- 6 months ago
A young waitress is attacked as she returns home from work, late at night. Will a chilling clue found at the crime scene ultimately lead to justice for Christine?
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00:00When the neighbor checked on Christine, what did she discover?
00:12The victim lying on the floor.
00:15She had a large pool of blood around her head.
00:18It was a violent crime.
00:21You have a sex crime, and somebody shot her.
00:24My world stopped.
00:31I would just cry.
00:34Why would anybody do that to her?
00:38How could somebody take her life?
00:45This man worked right next door to where Christine worked.
00:49He had a history of bad interactions with women.
00:53Wow.
00:54It's an awfully big coincidence.
00:56He said he's going to kill again, and when he does, I'm going to laugh.
01:02He didn't look evil, but he did something purely evil.
01:11What is the part of her story that haunts you the most?
01:15Christine was an innocent young woman.
01:18I made sure that the jurors got to know who Christine was.
01:23And who she would have been.
01:30Oh.
01:30Hi, I'm Paula Zahn, and tonight we're on the case in Orlando, Florida.
01:48The city known around the world for the fun and adventures and its many theme parks is one of the last places you would expect to find a disturbing murder investigation.
01:58But that's exactly what unfolded here, when police were called to the home of Christine Franke.
02:05The chilling attack on the young woman marked the beginning of a decades-long search for an elusive killer who was actually hiding in plain sight.
02:16October 21st, 2001.
02:23It was just before four on a breezy Sunday afternoon when a friend of 25-year-old Christine Franke set off a whirlwind of activity at the Orlando Police Department.
02:37What prompted her to call 911?
02:41Christine's roommate was out of town for business, and she was unable to get a hold of Christine over the telephone.
02:49So her roommate called and asked her neighbor to go next door and try to make contact with Christine.
02:55When the neighbor checked on Christine, what did she discover?
03:07The neighbor knocked.
03:09There was no answer.
03:11She opened up the unlocked door, and right there in the hallway was the victim lying on the floor, face down.
03:21Was it obvious to her that Christine was dead?
03:25Yes.
03:27She had a large pool of blood around her head.
03:32She drops down, tries to lift her up.
03:34She's stiff.
03:37At that time, she's on the phone with 911.
03:44Detective Roy Filippucci got the call and raced to the crime scene.
03:50Describe to me what you saw when you entered the apartment.
03:54Horror.
03:55The first thing I saw was a female with her pants pulled down, her shirt pulled up, her head is towards the kitchen.
04:05Somebody shot her.
04:06As detectives surveyed the small apartment, they discovered additional evidence that pointed to how the deadly attack unfolded.
04:24Was there evidence of a struggle inside the home?
04:27Yes.
04:28Christine had injuries on her face that were consistent with her fighting back hard.
04:33She had a large gash on the side of her head.
04:37She had four blunt force lacerations consistent with being hit with a hard object like a firearm.
04:43Christine's neighbors told police she was a waitress who had worked the late shift at a nearby bar the night before.
04:54She was still wearing the shoes that she had worn during this double shift that she had worked.
05:03Police believe the dirty shoes were evidence of when the attack had begun.
05:12Where she was found and the state of her dress indicated that she had been shot within moments of entering her apartment.
05:25There appeared to be a backpack within two, three feet to the left of her and items from inside that backpack were thrown out onto the floor and scattered as if someone had gone through the backpack and emptied the contents onto the floor.
05:43Christine's purse was among the personal items.
05:48Did the purse appear to be rifled through?
05:50Yes, it appeared to be emptied.
05:53At the time, did investigators believe that robbery was the motive?
05:58Robbery was the motive, but there was also the strong sexual component of the murder with her clothes being taken off of her.
06:04The crime scene painted a terrifying portrait of Christine's final moments.
06:12In all of your years of homicide work, had you ever encountered such a violent scene?
06:19Not that violent.
06:20You have a sex crime, a homicide, an armed robbery.
06:27While police continued to process the scene, Christine's sister Barbara was still trying to get updates about what was happening.
06:39Each one got progressively worse.
06:43How did you become aware that Christine might be in trouble?
06:46Christine's girlfriend called me and she was freaked out a little bit.
06:51She said, I can't get ahold of Christine.
06:53I think something's wrong with her.
