?

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Speaker 3: It was time to talk about the elephant in the room.

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Speaker 3: I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff, and

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Speaker 3: this is cold blooded the Apollo Jim murders.

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Speaker 4: It is truly a terrifying thought.

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Speaker 3: But when Danny had to confront could Gil Fernandez, the

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Speaker 3: next cop with dozens of friends in contacts still on

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Speaker 3: the force, had been tipped off that Billy halpurn was

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Speaker 3: cooperating with law enforcement, and if so, did it cost

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Speaker 3: Billy his life?

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Speaker 6: My initial thought was not a chance, and that's probably

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Speaker 6: a little naive on my part, because obviously there's a chance.

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Speaker 3: The first step in uncovering the truth would be the

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Speaker 3: search for any record of Billy Halpern's contact with investigators

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Speaker 3: in either Miramar or Broward County.

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Speaker 6: Well, considering that the Danger Road triple murder was in

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Speaker 6: nineteen eighty three and Billy was eighty six, I figured

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Speaker 6: there may be some kind of a record that Billy

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Speaker 6: was interviewed, just like many other people that were around

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Speaker 6: the Apollo gym.

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Speaker 3: Which, as we heard from Mark Lopez, would have carried

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Speaker 3: with it considerable risk.

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Speaker 8: People were very afraid because they knew not he was

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Speaker 8: a hardcore gangster, but he was an ex cop and

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Speaker 8: he had friends still on the force, So it was like, well,

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Speaker 8: if he runted a law how do you know that

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Speaker 8: one of his buddies, I'm going to look it back

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Speaker 8: to him, and then you're in trouble.

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Speaker 3: Danny hoped the truth would lie somewhere in the forty

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Speaker 3: year old case file.

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Speaker 6: All I could do was just read every single piece

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Speaker 6: of paper and at least the case fall that I have,

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Speaker 6: and look for any indication that Billy was interviewed.

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Speaker 7: And I really couldn't find anything.

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Speaker 3: According to the case file kept by a mirror MARPDI,

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Speaker 3: there was no evidence that Billy had ever cooperated with investigators.

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Speaker 3: Of course, no record on file didn't mean Billy was

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Speaker 3: never approached.

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Speaker 4: It may just mean that Billy was smart.

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Speaker 3: Enough to keep it a secret, and Danny, he's smart

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Speaker 3: enough to know that not everything makes it.

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Speaker 4: On paper and into an investigative file.

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Speaker 6: I was able to speak to a couple of the

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Speaker 6: detectives that previously worked in these cases back in the

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Speaker 6: eighties and asked them, and they also said that they

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Speaker 6: don't have any recollection Billy being interviewed.

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Speaker 3: So what if Billy didn't go to police, it was

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Speaker 3: still likely he had heard the rumors about Gilan Burt,

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Speaker 3: possibly even their involvement in the triple murder on Danger Road,

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Speaker 3: and that by itself would have been dangerous information to possess.

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Speaker 6: I think that Billy did know. I think that anyone

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Speaker 6: that spent any amount of time over at the Apollo

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Speaker 6: gym would either hear the rumors or maybe even see

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Speaker 6: the meetings, or even hear certain conversations by being there.

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Speaker 6: The odds of them hearing about certain crimes, I think

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Speaker 6: is possible.

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Speaker 3: This was confirmed by other Apollo members like Mark Lopez

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Speaker 3: and Dave Fasano, guys who had more than an inkling

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Speaker 3: of what was going on, but who were wise enough

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Speaker 3: to mind their own business.

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Speaker 4: So what made them different from Billy?

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Speaker 3: Why target Billy and not the other guys at the gym?

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Speaker 6: Best guess, and this is speaking with a lot of

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Speaker 6: people that were very close with Billy. I think Billy

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Speaker 6: was less willing to play ball and keep his mouth shut.

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Speaker 6: I think that Billy was probably a little outspoken at

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Speaker 6: the atrocities that he had heard about.

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Speaker 4: Mark Lopez tends to agree.

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Speaker 8: I don't think Billy was necessarily tied up in anything specifically.

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Speaker 8: I think he may have just inadvertently been exposed to

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Speaker 8: some information and the powers that be thought, why take

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Speaker 8: a chance, right, It's just one more guy that's going

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Speaker 8: to need to.

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Speaker 4: Go one person.

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Speaker 3: Danny thinks Billy may have talked to his friend, Mitch Hall.

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Speaker 3: The evidence was circumstantial but persuasive, and I said.

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Speaker 9: Mitch, don't can involve with those type of people.

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Speaker 3: Mitch's sister also remembers Mitch telling her that he was

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Speaker 3: willing to go to the police and tell them what

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Speaker 3: he knew.

