- 3 hours ago
Murder at the Motel - Season 2 Episode 8 -
Davis Motel
Davis Motel
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00:00The Unica Police Department arrived to the Davis Motel regarding an unresponsive female.
00:07You find a deceased female naked on a bed under a pile of clothes with a belt wrapped around her
00:11throat. It's a very harrowing situation. Does she come into the bedroom? Yeah. And that's when she
00:18sees you? She didn't even see me. When she came through, that's when I grabbed her. To know like
00:23your mother and your grandmother was murdered by their own belt. It's heartbreaking. Absolutely
00:31heartbreaking. Was it weathered? A little older like? Well, what time I got done with it? Yeah.
00:40The murder was such a shock to that community that I know of at least one family that actually
00:46moved as a result of the incident. It really weighs on you to make sure that you try to
00:51locate that suspect as soon as possible. The possession of children's underwear in the
00:56vehicle is really, really concerning. He knows he's a monster. He was just a scary looking
01:07individual who just had no emotion and really could care less of the heinous crimes that he
01:11just committed. She's gone and gone violently and brutally and painfully. The place I hold
01:17ill will is for those responsible for not heeding his warning.
01:20On November 3rd, 2011,
01:50police respond to a motel in Utica, New York after receiving reports of a deceased female
01:56discovered in a room on the premises.
02:03We learned that from one of the caretakers, she noticed some real aberrations. You know,
02:07lights were on that typically weren't on. There were candles burning. There were doors open,
02:10things like that. And as she's bending down, she puts her hand on the bed and unfortunately at
02:14that point feels a cold leg.
02:15We're arriving on scene. It was somewhat eerie because you're pulling into a property that's a
02:23little bit out of the way as far as the city goes. A hotel sits back on some land so it could be a little
02:30bit eerie when you pull up. This is potentially somebody's mother, somebody's daughter, somebody's aunt, somebody's relative, friend. You know that you're walking into that and then you know the recourse that that has on all those people.
02:48Police entered the crime scene, located in the main office of the motel.
02:54The room was in disarray. There were lights on, there were candles still burning, there were doors open, there were things thrown everywhere. Obviously, we didn't know, you know, the circumstances of it. It would appear that a struggle had ensued.
03:07Unfortunately, the victim was naked on a bed under a pile of clothes. She had a belt wrapped around her neck a couple of times and her hands appeared to be tied behind her back. So certainly there appeared to be some sort of robbery and likely sexual motivation to be involved in this crime.
03:25The scene itself definitely showed that there was evidence that the victim had fought for her life.
03:31We were able to identify the victim in this case relatively quickly. She was confirmed as Linda Turner.
03:44Linda Turner was 68 years old and she owned Davis Motel, but she also lived there. That was her residence as well.
03:54Linda Turner was a staple in the Utica community. She ran the Davis Motel flawlessly. She really had the desire to keep it as a family-run place.
04:01Somewhere that people felt safe to come. Somewhere people felt longing to come to Utica and really enjoy their stay. And we really appreciated her for that.
04:09The individuals that she had renting those rooms were very peaceful, very respectful. Everybody we ever spoke to had nothing but the most glowing things to say about her.
04:19This was very big news, especially because she was well-known. So the community was shocked and they were even more shocked in the manner of death, how she died. It was very tragic.
04:30It could be your mother. It could be your loved one. They're in the safety of their home and a stranger comes in and commits such a horrendous crime. It really strikes the court and everyone feels it.
04:39The murder was such a shock to that community in North Utica that I know of at least one family that actually moved as a result of the incident.
04:49Nobody ever wants to think of anyone dying that way. It was just brutal.
04:56The hardest day was going to the crime scene.
05:03To this day, I mean, I feel like I've really tried to grieve and process it well, but seeing her fingernails on the floor from fighting.
05:12Seeing the dinner that she was trying to enjoy still sitting on the tray or knocked onto the floor.
05:18It's one thing to grieve the loss of a loved one, and it's never easy, even when unexpected.
05:28But when it is something so violent and so brutal and out of nowhere, it is a different level of processing grief.
05:42Sensing the terror that she went through, the last few minutes of her life was sheer terror, you know, and fighting for her life and the struggle.
05:55There's no goodbyes. There's no, you know, prayers. There's no blessings. There's no priests. There's no, you know, last hug, last kiss.
