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00:00On May the 24th, 1992, a grieving man arrived at a quiet cemetery to place flowers on his
00:14father's grave. But something disturbing caught his eye.
00:21He looks off in the distance and he sees this man that appears to be assaulting this woman.
00:27And so he realized something was really wrong.
00:31The man rushed out of the cemetery to find help. After a police chase, the assailant was caught
00:38and the woman was rescued from the back of his car.
00:42She was near death because she was being asphyxiated by some sort of device around her neck.
00:50The attacker was 38-year-old Leslie Allen Williams,
00:55and police soon discovered that this wasn't his first abduction.
01:00After finding evidence in his home linking him to four missing teenage girls,
01:05Williams confessed to their murders.
01:08I think Williams confessing was for his own benefit and absolutely nobody else's benefit whatsoever.
01:15When we interviewed him, he expressed no emotion.
01:22It was like he was ordering a cup of coffee.
01:25Left with nowhere to run,
01:27Leslie Allen Williams had been unmasked as one of the world's most evil killers.
01:33In July 1992, at Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan,
02:01Leslie Allen Williams pleaded guilty to the murders of 18-year-old Cammy Villanueva,
02:0916-year-old Michelle Urban and her 14-year-old sister Melissa and 15-year-old Cynthia Jones.
02:17The serial killer even led police to the sites where he buried their bodies.
02:22There can be no doubt that Leslie Allen Williams was a truly evil man.
02:29He took the life of four young high school students who had their whole lives in front of them.
02:37It was an act of grotesque depravity.
02:39The really sad thing about this case is each one of these four teenage girls he killed,
02:47he told them that he would let them go.
02:51He told them that if they just did what he said, they'd be okay.
02:56He'd release them.
02:58And I think that makes it way worse.
03:00The families and the jury were horrified to learn that Williams had previously been let out of prison early for good behavior.
03:10Leslie Allen Williams had been a career criminal and was released many times by our parole boards.
03:19And it was shortly after his release that the first of the four girls that he kidnapped and killed disappeared.
03:32There was a great deal of criticism publicly, especially in the media.
03:38There were people at the time of the Williams case who began campaigning for a reform of Michigan's parole system.
03:45If Williams had not been caught in May of 1992, he would not have stopped.
03:55There would have been other people kidnapped, violated, and killed.
04:06This killer's story begins in the Midwest.
04:11Leslie Allen Williams was born on Independence Day.
04:15July the 4th, 1953, and he grew up in Detroit, Michigan.
04:22His mother had been married before, and she had two daughters.
04:27But then she married Leslie's father, and they had three boys together.
04:34But neither were exactly perfect parents.
04:37He grew up in his earliest years in a suburb of Detroit called Garden City, and his mom was known to work prostitution in the home.
04:52His dad was sexually abusing Leslie's sisters.
04:55When Williams witnessed that sexual violence in his home, the sexual abuse of his siblings and the sex work of his mom,
05:11he probably learned quite early on that relationships are highly transactional,
05:16and they're not about emotional connection.
05:19And that is going to have a significant impact on the way he conducts his own relationships.
05:26After an investigation into the sexual abuse of his stepdaughters,
05:31Williams' father was committed to a state hospital for the criminally insane,
05:37but not before alerting police to his wife's sex work.
05:44Leslie's mother took some of the family to California in an effort, I think,
05:51to escape the reputation that she had in Detroit.
05:55She then fell in love, and after she was divorced, she married her third husband.
06:04But that, too, didn't really go well.
06:10In the end, she decided that she would divorce the third husband.
06:17But then, tragically, on the night before the divorce hearing,
06:21her third husband went to visit her and killed her, shot her in the head,
06:28before killing himself.
06:32She has two boys of hers with her,
06:35and anything they might have seen as normal has gone out of the window.
06:40It's hard to imagine a worse upbringing.
06:44At just nine years old, Leslie Allen Williams had lost both of his parents.
06:50His mother was murdered.
06:53His father was a sex offender.
06:56He had no stability, no boundaries in his life at all,
07:02and no child should have to tolerate that.
07:08Now, Leslie was without either parent.
07:12So at that point, he and a brother of his were brought back to Michigan
07:16to live with their grandparents in Milford,
07:18which is another Detroit suburb on the west side of Metro Detroit.
07:24As Williams neared adulthood,
07:27he turned towards a darker criminal path.
07:33He was only 17 years old in 1970.
07:37He was arrested for breaking and entering in a home,
07:40and that began a long criminal career.
07:45Williams' history of offending, it started when he was really young,
07:49and the younger it starts, quite often, the more longevity it has,
07:54the more it's going to carry on.
07:57Between 1970 and 1983, he's literally in and out of prison,
08:02in and out of the court.
08:03It's just a litany, including burglary.