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Speaker 9: And he went to the police station and he was

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Speaker 9: killed the next day.

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Speaker 3: Billy's sister, Laurie, was also convinced that the timing of

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Speaker 3: Mitch's murder was no coincidence.

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Speaker 2: I really think there had to be a rat, a

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Speaker 2: dirty rat in a police department.

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Speaker 3: Even a CoP's son like Danny Smith, whose father worked

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Speaker 3: in law enforcement for nearly thirty years, knows that South

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Speaker 3: Florida in the nineteen eighties was plagued with police corruption.

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Speaker 3: The easy money from drugs flowing into South America proved

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Speaker 3: irresistible to a lot of people, including some members of

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Speaker 3: law enforcement. In fact, the result of a massive crackdown

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Speaker 3: on police corruption in nineteen eighty seven revealed that up

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Speaker 3: to ten percent of the entire MIAMIPD had been suspended, fired,

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Speaker 3: or incarcerated for their involvement in criminal activity. Whether that

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Speaker 3: corruption reached the much smaller departments in Brier County or

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Speaker 3: MI or mar.

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Speaker 4: We don't know.

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Speaker 6: I obviously want to give the investigators or the police

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Speaker 6: officers and the tecers back then the benefit of the doubt.

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Speaker 7: However, is it possible? Yeah?

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Speaker 6: Absolutely, And the only way that I could verify that

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Speaker 6: is just to legitimately read every word of every document

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Speaker 6: that was provided to me and see if there's anything there,

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Speaker 6: and then moreover me or speak with the previous detectives

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Speaker 6: and just ask ask the question.

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Speaker 3: If Danny could find the evidence that Mitch Hall had

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Speaker 3: indeed filed a report or met with anyone at Mirror,

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Speaker 3: Marpadi or Browie County Sheriff's office, it would go a

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Speaker 3: long way to casting suspicion on someone within law enforcement

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Speaker 3: being complicit in his murder. But according to Danny, there

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Speaker 3: was no record that Mitch had ever met with.

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Speaker 6: Police now it happened the crimes were eighty six in

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Speaker 6: nineteen eighty seven. Is it very easy for investigators to

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Speaker 6: have that conversation with Mitch Hall and not take any

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Speaker 6: notes and just ignore it.

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Speaker 7: Yeah.

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Speaker 6: Absolutely, There's no way I could verify that, And if

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Speaker 6: they didn't want to tell me, then there's nothing I

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Speaker 6: can do about that. But assuming that there were notes

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Speaker 6: taken because the case file that I have on Billy

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Speaker 6: Holburn is extremely well done, well written organized. If anyone

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Speaker 6: came in and had an information on Billy's murder, that

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Speaker 6: that would have been written down.

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Speaker 3: Whether that was enough to quell rumors that someone within

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Speaker 3: law enforcement leaked information to Gil. Danny still doesn't know.

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Speaker 6: Most of the rumors, if not all. The rumors were

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Speaker 6: centered around the fact that Gill was a cop, and

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Speaker 6: the assumption was that all cops know each other and

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Speaker 6: all cops share information, and there's the idea of he's

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Speaker 6: a cop. Even if he's bad, other people are gonna

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Speaker 6: cover for him because he's a cop.

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Speaker 3: Danny has been in uniform for twenty seven years and

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Speaker 3: he knows as well as anybody about the sworn loyalty

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Speaker 3: that exists between people who every day put their lives

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Speaker 3: into each other's hands. And he can also understand the

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Speaker 3: suspicion surrounding his fellow brothers in blue.

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Speaker 6: It's a society. Police officers have their own family. There's

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Speaker 6: good cops and bad cops out there. Obviously, again, it

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Speaker 6: would be naive on my part to blindly say that

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Speaker 6: there was never any corruption at any level. I feel

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Speaker 6: that it was incumbent upon me to go through and

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Speaker 6: check to see if there was any internal affairs investigations

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Speaker 6: or any statements that show corruption, because it does happen,

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Speaker 6: let's be honest with each other.

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Speaker 3: But that search also yielded no evidence that any member

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Speaker 3: of law enforcement was ever suspected of being complicit in

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Speaker 3: Billy or Mitch's murder.

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Speaker 6: There was no indication that there was an internal affairs

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Speaker 6: investigation on anyone that related to helping Gil.

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Speaker 1: Or helping the Apollo, or saying anything that can be hearing.

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Speaker 1: Put the investigators on a different path on purpose. So

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Speaker 1: there were never any substantiated rumors naving specific comps or

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Speaker 1: improper behavior.

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Speaker 7: But they were there. The rumors were around. Everyone around

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Speaker 7: it knew it.