06:04It's just, she's gone, and gone violently and brutally and painfully.
06:19Utica Police launch a full-scale murder investigation into the death of Linda Turner.
06:24For us, it's important that our crime scene unit, outside of the responding officers, are the first people to kind of enter the crime scene, secure the crime scene, kind of observe the crime scene, and then be able to escort the investigators into the crime scene so that we don't disturb any type of evidence.
06:44For our evidence technicians to be able to collect the evidence needed, especially when you're talking about DNA and physical evidence of that nature.
06:56We don't know what happened. You find a, unfortunately, deceased Linda Turner naked on a bed under a pile of clothes with a belt wrapped around her throat. It's a very harrowing situation, and at that time, we have no idea who the suspect is.
07:08So, at the time, 2011, the Davis Mortel had no surveillance, unfortunately. It's a very small place. You kind of know everybody, or you have a really good familiarity of the people that stay there. A lot of the people are repeat tenants. So, there really, probably wasn't felt that surveillance video was needed at that location.
07:26There was some guests that were at the hotel. It's important, maybe not necessarily to call everybody a suspect, but everybody needs to be spoken with. Everyone needs to be vetted, and everyone needs to be cleared.
07:36There were three consecutive rooms that were being rented, number 10, number 11, and number 12. These individuals were from out of town. They were doing some work in the city, but they were not home at the time of the location of the body.
07:48The registered guests that we encountered were all spoken to, were all vetted, and were all ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing or being involved in this case by anything. There wasn't a whole lot of information to really kind of build upon at that time.
08:02There were no witnesses that ever came forward to say that they had heard any screaming, anything amiss. We really didn't know what had transpired up until that point.
08:11Ultimately, what really led to the break in this case was that her car was taken.
08:18Really early on in the investigation, we realized that the car was missing from the location, you know, and that's obviously from talking to people.
08:25It was obvious that the most probable reason was that the vehicle was stolen.
08:31With the motel not having surveillance on the property kind of put us behind the eight ball a little bit, but we did have a witness saying that they saw the vehicle leaving the property.
08:40Individuals who often waved to Linda and beeped at her noticed the car pulling out in a very strange fashion.
08:46It was slow. It was meandering. The individual never acknowledged their presence.
08:50So that kind of felt an odd to them when we spoke to them later.
08:53So we put a file one in the New York State criminal justice system.
08:56A file one is a stolen vehicle report.
08:58So we put as much information as possible about that vehicle into it.
09:02So anybody that flags that car, runs that plate, pulls it over, will automatically know that that car was stolen and it's wanted in reference to a homicide investigation.
09:16What we did also is do safety checks of all the rooms on the property to see if there was any evidence in any of those rooms.
09:24While doing those checks, we did come across a room that had a key broken off into the door lock.
09:29When we went into the location, we found that some strange things like the TV was on without volume.
09:38It appears that somebody's been living in one of these rooms and it doesn't appear that that person is a registered guest.
09:46We did locate a wallet, an ID in it underneath the bed.
09:53Once we looked at the ID, a lot of red flags started to show.
09:56We had a pretty good indication that he would be our primary suspect in this case.
10:17Munich is a town of about 70,000 people.
10:20It's very diverse.
10:20We average between six and ten homicides in a variety capacity, usually kind of street-level shooting-related homicides, but some stabbings, things like that, some domestics.
10:29A homicide of this nature is certainly an aberration.
10:32We don't often get stranger-on-stranger homicides in a situation where we locate the body later and the suspect is not on scene.
10:38It's kind of the difficult part of the Davis Motel is that it's on Herkimer Road.
10:45Herkimer Road is a two-lane thoroughfare that's primarily commercial traffic traversing from one side of the city to Herkimer County, and it's often very backed up with traffic.
10:54So in an emergency response, it takes quite a bit of time just due to the nature of the traffic and the fact that we can't really get around too easily.
11:00Every murder is horrendous in its own nature, right?
11:05But a lot of the murders we see are kind of street-level killings over various disputes and things of that nature.
11:10When you have a case such as this, it really resonates.
11:13It resonates with the investigators.
11:14It resonates with the forensic individuals who spend a lot of time at the crime scene.
11:18And most importantly, it certainly resonates with the family.
11:20We had a very close relationship.
