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00:00I wanted to say that I know everybody doesn't agree on sharing this.
00:20I feel like I'm lost and just hoping that one day Katelyn's story will help someone.
00:27I definitely needed somebody to be held accountable.
00:32I needed to tell Katelyn's story, you know, I needed people to know about her.
00:36She was beautiful, she was smart, she loved to shop and dance, and she had so many friends.
00:44I always described her as glitter.
00:47She expressed her individuality through her hair.
00:50She always had different colors and it was always so cute on her.
00:54I loved the purple on her.
00:56She used to travel for those music festivals, I mean, she's been all around the world.
00:59Yeah, the shuffling queen, that's what we always say.
01:03She had the best sense of humor.
01:09She loved Melani, she loved her daughter.
01:14She was single, she, you know, she was getting a new apartment and she was starting over.
01:19I mean, did you worry at all about her safety there?
01:23No.
01:24I thought, man, she's near me, you know.
01:26I mean, I never thought this would happen, never crossed my mind.
01:29Okay, tell me exactly what happened.
01:32My roommate's daughter just came and woke me up in my bedroom.
01:35She told me that something was wrong with mommy and that mommy wouldn't wake up.
01:40Is she breathing?
01:41Um, yes.
01:43No, I don't know.
01:44We need to get through here.
01:48Sheriff's office!
01:49I was woken up to a phone call.
01:53Do you know what time it was?
01:5535 a.m.
01:56It was Jacob on the phone saying that Caitlyn is unresponsive, they're doing CPR and the
02:03EMS is there.
02:05My sister called, she's like, Sherry, get to Caitlyn's right now, something's wrong.
02:09And my only thought was, let me get to that baby, who's up there with Melani.
02:15Where's the baby at?
02:16She's in the living room, she's in the living room.
02:19I grabbed her and she just like melted into me.
02:21Yeah, it was, it was pretty bad.
02:24The way the code of Virginia is, nobody can get in trouble for overdoses.
02:28They asked me, does she do drugs, do I do drugs, did you give her something, does she
02:34take something?
02:35I was like, I don't do drugs.
02:37All the signs are looking for like an overdose.
02:40The police were adamant that it was a drug overdose and I'm like, she doesn't do drugs.
02:44We're taking off at this point, she's obviously being transported.
02:48I genuinely believed she's going to be okay.
02:51She had CPR, she was alive, she had a heartbeat, she was going to be okay.
02:57In the hospital, they even wanted to bring a chaplain in and I was like, no, my child's
03:03not going to die, I don't need a chaplain in right now.
03:07A tech came to me and walked me outside.
03:09She said, it wasn't drugs, someone hurt your baby.
03:14Who would want to hurt her?
03:17She loved everybody and everybody loved her, you know?
03:21She didn't have enemies.
03:23That you were aware of.
03:24Yeah.
03:25I will never stop seeing my daughter's name.
03:29And I will never stop seeking justice for her.
03:32But, I can't stop seeing my daughter's name.
03:36Maybe I will never stop seeing my daughter's name.
03:37But, I will never stop seeking justice for her.
03:39I don't want to keep in touch.
03:42I don't want to stop seeing my daughter's name.
03:45I don't want to stop seeing my daughter's name.
03:50But, I can't stop seeing her.
03:54I walk into the hospital, saw my daughter there, and I watched her do CPR
04:24and I'll never forget that.
04:28On October 7, 2022, as Crystal Sale arrived at the hospital bedside of her daughter, Caitlin
04:36Lyon Montgomery, she knew the two people she needed most.
04:41And would you say your sisters have really stepped up for you?
04:45Absolutely.
04:46I don't know what I'd done without my sisters.
04:50The oldest of the sisters, Sherry Cox, was taking care of Caitlin's then four-year-old
04:55daughter, Melani, while periodically checking in on Caitlin in the hospital.
05:02I knew it was bad.
05:04What did you think had happened to Caitlin?
05:06I didn't know.
05:07I called Sherry.
