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00:00The Utica 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 that actually
00:46moved as a result of the incident. It really weighs on you to make sure that you try to locate that
00:51suspect as soon as possible. The possession of children's underwear in the vehicle is really,
00:57really concerning. He knows he's a monster. He was just a scary looking individual who just had no
01:08emotion and really could care less of the heinous crimes that he just committed. She's gone and gone
01:14violently and brutally and painfully. The place I hold ill will is for those responsible for not
01:19heeding 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 learn that from one of the caretakers, she's 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 that
02:14point feels a cold leg.
02:18We're arriving on scene. It was somewhat eerie because you're pulling into a property that's a little bit out of the way as far as the city goes.
02:26A hotel sits back on some land, so it could be a little bit eerie when you pull up.
02:31This 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 enter the crime scene, located in the main office of the motel.
02:54The room was in disarray.
02:59There 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.
03:10Unfortunately, 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.
03:18So certainly there appeared to be some sort of robbery and likely sexual motivation to be involved in this crime.
03:24The scene itself definitely showed that there was evidence that the victim had fought for her life.
03:33We 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.
03:52Linda 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, somewhere 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.
04:07The 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.
04:16This 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.
04:28It 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.
04:37The 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.
04:47Nobody ever wants to think of anyone dying that way. It was just brutal.
04:54The hardest day was going to the crime scene.
04:59To 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, seeing the dinner that she was trying to enjoy still sitting on the tray or knocked onto the floor.
05:16It's one thing to grieve the loss of a loved one. And it's never easy, even when unexpected. But when it is something so violent and so brutal and out of nowhere, it is a different level of processing grief.
05:43Sensing 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 and, you know, there's no goodbyes.
05:56There's there's no, you know, prayers. There's no blessings. There's no priests. There's no, you know, last hug, last kiss. It's just she's gone and gone violently and brutally and painfully.
06:09Utica police launched 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
06:31the first people to kind of enter the crime scene, secure the crime scene, kind of observe
06:36the crime scene, and then be able to escort the investigators into the crime scene so
06:42that we don't disturb any type of evidence for our evidence technicians to be able to
06:47collect the evidence needed, especially when you're talking about DNA and physical evidence
06:53of that nature.
06:56We don't know what happened.
06:58You find a unfortunately deceased Linda Turner naked on a bed under a pile of clothes with
07:03a belt wrapped around her throat.
07:04It's a very harrowing situation, and at that time, we have no idea who the suspect is.
07:09So at the time, 2011, the Davis Mortel had no surveillance, unfortunately.
07:13It's a very small place.
07:15You kind of know everybody, or you have a really good familiarity of the people that stay there.
07:19A lot of the people are repeat tenants, so there really probably wasn't felt that surveillance
07:23video was needed at that location.
07:26There was some guests that were at the hotel.
07:29It's important, maybe not necessarily to call everybody a suspect, but everybody needs to
07:32be spoken with.
07:34Everyone needs to be vetted, and everyone needs to be cleared.
07:37There were three consecutive rooms that were being rented, number 10, number 11, number 12.
07:42These individuals were from out of town, they were doing some work in the city, but they
07:45were 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
07:52all ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing or being involved in this case by anything.
07:58There 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
08:06amiss.
08:07We 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,
08:23you know, and that's obviously from talking to people.
08:26It was obvious that the most probable reason was that the vehicle was stolen.
08:32With the motel not having surveillance on the property kind of put us behind the eight
08:36ball a little bit.
08:37They didn't have a witness saying that they saw the vehicle leaving the property.
08:42Individuals who often waved to Linda and beeped at her noticed the car pulling out in a very
08:45strange fashion.
08:46It was slow.
08:47It was meandering.
08:48The individual never acknowledged their presence.
08:50So that kind of felt 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
09:08that car was stolen and it's wanted in reference to a homicide investigation.
09:14What we did also is do safety checks of all the rooms on the property to see if there was
09:22any evidence in any of those rooms.