11:32You know, she was always willing to have me with her no matter what we were doing.
11:36She was great about teaching me responsibility and, you know, letting me run her cash drawer and check people in at the motel.
11:43To this day, I can't make a bed without sharp corners and, you know, fold my laundry to a T.
11:48But she also was the first one to, you know, teach me how to hustle a game of pool and throw darts.
11:54So, yes, she was my grandmother, but she was my friend.
12:03Her nickname was Hats.
12:04She had a variety of hats and she wore them all the time.
12:06From what we understand, from ball caps to fedoras to cowboy hats, it was really kind of her thing to wear a hat wherever she went.
12:13She loved adventuring the outdoors.
12:15She loved gardening and planting her flowers.
12:18She loved her motel.
12:20I mean, it was a one-woman show.
12:23She cleaned the rooms by hand, made all the beds.
12:26She did all the laundry by hand.
12:27It was all wine dried.
12:28She took very great pride in how she ran the place, the cleanliness, the decorations.
12:34Down to every lamp and painting in the place was her.
12:37She had the motel before I was born.
12:43It was part of the family and my dad had spent time down there.
12:46She had help from her sister, Barbara, and her mother would come down and she was there for about 30, almost 35 years.
12:54The whole property, it was a beautiful wooded, I mean, something you would imagine that in the 50s, you'd see people out lounging and under the pine trees and there's, you know, swing sets for the kids and little barbecue areas.
13:07It was, it was a place where, you know, it was our family's place.
13:11It wasn't just the motel, you know, the dogs, the family, the cemetery for the dogs in the back.
13:16And it's a place that I loved enough.
13:18I mean, I have the motel sign tattooed on my arm because it's such a big part of my life.
13:23We spoke to numerous people that either stayed at the hotel or are currently staying at all at the time.
13:35And at no point did Linda really ever have any concerns for her safety.
13:39She kind of just ran the place on her own, took care of everything on her own, and really felt at home there.
13:43So it's really tragic that this happened to her in the place that she felt most safe.
13:47The name on the ID found in room 17 at Linda's Motel is Robert Blaney, a dangerous individual with a violent past.
14:00He was a registered sex offender.
14:03He was on New York State parole for crimes that he had previously committed.
14:07And it was also actively wanted with a parole warrant for violating the parole and his conditions that he was on release for.
14:17Robert Blaney had actually only been out of prison for two years after serving 20 years for two accounts of rape on some older women and also attempted rape on an eight-year-old girl.
14:32Certainly in a parole status, you have regular check-ins with your parole officer.
14:36However, when you are on a sex offender status, we also internally at the Utica Police Department have a sex offender unit, especially what level you are.
14:42You have to make regular check-ins with respect to your location, your new address, any updated photos, anything of that nature that really we do in an effort to keep the community safe.
14:53But Blaney was having difficulty reintegrating into society.
14:57So we know that he was a caretaker at a local cemetery called St. Joseph's Cemetery.
15:01He wasn't really doing a great job there.
15:03We know he had some problems with his bosses and certainly as a result was having some problems in the community and thus went on an absconding role on parole.
15:12With the locating of the ID of Mr. Blaney, with his history, with his active warrant, it gave us a solid prime suspect in this case.
15:26The victim's vehicle is gone and he's gone.
15:28So we had to rely on police officers and community members to help us locate the vehicle and hopefully locate the vehicle with the suspect with it.
15:37So we put up what's called a bolo, a be on the lookout for Robert Blaney.
15:42So initially a photograph was circulated with respect to his wanted status for being a parole of scotter.
15:47This photograph showed him to be a relatively clean-cut individual.
15:50Obviously that was put out nationwide as we did not know where he could be.
15:53He was in a vehicle that was not his.
15:55We knew he was trying to flee.
15:56So as far of a net as we could cast, we tried to locate him.
15:59It really weighs on you to make sure that you try to locate that suspect as soon as possible, particularly in this case where the horrific nature of the crimes that were committed was definitely somebody that could re-offend really quickly to satisfy an urge.
16:14He was a very dangerous individual, an individual that at no point do we want running the streets, especially on absconding on a parole status.
16:21As far as movements for Mr. Blaney, we really didn't have anything solid to go on.
16:26There was not an easy pass for the vehicle.
