- 15 hours ago
The First 48 - Season 29 - Episode 02: Betrayal
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TVTranscript
00:00:01This program documents actual homicide investigations.
00:00:05Criminal charges are often dropped or reduced,
00:00:07and all suspects shown are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
00:00:20So we are going up to this area which is very secluded, very wooded.
00:00:25You don't go out there to go hiking.
00:00:29You go out there to get rid of things.
00:00:32Common sense tells me he's dumping our body.
00:00:36Man, if you'd have told me three weeks ago
00:00:38that we'd be looking for another body after Mark's case,
00:00:40I wouldn't have believed you.
00:00:42This is super rare.
00:00:44This is one of those kind of cases that she'll never forget.
00:00:52All right, let's go see what we got.
00:00:57I hope we find her.
00:01:139-1-1, what's the address of the emergency?
00:01:16I think we're 63rd place north across the street from my house.
00:01:21There's a body laying on the porch.
00:01:25Do you know if that person has been shot?
00:01:28I don't know.
00:01:30I will go ahead and put a call in for them, okay?
00:01:38First responders arrive at the home and find a young woman on the front porch.
00:01:44shot dead.
00:01:53For homicide detectives, their chance of solving a murder is cut in half
00:01:58if they don't get a lead within the first 48 hours.
00:02:15Hey, Brandon.
00:02:17Detective Mark Kennedy will lead the investigation.
00:02:21Victims shot and killed her on her front step.
00:02:25What's her name?
00:02:27Elizabeth.
00:02:3127-year-old Elizabeth Dillard grew up in Redding, California,
00:02:35and recently moved to Tulsa with her 8- and 9-year-old sons.
00:02:39She also has a 5-year-old daughter who lives in California with her ex-partner.
00:02:45Elizabeth is survived by her parents and two younger sisters.
00:02:53This neighbor and these people said they heard gunshots 330 to 345.
00:02:58No one called them.
00:02:59Elizabeth was lying dead on her doorstep for almost four hours
00:03:03before a neighbor saw her and called 911.
00:03:06She shot three times.
00:03:08Okay.
00:03:09She was struck three times in the chest.
00:03:13Cason's right in the front yard.
00:03:1640-caliber hornedies.
00:03:18Csi recovered three .40-caliber shell casings.
00:03:27She's not robbed her.
00:03:29She got her car keys out.
00:03:32Her purse is still intact.
00:03:34Her door keys are laid on her way.
00:03:37So she's trying to get in a house.
00:03:40Our kids were at the house being watched by her sister.
00:03:44When first responders arrived, they found Elizabeth's sons and her sister inside.
00:03:51Who seemed to know the most about her sister?
00:03:53Yeah.
00:03:55Elizabeth's sister will be taken to homicide for questioning, while her kids stay with her sister's husband.
00:04:03She's got a phone on her. Grab a bag.
00:04:05We'll take her with us.
00:04:09Not much to see, is it?
00:04:11No.
00:04:12Well, we got some work to do.
00:04:14Yeah, I think so.
00:04:21One hour in.
00:04:22Mark.
00:04:23Yep.
00:04:25Reggie said they've got cameras pointing that direction.
00:04:28The team finds security cameras on the house next door to Elizabeth's.
00:04:33Nathan and Reggie are working on it.
00:04:34They're looking at it.
00:04:36Maybe Nathan can explain it to you.
00:04:38Yeah, let's make a look.
00:04:43It's not.
00:04:44It shows her coming home at like 3.46.
00:04:49It's dark.
00:04:50I mean, you can't really see.
00:04:52The porch.
00:04:53The video shows Elizabeth pulling into her driveway around the same time neighbors heard gunshots.
00:05:00Did they not show her getting out of the car?
00:05:02No, it's out of view.
00:05:04But the cameras didn't capture the shooting.
00:05:08We don't see any cars following her into the driveway.
00:05:11She says, ex-boyfriend's parents live in this yellow house right here.
00:05:15According to the neighbor, Elizabeth recently broke up with a man whose parents live two doors down.
00:05:31The neighbor says she thinks they broke up about three months ago.
00:05:37She gives detectives the ex-boyfriend's contact information.
00:05:42I wonder if she has something to do with her.
00:05:45Well, somebody's just cutting up right in, was she?
00:05:49Let's go talk to a sister.
00:05:51Yeah, let's go.
00:05:52All right.
00:06:03All right.
00:06:06I'm sorry we're meeting under these circumstances.
00:06:09Kennedy and Detective Max Ryden speak to Elizabeth's sister.
00:06:13I know this is a tough time for you, and I'm really sorry to have to put you through this.
00:06:17But we need as much information as we can get right now.
00:06:22So, you know, first of all, do you live there with your sister?
00:06:27Um, yeah, I just, uh, well, I just came to visit to help out with things and help clean up
00:06:34the house and take care of kids.
00:06:37She goes to work to make sure that they're not home alone yet.
00:06:40Right.
00:06:40Where does she work at?
00:06:42Lipsticks, cabaret.
00:06:44She says Elizabeth worked at an adult entertainment club on the east side of Tulsa.
00:06:49And what does she do at the club?
00:06:52Um, dance.
00:06:53And what time does she normally get off work?
00:06:56I think at, like, 2.30, she gets home maybe 3 o'clock.
00:07:02So, did you just assume she was already inside the house whenever you woke up this morning?
00:07:08Um, I woke up to banging.
00:07:11Banging on the door?
00:07:13Was it a neighbor?
00:07:14Um, officers, nurses.
00:07:16Officers, okay.
00:07:17She says she didn't know anything had happened to Elizabeth until the police arrived.
00:07:22I don't think you've told the kids yet about this, have you?
00:07:25No.
00:07:26Do they know something's happened to their mom?
00:07:28I don't believe so.
00:07:31But they're gonna never see her again, and they're gonna watch her to wear a shoe.
00:07:38I know.
00:07:39I'm sorry.
00:07:41Yeah, I know.
00:07:43But it's almost like she was ambushed.
00:07:45That's what it looks like.
00:07:47And so that, to me, is somebody that we feel has a beef with her.
00:07:53And we start looking at people close to her.
00:07:57Um, she did have one boyfriend, Terrell.
00:08:00Okay.
00:08:01She says Elizabeth recently dated a man named Terrell.
00:08:05Do you know Terrell's last name?
00:08:07I don't.
00:08:09Terrell's a black male?
00:08:10Yeah.
00:08:10A black male?
00:08:12He had, like, a dreaded hair, and he's kind of tall.
00:08:19How long ago did they date?
00:08:21Like, two weeks ago.
00:08:23Did he live there with her?
00:08:24Stay there?
00:08:25He stayed in his truck.
00:08:25He stayed in his truck.
00:08:27Just to help her.
00:08:29Okay.
00:08:30Do you know what kind of truck he had?
00:08:33I don't know.
00:08:33It had a bed, but, like, no shell on it.
00:08:36And he had, like, a dog that would sit in the back.
00:08:40How come he didn't come in the house?
00:08:42Um, because he would have the dog.
00:08:45Okay.
00:08:45And she didn't want the dog to kiss him.
00:08:48How was their relationship?
00:08:49Was it turbulent?
00:08:51Was it?
00:08:51It was all right.
00:08:52He would do dishes and come in sometimes.
00:08:56Okay.
00:08:57You know his number?
00:08:59Mm-hmm.
00:09:01Okay.
00:09:01I want to ask you, there's a house, just about two houses down from where you live.
00:09:07Do you know individuals in there that...
00:09:10I know a little bit about them, of what she told me.
00:09:14It's, um, an ex-boyfriend.
00:09:17How did they know each other?
00:09:20Facebook, and then she moved in with him.
00:09:23She moved into the house where she's at now?
00:09:25Uh-huh.
00:09:27She says about a year ago, Elizabeth moved in with the man she met online.
00:09:32Their relationship didn't work, and he moved out.
00:09:34Really?
00:09:35Okay.
00:09:35She said her move out, yeah.
00:09:37And you know how long ago that was, that the breakup occurred?
00:09:41I want to say longer than three months ago.
00:09:46She talked to him recently on Facebook Messenger, and he was trying to get her to go hang out with
00:09:52him.
00:09:54Recently?
00:09:55Like in the last week?
00:09:56Yeah, and I was telling her, you know, he's an ex for a reason.
00:10:02He still owed her money or something, because he broke her phones when they were in a relationship, and never
00:10:07bought her a new phone.
00:10:11Okay.