09:25While doing those checks, we did come across a room that had a key broken off into the door
09:29lock.
09:30When we went into the location, we found that some strange things like the TV was on without
09:35volume.
09:36It appears that somebody's been living in one of these rooms and it doesn't appear that
09:42that person is a registered guest.
09:47We 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.
09:59We had a pretty good indication that he would be our primary suspect in this case.
10:05Unique is a town of about 70,000 people.
10:19It's very diverse.
10:20We average between six and 10 homicides in a variety capacity.
10:24Usually kind of street level shooting related homicides, but some stabbings, things like
10:28that.
10:29Some domestics.
10:30A 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
10:37and the suspect is not on scene.
10:39It'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
10:50from one side of the city to Herkimer County.
10:52And 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
10:58traffic and the fact that we can't really get around too easily.
11:03Every 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
11:09and 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.
11:30We had a very close relationship.
11:32She was always willing to have me with her no matter what we were doing.
11:36She was great about teaching me responsibility and letting me run her cash drawer and check
11:42people in at the motel.
11:43To this day, I can't make a bed without sharp corners and fold my laundry to a T. But she
11:49also was the first one to 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, from ball caps to fedoras to cowboy
12:09hats.
12:10It was really kind of her thing to wear a hat wherever she went.
12:14She loved adventuring the outdoors.
12:16She 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, down
12:34to every lamp and painting in the place was her.
12:41She had the motel before I was born, it was part of the family, and my dad had spent time
12:45down there.
12:46She had help from her sister, Barbara, and her mother would come down and she was there
12:50for about 30, almost 35 years.
12:56The whole property, it was a beautiful wooded, I mean, something you would imagine that in
13:00the 50s you'd see people out lounging and under the pine trees and there's, you know,
13:04swing sets for the kids and little barbecue areas.
13:08It 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, we had the cemetery for the dogs
13:15in 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 the
13:35hotel at the time.
13:36And 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
13:43felt at home there.
13:44It's really tragic that this happened to her in the place that she felt most safe.
13:50The name on the ID found in room 17 at Linda's Motel is Robert Blaney, a dangerous individual
13:57with 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.
14:08And was also actively wanted with a parole warrant for violating the parole and his conditions
14:14that he was on release for.
14:17Robert Blaney had actually only been out of prison for two years after serving 20 years
14:24for two accounts of rape on some older women and also attempted rape on an eight-year-old
14:30girl.
14:31Certainly 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
14:40have a sex offender unit, especially what level you are.
14:43You have to make regular check-ins with respect to your location, your new address, any updated
14:47photos, 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.
14:58So 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.
15:03You know, he had some problems with his bosses, and certainly as a result, was having some
15:07problems in the community, and thus went on an absconding role on parole.
15:13With the locating of the ID of Mr. Blaney, with his history, with his active warrant,
15:21gave 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
15:34locate 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
15:46a parole scotter.
15:46This photograph showed him to be a relatively clean-cut individual.
15:49Obviously, 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
16:04possible, particularly in this case where the horrific nature of the crimes that were
16:08committed was definitely somebody that could re-offend really quickly to satisfy an urge.
16:13He was a very dangerous individual, an individual that at no point do we want running the streets,
16:18especially on absconding on a parole status.
16:23As 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
16:34vehicle may have gone, believing that Mr. Blaney was driving it.
16:37I think it's probably fair to say that you had a Nationwide manhunt happening because we
16:42didn't know where he was and ultimately was located outside the state.
16:46In the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, a state trooper is preparing to conduct a traffic
16:51stop.
16:52I was a patrol trooper assigned in Lycoming County that night, and I was just running
16:58routine patrol, saw a vehicle in front of me, and did not use his turn signal.
17:04So I started following him.
17:06The vehicle started crossing over the fog line, the center median line, and I ran the tag, presumably
17:14thinking it potentially could have been a DUI driving under the influence arrest.
17:18So when the tag came back, it came back and it said that the vehicle had been stolen.