06:54I talked to the neighbor and she went to check on her and she couldn't get ahold of her since.
07:00My mind was spinning, wondering what's going on.
07:05In fact, Barbara was terrified.
07:09She asked a friend to drive her to Christine's apartment.
07:13On the way, she reached out to the police.
07:16I thought, well, let me call 911 and see if they know anything.
07:21And they connected me to the detective on the scene.
07:26And the detective just told me, he said, I'm sorry, there's no easy way to put this, but Christine Franke's dead from a gunshot wound.
07:36And you were still in the car when you were talking with the detective, correct?
07:42Yes.
07:43I was crying, but there were no tears yet.
07:46It just happened that fast that like my body couldn't catch up to the emotion.
07:53Just unbelievably shocking news to hear.
07:59And it was during that rush of pain that Barbara realized she now had to find a way to tell her parents that their beloved Christine was gone.
08:15I can't imagine the pressure on you.
08:17You're trying to stay whole, but you were the one who had to break the news to your mom.
08:23Yeah, that phone call was, was so hard to make.
08:28I remember I called my mom and I said, Mom, something's happened to Christine.
08:35She said, why, what happened?
08:38She said, Mom, you better sit down.
08:42I said, Mom, she was shot and she's dead in her apartment.
08:52I said, are they sure it's her?
08:54It was like, you just can't imagine it.
08:58Why would anybody do that to her?
09:01How could somebody take her life?
09:07It was a question all of Christine's heartbroken loved ones were trying to answer
09:14as they tried to console one another in the parking lot.
09:18What is your most vivid memory of arriving at Christine's apartment complex?
09:23The crime scene tape and police flashing lights all over the place.
09:28It was like, like a movie.
09:33You can't believe what's in front of your face.
09:36The murder of 25-year-old Christine Franke shattered her family.
09:59How did the murder impact all of you?
10:05It left a gaping hole.
10:06My world stopped, but life didn't stop.
10:13I remember going back to work and I couldn't even look at people in the face because I would just cry.
10:20And those closest to Christine struggled to understand how those tears would ever stop or how life would seem normal again.
10:33There was never life without her.
10:35We shared a room until we were in junior high.
10:41She was always so cool.
10:44Everybody wanted to be like Christine.
10:46She was so much fun.
10:48Christine had been working on her teaching degree.
10:53Her goal was to help children with learning disabilities.
10:57But those dreams would never be realized.
11:06As the investigation got underway, police had little to work with.
11:11Christine went to work and she came home.
11:13She was attacked in her own home.
11:15It was a nice area in the city of Orlando, so it was completely unexpected.
11:20Christine's autopsy helped fill in some of the blanks.
11:26Christine had a single gunshot wound just above the lip below the nose,
11:31and with the trajectory of the bullet going in and up towards the back of her head.
11:35How would you describe that gunshot?
11:39Based on the trajectory, I have two theories of how that happened.
11:43Either she was on the floor with her head up and back,
11:48or the suspect had Christine in a bear hug from behind with the gun pointed up towards her,
11:55firing that weapon, killing her.
11:57She had absolutely no chance to survive this wound, did she?
12:00Not at all.
12:08The 25 millimeter projectile the ME recovered was consistent with the shell casing found at the crime scene.
12:16Police hoped it might be a valuable clue.
12:20A .25 caliber handgun was very rare.
12:23Did they ever find the murder weapon?
12:25No, we entered the shell casing into the national database, but never did get a match.
12:35Although the medical examiner did not find conclusive evidence of a sexual assault,
12:42biological evidence was recovered.
12:45It's clear that there was a sexual component to this crime.
12:50Could a DNA profile be established from it?
12:53Yes.
12:54Back in 2001, the detectives and the state crime lab were able to obtain a full STR DNA profile for the DNA left at the murder scene.
13:03What did the profile reveal?
13:04The profile was entered into the FBI national database, and it did not have a match.
13:10Still, investigators were certain that profile belonged to Christine's killer.
13:22They went to work retracing her last known movements in search of a suspect to test it against.
13:29Where had Christine been the night before?
13:33She was at her restaurant that she worked at.
13:36And because her roommate was out of town, she figured this would be a great time to work a double and earn extra money.