16:30We did not have any plate reader hits or anything to kind of help us kind of track where this vehicle may have gone, believing that Mr. Blaney was driving him.
16:38I think it's probably fair to say that you had a nationwide manhunt happening because we didn't know where he was and ultimately was located outside the state.
16:45In the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, a state trooper is preparing to conduct a traffic stop.
16:52I was a patrol trooper assigned in Lycoming County that night, and I was just running routine patrol, saw a vehicle in front of me and did not use his turn signal.
17:04So I started following him, the vehicle started crossing over the fog line, the center median line, and I ran the tag, presumably thinking it potentially could have been a DUI driving under the influence arrest.
17:19So when the tag came back, it came back and it said that the vehicle had been stolen.
17:24And in the notes of that hit that came back from New York State, it said that the vehicle was wanted in conjunction with a possible homicide.
17:33So at that point, I got on the radio and ascertained where the next available or nearest unit to me would be so we could conduct a felony stop on the vehicle.
17:45The search wouldn't just reveal more incriminating evidence.
17:48It would expose a dangerous predator.
17:54The Pennsylvania State Police called and said, hey, we have this vehicle, we have eyes on it, there's an individual in it, would you like him?
18:05At that point, obviously we gave an affirmative that we would like to talk to him.
18:08They approached the vehicle and located Mr. Blaney occupying the vehicle of Linda Turner.
18:14Trooper Matt McDermott and myself went up to the driver's side of the vehicle, and then Trooper Paul McGee went up to the passenger's side of the vehicle
18:22and ordered Mr. Blaney out of the vehicle, making sure that we could see his hands the entire time we were doing the stop.
18:29We ended up taking him back to the back of the vehicle.
18:32We did a pat-down search on him.
18:35When doing a search, he had women's underwear in his sweatpants pant leg.
18:40So we collected those and then ultimately put him into handcuffs.
18:45Then he was placed in the back of my car to be transported back to the PSP Montoursville Barracks.
18:53From where the traffic stop occurred to the barracks was only a five-minute drive.
18:58So we had a very short conversation in the back of my patrol car, which at that point he said, you know,
19:04my time's up, Utica's going to be looking for me.
19:07I committed a rape, he said, about a week ago up in New York State.
19:16That was his attitude from the get-go.
19:18I think he realized that he had reached the pinnacle of horrible behavior and knew that his life, his free life, was no longer going to be his.
19:29I mean, he wasn't hostile, aggressive, or anything like that.
19:32But I'd say, if anything, he was just sort of emotionless, I guess.
19:35He really didn't have any emotions.
19:38He wasn't, you know, worked up that he was being arrested or angry.
19:43He wasn't trying to fight or anything of that nature.
19:47Once the suspect was located and we were able to obtain a photograph of him,
19:52it was obvious that his appearance had changed from what we were looking at as a parole photo
20:00to where his hair was grown out, he had facial hair, a little bit more disheveled.
20:05The pictures were very off of his appearance and could be deceiving as far as an attempting to locate him.
20:13We'd actually sent tattoo photos to his parole agent, and they positively identified him through a tattoo as well.
20:19So it posed a little bit of a challenge, but we were able to make a positive, confirm that this was Robert Blaney.
20:27He was arrested here for arrest prior to requisition charge, which is basically a fugitive from justice charge that we use.
20:34And it was on the parole, the fact that he was wanted for parole.
20:36So he wasn't charged with any crime associated with the homicide or the sexual assault in Pennsylvania or in New York at that point.
20:43While Blaney is held at the Pennsylvania State Police Barracks, a more thorough search of Linda Turner's vehicle is conducted.
20:52While we were looking through the vehicle inside the driver's side door console, there was additional women's underwear located in that door.
21:02And then also in the glove box, there was also women's underwear in there.
21:05On top of the women's underwear, he had some children's underwear in the vehicle.
21:12We don't know where that came from, but to have the possession of children's underwear in the vehicle is really, really concerning.
21:19For someone who is willing to perpetrate the crime we're speaking about, as well as perpetrate the crimes that we know he had committed, which placed them on parole in the first place, you have to wonder whether there's other victims.
21:28We did what we could to put out information to the law enforcement communities, and we never got any returns or any information from any other departments that may have had a similar case.