05:10The first thing she said is something was wrong with Caitlin, but they didn't know what.
05:15Sherry told their youngest sister, Tina Hopkins, nearly 5,000 miles away in Hawaii, the 28-year-old
05:22Caitlin was unconscious and in grave condition.
05:26You know, Sherry told me, like, you have to come home.
05:30It's not good.
05:31I was just shocked that this was even happening and just confused.
05:36Especially when doctors told her that Caitlin sustained injuries to her neck and head.
05:43Any medical history?
05:44While first responders had initially thought Caitlin had suffered a drug overdose, her physical
05:52injuries and the lack of drugs found at the scene indicated Caitlin was actually the victim
05:59of a violent assault.
06:02That she had been strangled.
06:04We were all, we were speechless, we were baffled.
06:07Like, who would have done this?
06:09I got a phone call to take a strangulation report.
06:15Lead investigator Robbie Burnett with the Bedford County, Virginia Sheriff's Office focused on
06:21documenting Caitlin's injuries.
06:24I saw two distinctive marks parallel to each other on her neck.
06:28Since those marks weren't visible until after Caitlin had arrived at the hospital, Burnett
06:34says it helped timestamp the attack.
06:37It was very recent.
06:39Like when you say very recent.
06:41Within an hour or so, most likely, of when the call came in.
06:45So her apartment's on the second floor, right on the end of the building?
06:49Yes.
06:50Shortly after learning about Caitlin's injuries, investigator Michelle Alderson was sent to secure
06:57and process Caitlin's apartment.
07:00Now a crime scene.
07:02One that had been disturbed by first responders, EMTs, and Caitlin and her roommate Jacob Peercy's
07:10dogs.
07:11Can you get these legs out of here best you can?
07:13So my scene was not as exact as I would like my crime scenes to be.
07:19Dr. Alderson set out to find what could have caused the injuries on Caitlin's neck.
07:25She found a huge clue wrapped up in Caitlin's comforter.
07:30It was a multiple charging cord adapter.
07:34Did they look like they match what had been described on her neck?
07:39I would call them consistent.
07:41Yes.
07:42With the cords found on the bed, Alderson suspected that Caitlin was attacked there.
07:48But she soon learned that first responders, not suspecting foul play at that time, had given
07:55the family permission to wash Caitlin's sheets and clean up.
07:59Doesn't that make it difficult to obtain DNA?
08:04Yes.
08:05Fingerprints.
08:06Yes.
08:07Yes.
08:08Investigators were unable to recover any DNA or fingerprints at the scene, including any
08:15on those charging cords.
08:18As they searched for evidence identifying Caitlin's attacker, doctors struggled to revive her.
08:26After 29 hours, Caitlin was officially declared brain dead the next morning, October 8th.
08:33I remember going to her.
08:37One of the only things I remember is telling her I'm sorry that I couldn't protect her.
08:46I can say that there are no words that have been invented to describe how this feels.
08:52It's excruciating.
08:55I just can't comprehend that she's gone forever.
08:59Like I can't, I can't go there.
09:02Tina arrived just in time to help say goodbye.
09:07My instinct is just to take charge and fix whatever's wrong.
09:10That affects me greatly that I couldn't fix it for my sister and our family.
09:15Tina documented the moment Caitlin was escorted to fulfill her final wishes to be an organ donor.
09:22Tina shared the video on TikTok.
09:26My family and I have been through a tragedy.
09:32She and the rest of her family started posting photos and videos.
09:35I'm going to talk about my niece.
09:37Before I do this, I'm going to talk about it.
09:38I'm going to talk about it.
09:39Here's a gift.
09:40Laura's gift.
09:41I'm going to give you a gift.
09:42I'm going to give you a gift.
09:43I'm going to give you a gift.
09:44I love music.
09:45I love music.
09:46Specifically electronic dance music.
09:47Music that Caitlin had discovered with her older brother, Jake Lyon.
09:51There was this like dance party type thing.
09:55I know at the end of the night, she ran up and, like, bear hugged me.
