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00:05All right, we're good. Go, go, go, go.
00:10Let me see your hands!
00:15This is a pretty small town.
00:19With big secrets.
00:23This was deja vu to me.
00:25He was the one making the threats.
00:29There was a buzzard sitting in a tree, waiting.
00:33Looks like somebody's been here digging.
00:35So we called the cops.
00:38First thing you did, you dug the ditch?
00:40Yeah.
00:41How did you go there?
00:42It was the things that he didn't say.
00:44They said, we're going to get your ass.
00:46That made him more suspicious.
00:48You've done it to me before.
00:49I think he hired somebody to do it for him.
00:52She was one of the guys.
00:53You could smell the decomposition.
00:57I don't think I just want to go there.
01:00Who in their right mind?
01:01Who can do that to a human being?
01:03You got the devil in you.
01:22Graham, Texas.
01:26It's a small town, a time-in community.
01:36A local resident had approached the property and said that the smell was just horrific.
01:42And at that point, she contacted law enforcement and she thought that a body was buried in this one spot
01:50where all this trash had been dumped.
01:54The property is rather extensive.
02:00It was several miles out of town in a remote location.
02:05It was possibly 10 acres.
02:08So it was back a ways from the house.
02:13As we were walking down a road, the wind was blowing from the trash pile to us and you could
02:20smell the decomposition.
02:26So at that point, we believed we were on the right track.
02:33We had received a lot of rain that year, so you could tell there's been tracks where the backhoe had
02:39been moving and working down in that area, digging.
02:42I looked suspicious.
02:45We see a trailer, the gates open, and some of the trash is laid out on the ground.
02:53It looked like they went through great lengths to cover something up.
02:57We used the backhoe and started to dig very carefully.
03:02A couple of bucket loads later, and that's when we find that decomposed leg with the jeans on it.
03:21The foot was missing.
03:24When we were exhuming the body, we were having to chisel away concrete.
03:30The victim had a significant head injury.
03:34The plastic bag around their head, they might have been suffocated.
03:39They were wrapped in a blanket with duct tape around the foot and around the head area.
03:45The body is too decomposed for a positive ID.
03:50We need to find out the truth on what happened to this person.
03:57There was a tangle of secrets buried in Graham, Texas.
04:19Graham is about 70 miles west of Dallas-Fort Worth area, situated centrally in Yonge County.
04:27It's kind of like an oasis.
04:29There's more wooded areas, central around a couple of creeks and rivers.
04:39Country living by far the best.
04:41It's quiet.
04:46There were about 15 people in my high school class.
04:50And that's where my first wife, Stacey, and I met.
04:53We were actually high school sweethearts.
05:00I ended up getting pregnant my senior year.
05:04Our daughter, Leah, was born in 1992.
05:10She grew up here her whole life.
05:14Just being young, we got a divorce, and Billy and I raised her to be very independent.
05:20Leah was brutally honest, but she had a heart of gold.
05:26She's the perfect mixture of me and Billy.
05:30Leah was a funny, funny girl.
05:32Her jokes and her pranks, and I don't think she was ever serious about anything.
05:39She was a daddy's girl.
05:42We did a lot of stuff together.
05:44We had a great relationship.
05:49Leah met her boyfriend, Aaron, through friends.
05:55Leah's senior year of high school.
05:57She ended up getting pregnant.
06:00They had the sweetest little girl, Avery.
06:03She loved being a mom.
06:05That's all she did was spend time with her daughter.
06:10Leah was working for E.C. Blair, which is Aaron's adopted father,
06:16in Graham at the auto body shop as his receptionist.
06:21It's just a small town.
06:25I've always felt like there was no opportunity here.
06:27I thought she was lucky to have the job.
06:29I mean, it was not flipping burgers.
06:31It was a little bit better pay, and she needed that.
06:35She needed that to take care of the baby.
06:39She was following in our footsteps.
06:40It was on again, off again, all the time.
06:43Break up and be back together.
06:45Once Leah and Aaron decided to split up,
06:47they were sharing basically custody.
06:50Leah and Avery came to live with me where she grew up.
06:54Leah called me and told me she and Avery were living with her daddy,
06:57which was fine by me.
06:59I knew her and Avery were safe,
07:00because this is Graham, Texas.
07:02You know, I mean, nothing happens here.
07:07May 29, 2015, she went to her cousin's graduation.