21:42I think it's a great possibility that there are other victims out there that haven't been identified or are scared to come forward with information that are associated with crimes committed against them.
21:58We sent two investigators. At that time, Investigator Edward Smith and Investigator Stanley Fernald to Pennsylvania to interview Mr. Blaney.
22:15Hi, Robert. Investigator Smith here. That's Investigator Fernald.
22:21I know, Rob.
22:22No.
22:23We're from the Utica Police?
22:26Yeah.
22:26I guess you were expecting us at one point?
22:30Yeah.
22:32So we come down here to talk to you about the incident and take you from there.
22:39Yeah, whatever. I'll do whatever you gotta do.
22:42I don't care no more. Just do what you gotta do.
22:45Rob, what do you prefer to be called? Robert, Rob?
22:48It doesn't matter.
22:50Just so you're...
22:50Come back, I really don't care.
22:53Wow.
22:53Just so you're aware, uh, the conversation here is recorded.
22:57Yeah.
22:58Audio and video, you okay with that?
23:00Yeah.
23:00Okay.
23:02Can you, uh, give us a little information on what happened over at the Davis Motel?
23:08Yeah.
23:08I raped a woman.
23:10Just like that?
23:11Yeah, just like that.
23:17Yeah, s*** in life, that's all.
23:20If I'm gonna be miserable,
23:22somebody else is gonna be miserable with me.
23:25Is there any way you can back us up a little bit and tell us how you started this with her?
23:48It's a straight rape, that's it.
23:59Whatever else you want to put in there, go ahead.
24:01It's just, that's just the way it is.
24:03We're just hoping to get some details even up to it.
24:06Ultimately, what we see here in this person is the evil and the coldness in him basically doesn't care.
24:17That makes it even harder, um, for a victim's family to deal with,
24:21knowing that this type of person exists and that the last person their loved one was encountered with was this person.
24:27Robert, which is very matter-of-fact, he seemed to have given up on himself.
24:35And I think this might stem from his childhood.
24:38Since he did have a hard childhood, he was the victim of physical and emotional abuse.
24:44He even said in his own words, he felt like a throwaway.
24:48He felt like his parents didn't want him.
24:50So he had a very rough start in his childhood.
24:54And it's, it's not an excuse because a lot of people have a bad childhood.
24:58It doesn't mean you can go out and rape and, you know, do whatever it is that you want.
25:03That doesn't give you the right.
25:04But when people feel like they're throwaways, it's hard to make them want to be a better person.
25:12And I don't know if he ever wanted to be a better person.
25:16I think he knew who he was and he stuck with that.
25:22Let me ask you this.
25:24Why did you run for parole in the first place?
25:26What started all this?
25:30Well, my ex-friend, Randy, has got everything going on for himself right now.
25:37I'm thinking, oh, that's never going to happen for me.
25:39You know, he's got a nice apartment, a nice vehicle.
25:41He's got a girlfriend now and he's got his odd jobs that he does.
25:44He's got a good life.
25:47And you talk to him, he'll tell you, yeah, a couple of months ago I told him my life sucks.
25:51Actually, two or three months ago I told him, I think.
25:55He said, what do you mean by that?
25:56I said, listen, you've got a vehicle, you've got a girlfriend, you've got a nice apartment.
26:04What the hell more could you want?
26:05You know, and you've got all these odd jobs lined up.
26:07You're doing good.
26:08I said, look, he says, well, give a time it'll happen.
26:11A few of us said, Randy, it's not going to happen for me, trust me.
26:13He said, no, it'll happen.
26:14I said, it's not going to happen for me.
26:17Oh, well.
26:19And it didn't, so.
26:20Because he was so jealous of another parolee, he abandoned the life that he tried so hard to create or recreate for those two years and went on the run.
26:35He was actually living in an abandoned house in the basement, but in the community, the kids would hang out there and they kept daring each other to go downstairs.
26:47So he knew it was only a matter of time before somebody brought a flashlight and they found him.
26:53So everything that he had on him, his sweatpants, his boots, everything, and all the other clothes was all from that abandoned house.
27:02And that's what he had with him.
27:03He had heard police sirens, whether it was an emergency from an ambulance or maybe a police siren, but he actually tried to commit suicide.
27:13He wrapped the rope around his neck and the tree actually, the branch had broke.
27:18So he wasn't able to successfully commit suicide.
