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00:36A Wall Street banker who took regular jogs through Central Park lies hospitalized.
00:41Police said she was left for dead.
00:43In April of 89, we had the infamous Central Park jogger case.
00:47It was a huge case because it was Central Park and because of the horrendousness of the crime.
00:53The victim in that crime, Tricia Miley, was sexually assaulted.
00:56She was left for dead. She was beaten so badly that she ended up in a coma.
01:01It really created this sense of abject horror.
01:04Police believe the gang confronted her here, then dragged her 200 feet into the woods.
01:10What is wrong with people?
01:11Definitely won't jog here at night, ever.
01:14It seemed like the NYPD had lost control.
01:17In 1989, the drugs and the violence was something I hadn't even seen in my career up at that point.
01:24I remember sleeping in this apartment, being so afraid. I was by myself.
01:28I used to sleep with a gun under my pillow.
01:31And I've been robbed eight times. I've been jumped three times.
01:34People wanted some kind of remedy to what seemed like an unsolvable crisis of crime.
01:40And we're just out for blood.
01:42So there was a big push to solve this fast.
01:46Five young males were bored in. Those boys were arrested and charged with rape.
01:51These boys were known as the Central Park Five.
01:54And the contrast between an affluent, young, blonde, white woman and the young men of color,
02:00black and Latino, who were in the park and immediately blamed for the crime,
02:05just pressed a giant nerve of race and prejudice.
02:10And ultimately, these five men were convicted of sexually assaulting Trisha Miley.
02:16But there were people who had doubts as to whether justice was done.
02:21Physical evidence was nonexistence as to any of these boys.
02:24And there may be a rapist out there who has struck or may be ready to strike again.
02:31But the Central Park Jogger case, it didn't begin with Trisha Miley.
02:38There are other victims who never became known at all, whose stories deserve to be told.
02:46Okay, speeding all around.
02:55Our job is to make sure you can go home and sleep at night.
03:00It's so important for a family to know who murdered their relative.
03:05Compassion for the victims, that's the most important thing.
03:09I've always liked the peek behind the curtain.
03:12What really happened?
03:14You want to find out the truth.
03:17That's what detectives do.
03:19Your instinct is to help people.
03:23In New York City, the NYPD.
03:28This is it.
03:47I was seven years old.
03:50Mom ordered Chinese food for us.
03:54We hear a knock on the door.
03:58And I assumed that it was the Chinese food.
04:04We opened the door and there was a guy there.
04:07He was asking for the super.
04:09And we said the super wasn't there.
04:13Then he let himself in.
04:15Shove me to the side, closed the door behind him.
04:19Then he started asking for money.
04:20And my mom's offered jewelry and money that she had.
04:25And she was holding my favorite sister, Amanda, at the time.
04:29And he got aggressive.
04:31And I could tell my mom's was scared.
04:33And then we started crying and stuff.
04:37We were confused of what was going on.
04:40And then he grabbed her and he actually, your eyes or your kids, he made her choose.
04:51She made the decision.
04:53And that was the last time I saw her.
05:04My retired captain, NYPD, did 31 years.
05:09I wanted to go to West Point.
05:11But since I got a 40 in high school chemistry, I ended up being a policeman.
05:16That was my second choice.
05:20Summer of 89, I was the commanding officer of the 5th Detective Division, Manhattan.
05:25North, I was on my way to dinner when I got the call of my pager.
05:30Dispatch said, Captain, we have a homicide on East 97th Street.
05:35So much for dinner.
05:39I responded to the location.
05:42The victim had been raped and stabbed.
05:45She had been taken to St. Luke's Hospital.
05:48Doctors worked on her, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.
05:51We were able to identify her as Lourdes Gonzalez, mother of three children and 24 years of age.
06:02There was blood on the walls, on the floor, and on the bed in one of the bedrooms.
06:10We looked for any knife with blood on it, and we couldn't find anything.
06:15Searched the apartment, the bedroom, the hallway, the courtyard, with negative results.
06:28When she was attacked, Lourdes was alone in the apartment with two boys and a baby.
06:34Her significant other, who was in super of the building, had gone to the Bronx.
06:40When he returned home, we informed him of what happened.
06:48He was shocked.
06:49You could see he was visibly shaking.
06:52But with multiple stab wounds, it's a crime of passion.
06:56So you would look for the significant other.
06:59Did they have a fight?
07:00Did they have an argument?
07:01The detectives interrogated him.
07:03He determined that he can establish where he was and account for his time.
07:07So it rules him out.
07:12Tony, you told me that she's not coming back.
07:15I didn't understand.
07:16Like, what do you mean she's not coming back?
07:21I remember Carlos crying.
07:24He was just hyperventilating and in pain.
07:28My mom, she was a loving woman.
07:31She was very young when she had me.
07:34She was about 18.
07:35I remember her smile.
07:37I remember her laugh.
07:40And I loved being with her.
07:42She brought joy to me.
07:45I felt like she was an angel put in my dad's life at the time to be able to get
07:50us straight and together.