09:57She's like, I want to do this all the time.
09:59Why? What is it? Tell me, what is it that she took to?
10:03I think just the energy and the social element, how she would draw a crowd.
10:09She loved life. She absolutely loved life.
10:13A life that had changed unexpectedly when Caitlin learned she was pregnant with Milani.
10:20I mean, we were very supportive and was like, you know, we'll help any way we can.
10:23But the always independent Caitlin didn't need much help, says Crystal,
10:29even with Milani's father out of the picture and while working full-time as a restaurant manager.
10:36Caitlin was rocking it. She was rocking it.
10:39What do you mean rocking it?
10:41She was providing for her child.
10:44Caitlin's family now had to grapple with the reality that someone had intentionally taken her from her beloved child.
10:51I still can't believe my daughter was murdered.
10:56She said, you're going to find whoever did this to my daughter.
10:59I said, there will be no stone left unturned.
11:02So who's the first person you're looking at?
11:04We definitely looked at Jacob Piercy, the roommate.
11:06With no sign of forced entry and being the only other adult in the apartment,
11:13Caitlin's new roommate, Jacob Piercy, who had called 911 reporting her injured, was an obvious suspect.
11:22Investigators told us that it was 99% sure he did it.
11:25But Tina says she suspected this man, Caitlin's ex-boyfriend, Trenton Frye,
11:31whom she had broken up with 10 days earlier.
11:35That was my first gut instinct.
11:37You first saw Trenton?
11:39I did.
11:40Trenton lived three hours away in North Carolina.
11:43So investigators gave him a call.
11:46He said that he was in North Carolina working the entire time.
11:48He agreed to come up for an interview.
11:50Appeared to be cooperative.
11:51So focus intensified on Jacob Piercy, especially when investigators learned what Melani said she witnessed that night.
12:02My brother killed my mom.
12:05Brother was the nickname she used for Jacob Piercy.
12:10Did you have anything to do with hurting Caitlin?
12:14Absolutely not.
12:15Outfit of the day.
12:28Again, these videos are just for my sister, so I'm not going anywhere today.
12:32Tina, you're not going anywhere today because your husband has stopped giving you lunch money.
12:36For Tina, Crystal, and Sherry, making TikTok videos started as a fun way to connect their family.
12:45That changed after Caitlin's death.
12:49My niece was murdered.
12:51We don't have hardly any information.
12:54We felt wronged, and we weren't going to stop fighting.
12:58In those agonizing early days, Crystal was too deep in her grief to speak publicly.
13:06So Tina stepped up to post updates on the case.
13:10There is an ongoing investigation.
13:12When did you last see her?
13:14We were hanging out, so we were out here watching TV.
13:17That investigation centered on Caitlin's roommate, Jacob Piercy.
13:22We were looking at him pretty heavy at first.
13:24What do you mean?
13:25Meaning he was our number one suspect at that point.
13:28In my mind, I'm just here to tell him what I can tell him, help him figure out what could have happened, what couldn't have happened.
13:34I was in full denial.
13:35But after being interviewed several times, having his body photographed for possible defensive wounds, and his cell phone confiscated, Jacob Piercy knew he was in serious trouble.
13:49Were you scared you'd be blamed for whatever happened to her?
13:52Absolutely.
13:53You know, I'm the main suspect of something so terrible.
13:55We're still at a loss at that point, because he's fully cooperating, and we haven't caught him in a lie yet.
14:00What troubled investigators was four-year-old Melani's statement.
14:07She said she had seen Jacob killing her mother, but Burnett soon discovered that she had actually witnessed Jacob performing CPR.
14:18She actually did the motions with her hands of what Jacob was doing to her.
14:23Going like this.
14:24Yeah, that's the motion she made.
14:25To be sure, Burnett reviewed the 911 call.
14:29You can hear Jacob doing CPR.
14:33One, two, three, four.
14:35One, two, three, four.
14:38You could tell he was definitely putting effort in.
