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00:13I 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.
00:28I definitely needed somebody to be held accountable I needed to tell Katelyn's story you know I needed
00:34people to know about her she was beautiful she was smart and she loved to shop and dance and she
00:41had so many friends I always described her as glitter she expressed her individuality through
00:49her hair she always had different colors and it was always so cute on her I loved the purple on
00:55her
00:55she used to travel for those music festivals I mean she's been all around the world
01:00yeah the shuffling queen that's what we always say
01:06she had the best sense of humor she loved Milani 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 no I thought man she's near me you know
01:26and I never thought this would happen never crossed my mind
01:30okay tell me exactly what happened my roommate's daughter just came and woke me up in my bedroom
01:35she told me that something was wrong with mommy and uh that mommy wouldn't wake up
01:40is she breathing um yes no sorry that I don't know we need to get through here
01:48sheriff's office I was woken up to a phone call
01:52do you know what time it was 35 a.m it was jacob on the phone saying that
01:59caitlin is unresponsive they're doing cpr and the ems is there
02:04my sister called she's like sherry get to caitlin's right now something's wrong and
02:09my only thought was let me get to that baby who's up there with Milani
02:18I grabbed her and she just like melted into me yeah it was it was pretty bad
02:24the way the code of Virginia is nobody can get in trouble for overdoses
02:29they asked me does she do drugs do I do drugs did you give her something does she take something
02:35I was like I don't do drugs all the signs are looking for like an overdose
02:39the 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 I genuinely believed she's gonna
02:50be okay she had CPR she was alive she had a heartbeat she's gonna be okay in the hospital
02:58they even wanted to bring a chaplain in and I was like no my child's not gonna die I don't
03:04need a
03:04chaplain in right now a tech came to me and walked me outside she said it wasn't drugs someone hurt
03:13your
03:13baby who would want to hurt her and she loved everybody and everybody loved her you know
03:20she didn't have enemies that you were aware of yeah I will never stop seeing my daughter's name
03:28and I will never stop seeking justice for her
03:34turning that up
03:36the
03:36bad
03:36the
03:36hard
03:36the
04:05Transcription by CastingWords
04:18I walk into the hospital, saw my daughter there, and I watched her do CPR, and I'll never forget that.
04:27On October 7, 2022, as Crystal Sale arrived at the hospital bedside of her daughter, Caitlin Lyon Montgomery, she knew
04:38the two people she needed most.
04:40And would you say your sisters have really stepped up for you?
04:45Absolutely. I 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 daughter, Melani, while periodically
04:58checking in on Caitlin in the hospital.
05:01I knew it was bad.
05:03What did you think had happened to Caitlin?
05:06I didn't know.
05:07I called Sherry. The 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, that 28-year-old Caitlin was
05:23unconscious and in grave condition.
05:26You know, Sherry told me, like, you have to come home. It's not good. I was just shocked that this
05:32was even happening and just confused.
05:36Especially when doctors told her that Caitlin sustained injuries to her neck and head.
05:42Any medical history?
05:43While first responders had initially thought Caitlin had suffered a drug overdose.
05:49She's ODing.
05:50Huh?
05:50She's ODing.
05:51Her physical injuries and the lack of drugs found at the scene.
05:55You have any drugs, anything?
05:56Indicated Caitlin was actually the victim of a violent assault.
06:01That she had been strangled?
06:05We were all, we were speechless, we were baffled. Like, who would have done this?
06:09I got a phone call to take a strangulation report.
06:14Lead investigator Robbie Burnett with the Bedford County, Virginia Sheriff's Office focused on documenting Caitlin's injuries.
06:23I 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 says it helped timestamp the attack.
06:38It was very recent.
06:39Like when you say very recent.
06:40Within an hour or so, most likely, of when the call came in.
06:44So her apartment's on the second floor.
06:47Right on the end of the building.
06:49Yes.
06:50Shortly after learning about Caitlin's injuries,
06:53investigator Michelle Alderson was sent to secure and process Caitlin's apartment.
06:59Now a crime scene.
