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Speaker 1: This series is inspired by true events. The stories you're

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Speaker 1: about to hear are fictional, and so are the characters

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Speaker 1: who are played by actors.

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, the fall in nineteen eighty six, we were

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Speaker 2: finally seniors.

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Speaker 1: Y yep, Ethan Rooney is still my boyfriend. It's been

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Speaker 1: ten months and we're still going strong.

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Speaker 2: It really felt like we've been through Helen back and

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Speaker 2: there was finally some light at the end of that tunnel. Graduation,

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Speaker 2: you know, something that felt like a normal part of life.

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Speaker 1: I couldn't wait to graduate and go to college. I mean,

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Speaker 1: if you'd been through what we'd been through, wouldn't you

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Speaker 1: want to get out of this town?

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Speaker 2: Honestly, the year was off to a really good start.

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Speaker 2: At least, you know, that's what we have thought.

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Speaker 1: I'm Nancy Clark. This is The Murder Years, Episode six.

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Speaker 1: Mister Billingsley.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, students, Principal Baalumbo Year. Today is November seventeenth.

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Speaker 3: As you know, it's volunteer week and the sign up

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Speaker 3: sheets are outside the main office. Let's show the community

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Speaker 3: what great and giving young men and women you are.

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Speaker 3: Let's give back to Mount Pine, Okay mountaineers.

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Speaker 1: In between home room and first period I ran to

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Speaker 1: the main office and sign up to volunteer at the

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Speaker 1: women's shelter. My friend Tatiana signs up too.

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Speaker 4: I wanted to volunteer at the hospital. I loved the

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Speaker 4: idea of helping people, and I always wanted to be

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Speaker 4: a candy striper. The outfit was so cute, right, Plus

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Speaker 4: volunteering would look really good on college applications.

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Speaker 1: The following week is Thanksgiving Week.

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Speaker 4: And we have the whole week off.

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Speaker 1: It's really a nice break for me, at least. Monday,

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Speaker 1: December one, we're back at school. Carla, Tatiana, and I

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Speaker 1: are in the same history class. I remember that Monday

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Speaker 1: was a long first day back. Last period we all

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Speaker 1: had us history senior year. That was the only class

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Speaker 1: that we all had together. And that day we had

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Speaker 1: a sub. Yep, we have a substitute and she makes

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Speaker 1: us watch a history movie about the Native Americans. It's

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Speaker 1: pretty interesting.

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Speaker 4: Honestly, I was just happy to zone out and watch

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Speaker 4: a movie. I didn't care what it was.

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Speaker 1: The next day, school's pretty normal. Last period. I walk

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Speaker 1: into class and that sub is back again. Why where's

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Speaker 1: mister Billingsley.

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Speaker 5: Nine one one?

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Speaker 6: What's your emergency?

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Speaker 3: I walked in the house to check on.

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Speaker 5: Oh my god, sir, what is your emergency.

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Speaker 3: I'm in his house.

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Speaker 7: Oh my god, he's dead. Marcus Diffin.

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Speaker 1: Around two pm, Mount Pine police arrive at seven twenty

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Speaker 1: four Maple Lane, a red brick colonial style house located

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Speaker 1: in the New subdivision near the brand new mall.

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Speaker 7: What I got there, It was a hectic scene.

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Speaker 1: Detective Tom Wallace is the lead on the case. By

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Speaker 1: November of nineteen eighty six, he's worked three brutal murder cases,

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Speaker 1: Lisa Anderson's in May of nineteen eighty four, Daniel Walters

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Speaker 1: in February of nineteen eighty five, and Charlotte Murphy's later

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Speaker 1: that year. And now he's got another one.

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Speaker 7: Charles. Here we go again, right. I had to go

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Speaker 7: get my notes and reports before talking to you about

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Speaker 7: this one. When I arrived at the scene, I was

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Speaker 7: briefed by the responding officer who told me the victim

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Speaker 7: was a white male in his late thirties or early forties.

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Speaker 7: When I entered the dwelling, I saw a victim lying

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Speaker 7: on his stomach in the foyer on the threshold of

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Speaker 7: the living room. His head was turned to the side.

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Speaker 7: It looked like He'd been severely beaten in the face

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Speaker 7: and on the back of his head. There was a

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Speaker 7: Buddy shoeprint on the side of his face, and more

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Speaker 7: prints trailed off down the hall. This guy was beaten

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Speaker 7: to a pulp. He was wearing a thermal shirt and

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Speaker 7: black sweats, and he was barefoot. He looked like he'd

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Speaker 7: been dead and more at least a couple of days.

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Speaker 7: The smell was unbearable. There was dried blood splatter on

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Speaker 7: the walls and floors, and on the TV just about

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Speaker 7: four feet away ransacked. My first thought was a robbery

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Speaker 7: gone wrong. Maybe our victim surprised the robber. Maybe this

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Speaker 7: was a drug deal gone bad. I walked back outside

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Speaker 7: and learned that the man sitting in the backseat of

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Speaker 7: one of the patrol cars was our nine one one caller.