14:41I thought I had done enough.
14:44But I think that's what tears me up the most.
14:46It's just, I wasn't able to save her, you know?
14:57At that point, investigators began to look closer at Caitlin's ex-boyfriend, Trenton Frye.
15:04They tried calling him in North Carolina a couple of days after their initial conversation, but learned he was unable to talk to them.
15:13He checked himself into a mental health facility.
15:15And what did that say to you?
15:17He had some kind of break.
15:18Something happened to him, apparently.
15:19So investigators turned to Caitlin's friends to learn more about the relationship.
15:25Do you think he was the person he presented himself to, Caitlin?
15:30Absolutely not.
15:32Hannah McDowell met Caitlin two years earlier, when she landed a job at the restaurant Caitlin managed.
15:39Sharing a love for music and dancing, they became fast friends and eventually roommates.
15:47They also shared their frustrations about the local dating scene in Bedford County, Virginia, which prompted them to look for love online.
15:57What was she looking for?
15:59Well, she wanted someone that was supportive and be a father to Melani as well and possibly get married.
16:07In January of 2022, when Caitlin connected with Trenton on a dating app, the tall, fitness-obsessed, and apparently successful North Carolina native seemed to be marriage material.
16:22How had she described him to you?
16:25Well, he had his stuff together.
16:27She was excited to have a relationship with him.
16:30When Caitlin's Aunt Sherry met Trenton, she admitted she was impressed.
16:35He told me that he owned a security company and he owned his own construction company.
16:41We had talked about him doing my floors because he had me thinking he was, you know, this awesome builder.
16:49Then eventually, he was at the apartment all the time.
16:54Which made Hannah wonder how Trenton, who lived three hours away, could spend weeks on end at their apartment while also running two businesses.
17:04And when I would leave in the morning, when I would come home from lunch, when I would get home from work, he would always just be on the couch.
17:14And she says over time, it seemed Caitlin wasn't leaving the apartment much either.
17:20She's quiet.
17:21She didn't hang out with friends.
17:23She was just very isolated.
17:24Did you get the feeling that it was because of him?
17:29That she wasn't going out as much, dancing as much?
17:32Yes.
17:34And he would track her location on her phone.
17:37I feel like she was chained to him, almost.
17:43I can't say that I liked him, but I can't say that I didn't like him.
17:47While Crystal had her concerns about the relationship with Trenton, Caitlin never confided that anything was wrong.
17:54She's always been so strong, so I knew my daughter could handle herself.
17:58But Caitlin did express some frustration with the relationship to her Aunt Sherry.
18:04She said, I'm so tired of paying for everything.
18:08She said, if he's got all this money, I mean, these businesses, why does he have money?
18:12And I said, well, Caitlin, that's a red flag right there.
18:14More red flags appeared when he tried to convince her to move with him to North Carolina, where he said he would find them an apartment.
18:24In reality, he was not reliable and wasn't fulfilling what she thought he was going to do.
18:32In early September 2022, Trenton admitted the truth.
18:39He couldn't find an apartment because he lacked the credit and source of income to qualify.
18:46Caitlin called me from work, and she was screaming and crying, just like bawling, crying.
18:52And she was like, he's a liar.
18:53He lied about everything.
18:54He doesn't have a job.
18:56Days later, Caitlin announced she was breaking up with him.
19:00She was done.
19:01She was done.
19:02So she cut him off?
19:03She did.
19:05She blocked him.
19:06Oh, she actually blocked him, too.
19:08She blocked him, yeah.
19:09And that's when Caitlin learned her friend Jacob Piercy was also looking for a place and asked if he wanted to find an apartment with her and Milani.
19:19They finally found this one apartment, and we were so excited that they were going to be so close to us.
19:25While Caitlin was making a fresh start, it seemed Trenton Fry did not want to let her go.
19:32He was actually sitting in the parking lot of her apartment watching everything Caitlin was doing.
19:38Have you seen a big change in your sister?
19:54She's just sad all the time.