00:10:12Did you say anything about how that happened?
00:10:15Um, she had apps that he didn't want, like dating apps.
00:10:21Jealous times that things that made him jealous?
00:10:23Yeah.
00:10:23Uh-huh.
00:10:24Okay.
00:10:24And he broke her iPhone and a new one, and then she broke up with him.
00:10:30She broke up, and then he had to move out of his own house?
00:10:34Uh-huh.
00:10:37Okay.
00:10:38Um, give us a second.
00:10:50He should only leave you out.
00:10:52I mean, this is obviously a revenge.
00:10:54I mean, they don't take her car.
00:10:56They don't take her keys.
00:10:57They don't take her purse.
00:10:59I got his phone number.
00:11:01We'll see.
00:11:02Call him.
00:11:02Get him down here next.
00:11:07Kennedy reaches out to Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend.
00:11:11Hello?
00:11:12Detective Kennedy with Tulsa Police.
00:11:15Yes, sir.
00:11:16Hey, um, man, I don't know if you've heard, but, uh, Elizabeth-
00:11:21My mom already turned in.
00:11:23And I'm like, hell, like, what happened?
00:11:26I'm like, that don't make no sense.
00:11:29And the people next door got a camera facing towards the house.
00:11:34You know what I'm saying?
00:11:35I used to stay in the house, sir.
00:11:37Yeah.
00:11:38And I ain't been over there ever since.
00:11:41Well, hey, listen.
00:11:43Is there any way you could come downtown and we could talk to you real quick and give us as
00:11:47much information about her as you know?
00:11:50Um, not right now, but I can probably, like, a little later.
00:11:54Yeah.
00:11:55Yeah, that's fine.
00:11:57I was nowhere in sight.
00:11:59Don't know.
00:11:59Well, I'm not saying you were.
00:12:00I'm not saying you were.
00:12:03Okay.
00:12:04All right, appreciate it.
00:12:06No problem.
00:12:07Bye.
00:12:10He knows about the camera, so he knows exactly how to freaking avoid it.
00:12:14Right, he knows the camera.
00:12:15And did you ever ask him if he was there?
00:12:16You didn't ask him, but he volunteered.
00:12:18I wasn't there, like, eight times in that conversation.
00:12:28Two hours later.
00:12:31All right.
00:12:32Well, I'm Detective Kennedy.
00:12:34This is Detective Ryden.
00:12:35Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend shows up at homicide.
00:12:39Appreciate you coming down.
00:12:41Well, hey, man, tell me about you and Elizabeth.
00:12:45I know that you two have, at one point, had a relationship, and I understood that it was kind of
00:12:52an internet relationship at first.
00:12:55Yeah, we was chilling.
00:12:57We talked, and after we talked, she moved down here.
00:13:03So she moves to Tulsa?
00:13:05She moved to Tulsa the way we didn't get.
00:13:07It was, like, a year ago, or?
00:13:10Probably so.
00:13:11Okay.
00:13:12When did you move out of the house?
00:13:14Like, October.
00:13:15He says he moved out five months ago, after he and Elizabeth broke up.
00:13:23Kind of describe your relationship.
00:13:25I mean, was it physical?
00:13:26I mean, did you guys get domestic violence type stuff, anything like that?
00:13:32I heard, basically, that at some point, there was a disagreement, and her phone got broken.
00:13:39Yeah, I accidentally broke her phone.
00:13:41I heard that the disagreement might have had to do with stuff that was on her phone.
00:13:47Yeah, and that's why I don't want to all let you know, and that ain't none of my business.
00:13:52Why did you move out?
00:13:54I moved out because it just, like, it just kept getting too toxic.
00:14:00All right.
00:14:01So, I mean, what kind of relationship have you had since you guys broke up?
00:14:05You ain't been talking.
00:14:08All right, let's do this.
00:14:10Let's start off yesterday, and let's talk about your day.
00:14:13What were you doing?
00:14:15I wasn't at their house yesterday.
00:14:18I didn't say that.
00:14:19I said, where were you at?
00:14:37Where were you at?
00:14:39I had a film.
00:14:47Where did you go out of town to?
00:14:52Where at in Kansas?
00:15:02Okay, when did you get back from Kansas?
00:15:11He claims he arrived back in town.
00:15:14About three hours after Elizabeth's murder.
00:15:17So, you got back in town from Kansas, and you don't know what the name of the town is?
00:15:24How'd you even know how to get there?
00:15:26GPS.
00:15:28Did you use your phone for the GPS?
00:15:30Yeah, I knew that.
00:15:31The office that you put in your phone?
00:15:33No, I don't have it.
00:15:36Like, I don't know what else to say.
00:15:38Like, I didn't do nothing wrong.
00:15:42So, your phone will show you were in Kansas?
00:15:44Yeah.
00:15:46Okay, well, let's just make this simple.
00:15:48I have a guy here right now that can download your phone.
00:15:50And if you can show you're in Kansas, hell, we'll end this right now.
00:15:55Make sense?
00:15:56All right.
00:15:57You can do that.
00:15:58Okay.
00:15:59All right.
00:16:08Nathan, can you dump this?
00:16:10We're hoping the GPS in there will show what's going on here.
00:16:13His story sucks.
00:16:22A half hour later.
00:16:23Well, we'll see if he's telling the truth.
00:16:26Detectives get a look at the ex-boyfriend's GPS records.
00:16:31There's a GPS here right there.
00:16:36He's freaking in.
00:16:38Is it like Blackwell?
00:16:39Yeah.
00:16:40At 4.40 in the morning.
00:16:41No way he got from 4 o'clock in the morning from a shoot at Blackwell at 4.40.
00:16:46It takes too long to get there.
00:16:48That's an hour and a half drive.
00:16:51Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend was over 100 miles from Tulsa at the time of the murder.
00:16:56I think he's not a guy.
00:16:57I think you're right.
00:17:01We may need to start looking another direction.
00:17:10Phone back?
00:17:11We're going to give you a ride home?
00:17:12We're out of here.
00:17:15I'm going to go call the Lipstick Cabaret and try to just get whatever they've got.
00:17:19All right.
00:17:27Twelve hours in.
00:17:29She was at Lipstick Cabaret at work last night.
00:17:33Elizabeth's manager said she'd left the club about an hour before she was murdered.
00:17:39She did say that she gave a ride to another girl last night when they left.
00:17:46The video at the strip club shows her and the girl both leaving, getting in the car.
00:17:52Nobody follows them out.
00:17:54Nobody follows the car.
00:17:55They're by themselves.
00:17:58Her phone number is...
00:18:00Kennedy calls Elizabeth's co-worker.
00:18:06This is Detective Mark Kennedy.
00:18:08I work for the Tulsa Police Department.
00:18:10If you could give me a call back, I'd appreciate it.
00:18:16She's not answering.
00:18:18We'll find her and talk to her.
00:18:20See what she knows.
00:18:35We're going to go talk to a young lady that was given a ride by our victim as they left
00:18:42work at the Lipstick Cabaret.
00:18:45Elizabeth's co-worker gets back to Kennedy and agrees to meet.
00:18:52A couple of questions I want to ask you.
00:18:54So you left the club and then you came straight here?
00:18:57Yes, exactly.
00:18:59She confirms Elizabeth gave her a ride home after work.
00:19:03You didn't see her pick up anybody else?
00:19:05No.
00:19:07When you are working at the club, is there one particular guy that always would hang out with Elizabeth?
00:19:14There was one guy that she was talking to.
00:19:17There was a guy named T-Reel, but I don't know his actual name.
00:19:22How long ago did you last see Terrell?
00:19:25Probably about a month ago.
00:19:27I do have a number, though, because he tried to talk to me before, too.
00:19:32Can I get that number?
00:19:33Yes.
00:19:34She gives them Terrell's phone number.
00:19:36And you haven't seen him for a month?
00:19:39No.
00:19:40Maybe a month or two, honestly.
00:19:43Let me tell him.
00:19:44No.
00:19:44Well, if you're anything in the club, you got to remember her.
00:19:47All right.
00:19:48Thanks.
00:19:48Take care.
00:19:49You'll be safe.
00:19:5736 hours in.
00:19:59I'm going to try to get a hold of T-Reel.
00:20:08The TextNow subscriber you are trying to reach is not available.
00:20:12Please leave your meds.
00:20:13Does that mean I have to text him?
00:20:15I don't know how TextNow works.
00:20:18He's calling from an app on his phone.
00:20:20Okay.
