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00:00In August 1977, the double homicide of a young couple devastated the small town of Norton, Ohio.
00:17Billy Lovico had been shot in the left carotid artery, and by him was Judy Straub.
00:27Judy had been shot in the throat.
00:31Police had nothing to go on, and the case went cold.
00:36We'd had no idea it was going to be decades until we actually found out who did it.
00:43Three years after the Ohio murder, over 500 miles away in Jefferson County, Wisconsin,
00:51another young couple, Tim Hack and Kelly Drew, were murdered.
00:57It would take almost 29 years to solve the case.
01:03One of the fascinating things was that a male DNA sample was discovered on Kelly Drew's underwear,
01:12which had been preserved all those years.
01:17Scouring the original police reports, detectives came across the name Edward Wayne Edwards.
01:25We had all the information, but we didn't have the person.
01:30And once we got the person, the house of cards came down around him.
01:35After a reign of terror that lasted over three decades,
01:41Edward Wayne Edwards would eventually be unmasked as one of the world's most evil killers.
01:48On March the 8th, 2011, 77-year-old serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards,
02:18Wayne Edwards was sentenced to death.
02:22He'd escaped justice for over 30 years by moving his family all across North America.
02:31If he got that nervous and he felt the heat was on, he didn't just move down the road,
02:37but he moved states away.
02:41Finally identified through cutting-edge DNA technology and a crack team of cold case detectives,
02:49Edward showed no remorse.
02:51Edward's targeted people who were young, and I think that's what makes him the most evil,
03:03is it that he stole their lives from them just for his own gratification.
03:10I believe Edwards could kill you and I and sit in a chair and eat a ham sandwich.
03:17It didn't make any difference to him.
03:19That's how cold he was.
03:21This killer's story begins on June the 14th, 1933, in Akron, Ohio.
03:38Edward Wayne Edwards had an unhappy childhood, to put it politely.
03:43His mother committed suicide when he was very small.
03:46He was put into various orphanages, in which he claimed he was abused relentlessly.
03:53Ultimately, joins the Marine Corps at 16 years old, just shy of his 17th birthday.
03:59The Korean War is going on at that time, and he's anxious to get to war.
04:06The Marine Corps didn't allow a 17-year-old to go to war until they were 18.
04:11So he got upset with the Marine Corps and went AWOL.
04:15He was not the type of person who liked to have any kind of constraints or control on him.
04:27He just wanted to do whatever he wanted to do.
04:31So joining the Marines, very bad fit.
04:36They were looking for him as a deserter.
04:38In the meantime, he's stolen a car, going over state lines.
04:45He wears a Marine Corps uniform, which was a violation of federal law at that time.
04:52Ultimately, they pick him up.
04:53He was taken out of the Marines.
04:56But it gets him sentenced to federal prison in Chillicothe, Ohio.
04:59In 1955, 22-year-old Edwards managed to escape from prison by bolting from his prison officer during a court hearing.
05:11It was then that his life as a career criminal began.
05:18Edwards embarked on a spree, a crime spree, across the country.
05:23He was constantly moving, always going to different places, and committing crimes.
05:28He would rob stores.
05:30He would rob banks.
05:31He would commit fraud, check fraud.
05:34He was an all-purpose, all-consuming criminal.
05:39In 1960, Edwards was apprehended in Oregon.
05:43But, incredibly, while he was awaiting trial, lax supervision led to him managing to escape from jail for a second time.
05:55Edwards found himself one of the FBI's ten most wanted.
05:59Something that appealed to him greatly, because he wanted to be famous.
06:03And that is a theme that runs through Edwards' case.
06:06He ultimately is picked up in Atlanta, Georgia, and brought back, uh, to the Akron, Cleveland area, where he stands trial and is sentenced to a federal prison in Leavenworth.
06:23In 1967, 34-year-old Edwards was paroled and settled back in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
06:32He recast himself as a model ex-convict.
06:39He gets married.
06:41He writes a book about his change of heart.
06:45He starts appearing on television programs.
06:48I'm a reformed prisoner.
06:50I am a different man.
06:52I'm never going to do this dreadful sort of thing again.
06:54He was able to convince everybody that he turned his life around and that, actually, he was a really good guy now.
07:04It was the absolute perfect cover.
07:10In 1977, Judy Straub was 18 years old and living with her parents and siblings, including younger brother Jeffrey in Norton, Ohio.
