- 15 hours ago
When investigators find a series of homeless men bludgeoned to death at the same intersection, Las Vegas fears who could be next. With no leads and mounting pressure, Undersheriff Andrew Walsh proposes an ingenious idea to lure in a serial killer.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:05When you're a homeless person,
00:09you are putting yourself at enormous risk.
00:15You stuck yourself in the middle of a murder investigation.
00:18I don't ever kill anybody.
00:20You have no protection and no warning.
00:24You're an easy target.
00:26You're full of shit.
00:27I'm telling you that you're lying to me and I'm calling you on it.
00:31There is a predator in our midst
00:34who enjoys the sport of killing.
00:38It's kind of like a shark circling as a cop.
00:41I get chills thinking about it.
00:42The biggest fear we have is more people are going to end up dead.
00:50I spent my career closing murder cases.
00:55But I'm not the only one who answered the call.
01:00It takes a rare breed to solve the unsolvable.
01:04To catch a ruthless killer.
01:07To find justice for the dead.
01:11That's what it takes to be an American detective.
01:21I'm Detective Dan Long with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Section.
01:28I love investigations.
01:30I really like doing interviews and interrogations.
01:34I believe that's my forte.
01:36But it's all of it.
01:37You get to take a case from the very beginning
01:39and you do not surrender that case ever.
01:49It was just after midnight.
01:53And I was home and in bed asleep.
01:55I get the phone call from my sergeant.
01:57And he says, we're rolling.
02:16They arrive at Ogden Avenue and City Parkway
02:20on the report of a discovered body.
02:23Ogden runs right through the center of Las Vegas downtown.
02:27It's actually Union Pacific Railroad property.
02:31This is a part of the town that is, after five, very quiet.
02:36The victim was found by a Union Pacific policeman
02:39clearing the area around the tracks.
02:45Detectives are briefed that it's a male victim.
02:52He was covered with a sheet.
02:59And he was bleeding profusely from his head.
03:02His left eye is swollen shut.
03:05And his skull has been crushed.
03:10Someone has struck him with a blunt instrument,
03:12which could be anything.
03:14Somebody is swinging for the right field wall
03:17in Yankee Stadium.
03:18It was pretty clear this victim was one of our less fortunate citizens
03:23who happened to be homeless.
03:27Multiple layers of clothing, multiple jackets.
03:31It is January, and even though it's the desert,
03:34it goes down to 30 degrees at night quite commonly.
03:38When the coroner investigator got there,
03:41we found that he had a wallet.
03:46He's 46 years old, and his name is Daniel Aldape.
03:52Okay, a major step forward.
03:54We found he had $234 in cash,
04:01besides a whole bunch of change on him.
04:04That's important as to motive.
04:06It isn't robbery.
04:07They didn't take the money.
04:09Looking at the scene itself,
04:11and looking at the body and its position,
04:13supine,
04:15no disturbance in the dirt,
04:17no evidence of a struggle,
04:19and forensic testing failed,
04:21despite the effort.
04:22It's an ambush attack.
04:24He was killed so quickly
04:25that he had no defensive wounds.
04:28The obvious motive here is to kill,
04:30not to injure them,
04:31to kill them.
04:35I can't think of a more dangerous way to live
04:38than being homeless and on the streets.
04:44The dangers of sleeping outdoors
04:45is anything you can imagine.
04:47You're vulnerable.
04:47You're out in the open.
04:48You're an easy target.
04:50You have no protection and no warning.
04:56We started expanding the area of investigation.
05:00The captain of downtown area command,
05:03Andy Walsh, becomes involved.
05:05My responsibilities are to manage the crime
05:07and our day-to-day operations.
05:11We had great detectives,
05:13but Dan was kind of a personal favorite for me.
05:15He was good at what he did.
05:19Just looking at the lay of the land,
05:21kind of an isolated area.
05:23But this is a major city.
05:25There are probably cameras everywhere.
05:27The exception being,
05:30there aren't any.
05:33They happen to be in a dead zone.
05:35So we don't have any witnesses.
05:37We don't have any video.
05:39This particular crime scene
05:40has left many unanswered questions.
05:54Detectives go to the autopsy
05:56to determine any other facts
05:57that can be learned.
06:00The coroner's opinion is,
06:02this individual was struck
06:04with a very heavy, blunt instrument.
06:08The object that was used
06:10had a linear edge to it.
06:15It appeared to be a hammer.
06:18Further, the coroner points out,
06:20there are hinge fractures,
06:22which are extremely rare.
06:25A hinge fracture is a portion of the skull
06:28that breaks the opposite direction of force,
06:31like the hinge on a door.
06:34His head was resting on cement
06:36when somebody used a hammer
06:38with excessive force
06:40at least four times
06:42to crush his skull.
06:44A very brutal death,
06:46but in the coroner's opinion,
06:48instantaneous.
06:49The coroner did rule it a homicide.