17:25And in the notes of that hit that came back from New York State, it said that the vehicle
17:30was wanted in conjunction with a possible homicide.
17:32So, at that point, I got on the radio and ascertained where the next available or nearest unit to me
17:41would be so we could conduct a felony stop on the vehicle.
17:43The search wouldn't just reveal more incriminating evidence, it would expose a dangerous predator.
17:58The Pennsylvania State Police called and said, hey, we have this vehicle.
18:02We have eyes on it.
18:03There's an individual in it.
18:04Would you like him?
18:05At that point, obviously, we gave an affirmative that we would like to talk to him.
18:09They 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
18:19Trooper Paul McGee went up to the passenger side of the vehicle and ordered Mr. Blaney
18:23out of the vehicle, making sure that we could see his hands the entire time we were doing
18:28the 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.
18:41So 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
18:50Barracks.
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,
19:03he said, you know, my time's up, Utica's going to be looking for me.
19:08I committed a rape, he said, about a week ago up in New York State.
19:16That was his attitude from the get-go, and I think he realized that he had reached the
19:20pinnacle of horrible behavior and knew that his life, his free life was no longer going
19:27to be his.
19:28I mean, he wasn't hostile, aggressive, or anything like that.
19:32I'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, it was obvious
19:53that his appearance had changed from what we were looking at as a parole photo to where
20:01his 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
20:11to locate him.
20:14We had actually sent tattoo photos to his parole agent, and they positively identified him through
20:18a tattoo as well.
20:20So it posed a little bit of a challenge, but we were able to make a positive confirm that
20:24this was Robert Blaney.
20:27He was arrested here for arrest prior to requisition charge, which is basically a fugitive from
20:32justice charge that we use.
20:34And it was on the parole, the fact that he was wanted for parole.
20:37So he wasn't charged with any crime associated with the homicide or the sexual assault in
20:41Pennsylvania or in New York at that point.
20:45While Blaney is held at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks, a more thorough search of Linda
20:50Turner's vehicle is conducted.
20:52While we were looking through the vehicle, inside the driver's side door console, there
20:58was additional women's underwear located in that door.
21:02And then also in the glove box, there was also women's underwear in there.
21:06On top of the women's underwear, he had some children's underwear in the vehicle.
21:13We don't know where that came from, but to have the possession of children's underwear
21:17in the vehicle is really, really concerning.
21:19For someone who is willing to perpetrate the crime we're speaking about, as well as perpetrate
21:23the crimes that we know he had committed, which placed them on parole in the first place,
21:26you have to wonder whether there's other victims.
21:30We did what we could to put out information to the law enforcement communities.
21:35And we never got any returns or any information from any other departments that may have had
21:40a similar case.
21:41I think it's a great possibility that there are other victims out there that haven't
21:46been identified or are scared to come forward with information that are associated with crimes
21:52committed against them.
21:56We sent two investigators at that time, Investigator Edward Smith and Investigator Stanley Fernald
22:05to Pennsylvania to interview Mr. Blaney.
22:11I know, Rob.
22:12No.
22:13We're from the Utica Police?
22:14Yeah.
22:15I guess you were expecting us at one point.
22:18Yeah.
22:19So we come down here to talk to you about the incident and take you from there.
22:24Yeah, whatever.
22:25I'll do whatever you gotta do.
22:27I don't care.
22:28I don't care no more.
22:29Just do what you gotta do.
22:34Rob, would you prefer to be called?
22:36Robert, Rob?
22:37I don't matter.
22:38Just see her head .
22:39I really don't care.
22:40Just be aware.
22:41You're lying.
22:42You're lying.
22:43You're lying.
22:44I'm lying.
22:45I'm lying.
22:47You're lying.
22:48I'm lying.
22:49You're lying.
22:50I'm lying.
22:51I'm lying.
22:52I'm lying.
22:53Just hear where, uh, the conversation here is recorded.
22:57Yeah.
22:58Audio and video, you okay with that?