07:53I started living with her when I was six years old.
07:56It was so seamless.
07:59Carlos was my roommate.
08:00I was my brother.
08:01During the times that we lived together, we did everything together.
08:06Then she treated Tony like her son.
08:09I remember when she became pregnant with Amanda, Carlos and I were excited.
08:15We showed her so much love.
08:19She was always by one of our side.
08:22And that was just the dynamic of our family.
08:26And sadly, it was taken away as quickly as it happened.
08:36Detective Irma Rivera is one of my top special victims detectives.
08:42To the children, she signifies her mother, which helps in eliciting information from them.
08:48I got a call in my office to respond to the 23rd precinct because they had two children that they
08:55wanted me to interview.
08:57So I come into the room.
08:58I see the two cute little boys, dark hair, Spanish.
09:02They looked a little bit scared.
09:03When you're about to interview young children who had an experience like this,
09:07my main concern is trying to see how much information I can get from them,
09:11but doing it in a really slow pace, no rush.
09:16So I left the precinct.
09:18I took them to the bodega on 102nd Street off of 3rd Avenue.
09:22Got them some candy and drinks, and I brought them back to the precinct.
09:26And I just hung out with them.
09:28I interviewed them each individually.
09:30In the police station, I reiterated exactly what happened.
09:37He gave her an ultimatum.
09:39He said, your eyes are your kids.
09:44Your eyes are your kids.
09:46It's something that I've never heard any other perpetrator say before.
09:51She told him, not my kids.
09:56So my mom told me and Carlos to take Amanda and go to the room.
10:03Amanda was in the closet with a pillow,
10:06and me and Tony were on the ground and looking at the door.
10:13They went into her room, and we hear everything.
10:18We were holding each other,
10:19and we was either waiting for my moms to come get us,
10:25or we was anticipating him coming in.
10:27And I remember the footsteps of him traveling and leaving.
10:37When she yelled our name, I remember opening the door
10:41and seeing her in that long corridor of our apartment
10:45in a pool of blood, asking us to go get help.
10:49Looking back at it now,
10:52she volunteered herself
10:55to be sacrificed.
10:58She didn't think twice.
11:05These kids just saw the worst thing that anybody can see.
11:08It shattered their innocence in a second.
11:13The little boys also gave a description
11:15to the New York City Police Department sketch artist.
11:19It gives the detectives an idea
11:21of what the perpetrator may have looked like.
11:23I remember distinctively his complexion.
11:26He was a darker person, and his hair was flat.
11:30They describe a man who's vatic,
11:32approximately 5'10", dark-skinned.
11:35He has a blue-striped shirt and a flat-topped hair.
11:39What he did to these kids.
11:41I mean, they're children and your mother.
11:44Horrible.
11:45This guy was a real piece of crap.
11:52Tonight, there is outrage over a murder
11:54and a manhunt to find a dangerous killer.
11:56She's a beautiful person.
11:58I can't even believe that she died.
12:02The medical examiner's report said
12:05that Lourdes Gonzalez had been stabbed nine times,
12:08raped, and she was six weeks pregnant.
12:11Hearing that she was pregnant makes me feel even worse,
12:14knowing that there would have been another child involved.
12:17Mayor Koch is offering a $10,000 reward
12:19to try to capture the man who killed a pregnant woman.
12:22This is a pathological killer,
12:23so we're putting every member of the police force
12:27out there looking for him, as well as this reward.
12:30Yesterday's incident, he asks for the super.
12:33He's attired in a blue and white striped shirt.
12:36What we do at the press conference is to let the public know what he looks like
12:41and to be on your guard, and secondly, hopefully a witness.
12:46The child overheard a statement to the effect of your eyes or your children.
12:52When I saw the news report about Lourdes and I heard what he said to her
12:57and the circumstances, and it sounded so familiar,
13:01and I heard some version of your eyes or your life,
13:03it just clicked for me.
13:05I said, my God, son of a bitch, it's the same guy.
13:10In the sex crimes unit,
13:11they found a case on June 11th
13:13that had matched the same M.O.
13:16as Lourdes Gonzalez
13:18and spoke to the victim.
13:21Suddenly, new policemen came to talk to me,
13:24and they had me retell the whole story again
13:27in excruciating detail.
13:33I was a girl from Brooklyn,
13:35and I was living in the city and working after college.
13:40It was a beautiful June day, and I was happy.
13:43I walked in Central Park.
13:46The attack on the Central Park jogger
13:48was something that I saw on the news,
13:50I read about in the newspaper,
13:52it was everywhere.
13:53It terrified people.
13:55And the day of, I just remember
13:57I was being jumpy and antsy
14:00and just trying to be safe.
14:02I didn't know somebody was watching me.
14:06Followed me home.
14:09Rang the bell.
14:11Told me he was the super sun
14:13coming to do the repairs.
14:16I was so naive, and I just opened the door.
14:20He came in,
14:22and he locked the door behind himself.
14:25And I was like, uh-oh.
14:29I resisted.