06:51Also, Daniel had a contusion
06:54to his eye that was old.
06:57Right away, he started thinking,
06:59okay, we might have a lead here.
07:00We thought maybe he'd been in a fist fight
07:01and he'd gotten punched.
07:05So let's beat the bushes
07:06to see who knows him.
07:08And more importantly,
07:09perhaps we can learn who hates him.
07:19They tracked down his sister.
07:24They need to notify her of the death,
07:26of course,
07:26but they're also hopeful
07:28that she can provide background information.
07:31Danny was four years older than I was.
07:34We grew up just outside of Chicago.
07:36He was like a true Chicago sports fanatic.
07:39He was a kind soul, truthfully,
07:42and really just loved his family
07:44and loved music.
07:45Music was his entire being.
07:48He loved obscure heavy metal music
07:50that no one's ever heard of,
07:51and he became a DJ.
07:53And he's known as Metal Dan.
07:57That was his dream work.
07:59He finally achieves it.
08:01Things were going along swimmingly
08:03for several years.
08:05But then he develops mental health issues.
08:09We started seeing small changes
08:11in his personality.
08:12He would come home from work
08:13and he would have a story
08:14that just didn't quite make sense.
08:17You know, he thought that potentially
08:19people were following him
08:20or people were trying to intentionally
08:23do things to him.
08:24It was hard for all of us to deal with
08:26because obviously he's our family
08:28and we want him to feel safe.
08:30And he didn't feel safe.
08:33And it was very, very sad.
08:38Sorry.
08:43He was self-medicating with alcohol.
08:48When he was drinking hard alcohol,
08:50he could become aggressive
08:52and he had been in fights.
08:54It's so hard to think about
08:55what he was dealing with in his head
08:57and what he was feeling.
09:00What happened to us was terrible,
09:03but what happened to him was catastrophic.
09:09And he winds up losing his job,
09:12losing his identity,
09:14losing everything.
09:17My mom said you have to either get on
09:19some sort of medicine
09:20or you have to leave.
09:23And he chose to leave.
09:26He was staying in a homeless shelter
09:27at that point.
09:29Eventually he came up with a plan.
09:30I want to try to go someplace warmer,
09:32a little bit nicer,
09:33like a getaway from the winters.
09:37The expression in the homeless world
09:39is to follow the sun.
09:41It's the only way they've got to stay warm.
09:44He said, I'm going to try Vegas.
09:47He'll panhandle and be able to make a ton of money.
09:50He's a nice, likable guy.
09:53But unfortunately,
09:55he didn't make it in Vegas very long.
09:58So she provides interesting information,
10:01but that's all she truly knows.
10:03Once you get past the victimology
10:05and you don't have any suspects,
10:06it's very hard to have any leads.
10:08These are the kinds of crimes that go unsolved.
10:11We had the original thought
10:12that he was possibly attacked
10:13by another homeless person.
10:17So my partner and I decided
10:20we're just going to have to talk to people
10:22in the homeless communities
10:23to find anybody that knew Daniel
10:25and if he had had a problem with anybody.
10:28It is a daunting task.
10:31The city of Las Vegas
10:32has a population
10:33of about 6,000 homeless people.
10:37That's a lot of people.
10:38This is not going to be easy.
10:42Captain Walsh gave us some officers,
10:44talked to every single homeless person
10:46in that area,
10:47which is impossible.
10:52I had the air unit, the helicopter,
10:55you know, fly around the area
10:56and look for homeless camps
10:57that you can't see from the street.
11:01There's a specific tip line
11:03that's going to be established.
11:06You are getting a lot of
11:09probably highly irrelevant information,
11:11but you're looking for
11:13sort of that needle in the haystack.
11:19And then
11:21there was a glimmer of hope.
11:24A tip comes in
11:26that there's a guy
11:27on the street
11:28whose name is Ron Smith.
11:33And he always wears
11:34a white cowboy hat.
11:37He was known as Cowboy.
11:40Daniel had stated
11:42that this homeless guy
11:45that the cowboy is crazy.
11:51Now, there you go.
11:59Did you threaten Mr. Aldapi
12:01and he didn't respond appropriately?
12:09So you decided to bash his head in
12:11with a hammer?
12:12Well, let's go find out.
12:20Detectives finally have
12:21a specific suspect.
12:24Mr. Ron Smith.
12:29They go to those places
12:30where he's known to hang out.
12:34It took us several days.
12:39But we did find Cowboy.
12:43They asked him about
12:44Daniel Aldapi.
12:48And he's not cooperative.
12:49He's confrontive.
12:51He had a lot of anger issues.
12:54To the point where
12:56he screamed at a street sign
12:57for several minutes.
12:58So they changed the tone.
13:01And they say,
13:02well, let me tell you
13:03the problem, Chief.
13:04If Daniel Aldapi's dead,
13:07somebody murdered him
13:09and beat his brains in.