13:46How did her colleagues describe her behavior that night?
13:49Everyone described that as a typical, normal night at work.
13:52When Christine finished her second shift, it was close to 4 a.m.
14:04In these videos, you can see Christine leaving her employment at 3.51 a.m. with her co-workers.
14:11She is seen getting off the escalator with her supervisor. They follow each other for safety.
14:22It was clear from the surveillance cameras that Christine entered her car alone.
14:29Her lights go on on the car. She leaves. But when you leave, you have to do a down ramp.
14:36What happens after you see Christine's car come out of the parking garage?
14:40There was a white car seen on the video driving around.
14:44And when Christine's car was leaving the parking garage, this white car was directly in back of her.
14:52I thought that vehicle was involved.
14:56Did the surveillance video capture a license plate?
14:59No. Couldn't get a tag. Couldn't get make or model.
15:03You could see one occupant.
15:11Police drove the route to Christine's apartment.
15:15And determined it would have taken her less than 30 minutes to get home.
15:20Were there any surveillance cameras in the neighborhood?
15:23No. There were no cameras at all.
15:26Everything that happened between where she's last seen and when she's found is somewhat of a mystery.
15:37Could police find anyone who saw a white car that night that they hadn't recognized?
15:43No one saw a white car or any car.
15:45But a neighborhood canvas added weight to the theory that Christine had been killed within minutes of arriving home.
15:56Detectives came as the entire neighborhood.
15:58One person who lived up top there described a loud noise at about 4.20 or 4.25 in the morning.
16:03The occupant said, I was awakened by a crash or something that was very loud.
16:14How did that help investigators refine their timeline?
16:18It is consistent with going into her apartment, putting her keys down, and then being confronted with her attacker.
16:31And investigators were about to get their first lead on who that attacker might be.
16:38As news of Christine Franke's murder spread, tips began pouring in.
16:58Police were sorting through dozens of calls when an arrest moved one man to the top of investigators list.
17:05Who was the first person of interest?
17:08The gentleman that was a peeping Tom.
17:10He got arrested for looking into a window of a 14-year-old in the same complex.
17:17He lived about five blocks west of where Christine lived.
17:25In the interview room, the suspect denied any role in the crime.
17:30This was a shocking murder that was committed in the apartment complex.
17:35Were you surprised he didn't seem to be aware that it had happened?
17:39Yes. He said he had no idea.
17:41He goes, I don't know her.
17:43Police were skeptical.
17:46But a swab of the peeping Tom's DNA made it clear he was telling the truth.
17:52Were police able to eliminate him?
17:55Yes, he was eliminated from his DNA.
17:57Detectives continued to scour rap sheets and arrest reports for any potential suspect who might be connected to the crime.
18:14Then, several weeks into the investigation, their hard work appeared to pay off.
18:20The man's name was Matthew. He lived around the corner from where Christine lived.
18:26And he had quite the history that piqued the interest of the detectives.
18:31The man had been taken into custody for brandishing a knife.
18:37Matthew walked into a big box door waving a knife and began screaming.
18:41He knew who killed the lady around the corner.
18:47When he got arrested, he said, I know who killed that girl that got killed.
18:51He said, he's gonna kill again.
18:54And when he does, I'm gonna laugh.
18:56But once the handcuffs were on, Matthew refused to answer questions.
19:06So he didn't repeat what he had been saying inside the store?
19:09That is correct. He did not.
19:11And a quick look at Matthew's troubling history with mental illness led police to believe he might be a suspect instead of a witness.
19:21Where did he live?
19:23He lived about 20 houses away from where Christine lived.
19:27This gentleman lived in a halfway house that was for people with mental instabilities.
19:35He had a history of bad interactions with women.
19:39Detectives dug deeper and discovered the halfway house couldn't account for Matthew's whereabouts on the night of Christine's murder.
19:54Did he have an alibi for the night of the murder?
19:57He did not. Witnesses said he left the halfway house and did not return.
20:02He was gone until around 11 o'clock the following day.
20:06Matthew became the number one suspect.
20:15Police had a lot of questions for Matthew, but they never got to ask them.
20:21When they tried to interview Matthew, he asked for an attorney and the attorney would not allow us to speak to him.
20:27So essentially from the time he was arrested, he shut down.