14:30He punched me in the face and broke my nose,
14:33and I just completely stopped resisting.
14:40I was being very careful
14:41because I could recognize that he was crazy.
14:45I did this separation thing
14:47where you rise above your body,
14:49and you separate, and you look down.
14:53At some point after the sexual assault,
14:56he says, your eyes are your life.
14:59And I said, well, no, I need my eyes.
15:02And he tried to stab me around my face.
15:04Lucky for me, the knife was not very big,
15:06so I had some puncture marks on my face
15:08that I needed stitches for.
15:10I think he was just all about the violence.
15:13It was fun for him.
15:17I was on the floor of the bathroom,
15:19kind of curled up in a fetal position,
15:21and then he took all my money,
15:24all my jewelry,
15:25and closed the door.
15:29And then I just said to myself,
15:32right now you feel numb.
15:34This is going to devastate you tomorrow.
15:37This is going to destroy you.
15:43And it did.
15:45The manhunt is in full swing.
15:47Police say they have a good description
15:49of the man believed to be Lord S. Gonzalez's killer.
15:52They say he could be the same man
15:54who stabbed a woman last Sunday
15:56in her apartment on East 116th Street.
15:58She survived.
16:00Among the similarities in the two cases,
16:02police say, is the suspect's fixation
16:04with his victim's eyes.
16:05I knew I had a rapist
16:07with the same modus operandi,
16:10if you will, the same weapon.
16:12He says the same thing.
16:14Prejudice's victim in the same manner.
16:16There were young females in their 20s.
16:19But the second victim had been raped,
16:22then killed.
16:27Friends and family of 24-year-old Lourdes Gonzalez
16:30gathered to mourn her death today.
16:34I do remember her funeral.
16:36I remember most vividly
16:38the church being full, full, full of people.
16:44I really do not remember
16:46talking much to Carlos after that.
16:48We were already separated at that point.
16:54I think, you know, the easy fix
16:57was for Carlos to go with mom's side of the family
17:00and then me stay with my dad.
17:04They didn't know who was going to take care of me,
17:08and I guess nobody wanted to take responsibility
17:10of taking care of me.
17:12And I felt that.
17:15And jumping from house to house,
17:17it was difficult for me.
17:23I didn't really understand the decision
17:26of having my sister go to Puerto Rico
17:28with my grandma.
17:30I don't think that my dad was in the right state
17:34to have me an infant.
17:39Carlos was like my best friend.
17:41We did everything together.
17:43Had we been able to communicate and talk,
17:46even though we were young,
17:48it would have gave us a support system.
17:52All this stuff that happened,
17:55I don't feel protected no more.
17:58The one person I did feel protected with was my mom's.
18:09On July 19th, in the afternoon,
18:11in the sex crime squad,
18:14we received a call from the 19th precinct
18:17that there had been another rape.
18:20This rape occurred in 95th and Madison,
18:23close to Central Park.
18:25We responded to the hospital
18:28and spoke to the victim.
18:31She was seriously assaulted.
18:34She had cuts on her face,
18:36cuts on her legs.
18:38So you don't push.
18:41I went to the sex crime squad
18:43because it was one of the few places
18:45that you can really make a difference
18:47in somebody's life.
18:48I wanted to be there,
18:49helping the victims.
18:52I pretty much grew up in New York City
18:55and I heard about violence a lot.
18:59It's sort of a regular thing in New York.
19:02I mean, when it's not you.
19:05I had just turned 20
19:08and I was taking art classes
19:13and I made my way home.
19:18So I took the elevator up
19:22and I'm standing in front of the front door
19:25to the apartment with a key in my hand
19:28and I hear somebody coming
19:32with a strange kind of breathing.
19:35It was loud and it was rapid.
19:39This person walks past me
19:43and goes one flight up
19:45and then comes down
19:47and I said,
19:48where are you trying to go?
19:50And at that point,
19:51he lunges at me with a knife
19:57and says,
19:58I just want to talk to you.
20:00He has his knife to the back of my neck.
20:08So I let him in
20:09and he says,
20:13take your clothes off.
20:16And I felt this reaction in me.
20:19I knew I had to be calm
20:24and take a soft approach
20:27just to get through.
20:34And when it was over,
20:37he ripped the phone out of the socket.
20:42He ties me up.
20:44That's when he said,
20:46your eyes are your life.
20:48And then he went
20:50and got a blade thing
20:52and started cutting
20:54under and above
20:56my eyes and...
21:05I had hit my limit
21:09and luckily he stood up
21:13and he walked out of the room.
21:17I want to forget
21:18that I never fought back.
21:23That natural reaction
21:26to have to subdue that
21:28was a sacrifice
21:30that I never quite repaired that.
21:35It's been an ongoing thing.
21:45You can never be sure
21:46it's the same,
21:47but the more information
21:49that I received
21:50from the complainant,
21:51the more I realized
21:53that we probably had
21:54the pattern.
21:55You have the MO,
21:56the same thing over and over.