27:20But that kind of gives you a mindset of how he lived.
27:24I guess he was always looking over his shoulder, worried about what was coming up next as he was absconding from parole.
27:30He knew there was a good likelihood that he was going back to prison for a very long time if he was ever found.
27:35That was Halloween night, actually.
27:38And when that failed, that is when he went to the Davis Motel and started pulling on doors and found one that was open.
27:46He was trying to find a place to stay, he said, you know, during the day he would allow himself to watch TV.
27:57At night, everything was off in the room.
28:00He kept all of his belongings under the bed in case anyone ever came in.
28:04He was always ready to dive under the bed because he would hear voices going up and down the hall.
28:10He just felt like his time was running out and he was looking for money.
28:18So he figured the office probably has money.
28:23Did you knock or was the door open?
28:27I think she thinks she locked it all the way.
28:30When she pulled it, it didn't latch.
28:32I just pushed on it and it opened up.
28:39I was actually surprised that it opened up.
28:44So what happens at this point?
28:48Well, at this point, I'm making haste.
28:49I'm going in there and I say, I've got to get money, I've got to get money, I've got to get money.
28:52I went in there looking for them little freaking green things with the zipper on them.
28:57Little money bags?
28:58Yeah.
28:58When you pushed the door open, where is she?
29:03She was out showing somebody a room.
29:06Oh, so she wasn't even in there?
29:08No, she wasn't in there.
29:09Oh, that's why the door was unlocked.
29:12Yeah, she came in the house and scared the shit out of me, so I had nowhere else to go.
29:17I couldn't go back towards the door because it means she opens that door, I'm going to be right there.
29:22So I went to the darkest place in the house.
29:24Okay, now where was I?
29:26Right around the corner.
29:26He had hidden behind a, what I would call like a room divider.
29:36It was like an accordion, plastic type door.
29:39And Linda Turner actually had a phone call.
29:41And that's when he took the opportunity to surprise her and come out from behind the partition that he was hiding behind.
29:48Does she come into the bedroom?
29:50Yeah.
29:51And that's when she sees you?
29:52She didn't even see me.
29:53When she came through, that's when I grabbed her.
29:55When she grabbed her, how did you grab her?
30:06Uh, around the throat.
30:08Did you grab her with your hands?
30:09No, I had a piece of rope that was maybe, um, what, two foot long, three foot long?
30:16Actually, it might have been a little longer than that.
30:19What color was it?
30:19It was white.
30:21White.
30:21White.
30:22Well, it was kind of dirty at the time.
30:23I was going to say, was it a little bit gray maybe?
30:26Yeah, that's more the color it was.
30:29You check, you probably find some of my skin in there too.
30:31Was it weathered?
30:32A little older like?
30:35Well, by the time I got done with it, yeah.
30:36Yeah.
30:37All right.
30:37But the tree episode probably, it, yeah.
30:42So getting back, when you grabbed her, did you put it around her chest?
30:45Did you get it right around the neck right away or?
30:47Well, it was kind of like more around, I was trying for the neck right away, yes.
30:52But I got like here.
30:54Scuffle probably lasted ten, five, ten minutes maybe.
30:59Five or ten minutes?
31:01Yeah.
31:01Really?
31:01That long?
31:02Yeah, there was a gumbo cow that didn't have full force on the rope.
31:06It was just enough to, to, uh, take the fight out of her, so to speak.
31:15Is that all that was around her neck?
31:17No.
31:18Because you never mentioned anything else?
31:21Yeah, I was waiting for you to tell us.
31:24You think I'm an idiot?
31:25No, no, no.
31:25Well, I mean, it doesn't matter.
31:26I mean, I don't care what you think of me.
31:27I really don't.
31:29Yeah, I actually had to take the belt out of her, loose over my pants.
31:34Okay, that's where that came from.
31:35Yeah.
31:35All right.
31:36Yeah.
31:36So, when did you know that you were going to rape her?
31:45That was the split-second decision.
31:47That was nothing that was planned.
31:49I'm asking you.
31:50No, I know.
31:50I know.
31:51I know.
31:52Like I said, when she was in there, I'm looking for an out.
31:55I don't, can't get the money.
31:56I'm looking for an out.
31:58But we're just, he was just asking.
31:59Yeah, I know.
31:59I did.