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Speaker 7: He was a middle aged guy, a few pounds overweight,

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Speaker 7: with brown hair and glasses. He'd looked like he'd seen

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Speaker 7: a ghost. Well, I guess, in a way, maybe he had.

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Speaker 7: I was in state of shock.

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Speaker 1: Back in November of nineteen eighty six. Mister Palombo, Eric

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Speaker 1: Palumbo was our jovial high school principal.

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Speaker 8: I told the detective we knew Mark wouldn't be back

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Speaker 8: the Monday after Thanksgiving break.

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Speaker 7: He was going to visit family out of state.

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Speaker 1: Today. Mister Palumbo is eighty six and living with his

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Speaker 1: wife in Sarasota, Florida.

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Speaker 6: But when Mark didn't show up for work on Tuesday,

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Speaker 6: that was odd. He would never just not call in.

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Speaker 6: So we got a sub last.

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Speaker 8: Minute and I decided to go to his house at

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Speaker 8: lunch to check on him.

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Speaker 7: I asked mister Plumbo if he knew of any troubles

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Speaker 7: Mark was having. He said no. He said Mark was

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Speaker 7: a great guy and a dedicated teacher. Mark would be

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Speaker 7: the last person he could ever imagine this happening too.

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Speaker 7: I let him know I may have more questions for

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Speaker 7: him later, and I would probably want to come to

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Speaker 7: the school and go through Mark's desk. Maybe there was

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Speaker 7: something in there that could help our investigation.

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Speaker 1: For hours, the police process the scene. They take photographs

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Speaker 1: and desper prints. The shoe print on Billingsley's face and

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Speaker 1: the ones down the hall appeared to be from a

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Speaker 1: size nine and a half or ten tennis shoe.

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Speaker 7: Blombo told me Billingsley's parents were no longer alive, but

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Speaker 7: he had a younger sister with a family in another state.

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Speaker 7: That's who he was visiting over Thanksgiving break. So when

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Speaker 7: I got back to the station, I looked up his sister,

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Speaker 7: Emily Sparks. I called the authorities there and asked them

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Speaker 7: to make the death notification.

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Speaker 1: Late Tuesday night, Detective Kurt Peters is tasked with going

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Speaker 1: and interviewing Billingslee's sister. Detective Peters worked the Dawn Cartwright

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Speaker 1: murder at the drive in a little over two years earlier.

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Speaker 9: Here we go again, right, So yeah, I drove a

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Speaker 9: long time. I think it was eight hours, and I

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Speaker 9: got there pretty late. Miss Sparks was there waiting for

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Speaker 9: me when I arrived.

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Speaker 1: Back in nineteen eighty six, Emily Sparks is twenty eight

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Speaker 1: years old, an elementary school teacher, married with a five

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Speaker 1: year old daughter. Today she's sixty four.

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Speaker 10: I remember, I just couldn't comprehend that my big other

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Speaker 10: was dead.

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Speaker 9: She was very, very upset, right LI, So I asked

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Speaker 9: her about her relationship with her brother, if they were

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Speaker 9: close or if they had any problems. She said she

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Speaker 9: loved him. They had a good relationship, but didn't talk

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Speaker 9: as often as they used to. You know, life was busy.

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Speaker 9: Then I wanted to know how Thanksgiving was, how did

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Speaker 9: her brother seem did Billingsley share anything that might help

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Speaker 9: our cads? Did anything seem off about him? And when

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Speaker 9: did he leave? That's when she said something, I mean,

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Speaker 9: just stop me dead in my tracks.

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Speaker 7: Thanksgiving?

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Speaker 10: No, I told him Mark never came for Thanksgiving.

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Speaker 1: Mount Pine Police detective Kurt Peters is interviewing Emily Sparks,

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Speaker 1: Mark Billingsley's younger sister, and she just said something he

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Speaker 1: was not expecting.

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Speaker 10: I told the detective, my brother didn't come for Thanksgiving.

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Speaker 10: He had plans too, but on Tuesday, it was two

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Speaker 10: days before Thanksgiving, he said something came up and that

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Speaker 10: he couldn't make it and he would just see us

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Speaker 10: at Christmas.

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Speaker 11: Well, that changed everything. I wanted to know what a

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Speaker 11: game up?

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Speaker 9: Did Mark say anything before about why he wasn't coming

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Speaker 9: for Thanksgiving? She said she didn't know. He was vague

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Speaker 9: and she didn't cry. She told him she was disappointed,

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Speaker 9: but when he promised he'd come for Christmas, she'll let

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Speaker 9: it go. I asked if Billingsley was dating anyone.

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Speaker 11: She said no, did eating drugs?

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Speaker 9: No? I then asked if there was anyone anyone at all?