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Speaker 6: Unfortunately, no solid answers were found in the documentation, and unfortunately,

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Speaker 6: in a cold case, that's all I've gotten for now.

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Speaker 3: The rumors proved to be just that prosecutors sending imperado

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Speaker 3: things that even for Florida cops, there was a limit

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Speaker 3: to their loyalty.

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Speaker 5: For the most part, law enforcement is loyal to their

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Speaker 5: own But I think once they saw what he was

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Speaker 5: charged with and everything, it was a different story.

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Speaker 3: But considering the client tele at the Apollo, Fernandez and

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Speaker 3: Christie probably didn't need a crooked cop to keep threats

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Speaker 3: at bay.

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Speaker 4: They had enough eyes and ears right there in the gym, including.

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Speaker 3: One long time friend who may have set the stage

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Speaker 3: for Billy's murder. By nineteen eighty six, Billy Halburn had

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Speaker 3: left his job as a paramedic at the Hollandale Fire

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Speaker 3: Department due to a lingering back injury.

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Speaker 4: Billy told his sister Laurie.

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Speaker 3: That he was going to deploy his charm and good

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Speaker 3: looks into a new career in sales, namely the trade

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Speaker 3: of fine art and rare coins. The career change suited him,

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Speaker 3: after all, South Florida in the mid eighties seemed to

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Speaker 3: be flushed with easy money, and Billy was eager to

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Speaker 3: get a piece of it.

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Speaker 2: I think Billy probably still had been for Nickolie ever

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Speaker 2: made when he died.

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Speaker 7: She was so frugal.

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Speaker 2: He had a paper of a pad like that of

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Speaker 2: all the money that people owed him.

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Speaker 3: But according to Laurie, she did notice signs that the

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Speaker 3: rare coin trade might have given way to another more

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Speaker 3: lucrative business.

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Speaker 2: Then Billy and Jimmy got involved with I thought our

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Speaker 2: dealing or you know, I'm not even sure what I

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Speaker 2: thought they were doing, but I didn't really think about

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Speaker 2: it because we all grew up together.

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Speaker 1: Were there a couple of guys that said that you

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Speaker 1: might have been selling a little bit of drugs here

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Speaker 1: and there?

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Speaker 7: Yeah?

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Speaker 10: Oh huge death last Yeah, I mean, we're not an idiot,

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Speaker 10: and safe to say it paid a lot better than coins.

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Speaker 2: They were making money. Oh my god, the money was

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Speaker 2: sick that you would that they were making. And I

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Speaker 2: really always felt that he would talk about it too much.

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Speaker 4: But according to Laurie, Billy was never long for that world.

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Speaker 11: He bought property up in Melbourne Beach at nineteen eighty

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Speaker 11: four and it was extream, you know, make the money,

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Speaker 11: get out, go up to Melbourne, beef bee surfer, live

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Speaker 11: on REGI, you know, live my life.

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Speaker 4: But he would never get the chance.

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Speaker 3: Instead, he was killed in his home in October of

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Speaker 3: nineteen eighty six. Laurie realizes now that he's pleased to

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Speaker 3: leave town before his death may have been more than

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Speaker 3: just an idle daydream.

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Speaker 2: Billy had left me, you know, money, He had a will,

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Speaker 2: and when he went to some and do the will,

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Speaker 2: it's like Lord by come on, we're going to bob

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Speaker 2: our childhood friend to drop a will. I'm like, get

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Speaker 2: out of here, and we're not going to get away.

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Speaker 11: No, I'm serious, lord, come on.

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Speaker 3: Was Billy's wonderlust desire to leave South Florida to another

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Speaker 3: paradise up the coast, or wasn't motivated by fear of

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Speaker 3: what could happen if he stayed.

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Speaker 12: Let me tell you, I remember that when I lived

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Speaker 12: with him, he came to the door my bedroom at

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Speaker 12: the front, the front door, and he opened up my door, Floria,

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Speaker 12: I love you.

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Speaker 2: If anything happened to me. She knows that I love you,

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Speaker 2: I'm like, and he caught me off gard like what

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Speaker 2: are you talking about?

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Speaker 12: And he ran off, like where are you going?

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Speaker 4: Looking back, Laurie now thinks he sounded like a guy

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Speaker 4: who was in too deep and was fearing for his life,

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Speaker 4: and she thinks she knows who's to blame. After Billy

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Speaker 4: was murdered, Laurie was shaken by a memory of walking

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Speaker 4: into a tense meeting at Billy's town home.

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Speaker 2: Well, I came over one day and I walked in.

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Speaker 2: I'm like, Jimmy, like, what do you what he doing here?