07:01One that had been disturbed by first responders, EMTs, and Caitlin and her roommate, Jacob Piercy's dogs.
07:11Can you get these lones out of here best you can?
07:12So my scene was not as exact as I would like my crime scenes to be.
07:19Investigator Alderson set out to find what could have caused the injuries on Caitlin's neck.
07:24She found a huge clue wrapped up in Caitlin's comforter.
07:30It was a multiple charging cord adapter.
07:34Did they look like they matched what had been described on her neck?
07:39I would call them consistent.
07:41Yes.
07:41With the cords found on the bed, Alderson suspected that Caitlin was attacked there.
07:47But she soon learned that first responders, not suspecting foul play at that time,
07:54had given the family permission to wash Caitlin's sheets and clean up.
08:00Doesn't that make it difficult to obtain DNA?
08:05Yes.
08:05Fingerprints.
08:06Yes.
08:06Yes.
08:08Investigators were unable to recover any DNA or fingerprints at the scene, including any
08:15on those charging cords.
08:17As 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.
08:34I remember going to her, and one of the only things I remember is telling her I'm sorry that I
08:41couldn'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.
08:54I 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.
09:06My 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.
09:23Tina shared the video on TikTok.
09:27My family and I have been through a tragedy.
09:31She and the rest of her family started posting photos and videos.
09:36I'm going to talk about my niece.
09:38Memorializing Caitlin.
09:40She liked music, right?
09:43I love music, specifically electronic dance music.
09:46Music that Caitlin had discovered with her older brother, Jake Lyon.
09:51And there was this, like, dance party type thing.
09:55And 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?
10:00What is it?
10:00Tell me, what is it that she took to?
10:03I think just the energy and the social element.
10:06How she would draw a crowd.
10:09She loved life.
10:11She 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, even with Milani's father out of the picture and
10:32while working full time as a restaurant manager.
10:36Caitlin was rocking it.
10:38She was rocking it.
10:39What do you mean rocking it?
10:40She 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.
10:53I 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 Piercey, the roommate.
11:06With no sign of forced entry and being the only other adult in the apartment, Caitlin's new roommate, Jacob Piercey,
11:15who had called 911 reporting her injured, was an obvious suspect.
11:24But Tina says she suspected this man, Caitlin's ex-boyfriend, Trenton Frye, whom she had broken up with 10 days
11:34earlier.
11:35That was my first gut instinct.
11:37You first saw Trenton?
11:39I did.
11:40Trenton lived three hours away in North Carolina, so 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 Piercey, 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 Piercey.
12:10Did you have anything to do with hurting Caitlin?
12:14Absolutely not.
12:27Outfit 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.
12:46That 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.
13:13When did you last see her?
13:14We were hanging out.
13:15Stop.
13:16We were out here watching TV.
13:17That investigation centered on Caitlin's roommate, Jacob Piercey.
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.
13:27In my mind, I'm just here to tell him what I can tell him, help him figure out what could
13:32have happened, what couldn't have happened.
13:33But after being interviewed several times, having his body photographed for possible defensive wounds, and his cell phone confiscated, Jacob
13:45Piercey knew he was in serious trouble.
13:48Were 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
14:00yet.
14:03What troubled investigators was four-year-old Melani's statement.
14:08She said she had seen Jacob killing her mother, but Burnett soon discovered that she had actually witnessed Jacob performing
14:17CPR.
14:19She 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.
14:37You 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.
15:03They tried calling him in North Carolina a couple of days after their initial conversation, but learned he was unable
15:11to 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.
15:40Sharing 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
15:56love 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.
16:06In January of 2022, when Caitlin connected with Trenton on a dating app, the tall, fitness-obsessed, and apparently successful
16:18North Carolina native seemed to be marriage material.
16:23How had she described him to you?
16:25Well, he had his stuff together.
16:27She was excited to have a relationship with him.
16:29When Caitlin's Aunt Sherry met Trenton, she admits she was impressed.
16:34He 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.
16:53Which made Hannah wonder how Trenton, who lived three hours away, could spend weeks on end at their apartment while
17:02also running two businesses.