07:24In all honesty, Judy was the kind of person that I aspired to be.
07:32I always looked up to her.
07:36We had a very active childhood together.
07:38Growing up on a small farm, there was always so many things to do.
07:43She had a couple horses, so she would take me for rides on her horses.
07:47We would go bicycling.
07:48She loved sports.
07:49We were always playing outside, playing ball.
07:51I guess, in all reality, she's kind of my best friend.
07:59In 1977, Judy was dating a young man from a neighboring town, 21-year-old Billy Lavarco.
08:11I know Judy really thought a lot of him, for sure.
08:14She was definitely very sincere about him.
08:16You could just tell that she was becoming more independent.
08:18On August the 5th, 1977, the Straub family's life was about to change forever.
08:29I was at home.
08:38It was late in the afternoon, on a Friday afternoon.
08:43Judy was getting ready to go somewhere.
08:45That was a Friday night.
08:45She was going to go out and see Bill.
08:48And before she left, she came in the family room, and she said, I'll see you.
08:51And for many, many years, that haunted me, that that was the only goodbye that I got.
09:03I wished so bad that if I would know it was the last time I was ever going to see her alive,
09:09that I could have gave her a hug and told her I loved her.
09:12When I woke up Saturday morning and she had not come home that night,
09:21I was probably one of the first ones that suspected something was wrong.
09:25I remember going to my parents on Saturday morning and saying, well, Judy didn't come home last night.
09:30And they said, well, she probably went with Bill to their family's cabin,
09:34because she had done that once or maybe twice before that I remember.
09:37But by Sunday, there was still no sign of Judy.
09:48Meanwhile, Norton police were notified of an abandoned car in a nearby park.
09:56In August of 1977, there was a vehicle located in the Silver Creek Park that belonged to Judy Straub.
10:04The park wasn't very well developed at that time.
10:08It's a very nice metropolitan park now, but not in 1977.
10:13It was really nothing more than a driveway off of a county road that went over into a cul-de-sac.
10:19It was kind of known as a lover's lane area.
10:25The car was there for some time.
10:28Passers-by noticed that there was a purse in it.
10:33Why is it sitting there abandoned?
10:35And surely the driver would want their purse.
10:39Judy's family were informed of the discovery.
10:44We came home from church on Sunday evening.
10:46As we came through the door, the phone was ringing.
10:48So my mother went to answer the phone, and I could tell she was upset by the look on her face.
10:55And she was very stressed, I could tell.
10:58My mother explained to my father, she says, that Norton police just called and said they found Judy's car abandoned at this park.
11:09And that's reaffirmed for me that, yes, something's serious wrong.
11:15On Monday, August the 8th, a National Guard helicopter was sent up to look over the park.
11:23Almost immediately, it spotted two bodies on the ground.
11:28Billy Lovico had been shot in the left carotid artery and was deceased, laying on the ground.
11:43And right by him was Judy Straub.
11:48Judy had been shot in the throat.
11:49Both had been shot with a shotgun.
11:55It was the news Judy's family had been dreading.
12:00It was just so surreal to me.
12:03I just could not process it.
12:04It just didn't seem possible.
12:06You know, this is my sister.
12:07I just was talking to her two days ago.
12:10And how could she possibly be gone?
12:12How could she possibly be dead?
12:14The community was just awestruck by this young couple being discovered deceased.
12:25It was a nice area, quiet area.
12:29And things like this just didn't happen in Norton, Ohio.
12:31A young couple dead and not a suspect in sight.
12:44Judy and Billy's attacker had seemingly got away with murder.
12:49And now, with a taste for blood, the killer was getting ready to strike again.
13:01In August 1977, 18-year-old Judy Straub and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Billy Lavarco,
13:16had been brutally murdered in a crime that shook the whole community of Norton, Ohio.
13:22Norton Police didn't have any leads at the time.
13:33But in 1977, a lot of those investigators at that time didn't have the experience
13:41and the knowledge of handling a case like that.
13:45There was one local man who, despite his extensive criminal record for theft and fraud,
13:55had no recorded history of violent crime,
13:58and so was not looked at as a suspect in the murders.
14:04Edward Wayne Edwards was known in the area.
14:07He knew Billy Lavarco.
14:09Ed Edwards was a tradesman, a carpenter,
14:12and built his own house in the Doylestown area.