13:10And that might be you
13:12from what we hear.
13:15And it worked somewhat
13:16with Cowboy.
13:18And he was able
13:18to talk to us.
13:19So he goes into
13:20a long explanation.
13:21I threaten everybody.
13:24It's my scheme
13:25to protect myself.
13:27They all play
13:28the bravado game.
13:30He said he had nothing
13:31to do with Daniel's death.
13:33And he was actually
13:35in the shelter
13:36at the time
13:37that Daniel
13:38had been killed.
13:40So we didn't believe
13:41Cowboy had anything
13:42to do
13:42with the actual death.
13:51So now the case
13:52begins to grow cold.
13:56The operative method
13:57they've been using
13:58is this was
13:59a personal attack
14:00designed to do in
14:01Mr. Aldapi.
14:04What if it's just
14:05an attack
14:06by somebody
14:08who likes
14:08to kill people?
14:09Who knows?
14:15It's one month
14:16after the murder
14:17of Daniel Aldape.
14:20And Steve Thompson
14:21is waking up
14:22for the morning.
14:24He sees his friend
14:25David Dunn
14:26sleeping nearby.
14:27He walks over
14:30and says,
14:31hey Dave.
14:36he's safe.
14:36And nothing.
14:43He sees blood.
14:44A lot of blood.
14:50I was at work
14:51when we got the call.
14:52Detectives are notified
14:53there's been another murder.
14:56But then they hear
14:57the location.
15:00Ogden Avenue
15:01and City Parkway.
15:04Right away I was like,
15:06oh boy.
15:09We have two homeless guys
15:10sleeping diagonally
15:12across an intersection
15:12from each other
15:13murdered about
15:14a month apart.
15:15Coincidence?
15:16No such thing.
15:20And when they arrived,
15:24they're briefed
15:25that the victim
15:25is 60-year-old
15:26David Dunn.
15:29We're looking
15:30at the victim.
15:33And he has
15:34multiple blows
15:34to the head
15:35with what appeared
15:36to be a hammer.
15:38It appears
15:39as if he was sleeping
15:41when he was attacked.
15:43His possessions
15:44are all around him,
15:46including cash.
15:47His clothing
15:48and his belongings
15:48were not rifled through.
15:50This is not a robbery.
15:52It's almost as if
15:53it's the same murder
15:54with a different body.
15:57So when you look
15:58at this intersection here,
15:59you can see
16:00this is right where
16:00Daniel Aldape was
16:02when he was sleeping.
16:03You can see
16:03how close we are
16:04to that area there
16:05and that's where
16:06Dave Dunn was killed.
16:07I mean,
16:08for crying out loud,
16:08there's no way
16:09that these things
16:09are not connected.
16:10Clear as day,
16:11it was the same person
16:12that did it.
16:13Police are concerned
16:14someone in our valley
16:14may be targeting
16:15homeless people
16:16for murder.
16:17It's been at
16:17this same intersection
16:19essentially that
16:19about one month apart,
16:21two different homeless men
16:23were killed
16:23in the same manner.
16:24The reasons
16:25they're not here
16:25is simply because
16:26they slept on the ground
16:28outside in our community.
16:29We are now looking
16:30at somebody
16:31that is killing
16:31multiple people.
16:33They are not robbing
16:34these people.
16:35So why in this same
16:37intersection?
16:38It doesn't make sense.
16:40These are going to be
16:41extremely difficult to solve.
16:44For now,
16:46the focus by the detectives
16:47is on this individual.
16:49David Dunn,
16:50what can they learn
16:51about any enemies
16:52he may have?
16:53We are able to
16:54identify his patterns
16:56very, very quickly.
17:01He commonly goes
17:02to the Reformation
17:03Lutheran Church
17:04where they serve
17:05a free lunch
17:06to homeless people
17:07every day.
17:11When they arrive
17:12at the church,
17:12they meet with
17:13Pastor Jason Adams.
17:15We heard the story
17:16on the news
17:17and it's just so gruesome
17:18and awful
17:19to imagine
17:20that happening
17:20to somebody.
17:22Pastor Adams
17:23refers to David Dunn
17:25as a friendly,
17:26pleasant man
17:27who's never had
17:28an enemy.
17:28Dave was one
17:29of the guys
17:29who came in
17:30every day,
17:31right on time,
17:32and with a smile
17:33on his face,
17:35jovial,
17:35never starting trouble.
17:38Dave would come in
17:39at times
17:39with a coupon
17:40that somebody gave him
17:41and he would want
17:42to share it
17:43with his friends
17:44even though he didn't
17:45have a lot himself.
17:46It was really telling
17:46about who he was.
17:49The detectives
17:50asked Pastor Adams
17:51where does he normally stay?
17:53Well, he always sleeps
17:54in a shelter,
17:54but if he couldn't
17:55get a bed that night
17:56then he would be outside.