17:05And when I would leave in the morning, when I would come home from lunch, when I would get home
17:09from 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.
17:33And 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.
18:16More red flags appeared when he tried to convince her to move with him to North Carolina, where he said
18:22he would find them an apartment.
18:24In reality, he was not reliable and wasn't fulfilling what she thought he was going to do.
18:33In 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, I mean, just like bawling, crying.
18:51And 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.
19:04She 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,
19:14and asked if he wanted to find an apartment with her and Melani.
19:18They finally found this one apartment, and we were so excited that they were going to be so close to
19:23us.
19:25While Caitlin was making a fresh start, it seemed Trenton Frye did not want to let her go.
19:32He was actually sitting in the parking lot of her apartment watching everything Caitlin was doing.
19:51Have you seen a big change in your sister?
19:54Mm-hmm.
19:59She's just sad all the time.
20:01She 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.
20:10In the days following Caitlin's death, Crystal began sharing her grief with others on TikTok.
20:17I'll get a text message, and for an instant, I'll think that it's Caitlin.
20:27I end 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 Frye had somehow gotten into Caitlin's apartment and strangled her.
20:47Why did Trenton Frye 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, yeah, 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, West Nance, was assigned the case.
21:19He says investigators were able to obtain Trenton Frye's cell phone after he checked himself into that mental health facility
21:27in North Carolina.
21:30And that's how they learned that the device had started pinging off a cell tower in Virginia on October 4th,
21:38three days before Caitlin's attack.
21:42He wasn't just in Virginia.
21:44He was in at least the area of Caitlin's new apartment complex.
21:52Investigators canvassed the apartment complex and found two of Caitlin's neighbors who remembered seeing an unfamiliar man sitting at a
22:03picnic 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 Frye.
22:19How 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.
22:28Did 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.
22:44Investigators learned two hours after that photo was taken, Trenton Frye's SUV was recorded by a surveillance camera pulling into
22:54a gas station near the apartment complex.
22:57He was seen inside the store, now wearing all black.
23:02It was around that time that Frye 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.
23:17The text between Caitlin and Trenton Frye, says Prosecutor Nance, became heated.
23:24Frye made it clear he knew she was living with Jacob Piercy and he didn't like it.
23:31So 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.
23:46At one point, she told me that she wanted to go to her mom's house and pick up her self
23:52-defense weapon that she has, her pistol.
23:58Caitlin 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 Frye gained entry.
24:32His Google searches revealed that he had looked up the layout of the unit,
24:37which they believed helped him find Caitlin's bedroom.
24:41I think it was an absolute brutal, sudden sneak attack on a then-sleeping Caitlin.
24:50Frye strangled Caitlin, investigators say, with those charging cords, while her daughter, Milani, slept nearby.
24:58With her child laying beside her, I don't think it gets much worse.
25:06After Frye left, says Nance, Milani alerted Jacob Piercy that something was wrong with her mother.
25:16Trenton Frye's digital footprint from that morning, says Nance, gives him away.
25:22Mr. Frye started to Google breaking news, and specifically, he looked to see if he had any arrest warrants out
25:29for himself.
25:29There weren't any warrants for him at the time.
25:33But 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 Frye 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,
26:14hoping that he could eventually convince Caitlin to get back together.
26:19I was trying to give her space while I figured everything out.
26:23But when challenged with evidence that he was at her apartment complex.
26:28I'm missing pieces of time for like the last month.
26:31Trenton Frye claimed he had no memory of it, that he sometimes blacked out for long periods of time,
26:39including the hours around Caitlin's attack.
26:42Is there anything else that could contribute to your memory loss?
26:48Drugs, drugs, no, no, alcohol.
26:50No, you guys can test me.
26:52Investigators had heard enough.
26:54Do you want me to jail today?
26:56Just turn around.
26:56Over.
26:58And took Trenton Frye into custody.
27:03And how did you feel that he had been arrested?
27:07Relieved that somebody was going to be, you know, held accountable.
27:12Trenton Frye was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty.