14:16And he got Billy Lavarco to assist him in building the house.
14:23But still, he wasn't under the radar of the police in the investigation.
14:30The case obviously grew old.
14:32And over the years, probably every 6 to 12 months,
14:38there would be someone calling in, giving us information to check this person,
14:44check that person.
14:44This person said this.
14:45This person said that.
14:47But all those leads came up nothing.
14:49Three years after the murders of Judy and Billy,
14:56500 miles away in Jefferson County, Wisconsin,
15:01Detective Richard Llewell's career had just started.
15:04I was working as an entry-level criminal investigator
15:13for the Wisconsin Department of Justice in 1980
15:15when we were requested for assistance
15:18in the disappearance of a young boy and girl
15:21named Tim Heck and Kelly Drew.
15:25Kelly and Tim, they were childhood sweethearts.
15:27They were at high school together.
15:29They'd be going out for a considerable period of time.
15:31They were both 19 years old.
15:35Tim Heck was from a farming family
15:38and worked on a family farm,
15:40driving a tractor and things of that nature.
15:43Kelly went to a beautician school
15:45and became a licensed certified beautician.
15:50On August the 9th, 1980,
15:54Tim and Kelly went out for the evening.
15:57They had gone to what's called a Concord House,
16:04which was a big dance hall and recreation center
16:07in the middle of Wisconsin in a rural area.
16:10This facility was used for weddings.
16:15Kim Heck and Kelly Drew were asked
16:17if they would please drop off a wedding gift there.
16:20So they had gone to the Concord House,
16:23dropped off the wedding gift,
16:24and that was the last they were ever seen.
16:35The next morning,
16:36the parents became concerned
16:38about their disappearance.
16:40They called the local sheriff's department.
16:42We then went to this Concord House area
16:44and found Mr. Heck's vehicle
16:47parked in the parking lot there,
16:50locked his wallet and other things,
16:53and personal effects were in the car.
16:54The car was locked,
16:55but they were nowhere to be found.
16:59Detective Llewell joined the search for the couple.
17:05You're going arms lengths apart
17:08looking for any possible clues,
17:10clothing, leads, bodies, whatever,
17:13and that whole farming fields all the way around.
17:16All the roads that lead in and out of that area
17:19were being searched for any items of evidence.
17:24Some of Kelly's clothing was found along the roadside,
17:28which included a blouse, undergarments, pants,
17:32and things of that nature,
17:34which aroused great suspicion in law enforcement
17:37and great urgency on seeing what could be done
17:41in locating these people.
17:42As well as searching the area,
17:50police were speaking to anyone
17:52who was working at the Concord House
17:54on the night of their disappearance,
17:57but nobody had seen or heard anything.
18:02One of those staff members
18:04was 47-year-old handyman Edward Wayne Edwards,
18:09who'd moved his family from Ohio to Wisconsin
18:13around the turn of the decade.
18:22During October, the hunting season begins for small game
18:26like rabbits and squirrels and things of that nature.
18:30During that period of time,
18:31two men were hunting in a wooded area
18:34which was 8 or 10 miles away from the Concord House.
18:37When they discovered a female body in a wooded area
18:41which was later identified as Kelly.
18:46The search had to be expanded
18:48and there was a cornfield adjacent to this wooded area
18:53and investigators going back and forth
18:55in that cornfield actually found the remains of Tim Hack
18:58which unfortunately had been run over
19:00by the tractor picking the corn.
19:02Although the bodies had lain undiscovered
19:09for two months in the heat of summer,
19:12autopsies found that Tim's remains
19:14showed signs of knife wounds
19:16and the evidence indicated
19:18that Kelly had been sexually assaulted.
19:22After the autopsies, the investigation continued
19:26but as in a lot of these type cases
19:30when all the leads ran out
19:32became what we call a cold case.
19:34The case is never closed
19:35but unfortunately, when all the leads run out
19:39you run out of investigations
19:41so it starts getting less and less attention.
19:44It would be almost three decades
19:49before there was a break in the case.
19:53In 2007, 27 years after the murders
19:58of Tim Hack and Kelly Drew
20:00the investigation was revived
20:02by a team of cold case detectives.
20:05At the time I was starting to retire
20:10is when DNA was just evolving as a science
20:13within the law enforcement community
20:15and there was a backlog of DNA evidence
20:19sitting in the crime labs.