07:12I had surgery from an eye injury,
07:14so after the graduation, she texted me.
07:17She was going to stop by her work
07:18and pick up a few things,
07:20her shoes and a few clothing items there,
07:22and she was going to go to the local Walmart
07:24to pick up my medication and bring it home.
07:32The next morning, Saturday the 30th,
07:34I think I woke up around 4 a.m.,
07:36didn't see my medication,
07:38so I went to check her room.
07:40She was not there for the most part.
07:43They were trying to be together,
07:45so I decided that she probably did stay the night
07:48where her daughter's father lived,
07:50and so I went back to sleep.
07:54I let it be until, you know, later on that day.
08:00About, you know, 12.30 or so,
08:03she normally would have answered me,
08:05something's not totally right.
08:09I reached out to Erin.
08:11Erin said after the graduation,
08:13she dropped her daughter Avery off to run errands,
08:17and she didn't come back to his place that night at all.
08:21I called her phone another 100 times to no avail
08:25and text messages
08:27until it just was going straight to voicemail.
08:31I knew there was an issue.
08:34My phone rang, and it was Billy.
08:37It was odd for him to be calling me,
08:38and he asked me if I had seen Leah,
08:41and immediately my heart dropped,
08:43and I told him no, I hadn't talked to her.
08:46I knew something was wrong.
08:52I took it upon myself to just go to town and look.
08:56I did go to her work
08:58because she was supposed to work that day
09:00and found the truck parked there.
09:03So I called Erin's stepfather, EC,
09:05the owner of the garage,
09:07and he met us there.
09:10He didn't have any idea where she was at.
09:13It had been 24 hours since she was gone,
09:16so I immediately called the police department
09:19to fill out a missing persons report.
09:24My experience, young adults will sometimes take off
09:29without letting their parents know where they are going.
09:34But Billy's daughter, she didn't show up for work,
09:37but her vehicle was there.
09:40We looked at Leah's vehicle,
09:42and we didn't see anything that would cause us
09:46to think any type of struggle
09:48or anything like that happened.
09:51But her purse was in it,
09:53which caused us to wonder
09:55why a female would leave her purse in her vehicle.
09:58Something was off.
10:01She had money in there.
10:02She would have left her purse anywhere,
10:04especially not in an unlocked vehicle.
10:08While speaking with the owner of the business, EC Blair,
10:12EC said that he had tried to call Leah
10:15a couple of times that day,
10:17but she'd never answered her phone.
10:21EC allowed us inside of his business.
10:26We checked inside,
10:28and there was a pair of shoes
10:29at the desk where Leah worked.
10:32Billy had told us
10:34that she was supposed to pick up that night.
10:37Her vehicle's there with her purse in it.
10:40The shoes are still there,
10:41but Leah's not around.
10:46They had cameras in the shop.
10:48The day before that all this happened,
10:51that his cameras actually went down
10:52in the shop, inside and out.
10:56We were able to find a business
10:58from across the street from the auto shop
11:01that did have surveillance bidding.
11:06We were able to see a SUV pull into the business.
11:10Somebody get out of the SUV,
11:12open one of the garage bay doors,
11:14and go inside.
11:17Shortly after that,
11:19we were able to see what we believed to be Leah's vehicle
11:22pull into the parking lot.
11:26We were able to see Leah go into the St. Bay door.
11:32Sometime later,
11:34the SUV left.
11:36Leah's vehicle never left.
11:38We believed that whatever happened to Leah
11:41happened at the garage.
11:49We started hearing information
11:50about threatening phone calls.
11:54That's when we discovered a bombshell emission.
11:56I'll grab this gun for you
11:59and turn it on the shot.
12:16By Sunday morning,
12:19May the 31st,
12:20Leah Martin had been missing
12:22for 36 hours.
12:27The best lead we have
12:30is the surveillance videos.
12:36The investigators found
12:38that Leah Martin
12:40had gone to a graduation
12:42with family members and friends.
12:44She had originally planned
12:47to go to the bowling alley
12:48after she was excited about it.
12:51And all of a sudden,
12:53she was seen on her phone.
12:55She tells her friends,
12:56well, I've got to go pick up
12:57a pair of shoes at the office
12:59and I'm not going to be at the party.
13:02That is the last time she was seen.
13:08Our agency is so small
13:10that it's basically a one-man show
13:13when you have a case like this.