32:00I know.
32:00I had no intentions of doing that.
32:02I'm fighting with her.
32:03I'm fighting with her.
32:03I'm just, I'm just.
32:05I said, well, I'm already going back anyway.
32:10So, like, I'm screwed.
32:12What the hell?
32:13Let's point blank cut and drive it.
32:16Mr. Blaney admitted with very flat effect, with no emotion, with not a care in the world,
32:31that he, in fact, had committed the crime.
32:33Didn't care that we had him in custody.
32:35Just a really, really bad and cold individual.
32:38It actually came out that after assaulting two women and trying to assault an eight-year-old
32:49girl, he didn't even serve his full sentence.
32:52They let him out early for good behavior.
32:54During his parole hearing, he told them that he was going to hurt somebody and that he should
33:01stay there because he's broken and he doesn't want to hurt anybody, but he's going to do it.
33:06He said himself, society is safer with me in prison.
33:10And if that isn't enough to keep him in there, I'm not sure what else could be done.
33:15I said, how can I put this?
33:20It's like, it's like reversed.
33:22It's like in prison, I did 20 years, two misbehavior reports in 20 years.
33:29Okay.
33:29It's like, I can live in there a lot better than I can out here.
33:32Out here, I got two counseling sessions a week or a month that I have to go to.
33:38I have to report to Detective Salim every three months or two months or whatever it is for
33:46the registry purposes.
33:47I had a bunch of s*** that Monday through Friday, I was always busy.
33:52I was always going somewhere, always doing something.
33:55So now I get to go back and I got all the time in the world for myself.
33:58I ain't got to worry about nothing.
34:00I mean, I tried living.
34:01I can't live out here.
34:02This is living proof.
34:06There's no way I can make it out here.
34:07No way.
34:07Perpetrators like this, they don't change their patterns.
34:16And it happens time and time again.
34:18We've seen this in so many other cases.
34:21They get out, they re-offend.
34:24And even in this case, and a lot of other ones, then they escalate.
34:28He had never murdered anyone before.
34:31Now it's escalated to murder.
34:35What'd you throw?
34:36What was it?
34:37Well, mostly to get them up off the floor so I wouldn't trip over them again, of course.
34:41And then, like I said, the only reason was in case she got cold.
34:45I'm not going to put her clothes back on.
34:47So I'm trying to get the hell out of her.
34:48Listen, Rob, you make me understand this.
34:51You just broke into the girl's house.
34:55You robbed her.
34:56You raped her.
34:57You tell me you're worried if she's going to get cold in her.
34:59You're going to get cold in her.
35:00Yeah, pretty much.
35:03Rob, I think you know that she was lifeless when you left.
35:12And I think that's why you put the clothes on her.
35:15You're going to get cold in her.
35:16No.
35:17No.
35:18Huh?
35:19Stomach was going up and down.
35:25Do you know what you mean?
35:27Could be your last grasp.
35:29There was enough room.
35:31You could put your pinky.
35:32I could put my pinky up in between there.
35:34So there was enough room.
35:35Yeah, but you're still being rough like that.
35:37Because it looked rough.
35:39I'm giving it to you straight.
35:40Well, yeah, I know.
35:40You want it straight?
35:41I'm giving it to you straight.
35:42It's not one of those situations where, you know, somebody made a poor decision to drive
36:08drunk and killed somebody and they regret this decision for the rest of their life.
36:11This is somebody who knew what they were doing, who were calculating what they were doing,
36:15did what they did, know they did it, and just don't care.
36:19Or if they do, they don't know how to offer any condolences or sympathies or remorse.
36:27I can't.
36:28I don't know what else to say.
36:30All right, hang loose to these troopers that come in.
36:32I came here and they're going to take you out.
36:34All right.
36:36It's hard for me to even say thank you, believe me.
36:41I can't.
36:43I can't.
36:45I can't.
36:46I can't.
36:48Utica, New York, 2011.
37:07Police have secured Robert Blaney's confession to the murder of Linda Turner in the Davis Motel.
37:13Preparations are made for Robert Blaney to be extradited back to Oneida County to face
37:19the consequences for his heinous actions.
37:23In order for him to be charged in county court, it had to go by way of a grand jury indictment.
37:28So we had to bring forth evidence to the grand jury to prove the case.