21:58The perpetrator
21:59pushed into the apartment,
22:01raped, sodomized, robbed,
22:03and he said,
22:05your eyes are your life
22:06and he has stayed
22:07in the same area.
22:09Criminals find something
22:11that works for them.
22:12It worked once,
22:13it'll work again.
22:14I knew I had a pattern,
22:16rapist.
22:17I tried not to bring my work home,
22:20but there's a serial rapist
22:22out there.
22:22You worry about your family,
22:24about your children.
22:26You're drilling them constantly
22:28to be careful.
22:30Your wife,
22:30you tell all the time,
22:32don't open the door
22:33until you know who it is.
22:36overabundance of caution,
22:38you know?
22:39Our biggest worry at the time
22:41was this perpetrator
22:43would strike again
22:44and we'd have another murder,
22:46another rape.
22:47It was put out on the news.
22:48Sketches were hung up
22:49all over the neighborhood.
22:50We knocked on doors
22:52and informed people
22:53in buildings what happened
22:54to see if anybody
22:54witnessed anything,
22:56if anybody recognized the sketch.
22:57Police have set up a hotline
22:59for any information
23:00concerning these cases.
23:01We'd establish a TIPS hotline.
23:03They're going to make phone calls.
23:05There's a guy that lives
23:06two doors down
23:07that fits that description.
23:08I never trusted him.
23:10He's kind of hinky.
23:11Or I saw him with a pocket knife
23:13the other day
23:14cutting an orange.
23:19You have to track down
23:20each one of these leads.
23:23Unfortunately, in this case,
23:24none of them work out.
23:27I knew, you know,
23:28women were raped in New York
23:29and all over the country.
23:30You know, I knew this happened.
23:33But I didn't dwell on it.
23:35You just try to live carefully.
23:37You think it's going to happen
23:39at night or a neighborhood
23:41that maybe is not so safe
23:42or whatever,
23:43but it was just
23:44a beautiful afternoon.
23:45You just don't think
23:47it will happen then.
23:50I came up to New York
23:51to go to a small fashion school.
23:53It was Saturday afternoon
23:55and I heard a knock on the door.
23:58I opened the door
23:59and he put his hand
24:00on my face like that
24:01and I think kind of
24:01pushed me back.
24:04You could feel the anger.
24:06You knew he was just
24:07a ball of rage.
24:09He raped me, I think, twice.
24:11And part of the memory
24:13is something that sort of
24:14gets muddled
24:15or lost
24:16or locked away.
24:19He wanted to take my bank card
24:21and get money
24:23and then he said,
24:24I don't trust you.
24:25I'm going to have to
24:26tie you up or kill you.
24:27But I said,
24:28I'll get you scarves, you know.
24:29And so I had to walk by the door
24:31to go get the scarves.
24:33It's a tiny studio apartment
24:34but he let me have
24:36that much distance
24:36which was rare
24:37because he was on me.
24:40Something said to me,
24:42get out, get out, get out.
24:43You've got one chance.
24:44Take it.
24:46I ran out screaming.
24:48He was inches behind me
24:50and I ran into the super.
24:52I don't know what I said.
24:53I was raped.
24:54He's right behind me
24:55or something like that.
24:57Super caught him
24:59and someone else caught him
25:00and then held him
25:01for the police.
25:08We'd have called
25:09that the uniform
25:10had a perpetrator
25:11under arrest.
25:13He gives his name,
25:14Matias Reyes
25:16and without being asked
25:18or prompted
25:19he says,
25:20I did it.
25:22He was an 18-year-old,
25:24quiet,
25:245'10",
25:25dark complexion.
25:27Once the detectives
25:28were interviewing him
25:29they kind of realized
25:30that this could be
25:31the perpetrator
25:32from the previous rapes
25:34and the homicide.
25:35So we have the DA come down.
25:36They're beginning to see
25:39that the pattern
25:40is coming together
25:41and he may be involved
25:43in the homicide.
25:44All of them involved
25:45young women.
25:46All of them involved
25:47either a ruse
25:48or a push-in.
25:51All of them occurred
25:52within a 20-block area.
25:54All of them involved
25:55the use of a knife,
25:57robbery,
25:57and rape.
26:01They wanted me
26:02to come down
26:03to the station
26:03immediately to identify
26:05just to take a look
26:06at a lineup.
26:06That's all they said.
26:08Just one glimpse
26:09and I knew who it was.
26:11I was shaking with fear.
26:13It was a visceral reaction.
26:15There was no doubt
26:16that this was the guy.
26:19No doubt.
26:21I remember hearing
26:23that he was arrested
26:24and I had to go
26:26meet the detective.
26:29Seeing him
26:30was shocking.
26:33He was wearing
26:34the same shirt
26:35that he wore
26:36and it was very concrete.
26:40Like, I knew
26:40that was him.
26:43He told detectives
26:44that he made love
26:45to these girls.
26:47He's a sick individual.