13:15We reached out to the Texas Rangers
13:18for assistance.
13:21In 2015,
13:22I was a Texas Ranger
13:23stationed in Graham, Texas.
13:26With the state,
13:27we have a lot of resources
13:28that we can bring in
13:29and assist with
13:30that the smaller agencies
13:31don't have, like Graham PD.
13:33The surveillance video we had
13:35showing somebody was at the shop
13:36when Leah arrived that night.
13:38Made us think that
13:38whatever happened to Leah
13:39happened at the garage.
13:42On June 1st,
13:44about three days after
13:44she went missing,
13:45Detective Smith and I,
13:46we started talking to coworkers
13:49and family members.
13:50It was also when we started
13:52hearing information
13:52about threatening phone calls.
13:57Leah's father, Billy,
13:59told us that Leah had received
14:01a couple of threatening phone calls.
14:03The one threatening phone call
14:05that I heard,
14:06they said,
14:06we're going to get your ass.
14:08EC said that she got
14:09one or two more at the shop.
14:12There was no caller ID,
14:13but Billy did hear
14:15one of the calls
14:16and believed the caller
14:18to be a female.
14:27We started by looking
14:28at phone records.
14:29We were able to identify
14:31the last call
14:32that was made to
14:33Wichita Falls.
14:37And so we had to turn around
14:39and get a subpoena
14:40for that phone number
14:41to see who it's tied to.
14:43It does take time.
14:45We also submitted a,
14:47what we call a geolocate
14:49to ping Leah's cell phone.
14:53What we determined from that
14:54is that her last known location
14:57was at the shop.
14:59There was no activity after that.
15:02It just stopped.
15:03That led us to believe
15:04that the phone was either turned off
15:06or that the phone
15:07was no longer working.
15:09And so that made us think
15:10that Leah was possibly in trouble.
15:17During the interviews,
15:18I also learned that Leah
15:20and her boyfriend,
15:22Aaron Blair,
15:23had an on and off relationship.
15:25Aaron felt that Leah
15:27may be cheating on him.
15:32So we interviewed Aaron Blair,
15:34the son of E.C. Blair,
15:35the owner of the business.
15:37Be careful.
15:38Let's get your phone
15:38for the messages.
15:39It's a spring of 29.
15:41Blue.
15:41He was at home
15:42with their daughter that night.
15:44Aaron was calm.
15:45He answered all of our questions.
15:47He was concerned
15:48that she did not show up
15:51to pick up their child,
15:52had not called
15:53to talk to the child.
15:54His alibi checked out that night.
15:56But at this point,
15:58Aaron Blair is not a suspect.
16:04Leah Martin had been missing
16:05for three days.
16:07And at this time,
16:08we had no persons of interest.
16:10The best leads so far
16:11are a series of threatening phone calls.
16:14Each day that passes,
16:16there's less and less chance
16:18that Leah is alive.
16:24On June 1st,
16:26Detective Smith and I
16:27called in more friends,
16:29family members,
16:30and co-workers
16:31to try to determine
16:32more information about Leah
16:33and possible leads
16:35to where she might be.
16:36Our first big break in the case
16:38came when Leah's family
16:40made it known to us
16:41that Leah and E.C. Blair
16:43were having
16:44a romantic relationship.
16:49E.C. Blair
16:51was not only
16:51Leah's employer.
16:53He was the father
16:54of Aaron Blair,
16:56Leah's boyfriend,
16:57and the grandfather
16:58of Leah
16:59and Aaron's child.
17:06After she went missing,
17:07I had access
17:09to her Gmail.
17:12And that is when
17:13I discovered
17:16that there was
17:17a little more to it
17:18than just Boston employee.
17:21He was a married man,
17:24and he was messing around
17:25with a 22-year-old girl
17:27and leading her on.
17:30At this time,
17:31we were focusing
17:31the investigation
17:32on Leah's employer,
17:35E.C. Blair.
17:36It takes a very sick,
17:39twisted human being
17:40to even think
17:42of getting involved
17:44with your son's girlfriend.
17:47I mean,
17:48if he can do that,
17:50which is morally wrong,
17:53what else is he capable of?
18:1822-year-old Leah Martin
18:20has been missing
18:20for three days.
18:30We learned that Leah
18:32and E.C. Blair,
18:34her employer,
18:36were having
18:36a romantic relationship.
18:39E.C. Blair
18:40was not only Leah's employer.