20:21After I retired,
20:23our Division of Criminal Investigation
20:24received a grant from the federal government
20:27to investigate and help clear up
20:30these backlog of DNA cases
20:31at which time I came back out of retirement
20:34to work part-time on these DNA unsolved cases.
20:38I was familiar with Tim Hack, Kelly Drew
20:41because in my early career
20:42I was part of the investigative team
20:44so it was always in the back of my mind
20:47whatever happened to that case.
20:49And since now that I have the funding
20:51and the investigative authority
20:53to go back on some of these little cases
20:55I went and made the initiative
20:57to follow up on that case.
21:00Evidence that had laid dormant
21:02in a cupboard for decades
21:04was re-examined
21:05but now detectives had
21:08more advanced DNA technology
21:10on their side.
21:15One of the fascinating things
21:17was that a male DNA sample
21:20was discovered on Kelly Drew's underwear
21:23which had been preserved
21:25all those years.
21:2627 years after their murder
21:32police finally had the DNA profile
21:36of Tim Hack and Kelly Drew's killer.
21:39Now the search was on
21:40for the man
21:41to match it to.
21:43In 2007,
21:56decades after the 1980 murders
21:58of Tim Hack and Kelly Drew
22:00in Wisconsin,
22:02a team of cold case detectives
22:04had reopened the case
22:06and discovered a male DNA profile
22:09on the preserved underwear
22:11of Kelly Drew.
22:19Then what we had to do
22:21was start a laborious task
22:22of going through all the reports
22:25that were ever written
22:26on that case.
22:28But I enjoyed doing
22:29that detective work
22:30saying that you did this,
22:32you're in here
22:32and we're going to find you.
22:36Edward Wayne Edwards
22:37had been living in Wisconsin
22:39at the time
22:40of the double murder
22:42in 1980.
22:44Edwards Edwards' name
22:46came up as an employee
22:47at the Concord House
22:49where Tim Hack and Kelly
22:50Drew disappeared from.
22:53He worked there
22:54as a handyman
22:54and then doing a background
22:55in Edwards,
22:56we found that he had
22:57a criminal record.
22:58So you're looking for
22:59the reports
23:00that he should have
23:01been interviewed.
23:03But ironically,
23:05a short period of time
23:06after Tim Hack
23:07and Kelly Drew
23:08disappeared,
23:10Edward Edwards
23:11moved out of town.
23:13Just in the middle of the night,
23:14he took off.
23:17The cold case
23:18detective's suspicions
23:19were raised
23:20and they knew
23:21they had to find
23:22Edward Wayne Edwards.
23:28They finally trace
23:30Edwards to a
23:31trailer park
23:32in Louisville, Kentucky,
23:34which is a total mess,
23:36a tip.
23:38It was just
23:39piled up with
23:41debris and junk.
23:44He would beat his wife.
23:46She lived in fear
23:47of him.
23:49He ruled that
23:50ruse with an iron fist.
23:53We asked Edward Edwards
23:55to voluntarily submit
23:56a buckle swab
23:58and he said,
23:59no,
24:00I don't believe in that.
24:01I'm not going to do it.
24:02That's when the hair
24:03stood up
24:03in the back of my head
24:04because to me
24:05it's another indication
24:06of guilt.
24:08After detectives
24:09obtained a warrant,
24:11Edwards,
24:11who was now
24:1276 years old,
24:14was eventually
24:14forced to submit
24:16to a DNA test.
24:18It came back
24:19as a positive match
24:21that the sperm
24:22or semen
24:23that was found
24:23on Kelly Drew's
24:24clothing came
24:25from Edward Edwards.
24:29On June the 30th,
24:312009,
24:33Edward Wayne Edwards
24:34was arrested
24:35for the 1980 murders
24:36of Tim Hack
24:38and Kelly Drew.
24:42We interviewed him
24:43at great length.
24:46During which time
24:47he didn't admit
24:48to killing Kelly
24:50but he came up
24:52with various scenarios
24:53on how he had
24:55sexual contact
24:56with her
24:57and his story
24:58was basically
24:58he was sitting
24:59in a bar
25:00having a drink
25:01and she came up
25:01and tapped him
25:02on her shoulder
25:03and said,
25:03would you like to go out
25:04and lay in a swampy field
25:06and have sexual intercourse
25:07with me?