26:51He says
26:52that he committed
26:53multiple rapes
26:54but Reyes denies
26:56any involvement
26:57with the
26:58Lourdes González
26:59homicide
27:00and at that point
27:02Reyes is shown
27:04a sketch
27:05that had been
27:06put together
27:07from the
27:08children
27:09of Lourdes González.
27:11Mateus
27:12looks at it
27:13and the detective
27:13says,
27:14look familiar?
27:16And Mateus
27:17says, yes,
27:18looks like me.
27:19And looked at
27:20the detectives
27:21and said,
27:21I'm fucked.
27:24Mateus Reyes
27:25begins to give
27:26a confession
27:26to the murder
27:28of Lourdes González.
27:31We get in on video.
27:33At times
27:34he would rant
27:35and rave,
27:36really angry.
27:37At other times
27:39he was remorseful.
27:41Say, mommy,
27:42screaming.
27:43And she was like
27:44tossing me
27:45and screaming.
27:46He says that
27:47Lourdes González,
27:49she grabbed the knife
27:50but she was shaking,
27:52she was scared.
27:53He says that
27:54he took the knife
27:55off her
27:55and that's how
27:56he eventually
27:57killed her.
27:59When this occurred,
28:00I had a nine-year-old
28:02and a one-year-old
28:03so I could relate
28:05to the need
28:06to protect
28:07your children.
28:08You have to feel
28:09for her
28:11that the idea
28:12that someone
28:13could be so brutalized
28:14to be stabbed
28:15nine times,
28:16it made me sick.
28:17Matias Reyes.
28:18He's someone
28:19who has
28:20impulsive rage.
28:22He's a ticking
28:23time bomb.
28:24He was formerly
28:25charged with
28:26four counts
28:26of rape,
28:27first degree,
28:28sodomy,
28:29burglary,
28:30and assault
28:31with a deadly
28:32weapon,
28:32and one count
28:34of homicide.
28:35Locally,
28:3518-year-old
28:36Matias Reyes
28:37is charged
28:37with a series
28:38of brutal rapes
28:39on Manhattan's
28:40east side,
28:41one of which
28:41ended in murder.
28:43When I saw
28:44he murdered Lourdes,
28:45that's what hurt
28:46the most,
28:46was that I was alive
28:48and she was not.
28:51I remember
28:52receiving the news
28:56and feeling
28:57a sense of relief.
29:00I remember
29:01seeing it
29:01in the papers.
29:02He got caught
29:02when I seen
29:03the picture.
29:05I remember him.
29:08So I already
29:10knew that
29:10that was him.
29:15I get a phone
29:16call for my
29:16sergeant.
29:17She says,
29:18Irma,
29:19does Matias Reyes
29:20ring a bell
29:21to you?
29:22I go,
29:22yeah.
29:24On April 17,
29:251989,
29:25I had his name
29:26as a possible
29:27suspect
29:28on a case
29:29that I had
29:29involving
29:30a rape
29:31that occurred
29:31in Central Park
29:33on 106th Street
29:34on the east side.
29:35My case
29:36in Central Park
29:36was two days
29:37prior to the
29:38Central Park
29:39jockey case.
29:41We interviewed
29:42the victim
29:43and one thing
29:44that she noticed
29:44was that he had
29:45fresh stitches
29:46under his chin.
29:48Back then,
29:49in 1989,
29:50a lot of the
29:50hospitals used
29:51to have a log
29:51in the emergency
29:52room who came
29:53in and what
29:54they came in for.
29:56So what we did
29:56was we went
29:57to every hospital,
29:58we checked
29:59the log.
30:00There was one guy
30:01who had fresh
30:01stitches on his chin
30:02and the name
30:04on that particular
30:05entry was
30:06Matias Reyes.
30:08I did background
30:09checks.
30:10He had no
30:10criminal record
30:11at all.
30:12There was no
30:12photo on file
30:13for him.
30:13There was nothing.
30:14And then my boss
30:16pulls me off the case
30:17and puts me
30:18into the child
30:18abuse team.
30:21I had no choice
30:22so I was kind
30:23of a little
30:23pissed off.
30:24So it's like
30:25the case just
30:26died.
30:28It's an
30:29unfortunate thing
30:29that the leadership
30:30of the Special
30:31Victims Unit
30:31pulled Irma
30:32off this case
30:33and put her
30:33on another case.
30:35But you have
30:36to remember
30:36this is 1989
30:38and we're seeing
30:40tremendous big
30:41crime waves
30:42that are pushing
30:43our resources
30:44to the edge.
30:47The name Matias,
30:48you know,
30:48it always stuck
30:49in my head.
30:50When Sergeant
30:51McLaughlin called
30:52me that day
30:53and told me
30:53that that was
30:54the person
30:55who killed
31:01when she told
31:02me that it
31:02was the person
31:03that killed
31:04that mother
31:04in front of
31:04the kids,
31:06it made me
31:06feel so
31:07horrible
31:09and it made
31:09me feel
31:10horrible
31:10for years
31:11and years.
31:12I've always
31:12thought about
31:13them.
31:18If I had
31:19caught him
31:19on that case,
31:20I know that
31:21things would have
31:21been completely
31:22different.
