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A Plan to Kill (2024) Season 2 Episode 8
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00:11My daughter told my wife that she was going out to a Halloween party with her friends.
00:16But that next day, nobody had seen her, nobody had heard from her.
00:20Her friends told us that she didn't ever show up to the Halloween party.
00:25The police were getting leads left in her eye.
00:27People saying, hey, we saw her here, hey, we saw her there.
00:29Also, there were lots of rumors that she'd gotten involved with a guy named Spider.
00:34The detectives heard that she could possibly be buried on his property.
00:39But they kept hitting dead end after dead end.
00:43And then a young woman comes to the police department and wants to talk to the detectives.
00:49I know what happened to you.
00:51I lied because I was scared.
00:55How in the hell can you do something like that?
00:57It's one of the most disturbing cases I've been a part of due to the premeditation.
01:01I've never seen such a thought out planned murder in my career as a prosecutor.
01:22Bend, Oregon is basically an outdoor paradise.
01:27Violent crime is low compared to a lot of places.
01:31It's a really safe place.
01:33But every city has its dark side.
01:43On November 1st, 2004, I was 12 years old.
01:48That night, I was home.
01:50My mom was home.
01:51My oldest sister, Nicole, was home.
01:54My daughter, Nicole, was 21 years old.
01:57She had lots of friends.
01:58And she told my wife that she was going out to a Halloween party with her friends.
02:03And she told me to be back later on.
02:06I was actually a senior in high school at the time.
02:09And around here, it's normal for people to have Halloween parties on November 1st.
02:14Especially adults, they want to be able to go out after handing out candy on Halloween.
02:20Nikki never said exactly whose house it was when she talked about the Halloween party.
02:31On November 2nd, that next day, Nikki still wasn't home.
02:36But Nikki would leave literally for like days at a time.
02:40She'd find some friends and they'd be like, yeah, just come stay here.
02:45Nicole always wanted to check out other areas.
02:50And so we just figured she was going to go on out and do her thing for a while.
02:54And Nicole was going to show up one day just out of the blue.
02:57She was 21.
02:59Like, oh, I'm an adult.
03:00I can do what I want.
03:03But we noticed her purse was there.
03:05Her wallet was there.
03:06All of her personal effects were at the house.
03:09Didn't take them with it, which found that kind of odd.
03:13Within a few days, things kind of started looking weird.
03:17Because she would have called.
03:21On November 7th, Nicole's mother, Robin, contacted the Venn Police Department
03:25and wanted to report her daughter as a missing person.
03:29Nicole had been gone six days at that time.
03:33When her mother last saw her on November 1st at 7.30,
03:36she was picked up by a vehicle that drove her to the party.
03:41But Robin did not see the car and she didn't know who picked her up.
03:46Robin let police know that Nicole had been wearing black pants, white tennis shoes,
03:50and a maroon polo shirt that had actually been issued to her dad
03:52and had the word Ben inscribed on it because her dad was a bus driver at the time.
03:57We'd call her friends that we knew that she would probably go stay with,
04:01but nobody had seen her, nobody had heard from her.
04:06We made up flyers.
04:08We posted them everywhere.
04:10All the cities around Central Oregon, hundreds of flyers out.
04:20Nicole's mom also let police know that Nicole had a large group of friends
04:24that were kind of gothic dressing
04:27and liked to hang out in the downtown Bend area.
04:30One of those people said that she knew there was a Halloween party on November 1st
04:35and it was hosted at a house that was being rented by Lauren Bowers.
04:41Lauren Bowers was a friend of Nikki's from around town who she actually had dated,
04:46but they were just friends at that time.
04:49Lauren also was a friend of the family.
04:51He'd come over for dinner.
04:53Lauren would come over to like help my dad and move something, fix something.
04:58So that party at Lauren's is possibly where Nikki was going on November 1st.
05:06Police went and talked to Lauren Bowers.
05:08He did indicate that he had been really good friends with Nicole and Nicole's family.
05:13Also present at the house was Lauren's girlfriend
05:16and the other roommate was Craig Whiting.
05:22They all knew Nicole and were friends with Nicole,
05:24but all of them said that she hadn't been to the Halloween party.
05:33We knew Craig Whiting through Lauren
05:36because at one point he actually lived with us for about six months
05:40because he didn't have a permanent residence and we gave him one.
05:45At the time, Craig didn't have much money
05:48and the parents were trying to help him get his life in order.
05:54Detectives back then wanted to get a statement from each person at the house
05:58and people that were at the party.
06:01We knew that Lauren had a criminal history
06:04and he had been in prison before,
06:06but we didn't have any type of evidence
06:09that would give automatic grounds for a search of his residence.
06:13Also, Lauren and everyone else in the house that lived with him
06:17was cooperating with police
06:18and there was nothing indicating they would be linked to Nicole being missing.
06:24We have a young woman who's 21 years old
06:27who gets into a vehicle voluntarily and then she doesn't return.
06:30Maybe there was a different Halloween party,
06:33but detectives don't have a lot of information to go on.
06:36So they talked to Nicole's family
06:38to try to create somewhat of a picture of who Nicole was as a person
06:42to help this investigation.
06:51We were a really close family.
06:53Like, there's no ifs, ands, or buts about that.
06:57Nikki still lived at home
06:59and she was the oldest.
07:01She'd help me get ready for dances
07:03and we'd just, like, dance around, have fun.
07:06And mom and Nikki, their personalities were a lot alike as well.
07:09Very loud, outgoing personalities.
07:11But Nikki is completely daddy's girl.
07:14She was kind of a tomboy.
07:17She liked to go hunting and fishing with me,
07:20go out cutting firewood.
07:21Well, I got out of the Marine Corps in 1987
07:25and she was actually getting ready to join the Marine Corps herself
07:28and then get the schooling to be,
07:30she wanted to be a marine biologist.
07:32That was her dream in life.
07:33Worked with dolphins.
07:35She even had a tattoo on her shoulder of a dolphin.