08:07More significantly, sexual assault and attempted kidnapping.
08:13He's either being charged, waiting on bail, in prison.
08:20For somebody like Williams, who was relentless in his offending,
08:24he may have felt empowered by the system not holding him to account,
08:29but also, I think, given his personality traits,
08:34I think he already felt quite entitled and empowered
08:38to behave the way he did,
08:41and probably manipulated and used the system.
08:45In 1983, Williams broke into a woman's home,
08:50but what started as a routine burglary
08:53quickly took a sinister turn
08:55and escalated to attempted kidnap and sexual assault.
09:00He was recognized at that point as being a habitual offender,
09:05and so he had a couple different sentences in front of him.
09:08For the actual assault, he had a sentence of 5 to 10 years.
09:11For being a habitual offender,
09:14he had a sentence of 7 to 30 years.
09:18It's the first lengthy sentence he's had,
09:20so he's going to be an older or at least an old man
09:23by the time he gets out of jail.
09:27With Williams behind bars,
09:29women in Detroit could finally sleep a little easier.
09:34But not for long.
09:36He's an absolutely model prisoner.
09:39He has a particularly receptive psychiatrist
09:42who says, well, I think, you know,
09:45you have really made splendid progress,
09:48and, you know, we want to rehabilitate you.
09:51And so writes a very glowing report
09:54to the prison authorities
09:55about just how well Leslie Williams had done.
09:59In 1990, 37-year-old Williams was released on parole
10:04after serving just 6 years of his maximum 30-year sentence.
10:09People were probably manipulated by this idea
10:14that because he was polite,
10:16that somehow that meant he wasn't dangerous,
10:20despite all of the evidence showing
10:23that he was a repeat and serial offender.
10:28In my opinion, he could have been kept in longer,
10:32and he should have been.
10:34I don't know why they were so lenient with him,
10:38given the nature of his offending.
10:41Despite the severity of his crimes,
10:44the parole system was satisfied
10:46that Williams was a changed man.
10:49The following year,
10:51the mysterious disappearance of an 18-year-old woman
10:54from her home would spark fear
10:57across the community.
10:59In the early hours of September the 15th, 1991,
11:14in the quiet village of South Lyon, Oakland County, Michigan,
11:1818-year-old Cami Villanueva was home alone
11:22whilst her older sister was out on a date.
11:25Cami Villanueva, she's 18,
11:30she's a bright, honest student, cheerful,
11:33the whole world in front of her.
11:35Quite a shy girl.
11:37She wasn't a great party-goer,
11:39and she lived with her sisters.
11:41Cami's older sister came home
11:46and saw that Cami was not home.
11:51She went into her room.
11:52She saw that things were basically undisturbed.
11:57The bedroom is deserted,
11:59but everything that Cami left
12:01is all just exactly as it was.
12:04In fact, she's astounded.
12:07As her inhaler,
12:08solitaire she was playing,
12:11purse,
12:12denim jacket,
12:13which she never went out without,
12:16it's as if she's disappeared into thin air.
12:19She wondered,
12:20OK, what happened?
12:21Where is she?
12:23The following day,
12:24she reported her missing to police.
12:28There was no signs
12:30of any kind of forced entry
12:31from, you know,
12:33my conversations
12:34with the Oakland County Sheriff's Department
12:37detectives
12:39that worked that part of the case.
12:42It was unknown
12:43why she was no longer home.
12:46Nobody knew what happened to her.
12:49She was a missing person case.
12:50They don't,
12:51they didn't know
12:51if she had been killed
12:52or if she ran away
12:53or what happened.
12:56Just as police
12:57were getting to grips
12:58with Cami's case,
13:00two weeks later
13:01they received another call
13:02from the concerned parents
13:04of two teenage girls,
13:0716-year-old Michelle
13:08and 14-year-old Melissa Urban.
13:12Melissa and Michelle Urban
13:15had a perfectly normal
13:16sisters' relationship,
13:18partly wonderful friendship,
13:20partly hating each other.
13:21It was a typical
13:23sisterly bond.
13:24They lived in a rural area
13:28of Michigan
13:28near the town of Heartland,
13:30which is about
13:31an hour northwest
13:32of Detroit.
13:35They have nothing particular
13:37to worry about
13:38and it's a perfectly
13:39ordinary day.
13:42On September the 29th, 1991,
13:46after a Sunday dinner
13:47with the family,
13:49the two girls set off
13:50on an evening walk.
13:51The morning after
13:54they had gone
13:55for their walk,
13:57when the father noticed
13:58they weren't home,
14:00he said,
14:01we need to call the police.
14:05A young trooper
14:06was sent
14:07to make contact
14:08with the parents
14:09and it was learned
14:12from them
14:12that they did not
14:14return home
14:14the night before.