17:59He just happened
18:00to be there that night
18:02when he was discovered
18:03and killed.
18:08This suggests
18:09that the killer
18:09of David Dunn
18:10killed him at random.
18:12That sends red flags up
18:14that we now have
18:16an individual
18:16who is hunting
18:17homeless people
18:19in this particular
18:20area of town.
18:21This has all the appearances
18:23of a serial killer.
18:26Metro hoping
18:27someone saw something.
18:29Their big fear
18:29is that this person
18:30may strike again.
18:32With two murders
18:33already having happened,
18:34the possibility
18:35of a serial killer
18:36on the loose
18:38increases the pressure
18:39to resolve these cases.
18:41The biggest fear
18:42we have is
18:43more people
18:43are going to end up
18:44dead.
18:48The information
18:49travels through
18:50the homeless community
18:50like a plague.
18:52Whoever this is
18:53is killing homeless people.
18:54A lot of the individuals,
18:55they were scared
18:56for themselves
18:57to know that
18:58they could be next.
19:00They believe
19:01that night time
19:01is the time
19:02this killer
19:03is active.
19:06So they would
19:07just not sleep.
19:08Others would ride
19:08the bus all night.
19:10Others might sneak
19:10into a casino
19:11and sleep for an hour
19:12or two in a restroom.
19:13You cannot stay awake
19:15for the rest of your days.
19:16You have to sleep.
19:18This is an extremely
19:19real threat
19:20to the homeless people
19:21of Las Vegas.
19:25You can expect
19:26that there will be
19:27another killing
19:28at some point.
19:34We were having meetings
19:36and Captain Walsh
19:37was like,
19:38what are you doing
19:38to stop these?
19:39God forbid I have,
19:41you know,
19:41another victim
19:42in the same intersection.
19:43I mean,
19:43it just really would have been
19:44painful to live with
19:46that we didn't do something.
19:49There's a lot of discussion.
19:50During one of the meetings,
19:52Captain Andy Walsh
19:53advises us
19:54that he is going
19:55to try something
19:56completely different.
19:58That's when the light bulb
19:59went off, really.
20:03I remember that
20:04having gone through
20:05some CPR training
20:07that we had
20:07life-size CPR dummies.
20:09And so I called
20:10the friend of mine
20:11over Search and Rescue.
20:12He goes,
20:13what, do you want
20:14a CPR class?
20:14I said, no,
20:15I'm going to put one out
20:16and dress it up
20:16as a homeless person.
20:18And I believe
20:20what I said is,
20:21are you crazy?
20:23The best-case scenario
20:24was you had
20:25the mannequin
20:25getting attacked
20:26in the same manner
20:27that you envisioned
20:28the murders occurring.
20:30Seemed like a Hail Mary.
20:32This, this is,
20:34I mean,
20:35you're not going
20:35to say very much.
20:36You're talking
20:36with the captain.
20:37After he got done laughing,
20:38he said, uh,
20:39good luck.
20:40It's the boss's idea,
20:41and as usual,
20:43boss wins.
20:46So they took the pictures
20:48of the prior victims
20:51and studied their outfits.
20:57They matched it
20:59as close as they could
21:00without being identical
21:01with the first two victims.
21:04They really got creative.
21:06We named the mannequin
21:08Charlie McCarthy.
21:09Charlie McCarthy
21:10was a dummy
21:11in the 50s and 60s,
21:12performed by a ventriloquist
21:14on The Sullivan Show.
21:16Perfect name
21:16for what we were doing.
21:17Still,
21:18I didn't see
21:18how this was going to work,
21:20but this is a captain.
21:21He's sinking
21:22way outside the box,
21:24and God bless him.
21:26When they get it
21:27all done with,
21:28he looks pretty good.
21:29He could be easily mistaken
21:31for a human being,
21:32even in the daylight.
21:34But I never really thought,
21:36like, you know,
21:36what are the legalities
21:37of someone hitting
21:37the mannequin
21:38or the dummy
21:38in the head
21:39with a hammer?
21:39I mean,
21:40it was going to generate
21:41a suspect for us, right?
21:42You can not charge him
21:45with anything
21:46for attacking a dummy,
21:48but you can identify him,
21:50interrogate him,
21:51whatever.
21:51What's the alternative?
21:53He continues to kill
21:54or we try to grab him
21:56by the throat.
21:57I always vote
21:58for grabbing him
21:59by the throat.
22:01I reached out
22:02to counterterrorism
22:03and said,
22:04hey, I want to put
22:04a couple cameras up
22:05in this intersection.
22:07Well, first off,
22:08that's a lot of money
22:08that Homicide
22:10would never be able to do.
22:13But he's a captain.
22:14He can rearrange his troops.
22:16And by then,
22:17I pretty much knew
22:18I had a blank check
22:19because I had two murders
22:20in the same intersection,
22:21so nobody really
22:22wanted to say no.