18:43He was the father
18:44of Leah's boyfriend
18:45and the grandfather
18:46of Leah and Aaron's child.
18:49The affair with E.C.
18:51is a game-changer.
18:52That gives us a reason
18:53to believe that E.C.
18:54as a motive
18:55by the time
18:56he is considered a suspect.
18:58Aaron, this is Toby Catten.
18:59When we interviewed
19:00his son, Aaron Blair,
19:02he did tell us
19:03this was not the first time
19:04that his dad
19:04had a relationship
19:05with one of his girlfriends.
19:07Billy's already asked me,
19:09what do I think about my dad?
19:10I'm pretty sure
19:11you already know by now,
19:12but her and dad
19:13started talking a lot.
19:14And I told him,
19:15I said,
19:15honest truth.
19:16I said,
19:16I'm pointing fingers
19:16at everybody right now.
19:18I said,
19:18I can't say my dad
19:19wouldn't do it to me.
19:20I've already had bad things
19:21with my dad before.
19:22He's done it to me before.
19:24My son's mom, actually.
19:26Who's up?
19:27Tiffany Lee.
19:28This was deja vu to me
19:30because a few years prior,
19:32I conducted an investigation
19:33to where one of Aaron Blair's
19:36girlfriends
19:36was also having an affair
19:38with E.C. Blair.
19:40Tiffany was interviewed.
19:42She talked about
19:43what happened to her.
19:44E.C. got a little crazy.
19:45I started having bricks
19:48thrown through
19:48my house window,
19:50yet he denied it,
19:51said he would never do that.
19:52I think he hired somebody
19:53to do it for him.
19:54With the harassment
19:55of Tiffany,
19:57when they tried
19:57to break it off,
19:58we could tell that
19:59E.C. liked to pressure
20:01or threaten people.
20:08We tried to interview
20:10E.C. Blair,
20:11but he would always
20:13come up with an excuse
20:14and he never showed up.
20:17We wanted to put pressure
20:18on him,
20:19so we interviewed his wife.
20:29Not long before
20:31Leah went missing,
20:32E.C.'s wife,
20:33Lisa,
20:34had discovered
20:34the affair
20:35between E.C. and Leah
20:36by looking at
20:38E.C.'s cell phone.
20:40So he told you
20:41they had a
20:42sexual relationship.
20:44How does someone
20:45go there, Lisa?
20:46I don't know.
20:47I'm asking that.
20:48I'm asking that.
20:50How do you go there?
20:51How do you go there?
20:54I'm asking that
20:55E.C.'s girlfriend.
20:57We also determined
20:58that Lisa had
20:59wanted Leah fired.
21:02I believe Lisa
21:03had a motive
21:04for wanting Leah gone.
21:06She was causing
21:06a lot of issues
21:07in their family life.
21:08We learned that
21:09Lisa had threatened
21:11E.C. with a divorce.
21:15And by getting
21:16a divorce,
21:17E.C. would lose
21:19his young children.
21:22He was going to lose
21:23half his business.
21:25And that could be
21:26a motive
21:27to silence Leah.
21:31Lisa said
21:32that they had
21:32an alibi.
21:33She was at home
21:34with her children
21:35watching movies.
21:36And she said
21:37E.C. was there
21:37that night as well.
21:40But this was not
21:41an ironclad alibi
21:42because they were together.
21:45And then finally,
21:4610 days after Leah
21:47had been missing,
21:49E.C. Blair came in
21:50for his first interview.
21:54I'll have a seat right there
21:55and I'll be right back.
21:56Interview.
21:59Was she seeing anybody?
22:01To my knowledge,
22:02no.
22:02I got real close to her.
22:04I mean,
22:04you spend eight hours
22:05a day with her for a year,
22:07side by side.
22:08And she was fun.
22:10He made it seem like
22:12it was no big deal,
22:14that it was not actually
22:15a sexual type
22:17of relationship.
22:26It was the things
22:27that he didn't say
22:28that made him
22:30more suspicious
22:31than the things
22:32that he actually did say.
22:36But there was no evidence
22:38to physically put
22:40E.C. Blair
22:41at the shop
22:42when Leah went missing.
22:50The best evidence
22:52right now
22:52that we have
22:53is the surveillance videos.
22:55Friday night,
22:56Leah went missing.
22:57Someone came
22:58to that shop
22:59and Leah showed up.