07:39And she loved children.
07:42Back then, Nicole was a babysitter,
07:44so that's what she did for a living.
07:47Me and my sister Nicole were best friends.
07:49I was, like, the oldest and youngest.
07:51But as she was getting older,
07:53she started hanging out with probably not the best,
07:56ideal people to be around.
07:59Nicole and I had several boyfriends.
08:00I didn't really know of them individually
08:03because, you know, she got over 18,
08:05pretty much do what she wanted to.
08:13Talking with the parents and the family,
08:15the detectives find out that Nicole recently broke up
08:17with a boyfriend about a week or so
08:19before this Halloween party.
08:22In my eyes, he was not a good person.
08:24They hadn't dated super long,
08:26but Nicole had even told us
08:28he had gotten physical with her before
08:30and argued with her a lot.
08:33And from what I understand,
08:35he had been in and out of jail,
08:36so he had a really bad history.
08:38Hearing that this relationship was toxic,
08:42obviously that is somebody the detectives
08:44wanted to contact
08:44because sometimes relationships can end poorly.
08:48When somebody goes missing
08:49after a breakup like that,
08:51you never know.
08:53So it was definitely a thought
08:54that he could have done something to Nikki.
08:59Nicole's ex-boyfriend seems dubious
09:02because, conveniently, they just broke up
09:05and he doesn't know where she is.
09:06And then we heard that a body had been found.
09:09It was a female that fit generally
09:11the description of Nicole.
09:12The main suspect is talking,
09:15and I thought,
09:15oh my gosh, is he going to spill it?
09:18They had a plan on killing her
09:20because she was doing the right thing.
09:23I already know what happened.
09:38Anytime there's a missing persons case,
09:40police are naturally going to look
09:42to the people who are closest
09:43to the missing person.
09:46And so in Nicole's case,
09:47she had had a boyfriend,
09:49and they had broken up
09:51not very long before she went missing.
09:56The detectives contacted the ex-boyfriend,
09:59brought him in for questioning,
10:01and with some phone calls,
10:03they could corroborate his whereabouts
10:05on November 1st.
10:08Then he tells police
10:09that he has no idea where Nicole was.
10:12This is still seeming dubious to the police,
10:15so they ask him to do a polygraph.
10:17He passed the polygraph,
10:19and so detectives pretty much ruled him out
10:22as a suspect at that point.
10:27One of the challenges in this case was
10:28detectives were receiving a lot of information
10:31from local residents
10:32about locations on where Nicole had been seen.
10:36There was a news report about it
10:37on our local television station.
10:39So people thought they saw Nicole on a bus.
10:42They saw her downtown.
10:46But all of them were dead ends.
10:51So all we could do is just put up more flyers
10:54and just continue to look.
10:56I hold my emotions in better than most people.
11:01But we never gave up hope
11:03that she was out there somewhere.
11:06And I never stopped looking.
11:20Our detectives continued to work
11:22on following up leads
11:23in a few months
11:24after the initial missing persons report.
11:26There were lots of new rumors going around
11:28amongst kind of the friends
11:29and people that hung out
11:31in the Drake Park area
11:32known as the Park Rats.
11:34The Park Rats were young adults
11:36that were drug users.
11:37Nicole is a young 21-year-old.
11:39She's trying to navigate her way
11:41through this world.
11:42And she, like many other people,
11:44made some poor decisions along the way
11:46and kind of got caught up
11:47in a group of people
11:48that were probably not the best for her.
11:52The Park Rats said
11:54that Nicole had gotten involved
11:55with a guy named Devin
11:57who we actually knew
11:57had a street name of Spider.
12:01Spider was kind of like
12:02the leader of the pack,
12:03the leader of the group
12:04down in Drake Park.
12:06And he was a known troublemaker.
12:09He scared people, so to speak.
12:11That's where some people thought
12:12that they were a gag.
12:14And from what I understand,
12:16Nicole had actually gone out
12:17with him at one time.
12:18Of course, I didn't like it at all.
12:21Spider actually went to school
12:22with my sister for a while.
12:25He did have a really bumpy past.
12:27He was one of those
12:27who had been in and out of jail.
12:29We were told at one time
12:31that Spider and his group
12:33were into, like,
12:35satanic-type rituals
12:36and that they tried
12:38to get Nicole involved in that.
12:41So it was definitely a thought
12:42that he could have been
12:43part of Nicky's disappearance.
12:46And then somebody with a lead
12:47called the police department
12:48saying that Nicole could possibly
12:50be buried on his property.
12:52And they didn't want Spider
12:54to be able to have the time
12:55to move the body.
12:57So they contacted
12:58the National Guard
12:59and were trying to get
13:00a radar unit
13:02that flies over
13:03and detects ground disturbances
13:05using ground-penetrating radar.
13:08But the National Guard
13:09determined that the trees
13:10were so dense
13:11that their technology
13:12would not help us
13:13in this investigation.
13:16Detectives were able
13:17to contact Spider
13:18and get him to come down
13:19to the Bend Police Department
13:20for an interview.
13:21Spider was cooperative,
13:23and he said if he knew
13:24where she was,
13:25he would tell her parents
13:26because he could tell
13:27how distraught and upset
13:28her parents were
13:28since she had gone missing.
13:30He did recount
13:31the last time he had seen her
13:32was at a Halloween party.
13:35Confusing.
13:36Not the same Halloween party
13:37that happened on November 1st
13:39with Lauren Bowers
13:39and that crowd,
13:40but a true Halloween party
13:42on Halloween.
13:43He described how her
13:44and some of their other friends
13:45actually went trick-or-treating
13:46for a while,
13:47and then they came back
13:48and all fell asleep.
13:50The next day,
13:51November 1st,
13:52somewhere later in the day
13:53around noon,
13:54Spider said that he
13:55took Nicole back to her house,
13:57dropped her off,
13:58and then left.