00:20:21Which is generating that phone number, which is a fake number, which is hard to get who that is.
00:20:28They're all texting.
00:20:29Kennedy sends a message to the TextNow number, asking Terrell to get in touch.
00:20:35At this point, I think it's a little bit thin to get a search warrant for that number.
00:20:40So we'll continue to try to figure out who he is.
00:20:44Hopefully he'll give me a call back.
00:21:03In the first 48, Tulsa Homicide responded to the murder of 27-year-old Elizabeth Dillard,
00:21:10gunned down on her doorstep.
00:21:13Talked to her sister, who said Elizabeth recently broke up with two men.
00:21:18Interviewed one of the men, but cleared him when his GPS showed he was 100 miles from Tulsa
00:21:23at the time of the murder.
00:21:25And got a phone number for the other man, known only as Terrell.
00:21:29But had been unable to reach him.
00:21:34Eight days later.
00:21:37Right now, we don't have a lot to go on.
00:21:39Kennedy still hasn't heard back from Terrell.
00:21:43I've taken Elizabeth's phone to our Special Investigations Division, and we're hoping that
00:21:48maybe there's something in that phone somewhere that will list Terrell, and we can figure out
00:21:53who he is.
00:21:56I'm going to have to go shake the idol over here a little bit on this one.
00:22:00It's just kind of an ongoing joke that when we're up for a murder, we shake the skull and
00:22:05hope for the best on our investigation.
00:22:08We need a little bit of luck here.
00:22:11She was ambushed, and she was murdered in cold blood, and it's something that we've got
00:22:17to solve.
00:22:31Ten days in, as the investigation into Elizabeth's murder threatens to go cold.
00:22:44A woman asks police to check on her neighbor.
00:22:47Her keys were left to her door, her purse was left outside.
00:22:51And when was the last time you saw her?
00:22:53Days ago.
00:22:54And have you knocked on her door?
00:22:56We have beat on her door.
00:22:58We will get officers out there as soon as we can.
00:23:06Officers arrive.
00:23:08What's going on?
00:23:09Man, I don't know if she's in there or not in her room scene.
00:23:14She's usually out in the bed all the time.
00:23:15I haven't seen her in a few days.
00:23:25Hey guys.
00:23:28Alright, here we go.
00:23:34Miss Dancer, this is the Adult's Police Department.
00:23:36We're coming in to check on you.
00:23:47they find the woman in her bedroom
00:23:53shot dead
00:24:07how long has she been dead she is starting to decomp so it's probably
00:24:13detective lacy lansdowne joined homicide eight months ago she will leave the investigation
00:24:20odd thing was her keys were still on the door okay so there's no forced entry okay
00:24:27the neighbors next door found nippin's purse outside the front door right about here
00:24:36the victim's name is rainbow dancer
00:24:4169 year old rainbow star dancer was born rhonda ruth harbolt but changed her name soon after
00:24:47she left the u.s army she supported local unhoused people by hiring them for small jobs around
00:24:53her apartment rainbow leaves behind her brother and a cousin in her home state of minnesota
00:25:14she was on her back she was covered with doctor
00:25:18somebody covered her up
00:25:20yes and then when i rolled her over she's got the bullets still in her hair
00:25:30okay
00:25:30she's probably been shot four or five times
00:25:32rainbow was shot four times in the head and once in her back in hand
00:25:44csi collects six casings from a 40 caliber
00:25:47damn yeah and he was using expensive rounds or a hornet egg really wow they're like two dollars a round
00:25:57this is screaming domestic to cover somebody up like that this is personal yeah
00:26:05don't turn her phone and just give that directly to me um swab it though first
00:26:20yeah one hour in he says he probably saw her the last time on thursday okay
00:26:26didn't really talk to her very much that day but a neighbor says he saw rainbow hanging out with a
00:26:32new man
00:26:32about four days ago okay hang on just a minute sir
00:26:38we need to bring him down and formally interview him
00:26:41yeah the neighbor agrees to talk back at homicide
00:26:46i'm really hoping he's going to be able to shed some light on
00:26:49who she was friends with who she was hanging out with
00:27:02doesn't look like anything's stolen there's no force entry
00:27:07somebody killed her but then covered her up
00:27:09that's personal
00:27:12this is a horrible way to to go
00:27:16it's just a straight up execution
00:27:30before speaking to the neighbor
00:27:33we're going to call try to get a hold of a family member and
00:27:37unfortunately tell him some really bad news
00:27:40lansdowne makes the call to rainbows next of kin
00:27:45hello
00:27:45hi this is detective lacy lansdowne with the tulsa police department
00:27:49okay um ma'am are you related to a rainbow dancer or star dancer
00:27:56rainbow star dancer yep
00:27:58okay ma'am i'm so sorry to tell you this
00:28:03um but she was murdered here in tulsa within the last couple of days
00:28:09um okay
00:28:16um she she was shot
00:28:20okay okay
00:28:23but i will tell you that i'm going to do everything i can to solve this and get get justice
00:28:29for you guys
00:28:29all right i appreciate you calling yes i'm so sorry
00:28:33thank you
00:28:35okay bye-bye
00:28:38hopefully we can get some answers for
00:28:42because star didn't deserve this
00:28:52five hours in
00:28:55okay
00:28:56so i'm lacy i'm the lead detective on this
00:29:02so how do you know rainbow
00:29:04um she lives in the complex
00:29:06she's very extroverted so she just speaks there
00:29:08okay
00:29:11tuesday i noticed that there was a gentleman there with her
00:29:15he was dressed in red he kind of looked younger he had dreads
00:29:18okay
00:29:19you know so i just walked up i'm a nosy person
00:29:21how are you doing how are things going
00:29:23and he didn't give me any eye contact
00:29:26which you know that was kind of different
00:29:27uh-huh
00:29:28did you ask who he was
00:29:30no i didn't
00:29:31what was his race
00:29:32black
00:29:34i think he's in his early 30s
00:29:36did she say anything about him
00:29:38that day no
00:29:40um so the following day i noticed that his truck was parked there overnight
00:29:46i thought that was strange
00:29:49so i i went upstairs and i heard her voice yelling at someone
00:29:56i couldn't tell what she was yelling i didn't think too much about it
00:30:01but the following day thursday she was very upset
00:30:04she told me that he shoved her into a wall
00:30:10and he took her phone
00:30:14she said i slashed his tires because
00:30:16he stole money from me and my phone
00:30:21i was like he stole money she's like two hundred dollars
00:30:26so we're talking wednesday
00:30:28should you talk to her thursday
00:30:30yeah
00:30:31did you have any conversations with her after thursday
00:30:34i can't recall talking to her about it
00:30:36but i think i saw his truck there
00:30:41describe what his truck looked like
00:30:43so his truck is gray
00:30:45it's a primer gray so there's no shine
00:30:49was it like a chevy a dodge
00:30:51i don't remember if it's a chevy or dodge or it's not a four
00:30:55did she ever tell you what his name was or nickname or anything like that
00:30:59no or what did she everything you can remember that she's told you about him
00:31:05she said that his dog had some issue i don't remember what the issue was
00:31:09i didn't need to ask
00:31:12okay
00:31:13you've been very very helpful
00:31:14thank you
00:31:20we've got to figure out who this dress guy is
00:31:22he had motives she slashed his tires they got into it
00:31:26he'd stolen a phone from her he'd stolen money from her
00:31:30we've at the very least need to identify him and talk to him
00:31:4410 days after elizabeth was found murdered on her front steps
00:31:48for those of you who don't know lacy got murdered
00:31:52lieutenant brandon watkins briefs the rest of the team
00:31:56on rainbow's murder
00:31:57she was found shot multiple times in her bed
00:32:01a man had been staying with her
00:32:03it was a black male with dreads
00:32:06drives a pickup that's got like primered and beat up
00:32:10captain hold on hold on
00:32:13my victim elizabeth dillard
00:32:16had a boyfriend black male with dreads
00:32:19drives a pickup
00:32:21a guy by the name of terrell
00:32:26i mean look at everything that's matching up here
00:32:31she had her keys still in the door and her purse was left outside
00:32:36which is which is a very similar mo
00:32:40he had a dog
00:32:42okay my guy has a dog
00:32:44and then the biggest thing is
00:32:46your casings are 40 harnaday's
00:32:49so are mine
00:32:50what are the dogs here dude
00:32:52it's weird
00:32:53wow
00:32:55it's the same guy
00:32:58mark
00:32:59just too coincidental
00:33:02we need to have those compared
00:33:04yeah
00:33:04it's like asap
00:33:21hey mark