25:09Which we knew
25:10was completely fabricated
25:12because she was dressed
25:13to go to another party
25:13with her boyfriend
25:14and now that stuff
25:15made sense
25:16but we have now
25:17his admission
25:18of him having
25:19intercourse with her.
25:25Edwards was
25:27first and foremost
25:28a manipulator
25:29and manipulators
25:31generally tend to think
25:33that they are cleverer
25:34than everybody else
25:36and he'd got away
25:37with a lot of different
25:38manipulations
25:38over the years
25:39so was probably
25:40quite confident
25:41that he could use
25:42the gift of the gab
25:43if you like
25:43to get out of most things.
25:46DNA
25:46no manipulation
25:48in the world
25:49is going to get past
25:51some of that evidence
25:52and I think
25:52that would finally
25:54have made Edwards
25:56feel like
25:57the end of the road
25:58was there.
26:00I did not see
26:02any signs of remorse
26:03for the crimes
26:04that he had committed.
26:05I saw a lot of
26:07poor me
26:08I want this
26:09I need this
26:10I'm uncomfortable
26:11you have to do this
26:12for me
26:12I'm sorry pal
26:13those days are over.
26:19Edward Wayne Edwards
26:21was charged
26:22with two counts
26:23of first degree murder
26:24and remanded
26:25in custody
26:26in Wisconsin
26:27to await his trial.
26:32We went back
26:33to talk to his wife
26:34just to see
26:35if she had anything else
26:36to say.
26:37That trailer
26:37was 100% different.
26:39She had rented
26:40a big dumpster
26:41and all of his stuff
26:42was thrown out of there.
26:43It was a difference
26:44of night and day
26:45it was a pretty residence
26:47with flowers
26:47nice chairs
26:49clean
26:50neat
26:50and everything
26:51and she hugged us
26:52and thanked us
26:53thank you so much
26:54for saving the rest
26:55of my life.
26:55what that woman
26:59would have been
27:00suffering
27:00was entrapment
27:02she would not
27:04have been able
27:05to escape him
27:06she'd have been
27:07stuck in that
27:07relationship
27:08if she tried
27:09to leave
27:10he was never
27:12ever going
27:13to allow that.
27:17That's why
27:18we do this
27:18kind of stuff
27:19she was very happy
27:20to the fact
27:21that we relieved
27:22these circumstances
27:23and got her
27:23off to underneath
27:24the tyranny
27:25of this monster.
27:2829 years
27:30after the double murder
27:31of Tim Hack
27:32and Kelly Drew
27:33Wisconsin police
27:35were certain
27:35they had
27:36their man
27:37but what happened
27:41next
27:42surprised everyone
27:43while in custody
27:45Edwards penned
27:46a letter
27:46to authorities
27:48500 miles away
27:49in Norton
27:50Ohio.
27:54he makes reference
27:55to a double homicide
27:56in Ohio
27:57in 1977
27:59he has information
28:00and he goes on
28:02when you're done
28:03talking to me
28:04you'll want to put
28:05a needle in my arm
28:06which referenced
28:09the death penalty
28:10here in Ohio
28:11so that really
28:13piqued our curiosity
28:14Ohio detectives
28:16drove to Wisconsin
28:18to speak to Edwards
28:19in prison
28:20during the three hour
28:22interview
28:23Edwards confessed
28:25to the 1977
28:26murders
28:27of Judy Straub
28:28and Billy Lavarco
28:30he had developed
28:33a plan
28:34in his mind
28:35of how he was
28:36going to kill
28:37Lavarco
28:37he knew
28:40that they went
28:40into a lover's lane
28:41area
28:42there at Silver Creek
28:43Park on the weekends
28:44and made out
28:45after he shoots
28:48Billy
28:49Judy
28:51runs away
28:53but it's pitch black
28:55dark
28:55in the park
28:57Edwards
28:57yells for Judy
28:59to stop, stop, stop
29:00and to come back
29:01unfortunately
29:02Judy came back
29:04I think
29:07had Judy
29:08continued to run
29:09she probably
29:10could have got away
29:11but you're running
29:12in the woods
29:12late at night
29:14you know
29:15you can't see
29:16your hand
29:16in front of your face
29:17so she came back
29:21to the scene
29:22where Billy
29:22had dropped