23:00Yeah.
23:01Okay.
23:02Can you, uh, give us a little information on what happened over at the Davis Motel?
23:07Yeah.
23:08They raped a woman.
23:09Just like that?
23:11Just like that.
23:16Yeah, s*** in the life, that's all.
23:19I'm gonna be miserable.
23:23Somebody else is gonna be miserable with me.
23:43Is there any way you can back us up a little bit and tell us how you started this with her?
23:53Oh!
23:57It's a straight rape, that's it.
23:59Whatever else you want to put in there, go ahead.
24:00It's just, that's just the way it is.
24:02We're just hoping to get some details in love to her.
24:09Ultimately, what we see here in this person is the evil and the coldness in him basically doesn't care.
24:15That makes it even harder, um, for a victim's family to deal with knowing that this type of person exists and that the last person their loved one was encountered with was this person.
24:27Robert was just very matter-of-fact, he seemed to have given up on himself.
24:34And I think this might stem from his childhood.
24:37Since he did have a hard childhood, he was the victim of physical and emotional abuse.
24:43He even said in his own words, he felt like a throwaway.
24:47He felt like his parents didn't want him.
24:49So he had a very rough start in his childhood.
24:53And it's, it's not an excuse because a lot of people have a bad childhood.
24:57It doesn't mean you can go out and rape and, you know, do whatever it is that you want.
25:02That doesn't give you the right.
25:03But when people feel like they're throwaways, it's hard to make them want to be a better person.
25:11And 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.
25:20Let me ask you this.
25:23Why did you run for parole in the first place?
25:25What started all this?
25:27My, well, my ex-friend Randy has got everything going on for himself right now.
25:33I'm thinking, oh, that's never going to happen for me.
25:38You know, he's got a nice apartment, nice vehicle.
25:40He's got a girlfriend now and he's got as odd jobs as he does.
25:43He's got a good life.
25:45And you talk to him, he'll tell you, yeah, a couple of months ago I told him
25:49my life sucks.
25:50Actually, two or three months ago I told him, I think.
25:52He said, what do you mean by that?
25:53I said, listen, you've got a vehicle.
25:54You've got a girlfriend.
25:55You've got a nice apartment.
25:56Well, what the hell more could you want?
25:57You know, and you've got all these odd jobs lined up.
25:58You're doing good.
25:59He says, well, give it time.
26:00It would happen to you.
26:01I said, Randy, it's not going to happen for me.
26:02Trust me.
26:03I said, no, it'll happen.
26:04I said, it's not going to happen for me.
26:05I said, it's not going to happen for me.
26:06I said, it's not going to happen for me.
26:07I said, oh well.
26:08And it didn't, so.
26:09Because he was so jealous of another parolee, he abandoned the life that he tried so hard
26:12to create or recreate for those two years and went on the run.
26:21He was actually living in an abandoned house in the basement, but in the community, he was
26:38in an abandoned house in the basement, but in the community, the kids would hang out there and
26:44they 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
26:52him.
26:53So everything that he had on him, his sweatpants, his boots, everything, and all the other clothes
26:59was all from that abandoned house.
27:01And that's what he had with him.
27:03He had heard police sirens, whether it was an emergency from an ambulance or maybe a
27:09police siren, but he actually tried to commit suicide.
27:12He wrapped the rope around his neck and the tree actually, the branch had broke.
27:17So he wasn't able to successfully commit suicide.
27:19But that's kind of gives you a mindset of how he lived.
27:23I guess he was always looking over his shoulder, worried about what was coming up next as he
27:27was absconding from parole.
27:28He knew there was a good likelihood that he was going back to prison for a very long time
27:32if he was ever found.
27:34That was Halloween night, actually.
27:37And when that failed, that is when he went to the Davis Motel and started pulling on doors
27:44and found one that was open.
27:46He was trying to find a place to stay.
27:52He said, you know, during the day, he would allow himself to watch TV at night.
27:57Everything was off in the room.