31:23All these
31:23other victims
31:24would have not
31:24been victimized.
31:25Those kids
31:26would have lost
31:27their mother
31:28and that's
31:28the part
31:29that bothered
31:29me the most.
31:33You know...
31:35Ugh.
31:39Cases were,
31:40children are
31:41involved.
31:42It's tough
31:43on detectives.
31:44Irma,
31:45as far as I'm
31:46concerned,
31:46one of the best
31:47detectives I ever
31:48worked with.
31:49She really cared
31:50about what she
31:51was doing.
31:55You are
31:55looking at a man
31:56police believe
31:57is a rapist
31:58and a cold-blooded
31:59killer,
32:0018-year-old
32:00Mateus Reyes.
32:03So I went
32:04into work that
32:05day.
32:05When I got
32:06into the office,
32:06I was shown
32:07a picture of him
32:08and when I see
32:09his picture,
32:09I go,
32:10that's Mateus Reyes.
32:11I know him.
32:12I knew him
32:12since he was a
32:12little boy.
32:13Like,
32:13I knew him.
32:14He worked
32:15around the corner
32:15from the 2-3
32:16precinct.
32:17In this
32:17bodega,
32:18Reyes served
32:19coffee to cops
32:20from the nearby
32:20precinct.
32:21For me,
32:22he's a good
32:22guy.
32:23One of the best.
32:24I was in the 2-3
32:25from 1982 to 1987,
32:27so I saw him
32:28all the time.
32:29I never knew
32:30what his name
32:31was,
32:31but I just knew
32:32of him as the
32:32kid that worked
32:33in the store.
32:34Then I started
32:34thinking,
32:35wait a minute,
32:35I definitely
32:36brought Carlos
32:37and Tony to
32:38that store
32:39to buy them
32:39candy.
32:40I know he
32:41wasn't there
32:42then,
32:42but still,
32:43ugh,
32:43that bothers
32:44me.
32:47We did
32:47learn from
32:48talking to
32:49Irma Rivera
32:50that they
32:51had even
32:52identified a
32:53person by the
32:53name of
32:54Matthias Reyes
32:54as the
32:55possible
32:55perpetrator
32:56in another
32:56case,
32:57but unfortunately,
32:59the victim
32:59left the
33:00state of
33:00New York
33:00and any
33:01attempt to
33:02find the
33:02victim
33:02was unsuccessful.
33:0589,
33:05it was kind
33:06of the frontier
33:06for the use
33:07of DNA.
33:10We submitted
33:11DNA evidence
33:12samples from
33:13the three rapes
33:14and the fourth
33:15rape and homicide
33:16of Lourdes,
33:16Gonzalez to
33:17the FBI.
33:18All of the
33:19cases matched
33:21the DNA of
33:22Matthias Reyes
33:23and so
33:25Matthias Reyes
33:26decided to
33:26plead guilty.
33:30This
33:30sentencing
33:31hearing doesn't
33:32pass without
33:33incident.
33:34Reyes ends
33:35up turning his
33:36rage on his
33:37defense lawyer
33:37and assaults
33:39him in open
33:39court.
33:42Like, who
33:43would do
33:43that?
33:44How could
33:44you sabotage
33:45yourself in
33:45that way?
33:46But he
33:46couldn't
33:47control his
33:48violence.
33:49He was
33:50sentenced to
33:5033 in
33:51a third
33:51years.
33:53Eventually,
33:54he became
33:55eligible for
33:55parole.
33:57He has the
33:57option of
33:58coming out.
33:59He has the
34:00option of
34:00coming out.
34:01So how am I
34:02supposed to
34:02live a life
34:03knowing that
34:04he could
34:04potentially come
34:05out?
34:06Why?
34:09at this point
34:10we think
34:10this is the
34:11end of
34:12the criminal
34:13reign of
34:14Matthias Reyes
34:16but we
34:17were to
34:18learn later
34:18that there
34:19were other
34:20crimes that
34:21he committed
34:21that we did
34:22not know
34:23that he did.
34:352002,
34:37Matthias Reyes
34:37called the
34:38district attorney's
34:38office and
34:39wanted to speak
34:40to someone
34:40regarding some
34:42information he
34:43wanted to give
34:43them.
34:43A man has
34:44come forward
34:45by the name
34:45of Matthias
34:46Reyes.
34:46He claims
34:47that he alone
34:48attacked and
34:48raped the
34:49woman in
34:49Central Park
34:50back in
34:501989.
34:59Matthias
35:00Reyes claims
35:01that he's
35:01involved in
35:02the 1989
35:04Central Park
35:05Jogger case.
35:06It's not
35:07shocking and
35:07unusual for
35:08somebody to
35:08interject
35:09themselves in
35:10a media case
35:11whether they're
35:11involved or
35:12not.
35:12The unusual
35:14piece of
35:14this was
35:15his claim
35:16to act
35:17alone.