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Speaker 9: She could think of who would want to hurt her brother,

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Speaker 9: and she said no, and an emphatic no.

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Speaker 10: I couldn't think of anyone who would have wanted to

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Speaker 10: hurt my brother, let alone kill him. I told Detective

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Speaker 10: Peters it had to have been random. No one, no

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Speaker 10: one who knew him, would ever want to hurt him.

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Speaker 1: Unfortunately, Emily couldn't help point detectives in any substantial direction.

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Speaker 7: I remember thinking the ransacked house made it look like

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Speaker 7: it was a robbery, but officers at the scene reported

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Speaker 7: back that it didn't seem like anything had actually been stolen.

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Speaker 7: The kitchen drawers and cupboards open and rifled through didn't

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Speaker 7: make sense to me, So we were all scratching our

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Speaker 7: heads and we considered maybe this was staged to look

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Speaker 7: like a robbery.

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Speaker 1: The next day, Detective Wallace says, the autopsy results come in.

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Speaker 1: Mark Billingsley had multiple broken bones in his face, including

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Speaker 1: all seven of his orbital bones. He had several skull fractures,

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Speaker 1: had five teeth knocked out, his jaw had been broken,

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Speaker 1: and his collarbone was shattered. His cause of death as

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Speaker 1: a cerebral hemorrhage which led to a stroke, and the

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Speaker 1: corner thinks It was done manually, meaning with hands and fists.

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Speaker 1: The time of death was determined as Sunday night, around

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Speaker 1: ten pm.

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Speaker 7: It was a gruesome death.

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Speaker 2: He was the coolest teacher as just a really kind person. Gosh,

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Speaker 2: I remember I was I was so so sad.

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Speaker 4: I felt like he cared about us, which was kind

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Speaker 4: of rare, and it didn't make sense. We kept losing

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Speaker 4: kids left and right, and then we lost a teacher. God,

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Speaker 4: I mean, how much more were we supposed to take?

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Speaker 3: Principal Columbo Here, I'm asking for all students and teachers

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Speaker 3: to report to the gymnasium immediately for an assembly.

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Speaker 1: We all file into the gym. Teachers are crying, kids

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Speaker 1: are crying.

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Speaker 7: I mean, we all loved mister Billingsley.

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Speaker 1: Melanie, Tatiana and I find a spot and sit down together.

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Speaker 3: Let's all take a moment of silence and remember mister Billingsley.

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Speaker 4: The principal tells us they're a psychologist available to talk

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Speaker 4: to us if we need it. But here's the thing.

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Speaker 4: It wasn't just because of mister Billingsley's death. They knew

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Speaker 4: we had been through so much shit, so much death

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Speaker 4: those last couple of years, and so many of us

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Speaker 4: were really screwed up trying to process it all.

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Speaker 1: Detective Tom Wallace takes the lead on this case. He

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Speaker 1: salved two other murders before this one, but he says

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Speaker 1: this case was trickier.

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Speaker 7: So yeah, I remember, we weren't able to get any

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Speaker 7: clean fingerprints from the scene, so that was a dead end.

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Speaker 7: It just didn't look like a robbery or a drug

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Speaker 7: deal gone bad. I needed to know more about Billingsley's

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Speaker 7: life in Mount Pine, so after school that day, mister

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Speaker 7: Palumbo escorted me to his classroom and I looked through

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Speaker 7: his desk, which didn't turn up anything useful, But Principal

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Speaker 7: Palumbo told me that Billingsley's closest friend was a fellow

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Speaker 7: teacher named Jesse Clayton. Turned out he was still at

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Speaker 7: school and luckily was willing to talk back.

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Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty six, Jesse Clayton is the hot teacher.

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Speaker 1: He teaches creative writing in English. We used to joke

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Speaker 1: that mister Billy was the robman to mister Clayton's batman.

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Speaker 5: I was sick to my stomach that mark was gone.

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Speaker 1: Today, Jesse is the principal at Mount Pine Middle School.

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Speaker 1: He agrees to talk with me there.

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Speaker 5: I mean, Mark Billingsley was like my best friend. He

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Speaker 5: was definitely my best work friend. So I asked Clayton

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Speaker 5: if he and Billingsley spent any time together outside of school.

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Speaker 5: I told the detective that we did lots of stuff together.

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Speaker 5: You know, we played soccer, we went to the movies,

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Speaker 5: always action movies. We'd play pool at my house, we'd

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Speaker 5: watch sports, you know. Sometimes we even went on double dates.

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Speaker 7: I mean, the fact that he was dating was news

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Speaker 7: to me. His sister said he wasn't seeing anyone. So

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Speaker 7: who was he dating and was it serious?