27:59He kept all of his belongings under the bed in case anyone ever came in.
28:03He was always ready to dive under the bed because he would hear voices going up and down the hall.
28:09He just felt like his time was running out and he was looking for money.
28:17So he figured the office probably has money.
28:22Did you knock or was the door open?
28:25I think she thinks she locked it all the way.
28:28When she pulled it, it didn't latch.
28:32I just pushed down.
28:35I just pushed down and it opened up.
28:38I was actually surprised that it opened up.
28:41So what happens at this point?
28:45Well, at this point, I'm making haste.
28:48I'm going in there.
28:50I say, I got to get money, got to get money, got to get money.
28:52I went in there looking for them little freaking green things with the zipper on them.
28:56Little money bags?
28:57Yeah.
28:58When you pushed the door open, where is she?
29:02She was out showing somebody a room.
29:05Oh, so she wasn't even in there?
29:07No, she wasn't in there.
29:08Oh, that's why the door was unlocked.
29:10Yeah, she came in the house and scared the out of me.
29:13So I had nowhere else to go.
29:16I couldn't go back towards the door because it means she opens that door.
29:19She goes, I'm going to be right there.
29:21So I went to the darkest place in the house.
29:23Okay, now where was that?
29:25Right around the corner where the...
29:28I raped her in the bedroom or whatever that room was.
29:32He had hidden behind a, what I would call like a room divider.
29:36It was like an accordion plastic type door.
29:38And Linda Turner actually had a phone call.
29:40And that's when he took the opportunity to surprise her and come out from behind the partition that he was hiding behind.
29:47Does she come into the bedroom?
29:49Yeah, that's right.
29:50And that's when she sees you?
29:51She didn't even see me.
29:52When she came through, that's when I grabbed her.
30:04Now when you grabbed her, how did you grab her?
30:06Around the throat.
30:07Did you grab her with your hands or?
30:09No, I had a piece of rope that was maybe, um, what, two foot long, three foot long?
30:15Actually, it might have been a little longer than that.
30:18What color was it?
30:19White.
30:20White.
30:21Well, it was kind of dirty at the time.
30:22I was going to say, was it a little bit gray maybe?
30:25Yeah, that's more the color it was.
30:27You check it, you probably find some of my skin in there too.
30:30Was it weathered?
30:31A little older like?
30:33More of the time I got done with it, yeah.
30:36Yeah, all right.
30:37But the tree episode probably, it, yeah.
30:41So getting back, when you grabbed her, did you put it around her chest?
30:44Did you get it right around the neck right away, or?
30:46Well, it was kind of like more around, I was trying for the neck right away, yes.
30:51But I got like here.
30:53The scuffle probably lasted ten, five, ten minutes maybe.
30:57Five or ten minutes?
31:00Yeah.
31:01Really?
31:02That long?
31:03Yeah, there was a gumbo cowboy that didn't have full force on the rope.
31:06It was just enough to, you know, to take the fight out of her so to speak.
31:14Is that all that was around her neck?
31:17No.
31:18Because you never mentioned anything else.
31:20No.
31:21Yeah, I was waiting for you to tell us.
31:23You think I'm an idiot?
31:24No, no, no.
31:25I mean, it doesn't matter.
31:26I mean, I don't care what you think of me.
31:27I really don't.
31:28Yeah.
31:29I actually had to take the belt out of her, loose over her pants.
31:33Okay.
31:34That's where that came from.
31:35Yeah.
31:36All right.
31:37Yeah.
31:38So, when did you know that you were a raper?
31:42That was the split-second decision.
31:43There was nothing that was planned.
31:44Listen, I'm asking you.
31:45No, I know.
31:46I know.
31:47I know.
31:48I know.
31:49Like I said, she was in there.
31:50I'm looking for an out.
31:51I can't get the money.
31:52I'm looking for an out.
31:53I can't get the money.
31:54I'm looking for an out.
31:55I can't get the money.
31:56I'm looking for an out.