22:23You want to help him
22:25because, you know,
22:25he's always trying
22:26to do the right thing.
22:27They borrow it
22:30and they install it
22:31using an undercover technician.
22:35We had the mannequin
22:36deployed right here
22:37in this same general area.
22:38You had the eye
22:39in the sky kind of watching.
22:40You had the human surveillance
22:41up there watching.
22:42The trees provided
22:43a little concealment.
22:44Over here
22:45in this area further
22:46is where we conceal the cars.
22:48So they have
22:49a two-pronged approach.
22:52live policemen
22:53and a high-quality
22:55camera image
22:56of any potential attack
22:57on their decoy.
23:03So it has a high possibility
23:05of success,
23:06assuming our shark
23:07shows up.
23:10Everything is in place.
23:12Undercover officers
23:13are present,
23:14acting as hangarounds
23:15and sleepers.
23:16And everyone's
23:17on high alert.
23:17I couldn't sleep.
23:19I was listening
23:19to the radio
23:20and monitoring.
23:21Anything happened
23:21and no,
23:22no movement.
23:23They're so convinced
23:23this is going to happen
23:24immediately,
23:25which it never does.
23:28Now it's daylight.
23:30Well, how's our dummy
23:31going to wake up?
23:35And they did a good job
23:37of making sure
23:37there was nobody
23:37in the area watching
23:38and they would pick
23:39Charlie up
23:39and put him in the car
23:40and drive him back
23:41to the station.
23:41So the pattern
23:42is established
23:43that Charlie McCarthy
23:44sleeps there at night,
23:46is secretly removed
23:47in the early morning light,
23:48sits in headquarters
23:49and waits to go to work
23:50when it gets dark.
23:53We had Charlie
23:54on the back patio,
23:55smoke cigars
23:56at the substation
23:56every once in a while
23:58with him sitting there
23:58with us.
23:59So they started
24:00driving Charlie around
24:01like he was a member
24:02of the team.
24:05Being a homicide detective
24:06is always a strange job.
24:08You'll get frustrated,
24:09but you'll never be bored.
24:11We said,
24:12we'll give it at least
24:12a month
24:13and see what happens.
24:26Andy was taking
24:27a lot of flack
24:28from pretty much
24:30all of us.
24:31I think secretly
24:31some wanted it to work.
24:35One particular night
24:36in the third week,
24:38the guys in the police
24:39department
24:39are watching
24:40the cameras.
24:40live action.
24:53They see a guy
24:55walk by Charlie.
25:03He's passing by casually,
25:06making certain
25:07this guy is asleep.
25:09You can tell
25:10from his footsteps
25:11and the way he's moving
25:12how he's stepping
25:13quietly in the rocks.
25:15Like, it's real stalking
25:16of the victim.
25:19It's kind of like
25:20a shark circling.
25:24He's carrying a bag.
25:28He's working himself up.
25:30He can taste the violence.
25:34This is our guy.
25:42Las Vegas Metro PD.
25:43See a guy
25:44walk by Charlie.
25:48He's carrying a bag.
25:50Now everyone's
25:51on the edge
25:51of their seat.
25:57And then the hammer
25:58comes out of the bag.
26:01Raises it over his head.
26:07And swings it
26:09as hard as he can.
26:18As a cop,
26:19like,
26:19I get chills today
26:20just even thinking
26:21about watching it
26:22because now I know
26:24how Daniel Aldape
26:25and Dave Dunn died.
26:34In a matter of seconds,
26:39he's surrounded.
26:46They get him into custody
26:48without any kind
26:48of incident
26:51and
26:53recover the hammer.
26:56They immediately
26:57submitted it
26:57to the crime lab
26:58to search it
26:59for blood trace
26:59or brain tissue.
27:01And I remember thinking,
27:02oh my God,
27:03I cannot believe
27:03this may result
27:04in us actually
27:05solving this crime.
27:06When we got
27:07that phone call
27:07in the middle
27:08of the night,
27:09I might have said
27:09a few expletives
27:10when they said it to me.
27:14The person
27:14is Shane Schindler.
27:16He's 30 years old,
27:18has an outstanding
27:19jaywalking ticket.
27:21Other than that,
27:22he has no record.
27:23But Charlie
27:25caught a shark
27:26and now the detectives
27:27are looking at him.
27:29We sit down
27:30and we are
27:31very, very soft.
27:32We want him
27:33to tell us
27:33as much as he can.
27:35Their objective
27:35is to get a statement
27:36of some kind,
27:37which you can pick
27:38apart later.
27:41How long
27:41have you been here
27:42in Vegas?
27:42Eight months.
27:44Okay.
27:45And you don't have
27:45any belongings?
27:46You're not staying
27:47anywhere?
27:48Nothing.
27:49Just whatever
27:50I got on.
27:51Okay.
27:51In the last while,
27:53where have you been sleeping?