14:00Detectives talked
14:01to other friends
14:02and were able to verify
14:03Spider's story,
14:04but still were concerned
14:05he may have something
14:06to do with Nicole's disappearance,
14:08so they asked him
14:09if he'd be willing
14:09to take a polygraph test,
14:10and he said he would do so.
14:13They asked him,
14:14was he involved
14:15in Nicole's disappearance?
14:16Did he know
14:17where Nicole currently was?
14:18Did he cause Nicole's death?
14:20And he passed
14:21all those questions.
14:23So the detectives
14:24at that time
14:25felt pretty confident
14:26that they could rule out
14:27Spider as being part
14:29of Nicole's disappearance.
14:31By this point
14:32in the investigation,
14:33detectives had already
14:34sent out subpoenas
14:35for Nicole's cell phone,
14:37her credit cards,
14:39her debit cards.
14:41If a person were alive,
14:42they would normally
14:43be using these things,
14:44but there was nothing.
14:47Her mother recognized
14:48she's been hanging around
14:49some really bad people,
14:50and there was something
14:52in Robin that felt
14:54that something bad
14:56had happened
14:56to her daughter.
14:58Mother's intuition,
14:59I don't know.
15:01And detectives
15:02just kept hitting
15:02dead end after dead end.
15:04They didn't know
15:06what happened.
15:09A few months after that,
15:11a body had been found
15:14closer to the
15:15Portland metropolitan area.
15:17It was a female
15:19that fit generally
15:19the description of Nicole.
15:24I thought Nicole
15:25was out there
15:26still alive,
15:27but we got a call
15:29saying that
15:29they found a girl's body
15:31about the same age
15:32and body style
15:33and all that stuff,
15:34and I couldn't believe
15:35Nicole was going.
15:37So, you know,
15:38one thing I asked them,
15:39I said,
15:39well, look on her left shoulder.
15:41If she's got a tattoo
15:42of a dolphin
15:43on her left shoulder,
15:45that might be her.
15:57When my parents got
15:58the message
15:59from the detectives
16:00here in Bend
16:01that in Portland
16:02a body had been found
16:03that matched
16:04Nicole's description,
16:05it was kind of
16:07like a gut shot.
16:09The last thing
16:09you want to hear
16:10is your person's
16:11being killed.
16:13Portland is only
16:14the three-hour drive
16:15from Bend,
16:16so this was
16:17a strong lead.
16:19Also,
16:19at one point
16:20before she went missing,
16:22Nicole had left,
16:23went to Portland,
16:24and so my parents
16:25were thinking
16:26maybe she had gone up again,
16:28and this was Nicole.
16:30It was just
16:32excruciating
16:33waiting to find out
16:34if this body
16:35that was found
16:36is my sister.
16:39But the detectives
16:41at that time
16:41found out
16:42that ultimately
16:42it wasn't her
16:43because it didn't have
16:45the same
16:45very unique
16:46dolphin tattoo
16:47that Nicole had.
16:49It was a relief,
16:51period,
16:51because there's still
16:52hope
16:53that she's still
16:54out there.
16:55Okay,
16:56what next?
17:00As this case
17:01moved on
17:02through the months
17:03following,
17:04the detectives
17:05continued to track
17:06down leads,
17:07but at some point
17:08they don't really
17:09have a lot of updates
17:10to give,
17:10and as an investigator
17:11that's just really
17:12frustrating,
17:13and it can also
17:13be discouraging.
17:14Well,
17:15I always had
17:16the thought in my head
17:17that Nicole
17:18was going to show up.
17:19I mean,
17:20driving around,
17:21bending my bus
17:21all day long,
17:23every person I saw
17:25that resembled her,
17:26I looked,
17:27and I had to make sure
17:28that it wasn't her.
17:29We still thought
17:30she'll come home
17:31even if it's
17:3210 years from now.
17:41The way our department
17:42works is that
17:43every three years
17:44we rotate our detectives.
17:45So,
17:46in January of 2007,
17:48we have a new rotation,
17:50and I was promoted
17:51and given
17:52the Nicole Hutchins
17:53missing person case
17:54leading our investigation,
17:56and I didn't have much.
17:58I had a lot
18:00of police reports
18:00that were chasing
18:01dead ends
18:02that never materialized.
18:05But having fresh eyes
18:07on this case,
18:07you go in there
18:07with, like,
18:08this renewed energy
18:10of, like,
18:10I'm going to solve this.
18:12First,
18:12with our new detectives,
18:13a lot of us
18:14were tasked
18:14with sending out
18:15letters and faxes
18:16to different jails,
18:18different hospitals,
18:19running credit checks.
18:21But at this point,
18:22nobody heard anything
18:23from Nicole
18:23in about two years.
18:28Next,
18:29I started to look
18:29into all the prior reports,
18:31trying to determine
18:32was there anything
18:32that we'd missed,
18:35and I noticed
18:36we had a couple
18:36early-on suspects
18:37and planned
18:38to re-interview them.
18:44So as we were
18:45developing our plan
18:45to speak with
18:46this group
18:47of suspicious people,
18:48a young woman
18:49named Shannon
18:50comes to the
18:51Bend Police Department
18:51into the lobby
18:53and wants to talk
18:54to the detectives.
18:56Okay, so I hear
18:57that you want
18:58to talk to me
18:58about something.
19:00Tell me what
19:00you want to talk about.
19:02The Nicole Hutchins
19:04disappearance.
19:05Okay.
19:06What about?
19:07I know what
19:08happened to her.
19:10She said that
19:11her boyfriend
19:12killed Nicole Hutchins.
19:16her boyfriend
19:18is Lauren Bowers.
19:25Lauren
19:27killed her.
19:28How do you know that?
19:30Because she was
19:31at my house
19:32that night
19:32and he told me
19:34he was going to.
19:36As soon as Shannon
19:37comes in,
19:38that revives
19:39this entire investigation.
19:40It changed everything.