20:00She has bags under her eyes now where she didn't have them before because she don't sleep.
20:05She's not sleeping.
20:06I woke up this morning in sheer panic.
20:09In the days following Caitlin's death, Crystal began sharing her grief with others on TikTok.
20:18I'll get a text message and for an instant I'll think that it's Caitlin.
20:25I ended up seeing some of her TikToks by accident.
20:30She was completely innocent.
20:31She didn't do anything wrong.
20:36Investigator Burnett was convinced that Trenton Fry had somehow gotten into Caitlin's apartment and strangled her.
20:44Why did Trenton Fry kill the woman he said he loved?
20:53I think it was because she told him no, and he couldn't take the rejection from her.
20:59Investigator Burnett now needed to prove it.
21:04We started looking at obviously more of his cell phone records, tracking that history.
21:08We found that his phone pings were in the area of Forest, Virginia.
21:15Commonwealth Attorney Wes Nance was assigned the case.
21:19He says investigators were able to obtain Trenton Fry's cell phone after he checked himself into that mental health facility in North Carolina.
21:28And that's how they learned that the device had started pinging off a cell tower in Virginia on October 4th, three days before Caitlin's attack.
21:43He wasn't just in Virginia.
21:45He was in at least the area of Caitlin's new apartment complex.
21:50Investigators canvassed the apartment complex and found two of Caitlin's neighbors who remembered seeing an unfamiliar man sitting at a picnic table for hours.
22:05One snapped a photo of the stranger on the afternoon of October 6th, the day before Caitlin's attack.
22:14Who do you believe that is?
22:16Well, we later determined it to be Trenton Fry.
22:18How close to Caitlin's apartment is that?
22:22Why there?
22:23So this is an elevated vantage point.
22:26It looks directly down on her building.
22:29Did Caitlin Montgomery have any idea that somebody had been watching her for days?
22:33No, no, ma'am.
22:34And does it appear that she wasn't just being watched, she was being followed and stopped?
22:40Absolutely, yeah.
22:41Investigators learned two hours after that photo was taken, Trenton Fry's SUV was recorded by a surveillance camera pulling into a gas station near the apartment complex.
22:57He was seen inside the store, now wearing all black.
23:02It was around that time that Fry texted Aunt Sherry.
23:07He wanted to know if I still wanted my floors finished and I didn't respond back to him.
23:12I immediately called Caitlin.
23:14Well, she unblocks the number and tells him, do not call my aunt anymore.
23:18The text between Caitlin and Trenton Fry, says Prosecutor Nance, became heated.
23:25Fry made it clear he knew she was living with Jacob Piercy and he didn't like it.
23:30So there's an anger and jealousy underlying those text messages.
23:37He starts to call her a piece of and tell her that karma is a bitch.
23:42Jacob Piercy says that Caitlin called him, sounding frightened.
23:47At one point she told me that she wanted to go to her mom's house and pick up her self-defense weapon that she has, her pistol.
23:55Caitlin didn't go through with that plan.
24:01Later, Jacob, Caitlin and Milani had dinner together and watched TV.
24:08Around midnight, Jacob says he heard a noise near their second floor balcony.
24:13Spread open the curtains real quick to look.
24:15I didn't see anything.
24:16Did you lock or unlock the sliding door?
24:20Yeah, I believe I locked it.
24:21But investigators later learned the lock on the sliding glass door was broken.
24:27And they suspected that's how Trenton Fry gained entry.
24:32His Google searches revealed that he had looked up the layout of the unit, which they believed helped him find Caitlin's bedroom.
24:41I think it was an absolute, brutal, sudden sneak attack on a then-sleeping Caitlin.
24:48Frey strangled Caitlin, investigators say, with those charging cords, while her daughter, Milani, slept nearby.
24:59With her child laying beside her, I don't think it gets much worse.
25:03After Frey left, says Nance, Milani alerted Jacob Piercy that something was wrong with her mother.
25:16Trenton Fry's digital footprint from that morning, says Nance, gives him away.