00:33:22hi joy
00:33:22so i've got a scene
00:33:24where we recovered casings
00:33:27kennedy asks the ballistics lab
00:33:29to compare the casings found at elizabeth
00:33:31and rainbow's crime scenes
00:33:33okay sounds good
00:33:35all right thank you
00:33:37the lab is working on it
00:33:39okay
00:33:39we'll see if they're the same gun
00:33:41if they are we probably got the same suspect
00:33:44on both murders
00:33:54hold on
00:33:55two hours later
00:33:57so joy you're telling me
00:33:58the ones from my scene
00:34:00and the ones from the other scene all match
00:34:03correct
00:34:05all right
00:34:06you're awesome
00:34:08appreciate it
00:34:09thank you
00:34:09no problem
00:34:11bye
00:34:11did i hear this one i think i heard
00:34:14branna did you hear that
00:34:15i heard
00:34:17all the casings match
00:34:19it's the same guy
00:34:23this is not good
00:34:25two murders
00:34:26very same mo
00:34:28in a week
00:34:30the question about now
00:34:31is do we get him
00:34:32before you get someone else
00:34:35hell no
00:34:35we know pretty much probably who it is
00:34:37it's probably gonna be terrell
00:34:39now we know why he didn't answer my text
00:34:42do we have a last name
00:34:43no
00:34:44no last name
00:34:45but i do have a text now number for him
00:34:47the team will submit a warrant
00:34:48for terrell's text now phone records
00:34:51i'll see if that phone number pops up
00:34:53in her phone at all
00:34:55jeremy took it to cyber crimes
00:34:56and the special investigation division
00:34:58will search rainbow and elizabeth's phones
00:35:00to see if they share a contact number
00:35:03for terrell
00:35:05i think everything just needs to go towards figuring out who the hell terrell is
00:35:28the special investigation division finds a lead in elizabeth dillard's phone
00:35:36well somebody got traces up
00:35:38i've got traces up i'll pull it up
00:35:39okay
00:35:43i got him
00:35:45you got him
00:35:46yep
00:35:50terrell rayshon brooks
00:35:5422 year old terrell brooks has two convictions for robbery in north carolina
00:36:00damn
00:36:01he had a ticket in 2019
00:36:06he got stopped in a silver chevy 1989 pickup truck
00:36:40boom
00:36:42find that truck
00:36:50while patrol searches for terrell's chevy pickup
00:36:55the casings that's the only thing we got connected
00:36:57other than the similarities
00:37:07detectives will reach out to witnesses hoping to secure a positive id on terrell
00:37:11i want to send you a picture real quick and you kind of let me know what you think
00:37:16kennedy reaches out to elizabeth's sister
00:37:19okay thank you very much
00:37:21all right sister just confirmed that is terrell
00:37:24all right
00:37:28back at rainbow's apartment complex
00:37:32lansdowne meets with her neighbor
00:37:33did you say that one of these guys looks familiar
00:37:37okay
00:37:38can you sign and date that please
00:37:45so we have a positive id
00:37:47that means we have two ids
00:37:49the team now has enough probable cause
00:37:52to get an arrest warrant for terrell brooks
00:37:56it's coming together quickly
00:37:58which i'm really happy about cause this guy's dangerous
00:38:01hopefully a few warrants can find him sometime soon
00:38:09we got everybody in our unit and the warrants units i was looking
00:38:16if he's killed two people there wouldn't be any reason why he wouldn't try to kill a third
00:38:21so hopefully we'll come up with something rather quickly
00:38:26this was a baseball field first base is what you think second base is what you know and third base
00:38:31is what you can prove
00:38:32right now we're on second base
00:38:34we know it's we know it's probably going to be him
00:38:36it's just trying to get enough proof it's him
00:38:38it's just how you get to home
00:38:48six hours later
00:38:50highway patrol spotted this vehicle
00:38:52uh pulling out of a quick trip i believe
00:38:56our units got him in custody
00:38:57and now he's down here
00:39:01terrell brooks is brought into homicide for questioning
00:39:05probable cause allows us to arrest him without a warrant
00:39:09i think he's our guy definitely
00:39:11he is connected to both of the victims
00:39:14the gun matches at both scenes
00:39:18the danger with the probable cause arrest is that he could go before a judge
00:39:22and the judge decide that we don't have enough probable cause
00:39:26and then he's back out on the streets
00:39:28of course if he talks and he confesses that just helps our case out
00:39:31and you know it takes away any argument that we don't have the right man
00:39:36how's he acting
00:39:37pretty relaxed
00:39:39did you guys search the car any whatsoever or just tow it
00:39:42we we did a no touch hold
00:39:44terrell's truck will be towed to the crime lab
00:39:46and processed for evidence
00:39:49didn't happen to see a gun or anything did you
00:39:52no
00:39:54there's one phone in the floorboard of the driver's seat
00:39:56and then one phone in the passenger seat
00:39:58okay we'll get those later
00:40:00how's this dog
00:40:02sweet and friendly
00:40:03uh dad came to pick the dog up
00:40:06terrell's father who lives in tulsa
00:40:08took custody of his dog before the truck was towed
00:40:12okay well i'm hoping he talks to us and we get a confession
00:40:16let's see what happens
00:40:16yeah
00:40:18all right
00:40:28all right buddy
00:40:30terrell i'm detective kennedy this is detective lansdowne okay we'll toss the police
00:40:34probably got a lot of questions right now
00:40:37okay
00:40:39i just want to know why y'all have me here
00:40:42you're under arrest
00:40:43okay for from a first-degree murder
00:40:46for this lady right here
00:40:50okay
00:40:51and this young lady right here
00:40:55that's what you're in here for
00:40:57do you want to explain this
00:40:59why it happened how it happened
00:41:15i don't talk to those ladies anymore
00:41:24i was with her for a couple days like for a week
00:41:29she let me come stay at her house and she didn't want me there no more
00:41:32i left her house
00:41:34and her
00:41:35i had work for her
00:41:37and she took me up to the vet and try to take my dog and say that my dog was
00:41:42her dog
00:41:45okay well this one
00:41:47so you you know her
00:41:48what do you know her by what's her name
00:41:52elizabeth
00:41:53i was with her for a little while
00:41:55where'd you meet her at
00:41:57i met at the strip club
00:42:00lipstick cabaret
00:42:02so how did you end up staying with her for a while
00:42:04because i'm homeless
00:42:06she was like it's cold outside stay with her
00:42:10and she ended up being my girlfriend
00:42:13right
00:42:15what ended up happening with that arrangement
00:42:17she said she said she didn't want to be in a relationship
00:42:20you like dancing and being free
00:42:23yeah
00:42:24did she kind of kick you out
00:42:26yeah she kicked me out
00:42:27she said she didn't want me living with her anymore
00:42:30she said we can be friends and everything
00:42:32and that
00:42:33that she still likes me and everything
00:42:35but she never she never contacted me
00:42:37she never talked to me or nothing
00:42:39right
00:42:41okay
00:42:42this lady right here
00:42:43what do you know her by
00:42:44what's her name
00:42:46i don't even know her name
00:42:48how'd you meet her
00:42:49i just ride through the apartments
00:42:52i sleep at apartments
00:42:53right
00:42:54i sleep in a parking spot and i just pull up
00:42:58but i asked her if she wanted to buy my dog
00:43:01if she wanted to buy your dog
00:43:03yeah
00:43:04well my dog just ran away from me
00:43:06not wanting to come to me
00:43:07mm-hmm
00:43:07he learned that from being around females
00:43:11and then kind of sweet talk him
00:43:13stuff like that
00:43:16right before she was about to buy him he barked
00:43:19so it brought back back to my senses like
00:43:22hey you know that dog might be a good protective dog
00:43:26mm-hmm
00:43:27so
00:43:27you decided you wanted to keep her
00:43:29i decided i wanted to keep him
00:43:30and she was like
00:43:31uh you can come in
00:43:32you can stay with me
00:43:33you know
00:43:34and i went over there
00:43:36i stayed over there
00:43:37and cleaned her house
00:43:37she started paying me
00:43:40mm-hmm
00:43:40okay
00:43:42so when's the last time you saw her
00:43:45it was probably like a week ago
00:43:47okay
00:43:48anything happen there
00:43:50no i just told her that she wasn't going to keep my dog
00:43:54she was like i got half the ownership of the dog
00:43:57since i paid at the vet
00:43:58mm-hmm
00:43:59i just said uh
00:44:01don't
00:44:01you're not taking my dog
00:44:03and she said
00:44:03i'm not going to deal with a mousy ass bitch
00:44:05and put me out
00:44:07right
00:44:09here's the thing
00:44:11some bad things happen to these women
00:44:12okay
00:44:14they have families
00:44:16they deserve closure
00:44:17okay
00:44:18what's going on
00:44:19she's dead and she's dead