19:42Shannon told us
19:44she couldn't live
19:44with herself anymore
19:45because of the
19:46information she had
19:47that her heart
19:47was just broken
19:48for what had
19:49happened to Nicole
19:51and I believed her.
19:53This is a huge
19:54break in the case.
19:56Shannon,
19:56who had been
19:57interviewed
19:57during the first
19:58investigation,
19:59indicated that
20:00she and Lauren Bowers
20:02had been together
20:03for several years.
20:04They have a son together
20:05and she starts
20:06to tell us
20:07really good details
20:08about the Halloween party
20:09at Lauren Bowers' house
20:10on November 1st,
20:122004.
20:14They were talking
20:15about getting
20:16Europe to come over.
20:18Him and Craig Whiting.
20:21And so Lauren's friend,
20:23Craig Whiting,
20:24was involved as well.
20:26For all of us,
20:27it was pretty shocking
20:28because both of them
20:30initially had been
20:31interviewed as well
20:32as Shannon
20:32and were cooperative
20:33with the investigation.
20:34So Lauren called Nicole
20:38about coming over
20:39and he told her what?
20:41Not to tell anybody
20:42where she was going.
20:44They spiked her drink.
20:46I think it was
20:47with Vicodin.
20:50Nicole was just
20:51kind of passing out.
20:53Lauren said,
20:54OK, it's time,
20:56let's go.
20:57And him and Craig
20:57picked her up
20:58off the floor
20:59and carried her
21:01out to the truck.
21:02They came back
21:03a couple hours later
21:05and it was done.
21:07Before the police
21:08got there,
21:08you just said
21:09everybody knows
21:09what to say.
21:10She wasn't here.
21:12Everyone lied to us
21:13when we first talked to you.
21:15I know.
21:17I lied because
21:18I was scared.
21:20He told me
21:21if I ever told anybody,
21:23you'll get a bullet
21:24right between the eyes.
21:41A lady named Shannon
21:42comes into the police
21:43department.
21:44Shannon's boyfriend
21:45is Lauren Bowers.
21:46And Shannon says
21:48Lauren and Craig Whiting
21:49killed Nicole Hutchings.
21:52She was obviously
21:53very scared of Lauren
21:54and we wanted
21:55to protect her.
21:56And we're trying
21:57to be compassionate
21:58as now she was going
21:58to become one
21:59of our key witnesses.
22:02Shannon decided
22:03that she's wanting
22:03to take her and her son
22:04and start a new life
22:05away from Lauren.
22:07This is kind of
22:08what motivated her
22:09to come to the police
22:10department.
22:11Did he plan this
22:12out ahead of time?
22:14Lauren came up
22:15with a plan
22:15and Craig just
22:16went along with it.
22:18They were talking
22:19about getting her
22:20to come over,
22:22drugging her,
22:23and then taking her out
22:25and killing her.
22:29Do you know
22:30why Lauren did it?
22:32That I couldn't
22:32tell you for sure.
22:34Well the most
22:34important thing is
22:35do you know
22:36where her body is?
22:37No we don't.
22:42After all these
22:43years of frustration
22:44and all these dead ends
22:45now we have something
22:45to work on.
22:47What we have
22:48are a lot of
22:48corroborating statements
22:49which are good
22:51but what we don't
22:54have is a body.
23:01While police may
23:02arrest on probable cause
23:03that's a much
23:04different standard
23:05than proving beyond
23:06a reasonable doubt
23:06that somebody
23:07murdered Nicole.
23:09A really good way
23:10to think about
23:11a nobody homicide
23:12is let's say
23:13you have a situation
23:14where somebody hears
23:15what they think is
23:16violence in a home
23:17and maybe there's
23:18a weapon
23:19or something
23:21where you say
23:21hey we don't have
23:22a body but somebody
23:23was either seriously
23:24injured or killed here.
23:26We didn't have that.
23:27Without the body
23:28we needed a confession.
23:30Without the confession
23:32we were not going to be
23:33successful in this prosecution.
23:38So we asked Shannon
23:40if she would be willing
23:41to wear a wire
23:42with Lauren Bowers
23:43and we could have them
23:45meet in maybe
23:46a public area
23:47like a park
23:48and she said
23:49she would be willing
23:50to do that.
23:52Weeks later
23:53Lauren and Shannon
23:55they're having
23:55a child visitation
23:56and while the child
23:57was playing
23:58she would try
23:59to get information
24:00out of Lauren's mouth
24:01about the murder
24:02so that we could
24:03prosecute this
24:04successfully.
24:06We had myself
24:07and other detectives
24:08close by
24:08as a protection detail
24:10if things
24:11you know
24:12did go sideways.
24:14Then we saw
24:15Lauren
24:15approach
24:16Shannon
24:19and they started
24:20talking.
24:21I'm so scared
24:22that you're going
24:23to leave me.
24:24I'm not going
24:25to leave you.
24:25You're the only one
24:26I've ever talked to
24:27about this.
24:28I know
24:29but I want
24:30to know why
24:31and what happened.
24:33That bitch
24:34was trying
24:35to destroy
24:35my life.
24:36You know
24:37how bad
24:38that hurt me.
24:40I hope
24:40you don't hate
24:41me for that
24:42because I hate
24:42myself
24:43for what I did.
24:45What did
24:45you do?
24:49I had her
24:50gotten rid of
24:51okay?
24:55What about
24:56the bodies?
24:56I don't know
24:57the body might
24:58be gone
24:59but if somebody
25:00finds her
25:01bones
25:02I'm
25:04when the
25:05district attorney
25:06Wells Aspie
25:06heard
25:08I got rid
25:08of her
25:09we looked
25:10at each other
25:10and goes
25:11we've got
25:12enough
25:12let's bring
25:13them back
25:13to the station
25:14to do a
25:14complete
25:15interrogation.
25:20A few days
25:21later
25:21the plan
25:22was to
25:22pick up
25:23both
25:23Craig and
25:24Lauren
25:25simultaneously
25:25so they
25:26didn't have
25:26an opportunity
25:27to call
25:27the other
25:28person
25:28and tip
25:28somebody
25:29off.