20:34The only statements they received from Matthew were those spontaneous statements that he blurted out in the big box store.
20:40After Matthew's lawyers secured his release for the incident at the big box store, investigators put him under surveillance.
20:53They hoped to surreptitiously obtain a sample of his DNA.
20:56We have our people watching him. We got DNA of bottles, straws, plastic cups.
21:06Detectives believed that Matthew's DNA would be a match to the crime scene evidence.
21:13But the testing results were surprising.
21:16Were police able to clear him?
21:18Yes. He was excluded as a contributor to the DNA.
21:28The investigation began to stall.
21:31Dozens of vague leads were chased, but none moved the case forward.
21:37Then, one of Christine's co-workers mentioned a regular customer who had made her nervous.
21:43Who was the suspect?
21:45This was a man who worked right next door to where Christine worked.
21:48And he had asked her out on dates and made her feel uncomfortable.
21:53No one knew the man's name, and there was no incident between them that raised red flags.
22:01The tip was added to the file, but it wasn't followed up on.
22:05In fact, it would be five long years before that story reignited the investigation.
22:27Five years after the murder of Christine Franke,
22:30Detective Patrick Schneider took on the case.
22:36As he studied the file, he noted that neither old-fashioned police work
22:41nor DNA science had helped identify her killer.
22:47There hadn't been any matches either through CODIS
22:50or through the elimination samples that we had been collecting throughout the investigation.
22:54Detective Schneider focused on tying up loose ends in the reports,
23:04including images of the car scene following Christine as she left work.
23:10What did you learn about the white car that was caught on surveillance video the night of the murder?
23:17That was one of the things that I ended up putting on my priority list.
23:21As he isolated potential suspects who had not been cleared during the original investigation,
23:28his curiosity about the driver of that car grew.
23:33Not so much because the white car appeared to follow her out of the garage,
23:38but because of the connection to her place of employment where there was an issue with somebody harassing her.
23:45The lead about a mystery stalker had few details.
23:54The best clues were the description Christine had shared with her girlfriend
23:59and the name of the restaurant where she said he had worked, the NASCAR Cafe.
24:05It was just steps from Christine's job.
24:08Detective Schneider refused to give up.
24:10How did you go about trying to figure out who he actually was?
24:15I subpoenaed the records for every employee that worked at NASCAR Cafe beating up to the time of the murder.
24:22By eliminating all the other people who worked there, we were able to identify this person who made her feel uncomfortable.
24:29He was let go of NASCAR shortly after the murder.
24:33He was the right age. He was the right bill. He matched the description perfectly.
24:42And there was more.
24:45They found disturbing allegations of violence against women.
24:49We had learned that this suspect was a suspect in two other sexual assault cases in the immediate area of where Christine's murder occurred.
25:02Was he arrested for those attacks?
25:05They were never able to develop the probable cause to arrest him.
25:07Police read through the reports and came upon a shocking detail.
25:14When the suspect was brought in for questioning, he was in possession of a .25 caliber pistol.
25:22That was the same unusual caliber weapon as the gun used to murder Christine Franke.
25:31What was your reaction to that?
25:33Wow.
25:35I mean, it hits you hard when you see something like that and you say it's an awfully big coincidence.
25:41Police quickly discovered more evidence that appeared to connect the man to Christine's murder, including the white car he drove back in 2001.
25:52He had owned a vehicle back then that was very similar, same color, same shape, same style.
25:58Police believe they now had enough unanswered questions to confront their suspect face to face.
26:07In your mind, what made him such a strong suspect?
26:10The fact that he had been a person who was repeatedly harassing her.
26:15There was the potential that he was in that white car and followed her home.
26:20He had a history with that type of weapon.
26:23All those things combined was just a little bit more than just coincidental.
26:28But finding the man wouldn't be easy.
26:36What efforts did you make to track him down?
26:39We utilized a phone trace and law enforcement databases to develop an address.
26:44Where did you end up finding him?
26:47That is new residence in Lake County, Florida.
26:51Did he ever acknowledge knowing Christine?
26:54He denied knowing her and that's what made me even more suspicious.
26:58There was no doubt in my mind that he was the person who was hitting on her.
27:02Were you equally confident that he was her killer?
27:06I believed that it was highly likely.