14:17The police
14:18retraced the steps
14:19the sisters had taken
14:20on their walks.
14:21and found no trace
14:23of them.
14:24They also began
14:24to interview
14:25the local community
14:26to find out
14:27the background.
14:28But nothing
14:29led them
14:30to what had happened
14:31to the sisters.
14:32The information we got
14:36in contacting friends
14:37and family members
14:38was that they did not
14:40know anything about it.
14:42They had not seen
14:43the girls,
14:43had not heard from them,
14:45they were concerned,
14:47they did not understand
14:50why the girls
14:50would have been gone
14:52for so long.
14:55Although these contacts
14:57didn't provide
14:58an explanation
14:59for Michelle
15:00and Melissa's disappearance,
15:02they did reveal
15:03this wasn't the first time
15:04the girls had gone missing.
15:07A young trooper
15:08did a very good background,
15:11finding that they had
15:11at one point
15:13run away for a weekend
15:15before returning home.
15:17With any missing person report,
15:20we always expect
15:22the worst.
15:24But because of
15:26the past history
15:27where the girls
15:28had been missing
15:30voluntarily,
15:31it wasn't until
15:32several days later,
15:35perhaps a week or two,
15:36actually,
15:37before the concern
15:38became greater.
15:40They had never
15:41been gone this long.
15:43They had left behind
15:44items that
15:45they would not have
15:47left behind before.
15:50They were reported
15:51as missing
15:52and then the family
15:53struggled for months
15:55not knowing
15:56what happened
15:56to those girls.
15:59With no leads
16:01and concern
16:02mounting for
16:03the whereabouts
16:03of Michelle and Melissa,
16:05police brought in
16:06Michigan State profiler
16:08David Minzey
16:09to help with
16:10their investigation.
16:13First thing I did
16:15was make sure
16:15that I go meet
16:16with detectives.
16:17I wanted to know
16:19the things that
16:20weren't in the report.
16:21What bothered them?
16:22What about that case
16:24was troubling them?
16:26We focus on
16:27the victimology.
16:28These are very
16:29low-risk victims
16:31who now are missing.
16:33Something terrible
16:34likely happened to them
16:35and to help them
16:37develop media releases
16:38that will hopefully
16:39get the good tips
16:40to look more
16:41into the background.
16:42A closer look
16:45at the Milford area
16:46revealed that cases
16:47of female missing persons
16:49were rather uncommon,
16:51highlighting chilling
16:52similarities between
16:54the Urban sisters
16:55and Cami Villanueva.
16:58It must have begun
16:59to strike the authorities
17:01that the disappearance
17:03of three high school girls
17:05within a period
17:07of literally three weeks
17:10was quite unusual.
17:12They lived
17:13in a very rural area,
17:15very sparsely populated.
17:18Crime was
17:19almost nonexistent
17:22up there.
17:24All of a sudden
17:25we had something
17:26pop up here
17:27in Oakland County
17:28primarily,
17:30in fact,
17:30in the Milford area.
17:31And I grew up there,
17:32so I knew that the area
17:34did not have a whole lot
17:35of crime,
17:35particularly involving
17:36missing teenage girls.
17:40Something came
17:42into this area
17:43and likely was connected
17:45to all of these victims
17:46and we needed
17:46to find out
17:47who that was.
17:50Just one year
17:52before the teenagers
17:53went missing
17:54from Oakland County,
17:5637-year-old Leslie
17:57Allen Williams
17:58had been granted
17:59early release
18:00from prison
18:01after serving
18:02just six years
18:04of a maximum
18:0530-year sentence
18:06for attempted kidnapping
18:08and sexual assault.
18:11He was released
18:12very quickly
18:13in 1990.
18:15He was surprised
18:16to be paroled
18:17that early.
18:20His first residence
18:21was in Wayne County,
18:23Michigan.
18:25The parole officer
18:26that he saw there
18:28said that Williams
18:29complied with everything
18:30that was required of him.
18:32He was checking
18:33off the boxes,
18:34he was working a job,
18:36and then he was providing
18:37proof that he was
18:38working a job.
18:39He was showing them
18:39his check stubs.
18:41He was reporting
18:42in regularly.
18:44He was engaged
18:45in counseling.
18:47He moved
18:48to Oakland County.
18:50His parole agent
18:52changed.
18:53So once again,
18:55new eyes
18:56looking at him,
18:58but he was still
18:59complying with
19:00the requirements
19:01that the parole board
19:02had set for him.
19:03His parole officers
19:06over the years
19:07considered him
19:09what they called
19:09a model parolee.
19:11He seemed to be doing
19:12everything that he
19:13was expected to do.
19:15He caused no trouble,
19:17he attracted no attention.
19:19In fact,
19:20I think one parole officer
19:21said that he was
19:22ideal to deal with.