25:29On March
25:3012, 2007
25:31we were able
25:32to watch
25:33Lauren and
25:33watch Craig
25:34early that
25:34morning
25:35and have
25:35our patrol
25:37units conduct
25:38a traffic
25:38stop
25:39their own
25:39opposite sides
25:40of town.
25:41During those
25:41traffic stops
25:42we have detectives
25:44randomly show up
25:45and say hey
25:45we're part of
25:46the Cole case
25:46we know
25:47you were
25:47initially
25:48contacted
25:49and interviewed
25:49on the
25:50Nicole Hachis
25:50missing persons
25:51case
25:51would you be
25:52willing to come
25:53down to the
25:53police department
25:54and answer
25:54some more
25:55questions.
25:56And both
25:57Lauren Bowers
25:58and Craig
25:58Whiting
25:59voluntarily
26:00agreed to
26:00come down
26:00to the
26:01police department
26:01and then
26:02one of the
26:02detectives
26:03had the
26:03great idea
26:04to have
26:05them pass
26:05each other
26:05in the
26:06hallway.
26:07When a
26:08co-defendant
26:09sees another
26:09co-defendant
26:10he's going
26:10to make
26:11that person
26:11think
26:11is that
26:12other guy
26:13talking
26:13maybe I
26:14should start
26:15talking
26:15and if
26:16you talk
26:16first
26:17maybe you
26:17get the
26:17best deal.
26:19When they
26:19saw each
26:20other
26:20Lauren
26:21Bowers
26:21face
26:22literally
26:23just
26:23dropped
26:24like
26:25oh my
26:26god.
26:27So we're
26:27either
26:27going to
26:28really
26:28break
26:28this
26:29thing
26:29open
26:29or
26:30these
26:30two
26:31are
26:31going
26:31to
26:31ask
26:31for
26:31an
26:31attorney
26:32and
26:32we're
26:32moving
26:32ahead
26:33with
26:33a
26:33no-body
26:33homicide.
26:38We started
26:39our interview
26:40with
26:41Lauren
26:41Bowers.
26:42She didn't
26:43know we
26:43had the
26:44body wire
26:44from
26:44Shannon
26:45and we
26:46wanted to
26:46lock
26:46him
26:46into
26:47a
26:47statement
26:47about
26:48what
26:48happened
26:49to
26:49Nicole.
26:50A
26:51couple
26:51things
26:51have
26:51come
26:51out
26:52that
26:52you
26:52don't
26:52look
26:52like
26:53Sainst
26:53and I
26:54got them
26:54to ask
26:55you about
26:55and you
26:56think you
26:56did?
26:57I don't
26:57know.
26:58I'm
26:59low
26:59not.
27:00So why
27:01did you
27:01wait two
27:02and a half
27:02years to
27:03go to a
27:03park to
27:04talk to
27:04your
27:04girlfriend?
27:05Why
27:06would you
27:06tell her
27:06then I
27:07had her
27:07gotten
27:08rid
27:08of?
27:08I
27:08did
27:09not
27:09say
27:09that
27:09to
27:09her.
27:10I
27:10never
27:10had
27:11her
27:11gotten
27:11rid
27:12of.
27:12I
27:12don't
27:12have
27:12that
27:13kind
27:13of
27:23power.
27:25We had
27:26Lauren's
27:26previous
27:27statement
27:27where he
27:28confessed
27:28on the
27:28wire and
27:30now we
27:30have him
27:31lying.
27:31Lauren
27:32begins
27:32crying
27:33because he
27:34knows
27:34in the
27:34other
27:35interview
27:35room
27:35Craig
27:36is
27:36going
27:36to
27:36be
27:36talking.
27:39Nice
27:39to meet
27:40you,
27:40Craig.
27:40Nice
27:40to meet
27:41you,
27:41too.
27:42It
27:43was
27:43most
27:43of
27:43our
27:43detectives
27:44belief
27:44that
27:45Craig
27:45Whiting
27:45would
27:46be
27:46the
27:46one
27:46to
27:46ultimately
27:47break
27:47first
27:47and
27:48tell
27:48us
27:48the
27:48truth.
27:49That's
27:49because
27:50he
27:50didn't
27:50really
27:50have
27:50much
27:50of
27:50a
27:51criminal
27:51history.
27:52The
27:52detective
27:52asked
27:53some
27:53fairly
27:53basic
27:54questions.
27:55Last
27:55time we
27:55talked,
27:56talked
27:56about
27:56Nicole
27:57Hutchings.
27:58I
27:58wanted
27:58to
27:58try
27:59to
27:59get
27:59a
27:59little
27:59more
27:59detail
28:00from
28:00you.
28:00Do you
28:01remember
28:01when
28:01she
28:01went
28:01missing?
28:03Uh,
28:05about
28:12and
28:12then
28:12the
28:13detective
28:13started
28:14really
28:15moving
28:15up
28:16tempo
28:16with
28:16the
28:16questions.
28:18stuff
28:18has
28:19come
28:19up.
28:19I had
28:20information
28:20that she
28:20was
28:21at
28:21your
28:21house
28:23on
28:23or
28:24about
28:24Halloween
28:25the day
28:25after.
28:26You
28:27guys
28:27were
28:27with
28:28her.
28:29We
28:30know
28:30what
28:30happened.
28:31You
28:32could
28:32tell
28:32that
28:32Craig
28:33Whiting
28:33was
28:33getting
28:33nervous
28:34and
28:35we
28:35just
28:35saw
28:35him
28:35take
28:36this
28:36huge
28:36breath
28:37just
28:39and
28:40I
28:40thought
28:40oh
28:41my
28:41gosh
28:41is
28:42he
28:42going
28:42to
28:42finally
28:43describe
28:44his
28:45role
28:45and
28:45Lauren's
28:46role
28:46in
28:47Nicole
28:48Hutchings
28:48murder.