27:54Just around
27:55Las Vegas
27:56parking lots.
27:58I do find out
27:59he's from
28:00Bay City, Michigan.
28:01He does have
28:01a phone on him.
28:03He had money on him.
28:04His belongings
28:05are,
28:06I wouldn't say clean,
28:08but they're cleaner.
28:09But he doesn't
28:10tell us very much.
28:12You know why
28:13you're in handcuffs today?
28:15Something to do
28:16with a dummy
28:17laying there.
28:20Okay.
28:22What happened
28:23tonight?
28:24Oh, I was passing
28:25through and seeing
28:26a dummy laying
28:26on the ground
28:27and I don't know,
28:28he guys showed up.
28:31So is it normal
28:32for you to attack
28:33a dummy
28:34with a sledgehammer
28:35at three o'clock
28:36in the morning?
28:37Okay.
28:38What'd you do
28:39with the dummy?
28:40Oh, I mean,
28:41kicked it or something,
28:42but that was it.
28:44Did you ever
28:45hit it with a hammer?
28:46No.
28:47Never hit it
28:48with a hammer?
28:48No, I did not.
28:49Okay, because I'm
28:51going to tell you
28:51that you did.
28:52Okay.
28:53Reading Shane
28:54is difficult.
28:55If you caught him
28:56in an out-and-out lie,
28:58he just rolled
28:58away from it.
29:00I'll be right back.
29:01At this point,
29:02they're still forensically
29:03testing the hammer
29:04for any blood
29:05of the victims.
29:06They have some.
29:07This is the third time
29:08he's used it.
29:08So they examine it
29:09very carefully,
29:10chemical trace,
29:11so on and so on.
29:12Nothing.
29:13Clean as a pen.
29:14It's not the same hammer.
29:18Where did the hammer
29:19come from?
29:21Oh, geez.
29:21Some of the people
29:22on the street
29:23and I got bothered
29:23off somebody.
29:25I really don't know where.
29:26Okay, you didn't buy it
29:27in the store?
29:28No.
29:29It looks brand new.
29:30Nah, it was
29:31off somebody.
29:34When you're
29:34interrogating someone
29:35and you see
29:36in his face
29:37he's calming down
29:38a little bit,
29:39you seem to have
29:40lost the rattle effect.
29:42So you change.
29:43Change tactics.
29:44Okay.
29:45Um,
29:46you stuck yourself
29:46in the middle
29:47of a murder investigation.
29:50That's what we do
29:51for a living.
29:51We're investigating
29:52two men that died
29:54by getting struck
29:55in the head.
29:58The look of rattled
30:00his back.
30:00Good.
30:01We're in the right
30:02area now.
30:04I've never killed
30:04anybody.
30:05What kind of feeling
30:06does it give you?
30:07Don't give me
30:08any feeling.
30:08It was a dummy.
30:10I hit the dummy
30:10in the head.
30:11Today?
30:12Well, yeah.
30:13Last month
30:14it wasn't a dummy.
30:16Well, I
30:17didn't do it
30:17nothing.
30:18The month before
30:19it wasn't a dummy.
30:20Well, it wasn't me.
30:21So...
30:23First he said
30:23he didn't hit the dummy.
30:25Now he says
30:26he did.
30:27So, what does that mean?
30:28Were you lying then?
30:30Are you lying now?
30:32Or maybe you're
30:32just a liar?
30:34And why would you
30:35want to destroy
30:36the dummy?
30:37Eh, that was
30:38kind of funny.
30:39You know,
30:40dummies in there,
30:41you know?
30:41Or did you think
30:42it was a person?
30:43No, I thought
30:43it was a dummy.
30:45I'm not a real person
30:46from a dummy,
30:47you know?
30:47Wrapped up
30:48in a sleeping bag.
30:49It's hard to tell.
30:51Well, I thought
30:51I said it was
30:52sticking out.
30:54Well,
30:54that his head
30:55was covered,
30:55actually.
30:57When he's making
30:57your admissions
30:58while I knew
30:58it was a mannequin,
30:59no, you didn't.
31:00You're full of shit.
31:03I'm telling you
31:03that you're lying
31:04to me and I'm
31:04calling you on it.
31:05Let's move past that.
31:06I'm calling you on it.
31:07You're lying about it.
31:08Calling me on what?
31:09You hit that dummy
31:10in the head with a hammer
31:11with an intent to kill it.
31:13You did not know
31:14that it was a dummy.
31:16Yes, I did.
31:17You tell the blankets
31:17moved when you were
31:18hitting it.
31:19No, I knew
31:20it was a dummy
31:21before I had them.
31:23I don't believe you.
31:24Okay.
31:25Well, everyone's
31:26entitled to an opinion.
31:28Schindler tells
31:29a completely
31:29unbelievable story.
31:32We tried
31:32numerous different
31:33techniques
31:34and we never
31:34got anywhere.