25:22Mr. Fry started to Google breaking news, and specifically, he looked to see if he had any arrest warrants out for himself.
25:30There weren't any warrants for him at the time.
25:32But 13 days later, investigators have one in hand as they travel to the mental health facility in North Carolina.
25:43I'm not stupid. I know you guys are here to take me in.
25:47Trenton Fry agreed to talk to investigators and denied any involvement in Caitlin's death.
25:52He said he had checked himself into the hospital because the only person he had ever considered harming was himself.
26:02Knowing who I am, I could never hurt her on how much I cared about her.
26:07He did finally admit he had been in Virginia, but claimed he was only looking for a job and apartment, hoping that he could eventually convince Caitlin to get back together.
26:18I was trying to give her space while I figured everything out.
26:23But when challenged with evidence that he was at her apartment complex.
26:27I'm missing pieces of time for like the last month.
26:30Trenton Fry claimed he had no memory of it, that he sometimes blacked out for long periods of time, including the hours around Caitlin's attack.
26:41Is there anything else that could contribute to your memory loss?
26:47Drugs?
26:48No, no, alcohol.
26:49No, you guys can test me.
26:51Investigators had heard enough.
26:54Do you want to jail today?
26:56And took Trenton Fry into custody.
27:00And how did you feel that he had been arrested?
27:04Relieved that somebody was going to be, you know, held accountable.
27:12Trenton Fry was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty.
27:19There's no evidence, no hard evidence, nothing you can point to, to prove that Trenton was ever in that apartment.
27:27Trenton Fry's defense attorney, Joseph Sanzone, insists his client didn't kill Caitlin.
27:34He prepared to argue at trial that there wasn't a murder at all.
27:40I don't think anybody tried to kill Caitlin.
27:42I think it was purely an accident.
27:57Today marks two months.
28:03Two months from the last time that I told my daughter I loved her.
28:07Tomorrow marks three months.
28:10Today is 16 months.
28:13It's been 25 months since my 28-year-old daughter was murdered.
28:17As the months dragged on awaiting trial, Crystal and her family demanded justice for Caitlin on billboards purchased around town.
28:28We now have a new court date.
28:29This one should be it and I pray to God that it is.
28:33Trenton Fry entered the courtroom in March of 2025, two and a half years after Caitlin's death.
28:42Her family was there.
28:43Her brothers were there.
28:44Her aunts were there.
28:46CBS Roanoke reporter Layla Mitchell covered the trial.
28:51Prosecutors argue that Trenton Fry stopped, obsessed over and ultimately strangled Caitlin Lyons.
28:56Layla Mitchell reported on TV.
29:00Caitlin's family updated their growing community of supporters on TikTok while Prosecutor Wes Nance made his case to the most important audience of all, the jury.
29:13Well, of course, we called him later that same afternoon.
29:17Mr. Fry told him, I wasn't in Virginia.
29:20I was working in North Carolina.
29:23I didn't even know where Caitlin lived.
29:25Mr. Fry had given a number of inconsistent statements.
29:31What I would absolutely characterize as lies because they were all in conflict with one another.
29:35And so they approached him again.
29:38And this time he relied on an excuse of a bad soap opera.
29:42He claimed he had amnesia.
29:44I don't remember any of it.
29:45My whole head has been messed up.
29:48But Prosecutor Wes Nance didn't have to rely on Fry's memory.
29:52Not only did he have the digital data from Fry's phone placing him in the area.
29:59Investigators had also discovered that his device made one very important connection after Caitlin and her daughter went to bed.
30:09At 4.15, right after they go to bed, Trenton Fry's cell phone connects to the iPad and the iPad shows the connection.
30:20Fry's phone had automatically connected to Caitlin's iPad via Bluetooth, providing the only evidence, says Nance, that placed Fry inside Caitlin's apartment.
30:34Now we have the two of them within feet of each other during the window of the injuries.
30:40And what about that sound that Jacob Piercy heard earlier that evening?