27:20There's no evidence, no hard evidence, nothing you can point to, to prove that Trenton was ever in that apartment.
27:27Trenton Frye'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.
28:01Today marks two months.
28:03Two months from the last time that I told my daughter I loved her.
28:08Tomorrow marks three months.
28:10Today is 16 months.
28:12It'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.
28:30This one should be it, and I pray to God that it is.
28:33Trenton Frye entered the courtroom in March of 2025, two and a half years after Caitlin's death.
28:42Her family was there, her brothers were there, her aunts were there.
28:46CBS Roanoke reporter Layla Mitchell covered the trial.
28:51Prosecutors argue that Trenton Frye stopped, obsessed over, and ultimately strangled Caitlin Lyons.
28:56Layla Mitchell reported on TV, Caitlin's family updated their growing community of supporters on TikTok, while Prosecutor Wes Nance made
29:08his case to the most important audience of all, the jury.
29:13Well, of course, recalling later that same afternoon, Mr. Frye told him, I wasn't in Virginia.
29:20I was working in North Carolina.
29:23I didn't even know where Caitlin lived.
29:26Mr. Frye had given a number of inconsistent statements.
29:31What I would absolutely characterize as lies, because they were all in conflict with one another.
29:36And so they approached him again.
29:38And this time, he relied on an excuse out of a bad soap opera.
29:43He claimed he had amnesia.
29:44I don't remember any of you.
29:46My whole head has been messed up.
29:48But Prosecutor Wes Nance didn't have to rely on Frye's memory.
29:52Not only did he have the digital data from Frye's phone placing him in the area, investigators had also discovered
30:01that 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 Frye's cell phone connects to the iPad.
30:17And the iPad shows the connection.
30:20Frye's phone had automatically connected to Caitlin's iPad via Bluetooth, providing the only evidence, says Nance, that placed Frye inside
30:32Caitlin's apartment.
30:34Now we have the two of them within feet of each other during the window of the injuries.
30:39And what about that sound that Jacob Piercy heard earlier that evening?
30:44Nance believes that it was Trenton Frye positioning this metal bench that belonged to their downstairs neighbor on the brick
30:54wall under their balcony.
30:57The perfect extra separately that Mr. Frye would have needed to get to that second floor again.
31:05Trenton Frye's defense attorney, Joseph Sanzone, concedes that Frye, devastated after the breakup, was in the area and admits that
31:16Frye was at Caitlin's apartment complex, but says he was only outside.
31:24I agree with the billboards in this case, just as for Caitlin, but it should happen after a review of
31:32all 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.
31:46And 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?
32:03No, we don't know that. We 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
32:13else kills his ex-girlfriend?
32:15Yeah, and whoever did it in that circumstance is the luckiest guy.
32:20Jacob Piercy, the man who found Caitlin Lyon unresponsive, took the stand to testify today.
32:26Jacob 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.
32:49I was furious. He degraded. He humiliated my daughter. Oh, 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.
33:12A murder, Sanzone says Trent and Fry couldn't have committed, saying it was impossible for Fry to get into Caitlin's
33:22apartment,
33:22kill her, 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?
33:39Only Tom Cruise can do that, as far as I know. I just can't imagine. In real life.
33:44Sanzone is a witness, whom he believes can help make his case. Trent and Fry himself.
34:06Did you expect Trent to take the stand?
34:10I didn't. I was shocked.
34:15When Trent and Fry took the stand to tell the jury his story, he appeared to have regained his memory
34:21of his actions that night.
34:23Did you do anything except you want?
34:26No, 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.
34:36They need to hear from the person.
34:39I don't ever remember being in an apartment because I never was.
34:43Prosecutor Wes Nance challenged Fry's story.
34:46You were spying.
34:48Yes.
34:48You were gathering intel.
34:51Yes.
34:52But Fry remained adamant that he could not have killed Caitlin.
34:57And I could not have climbed that balcony without making a sound. I would have to be a ninja of
35:02some sort.