31:36We certainly
31:36didn't get a confession,
31:37but everything
31:38pointed towards
31:39this was the guy.
31:40How do you
31:40charge him
31:41with the two murders?
31:45Being out and about
31:46in the dark
31:47with her sledgehammer
31:48and hitting dummies
31:49is not criminal.
31:51All they have on him
31:52to hold him
31:53is an unpaid
31:54jaywalking ticket.
31:54We actually discussed
31:56arresting him,
31:57but I said,
31:58we have to bring
31:59in a surveillance team
32:00that is going to
32:01follow him
32:02to what I'm thinking
32:03is going to be
32:04a campsite.
32:06There is a possibility
32:07that he might have
32:08hidden two murder
32:09weapons.
32:10If we could find
32:11the blood of
32:12either victim,
32:13that'd be excellent.
32:15We have to think
32:16outside the box
32:17and sometimes
32:18you have to create
32:18the box.
32:20Oh, yeah.
32:22So they've got
32:23to do the unthinkable.
32:24They've got to let him go.
32:28There were some people
32:29that looked at me
32:30like I had three heads
32:31because we probably
32:32have a murderer
32:34that I'm going to put
32:35back on the streets.
32:36They know they have
32:37to keep a very tight
32:38watch on him
32:39because he could
32:40disappear forever.
32:46There is nowhere
32:47to go legally
32:48with Shane Schindler
32:51so they have
32:51no option
32:52but to release him.
32:56So we had
32:57surveillance set up.
32:59We weren't going
32:59to lose sight of him
33:00is really what
33:01it boiled down to.
33:02You just keep going
33:03until you find something.
33:04I'm not going to quit.
33:08Schindler gets on a bus
33:09and rides the bus
33:10some 20 miles
33:12outside of Las Vegas.
33:14He gets off that bus
33:16and he goes into
33:17a one-room apartment.
33:21Well, Schindler,
33:22you lying little bastard.
33:24Do you have an apartment?
33:28They prepare an affidavit
33:30for a search warrant.
33:36He looks at us.
33:41He doesn't argue it.
33:42Nothing.
33:50The place is a pigsty.
33:52Half-eaten pizzas,
33:54empty cans,
33:55filthy clothing,
33:56enough to make you throw up.
33:59We're going through it all.
34:00We cannot find a hammer,
34:02but we do find receipts.
34:05For a four-pound engineer hammer
34:10and the return of the hammer
34:12and another purchase
34:14of another hammer.
34:15The hammers were purchased
34:17in and around the time frame
34:18of the previous murders.
34:19We figure what he's doing
34:21is he'll commit a murder
34:23with a hammer,
34:24clean it,
34:25return it to the hardware store,
34:27turn it in,
34:28get another hammer.
34:33So they immediately go
34:34to the hardware store
34:35with their receipts.
34:36Nobody recognized
34:37the picture of Shane Schindler,
34:40but they had a display rack
34:42for the hammers.
34:43There's four of them there,
34:44but we learned
34:44that they had sold nine.
34:47We had a crime scene analyst
34:49with us.
34:49They did some testing
34:51and we had none
34:52on the shelf
34:53that had blood.
34:54So it was probably sold
34:56to another customer.
34:57And whoever bought
34:58those hammers
34:59might be in possession
35:00of somebody's blood
35:02and brain matter
35:03and not even know it.
35:06So the detectives knew
35:07they were on the right track,
35:08but now you've got to figure out
35:11how to charge them
35:11with the two murders.
35:13There is no sufficient evidence
35:15to support he's killed anybody.
35:17Circumstantial evidence, yes.
35:19Proof beyond a reasonable doubt,
35:21nope.
35:23We do have conversations
35:25with the district attorney,
35:27Mark DiGiacomo.
35:28I decided to go
35:29right to the top
35:30and pick the smart guy
35:32because I was
35:32in serious trouble here.
35:34Prosecutors will find a way.
35:36When they called me
35:37and said,
35:37look, there's not enough here
35:38to book him on the murders,
35:39I said, okay, well,
35:40what did he do?
35:42Well, he took a hammer
35:44and hit a mannequin.
35:48But that's not
35:49what he thought he did.
35:50He thought he took a hammer
35:51to a human being.
35:52Why don't you book him
35:53on a temp murder
35:53with the use of a deadly weapon?
35:54He explains to me
35:56that the intent is there
35:58and we're going to go
35:59through a grand jury.
36:01You have to make an argument
36:03to a judge
36:03that any reasonable person
36:05would have believed,
36:07because of the disguise
36:08on the dummy
36:09and the mind's eye
36:10of the perpetrator,
36:11he is attacking a human being.
36:13Well, I think the response
36:14was, are you kidding?
36:16And I was like, well, okay.
36:17You obviously know the law
36:19better than I do.
36:19It's a stretch,
36:21but it could work.