00:44:22and i think you know that already
00:44:25these women don't know each other
00:44:27the only connection
00:44:29between these women are you
00:44:31okay
00:44:33you seem like a pretty good guy
00:44:35all right
00:44:37i think there's some stuff weighing really heavy on your heart right now
00:44:40that i think i can tell you're a little bit scared to get it out there
00:44:45but i promise you
00:44:46you're going to feel better by telling the truth
00:44:48okay
00:44:50the truth is already
00:44:51i don't
00:44:52i'm not with them anymore
00:44:54i know you're not with them
00:44:56i'm not going to argue that
00:44:57but i do know that you know what happened
00:45:00okay
00:45:03this is your opportunity
00:45:05trail to tell us what happened
00:45:08i think maybe your emotions got a hold of you
00:45:10i know she cut your tire
00:45:12i know she probably got you
00:45:13broke your heart
00:45:16okay
00:45:17okay
00:45:19well we'll get that lawyer for you
00:45:20all right
00:45:22you're being arrested
00:45:23are two counts of first degree murder
00:45:24for the murder of elizabeth dillard
00:45:27and star
00:45:28we're able to answer
00:45:30you'll be booked in the tulsa county jail
00:45:33okay
00:45:34and you'll have your day in court
00:45:36sound good
00:45:37all right
00:45:38we'll talk to you later
00:45:46we got a little out of him
00:45:48we got him connected with both victims
00:45:52so better than nothing
00:45:55i mean he puts himself at both scenes
00:45:57and the odds of him randomly knowing both of these women
00:46:01i think that's
00:46:01certainly not
00:46:04obviously he's got some issues with women
00:46:07and anger
00:46:08elizabeth was ambushed at her front door
00:46:10so was rainbow star
00:46:12so that seems to be his motive on how he
00:46:15he gets back at the women he doesn't like
00:46:1832 hours after rainbow was found dead
00:46:21and 10 days after elizabeth was shot on her doorstep
00:46:24terrell brooks is charged with their murders
00:46:36he's in custody
00:46:37but we've got a lot more investigation to do
00:46:40we've seized his truck
00:46:41we hope we find some more evidence in that
00:46:44we've met the threshold of probable cause
00:46:47but as far as proving it beyond a reasonable doubt
00:46:49that's an ongoing effort
00:46:52there's still a lot of work to do
00:46:54mark and i have a lot of follow-up that we have to do
00:46:58to make sure that he gets convicted and put away
00:47:00because he does not need to be on the streets
00:47:04it was only a matter of time before he found another vulnerable woman
00:47:07that he could do the same thing to
00:47:09to kill two women senselessly within a week of each other
00:47:14there's no telling how this would have escalated
00:47:16or how this would have ended
00:47:19i don't even have a year in the unit
00:47:21and i have someone who could potentially have turned into a serial killer
00:47:39the next morning
00:47:41while kennedy and lansdowne continued to build their keyses against terrell
00:47:45is that the last time you saw her
00:47:47ryden fields a call from a woman who reported her daughter missing
00:47:50two months ago
00:47:52and what kind of vehicle did she leave in with him
00:47:55the woman says she saw a news report about terrell's arrest
00:47:59and recognized him as the last person seen with her daughter
00:48:04how about we talk in person
00:48:07thank you bye bye
00:48:12she said the last person she's 100 positive that saw her daughter alive
00:48:15was driving an older chevy primer gray truck
00:48:18and she's never been seen from since
00:48:21she said that's the boys i picked my daughter up
00:48:25do it please
00:48:27wow
00:48:28that's not good
00:48:31we got a possible third victim
00:48:47the last person that she's ever seen alive with was mr brooks
00:48:51basically mom says i went to the family dollar to pick her up from work
00:48:55and she had a choice to get in my car or her boyfriend's truck
00:48:58and she chose the truck
00:48:59so
00:49:00what was that girl's name
00:49:02tyra whitaker
00:49:0624 year old tyra whitaker was reported missing by her family two months ago
00:49:11she was born and raised in tulsa
00:49:13and had been working several jobs to support her four year old son
00:49:20this is a really good investigation
00:49:21they checked out the hospitals i mean no one's ever seen her alive since then
00:49:25the missing persons unit investigated tyra's disappearance for over a month
00:49:30but were unable to find any leads
00:49:33there's a decent chance she's been killed
00:49:38without a body we're not able to prove a whole bunch
00:49:41the team will start working tyra's case as a possible homicide
00:49:46we really need a good workup on that truck
00:49:49crime scene detectives are processing terrell brooks's truck for evidence
00:49:53we're gonna search it
00:49:55i think there's two phones in the truck
00:49:57so we'll have to get worse
00:49:58the team will get phone records for the cell phones in terrell's truck
00:50:06this is starting out not very promising i'm finding her alive
00:50:10it's hard to do a no body conviction in oklahoma
00:50:14so she'll be a missing person until we can find a body
00:50:18me and sergeant styles are gonna go talk to the victims family
00:50:21get a little more intel
00:50:24we'll uh go from there
00:50:28i'm gonna shake the glove
00:50:30take that sucker up
00:50:38two hours in
00:50:44hi is la donna home
00:50:45detective ryden and sergeant jeremy styles
00:50:49speak with tyra's family at her mother's house
00:50:51yes
00:50:52so the last time you saw her was on the 19th is that right
00:50:55yeah
00:50:57she had called and asked me to pick her up from work
00:51:00she comes out and she gets in the car and she calls this guy on the telephone
00:51:07to tell him don't come and get her
00:51:09i'm there
00:51:10so he was like i'm just around the corner
00:51:13did he arrive in a vehicle
00:51:15yes
00:51:16it's an older model truck
00:51:20and when you priming a car to paint it
00:51:23it's that gray
00:51:27tyra gets her stuff and they leave
00:51:30okay
00:51:32on the original report you listed this as her phone number
00:51:35was that the phone number your you had for it at that time
00:51:37yes
00:51:37okay
00:51:39here's the deal
00:51:39we're gonna see if we can figure out it lead to follow
00:51:43and if we find it we'll definitely give you a shout out away okay
00:51:45thanks guys
00:51:46oh
00:51:52waiters cross she's alive and she's somewhere we haven't found her yet
00:52:04later that afternoon
00:52:05so we just got done processing the truck
00:52:08no gun
00:52:09no ammo
00:52:10no ammo boxes
00:52:12no gun boxes
00:52:12no nothing like that
00:52:14we blew started and there was a reaction in the passenger seat
00:52:19and in the where his shoulder would be if he's driving
00:52:22all right up in there
00:52:25it's gonna get sent over to the lab
00:52:26the swabs will be sent to the crime lab
00:52:28to see if the substance found on the seats in terrell's truck
00:52:31is blood
00:52:34if it actually is blood then we're gonna start comparing it to our victims blood
00:52:37to see if it's theirs
00:52:40we'll just have to send this stuff off and time will tell
00:52:42yep
00:52:53the next day detectives turn back to terrell
00:52:59me and ronnie went to jail and picked up mr brooks
00:53:02and we brought him down here and we're gonna see if he wants to have a conversation about tyra
00:53:06legally we can still do that
00:53:08we won't ask him any questions about mark or dixie's case
00:53:12this is a brand new case we just learned about so we'll see what he has to say
00:53:24okay tyrell
00:53:25i'm detective wright and detect 11
00:53:27you're in jail for other things and i'm not going to ask you questions about those at all
00:53:32i'm investigating a missing person
00:53:36who is that
00:53:40tyra
00:53:43and how do you know tyra
00:53:44we met at the bus stop
00:53:47i kinda took her in under my wing
00:53:50and anytime she needed a ride to work or a ride home
00:53:53she knew who to call
00:53:56and where was she working
00:53:57she worked at dollar general for
00:54:01probably like two weeks before she died
00:54:04okay
00:54:05um
00:54:06was she your girlfriend
00:54:07just a
00:54:08i mean
00:54:09or wherever she's at
00:54:10i understand
00:54:11so was she your girlfriend
00:54:14no
00:54:16okay
00:54:17and mom says that she was at the store going to pick her up
00:54:21and that tyra called you
00:54:23and that you arrived
00:54:24and
00:54:25well i understand that tyra got in your truck
00:54:27yes sir
00:54:28okay
00:54:29so where did you guys go that night
00:54:57she stayed with me
00:55:02and i want to go and get a gun
00:55:09not a great day
00:55:09so i've never had a time
00:55:12and i know that i needed a game
00:55:13i think he was gonna come up with you
00:55:18and i knew that i didn't know that you did
00:55:20Don't do that.