19:25As Williams
19:26was settling
19:26into a new life,
19:28seemingly on the
19:29straight and narrow,
19:30Oakland County police
19:31were still baffled
19:33as to the whereabouts
19:34of 18-year-old
19:35Cammy Villanueva
19:36and teenage sisters
19:38Michelle and Melissa
19:39Urban.
19:41But before police
19:43could begin
19:43to connect the dots,
19:45another teenage girl
19:46would vanish
19:48into thin air.
19:49On January 4th,
20:011992,
20:0315-year-old schoolgirl
20:04Cynthia Jones
20:06was hanging out
20:07with her 16-year-old boyfriend
20:09in his car
20:10at Central Park
20:11in Milford.
20:14Cindy was an archetypal
20:16high school girl.
20:17She was an honor student,
20:19she was a cheerleader,
20:20she was cheerful,
20:21she was very much
20:22happy with her boyfriend.
20:25They were in the car
20:26and while they were
20:28sitting there in the car,
20:29this man ran up to them
20:31in a ski mask
20:32and tells them
20:35he has to have the car,
20:36get out of the car,
20:37I need the car.
20:38He gives them a story
20:40that he just robbed a place
20:41and so he forces them
20:43out of the car.
20:45You can imagine
20:45they were very frightened
20:46and he marches the couple
20:49into a nearby wooded area
20:51where he proceeds
20:53to tie up the boyfriend
20:55to one of the trees.
20:58The boyfriend tries to escape
20:59but the man with the ski mask
21:02ushers Cindy
21:04into a wood
21:06not far away
21:08and it's the last
21:09the boyfriend ever sees of her.
21:10just minutes later
21:14the boyfriend freed himself
21:16from his restraints
21:17and called the police.
21:19They searched the entire park
21:22but despite their best efforts
21:24they were unable
21:25to find any clues
21:27to Cynthia's whereabouts
21:28nor the identity
21:30of her abductor.
21:34Her boyfriend was not able
21:35to identify him
21:36because his identity
21:37was obscured
21:38but still
21:39at least her boyfriend
21:40was able to report this
21:42to police
21:43so they knew
21:44that Cindy had been abducted.
21:47But the lack of details
21:49on the assailant
21:50meant the police
21:52were struggling
21:52to find the teenage
21:54couple's attacker.
21:56Predators
21:57are really difficult
21:58to identify
21:59and to capture
22:01and there's quite a few
22:03reasons for that.
22:04The biggest one
22:05obviously being
22:06that they
22:07rarely have
22:08any relationship
22:10to the person
22:11that they've assaulted.
22:13Nothing that links
22:15them in any way.
22:17Police have to start
22:19from a position of
22:20there's 30,000 people
22:22that live in this area
22:23it could be any one of them.
22:24They have to go on
22:25other motivations
22:28forms of evidence
22:29identifying suspects.
22:31As a result
22:34police had to consider
22:35one potential suspect.
22:38Because of the
22:39odd circumstances
22:41the boyfriend
22:43he was thought
22:44to be a suspect
22:45for the longest time.
22:49Was he trying
22:50to cover up
22:51the fact
22:51that she'd run away?
22:53Was he trying
22:53to cover up
22:54even worse
22:55that he'd killed her
22:55and hidden her body?
22:58Police could find
22:59absolutely no evidence
23:01to suggest
23:02Cynthia's boyfriend
23:03was involved
23:04in her disappearance
23:05and he was
23:06officially ruled out
23:08as a suspect
23:08six days later.
23:10The 16-year-old boyfriend
23:12was traumatized
23:14by this experience.
23:15How could he not have been?
23:16He's watched the girl
23:17he was fallen in love with
23:19being escorted away
23:20by a masked man.
23:22He's left tied to a tree
23:23and then he's suspected
23:24of Cindy's abduction.
23:26It is something
23:27that would be very,
23:28very difficult
23:28to recover from.
23:29With their only suspect
23:33eliminated from the inquiry,
23:35police were no closer
23:37to finding Cynthia's
23:38true kidnapper.
23:43Four missing girls
23:45that turn up
23:46in the span
23:46of a few months
23:47from September 1991
23:48to January 1992,
23:51and you have
23:51three different
23:52police departments
23:53that are investigating
23:54their disappearance.
23:56There were cross-jurisdictional
24:00boundaries
24:00where the communication
24:03wasn't always there.
24:05This was at a time
24:05before there were
24:07yellow alerts,
24:09which in the United States
24:11and in Michigan,
24:13when there are
24:13missing juveniles,
24:15there are alerts
24:17sent out over cell phones
24:18telling people,
24:20watch for these people.
24:21They're missing.
24:22They may be endangered,
24:24but there was no indication
24:26at that time
24:26that they were connected.