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Speaker 3: By this time, Jimmy high Note was a regular member

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Speaker 3: of Gil's shakedown crew. We can only speculate as to

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Speaker 3: why one of Billy's suspected killers was in his town

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Speaker 3: home just weeks before Billy was killed.

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Speaker 4: Was Jimmy warning him of imminent danger?

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Speaker 3: Or was he casing the location on orders from Gil

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Speaker 3: and Burt?

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Speaker 2: And I think with the art pretending to be into

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Speaker 2: the art maybe or coin collecting, but maybe that was

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Speaker 2: the way he got in comfortable with Billy on behalf

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Speaker 2: of them.

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Speaker 3: I think maybe, whatever the reason, after Billy was killed,

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Speaker 3: Laurie said she knew it was no innocent.

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Speaker 2: Visit, you know. Then I knew Jimmy had to be involved.

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Speaker 3: Which brings us back to that empty safe in Billy's

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Speaker 3: bedroom and the possibility that it contained not rare coins,

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Speaker 3: but what Dave Fersano called the best coke in town.

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Speaker 6: I know that some people say that Billy was ripped

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Speaker 6: for drugs. Some people say that he was ripped for

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Speaker 6: coins and art.

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Speaker 7: I heard that rumor a lot.

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Speaker 6: I did, and after a year and a half of

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Speaker 6: looking into it and trying to either confirm or deny

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Speaker 6: those rumors, I feel that the rumors were.

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Speaker 7: Just that.

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Speaker 3: No matter what evidence Danny had turned up about Billy's

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Speaker 3: source of income, he remains convinced Billy's.

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Speaker 4: Murder was no robbery, It was a hit.

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Speaker 6: The comment thoughts and ideas that I got from those

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Speaker 6: closest to Billy, Gil, Harry, Collier, Apollo, Jim was that

350
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Speaker 6: Billy was killed because he knew or overheard or was

351
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Speaker 6: told something about murders that occurred or who could have

352
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Speaker 6: been involved in those murders. And I honestly think that

353
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Speaker 6: people just were not comfortable with Billy having.

354
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Speaker 3: This information, information that threatened the illicit livelihood of Fernandez

355
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Speaker 3: and Christi, but also that of his old friend Jimmy Heinault,

356
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Speaker 3: whose betrayal may have resulted in Billy's murder.

357
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Speaker 13: The concept of clearing a case exceptionally is relatively simple,

358
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,920
Speaker 13: and what it means is that the prosecutor, in conjunction

359
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,480
Speaker 13: with law enforcement who investigated the matter, is convinced that

360
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:34,400
Speaker 13: there is probable cause to charge someone with the crime. However,

361
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,840
Speaker 13: for some reason, it is either an opportune or impossible

362
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,120
Speaker 13: to charge the suspect with the offense, and the way

363
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,600
Speaker 13: that most frequently occurs is that the suspect is dead

364
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Speaker 13: at the time probable cause is developed, as so happened

365
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Speaker 13: in this case.

366
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Speaker 3: Brian Porter is a veteran prosecutor who is not associated

367
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Speaker 3: with this case. He is a legal scholar who has

368
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Speaker 3: been part of several investigations I've reported on.

369
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Speaker 13: I've been the elected prosecutor in my jurisdiction for over

370
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Speaker 13: eleven years, and I've made exceptional case closure calls on

371
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Speaker 13: any number of occasions. And really what it boils down

372
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Speaker 13: to is it's the same exact analysis that I would

373
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Speaker 13: make if a detective came to me and asked me

374
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Speaker 13: to charge somebody with murder. It's not a lesser standard

375
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Speaker 13: in my mind, It's the same exact standard.

376
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Speaker 3: Danny had untangled as much as he could with the

377
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,280
Speaker 3: given evidence, and he believed he had a convincing version

378
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:41,920
Speaker 3: of what happened to Billy Halpern. But still he had

379
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Speaker 3: to convince Broward County's top homicide prosecutor that he was right.

380
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Speaker 6: Writing the close up memo to the State Attorney's office

381
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Speaker 6: was really an opportunity for me to take all of

382
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Speaker 6: the work that I've done and shrink it to five

383
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,040
Speaker 6: or six seven page memo giving the bullet points as

384
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Speaker 6: to what I found, and why I believe that this

385
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Speaker 6: case should be solved.

386
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Speaker 3: The keystone in his argument was the striking similarity between

387
00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,960
Speaker 3: the Hall Drought murders and Billy Halpern's murder.

388
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Speaker 13: In this case, a great deal of the case relies

389
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Speaker 13: on what we would call common scheme or plan evidence.