28:58Let's
28:58just
28:59get to
28:59the
28:59main
28:59green
28:59here.
29:00Our
29:00detective
29:01was
29:01interviewing
29:02Craig
29:02Whiting
29:02trying
29:03to get
29:03the
29:03truth
29:03about
29:04his
29:04and
29:04Lauren
29:05Bower's
29:05involvement
29:06in
29:06Nicole's
29:07death
29:07and
29:08hopefully
29:08break
29:08this
29:08case
29:09wide
29:09open.
29:10We
29:10know
29:10the whole
29:10thing
29:11and I
29:12know
29:12she's
29:12dead.
29:13Is the
29:13Lauren's
29:14going to
29:14protect
29:14you?
29:15No.
29:16It was
29:17shocking
29:17because
29:18within the
29:19first five
29:20minutes of
29:20the interview
29:21Craig
29:21strikes a
29:22confession.
29:23All right
29:23it started
29:24the whole
29:25thing
29:25I guess
29:26Nikki
29:27was
29:28spreading
29:29rumors
29:29about
29:29Lauren
29:30doing
29:31something
29:31with
29:34someone's
29:34kid
29:35touching
29:35her
29:35wrong
29:36or
29:36something
29:36like
29:36that.
29:37She
29:37was
29:38going
29:38to accuse
29:38Lauren
29:38of touching
29:39some small
29:39child?
29:40Yeah.
29:40OK.
29:41He could
29:41go back
29:42to prison
29:42for a
29:43long time.
29:44And he
29:45was going
29:45to take
29:46care of it.
29:46Craig
29:47explained
29:48that Nicole,
29:48when she
29:49was serving
29:49as a
29:50nanny,
29:50one of the
29:51children
29:51had disclosed
29:52to her
29:52that Lauren
29:53had abused
29:54her and
29:55touched
29:55her in
29:56a criminal
29:56way.
29:57Nicole
29:57confronted
29:58Lauren
29:58about that
29:59and Lauren
30:00denied
30:00that.
30:01And ultimately
30:01her having
30:02that knowledge
30:03and her
30:03indicating
30:03that she
30:04was going
30:04to come
30:04forward
30:05to authorities,
30:06that is
30:06what caused
30:07Lauren to
30:09want to
30:09kill her
30:09so she
30:10couldn't
30:11ruin his
30:11life.
30:12That's a
30:13substantial
30:13motive.
30:14So Lauren
30:15creates a
30:15fake party.
30:16Even though
30:17Nicole confronted
30:18Lauren about
30:19sexually abusing
30:19a minor,
30:20she accepted
30:21the invitation
30:22and was
30:23trusting enough
30:23to go to
30:24that party
30:24that night
30:25because Craig
30:25and her
30:26other friends
30:26will be
30:37there.
30:39Craig said
30:40that Lauren
30:40made
30:41Nicole a
30:42drink
30:42and it
30:42was rum
30:43and coke
30:43laced
30:44with
30:44Vicodin.
30:45Nicole
30:45consumed
30:46it,
30:46became
30:46very,
30:47very
30:47intoxicated
30:47to the
30:48point
30:48where
30:48she
30:48passed
30:48out.
30:49Craig
30:49said
30:50they
30:50placed
30:50her
30:50in
30:50a
30:51truck,
30:51left
30:51the
30:52party
30:52and
30:52went
30:52out
30:52into
30:53the
30:53Deschutes
30:53National
30:53Forest.
31:06At first,
31:07Craig didn't
31:08describe himself
31:08being involved
31:09in striking
31:10Nicole,
31:11but the
31:11detectives
31:12pressed on
31:12and Craig
31:13Whiting
31:13eventually
31:14said,
31:14struck
31:14her
31:15first,
31:15I
31:15delivered
31:15the
31:16first
31:16blows.
31:17I
31:18took
31:18the
31:19first
31:19swing
31:20and
31:20when
31:20I
31:20had
31:20stumbled
31:21I
31:21pretty
31:22sure
31:22Lauren
31:22had
31:22noticed
31:23that
31:23I
31:23didn't
31:24have
31:24no
31:24balance
31:24to
31:25me
31:25and
31:25finished
31:26it
31:26and
31:28just
31:28started
31:29beating
31:29on
31:30her.
31:30And
31:31then
31:31he
31:31said
31:31Lauren
31:32continued
31:32beating
31:32her
31:33until
31:33Nicole
31:34went
31:34unconscious
31:35and
31:36she's
31:36dead.
31:38He
31:39was
31:40just
31:41saying
31:41something
31:42that I
31:43wanted
31:44to leave
31:44the
31:44clothes
31:45on
31:45it
31:45because
31:45it
31:46could
31:46be
31:46identifiable
31:47or
31:47something
31:47like
31:48that.
31:48I
31:48guess
31:49he
31:49had
31:49been
31:49out
31:49there
31:49before
31:50because
31:50there
31:51was a
31:51hole
31:52I
31:53did
31:53help
31:53them
31:53move
31:54the
31:54body
31:55and
31:56put
31:57some
31:57needles
31:58and
31:58stuff
31:58to make
31:58them look
31:59natural
31:59and put
32:00the log
32:00over.
32:01Craig said
32:02they marked
32:02the grave
32:03with a
32:03burnt log
32:04that way
32:04if they ever
32:05needed to
32:05come back
32:05and move
32:06the body
32:06they would
32:07know where
32:07to find
32:07it.
32:07So
32:08how long
32:08was that
32:09hold
32:09up
32:09prior
32:10to
32:10a
32:12day
32:12a
32:12day
32:13so
32:14the
32:14spot
32:14was
32:14already
32:15picked
32:15out
32:15prior
32:16yeah
32:17I
32:17gotta
32:17believe
32:17you
32:18were
32:18with
32:18him
32:18when
32:18he
32:18was
32:18digging
32:18the hole
32:19yeah
32:22how long
32:22was this land
32:43Craig was
32:44truly
32:44remorseful
32:45but it's
32:45really hard
32:46to understand
32:46why Craig
32:47Whiting
32:47would go
32:47along
32:48with this
32:48plan.