35:18By the
35:19time Matthias
35:20Reyes
35:20came forward
35:21and said
35:22that he
35:22alone was
35:23responsible
35:24for the
35:25rape of
35:25Trisha
35:25Miley,
35:26known as
35:26the
35:26Central Park
35:27Jogger,
35:28five other
35:28young men
35:29had been
35:30convicted and
35:31served long
35:32prison sentences
35:33for this
35:34crime.
35:35They always
35:36said that
35:36they were
35:37innocent and
35:38always proclaimed
35:39it whenever
35:39possible.
35:40And in
35:41fact, one
35:42of them,
35:43Corey Wise,
35:44actually
35:44encountered
35:45Reyes
35:45in prison
35:46and had
35:47some kind
35:48of
35:48altercation
35:49and that
35:49may have
35:50contributed
35:50to why
35:51Reyes
35:51came forward.
35:52Eventually
35:53the NYPD
35:55decides to
35:55form an
35:56investigative
35:57task force
35:58that I
35:58led to
35:59look into
36:00Matthias
36:01Reyes' role
36:01in the
36:02Central Park
36:02Jogger
36:03case.
36:03We know
36:04that there
36:05was John
36:06Doe's DNA
36:07in that
36:08case that
36:09was never
36:09identified.
36:10So they
36:11got DNA
36:12samples from
36:13Matthias
36:14Reyes and
36:14matched them
36:15up.
36:16Matthias
36:16Reyes
36:17absolutely
36:17did rape
36:18the Central
36:19Park
36:19Jogger
36:20Patricia
36:21Mealy
36:21because it
36:22was his
36:22DNA that
36:23was recovered
36:24on the
36:25morning she
36:25was brought
36:26to the
36:27hospital.
36:28I wish
36:29we had
36:30had a
36:30DNA
36:31data bank
36:32back in
36:3389,
36:3490,
36:34and 91
36:35because that
36:36would have
36:36allowed us
36:37to connect
36:38all of these
36:38cases.
36:39It's not
36:40just about
36:40convicting
36:41defendants,
36:42it's also
36:42about
36:43exonerating
36:43the
36:44innocent.
36:45So with
36:46the new
36:46information
36:47that Matthias
36:48Reyes
36:48is the
36:49unknown
36:50DNA
36:50and that
36:52he says
36:53he acted
36:53alone,
36:55the five
36:55defendants'
36:57cases were
36:58vacated,
36:59and rightfully
37:00so.
37:02It's a
37:02people's
37:03victory,
37:03and I think
37:04that's what
37:04we have to
37:04draw from
37:05it.
37:08Unfortunately,
37:09this
37:09will be
37:10a black
37:11mark on
37:12NYPD's
37:13relations
37:13with the
37:14black
37:14community
37:15for years
37:16to come.
37:18I was
37:19happy for
37:19the five
37:19young men
37:20that were
37:21falsely accused,
37:22but it really
37:23did nothing
37:24for me other
37:25than, like,
37:25rehash some
37:26emotions and
37:27feelings and
37:28memories.
37:34did you attack
37:35the Central Park
37:36jogger?
37:37Yes.
37:38It was on
37:392020, and I'm
37:40like, what?
37:41You know,
37:42like, what the
37:43fuck?
37:43Having the past
37:45resurface is like
37:47life telling you,
37:48you know what?
37:49This is always
37:50going to be there,
37:51and there's no such
37:52thing as a fresh
37:54start.
37:55I just got angry
37:57all over again.
38:00The injustice
38:01that was done to
38:02the Central Park
38:03Five needed to be
38:04undone, but a
38:06parallel injustice
38:07happened to all of
38:08Matias Reyes'
38:09other victims.
38:11And so, in 2019,
38:13I wrote a piece for
38:14the cut called
38:15Before and After the
38:16Jogger.
38:17I ended up speaking
38:18not only to
38:20Lourdes' children,
38:21but I also spoke
38:23with the three
38:24women whose
38:25sexual assaults
38:27Reyes was
38:28convicted of.
38:29These were the
38:30people who were
38:31written out of the
38:32story of what we
38:33now put under the
38:34umbrella of the
38:35Central Park
38:35Jogger case.
38:38She deserved
38:39her story to be
38:40told, and what
38:42better way to tell
38:43it than with her
38:44kids.
38:45I just, I
38:47thank her.
38:48for everything
38:49she did for me.
38:51I always feel
38:54bad that she
38:55never got to meet
38:56what an amazing
38:56woman her mom
38:57was.
38:59Just the stories
39:00that I get from
39:01my brothers.
39:03She was an
39:05amazing person.
39:06Regardless of
39:07whether she's here
39:07physically, I feel
39:10like she's guided
39:10me.
39:12This happened
39:14in 1989.
39:16So, any sports
39:17I played, that
39:18was my jersey
39:18number, just
39:19paying homage
39:20to my mom.
39:22I feel like
39:24she was just
39:25somebody put in
39:27my path to
39:30lead me to
39:31something bigger.
39:33She told me to
39:34value education
39:35and make sure
39:35that I set a good
39:36example.
39:37And I did.