390
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,440
Speaker 13: In other words, is it very obvious that these offenses

391
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Speaker 13: had to be related, because the individual facts that each

392
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,480
Speaker 13: murder are so similar in nature that it kind of

393
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Speaker 13: just defies logic that they weren't related.

394
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Speaker 7: Neither had fourth century.

395
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Speaker 6: The same materials were used to bind all three victims

396
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,360
Speaker 6: in the two cases, the binding, the way that they

397
00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:56,360
Speaker 6: were bound was similar or even identical, and the use

398
00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,760
Speaker 6: of a sharp edged tool, which neither weapon was found,

399
00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:02,959
Speaker 6: so we can't verify exactly if it was the same weapon,

400
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:07,479
Speaker 6: but the modus opera and I, or the way that

401
00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:11,960
Speaker 6: these crimes were committed were literally almost identical.

402
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:17,000
Speaker 3: Danny went on to argue that because Harry Collier's fingerprint

403
00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,800
Speaker 3: was proof he killed Paul and Drought, then it stands

404
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,159
Speaker 3: to reason that he was also the man who killed

405
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:25,000
Speaker 3: Billy Halpern.

406
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,720
Speaker 6: I was able to write it up and say that

407
00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,640
Speaker 6: if Harry Collier were alive today, then I would feel

408
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:36,080
Speaker 6: comfortable taking this to grand jury, and even more comfortable

409
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:37,840
Speaker 6: or confident that we would give an indictment.

410
00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:41,840
Speaker 3: You may be asking, as I did, wasn't this case

411
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:45,600
Speaker 3: against Collier based entirely on circumstantial evidence?

412
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Speaker 4: Again, here's veteran prosecutor Brian Porter.

413
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:54,640
Speaker 13: Unfortunately, in my opinion, television and the movies have led

414
00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:58,640
Speaker 13: way people to kind of equate the phrase circumstantial evidence

415
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,520
Speaker 13: with weak case, and that's most definitely not the situation.

416
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,560
Speaker 13: The only type of direct evidence that actually exists would

417
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 13: be either eyewitness testimony, a confession by the suspect, or

418
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:16,160
Speaker 13: perhaps nowadays, if you had video of the actual offense

419
00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:19,520
Speaker 13: being committed. And to be quite honest, because most murderers

420
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,200
Speaker 13: do not confess to their murders, and because most murderers

421
00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:24,919
Speaker 13: do not commit murders in front of video cameras, and

422
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,639
Speaker 13: because murderers do their best to kill people when there

423
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,359
Speaker 13: are no eyewitnesses, the vast majority of murder cases an

424
00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:34,119
Speaker 13: investigation that I've been involved in my career require us

425
00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,119
Speaker 13: to build a case from circumstantial evidence, And if I

426
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:38,880
Speaker 13: were reluctant to do so, there would be a lot

427
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,000
Speaker 13: of very angry victim families if I told them, hey,

428
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,600
Speaker 13: I've got a pretty strong case, but it's all circumstantial

429
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 13: and therefore I can't charge the murderer.

430
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,879
Speaker 3: After nearly two years on Billy Halpin's murder case, Danny

431
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,720
Speaker 3: submitted his memo to the State Attorney's office.

432
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Speaker 13: In the end, the evidence in this case is very compelling,

433
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,399
Speaker 13: and I think prosecutor would be duty bound to close

434
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 13: the case exceptionally.

435
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,440
Speaker 4: But we would have to wait and see.

436
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:23,680
Speaker 7: I submitted the memo.

437
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 6: In reality, it was probably a couple hours, but it

438
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:31,880
Speaker 6: felt like four years. But I got a response from

439
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:38,040
Speaker 6: the State Attorney's office and they confirmed my findings and

440
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:38,840
Speaker 6: they agreed with me.

441
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,240
Speaker 3: The state attorney agreed that there was enough evidence to

442
00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:49,400
Speaker 3: charge Harry Collier with Billy Helper's murder, but because Collier

443
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,320
Speaker 3: was dead and unable to stand trial, the state attorney

444
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 3: would exceptionally clear the case. Danny was confident in his

445
00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:03,000
Speaker 3: conclusion that Harry Collier killed Billy halpern.

446
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:09,440
Speaker 6: So obviously I was happy. I was happy for the case.

447
00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:13,320
Speaker 6: I was happy for Laurie. It was short lived, honestly,

448
00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,080
Speaker 6: because as happy as I was for Laurie and the

449
00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:22,280
Speaker 6: helping family and all their friends. Honestly, my mind immediately

450
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,640
Speaker 6: went to Harry Collier's widow and his son.

451
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:34,719
Speaker 3: Holly's wife Miami, had cooperated, her son had given DNA,

452
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,439
Speaker 3: and they had held on to hope that Harry was

453
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,280
Speaker 3: not the man they suspected him of being.