32:49He didn't
32:49ask you
32:49to move
32:50a couch
32:50he asked
32:51you to
32:51kill
32:51somebody
32:52sorry
32:52it
32:52don't
32:52count
32:53brother
32:53hearing
32:54everything
32:54that Craig
32:55sang
32:55Craig
32:56and Lauren
32:57had dug
32:57the grave
32:58they had
32:58planned
32:58the party
32:59to lure
32:59Nicole
33:00out of
33:01the home
33:01and then
33:02let's
33:02spike her
33:03drink
33:03so she
33:04gets
33:04impaired
33:05to the
33:05extent
33:05that she
33:06can't
33:06resist
33:06that she
33:07doesn't
33:07know
33:07what's
33:08going
33:08on
33:08they
33:09had
33:09thought
33:09of
33:09everything
33:10the evidence
33:11supporting
33:12premeditation
33:13for murdering
33:13Nicole
33:14is staggering
33:17after
33:17talking to
33:18Craig
33:18the senior
33:19detective
33:19went back
33:20to continue
33:20interviewing
33:21Lauren
33:21said hey
33:22Craig's
33:22kind of
33:22told us
33:23what happened
33:23but he tries
33:24to blame
33:24everybody else
33:25at the party
33:30and so this is the classic
33:32hey I didn't do it
33:34but if I did I did less than the other guy
33:35that's nothing new in our line of work
33:37let's cut to the chase
33:38let's not screw Craig
33:40I picked out a club
33:41I did not pick out a club
33:43I had a tire buddy
33:44and we knew it was heavy enough
33:47and probably would work
33:48so the murder weapon
33:50so the murder weapon
33:50was a tire buddy
33:51and the end of it
33:52has a metal ring
33:53and truck drivers
33:54used it to hit tires
33:55to make sure
33:56there's air in the tire
33:57but I don't remember
33:58but I don't remember
33:59meeting her
33:59and I'll be honest
34:00with you
34:00I may have
34:01I honestly have
34:03so many stuff inside
34:04I don't know
34:05you're the person
34:06that has the motivation
34:07to kill her
34:08not him
34:08you're saying stuff
34:09that happened
34:10back a few years ago
34:12you're refreshing my memory
34:15what am I going to tell my mother
34:17I can't tell her
34:18I killed somebody
34:19it wasn't worth it
34:21it wasn't worth anything
34:23watching this was amazing
34:25now we have both
34:26Lauren and Craig
34:27finally saying
34:28we were both involved
34:29in Nicole Hutchings murder
34:31during the interviews
34:32other Ben police detectives
34:33serve the search warrant
34:34for where Lauren
34:36currently lives
34:37the house of
34:38where the Halloween party
34:40took place
34:40and also for the other suspect
34:42Craig Whiting's residence
34:43the residence
34:44where the party had
34:45taken place
34:46had been vacant now
34:47for about a year or so
34:48but in the pellet stove
34:50we were able to find
34:51remnants of a shirt
34:53Nicole's father
34:54was a bus driver
34:56and they were issued shirts
34:58and when her mother
35:00last saw her
35:00on November 1st
35:01Nicole was wearing
35:02one of her dad's shirts
35:04we took it to the Oregon
35:05crime lab
35:06and they determined
35:07that it was the same fabric
35:08from the same color lot
35:11also outside
35:12we were able
35:13to find an area
35:14where they tried
35:15to burn something
35:16we did not recover
35:18the actual tire buddy
35:20the murder weapon
35:21but we found
35:22the same type of ring
35:23that would be
35:24on a tire buddy
35:33I've never seen
35:34such a thought out
35:35premeditated
35:36planned murder
35:37in my career
35:38as a prosecutor
35:43in fall of 2004
35:45Nicole confronted
35:46Lauren about
35:47sexually abusing
35:48a minor
35:49she also threatened
35:50to contact
35:51DHS and the authorities
35:53so Lauren
35:54convinced Craig
35:55to help him
35:55kill Nicole
35:56because that was
35:57the only way
35:57Lauren could avoid
35:58going back to prison
36:00Lauren planned
36:01a Halloween party
36:02which was the
36:02complete sham
36:03to isolate Nicole
36:06the night
36:07before the party
36:08Lauren and Craig
36:08drove to an
36:09isolated area
36:10outside the town
36:11and dug a hole
36:13the next night
36:14at the Halloween party
36:15they spiked
36:16Nicole's drink
36:16with licodin
36:17she would become
36:18unconscious
36:19and they could
36:20get her out
36:20of the house
36:21without any resistance
36:22Craig and Lauren
36:24drove her
36:25out of town
36:26back to the site
36:27in the woods
36:27where they had
36:28dug the hole
36:28the night before
36:29they hit her
36:30over the head
36:31with the tire
36:31buddy
36:32take her clothes
36:33off of her
36:33push her
36:34into the hole
36:35and then
36:35fill it with dirt
36:37and then
36:38Lauren takes
36:38a partially burnt
36:39log and places
36:40it over the grave
36:41so that he has
36:42a marker
36:42for future reference
36:43the men returned
36:44to the party
36:45and burned the clothes
36:46which were
36:46clearly evidence
36:47Lauren instructed
36:49Craig and everyone
36:50else who had
36:50been at the party
36:51to tell investigators
36:52that Nicole
36:52had not been
36:53at the party
36:55so on March
36:5612th
36:572007
36:58Lauren Bowers
36:59and Craig Whiting
37:00were both arrested
37:01for the murder
37:01of Nicole Hutchings
37:03now we need a body
37:07it was very important
37:08to being able
37:08to best prove the case
37:10but more important
37:11than that
37:11we wanted to tell
37:12her parents
37:12that we arrested
37:13the two of them
37:14and then bring
37:15Nicole home
37:16so her family
37:16could have
37:17their proper closure
37:18and proper burial
37:19Lauren and Craig
37:20had both admitted
37:21to burying her out
37:22on the Deschutes