29:23and one of the things
29:26that's interesting
29:27there
29:27when you
29:28read that coroner's report
29:30and see photographs
29:32from the scene
29:34Judy's knees
29:36were wet
29:37I've always believed
29:39that Judy
29:40was probably
29:41on her knees
29:41begging for her life
29:43when he shot her
29:45without physical evidence
29:53however
29:54Detective Canterbury
29:56needed to satisfy himself
29:58that Edwards
29:59was telling the truth
30:00about the double murder
30:02that had happened
30:03over 30 years before
30:05what we could do
30:06is try to come back
30:08and cooperate
30:08some of the things
30:09that he told us
30:10one of the things
30:12that I felt
30:13really good about
30:14was that
30:15he was able
30:16to describe
30:19or to draw out
30:20the park
30:21where the car was parked
30:23where the bodies were
30:24that information
30:25had never been released
30:27and that was kind of
30:31the one strong piece
30:32of information
30:33that I obtained
30:35that I felt really good
30:37that this was going to be our guy
30:3833 years
30:44after her murder
30:45Judy Straub's family
30:47were informed
30:48of the development
30:49in the investigation
30:50I was working one day
30:52and my mother called
30:54and she said
30:55the Norton police called
30:56and they think
30:58they've got the guy
30:59and they want to come over
31:00and talk to us
31:02out of nowhere
31:04you know
31:05you're just living your day
31:06and all of a sudden
31:07bam
31:07you get this call
31:08and it's big news
31:10it was just
31:11a lot to absorb
31:12all one time
31:13Edward Wayne
31:15Edward's crimes
31:16had finally
31:17been solved
31:18I never saw
31:20any remorse
31:21out of Ed Edwards
31:22at all
31:23zero
31:23that just wasn't
31:25in his DNA
31:26he was all
31:28about himself
31:29didn't care
31:30who he hurt
31:31he doesn't suffer
31:35with those kinds
31:36of emotions
31:37that ordinary people do
31:38and that's what
31:39allows him
31:40to just keep going
31:41in the way
31:42that he did
31:42between 1974
31:48and 2009
31:50Edwards had lived
31:52in 12 different states
31:54often under assumed names
31:57his M.O. was to move
32:00his family
32:01if he felt
32:03law enforcement
32:03may get close
32:05to him
32:06I think Edwards
32:10was incredibly
32:13manipulative
32:14but also
32:16incredibly cowardly
32:19he really did not
32:21like to be held
32:22to account
32:22for anything
32:24he was the type
32:25of person
32:26that if you
32:27fronted him
32:28he'd just run
32:30being able to
32:35get the confession
32:36out of him
32:37will always be
32:38a big part
32:39of my career
32:40I you know
32:41arrested
32:42and investigated
32:43many different
32:44types of crimes
32:45to solve
32:47that double
32:48cold case
32:4833 year
32:50homicide
32:50is pretty special
32:52Edward Wayne Edwards
32:58was about
32:59to finally
32:59face justice
33:00for the murder
33:01of two young couples
33:03but his story
33:04wouldn't end there
33:06the 76 year old
33:08had one final confession
33:10up his sleeve
33:13in May 2010
33:25while awaiting trial
33:26in Wisconsin
33:27for the 1980 murders
33:29of Kelly Drew
33:30and Tim Hack
33:31Edward Wayne Edwards
33:33confessed to the murders
33:35of Judy Straub
33:36and Billy Lavarco
33:38in his home state
33:39of Ohio
33:39in 1977
33:41it was his
33:43final move
33:44in an attempt
33:45to have
33:46some control
33:47over his fate
33:48Edwards
33:50ultimately
33:51wanted to come
33:52home
33:52he actually
33:53wanted to come
33:54to Ohio
33:55and be executed
33:57here
33:57he did not
33:59want to live
34:00the remainder
34:00of his life
34:01in Wisconsin
34:02Edward's final wish
34:04however
34:05did not go
34:06to plan
34:07a temporary
34:08Supreme Court ruling
34:10meant that the
34:11death penalty
34:11was not in effect
34:13in Ohio
34:14in 1977
34:15a fact that
34:17Detective John
34:18Canterbury
34:19was not aware of
34:20I had told him
34:22that he may very well