454
00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:46,240
Speaker 6: I tend to view them as victims in this case

455
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,680
Speaker 6: also because they didn't ask for any of this, and

456
00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,040
Speaker 6: this information is going to come out and he's essentially

457
00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,800
Speaker 6: going to victimize his family again from beyond the grave.

458
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,959
Speaker 3: But as a detective, his was still first and foremost

459
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,640
Speaker 3: to Billy and his surviving family. And after thirty seven years,

460
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,679
Speaker 3: it was finally time to give lour some good news.

461
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:18,440
Speaker 6: May fourteenth, twenty twenty four. It is one oh one

462
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:22,320
Speaker 6: in the afternoon. I'm just about to go sit down

463
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:27,080
Speaker 6: with Lori Halpern and do really one of the good

464
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,840
Speaker 6: things that we get to do as homicide detectives, which

465
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,680
Speaker 6: is to speak with victim's family and give them a resolution,

466
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:38,560
Speaker 6: give them some kind of comfort that we've identified the

467
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:42,800
Speaker 6: person that's involved, for the person responsible for their loved

468
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:43,560
Speaker 6: ones murder.

469
00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:49,160
Speaker 3: Laurie Halpurn has been intimately involved in Danny's investigation since

470
00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 3: the beginning, so no news was going to come completely

471
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,960
Speaker 3: as a shock, but it was important to Danny to

472
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 3: deliver the state attorney's decision in person.

473
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,720
Speaker 1: What I have here is a memo that I wrote

474
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,640
Speaker 1: to our state Attorney's office. This is what we have,

475
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,720
Speaker 1: this is the evidence, this is what my conclusion is,

476
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,280
Speaker 1: and then I leave it up to them.

477
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:20,120
Speaker 3: Danny summarizes his case, including the disappointing reality of the

478
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:24,120
Speaker 3: inability to use DNA to id Billy's killer.

479
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,560
Speaker 6: She had no DNA for Gil in there. The DNA

480
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,800
Speaker 6: that we had was so degraded. And to answer your question, Gil,

481
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 6: I cannot say that he was involved. I'm not saying

482
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:40,720
Speaker 6: he wasn't involved, but I can't prove that he had

483
00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,560
Speaker 6: any knowledge or he had any involvement of being there.

484
00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 6: But I can say that Harry Collier was involved, He

485
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,280
Speaker 6: was there, took part in it.

486
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 2: What about Jimmy hin Note.

487
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,760
Speaker 1: Jimmy h Note is the same for me as Gil.

488
00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,320
Speaker 1: I believe that he probably was there, but I don't

489
00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:05,800
Speaker 1: have enough that I can definitively say that, yes, Jimmy

490
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,800
Speaker 1: was there, Gil was there, or even in Mike Carbone.

491
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,479
Speaker 1: I can't say any of them just because the science

492
00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:12,880
Speaker 1: isn't there.

493
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:18,800
Speaker 3: But despite the degraded DNA, Danny believed his case against

494
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,440
Speaker 3: Harry Collier was rock solid.

495
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:26,200
Speaker 1: So for me as an investigator, I was able to

496
00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,720
Speaker 1: do this document, send it over to the State Attorney's

497
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:32,560
Speaker 1: office and say, if Harry Callier were alive today, I

498
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,520
Speaker 1: would be taken him to Grand Jerry and I would

499
00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,120
Speaker 1: probably be arresting him on the evidence that I have.

500
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 7: And they said, we.

501
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:40,680
Speaker 1: Agree, we agree.

502
00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 14: And for nothing though, I mean, if he didn't believe it,

503
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,800
Speaker 14: truly sad you kick everything away from my fit parents

504
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 14: for devastated and for nothing.

505
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,880
Speaker 2: How can you kill people like that and not even

506
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:04,760
Speaker 2: think anything of it?

507
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:07,280
Speaker 1: You're a freaking evil, sir.

508
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:08,520
Speaker 2: He's pure evil.

509
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:11,760
Speaker 14: How do you get involved with Jimmy?

510
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:12,000
Speaker 2: I know?

511
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:18,600
Speaker 1: So Collier was not from down here, which is why

512
00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:20,360
Speaker 1: really not many people know him.

513
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 6: He was from the northeast, Okay, and he had ties to.

514
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,240
Speaker 1: Burt Christie. But it looks like he was the guy

515
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 1: that they called and they said we need something done.

516
00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:34,880
Speaker 2: He was the hit man.

517
00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:40,120
Speaker 1: Was he was a hit man? Yeah, he was a violent,

518
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:41,120
Speaker 1: violent man.