37:34And so when you're getting a case prepared for grand jury, you're looking for what evidence
37:39do we have.
37:40Certainly, the confession helped, but we could go beyond that.
37:46So there are some really crucial pieces of evidence that we located within the crime scene.
37:50Certainly the belt that we tested for DNA, you know, the ropes, things of that nature, things
37:54he may have touched, fingerprints of that nature.
37:56However, one really crucial piece of evidence was the sex assault kit that was performed
38:00on the deceased individual that had the DNA of Mr. Blaney on it.
38:04We believed it was going to be a very strong case, regardless of the confession.
38:10In this instance, if there's other charges that follow the indictment, unless they plead
38:15to the entire indictment, we recommend what we feel the sentence should be and what would
38:20be appropriate.
38:21In this case, murder in the first degree carried with it a sentence of life without the possibility
38:27of parole.
38:28And so that was our position was, if he wants to admit to that, fine, we'll let him do that.
38:33But otherwise, we will prove the case, because we believe the sentence should be life without
38:38parole.
38:39The judge agreed with us.
38:57He knew he was such a danger that even facing life without parole, his response is bring
39:02it on.
39:03He was more comfortable in the system and being incarcerated, where he was not only not a danger
39:12to others, but to himself.
39:14Mr. Blaney, when this happened, you were on a parole then, correct?
39:22Yep.
39:23That was for another rape, right?
39:25Yep.
39:26You've had how many rapes in the past?
39:27Yeah.
39:28Too many.
39:29I'm sorry?
39:30Too many.
39:31You sort of can't help yourself with that, right?
39:36In fact, the last time you were released, did you tell parole or someone that they shouldn't
39:42let you out?
39:43Yep.
39:44All right.
39:45You're satisfied?
39:46Yeah.
39:47All right.
39:48How do you plead, then, Mr. Blaney, to the first count of murder in the first degree
39:52guilty or not guilty?
39:53Nothing.
39:54Mr. McNamara, would that plea to satisfy all counts of the indictment would be satisfied
39:58for the people?
39:59With the understanding he would be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, yes,
40:02you.
40:03A young kid, another woman, and now Linda Turner were brutally violated at the hands of Robert
40:12Blaney.
40:13No amount of time in prison is enough for him.
40:15There's a chill in the air here, Mr. Blaney.
40:16You're the coldest person I've ever seen in this courtroom.
40:18Thank you for a compliment.
40:19A compliment?
40:20You think that's a compliment?
40:21That didn't mean it to be a compliment.
40:22In fact, I agree.
40:23Okay.
40:24We'll see you on the 16th March.
40:25Thank you, Rob.
40:26Robert Blaney was convicted of murder in the first degree for the murder of Linda Turner,
40:37and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
40:56This sentence was the max, the maximum sentence that's allowed in New York State.
41:01So we couldn't have gotten more time, even if we had a trial.
41:09I grew up in that area, and you know, I know that area very well.
41:13And I do recall, you know, seeing a picture of Mr. Blaney as a parole absconder.
41:19And again, the picture that they had was not up to date.
41:24And so, you know, that sticks with me.
41:26And I think that's something that I think this community and parole learned from this,
41:32is to ensure that they are quick with alerting the community.
41:37See if they do lose sight or they do have an absconder on parole,
41:42and they get that out to the community, and that they have an updated picture
41:45so that we can try to bring that person to justice.
41:52It took me quite some time, and I've come to terms with pretty much everything
41:58to the point where I really don't hold any animosity or anger or hatred or ill will towards Blaney.
42:06It's a name that is etched in my mind.
42:09I almost feel sympathy for him.
42:11Somebody who recognized their danger,
42:15who alerted the people that needed to be alerted that he was a danger,
42:19and was put in a position to take a life,
42:24and now has to live with that when he knew he didn't want to,
42:28when he knew it was a real threat.
42:31And it's unfortunate.
42:33And the place I hold ill will is for those responsible for not heeding his warning.
42:38I'm sorry.
42:39He's struggling to do it.
42:40That's true.
42:41I'm sorry.
42:42I'm sorry.
42:43I'm sorry.
42:44I'm sorry.
42:45I'm sorry.
42:46I'm sorry.
42:47I'm sorry.
42:48You're right.
42:49I'm sorry.
42:50You're right.
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