34:23be sentenced to death
34:25here on our
34:25double homicides
34:27and then when he
34:28found out
34:29that the death penalty
34:30had been stayed
34:31he was very upset
34:33with me
34:33on June the 9th
34:362010
34:37at the Summit County
34:38Common Pleas Court
34:40in Ohio
34:4076 year old
34:42Edward Wayne Edwards
34:44pled guilty
34:45to the 1977
34:46murders
34:47of Judy Straub
34:49and Billy Lavarco
34:50it was a packed
34:55courtroom
34:56family media
34:57Edwards was
34:59in a wheelchair
35:00not remorseful
35:01at all
35:02pled guilty
35:04said just
35:05what he needed
35:06to say
35:07the family members
35:09were emotional
35:10in court
35:10I'm sure
35:12they had doubts
35:13of whether or not
35:14the murders
35:14would ever be solved
35:15Judy's brother
35:18Jeffrey
35:18attended the hearing
35:20as I learned
35:23that Judy
35:24had been killed
35:24by a serial killer
35:26what's the odds
35:27of that
35:28Judy being
35:29in my eyes
35:31such an angel
35:31what's the odds
35:33of her
35:33crossing
35:34path with
35:35Satan
35:36himself
35:36Edwards received
35:41two life sentences
35:42in Ohio
35:43for the murders
35:44of Judy Straub
35:45and Billy Lavarco
35:47two days later
35:49in Wisconsin
35:49he pled guilty
35:51to the double murder
35:52of Tim Hack
35:53and Kelly Drew
35:54after receiving
35:58two further
35:59life sentences
36:00he was brought
36:01back to Ohio
36:02to serve
36:03his time
36:04with Tim Hack
36:06and Kelly Drew
36:07nothing's ever
36:08going to bring
36:09them back
36:10but the salve
36:11of justice
36:11is going to heal
36:12the wounds
36:13in this community
36:14my mother
36:17never got over it
36:18until the day
36:19we planted her
36:19in the ground
36:20she was devastated
36:22in the true sense
36:23of the meaning
36:24she was completely
36:24devastated
36:25Edward Wayne
36:29Edwards' plan
36:30to be executed
36:31for his crimes
36:32had failed
36:33he would be locked
36:34up in prison
36:35for the rest
36:36of his life
36:36but he still
36:38had one more
36:39confession
36:39that he was sure
36:40would grant him
36:41his final wish
36:43in 1996
36:48Edwards was living
36:50with a 24-year-old man
36:51called Danny Boy
36:53who Edwards
36:54had fostered
36:55when he was a child
36:56local journalist
36:58Mike San Giacomo
36:59remembers the story
37:01Danny
37:03was taken in
37:05by Edwards
37:06as a foster child
37:07and
37:10there was
37:10a lot of love
37:11there
37:11at least
37:12from Danny's side
37:13I mean
37:14he loved
37:15Edwards
37:15and
37:16years later
37:18the boy
37:18was so happy
37:19that he said
37:20I've changed
37:21my name
37:22legally
37:22to your name
37:24because
37:25I want everybody
37:26to know
37:26that I'm part
37:27of your family
37:28Danny Boy Edwards
37:32joined the U.S. Army
37:33goes off to boot camp
37:35and
37:36in the meantime
37:37Ed Edwards
37:38gets a
37:39insurance policy
37:40on Danny Boy's life
37:42because he's
37:42serving in the Army
37:43it was while
37:46Danny Boy
37:47was at home
37:48visiting his
37:48foster father
37:49that Edwards
37:52saw the opportunity
37:53to
37:54cash in
37:55on the policy
37:56they go on
37:58a little
37:58hunting
37:59venture
38:00there
38:00in the
38:01Jagger County
38:01area
38:02go up
38:04into a
38:04cemetery
38:05and
38:06he shoots
38:07Danny Boy
38:08and
38:09executes him
38:10buries the body
38:19in a shallow grave
38:20Danny Boy's
38:23remains are found
38:26months later
38:27and
38:30Edwards takes
38:31that
38:32death certificate
38:33goes to the
38:34insurance company
38:35and says
38:36hey
38:36you know
38:37I have a
38:38insurance claim
38:39here
38:40and
38:41he
38:41obtains those funds
38:43from the insurance company
38:44sheriff's office
38:46obviously
38:46very suspect
38:47of Edwards
38:48and just could never
38:50get him to confess
38:51how can you
38:59adopt a son
39:01put him in the military
39:02and then kill him
39:04point blank kill him