24:30The luck of the police
24:32would soon change.
24:37Over four months later,
24:39on May the 24th, 1992,
24:42Oakland County's
24:43deputy sheriff
24:44was taking a traffic
24:46accident report
24:47in Springfield Township
24:49when a panicked man
24:50approached and told him
24:52about an attack
24:53that was happening
24:54in a nearby cemetery.
24:56He's there to visit
24:57his dad's grave.
24:59He pulls up in his car
25:00and there's another vehicle
25:02sitting there in the way
25:03blocking his path,
25:04and one of the doors
25:06of the car is open,
25:07but the car is empty.
25:09He looks off
25:10in the distance
25:11and he sees this man
25:13that appears to be
25:14assaulting this woman.
25:16And meanwhile,
25:19this man looks over
25:20and sees this guy
25:21notice him.
25:22And that's when he says,
25:24leave us alone,
25:26we're just having sex.
25:29This witness was knowing
25:31that was not the case.
25:32They were both fully clothed
25:33for one thing,
25:34and this did not appear
25:35to be a sexual situation.
25:37This seemed to be
25:37a violent assault.
25:38The woman is clearly
25:41being attacked,
25:43and the passerby
25:45goes and finds
25:46a traffic policeman
25:47who's not far away.
25:49The policeman comes back.
25:52He was speeding
25:53out of the cemetery
25:54as the cop was coming in,
25:56and the cop realized,
25:56okay, that's the guy,
25:57and chased him.
25:59And this started
26:00a little bit of a harrowing
26:02car chase
26:03that was also a foot chase,
26:06because at one point,
26:07this man wrecked his car
26:09and got out on foot
26:10and tried to get away.
26:12After an intense chase,
26:14police were able
26:15to capture their assailant,
26:17and they were shocked
26:18to learn that this
26:19wasn't their suspect's
26:21first time in handcuffs.
26:23He revealed himself
26:24as 38-year-old
26:26seasoned criminal
26:27Leslie Allen Williams.
26:30Williams is
26:31slightly shamefaced,
26:33but nevertheless,
26:33is arrested
26:34on suspicion
26:36of the attack
26:37on the woman
26:38in the cemetery,
26:39but then announces
26:40to the officer
26:41that actually,
26:43the woman he was attacking
26:44is in the boot
26:45of his car,
26:46and she won't be able
26:47to breathe for very long
26:48as she's in there.
26:51She was near death,
26:54I believe,
26:55because she was
26:56being asphyxiated
26:57by some sort of device
26:59around her neck.
27:01Williams had placed her
27:02in the trunk,
27:03reportedly,
27:03with one of his
27:05plastic ties
27:06that he liked to use
27:07around her neck,
27:08and so the police officer
27:10was able to get
27:12into the trunk
27:13and get to her
27:14right before
27:15anything terrible happened
27:17and rescue her.
27:22The police officer
27:24reached the woman
27:25just in time,
27:26and she was quickly
27:27transported to hospital,
27:29where she made
27:29a full recovery.
27:32With the victim safe,
27:34the focus shifted
27:35to questioning
27:36her attacker.
27:38Williams was arrested,
27:41taken into police custody,
27:42and as they were
27:44talking to him,
27:45he really wasn't
27:46giving much up.
27:49Because of looking
27:50at his criminal history
27:52and past,
27:55that further investigation
27:57was done,
27:59there was a search warrant
28:00that was executed
28:02at his home.
28:04They found
28:05plastic zip ties.
28:07They found the shovel
28:08in his car, too,
28:09so they knew
28:10there was something
28:10more to this guy
28:11than just trying
28:13to attack somebody
28:14in a cemetery.
28:16And when they
28:17searched his house,
28:19they found a ring.
28:22That ring belonged
28:23to none other
28:24than the missing
28:2518-year-old,
28:26Cammie Villanueva.
28:30Suspecting Williams
28:31may be involved
28:32in Cammie's disappearance,
28:34they made contact
28:35with his ex-girlfriend
28:36to find out more
28:38about the man
28:39they had in custody.
28:41And what she had to say
28:43filled them
28:44with dread.
28:45She told police
28:47how she had,
28:49during their relationship,
28:50given Williams
28:51a kitten
28:52to take care of.
28:53And Williams told her
28:54later that he killed
28:55the kitten.
28:56For whatever reason,
28:57who knows?
28:58But he also buried
28:59the kitten.
29:00And so police
29:01were very interested.
29:03Williams' ex-girlfriend
29:05gave police
29:06the location
29:07of the burial site.
29:08And on a hunch
29:09that Williams
29:10might have revisited
29:11a place he already knew,
29:13they headed
29:14straight for it.
29:16They started digging
29:17and they realized
29:18and they realized
29:18that they were about
29:19to discover
29:20Cammie Villanueva.