23:02Leah never left
23:03that shop
23:03in her vehicle.
23:06My gut feeling
23:07at this time
23:08is that
23:09she did not
23:10leave that business
23:11alive.
23:12So we wanted
23:14to know
23:14who else
23:15has a key
23:16to E.C.'s shop.
23:26You have
23:27the night
23:27that she goes missing
23:29talking and texting him.
23:31He had somehow
23:33gotten Leah
23:34to come up
23:35to the shop.
23:36The next time
23:37she is seen
23:39is in a grave
23:40in the backyard.
23:56Young mom
23:57Leah Martin
23:58had been missing
23:59from Graham
23:59for 10 days.
24:03The surveillance
24:05video from
24:05across the street
24:06showed an SUV
24:08pull-in.
24:09Someone got out
24:09of the SUV
24:10and raised
24:10the garage bay
24:11door
24:11and backed
24:13the SUV
24:13into the shop area.
24:17And then Leah
24:17arrived at the garage
24:18and never left.
24:20So we want
24:21to know
24:22who is driving
24:23an SUV
24:23that has a key
24:25to E.C.'s shop.
24:28We really needed
24:29to start digging
24:30into the employees
24:32of E.C. Auto Repair
24:33again.
24:45during the interviews
24:47we learned
24:48that shop handyman
24:49Ross Hellams
24:50had an SUV.
24:52That Tahoe
24:53could be the SUV
24:54that was spotted
24:55on surveillance video.
25:04Ross told us
25:05that he worked
25:06until about
25:065.30
25:07that Friday
25:08evening
25:08and after that
25:09he went
25:10to a friend's
25:11Michael Brown's
25:12house
25:12where he stayed
25:13until about
25:132 or 2.30
25:14a.m.
25:20So we went
25:21and interviewed
25:22Michael Brown.
25:24May the 29th
25:25What did you do
25:25that night?
25:28Myself?
25:29No, me and white
25:30kids
25:31and
25:33that's about you.
25:35They weren't together
25:36Ross Hellams
25:37Alibi
25:37wasn't adding up.
25:39So we got consent
25:41from Ross Hellams
25:43who was the owner
25:44of the vehicle
25:44to search the Tahoe.
25:49We do a very thorough
25:51search of the vehicle.
25:53We find no evidence.
25:59So we asked him
26:00to take a polygraph test
26:01and he agreed
26:02to do that.
26:07Did you physically
26:09do anything
26:09to cause
26:10Leah's disappearance?
26:12He failed
26:13the polygraph exam.
26:17We believed
26:18at the time
26:18that EC had
26:19the motive
26:20but Ross was
26:21the handyman
26:22at the shop
26:22that could probably
26:23do the job.
26:25We then
26:26get search warrants
26:27for phone records
26:29for Ross Hellams'
26:30cell phone
26:31and they indicated
26:31that on the Friday night
26:33that Leah went missing
26:34he and a friend
26:36of his
26:36Billy Minkley
26:38who worked
26:38sometimes
26:39at EC's shop
26:41communicated
26:41over 20 times
26:43that evening.
26:46When we bring
26:47Billy Minkley in
26:48he stated
26:49that he was talking
26:50to Ross
26:50multiple times
26:51because he is
26:52a handyman
26:53and he was doing
26:53his work for Ross
26:54at his residence
26:55here in Graham.
26:57Before we can
26:58question him
26:58any further
26:58Billy Minkley
26:59attains a lawyer
27:00and stops
27:01talking to us.
27:02Right here only
27:04I'm going to open
27:04my right to speak
27:05to a lawyer.
27:06We felt like
27:07Ross was hiding
27:08something along
27:09with Billy.
27:14It had been
27:15six weeks
27:16and my daughter
27:18was still missing.
27:23We were working
27:25around the clock
27:25trying to find out
27:26what's going on.
27:27We had
27:28mentioned posters up
27:29we put them
27:30around town.
27:31Her favorite color
27:32was purple
27:32so we tied
27:34purple ribbons
27:34on everything.
27:36Just trying
27:37to get the word out
27:38when people
27:39saw that color
27:40they would
27:40think of her
27:41and you know
27:42we got
27:43so much information
27:44from just from that.
27:46We got a tip
27:48that gave us
27:49the name
27:49of Armonique
27:50Jefferson.