519
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:46,200
Speaker 3: Here's the thing about solving a murder case. It can

520
00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:51,480
Speaker 3: answer long unanswered questions. It can unburden survivors of uncertainty

521
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,320
Speaker 3: surrounding a loved one's death, maybe even deliver a sense

522
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,200
Speaker 3: of justice, but it can't bring a victim back, and

523
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,840
Speaker 3: the end is always bittersweet.

524
00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:08,720
Speaker 1: I believe we've proven that Harry Collier was a principal

525
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:13,560
Speaker 1: and was involved in Billy's murder. He's dead and there's

526
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 1: really not a whole lot that can be done. But

527
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:17,480
Speaker 1: at the very least it'll give you a little bit

528
00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 1: of something.

529
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:25,400
Speaker 14: I hope no my parents be happy to know that

530
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:27,320
Speaker 14: you cared enough to do this.

531
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:30,920
Speaker 7: Well.

532
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:36,960
Speaker 1: I'll be honest, I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't

533
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:43,080
Speaker 1: get a live person to charge now. I really wanted to, but.

534
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,520
Speaker 2: It wouldn't matter even if Gil didn't. You had proof

535
00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:47,560
Speaker 2: that Gil did it. I mean, he's Gurdi in jail

536
00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:52,520
Speaker 2: for life. What's going to happen Nothing, I have.

537
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:55,960
Speaker 3: To admit I shared some of Laurie's frustrations about why

538
00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 3: it took nearly forty years to get real answers, but

539
00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,560
Speaker 3: it is a credit to Danny that he remained steadfast

540
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:07,160
Speaker 3: in his commitment to what he could prove, not what

541
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,600
Speaker 3: he may have believed to be true.

542
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:13,880
Speaker 1: But here again, I felt it was important to put

543
00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:15,320
Speaker 1: this officially.

544
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:17,000
Speaker 7: I say it is.

545
00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:21,680
Speaker 1: My opinion that Billy heard mention of the triple murder

546
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:25,080
Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty three that was committed by Gil Fernandez.

547
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,760
Speaker 1: I mentioned that I agree with the previous investigators that

548
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:35,520
Speaker 1: Fernandez orchestrated and potentially participated in the murders of not

549
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:40,800
Speaker 1: only Billy, but Mitch Sharonda, Jimmy Heina, and Harry Pollier.

550
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,760
Speaker 1: I don't have jurisdiction on those cases, so I can't

551
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,960
Speaker 1: pursue them, but I am working with other detectives that

552
00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:48,480
Speaker 1: have now reopened those cases.

553
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:53,200
Speaker 3: Really, the fact was that Billy's case may have been cleared,

554
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:57,480
Speaker 3: but that does not mean it has been closed. The

555
00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,560
Speaker 3: DNA sample retrieved from the help and crime scene may

556
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,840
Speaker 3: have been inadequate to ideas suspect, but there was no

557
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 3: telling where the science would be in a few years

558
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,120
Speaker 3: and what it may reveal about who else was in

559
00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:12,720
Speaker 3: the room when Collier killed Billy.

560
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:16,240
Speaker 2: You got my carbone DNA?

561
00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:17,040
Speaker 9: You do?

562
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:17,520
Speaker 11: I do?

563
00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,040
Speaker 1: And that was a big one. That was a big

564
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,560
Speaker 1: one because if I couldn't get him on this, at

565
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:25,320
Speaker 1: the very least, maybe I can help another agency or another.

566
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:27,480
Speaker 2: Ida great if he has something to do with it.

567
00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:32,320
Speaker 1: So indirectly Billy's investigations, he could.

568
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:37,759
Speaker 2: Help open the other rights are yeah, that would be great.

569
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,680
Speaker 3: After Danny's visit with Laurie, we discussed whether after nearly

570
00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:46,560
Speaker 3: two years of an investigation and successfully clearing the Helper

571
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:49,560
Speaker 3: and cold case, he still had any lingering, doubts or

572
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:52,120
Speaker 3: uncertainty about his conclusions.

573
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,720
Speaker 6: I was happy that I was able to ensure that Laurie,

574
00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:00,759
Speaker 6: after this is all said, Laura helped and has more

575
00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:04,360
Speaker 6: answers than she has questions. After all these years, I

576
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:08,640
Speaker 6: know there's more to the story, and there are certain

577
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,040
Speaker 6: things that I just simply was unable to get an

578
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,640
Speaker 6: answer to. I gave everything that I had, but I

579
00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:18,280
Speaker 6: still feel that it's slightly incomplete because there's just answers

580
00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:19,560
Speaker 6: that I don't have.