30:45Nance believes that it was Trenton Fry positioning this metal bench that belonged to their downstairs neighbor on the brick wall under their balcony.
30:56The perfect extra separately that Mr. Fry would have needed to get to that second floor again.
31:05Trent Fry's defense attorney, Joseph Sanzone, concedes that Fry, devastated after the breakup, was in the area.
31:15And admits that Fry was at Caitlin's apartment complex, but says he was only outside.
31:23I agree with the billboards in this case, justice for Caitlin, but it should happen after a review of all the evidence.
31:34He points to the lack of DNA evidence at the scene and disputes the prosecution's iPad Bluetooth connection theory.
31:44We don't know where the iPad was.
31:45And that's because the iPad was recovered by investigators at Aunt Sherry's house.
31:53She told them she grabbed it from Caitlin's apartment when she picked up Milani after the attack.
32:00But it was in the apartment, right?
32:02No, we don't know that.
32:04We just know it connected.
32:05Would you admit, though, that he's a pretty unlucky guy, that he happens to be outside the apartment when someone else kills his ex-girlfriend?
32:15Yeah, and whoever did it in that circumstance is the luckiest guy.
32:19Jacob Piercy, the man who found Caitlin Lyon unresponsive, took the stand to testify today.
32:24Jacob Piercy, Sanzone argued, was the more likely killer.
32:31What would be Jacob Piercy's motive for killing Caitlin?
32:35I don't think anybody tried to kill Caitlin. I think it was purely an accident.
32:39Sanzone suggests that Jacob Piercy strangled Caitlin in a consensual sex act, one that went too far.
32:48I was furious. He degraded. He humiliated my daughter. Oh, I was, I was so mad.
32:58The medical examiner found no evidence of any sexual assault or even recent sexual activity.
33:07This is not sex gone wrong. This is a murder.
33:11A murder, Sanzone says Trent and Fry couldn't have committed, saying it was impossible for Fry to get into Caitlin's apartment, kill her and get away without waking anyone, especially the dogs.
33:30Isn't it possible that someone slipped into the apartment quietly, strangled her and left and not alarmed the dogs?
33:38Only Tom Cruise can do that as far as I know. I just can't imagine in real life.
33:45Sanzone is a witness whom he believes can help make his case, Trent and Fry himself.
33:51Did you expect Trent to take the stand?
34:10I didn't. I was shocked.
34:13When Trent and Fry took the stand to tell the jury his story, he appeared to have regained his memory of his actions that night.
34:23Did you do anything except you want?
34:26No, that's, that's all I did was watch and walk around.
34:31If they don't hear from your client, they're not going to believe what you say. They need to hear from the person.
34:38I don't ever remember being in an apartment because I never was.
34:42Prosecutor Wes Nance challenged Fry's story.
34:46You were spying?
34:47Yes.
34:49You were gathering intel?
34:51Yes.
34:53But Fry remained adamant that he could not have killed Caitlin.
34:56And I could not have climbed that balcony without making a sound. I would have to be a ninja of some sort.
35:03But Nan says that gas station surveillance photo at Fry, taken hours before the murder, proves that he dressed the part.
35:13A ninja is known for being in stealth mode. And I think changing his outfit to black is him going into stealth mode.
35:20Don't let the excuses. Don't let the word play. Don't let the memory cast. Confused.
35:28Tricky fries. Get the income. First opinion.
35:32But would that add up to reasonable doubt for the jury?
35:36Until they have some proof that my client was inside that apartment, nothing in this case can be proven. Not one thing.
35:48No thing.
35:50Today, the jury will be told that they can either find Trenton Fry guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or they can find him not guilty at all.
36:01All of our nerves are on edge. So wish us all luck today.
36:06It's gonna be rough.
36:08We weren't gonna leave, whether it was an hour or 20 hours.
36:12But you didn't have to wait very long, did you?
36:14No.
36:15The jury wasted no time today, deliberating for just about an hour.
36:21Because it came back so quick, I was very concerned that it didn't go the way that we wanted.