36:24We presented the case
36:25to the grand jury
36:27that gave a true bill
36:29and we had an indictment.
36:32They negotiate
36:33with the district attorney
36:35that if he pleads guilty,
36:36he will not be charged
36:38with the murders
36:39of the two individuals
36:41killed with hammers.
36:51He accepts the deal.
36:54He pled guilty
36:55to attempt murder
36:56and agreed to a sentence
36:58of eight to 20 years
36:59in the Nevada Department
37:00of Corrections.
37:03This is great news.
37:05You don't always get a meal,
37:06but let's at least
37:07get a sandwich.
37:08Something is better
37:10than nothing.
37:11Something that puts him
37:12in a jail.
37:15I spoke to Shane
37:17numerous times
37:18and he wouldn't admit
37:19ever attacking anybody
37:20with a hammer.
37:22He does say
37:23he had slept
37:24in that intersection
37:26before
37:26and the white male
37:28that beat him up
37:29took his belongings.
37:30So it's possible
37:31that Mr. Schindler
37:33sought revenge
37:34for being assaulted
37:35at that intersection.
37:37So it became
37:37his hunting ground.
37:39Shane has a very
37:40specific image
37:41of himself
37:41as being very manly,
37:43being tough.
37:44And I believe
37:45that it was eating at him
37:46to the point
37:47where he started
37:48planning out
37:48how to kill this man.
37:50The detectives
37:51firmly believe
37:52that Shane Schindler
37:53purchased a sledgehammer
37:54and went to the intersection
37:55in question.
37:59There he sees
38:00Daniel Aldape
38:01bundled up
38:03and asleep.
38:06He looks at him
38:07and decides
38:08he's the guy
38:08that hurt him.
38:21And we believe
38:23he then kills
38:24Daniel with a hammer,
38:25four blows
38:25to the head.
38:27And then
38:28he looks more carefully
38:29and realizes
38:31it's not him.
38:32Oh my,
38:33a mistake.
38:37We believe
38:38he then makes it home,
38:39he exchanges the hammer,
38:41gets a new hammer.
38:42They also believe
38:44a month or so later
38:45he wanted to continue
38:46the hunt.
38:49He went to that intersection,
38:55found David Dunn.
39:01It is a blitzkrieg attack
39:03with a hammer
39:03to the head.
39:05He kills him
39:06in the exact same manner.
39:09Careful review.
39:10Oh no,
39:11that's not him either.
39:17About a month later,
39:19Shane Schindler
39:20has a new hammer.
39:23He goes to the same
39:24intersection,
39:25sees a person
39:26bundled up
39:27and sleeping
39:31and attacks it
39:32and discovers
39:33it's not a person
39:34at all,
39:35it's a dummy.
39:35But he hits it
39:36in the head
39:37with a sledgehammer.
39:41That's the crime
39:42he pleads guilty to.
39:43Which suggested to me
39:45he knew
39:45that he was the killer
39:46of Mr. Atalpe,
39:47Mr. Dunn.
39:51We were all able
39:52to be in the courtroom
39:53and when they said
39:55somebody from
39:56his family
39:57would like to speak,
39:58he looked like,
40:00like as if he was surprised
40:01that he had family
40:03that
40:05was there
40:06that cared
40:07and he thought
40:08you could just
40:09murder homeless people
40:11and nobody would care.
40:12That's
40:13so far from the truth,
40:15you know?
40:16So many people cared.
40:17The only
40:19sense of comfort
40:19I get is
40:20knowing that we didn't
40:21have a third victim
40:22but that's all you can do
40:23is try to reconcile it.
40:24The telling thing
40:25about this is
40:26that when Shane
40:27went into jail
40:28the killings stopped.
40:30Homeless people
40:31or panhandling people
40:32are going through
40:34things in life
40:35that we can't
40:36begin to understand.
40:38How do you turn
40:38this terrible thing
40:39that happened
40:40into something
40:41more positive?
40:42I own a t-shirt shop
40:43so I did
40:44the Homeless Lives Matter
40:45in a hashtag
40:46honoring Danny.
40:46because
40:48I mean in all honesty
40:50that's what
40:50it was all about.
40:51Danny.
40:54This case certainly
40:55informs the public
40:56the plight
40:57that homeless people
40:59face every day.
41:01They're sleeping
41:02in the jungle.
41:03They're fully exposed
41:04to the dangers
41:05the world presents.
41:11on the next
41:12American detective.
41:13Robert Wiles
41:15disappeared in
41:15April of 2008.
41:17The Wiles family
41:18received a ransom
41:19demand a few days
41:20after Robert
41:20disappeared.
41:22In homicide
41:23the victim
41:23is already deceased.
41:25In a kidnapping
41:26the victim
41:27is still alive.
41:28Your mission
41:29is to keep
41:30that from changing.
41:31to be continued...
41:31to be continued...
Comments