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Speaker 5: I told the detective. Her name was Colleen Mulligan. She

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Speaker 5: was a little bit younger, twenty seven ish. She had

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Speaker 5: a kid from another relationship. I told him they've been

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Speaker 5: dating for six months or something like that, and Billingsley

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Speaker 5: was completely crazy about her, but he kept it totally

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Speaker 5: quiet for some reason. The relationship was a secret. In fact,

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Speaker 5: Mark told me that it was Colleen who didn't want

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Speaker 5: anybody to know about the relationship at all. And I

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Speaker 5: think it was getting tumultuous between them.

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Speaker 7: Interesting, the relationship was tumultuous, how, I wondered. I pressed

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Speaker 7: Clayton some more. Told the detective.

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Speaker 5: It seemed to me that Mark was way more in

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Speaker 5: love with her than she was with him, and not

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Speaker 5: long before he died, Mark told me that it felt

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Speaker 5: to him like she was playing games or pulling away,

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Speaker 5: but she didn't say why. He kept telling her how

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Speaker 5: much he'd loved her and he adored her son, but

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Speaker 5: she just kept getting more and more distant.

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Speaker 1: Detective Wallace sets out to speak with Colleen Mulligan. Immediately,

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Speaker 1: he leaves the school and goes directly to Blue Balloon

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Speaker 1: Kids hair salon, where she works.

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Speaker 10: I was surprised to see a detective at my job.

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Speaker 10: That didn't happen every day.

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Speaker 1: Colleen Mulligan agrees to talk with me about Mark Billingsley

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Speaker 1: and everything that transpired back in nineteen eighty six. Today

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Speaker 1: she owns her own hair salon in Mount Pine.

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Speaker 10: Yeah. I was in the middle of a haircut when

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Speaker 10: this detective asked me to go outside and talk.

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Speaker 7: I remember she acted surprised, which didn't make sense to me,

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Speaker 7: I mean, given the recent tragedy. So we went out

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Speaker 7: to the back alley and that's when I told her

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Speaker 7: that her boyfriend Mark was found dead. Well, she just

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Speaker 7: lost it. How hadn't she known that her boyfriend was murdered.

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Speaker 7: At this point, it was all over the news. She

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Speaker 7: was acting like she's hearing it for the first time.

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Speaker 7: I asked when she saw or talked to Mark last.

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Speaker 10: I told him that Mark and I had talked on

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Speaker 10: the phone a few days before, maybe maybe four days before,

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Speaker 10: and well, everything sounded normal with him.

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Speaker 7: I wanted to know specifics. I wanted to know what

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Speaker 7: they talked about, and she said that Mark wanted to

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Speaker 7: see her, but she was busy, and could she see

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Speaker 7: him the following week. Then I asked her how their

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Speaker 7: relationship was. I told her it had been described as tumultuous. Remember,

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Speaker 7: she looked surprised. She said, sure, it had its ups

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Speaker 7: and downs, like any relationship. It was her first relationship

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Speaker 7: in a while. I'm going to read from my notes now,

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Speaker 7: I wrote. See Colleen admitted that Mark wanted more of

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Speaker 7: her time, but she had a son at school at work,

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Speaker 7: so she wasn't always as available as Mark would have liked.

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Speaker 7: She said she was a private person and wanted to

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Speaker 7: keep the relationship between them, and he wanted to shout

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Speaker 7: it from the rooftobs. Then I asked her about her

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Speaker 7: son and her son's father.

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Speaker 10: I remember being thrown by that question, you know, like

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Speaker 10: why was he even asking about my son?

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Speaker 7: And this is very clear in my memory. She got

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Speaker 7: very defensive, which of course made me suspicious. She hammed

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Speaker 7: an awe, then said her ex was not a good guy.

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Speaker 7: Then she started to shake and cry.

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Speaker 10: Look, I was afraid my ex was a scary guy,

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Speaker 10: or he used to be a scary guy back in

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Speaker 10: like eighty four. He used to hit me. I actually

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Speaker 10: spent some time at the woman's chilter because of him,

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Speaker 10: and he did some time for it. But then early

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00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,440
Speaker 10: around eighty five he got out and he changed. He

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00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,040
Speaker 10: was in counseling and anger management for a few days

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00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,800
Speaker 10: a week, and then he stopped drinking. And we were

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00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:46,800
Speaker 10: trying to have a better coparent relationship, you know, for

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00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,960
Speaker 10: our son, although he could only see him during court visits,

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00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:52,440
Speaker 10: supervise visits.

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Speaker 7: I asked her if her ex knew she was dating.

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00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:57,920
Speaker 7: She paused.

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00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:05,639
Speaker 10: I told the detective yes, yes, and that he hated

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00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:07,040
Speaker 10: Mark with everything he had.

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00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,000
Speaker 1: It's Thursday, December fourth, nineteen eighty six, and Detective Tom

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00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,960
Speaker 1: Wallace is talking with Colleen Mulligan in the alley behind

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00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,119
Speaker 1: the hair salon where she works. She just told him

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Speaker 1: she's afraid of her abusive ex boyfriend.