29:26Once presented
29:27with the overwhelming evidence,
29:29Williams had no choice
29:31but to confess
29:32to Cammie's murder.
29:34And what he revealed next
29:36added a disturbing twist.
29:39When he was on parole
29:41from prison in 1990,
29:43he worked in a gas station.
29:46And another girl
29:48who worked in the gas station
29:49had a sister
29:51called Cammie Villanueva.
29:55Williams would actually see Cammie
29:57coming to the gas station
29:59where he worked.
30:00He was aware of where they lived
30:02and what their habits were.
30:03absolutely Williams' cup of tea.
30:08And so when he gets out of jail,
30:10one of the first people
30:12he targets
30:12is Cammie Villanueva.
30:17Cammie was home alone.
30:20She was in her bedroom.
30:21She was sitting there
30:22playing solitaire
30:23with a deck of cards.
30:26Williams told investigators
30:27that after donning
30:29a ski mask
30:30in a bid to disguise himself,
30:32he approached the home
30:33of Cammie Villanueva
30:34armed with a pocket knife.
30:37He realized
30:38that her door was unlocked.
30:41He came inside.
30:44He abducted her.
30:47He forced her into his car.
30:49He took her to another location.
30:53Williams takes her
30:53to a cemetery
30:54not very far away
30:56where he proceeds
30:58to rape her
31:00and to kill her.
31:02His method was strangulation.
31:03which is very common
31:04among killers
31:05because it's up close
31:06and personal.
31:08You get an opportunity
31:09to interact with your victim
31:11and control their life.
31:12That's the ultimate exercise
31:14of power.
31:15And I think that
31:16that's what he did.
31:19He actually dug a shallow grave
31:21in a field
31:22and buried her
31:24and buried her
31:25only to revisit her
31:27months later.
31:30There were reports
31:32that Williams had dug up
31:35and had sex with the body.
31:37So there's some kind
31:37of necrophilia going on here.
31:40That is not unheard of
31:43with killers.
31:44They will,
31:45if they can,
31:46revisit
31:47a body
31:49again
31:49to get that
31:51emotional moment,
31:54relive it,
31:55maybe re-assault
31:57the victim.
31:59How could somebody
32:00come back
32:01and the smell is terrible
32:03and the condition
32:04of the body is bad?
32:05How could they do that?
32:07But we're talking
32:07about people
32:08who are wired differently,
32:10that going back
32:11allows him to relive
32:12that whole event
32:13over and over again.
32:14Leslie Allen-Williams
32:18had confessed
32:19to the murder
32:19of Cami Villanueva
32:21and he hadn't finished yet.
32:24As he continued
32:25to talk,
32:27the 38-year-old
32:28would reveal
32:29even more disturbing
32:30information
32:31that would leave
32:32detectives
32:33horrified.
32:44On the evening
32:46of May the 27th,
32:481992,
32:49in the Oakland County
32:50Sheriff's Office,
32:5238-year-old
32:53Leslie Allen-Williams
32:55had confessed
32:56to raping
32:56and killing
32:5718-year-old
32:58Cami Villanueva
32:59eight months earlier.
33:02What began
33:03as a single admission
33:05soon snowballed
33:06into a cascade
33:08of confessions.
33:10When Williams
33:11was interviewed
33:12by the sheriff's deputies,
33:14and began
33:15telling about
33:16Cami,
33:17he also admitted
33:18to the kidnapping
33:19and murder
33:20of the Urban sisters.
33:23The two teenage sisters,
33:2616-year-old Michelle
33:27and 14-year-old
33:29Melissa Urban
33:30had gone missing
33:31on September
33:32the 29th, 1991
33:34after going out
33:36for a walk.
33:37It had been
33:38a cold case
33:39for eight months
33:40until now.
33:42At that point,
33:44the state police
33:45in Brighton
33:46was contacted.
33:47Our detective bureau
33:48was activated.
33:50We were able
33:50to take
33:51Williams into
33:52our custody
33:53and interview him.
33:57Williams admitted
33:58he'd been watching
33:59the Urban sisters
34:00for several days.
34:02The reason
34:04he was up
34:04in that area
34:05stalking people
34:07was because
34:08he was court-ordered
34:09to see
34:10a psychotherapist
34:12who was
34:15just miles away
34:17from where
34:17the Urban sisters lived.
34:21They went out
34:22for a walk
34:23near their home
34:24in that remote area,
34:25and Williams
34:26realized this.
34:27He saw them,
34:28and he hid
34:30in some bushes,
34:31and he waited
34:31for them
34:32to come up
34:33on him,
34:34and he jumped out.
34:37And with a
34:37small pocket knife,
34:39he threatened
34:40the girls,
34:41grabbing one
34:42of them.