35:02But Nan says that gas station surveillance photo at Fry, taken hours before the murder, proves that he dressed the
35:12part.
35:13A ninja is known for being in stealth mode.
35:15And I think changing his outfit to black is him going into stealth mode.
35:21Don't let the excuses, don't let the word play, don't let the memory cast confused.
35:32But would that add up to reasonable doubt for the jury?
35:37Until they have some proof that my client was inside that apartment, nothing in this case can be proven.
35:47Not one thing.
35:50Today, the jury will be told that they can either find Trenton Fry guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree
35:58murder, or they can find him not guilty at all.
36:01All of our nerves are on edge.
36:03So wish us all luck today.
36:06It's going to be rough.
36:08We weren't going to leave, whether it was an hour or 20 hours.
36:12But you didn't have to wait very long, did you?
36:14No.
36:16The 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.
36:37Trenton Fry was found guilty of first-degree murder in Caitlin's death.
36:42I was staring at his face the entire time, and he had no reaction when the verdict was read.
36:48Caitlin's family burst into tears.
36:51Having Trenton Fry be accountable for his actions does bring our family a little bit of peace.
36:57Tina, flanked by her sisters and Caitlin's brothers, announced the verdict to their supporters.
37:03This entire process has been brutal for our family.
37:08Four months later, they returned to court for Trenton Frye's sentencing.
37:13This man didn't just take a life, he destroyed a family.
37:17Caitlin's brother spoke about the impact on Melani.
37:21He 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 beg God too many times to count to please, 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.
37:45Melani was sentenced to a lifetime without her mama, so...
37:49He needs life.
37:54Mr. Frye, if you would stand, please, sir. Is there anything you wish to say?
37:58Yes, um...
37:59Trenton Frye turned to Caitlin's family.
38:03I probably have not felt it on the level that you all have, but I have felt it for her
38:08loss,
38:09and I truly am sorry for the loss that you have experienced.
38:14But he never took responsibility for Caitlin's murder.
38:18The amount of terror, the amount of horror inflicted upon this young, innocent woman
38:25is unimaginable.
38:28Responsibility that Judge James Updike reminded him was his alone.
38:34Unimaginable to anyone, to everybody, except you.
38:40Because you were there.
38:42You saw it.
38:44You caused it.
38:47I hereby sentence you to imprisonment for life.
38:51Life in prison.
38:54Even though we got the verdict we wanted,
38:57my daughter's still not here.
38:59If I could walk out of that courtroom and hug her,
39:03then I would have won.
39:07Nobody won.
39:12I think that everyone that has lost their lives to domestic violence,
39:17their names need to be said.
39:19Crystal's TikTok videos are now focused on sharing Caitlin's experience
39:24and hoping her story could help save someone else.
39:29I 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.
39:38She and her family have embraced the man who did all he could to save Caitlin,
39:44Jacob Piercy.
39:45He's a hero.
39:46She needed him and he was doing everything he could to help her.
39:50They opened up and welcomed me to Christmases and Thanksgivings and hangouts and birthdays and cookouts.
39:58And they've really made me feel like part of the family.
40:02A family still adapting in Caitlin's absence.
40:06See my head, it's burning up.
40:08Crystal enjoys a familiar role as Melani's grandmother,
40:13while Aunt Sherry, who always shared a special bond with Caitlin and her little girl,
40:19has become Melani's guardian.
40:22What does she call you?
40:23She calls me Mama now, Mommy.
40:25Was that hard for you at first?
40:27Yes, because I didn't want my sister to be upset
40:31because I didn't want her to think I was taking Melani from Caitlin, erasing Caitlin.
40:36I was like, absolutely not, you know.
40:38You are her mommy now.
40:40She knows she's got mommy number one that had her Caitlin.
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.
41:00Caitlin, as she saw herself.
41:03You're beautiful, powerful, and so strong.
41:06Her final entry focused on one subject, love.
41:12I am loved.
41:13I deserve to be loved.
41:15I am worthy of love.
41:17She knew that she was loved.
41:20She still is.
41:22Very much so.
41:50And I'll see you next time.
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