27:53We learned
27:54that Armonique
27:55was a relative
27:56of Ross's
27:57and so we
27:58made contact
27:59with her
28:00and she told us
28:01that Ross
28:01had paid her
28:02$20
28:02to call Leah
28:05and make threats
28:06to her.
28:07And we were
28:08able to
28:09corroborate that
28:09by cell phone
28:11records.
28:14Armonique also
28:15told us
28:16that she was
28:17at Ross's house
28:18on Friday night
28:19and that at some
28:20point late Friday
28:21night Ross
28:22came out
28:23to the house
28:24with a friend
28:25who she identified
28:26as Billy Meek.
28:27She also told us
28:29that there was
28:29a backhoe
28:30at Ross's house
28:32on Friday night.
28:34Finding out
28:35that there was
28:35a backhoe
28:36on Helm's property
28:37that night
28:38made us
28:39concerned
28:41because that's
28:42what you do
28:42with backhoes
28:43is you dig hoes.
29:04So at this time
29:05Leah had been
29:05missing
29:06eight weeks.
29:11All eyes
29:12are on Ross Helm's
29:13and Billy Meekly.
29:15Both of them
29:16were employees
29:16there at EC Auto.
29:18The weekend
29:19that Leah
29:20went missing
29:21we learned
29:21that Billy Meekly
29:22and Ross
29:23had a backhoe
29:24on Ross Helm's
29:25property
29:25and Ross Helm's
29:27did fail a polygraph
29:28but without
29:29a body
29:30or any evidence.
29:32We had
29:32nothing physical
29:33that connected
29:34them to Leah's
29:35disappearance
29:35so we continued
29:37to go out
29:37and search for
29:38as much evidence
29:39as possible.
29:46Nobody really
29:47had any leads.
29:49I mean
29:50it felt like
29:50we were going crazy.
29:52So I went out
29:53every day
29:54searching for Leah
29:55and I told her
29:56we're going to find you.
29:58we're going to find you.
30:00And then
30:01one day
30:02I had a premonition
30:03and a vision
30:04I saw
30:05the bay door come up
30:07and I saw
30:07two sets of legs
30:09and I knew right then
30:10that it was
30:11two guys
30:12that worked for EC.
30:15I felt it.
30:16I felt strong
30:17that I needed
30:18to go to Ross' house
30:19and look.
30:21I didn't get permission
30:22and started looking.
30:24I went with my friend
30:26Becky
30:27we looked in the house
30:28and you know
30:29they had trash bags
30:30and stuff taped up
30:31on the walls
30:32and plastic
30:33taped on the floors.
30:34That was weird.
30:35I said let's go
30:37down here
30:37to the stock trailer.
30:39We seen the trash pile
30:40and Becky said
30:40it looks like
30:41somebody's been here digging.
30:42There was a buzzard
30:43sitting in a tree
30:44waiting.
30:47We just knew
30:47that's where
30:48she was buried.
30:51so we called
30:52the cops.
31:01With the information
31:02we had received
31:03from the family
31:04we had obtained
31:04a search warrant
31:05for our home's property
31:06on August 2015.
31:18The area was wooded.
31:21We see a trailer's gates open
31:23and some of the trash
31:25is laid out
31:25on the ground.
31:27We moved the trailer
31:28out of the way.
31:29We had a backhoe
31:30that we brought in.
31:32We started to dig
31:33very carefully.
31:35That's when we started
31:36to smell of our odor
31:37coming from the ground.
31:42The backhoe operator
31:43takes about
31:44three or four scoops
31:45and we notice
31:47a pair of what we
31:48believe to be
31:49pant legs.
31:52We check a little bit
31:53further
31:54and we notice
31:55human legs.
31:57One foot was missing.
31:58We believe the body
32:00to be a female.
32:01The body was found
32:02with a plastic bag
32:03of her head.
32:06And it had
32:06a significant
32:07head injury.
32:09The body is too
32:10decomposed
32:11for a positive ID
32:12but we were able
32:13to match the clothing
32:14to what Leah
32:16was wearing
32:16the night she went missing.
32:22When they were
32:23down here
32:23digging her up
32:24I remember
32:25coming here
32:26just to see
32:27if it was really true
32:28because I didn't
32:28want to believe it.
32:30It wasn't enough
32:31to kill her
32:32just bury her
32:33you know.
32:39She had a rock
32:40stuck in her mouth.