39:38and I kind of
39:40help instill those
39:41things in my own
39:42kids now.
39:46I felt guilty.
39:48I went to those
39:49stages of just being
39:51angry and blaming
39:54myself and blaming
39:56others.
39:58It's done a lot of
39:59damage to me because it
40:02was just destroying me
40:03mentally.
40:06Anybody talks about
40:07the case that
40:08haunts you, the case
40:10of Lourdes Gonzales
40:11haunted me for years
40:12and years and years.
40:16Hi, Carlos.
40:19So nice to see you.
40:23I'm sorry.
40:26So it was important
40:27for me to meet
40:28Carlos.
40:29This case bothered
40:30me so much.
40:32I had his name
40:33on another case.
40:34I want to apologize
40:36to him because I feel
40:36like if I had gotten
40:37him, this would
40:38have happened.
40:40I was never mad at
40:41her.
40:42I would never want
40:43her to live life
40:45like that.
40:46The only person I'm
40:47angry at is Rez.
40:50Rez deserves
40:52misery.
40:53Don't give your
40:54power away to him
40:55at all.
40:56My life has been
40:57a mess.
40:58I've been
40:59incarcerated in and
41:00out.
41:01How many
41:02felonies you have?
41:03I got three gun
41:06possessions.
41:07Okay.
41:08A homicide.
41:09I became a product
41:10of the streets.
41:12And there's always
41:13a beef.
41:14And there's always
41:15retribution.
41:16And I grew up
41:18wanting to destroy
41:20anything that destroys
41:21me or my family.
41:22And there's a
41:23never-ending cycle.
41:24Your life is not
41:25over.
41:26You can still do a
41:26lot for yourself.
41:27You know that?
41:28Your mother wanted to
41:29give you such a good
41:30childhood.
41:31Now is your time to
41:33honor your mother and
41:34have a good manhood.
41:36Yeah.
41:38I'm still striving for
41:39better.
41:41I'm still a work in
41:42progress.
41:43I'm on the path of
41:45doing better.
41:46and my mom deserves
41:48it.
41:54I was aware that
41:56there were two other
41:57women victims,
41:59survivors.
42:00But we didn't get to
42:02meet.
42:02We didn't get to talk.
42:04So I wrote a letter and
42:05I said, we all went
42:06through the same thing
42:07and it's absolutely
42:09horrible.
42:10But it would be nice if
42:11we could be there for
42:12each other because only
42:13we know and understand
42:14what each of us has
42:15been through.
42:22Hey!
42:24And we all decided to
42:25meet and get together
42:26multiple times over the
42:27years.
42:29Every year the date
42:30would come and I'd say
42:31forget what the date is,
42:33forget what happened,
42:33just go about your life,
42:34forget, forget, forget.
42:35And last year I
42:36thought, why?
42:37So I invited my friends
42:38for dinner and I had a
42:39fuck you, I'm still
42:40here party.
42:41I did!
42:43Melissa, Meg, and I
42:45have this friendship.
42:48We all are connected
42:49by this horrific story,
42:52but we're also connected
42:54by love.
42:55I thought to myself,
42:56my God, these other
42:57girls, they went through
42:58the same thing I did.
43:00Yeah.
43:00We have to become
43:01friends.
43:02It was like
43:03revolutionary to meet
43:05you.
43:05Yeah.
43:07Having them, I feel
43:08very lucky.
43:10I don't know what I
43:11would have done without
43:11them.
43:16Lourdes is one of us.
43:18She is a fighter.
43:20I've thought about her a
43:21lot.
43:22I really felt for her and
43:24I really felt for her
43:25family.
43:27Lourdes isn't here to
43:28speak.
43:30So we wanted to kind of
43:32honor her and her family
43:34and to say that we never
43:36forgot Lourdes.
43:37I want people to know her
43:40and be like she was more
43:41than just this little
43:42footnote.
43:43Lourdes was important.
43:44go from the
43:44theškила nama.
43:47See what you want
43:56Go away.
43:58Um,
44:00you're sorry.
44:02Yeah.
44:03Yeah.
44:03Yeah.
44:04Yeah.
44:04Yeah.
44:05Yeah.
44:07Yeah.
44:10Yeah.
44:29¡SuscrÃbete al canal!
44:42My aunt Joanne, she worked in the North Tower.
44:45I'm like, how the fuck am I getting up there to get her out of there?
44:5078th floor of a building that's on fire, and I don't know how to get out of here.
44:58The lieutenant says, fucking run.
45:03I see a bunch of EMS.
45:05He goes like, we're going to go back into the building.
45:07There's people in there that need to be removed.
45:08So I was like, okay, I'm not going to have a fireman embarrass me, so I'm going to stay.
45:14One thing about 9-11, it helped me get used to the smell of death.
45:18You find out what you're really made of.
45:20You find out what it is to be a team player.
45:23You're not dead.
45:25Get to work.
45:26Get to work.
45:54¡Gracias!
46:23¡Gracias!
46:52¡Gracias!
47:15¡Gracias!
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