00:55:23So after that, me and her relationship was not cool at all.
00:55:27I told her, me and you, we can't be together.
00:55:31So she had her friend come and pick her up.
00:55:34Did you see the friend?
00:55:36No.
00:55:36Okay.
00:55:38Have you had any contact with her since that day?
00:55:42No.
00:55:43You said something's interviewed, and I know Detective Levin caught, and I caught two.
00:55:49You said she was dead.
00:55:52I said I'm investigating a missing person, but you said she's dead.
00:55:56I agree with you, she is dead.
00:55:58I think you know exactly what happened.
00:56:16Try to look at me.
00:56:17I think you have some issues, and I think she did something to set you off.
00:56:22And I think when you get set off, you do some stuff that you regret.
00:56:30Did you and her get in a fight at any point and something happened?
00:56:35Sure?
00:56:36Yes, sir.
00:56:40I just don't like betrayal.
00:56:44I understand that.
00:56:46What she did, I mean, yeah, it made me mad and everything, but I wouldn't hurt her.
00:56:54One of the issues I see, Trill, is that the last person we can confirm that she's been seen with
00:57:00was you.
00:57:01The thing that makes sense to me is that all the stuff you've talked about, that bothers you,
00:57:08and then she starts doing some of those things, and that you did something.
00:57:14Where is she at?
00:57:15I told you everything that I wanted to talk about.
00:57:22Coming with me with some evidence, it's just hearsay, like, just like the other two women.
00:57:29Just because I knew them, just because I know her, don't mean that I'm responsible for that.
00:57:35For what?
00:57:36For their death.
00:57:39I know these people betrayed me, and we split up and everything.
00:57:43Did y'all can't just tell me, oh, yeah, you were the last person seen with her, so you did
00:57:48it?
00:57:50It makes no sense that it's anyone else.
00:57:53You're the last one that she's been seen with.
00:57:55She hasn't went to work since then.
00:57:57She hasn't talked to family and friends since then.
00:58:01She left.
00:58:03That's the last time I seen her.
00:58:06That's the end of it.
00:58:10Okay.
00:58:11Okay.
00:58:12What's it like?
00:58:15Did he do it?
00:58:16Definitely think he did it.
00:58:17Yeah.
00:58:20He said all three of them betrayed me.
00:58:22Right.
00:58:23Yeah.
00:58:24That's his whole thing.
00:58:25It's betrayal.
00:58:26And the first thing he said when they sat down was, she's dead.
00:58:32Your heart rate going up a little like mine?
00:58:34Yeah.
00:58:34The first five minutes, he goes, yeah, she's dead.
00:58:35And I was like, oh, crap, he doesn't admit it.
00:58:37She's dead.
00:58:37He's going to confess.
00:58:38And he got close, but he said she's dead.
00:58:44What's the next dad?
00:58:45Do we get her his phone records and see where her phone might have gone?
00:58:49Yes.
00:58:50The team will get a warrant for Tyra's cell phone records, hoping to get location data from
00:58:55the day she disappeared.
00:58:57Hopefully some phone stuff will help out, but the problem is we don't have anybody saying
00:59:00he did it.
00:59:02There's no gun.
00:59:03There's a lot of common denominators, same casings.
00:59:07That's the best thing.
00:59:09Yeah.
00:59:10I've got a lot of work to do.
00:59:12We all got a lot of work.
00:59:13Okay.
00:59:14There's a lot of work to do on all three of these cases.
00:59:19We find a body, find physical evidence, a witness.
00:59:22There's lots of things that can go right, and just patience is on our side.
00:59:25So we'll see.
00:59:38Two weeks later.
00:59:41This data is super accurate.
00:59:45Detective Lansdowne takes over the case.
00:59:47And gets the location data from Tyra's phone.
00:59:51It's basically showing which towers the device was connected to.
00:59:56Where these two arcs overlap is a pretty good indication that that device was in that area
01:00:03at that time.
01:00:05We know where her phone was at January 19th, which is in North Nogales.
01:00:10Tyra's phone was tracked to a house in West Tulsa the night before she disappeared.
01:00:17Six thirty-three a.m.
01:00:19On December 20th, her phone goes all the way out east.
01:00:24Early the next morning, her phone moves to a wooded area 20 miles east.
01:00:31And then after this, it goes off.
01:00:36There's a very good possibility maybe she could be there.
01:00:40We need a check.
01:00:47So we are going up to this area, which is very secluded, very wooded.
01:00:52Detectives head out to the last location where Tyra's phone hit to search for her body.
01:00:57You don't go out there to go hiking.
01:01:00You go out there to get rid of things.
01:01:04Common sense tells me he's dumping her body.
01:01:06Right.
01:01:15All right.
01:01:16Let's go see what we're doing.
01:01:21So you think he drove back in here then?
01:01:24Check it out.
01:01:24I think it's worth a shot.
01:01:25All right.
01:01:27I hope we find her.
01:01:49After searching for two hours...
01:01:51It's just so wooded back here.
01:01:56You think a dog would help?
01:01:58They decide to come back in the morning with the canine team.
01:02:04It's just such a big area that she could be anywhere.
01:02:08Tomorrow we'll be out there with the cadaver dogs.
01:02:12I know she's dead, and so now the next best thing is to be able to find her.
01:02:17These two cases we have right now are circumstantial,
01:02:20and we have to get something solid for this third case.
01:02:24The more we can do on any one of these cases to strengthen it,
01:02:28it's going to strengthen all three of them.
01:02:41The next afternoon...
01:02:44What's up, girl?
01:02:46Canine officer Robin Mendenhall makes a discovery.
01:02:49It's right in the arcs where Lance showed me.
01:02:53Okay.
01:02:54It's...
01:02:54I have to go down here, find out along this creek,
01:02:58and it's kind of like ponds.
01:02:59Okay.
01:03:00I mean, all we can do is look.
01:03:14I came up here just to get a layout of the area,
01:03:17and when I was walking through,
01:03:19I saw the red, and I just came down and checked it out.
01:03:23It looks like a female's jacket, I mean.
01:03:25It does look like a female's jacket.
01:03:28That looks like tissue.
01:03:31That definitely smells like a body.
01:03:33Yes, it stinks.
01:03:36You might have found her.
01:03:52Those are for sure genes.
01:03:53Oh, undoubtable.
01:03:54Yeah, no doubt.
01:03:55Those are genes.
01:03:59You've got the anthropologist coming in.
01:04:02She'll be here in 10 minutes.
01:04:0210 minutes, okay.
01:04:05Think you tried to bury her?
01:04:06Yeah, and when you look at this specific area,
01:04:09all of this is freshly overturned,
01:04:11and it is right where her phone was.
01:04:27Forensic anthropologist, Dr. Angela Berg,
01:04:30will determine if the remains are human.
01:04:35I'm trying to figure out what this thing is right here.
01:04:37I feel.
01:04:39Is that part of the pelvis?
01:04:42This is the ischium.
01:04:44This is the greater trochanter of a femur.
01:04:47So you've got pelvis.
01:04:48That's what I was thinking.
01:04:49And you've got a femur.
01:04:53This is definitely human.
01:04:59You didn't expose this, did you?
01:05:00No, it was like that.
01:05:01I think an animal was probably just kind of
01:05:03wrapped around in here.
01:05:07We have a storm coming,
01:05:08so I don't think we should address this right now.
01:05:10If we can wait,
01:05:12we can put a tarp on it,
01:05:13put an officer here.
01:05:14Yeah, let's do that.
01:05:18We've got a storm coming in this evening.
01:05:20Heavy hail, heavy rain.
01:05:22And so what we're going to do
01:05:23is we're going to tarp this over,
01:05:25and then we'll have to have an officer
01:05:26sit here all night.
01:05:27And then we'll start an excavation tomorrow.
01:05:37One hour later...