39:06for the insurance
39:07if that's not
39:09pure evil
39:09I don't know
39:10what is
39:11there was a
39:14deep betrayal
39:16there
39:16but Edwards
39:17was not the
39:18kind of person
39:19for whom
39:20the word
39:21betrayal
39:22would have
39:22meant anything
39:23because people
39:24weren't that
39:25important to him
39:25they were just
39:27things
39:28to be used
39:29he lived
39:31his life
39:32in a way
39:32where he
39:33manipulated
39:34anyone
39:34and everyone
39:35in his life
39:36that was
39:38at Edwards
39:39on March
39:44the 8th
39:452011
39:45Edward Wayne
39:47Edwards
39:47appeared in court
39:48for the last time
39:50we were kind of
39:53shocked
39:54when
39:54Edward
39:54came in
39:55this old
39:57decrepit man
39:58broken down
40:00very aged
40:01looked obviously
40:02really sick
40:03very sallow
40:04complexion
40:05in a wheelchair
40:06I think he
40:09knew where he was
40:09but he didn't seem
40:10to care
40:11he wasn't remorseful
40:12there was not a touch
40:13of remorse in the man
40:14I don't think had any
40:16human emotion
40:17except perhaps
40:19for greed
40:20and beyond saying
40:22that he did not want
40:24another life sentence
40:26that he wanted
40:26to be executed
40:27he said very little
40:29Edward Wayne
40:31Edwards
40:32got his wish
40:33the decision
40:35from the three
40:36judge panel
40:37at the
40:37Georgia County
40:38Common Pleas
40:39Court in Ohio
40:40was to sentence
40:41him to death
40:42via lethal injection
40:44but the punishment
40:48he'd so badly
40:49wanted
40:50would never
40:51need to be
40:52carried out
40:52a month later
40:55on April
40:56the 7th
40:572011
40:57Edward Wayne Edwards
40:59was found dead
41:01in his cell
41:02he was 77
41:04years old
41:06he died of natural
41:09causes
41:10he was a very bad
41:11diabetic
41:12had COPD
41:14had lung issues
41:15so he was in very
41:18poor health
41:19I wasn't surprised
41:20that he had passed
41:21in prison
41:22Judy Straub's brother
41:26Jeffrey remembers
41:28hearing the news
41:29I guess the biggest
41:31thing that I felt
41:33was just that
41:34a sense of relief
41:35that he won't be
41:36hurting anybody
41:37anymore
41:38he will never
41:40hurt anybody
41:40again
41:41and I was very
41:42grateful for that
41:44the detectives
41:48who came into
41:49contact with
41:50Edwards
41:51believed that
41:52he could be
41:52responsible
41:53for many more
41:55murders
41:55I will say this
42:02that with
42:03Wisconsin's arrest
42:06our arrest
42:07his DNA
42:09is on file
42:09today
42:10will always
42:11be on file
42:12and I would
42:14encourage
42:14other detectives
42:17law enforcement
42:18today
42:19and in the future
42:20if you have cold
42:21cases
42:21that DNA
42:22can be extracted
42:23from
42:24run that
42:26through your labs
42:27and see if it
42:28doesn't hit on
42:29Edwards
42:30whenever
42:33someone loses
42:34their life
42:35not only does it
42:36affect that person
42:37obviously
42:37but everyone around
42:39them
42:39their whole family
42:40it's a lifelong
42:43heartache
42:43at least it has
42:44been for me
42:45it leaves a hole
42:47in your heart
42:48that you can't
42:49replace it
42:50the hardest
42:52thing for me
42:53is not being
42:55able to
42:56to give her
42:57a hug
42:57and to love her
42:58and I'm proud
42:59of her
42:59Edwards was
43:16responsible
43:17for the murders
43:18of five
43:19innocent young
43:20people
43:20who had
43:21their whole
43:22lives ahead
43:23of them
43:23it was
43:24more than
43:2530 years
43:26before he
43:26was finally
43:27brought to
43:28justice
43:28and even
43:29then he
43:30showed
43:30no remorse
43:32for his
43:32victims
43:32or their
43:33families
43:34which is
43:35why
43:35Edward
43:36Wayne
43:36Edwards
43:37will always
43:38be remembered
43:39as one
43:39of the
43:40world's
43:41most
43:41evil
43:42killers
43:42i
43:43it
44:09you
44:09you
44:09you
44:10you
44:11You
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