581
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:24,319
Speaker 3: Many of those questions revolve around the role of Gil

582
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:29,359
Speaker 3: Fernandez or Christi, and even the unseen forces that may

583
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:31,920
Speaker 3: have been behind the order to kill Billy.

584
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,520
Speaker 1: I would have loved to prove that additional people were involved,

585
00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:38,960
Speaker 1: and I do feel very confident.

586
00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:40,800
Speaker 7: That there were other people involved.

587
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:45,160
Speaker 6: But at this stage in the investigation, I can only

588
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:49,200
Speaker 6: go as far as the evidence will take me, and

589
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,240
Speaker 6: in this case, the evidence took me to an ending.

590
00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:54,359
Speaker 6: I just I don't think it's the ending. I think

591
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,839
Speaker 6: it's an ending, but not the ending.

592
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:02,520
Speaker 3: This was also the story of DNA, its promise and

593
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:03,560
Speaker 3: its limitations.

594
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:06,920
Speaker 6: And at the very beginning, every single piece of evidence

595
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:12,200
Speaker 6: that I asked to be tested, I was, in my

596
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:14,360
Speaker 6: mind positive we were going to come back with a

597
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:15,320
Speaker 6: hit and a match.

598
00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:20,600
Speaker 3: The discovery of untested DNA at Billy's crime scene felt

599
00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:25,120
Speaker 3: destined for an instant match and swift resolution to the investigation.

600
00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:29,279
Speaker 4: But of course that proved not to be the case.

601
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,480
Speaker 6: And unfortunately it was a It was a punch in

602
00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:35,480
Speaker 6: the gut every time I got those results.

603
00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:42,000
Speaker 3: But those disappointing results had a positive effect too, in

604
00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:45,520
Speaker 3: that it forced Danny to lean on what he did best,

605
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,920
Speaker 3: the research, the interviews, and the old school gumshoe detective

606
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,560
Speaker 3: work that helped piece together the narrative of the crime.

607
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:58,120
Speaker 3: And while the DNA results did not prove who was

608
00:36:58,239 --> 00:37:03,400
Speaker 3: present at Billy's murder, it did not disprove any theories either.

609
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:08,080
Speaker 6: Just because someone's DNA is not on a piece of

610
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:12,279
Speaker 6: evidence does not mean that they were not involved. I

611
00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:16,280
Speaker 6: think a lot of people will hear that, oh, well,

612
00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:19,640
Speaker 6: Gill's DNA was not located on the binding, so that

613
00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:22,160
Speaker 6: means he wasn't involved, And no, that's not the case.

614
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,040
Speaker 6: I'm not saying that he was or wasn't because I

615
00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:28,640
Speaker 6: can't prove it, but I can say that it's possible

616
00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:34,600
Speaker 6: that anyone is involved even if their DNA was found

617
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:35,640
Speaker 6: on the evidence.

618
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,680
Speaker 3: Harry Collier was a hulking hit man, hired for his

619
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:45,000
Speaker 3: muscle and his ruthless skills with a knife, and ultimately

620
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:47,719
Speaker 3: he bears responsibility.

621
00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:49,080
Speaker 4: For the murder of Billy Halpern.

622
00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:52,799
Speaker 3: But Danny and I still can't shake the one thing

623
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,360
Speaker 3: that everyone we talked to agreed on, and the fact

624
00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:02,560
Speaker 3: that the evidence supported Billy's killer did not work alone.

625
00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:06,160
Speaker 3: And while most of the suspects in our investigation were

626
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:09,640
Speaker 3: long dead, there was still one man who Danny thought

627
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:13,480
Speaker 3: might be interested in hearing the results of the investigation,

628
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:18,480
Speaker 3: the man once known as the meanest cop in Miami

629
00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:24,600
Speaker 3: and the last remaining suspect in Billy's murder, Bill Fernandez.

630
00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:34,360
Speaker 4: Cold Blooded.

631
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:38,120
Speaker 3: The Apollo Jim Murders is a production of iHeart Podcasts

632
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:43,720
Speaker 3: and Authentic Wave Media. Scott Weinberger, Kevin Bennett, and Walker

633
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:49,520
Speaker 3: LeMond are executive producers. Sabrina Sire is our line producer,

634
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:56,160
Speaker 3: scoring sound design and mixing by Mark lamoorg Z. For

635
00:38:56,320 --> 00:39:01,560
Speaker 3: iHeart Podcasts, Christina Everett is executive producer, and David Wasserman

636
00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:05,200
Speaker 3: is brand marketing manager. And with special thanks to the

637
00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:10,960
Speaker 3: Miramar Police Department, Chief del Rich Moss, p Io Tanya Ardaz,

638
00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:13,280
Speaker 3: and Detective Susie Smith