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00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,920
Speaker 7: Colleen said her ex didn't know Mark personally, all that

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00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,480
Speaker 7: mattered was that he found out she was dating, and

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00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,480
Speaker 7: she said her ex was especially jealous that Mark was

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00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:47,080
Speaker 7: spending time with his son. Then I'm just going to

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00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,200
Speaker 7: read this right from my notes, I wrote. She got

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Speaker 7: this look on her face like oh no. She collapsed

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00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:02,920
Speaker 7: against the dumpster and started crying. I asked Colleen her

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00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:08,080
Speaker 7: ex's name in between her sobs. She said Darren mcmay.

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00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:14,000
Speaker 1: Detective Wallace asks where Darren McVeigh lives. Colleen tells him

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00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,399
Speaker 1: he lives at the rain Tree apartment complex near the

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Speaker 1: Inner State. Detective Wallace calls for a backup, but when

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00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,680
Speaker 1: they arrive, Darren mcveigh's not there.

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00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,560
Speaker 7: Colleen also told me that McVeigh did some odd jobs

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Speaker 7: over at Pinewood Farm.

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Speaker 1: So Detective Wallace and the patrol cars drive to the

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Speaker 1: other side of town to Pinewood Farm. When they pull up,

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Speaker 1: they see four guys standing next to a tractor armed

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Speaker 1: with his mugshot. Detective Wallace walks right up to the

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Speaker 1: man in the middle. He stands face to face with

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Speaker 1: Darren McVeigh.

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Speaker 7: And I remember he seemed completely unfazed we were there.

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Speaker 7: I asked him if he'd be willing to come to

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Speaker 7: the station with us and answer a few questions, and

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Speaker 7: he said he would.

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Speaker 1: At the station Detective's Wallace Peter's interview Darren.

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Speaker 9: McVeigh, Yeah, I remember how cool he was acting.

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Speaker 11: How odd that seemed to me.

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00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 7: I asked him about his relationship with Colleen. I had

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00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:18,960
Speaker 7: some anger issues in the past that I took out

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00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,600
Speaker 7: on her, but the past is the past.

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Speaker 11: I did my time.

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00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:25,680
Speaker 7: I'm in a much better place with her and myself.

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00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,360
Speaker 7: I asked him about being on probation now after being

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00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:35,320
Speaker 7: convicted on domestic battery charges last year. He brushed it

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00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:39,320
Speaker 7: off as nothing again. I'm just gonna read to you

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00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:44,200
Speaker 7: from my notes, let's see, I wrote. I noticed some

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00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,240
Speaker 7: small cuts and bruises on his knuckles. When I asked

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00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,359
Speaker 7: him how he got them, he said it was from

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00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,200
Speaker 7: working on his truck and at the farm. He couldn't

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00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:58,520
Speaker 7: remember exactly. Then I asked him his shoe size. They

349
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:02,920
Speaker 7: were ten, the bloody shoe prints where a nine were

350
00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,919
Speaker 7: a ten. I asked him what he was doing on

351
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:10,880
Speaker 7: Sunday night. He was vague and said quote, I don't

352
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,320
Speaker 7: know what this is about, but I know I was

353
00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,800
Speaker 7: around and people can vouch for me. Then I asked

354
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:21,080
Speaker 7: how he felt about Colleen dating Mark Billingsley, and.

355
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Speaker 9: I swear in that moment his face changed, right before

356
00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:28,400
Speaker 9: our eyes.

357
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,879
Speaker 11: I saw rage. Then he said I want a lawyer.

358
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Speaker 11: Interview was over.

359
00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,320
Speaker 7: At that point. We had enough to hold him for

360
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:44,840
Speaker 7: forty eight hours, so we did, and then we reached

361
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,240
Speaker 7: out to Prosecutor Ben Blythe to see if we could

362
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,280
Speaker 7: get a search warrant for mcveigh's apartment and vehicle.

363
00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:53,880
Speaker 1: Early Friday morning, the judge signs the warrant.

364
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,520
Speaker 7: Now we're in business. We went to Darren mcday's place

365
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:03,000
Speaker 7: and searched a small, one drew apartment. I remember I

366
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,919
Speaker 7: fill his like three hours to go through everything. We

367
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,880
Speaker 7: went through his drawers and closets, his garbage, he can

368
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:13,480
Speaker 7: cut open his mattress. We searched his garage space which

369
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:19,600
Speaker 7: had a small storage area, and we searched his pickup truck. Nothing,

370
00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:25,520
Speaker 7: no bloody clothes, nothing. This was disappointing.

371
00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,919
Speaker 1: If Darren McVeigh did kill mister Billingsley, he could have

372
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,920
Speaker 1: disposed of all the incriminating evidence in the last few

373
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,359
Speaker 1: days and they may never find it. So the detectives

374
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,399
Speaker 1: asked Prosecutor Ben Blythe to go back and try and

375
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 1: get a search warrant for Pinewood Farm, where McVeigh works.