31:57He was just asking.
31:58Yeah, I know.
31:59I did.
32:00I know.
32:01I had no chance in doing that, man.
32:02Fighting with us rocks.
32:03Come on.
32:04Just...
32:05I'm already going back anyway, so...
32:10I'm screwed.
32:11What the hell.
32:12That's...
32:13Point blank.
32:14Cut.
32:15Whatever.
32:25Mr. Blaney admitted with very flat effect, with no emotion, with not a care in the world,
32:30that he, in fact, had committed the crime.
32:32Didn't care that we had him in custody.
32:34Just 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
32:48girl, he didn't even serve his full sentence.
32:51They 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.
33:05He said himself, society is safer with me in prison.
33:09And if that isn't enough to keep him in there, I'm not sure what else could be done.
33:15I say, how can I put this?
33:20It's like reverse.
33:22It's like, in prison I did 20 years, two misbehavior reports in 20 years.
33:28Okay.
33:29It's like, I can live in there a lot better than I can out here.
33:31Right.
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 Selena once every three months or two months or whatever it
33:45is for the registry purposes.
33:46I had a bunch of that Monday through Friday, I was always busy.
33:51I was always going somewhere, always doing something.
33:54So now I get to go back and I got all the time in the world for myself.
33:57I ain't got to worry about nothing.
33:59I mean, I tried living.
34:00I can't live out here.
34:01It was just, this is living proof.
34:04There's no way I can make it out here.
34:06No way.
34:07No.
34:08Perpetrators like this, they don't change their patterns.
34:15And it happens time and time again.
34:18We've seen this in so many other cases.
34:20They get out, they re-offend.
34:23And even in this case, and a lot of other ones, then they escalate.
34:27He had never murdered anyone before.
34:30Now it's escalated to murder.
34:32What did you throw him?
34:33What was it?
34:34Well, mostly to get him up off the floor so I wouldn't trip over him again, of course.
34:39And then, like I said, the other reason was in case she got cold.
34:43I'm not going to put her clothes back on.
34:46I'm trying to get the hell out of her.
34:48Listen, Rob.
34:49You make me understand this.
34:50You just broke into the girl's house.
34:53You robbed her.
34:55You raped her.
34:56You tell me you're worried if she's going to get cold or not.
34:59Yeah, pretty much.
35:08Rob, I think you know that she was lifeless when you left.
35:12And I think that's why you put the clothes on her.
35:15No.
35:21Huh?
35:22Stomach was going up and down.
35:25What do you mean?
35:26Could be her last caress.
35:29There was enough room.
35:31You could put your pinky.
35:32I could put my pinky up in between there.
35:33So there was enough room.
35:34Yeah, but still being rough like that.
35:37Because it looked rough.
35:38I'm giving it to you straight.
35:39Well, yeah, I know.
35:40You want it straight?
35:41I'm giving it to you straight.
35:42That belt was wrapped around her.
35:43And it was wrapped around her tight.
35:45And it was wrapped around her hair.
35:47And that's good enough for me.
35:50Okay, that's what you're saying.
35:51I mean...
35:52I'm just saying...
35:53I know, I know, I know.
35:54You were straight with me and I want to be straight with you.
35:56We're asking you, that's why.
35:57Yeah.
35:58I have no problem with that.
35:59Okay.
36:00That's good enough to leave it at that.
36:03It's not one of those situations where, you know, somebody made a poor decision to drive drunk and killed somebody and they regret this decision for the rest of their life.
36:10This is somebody who knew what they were doing, were calculating what they were doing, did what they did, know they did it, and just don't care.
36:18Or if they do, they don't know how to offer any condolences or sympathies or remorse.
36:27Okay, I don't know what else to say.
36:29All right, hang loose to these troopers that come in again here and they're going to take you out.
36:34Come on.
36:36It's hard for me to even say thank you, believe me.
37:05Utica, New York 2011.
37:07Police have secured Robert Blaney's confession to the murder of Linda Turner in the Davis Motel.