34:44The other girl
34:44submitted
34:45to his demands,
34:47fearing for her sister.
34:50And what's more,
34:51gone to the lengths
34:52of taking photographs
34:53of them,
34:54which he'd kept
34:55as souvenirs,
34:56which again,
34:56the police found
34:57in their search
34:58of his house.
35:00Taking a trophy
35:01really is about
35:03a conquest.
35:04You hear the term
35:05souvenir and trophy.
35:06A souvenir just means
35:07that we were
35:07at some place.
35:09A trophy means
35:10that we won,
35:11we conquered something.
35:13And so taking
35:13those things
35:14allows him
35:15to relive
35:15those events
35:16over and over again.
35:19He first tried
35:20to completely
35:22incapacitate them
35:23with starter fluid,
35:25much like an ether,
35:26to put them
35:27to sleep
35:27and suffocated them.
35:33After killing
35:35the two girls,
35:36Williams told detectives
35:38that he drove
35:38four miles
35:39to the outskirts
35:40of Fenton, Michigan,
35:42where he callously
35:43buried the teenage
35:44sisters,
35:45once again digging
35:46a shallow grave
35:47in a nearby cemetery.
35:49He covered the
35:52Urban Sisters
35:52with blankets
35:54and that quite
35:56possibly was
35:57to protect
35:57the bodies
35:58from the earth
36:00and everything
36:01around them
36:02to perhaps
36:02keep them
36:03in a better
36:05state
36:05for a longer
36:06time.
36:09He didn't
36:10bury them
36:10deep enough
36:12that he couldn't
36:13get access
36:14to them.
36:16Williams also
36:17revealed his
36:18cruel final words
36:20to the terrified
36:21young sisters.
36:23He told them
36:24that he would
36:25let them go.
36:27He told them
36:28that if they
36:28just did
36:29what he said,
36:31they'd be okay.
36:32He'd release them.
36:33And I think
36:34that makes it
36:35way worse.
36:37In police custody,
36:39Williams had confessed
36:40to three murders,
36:41but he didn't
36:42stop there.
36:44Detectives
36:44were about
36:45to discover
36:45one final victim,
36:4815-year-old
36:49schoolgirl
36:49Cynthia Jones,
36:51who was abducted
36:52whilst on a date
36:53with her boyfriend
36:54in Central Park
36:56in Milford.
36:58He took
36:59Cindy in his car
37:01and, like
37:02with the other victims,
37:03he raped her.
37:05He did
37:05change his M.O.
37:07a little bit,
37:08though.
37:08He had strangled
37:10Cammie Villanueva.
37:12He had suffocated
37:14the two girls,
37:15but then with
37:15Cynthia Jones,
37:17he actually stabbed
37:18her in the chest
37:19with his knife
37:20and buried her
37:22in a shallow grave.
37:25Now, there could be
37:26many reasons for that.
37:28It could be that
37:30she got out
37:31of his control.
37:33It could be
37:34that he needed
37:35to do it
37:36very quickly
37:37and efficiently,
37:38and to strangle
37:39someone takes
37:40longer, potentially,
37:43than stabbing someone.
37:45After confessing
37:47to the murders
37:48of the four teenagers,
37:50Williams made
37:51one final deal
37:52with police.
37:54When they were able
37:55to obtain confessions
37:57from Williams,
37:58he agreed
37:59to take them
38:00to where the other girls,
38:01the three other girls,
38:02were buried.
38:03So that was up
38:04to the cemetery
38:05in Fenton
38:05where the urban girls
38:06were buried,
38:07and then that was
38:08to the other part
38:09of Buno Road
38:10where Cindy Jones
38:11was buried.
38:14I think Williams'
38:15confessing
38:16was for his own benefit
38:17and absolutely
38:18nobody else's benefit
38:20whatsoever.
38:21If he says,
38:22look, I can help you
38:23find more bodies
38:24and see what a great guy
38:26I am
38:26and see how sincere
38:28I am
38:29because this might
38:30help with him
38:32making arguments
38:33that he wants
38:34to change
38:35or that he feels
38:37remorse
38:37or guilt
38:38or shame.
38:39With an overwhelming
38:41amount of evidence
38:42in front of him,
38:44including photographs
38:45of the Urban sisters,
38:47Cammy Villanova's ring
38:49and the bodies,
38:50Williams decided
38:51to plead guilty
38:52to all four murders
38:54at the Oakland County Court
38:56on June the 3rd, 1992.
39:00He said something
39:01to the effect
39:02that he just wanted
39:03to save the taxpayers
39:04the expense
39:05and save everybody
39:06the grief,
39:07save the victim family members
39:08the grief
39:09of going through a trial.
39:11So it was pretty quick
39:12that he was sentenced.