376
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,000
Speaker 1: The judge signs the warrant, but with conditions.

377
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:52,320
Speaker 7: We were only allowed to search the areas Darren McVeigh

378
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:56,880
Speaker 7: had regular access to, so we searched the WORKSHD, the barns,

379
00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,359
Speaker 7: and the garage where they housed the farm equipment. Again,

380
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:01,439
Speaker 7: we found nothing.

381
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 1: When forty eight hours are up, they let Darren McVeigh go,

382
00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,880
Speaker 1: but out of concern for Colleen and her son's safety

383
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,879
Speaker 1: and in case McVeigh tries to run, they put a

384
00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,320
Speaker 1: surveillance team on him and one week later it pays off.

385
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,920
Speaker 7: It was around one am one of our undercover officers

386
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,399
Speaker 7: who'd been watching McVeigh saw him come out of his

387
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,919
Speaker 7: house with a duffel bag. He then put it in

388
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,359
Speaker 7: his truck and drove off. The undercover followed him to

389
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:36,320
Speaker 7: a storage facility just outside Mountain Pie. He watched McVay

390
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,240
Speaker 7: as he went into a storage unit. When he returned,

391
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 7: he was empty headed.

392
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,600
Speaker 1: Detective Wallace calls the owner of the storage Facility and

393
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,639
Speaker 1: Learns storage unit number B one seven to one was

394
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,800
Speaker 1: being rented by Darren mcvay's brother, Thomas. An hour later,

395
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,480
Speaker 1: Detective Kurt Peters is at Thomas mcvay's house asking if

396
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,880
Speaker 1: he would be willing to open up the unit to police.

397
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,640
Speaker 11: He agreed, so Thomas is there.

398
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:08,840
Speaker 9: There are several officers, Me and Detective Wallace arrives soon

399
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,240
Speaker 9: after the search begins. It was an eight or twelve

400
00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:18,119
Speaker 9: unit and it was pretty packed, lots of Foxes, kids stuff,

401
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 9: old cough clubs, electronic equipment.

402
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:23,920
Speaker 11: We pulled everything out.

403
00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:28,880
Speaker 9: And went through everything meticulously. Towards the back was a

404
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:34,400
Speaker 9: big tool storage cabinet. It was on wheels, so we

405
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,960
Speaker 9: were able to wheel it out pretty easily. When we

406
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:44,600
Speaker 9: opened it, there it was the Duffel bag. I remember.

407
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,840
Speaker 9: We all just looked at each other like, oh shit.

408
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,240
Speaker 9: And when we opened the Duffel bag, inside was a

409
00:26:54,320 --> 00:27:01,359
Speaker 9: black plastic bag full of blood splattered clothes and shoes.

410
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 7: Bingo. We got him.

411
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,760
Speaker 1: Later that same day, officers arrest Darren McVeigh as he's

412
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 1: walking into an appointment with his probation officer. He's on

413
00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:19,120
Speaker 1: probation after being convicted of domestic battery charges the year before.

414
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 1: Because proving premeditation might be hard. McVeigh is charged with

415
00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:28,240
Speaker 1: second degree murder, as well as weapons and probation violation charges.

416
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,040
Speaker 7: I'm telling you it felt good. Yeah, it felt real

417
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,800
Speaker 7: good to get him off the streets.

418
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,560
Speaker 1: In the weeks that follow police are able to confirm

419
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,119
Speaker 1: the clothes found in the storage unit were, in fact

420
00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:47,800
Speaker 1: Darren mcveigh's. The blood on them matched Mark Billingsley's blood type,

421
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 1: and the shoes a size ten tennis shoe matched the

422
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:55,920
Speaker 1: impression on Mark's face and in the house. Mark's girlfriend,

423
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:57,880
Speaker 1: Colleen says she feels responsible.

424
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,119
Speaker 10: When I learned that my was arrested for killing Mark, well,

425
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:09,919
Speaker 10: I just wanted to die. I felt so hopeful, and

426
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,159
Speaker 10: I felt like it was all my fault.

427
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:25,159
Speaker 1: Five months later, the trial begins. Prosecutor Ben Blythe feels

428
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:26,679
Speaker 1: confident in the state's case.

429
00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,800
Speaker 8: I had absolutely no doubt in Darren mcvay's guilt and

430
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:33,639
Speaker 8: the case we were going to present. We had the

431
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,119
Speaker 8: physical evidence, the bloody clothes and shoes, we had the

432
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 8: plastic bag, and we were going to argue his motive

433
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:41,840
Speaker 8: was blind rage and jealousy.

434
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 1: Colleen Mulligan, Mark Billingsley's girlfriend and the ex girlfriend of

435
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:51,080
Speaker 1: the accused. Darren McVeigh, is the star witness for the prosecution.