32:44The rock
32:45that was stuck
32:45in her mouth
32:46was to keep her
32:46from biting the
32:47plastic bag
32:47that they had put
32:48on her head.
32:52Who in their right mind
32:54who can do that
32:55to a human being?
32:57You got the devil
32:58in you.
33:06We transported the remains
33:08to Fort Worth
33:09for an autopsy.
33:14On August 12th
33:15the week after
33:16the body was found
33:17DNA
33:17is confirmed
33:18the body
33:19would be
33:20Leah Martin.
33:23The cause of death
33:24was ruled
33:25as homicidal
33:25violence
33:26with asphyxiation.
33:29When I found her
33:30I went home
33:31and
33:33cried for a while.
33:40We didn't have
33:41to warn her
33:41anymore
33:42you know.
33:45We were just
33:46left with
33:47her not being there.
33:52At this time
33:53we didn't have
33:54enough evidence
33:54information
33:55to charge
33:56Ross and Billy
33:57with murder.
34:00And then
34:00we found out
34:01from Michael Brown
34:02that Ross Helms
34:03tried to
34:04throw away
34:05a shotgun
34:05in the dumpster
34:07at his residence
34:08here in Graham.
34:10As a felon
34:11he is not allowed
34:12to possess a firearm.
34:14We obtained
34:14arrest warrants
34:15for Ross Helms
34:16and Billy Minkley
34:17for falling
34:18in possession
34:18of a firearm
34:19and prohibited
34:20weapon.
34:20By bringing
34:24them in
34:24around the gun
34:24charges
34:25we could
34:25at least
34:25hold them.
34:27We re-interviewed
34:29both of them.
34:30Helms wants
34:31to talk
34:31but if he is
34:32talking to you
34:33he don't know
34:34if he's lying
34:35telling the truth
34:36or just making
34:37something up
34:38that's entirely
34:38incredible.
34:39And that was
34:40the problem.
34:40I could not
34:41have him testify
34:42at trial.
34:43Billy Minkley
34:44admits to
34:45renting tobacco
34:46the day
34:47after Leah
34:48went missing.
34:51And then
34:52he stopped
34:52talking to us.
34:53It was very
34:54frustrating.
34:55You know
34:55we felt like
34:56we had got
34:56another lead
34:57and then
34:58we lost that.
35:03On September 8th
35:04we received
35:05a call from
35:05Fort Worth
35:06Police Department
35:06stating that
35:07Billy Minkley
35:08was a suspect
35:09in a triple
35:10homicide
35:10that happened
35:11over a year ago.
35:13for the
35:14triple homicide
35:15that had been
35:16a cold case
35:16the death penalty
35:17was on the table.
35:23So they
35:24were putting
35:24pressure on him
35:25to talk.
35:27Can't you see
35:27that I'm trying
35:28to give you
35:29a little bit of life
35:30at the end
35:30of the tunnel?
35:31The death penalty
35:32was taken off
35:33of the table.
35:35He ultimately
35:36confessed
35:37to the triple
35:37homicide.
35:48The Fort Worth
35:49triple homicide
35:50made us realize
35:51that Billy Minkley
35:52is a person
35:53that could have
35:54no problem
35:55killing Leah.
36:18for the murder
36:19of Leah Martin.
36:20Authorities
36:21in Graham, Texas
36:23have two suspects
36:24in custody
36:26Billy Minkley
36:27and Ross Helms
36:28employees there
36:29at EC Auto
36:29Repair.
36:31Billy Minkley
36:32interviewed
36:32with Fort Worth
36:33Police Department
36:34and then he agreed
36:36to assist us
36:37in our investigation
36:38to keep
36:39from receiving
36:40the death penalty.
36:43Billy Minkley's
36:44testimony,
36:45he was able
36:46to paint a picture
36:48as to everything
36:49that took place
36:50in the shop
36:50that night.
36:53That's when
36:54we discover
36:55a bombshell emission.
36:56EC Blair,
37:00he was at the
37:01center of all of this.
37:02Minkley told me
37:04that EC Blair
37:05was not happy
37:07with Leah
37:09and the difficulties
37:11that it was causing
37:12in his marriage
37:13and that EC Blair
37:15wanted something
37:16done with Leah.
37:18I don't know
37:18what I was thinking.
37:20Based on
37:21the statement
37:22by Billy Minkley,
37:24on May 29th,
37:26EC Blair
37:26had lured her
37:28up to the shop.