39:13He was arrested
39:14in May 1992
39:15and he was sentenced
39:16to everything
39:17in July 1992
39:19without a trial.
39:22In Michigan,
39:24the punishment
39:25for first-degree murder,
39:27capital murder,
39:28is mandatory life
39:30in prison
39:30without parole.
39:33Kidnapping
39:33in Michigan
39:34also carries
39:35a life sentence.
39:38On July the 7th, 1992,
39:42Williams was sentenced
39:43to life without parole
39:45for the murder
39:45of Cynthia Jones.
39:47Later that day,
39:48he was given
39:49four consecutive life terms
39:51for kidnapping,
39:52attempted murder
39:53and the attempted rape
39:55of the woman
39:55at the Springfield
39:56Township Cemetery.
39:59Williams was also
40:01sentenced to life
40:02for Cammy's murder
40:03on September the 24th
40:05and for the Urban sisters' murder
40:07on October the 5th.
40:10Cindy's mother
40:11was horrified
40:13by the fact
40:15that her daughter
40:15had been killed
40:17by a man
40:18who'd been let out
40:19of prison
40:19when he shouldn't
40:20have been.
40:22Unfortunately,
40:23it's a plea
40:23we hear so often
40:24from the victims
40:26of crime,
40:27particularly violent murder.
40:29I think Leslie
40:30Allian Williams
40:31represents the failure
40:32of the entire
40:33criminal justice system,
40:34particularly the parole system.
40:36Leslie Allian Williams
40:37never should have been
40:38on the street
40:38and there's four young ladies
40:40that are dead
40:41because of that.
40:43When he was serving
40:44a 30-year sentence
40:46back in 1983
40:47for kidnap
40:48and sexual assault,
40:50Williams' prison psychiatrist
40:52wrote in her report
40:54that she felt
40:55he was making good progress
40:56and was eligible
40:58for rehabilitation.
41:01The year that Williams
41:03was released
41:04from prison
41:05on parole,
41:06there were,
41:07I believe,
41:0811,000 people
41:09in Michigan
41:11that went before
41:12the parole board.
41:14The parole board
41:15released
41:16almost 9,000
41:18of those people
41:18on parole.
41:21Subsequent to
41:22Williams' convictions
41:24and sentencing,
41:27the parents
41:28of Michelle
41:28and Melissa Urban
41:29were instrumental
41:31in making changes
41:35to the way
41:36the parole board
41:37in Michigan
41:38reviews people
41:39and releases people.
41:43There was legislation
41:44enacted later
41:45in 1992,
41:46as I understand,
41:48to reform
41:49Michigan's parole system.
41:50So I guess
41:51you could say
41:52that that's something
41:52that hopefully
41:53is good
41:54that has come
41:54out of the case.
41:57And it wasn't
41:58just the families
41:59that were impacted
42:00by these tragic killings.
42:02and I'll tell you,
42:04you know,
42:05people who work
42:05on a serial killer case
42:07never want to do that again.
42:10It is so physically
42:11and emotionally draining
42:12that, you know,
42:14it affects their family life
42:15because they're spending
42:16more time on the case.
42:18You know,
42:18there's a lot of pressure
42:19from the media,
42:20from the public,
42:21from, you know,
42:22your boss
42:23to solve these cases.
42:24And while you do,
42:25feel good
42:26that we caught the guy.
42:27It's something
42:28that they really don't want
42:29to have to go through again.
42:32My department,
42:34the Michigan State Police,
42:36have counselors
42:37and psychologists
42:38on staff
42:39because they know
42:40of the toll
42:41that investigations
42:43can have.
42:46I personally feel
42:47there is no such thing
42:48as justice
42:49in a case like this.
42:51The girls
42:52will never be brought back.
42:54The only thing
42:55we have
42:56is the knowledge
42:58that Williams
42:59will never be able
42:59to do this again.
43:00and so that
43:03the other young women
43:04out there
43:04will be safe.
43:11The decision
43:12to release
43:13Leslie Allen Williams
43:15early proved
43:16to be catastrophic.
43:18He was a dangerous,
43:19seasoned criminal
43:20whose frequent appearances
43:22in and out of prison
43:23didn't deter him
43:25from taking the lives
43:26of Camille Villanueva,
43:27sisters Michelle
43:29and Melissa Urban
43:30and 15-year-old
43:32Cynthia Jones
43:33in the space
43:34of just nine months.
43:36This undoubtedly
43:37makes Leslie Allen Williams
43:39one of the world's
43:40most evil killers.
43:42say to myself
43:44toong
43:45others.
43:45And I
43:46will be
43:58fair.
44:01For more information
44:03than Japan,
44:05I will never voyez
44:07uestas
44:08coming
44:08to me
44:09soon
44:09after
44:10and
44:10you
44:10started
44:11in place and
44:11you
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