36:27Moments later, Crystal heard the three words she had been praying for.
36:33Guilty, first-degree.
36:34Trenton Fry was found guilty of first-degree murder in Caitlyn's death.
36:42I was staring at his face the entire time, and he had no reaction when the verdict was read.
36:48Caitlyn's family burst into tears.
36:50Having Trenton Fry be accountable for his actions does bring our family a little bit of peace.
36:55Tina, flanked by her sisters and Caitlyn's brothers, announced the verdict to their supporters.
37:02This entire process has been brutal for our family.
37:06Four months later, they returned to court for Trenton Fry's sentencing.
37:13This man didn't just take a life, he destroyed a family.
37:16Caitlyn's brother spoke about the impact on Milani.
37:19He left my niece to wake up next to her mother's lifeless body.
37:24She now lives in fear of the dark and the monsters that come into your home while you're sleeping.
37:29I've begged God too many times to count to please take me.
37:33Let me die because the pain is unbearable.
37:36Crystal was clear what she hoped for her daughter's killer.
37:40I was sentenced to a lifetime without my daughter.
37:44Milani was sentenced to a lifetime without her mama, so...
37:47He needs life.
37:53Mr. Fry, if you would stand please, sir, is there anything you wish to say?
37:57Yes, um...
37:59Trenton Fry turned to Caitlyn's family.
38:02I probably have not felt it on the level that you all have, but I have felt it for her loss.
38:09And I truly am sorry for the loss that you have experienced.
38:13But he never took responsibility for Caitlyn's murder.
38:18The amount of terror, the amount of horror inflicted upon this young innocent woman is unimaginable.
38:28Responsibility that Judge James Updike reminded him was his alone.
38:33Unimaginable to anyone, to everybody except you, because you were there. You saw it. You caused it. I hereby sentence you to imprisonment for life.
38:49Life in prison.
38:53Even though we got the verdict we wanted, my daughter's still not here.
38:59If I could walk out of that courtroom and hug her, then I would have won.
39:03Nobody won.
39:07I think that everyone that has lost their lives to domestic violence, their names need to be said.
39:19Crystal's TikTok videos are now focused on sharing Caitlyn's experience and hoping her story could help save someone else.
39:28I don't want another mother, another family to go through what we're going through.
39:33I have to be my daughter's voice and I have to help save other women.
39:37She and her family have embraced the man who did all he could to save Caitlyn, Jacob Piercy.
39:45He's a hero. She needed him and he was doing everything he could to help her.
39:48They opened up and welcomed me to Christmases and Thanksgivings and hangouts and birthdays and cookouts.
39:58They really made me feel like part of the family.
40:01A family still adapting in Caitlyn's absence.
40:06Look at my head. It's burning up.
40:07Crystal enjoys a familiar role as Melani's grandmother, while Aunt Sherry, who always shared a special bond with Caitlyn and her little girl, has become Melani's guardian.
40:22What does she call you?
40:24She calls me Mama now, Mommy.
40:26Was that hard for you at first?
40:28Yes, because I didn't want my sister to be upset because I didn't want her to think I was taking Melani from Caitlyn, erasing Caitlyn.
40:35I was like, absolutely not. You know, you are her mommy now.
40:40She knows she's got mommy number one that had her Caitlyn.
40:43But you're her mommy now.
40:47Melani will get to know her first mom through the journals she left.
40:52Your younger self would be so envious of where you are now.
40:56You're such a hard worker and such an amazing mother.
41:00Caitlyn, as she saw herself.
41:02You're beautiful, powerful, and so strong.
41:06Her final entry focused on one subject.
41:10Love.
41:11I am loved.
41:13I deserve to be loved.
41:15I am worthy of love.
41:17She knew that she was loved.
41:19She still is.
41:21Very much so.
41:22Very much so.
41:53She was shocked and was loved.
41:54She was very excited.
41:55I have heard her.
41:57I am loved.
41:59I have loved.
42:01I am.
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