01:05:39We're going to go talk to LaDonna Whitaker
01:05:41and just tell her that we have found a body.
01:05:45Lansdowne and White
01:05:46head out to meet with Tyra's mother.
01:05:49We don't know that it's Tyra yet,
01:05:51but we wanted to let her know
01:05:53just so that they can start preparing
01:05:55for the possibility.
01:06:14Hello.
01:06:15Hi, are you LaDonna?
01:06:16Yes.
01:06:17LaDonna, hi.
01:06:17I'm Detective Lansdowne,
01:06:18and that's Detective White.
01:06:20I want to tell you something,
01:06:22and I can't say this
01:06:23with a definitive 100% positive,
01:06:25but we have found remains of someone.
01:06:34And I want to prepare you.
01:06:39Before this hits the news and everything,
01:06:42I just want to let you know.
01:06:44I will tell you
01:06:45that there's a very good chance of it.
01:06:50Come on, sit down, baby.
01:06:51Yeah, yeah, have a seat, sweetie.
01:06:54We don't like to do, you know,
01:06:57notifications and stuff
01:06:58until we're positive,
01:06:59but I feel strongly enough
01:07:02that this is Tyra
01:07:03that we came to talk to you guys.
01:07:06I'm glad, y'all.
01:07:07I'm glad.
01:07:07I was just,
01:07:09we were just talking about
01:07:10I want, I want to feel it.
01:07:13She was a good person.
01:07:16She had a good heart.
01:07:18Believe me, we're feeling for you.
01:07:21We will let you know
01:07:22in the moment we know
01:07:23with 100% certainty.
01:07:26Do you just want a phone call from me,
01:07:28or do you want me to come in person?
01:07:30Call my answer, yeah.
01:07:31Call Renee?
01:07:32Okay.
01:07:33We'll be in touch very soon.
01:07:35All right, guys.
01:07:36You're welcome.
01:07:50The next morning...
01:07:51And now we're going to get out there
01:07:52and recover the body.
01:07:57I like to get, like,
01:07:58a circle of people around
01:07:59lifting the soil out.
01:08:01Once we have that soil out,
01:08:03then we'll start actually
01:08:04on the recovery.
01:08:05So we'll be working around
01:08:07where we think the body is buried
01:08:08and working our way down to her.
01:08:11Anything else?
01:08:13That's all good.
01:08:32After an hour of digging...
01:08:34Is that plastic?
01:08:38It feels like a trash bag plastic.
01:08:42I think he might have put her
01:08:43in a trash bag.
01:08:45Yeah, that's sad, man.
01:08:48This poor girl
01:08:50threw away like a piece of trash.
01:08:54Trying to keep it intact
01:08:56as much as we can.
01:09:06Just pull it back and then...
01:09:11We've got her out.
01:09:17Good job, guys.
01:09:23She's going to get taken down
01:09:24to the medical examiner's office.
01:09:25Hopefully, we'll, you know,
01:09:28get her positively identified.
01:09:38The next day...
01:09:43Hi, Lacey.
01:09:44Hey, Angela.
01:09:45Lansdowne reaches out
01:09:46to Dr. Burr.
01:09:48Just calling to see
01:09:49about an update
01:09:50on the body that we found.
01:10:05Okay, so we have positive ID
01:10:09to your fingerprints
01:10:11as Tyra Whitaker.
01:10:13Okay.
01:10:18She has sharp force trauma
01:10:20to her head and neck
01:10:23with cut marks
01:10:25into the bone also.
01:10:27Wow.
01:10:28The autopsy revealed
01:10:29that Tyra was stabbed
01:10:3020 to 30 times
01:10:31in the head,
01:10:32face,
01:10:33and neck.
01:10:35She also has
01:10:36what appears to be
01:10:37maybe blood force trauma
01:10:38to her mouth.
01:10:40And she has
01:10:41three chipped teeth.
01:10:42Okay.
01:10:44Okay.
01:10:45Thank you so much, Angela.
01:10:47All right.
01:10:47Take care.
01:10:48Bye-bye.
01:10:48You too.
01:10:48Bye.
01:10:50This girl suffered
01:10:51a very painful death.
01:10:54I'm going to call
01:10:56Renee,
01:10:56which is Tyra's aunt,
01:10:58and let her know
01:10:59the really bad news.
01:11:04Hello?
01:11:05Renee?
01:11:06Yes?
01:11:07Hey, it's Detective Lansdowne.
01:11:09Well, I have some bad news.
01:11:11We did get a positive ID
01:11:12and the body
01:11:13that we found was Tyra.
01:11:19Yeah, I'm sorry, Renee.
01:11:20I really am.
01:11:21You know, it's okay.
01:11:24We found her,
01:11:25and we really wanted
01:11:27her return to us.
01:11:29And that happened.
01:11:32Now we just have
01:11:33to give justice for her.
01:11:35Well, I can promise you
01:11:36that everybody here
01:11:37in the office
01:11:38is doing everything
01:11:39to make sure
01:11:39that there is justice for her.
01:11:42Yeah, you're welcome.
01:11:44You're welcome.
01:11:45Bye-bye.
01:11:46Okay, bye.
01:11:47Bye-bye.
01:11:53Later that day,
01:11:58the team decides
01:11:59to confront Tyrell
01:12:00with the new evidence.
01:12:01All right, buddy.
01:12:02That far chair,
01:12:03I'll be right back with you.
01:12:06Ronnie and I went over
01:12:07to the jail
01:12:07to bring him over here
01:12:08before he had wanted
01:12:09to see some evidence.
01:12:10And before we transported him over,
01:12:13Ronnie showed him
01:12:13the picture of the coat,
01:12:15and he acknowledged the picture.
01:12:18And I'm sure
01:12:19that he's sitting over there,
01:12:20and it's driving him crazy.
01:12:23There's a possibility
01:12:24we may get something here,
01:12:25but we'll see.
01:12:27Okay.
01:12:33Here, if you stand up,
01:12:34it's going to be done.
01:12:38First off,
01:12:39I wanted to say that
01:12:40I want to get some help.
01:12:44I know that I've got trauma
01:12:46from not being able to wake up
01:12:49when something's happened
01:12:49to me in my sleep.
01:12:51I should have woke up.
01:12:53Okay.
01:12:53I'm found guilty.
01:12:54I want to know
01:12:55that y'all understand
01:12:56the trauma I have
01:12:58and present the trauma.
01:13:00Okay.
01:13:01I can't imagine that, man.
01:13:02I really can't.
01:13:03That's got to be tough
01:13:04that you went through that.
01:13:06It's definitely stuff
01:13:07that we will document
01:13:08and that will be presented
01:13:11to attorneys,
01:13:12to counselors,
01:13:13and all that stuff, okay?
01:13:16So, that being said,
01:13:18as we came to the jail
01:13:19earlier today,
01:13:20I showed you that picture.
01:13:21Do you remember that?
01:13:22What was that picture of?
01:13:24That picture was
01:13:26of Tyra's jacket.
01:13:28Okay.
01:13:28So, we've found that jacket.
01:13:32Okay?
01:13:33Where do you think
01:13:34we found it at?
01:13:36Wherever she was buried.
01:13:38Okay.
01:13:39Where was she buried at?
01:13:43I don't want to answer
01:13:44that question.
01:13:50It just feels like
01:13:51I'm traumatized
01:13:53for what happened
01:13:53to me before.
01:13:56If I found guilty,
01:13:57I want to know
01:13:58I want to help.
01:13:59I understand.
01:14:00I really do.
01:14:00I understand that.
01:14:01And I promise you
01:14:02that's stuff that is
01:14:03going to be documented,
01:14:04without a doubt.
01:14:05But I think you're
01:14:06going to feel
01:14:06a little bit better
01:14:07if you're honest
01:14:08and tell me
01:14:09some more of these details.
01:14:12I'm not, because I know
01:14:13I got a problem.
01:14:14I know that.
01:14:17Everybody in my corner
01:14:18is telling me,
01:14:19you need help.
01:14:19You need help.
01:14:20You need help.
01:14:21You do.
01:14:22I think you do.
01:14:23I really do.
01:14:24And you're saying
01:14:25you want to get help.
01:14:26Which is good.
01:14:27But in order to do that,
01:14:28in my opinion,
01:14:29you've got to
01:14:30take responsibility
01:14:31for stuff you've done
01:14:32in the past also.
01:14:34I want you to be
01:14:36straight up with me
01:14:37and tell me more
01:14:37of these details
01:14:38about Tyra.