37:23National Forest property
37:24and they gave us
37:25the general area
37:27but they had been
37:27drinking that night
37:28and they didn't know
37:29exactly where
37:30the body was
37:31I mean there's
37:32nothing out there
37:33but trees
37:34and mud
37:35they would be
37:35trying to find
37:36a needle in a haystack
37:49Lauren and Craig
37:49had both admitted
37:50to being involved
37:51in Nicole's death
37:53and we were able
37:54to get them
37:55to agree
37:56to take us out
37:57and find where
37:57her body was buried
37:58they were very vague
38:00about where the body was
38:02and the Deschutes
38:03National Forest
38:04out there is vast
38:05and it's a very
38:06very desolate area
38:09Lauren took us
38:10out of town
38:10about 20 minutes
38:12to an area
38:12he was pretty confident
38:13it was the correct
38:14general area
38:15we went down
38:16all these different roads
38:17we were out there
38:18for 10 hours
38:19with nothing
38:20and it was really
38:21deflating
38:25then Lauren was
38:26eventually able
38:27to isolate
38:27the specific area
38:29where Nicole was buried
38:30we quarantined it off
38:32we brought cadaver dogs in
38:33the cadaver dogs
38:35alerted on a burnt log
38:36Craig had told us
38:38that when they buried
38:39Nicole
38:40Lauren had placed
38:42a partially burnt log
38:44over the grave
38:44as a marker
38:46a specialist
38:47from the crime lab
38:48begins to slowly
38:49dig that area
38:50because we don't
38:50want to lose evidence
38:51if we find the body
38:52as the technician
38:53is digging down further
38:56she ends up striking
38:58what she believes
38:59is a skull
39:05the burial
39:06was 7 feet down
39:07so it was beyond
39:08the frost line
39:09it was beyond
39:10the bug line
39:11so there was no
39:12deterioration
39:13on the body
39:14Nicole had a dolphin
39:15tattoo on the back
39:16of her shoulder
39:16and you could clearly
39:19see that there was
39:20a dolphin on the body
39:21we knew
39:22that we had Nicole
39:30the medical examiner
39:31was able to
39:32let us know
39:33that she had
39:33some severe
39:34skull fractures
39:36Nicole's cause of death
39:37was determined
39:38to be blunt force trauma
39:40everything matched
39:41Lauren and Craig's
39:42statements
39:42about using
39:43that tire buddy
39:44so that was
39:46kind of the last
39:47piece of evidence
39:48we needed
39:48to bring the whole
39:49story together
39:49having found
39:51Nicole's body
39:52we were able to
39:53communicate with
39:53the family
39:54your daughter was
39:55murdered
39:56we're moving forward
39:57with this case
40:03it was like
40:0410-15 at night
40:05we were all getting
40:06ready for bed
40:06it was
40:06knocking at the door
40:08and I opened the door
40:09looking at the police
40:10chief
40:11and the chaplain
40:13and
40:14he says
40:15we got some
40:16news for you
40:17we found Nicole
40:20she is deceased
40:21my wife
40:22she turned around
40:23and just
40:24lost it
40:25totally lost it
40:26she wasn't
40:28missing anymore
40:29so
40:31I just
40:32fell
40:33to the floor
40:34all hope
40:35was shattered
40:36and it's not
40:37just somebody
40:37who
40:37passed away
40:39they were
40:40taken
40:44when they told me
40:46who
40:46was
40:47that they had
40:48in custody
40:50I had to ask
40:51them to repeat
40:52it a couple times
40:53because I did not
40:54want to believe
40:54it was Craig
40:55and Lauren
40:55because they were
40:56so involved
40:57in her
40:58last few years
40:59of life
41:01Craig lived
41:02with us
41:02for six months
41:04Lauren had been
41:05in our house
41:05on numerous
41:06they had dinner
41:06with us
41:07they helped us
41:08look for her
41:10how in the hell
41:11can you do
41:12something like that
41:13we were told
41:14that they had
41:16planned all this
41:17out ahead of time
41:18we want to know
41:19why
41:22the police chief
41:23told us that
41:24Nicole was
41:24babysitting
41:25this girl
41:25who went to
41:26Nicole
41:27and explained
41:28that
41:29Lauren was
41:30touching her
41:32Nicole
41:32went into action
41:34right away
41:34and confronted
41:35Lauren
41:35and because
41:36he didn't want
41:37to go back
41:37to prison
41:38he turned around
41:39killed my daughter
41:41and we were told
41:42that Craig
41:43Whiting did it
41:44because he just
41:44wanted to help
41:45out a brother
41:46help out a friend
41:48unbelievable
41:48I was numb
41:52Lauren Bowers
41:53and Craig Whiting
41:54both ultimately
41:55pled guilty
41:56to aggravated murder
41:57and kidnapping
41:58they received
42:00a true life sentence
42:01meaning they would
42:02never have a possibility
42:03for parole
42:04so they will both
42:05spend the rest
42:06of their lives
42:06in prison
42:07of the hundreds
42:09probably thousands
42:10of cases
42:11that I've prosecuted
42:12in my life
42:13there's nothing
42:14like this case
42:15and I just
42:17don't think
42:17I'll see another
42:18case or investigation
42:19like this
42:20I hope I don't
42:27there's a big void
42:28with Nicole
42:28not being here
42:29she was being
42:3042 years old
42:31right now
42:32I want everyone
42:33to know
42:34my sister got killed
42:35because she was
42:36doing the thing
42:36that every human
42:37being should be doing
42:41my sister was trying
42:42to save a little girl
42:43who was being hurt
42:45and her life
42:45was taken for it
42:46if that does not
42:48signify somebody
42:49being a hero
42:49I don't know
42:49it does
42:57that's
42:58I don't know
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