436
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,400
Speaker 10: I remember it was beyond scary to be on the

437
00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:02,000
Speaker 10: stand with my ex boyfriend Darren caring at me. I mean,

438
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:07,360
Speaker 10: he was literally on trial for killing Mark. I was shaking.

439
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,120
Speaker 10: I was so worried he was going to jump, run

440
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 10: up and just jump me or something, you know. But

441
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,120
Speaker 10: I did what I had to do and I told

442
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:20,800
Speaker 10: him everything. Darren and my relationship started out great.

443
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:21,160
Speaker 9: You know.

444
00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,960
Speaker 10: We met at a bar, we were both out with friends,

445
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,400
Speaker 10: and well, we fell for each other pretty quickly, and

446
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,120
Speaker 10: he moved in with me. After five months. Things started

447
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:36,240
Speaker 10: to just change for me though, when he became almost

448
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,480
Speaker 10: too invested in me in our relationship. He was kind

449
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,400
Speaker 10: of obsessed with being with me and buying me things,

450
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:46,560
Speaker 10: and he wanted me to only spend time with him.

451
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:51,240
Speaker 10: And then things got way worse when I got pregnant,

452
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 10: and of course as I started to tell him about

453
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,840
Speaker 10: these concerns that I had, the more upset and so

454
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:04,320
Speaker 10: cure and aggressive he got. So we split for the

455
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,320
Speaker 10: first time when I was six Yeah, I think he

456
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 10: was six months pregnant and then we got back together

457
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,000
Speaker 10: a few weeks later, and the next time we split

458
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:21,800
Speaker 10: was right before my due date. He slapped me across

459
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 10: the face and he pushed me up against the wall,

460
00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:31,360
Speaker 10: so we broke up again. But you know, when I

461
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,560
Speaker 10: went into labor, I mean I I was scared. I

462
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,760
Speaker 10: was so scared, so I called.

463
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:42,440
Speaker 1: Him, Colleen says. Shortly after the birth of their son,

464
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:46,160
Speaker 1: things started to go downhill again fast. The next time

465
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,680
Speaker 1: Darren hits her, it's pretty bad. He punches her in

466
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,280
Speaker 1: the chest, knocks her to the ground, and pins her there.

467
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,320
Speaker 1: When he finally gets up and leaves to go drinking,

468
00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,760
Speaker 1: she packs some things for herself and her son and

469
00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:01,280
Speaker 1: goes to the woman's shelter. Once she's safe, she calls

470
00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:05,760
Speaker 1: police and they arrest him at the bar. Darren is

471
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,480
Speaker 1: convicted of domestic battery and sentenced to a year in

472
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:09,200
Speaker 1: county jail.

473
00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,120
Speaker 10: When he got out, he was mandated to go to

474
00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:20,160
Speaker 10: anger management classes and counseling and atten AA meetings and

475
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,680
Speaker 10: all of which he did, and it seemed like he

476
00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:27,760
Speaker 10: was doing better, I mean for a while anyway.

477
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:28,480
Speaker 7: Until.

478
00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:32,720
Speaker 1: Until Darren finds out she's dating Mark.

479
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:34,160
Speaker 4: Shit.

480
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 10: When he found out, it was just a few weeks

481
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,800
Speaker 10: before the I saw some of the old Darren back.

482
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 10: He was acting angry and jealous. It was one of

483
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,880
Speaker 10: the reasons I was distancing myself from Mark only I

484
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 10: thought that he would do something to me. I never

485
00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,360
Speaker 10: thought that he would do something to Mark, and I

486
00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:06,200
Speaker 10: never told Mark. I never warned Mark, and now I

487
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:11,520
Speaker 10: know I should have. He had no idea.

488
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:14,520
Speaker 1: Colleen says she doesn't know why Mark didn't go to

489
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,720
Speaker 1: his sisters for Thanksgiving, but she wishes he had.

490
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 10: He called me wanting to get together over the break

491
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,480
Speaker 10: that I had said that I had too much going

492
00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:28,000
Speaker 10: on and that I would just see him the next week. God,

493
00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:33,360
Speaker 10: I really really wish Mark had gone to his sisters. No,

494
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:36,400
Speaker 10: I wish I had broken up with him just to

495
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,720
Speaker 10: spare him, and maybe this would have never happened.

496
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,880
Speaker 1: The prosecution also calls to the stand detectives Wallace and Peters,

497
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 1: Darren mcveay's probation officer, a pathologist, and psychologists, as well

498
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:52,280
Speaker 1: as some coworkers at the farm.

499
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,800
Speaker 8: We had four days of testimony and a pretty rock

500
00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,840
Speaker 8: solid case. We believe Darren went to Billingsley House with

501
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 8: the intention of warning him to stay away from Colleen

502
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:07,920
Speaker 8: and his son. A fight ensued and mister McVeigh beat

503
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:08,760
Speaker 8: Mark to death.

504
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:12,120
Speaker 7: We didn't think we could prove premeditation.