37:29Once Leah arrived,
37:31she went into
37:32the office
37:32and she was
37:33and she was
37:33on the couch
37:34looking on her phone.
37:38Billy walked
37:39into the office
37:40with the crowbar
37:41and hit Leah
37:42in the head
37:43with it.
37:45He said he swung
37:46so hard
37:47that the sheetrock
37:48on the wall
37:49was damaged.
37:51Waz and Billy
37:52wrapped a plastic bag
37:53around her head
37:54to keep the blood
37:55from dripping
37:55everywhere in the shop
37:57and then loaded her
37:58up in Ross Helms, Tahoe.
38:00They took her
38:01out to Ross's property
38:03and propped her
38:04up against a tree.
38:06The next morning,
38:07Billy Minkley Jr.
38:09rented a backhoe.
38:22She was buried
38:24in the backyard.
38:32We were able
38:33to corroborate
38:34so much
38:34of what Minkley
38:36had said
38:36except EC Blair's
38:38involvement.
38:40Billy Minkley
38:41and Ross Helms
38:42were both charged
38:42with murder
38:43and with tampering
38:44with evidence
38:45of a corpse.
38:47Ultimately,
38:47Minkley did plead guilty
38:48to murder
38:49and Ross did plead guilty
38:50to murder
38:51and having the body
38:52on his property.
38:54For his role
38:55in the murder,
38:56Billy Ray Minkley Jr.
38:58is sentenced
38:58to life in prison.
39:01Ross Helms
39:02is sentenced
39:02to 20 years
39:03in prison
39:04for murder
39:05and 20 years
39:06in prison
39:07for tampering
39:08with a corpse.
39:09I went with
39:10my prosecution theory
39:11that EC Blair
39:13had the motive
39:14to kill his mistress
39:15and so he
39:17had the two individuals
39:19do the killing.
39:26I presented
39:27this case
39:28to the grand jury
39:29and they returned
39:31a true bill
39:31for capital murder
39:35and EC Blair
39:37was arrested.
39:38Get in!
39:41We got him!
39:43You ready?
39:44One,
39:45two,
39:45three.
39:51When I was talking
39:52about EC Blair
39:53to the jury,
39:54I portrayed him
39:55as a manipulator.
39:59There's a crowd here,
40:00police chief.
40:00You have Leah
40:02on the night
40:02that she goes missing,
40:04talking on the phone
40:05and texting EC Blair.
40:08The defense theory
40:09was that Leah
40:12had walked in
40:13on some sort
40:14of felonious behavior.
40:16Perhaps a drug deal
40:17was going down
40:18and Billy Minkley Jr.
40:20and Ross Hellen
40:21just needed to kill her
40:22so she wouldn't talk.
40:25The jury were out
40:27for several hours
40:28deliberating.
40:31The case
40:32for capital murder
40:34for EC Blair,
40:36he was acquitted
40:38on all charges.
40:44I was surprised.
40:45EC Blair
40:46was acquitted.
40:54The state
40:55has the burden
40:56of proof
40:56and apparently
40:58the jurors
40:58did not believe
40:59that we met
41:00our burden.
41:01But I believed
41:03in my case
41:04and that's all
41:05I'll say on it.
41:09I got up
41:10and walked out.
41:11I was incensed.
41:15I felt my heart
41:17hit the floor.
41:18My stomach
41:19hit the floor.
41:20I felt like
41:20I wanted to be sick.
41:30Leah was beauty
41:31and light
41:33and summer sunshine.
41:37Birds and butterflies.
41:38I mean,
41:38she was beautiful.
41:42I was hurt
41:43a lot about
41:43Avery not
41:44getting to have
41:45a mother.
41:46But Avery,
41:47she's just like
41:48her mother.
41:48So when I see her,
41:50I see Leah,
41:50so I get to see her.
41:53Purple
41:54was her favorite color.
41:56I wear purple
41:58a lot.
41:58I have a purple garden.
42:01There's purple
42:01everywhere in my life
42:02because it's
42:03a constant reminder
42:04of her.
42:05It keeps her close.
42:06peach
42:06horse.
42:13I was like,
42:14let's go pee.
42:14I love you.
42:22You
42:22hurt yourself.
42:25I'm outside of bed.
42:25You
42:26want to be
42:26well.
42:28Let's do this workbig
42:30else.
42:36This is an
42:36You
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