37:14Preparations are made for Robert Blaney to be extradited back to Oneida County to face the consequences for his heinous actions.
37:22In 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.
37:33And so when you're getting a case prepared for grand jury, you're looking for what evidence do we have.
37:39Certainly the confession helped, but we could go beyond that.
37:43So there are some really crucial pieces of evidence that we located within the crime scene.
37:49Certainly the belt that we tested for DNA, you know, the ropes, things of that nature, things he may have touched, fingerprints of that nature.
37:55However, one really crucial piece of evidence was the sex assault kit that was performed on the deceased individual that had the DNA of Mr. Blaney on it.
38:02We believed it was going to be a very strong case regardless of the confession.
38:09So in this instance, if there's other charges that follow the indictment, unless they plead to the entire indictment, we recommend what we feel the sentence should be and what would be appropriate.
38:20In this case, murder in the first degree carried with it a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
38:27And so that was our position was if he wants to admit to that, fine, we'll let him do that.
38:32But otherwise, we will prove the case because we believe the sentence should be life without parole.
38:38And the judge agreed with us.
38:40I told you what the sentence is going to be.
38:42It's like you're not getting out.
38:44Do you understand that?
38:45Let's do it.
38:46All right, all right.
38:47Anybody else promise you anything to get you to plead guilty?
38:49No.
38:50Anyone threaten you to get you to plead guilty?
38:51No.
38:52So you're ending this plea here this morning voluntarily?
38:54Yes, sir.
38:55He knew he was such a danger that even facing life without parole, his response is bring it on.
39:02He was more comfortable in the system and being incarcerated, where he was not only not a danger to others, but to himself.
39:17Mr. Blaney, when this happened, you were out on parole then, correct?
39:22Yep.
39:23That was for another rape, right?
39:24Yep.
39:25You've had how many rapes in the past?
39:27Eh, too many.
39:28I'm sorry?
39:29Too many.
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 board or someone that they shouldn't let you out?
39:43Yep.
39:46All right.
39:47You're satisfied?
39:48Yeah.
39:49All right.
39:50How do you plead then, Mr. Blaney, to the first count of murder and the first degree guilty or not guilty?
39:53Nothing.
39:54Mr. McNamara, would that plea to satisfy all counts of the indictment to be satisfied with you?
39:59With the understanding he would be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole against you.
40:05A young kid, another woman, and now Linda Turner were brutally violated at the hands of Robert Blaney.
40:11No amount of time in prison is enough for him.
40:14There'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?
40:20Yeah.
40:21You think that's a compliment?
40:22Yeah.
40:23That didn't mean it to be a compliment.
40:24Okay, we'll see you on the 16th March.
40:26Thank you, Rob.
40:27You're welcome.
40:28Thank you, Rob.
40:29You're welcome.
40:31Robert Blaney was convicted of murder in the first degree for the murder of Linda Turner and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
40:54This 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.
41:04I grew up in that area and, you know, I know that area very well.
41:12And I do recall, you know, seeing a picture of Mr. Blaney as a parole absconder.
41:18And again, that the picture that they had was not up to date.
41:23And so, you know, that sticks with me.
41:25And I think that's something that I think this community and parole learned from this,
41:31is to ensure that they are quick with alerting the community if they do lose sight or they do have an absconder on parole.
41:41And they get that out to the community and that they have an updated picture so that we can try to bring that person to justice.
41:48It took me quite some time and I've come to terms with pretty much everything to the point where I really don't hold any animosity or anger or hatred or ill will towards Blaney.
42:05It's a name that is etched in my mind.
42:07I almost feel sympathy for him.
42:10Somebody who recognized their danger, who alerted the people that needed to be alerted that he was a danger,
42:17and was put in a position to take a life and now has to live with that when he knew he didn't want to, when he knew it was a real threat.
42:29And it's unfortunate.
42:30And the place I hold ill will is for those responsible for not heeding his warning.
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