27:08That hunch got stronger when the man refused to volunteer a DNA sample.
27:19What did you make of his lack of cooperation?
27:22I'm thinking, well, there's a reason he doesn't want us to have his DNA.
27:26Vet investigators produced a warrant that made his cooperation mandatory.
27:32How did he react to that search warrant?
27:35He was pretty angry.
27:36It definitely got my hopes up.
27:40Police then sent the DNA in for comparison testing and began a painful wait for the results.
27:48Take me back to that moment when the testing results came in of his DNA against the DNA from the crime scene.
27:57He was totally eliminated.
27:59I was frustrated because I felt confident he was a really good suspect in this case.
28:08Once he was rolled out, where did that leave the case?
28:12We were right back to ground zero again.
28:15No leads to follow up on.
28:17No suspects.
28:19Just a DNA profile located at the scene.
28:22For Christine's family, it meant their long and agonizing wait for answers would continue.
28:34I'm wondering during those many years if you lost faith that this case would ever be solved.
28:43I thought this person has to commit another horrendous crime.
28:48They just have to do something bad enough that they get caught and then we'll know who did it.
28:54They would call me periodically and say they had a picture of her in their office.
29:01They haven't forgotten about her.
29:03But there's nothing.
29:05There's no leads, no clues.
29:06You think that's it, I'm not going to find out.
29:12You just figure out how to live your life knowing that you might never find out who did this.
29:36The murder of Christine Franke remained unsolved for 11 years until Detective Michael Fields decided to restart the investigation from scratch.
29:49What is the first thing you did to try to advance the investigation?
29:53I had to think outside the box.
29:55The traditional methods of using the DNA weren't working, so I had to find a different way.
29:59At the time, consumer genetic ancestry services were just becoming popular.
30:08And Detective Fields was among the first who saw the possibility of using the public databases for law enforcement.
30:16In 2013, the plan was revolutionary.
30:21I said this would tell me who his relatives are.
30:25And that would be a great start to finding out who the suspect is.
30:28Had you ever done that in a case before?
30:31No.
30:35Fields teamed up with an independent lab to put his idea to the test.
30:40You spent a lot of time building the suspect's family tree.
30:46What did that involve?
30:48His family was extremely large and broken up.
30:52I didn't build a family tree, I built a family forest.
30:54Detective Fields worked around the clock for months until he narrowed his search down to two brothers who both lived in Florida.
31:04He decided to target the one with a criminal history first.
31:08How did you get his DNA?
31:11Detectives were able to obtain his DNA from a Gatorade bottle at a work construction site.
31:20Once it was tested, did you have the killer?
31:27No, we did not.
31:28What was your reaction when you found out that his DNA did not match the DNA from the crime scene?
31:37Happy because I knew the last person left had to have been Benjamin Lee Holmes.
31:40Still, at first glance, Benjamin Holmes was not the type of suspect investigators had expected.
31:51He had never been accused of a violent crime.
31:55Benjamin Lee Holmes was an average American living in Orlando.
32:00He was a manager at a local fast food restaurant.
32:03He was just laying low, living his life.
32:08But there was at least one detail that helped convince investigators they were on the right track.
32:14At the time of Christine's murder, Holmes lived just miles from the crime scene.
32:22Detectives hoped that a sample of his DNA would confirm their suspicion.
32:26We had some surveillance set up at his residence, and Benjamin Lee Holmes stepped outside smoking a cigar and tossed it.
32:36And detectives were able to go obtain that and bring it back to the crime lab.
32:44What did the testing reveal?
32:46He was the person who left the DNA at the murder scene.
32:56In November 2018, 17 years after Christine's murder,
33:03Orlando police arrested Benjamin Holmes.
33:07It was full steam ahead.
33:12In the interrogation room, detectives confronted him with the DNA report.
33:18It says that you are the person that left his DNA at the crime scene.
33:22I don't even know what crime scene I'm talking about.
33:27This is the apartment here.
33:28You've never been inside that apartment?
33:30No, sir.
33:32Did he ever admit to knowing Christine?
33:35He denied ever meeting her.
33:40Let me show you pictures of Christine Frankie.
33:42Ever have any kind of relationship with her?
33:45Ever dated her?
33:47No.
33:49Investigators pressed Holmes.