505
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,600
Speaker 8: We had nothing to prove McVeigh went there with intent

506
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:20,280
Speaker 8: of killing Billingsley. The one thing we could never figure

507
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:22,800
Speaker 8: out was where mister McVeigh hit the Duffel bag of

508
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,959
Speaker 8: bloody clothes and shoes before taking it to the storage.

509
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:32,360
Speaker 1: The jury deliberates for seventy eight minutes, then comes back

510
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:36,520
Speaker 1: with the verdict of guilty. Darren McVeigh is sentenced to

511
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:41,440
Speaker 1: twenty five years to life. Mister Billingsley's sister feels justice

512
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,720
Speaker 1: was served, but she's still angry.

513
00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,360
Speaker 10: Oh never forgive that piece of shit for taking my

514
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:54,240
Speaker 10: brother from me. But I'll also never forgive myself for

515
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:57,360
Speaker 10: not being more involved in Mark's life. I just didn't

516
00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:02,800
Speaker 10: know what was going on. I guess he didn't know either.

517
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:10,439
Speaker 10: I just should have been more involved. But I got

518
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 10: to say I felt so bad for our family, but

519
00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:21,400
Speaker 10: I also felt so bad for Mark's students. They loved him.

520
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,600
Speaker 12: After school that day McVeigh was found guilty, the whole

521
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,160
Speaker 12: student body went to the courthouse and just sat on

522
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:31,680
Speaker 12: the steps. Everyone held hands, cried, and shared memories of

523
00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:36,000
Speaker 12: mister Billingsley. I would say it was nice, but it

524
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:37,400
Speaker 12: was really so sad.

525
00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:45,240
Speaker 5: As a teacher at Mount Pine and as Mark's best friend,

526
00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:50,360
Speaker 5: I didn't know what to say anymore to comfort the kids,

527
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:54,760
Speaker 5: to comfort myself. We were like a bunch of zombies

528
00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:56,759
Speaker 5: walking through the hallways. We didn't know what to do

529
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:01,360
Speaker 5: or say. We just wanted it to be over, Like,

530
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:08,680
Speaker 5: could we just put all these tragedies behind us? It

531
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:09,440
Speaker 5: was killing us.

532
00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:21,080
Speaker 1: No, we couldn't. Next time on The Murder Years, nine

533
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:22,400
Speaker 1: one one, what's your emergency?

534
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:24,040
Speaker 7: Look my god?

535
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:31,040
Speaker 9: Yeah, so we'll just broke into the house city, hang

536
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:31,520
Speaker 9: up the phone.

537
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:32,400
Speaker 3: Now we're out.

538
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:37,040
Speaker 1: A new killer as all of Mount Pine fearing for

539
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:50,760
Speaker 1: their lives. The Murder Years is a production of AYR

540
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:56,640
Speaker 1: Media and iHeartMedia Executive producer Eliza Rosen for AYR Media

541
00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:02,759
Speaker 1: co executive producer Paulina Williams. Written by Leah Rothman, directed

542
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,359
Speaker 1: by Michael Seltich. Original concept developed in partnership with Anne,

543
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:11,760
Speaker 1: Margaret Johns and Greg Spring. Casting by Eisenberg, Bean's Casting

544
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:19,200
Speaker 1: Senior Associate producer Eric Newman, Associate producer Jill Pushesnik, editing

545
00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:23,480
Speaker 1: and sound design by Tristan Bankston, mastering by Cameron Taggie,

546
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,800
Speaker 1: audio engineering by Matt Jacobson, Studio engineering by Jay Brannan.

547
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:33,720
Speaker 1: Music by Nathan Bankston. Legal Council for a y R Media,

548
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:41,040
Speaker 1: Gianni Douglas, Executive producer for iHeartMedia, Maya Howard. Performances for

549
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:46,400
Speaker 1: this episode by Gabrielle Carteris as Nancy Clark, Kelly Deadman

550
00:36:46,719 --> 00:36:52,920
Speaker 1: as Tatiana, Orla Cassivi as Melanie, Maricilda Garcia as Carla,

551
00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:59,400
Speaker 1: Charles Carroll as Principal Palumbo, Charles Carroll as Prosecutor Blythe

552
00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:05,200
Speaker 1: Dathan B. Williams as Detective Peters. Desiree Rodriguez is nine

553
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:10,920
Speaker 1: one one Operator h Richard Greene as Detective Wallace, James B.

554
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:16,680
Speaker 1: Kennedy as Ethan Rooney, James B. Kennedy as Young Principal Colombo,

555
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:22,719
Speaker 1: James Donahower as Jesse Clayton, Jesse Hendricks as Lauren Collins,

556
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:28,719
Speaker 1: Julie Frankel as Colleen Mulligan. Julie Frankel is Emily Sparks.

557
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:45,520
Speaker 1: Additional voices by Alex Salem