33:50You were here because you murdered her.
33:53I did not murder her.
33:54You shot her.
33:55You left your DNA on the scene.
33:57It's been there.
34:01But despite their frustration, investigators knew that Holmes denials had actually sealed the case against him.
34:10He tried to come up with excuses, but none were good enough.
34:13So he was unable to explain why his DNA would be found at a crime scene.
34:25Did he make any admissions?
34:29Not a single admission.
34:30He never wavered from his position that he didn't know Christine and that he wasn't involved in this homicide.
34:41Still, the investigators believe they had compiled a powerful case against Holmes.
34:46He was charged with first-degree murder with a firearm.
34:53It was the news Christine's family had been waiting for for nearly two decades.
35:00What was your reaction when Detective Fields told you an arrest had been made in the murder?
35:08I was so totally amazed and relieved and happy.
35:14The rest of the day, I just couldn't function.
35:20I would bust into tears and laugh and then cry.
35:27Just so many mixed emotions.
35:32Holmes was offered a plea deal in exchange for a confession.
35:37He was given an opportunity to potentially reduce his sentence if he would sit down with me and Detective Fields and tell the story of how Christine died.
35:49He declined that opportunity and went to trial.
35:56Prosecutors believe that Holmes' choice was a big mistake.
36:01And they proved it at trial.
36:03The actual facts of this case are really as terrible as anyone can imagine.
36:09Christine was an innocent young woman with her entire life ahead of her.
36:14I made sure that the jurors got to know who Christine was and who she would have been and who he took.
36:25Your emotions are quite raw when you talk about Christine.
36:33What is the part of her story that haunts you the most?
36:38She was just coming home from work.
36:40And she encountered Benjamin Holmes and she lost her life.
36:42Christine's loved one sat in silence just steps away from the man who took her life.
36:57He didn't look like pure evil, but he did something purely evil, pure evil.
37:10So many people showed up for Christine and were there day in and day out.
37:18There was always this support and love that touched me throughout.
37:23Prosecutors, investigators and Christine's loved ones all held their breath as the judge read the jury's verdict.
37:31Mr. Holmes was guilty.
37:32The second that I heard guilty, just an absolute flood of emotion and relief.
37:47I took that moment to turn back and to look at the family and saw what that meant to them.
37:53Christine finally got peace and the family got peace.
37:58How relieved were you when the guilty verdict came down?
38:04I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
38:07I didn't have to carry the burden anymore. I was thrilled.
38:10Holmes was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
38:22Did you ever see him show any signs of remorse?
38:26Oh, not a single drop.
38:29Because he held his stance that he didn't do it.
38:32Although Holmes has maintained his silence, investigators have a theory of how the crime unfolded.
38:46They believe Holmes targeted the young waitress, waiting until she was alone and vulnerable.
38:52I believe that the sexual component was the main drive.
38:59He must have seen her at the restaurant and saw something that he had to have.
39:05I think that was the driving force.
39:10And the robbery was just a bonus.
39:12Detectives believe it was the act of a selfish and callous monster.
39:22I'm glad that he is incarcerated and unable to hurt anyone else.
39:26Christine's family feels a deep connection to Detective Fields and the other investigators on the case.
39:43I'm so grateful that he never gave up.
39:47Although Christine's killer may be behind bars, the void he left in their lives is just as painful.
39:56It's not fair that Christine was taken from us.
40:01It's never going to be fair.
40:05But at this point, you can't get fair.
40:08You can only get justice.
40:10We just keep the memory alive.
40:13And instead of focusing on the sadness, we try and focus on the good.
40:18Bye!
40:19I wish she would have had a chance to meet my kids.
40:31It is a gaping hole in our family.
40:38I just miss her so much.
40:40Every year on Christine's birthday, friends and family honor her love of fashion by buying a new pair of shoes and displaying them on social media.
40:58The tradition continues with more and more people joining in each year.
41:04I'm Paula Zahn.
41:06Please join us again next time when we're back on the case.
41:10On the next on the case.
41:13He was a very evil person.
41:15She went through hell out there.
41:17We knew that it was somebody that was really sick.
41:21How real was the fear he would strike again?
41:24If you don't find him, he would kill again.
41:27This guy's not going to stop.
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