01:14:40What happened to her?
01:14:41What you did to her?
01:14:43Where you buried her?
01:14:46Let's start right here.
01:14:48Take the first step.
01:14:50But I can't do that.
01:14:53Why?
01:14:54Why is that?
01:14:54Why?
01:14:55Why can't?
01:14:56Because you haven't
01:14:57came to me with evidence.
01:15:00Showed me, like,
01:15:02Tyrell, this is what we have.
01:15:04We know what you did.
01:15:05You know what I'm saying?
01:15:07I can't tell you
01:15:08everything we know.
01:15:09I showed you the code.
01:15:11You already said
01:15:12she was buried.
01:15:12And I've confirmed for you,
01:15:14yeah, she was buried.
01:15:15I know how she was killed.
01:15:18Okay?
01:15:19Right.
01:15:21Tyra deserves justice.
01:15:22Her family deserves
01:15:23some answers.
01:15:25And you're the one
01:15:25holding those.
01:15:28I told you everything.
01:15:30No, you didn't.
01:15:32I told you the problems
01:15:34I had.
01:15:34I know that.
01:15:35But you didn't tell me
01:15:36what, how you killed her.
01:15:38You didn't tell me
01:15:39where you buried her.
01:15:41How did you kill Tyra?
01:16:00I can't answer that question.
01:16:05Do you not remember?
01:16:06Or do you just not want to tell me?
01:16:09I don't know anybody
01:16:11that killed someone.
01:16:14You know what I'm saying?
01:16:15They don't tell anybody
01:16:16how they did anything.
01:16:17They don't tell anybody.
01:16:20I need the evidence.
01:16:22I've told you the evidence
01:16:23that I can tell you
01:16:24up to this point.
01:16:25If you answer my questions
01:16:27and are truthful,
01:16:28I will give you more.
01:16:30But you're not giving me anything.
01:16:33Well, I'm going to wait
01:16:34until I talk to my lawyer.
01:16:39My lawyer, he's going to be
01:16:40the one to tell me
01:16:41what y'all have.
01:16:43All right.
01:16:44Well, then we're done.
01:16:57I have no doubt
01:16:58he killed all three
01:16:59of those women.
01:17:00But I just,
01:17:01I don't think he's ever
01:17:02going to tell us.
01:17:04He's admitting to things.
01:17:05He's not giving the details,
01:17:07but he's admitting.
01:17:08Something bad happened.
01:17:09I just don't want
01:17:10to talk about it.
01:17:12Because he knows
01:17:13that if he tells us,
01:17:14he's going to end up
01:17:14and going to prison forever.
01:17:26Two days later.
01:17:29Terrell has made
01:17:30some comments
01:17:30on his jail calls
01:17:32about people snitching on him,
01:17:34people knowing what's up.
01:17:35On a recorded jail call,
01:17:37Terrell mentioned
01:17:38the name of a friend
01:17:39who he thinks
01:17:40may have talked to police
01:17:41about Tyra's murder.
01:17:43He was like,
01:17:44I know he's talking
01:17:45because of the questions
01:17:46they were asking me.
01:17:49They were at his house
01:17:51the night before Tyra
01:17:52was murdered.
01:17:54We know that her phone
01:17:55was over at his house
01:17:56because we looked
01:17:57at her phone records.
01:17:59Detectives discovered
01:18:00the friend lives
01:18:00at the house
01:18:01where Tyra's phone hit
01:18:02on the night
01:18:03she disappeared.
01:18:05He got arrested
01:18:06this weekend.
01:18:07on just some traffic tickets
01:18:09and he's in city jail.
01:18:11So we'll go grab him
01:18:12and see what he has to say.
01:18:16Yeah.
01:18:1930 minutes later.
01:18:22I got you a prize.
01:18:26That's all we had.
01:18:28We are scraping
01:18:29the bottom for candy.
01:18:33All right.
01:18:33You already know
01:18:34why we're here.
01:18:35So I'm going to let you
01:18:36take the floor, okay?
01:18:37This is about Terrell.
01:18:40Just tell me everything
01:18:41that you know.
01:18:43I really can't tell you
01:18:44too much about him.
01:18:45I would stop calling him.
01:18:47Stop talking to him
01:18:48because I really don't like
01:18:49the type of that he does.
01:18:52Just weird as shit.
01:18:54So what would be weird
01:18:56in your world?
01:19:00Okay.
01:19:03He had a girlfriend, right?
01:19:05Uh-huh.
01:19:06And then
01:19:07he would just say weird as shit.
01:19:09Like,
01:19:10the girl would be doing
01:19:11with something to him
01:19:12when he'd sleep
01:19:12or something like that.
01:19:14And I'd be like,
01:19:15bro,
01:19:15like,
01:19:16yeah,
01:19:16I'm like,
01:19:17nah, bro.
01:19:19He really just
01:19:19made me distance myself,
01:19:21like,
01:19:21away from me.
01:19:22Let me ask you this.
01:19:23Who was his girlfriend
01:19:24at the time?
01:19:26I don't even remember
01:19:26her name.
01:19:28We showed you a picture.
01:19:29You'd know her.
01:19:30Hell yeah.
01:19:33Lansdowne
01:19:34shows him a photo of Tyra.
01:19:37That's her.
01:19:37Okay.
01:19:40What do you know
01:19:41about her?
01:19:42Nice person.
01:19:43Wonderful woman,
01:19:44man.
01:19:44Wonderful.
01:19:47I'm gonna be real with you.
01:19:49We found her
01:19:50in a hole in the ground.
01:19:52Buried.
01:19:56Buried.
01:19:57It's a lot.
01:20:01Tyra
01:20:01deserved better.
01:20:08Did he ever tell you
01:20:10that he did anything
01:20:11to her?
01:20:13Said he dumped
01:20:14the police.
01:20:17Did he give you
01:20:18a clue as to where?
01:20:20Nah.
01:20:21Didn't say that.
01:20:23But he did say
01:20:24he dumped it somewhere.
01:20:27When did he tell you
01:20:28all this stuff?
01:20:29Like,
01:20:29two months ago.
01:20:31How did you know
01:20:32that he met Tyra?
01:20:35You really want to know?
01:20:36Yeah.
01:20:36He told me he was gonna
01:20:37do it before it happened.
01:20:42Okay.
01:20:42Tell him,
01:20:43share with me that.
01:20:44What did he say
01:20:44he was gonna do?
01:20:46He was gonna kill her.
01:20:48Did he tell you
01:20:49why he wanted to kill her?
01:20:51Tell me about
01:20:52some
01:20:52when I'm sleeping
01:20:53or some
01:20:54I told him
01:20:56leave that girl alone.
01:20:57All right.
01:20:58Don't do nothing
01:20:58to that girl.
01:20:59Let that girl be.
01:21:02So when he tells you
01:21:03that he did do it,
01:21:04what did he say
01:21:05exactly again?
01:21:07what I got rid of him.
01:21:09You know,
01:21:10if I were to do
01:21:10he'll drop the body
01:21:12somewhere.
01:21:14I'm like,
01:21:16wow.
01:21:19That's crazy.
01:21:22All right.
01:21:23Sit tight.
01:21:24We do appreciate it.
01:21:26Yeah, thank you.
01:21:37This is huge.
01:21:38This puts this case
01:21:38over the top now.
01:21:40It's went from
01:21:41circumstantial
01:21:42to actual witness
01:21:43who's talked to
01:21:44Terrell that said this.
01:21:46I'm super stoked about it.
01:21:48This is our strongest case now.
01:21:51I think it's pushed it
01:21:52to the point
01:21:53that without question
01:21:54we could go ahead
01:21:55and do an add-on charge
01:21:57for Tyra's murder.
01:21:59I think he killed
01:22:00these three women
01:22:01and didn't give it
01:22:02a second thought.
01:22:03We're extremely lucky
01:22:04that we got him
01:22:05when we did.
01:22:06I have no question
01:22:07that there would have
01:22:08been more.
01:22:10Yeah.
01:22:44This whole case
01:22:45is really sad
01:22:46from Tyra
01:22:47to Elizabeth
01:22:48to Rainbow.
01:22:49I used to work
01:22:51in domestic violence
01:22:52before I came over
01:22:53to homicide
01:22:54and I know
01:22:55that the most dangerous
01:22:56time for victims
01:22:57is when they're trying
01:22:58to leave the relationship.
01:23:00Elizabeth tried to leave.
01:23:02She did leave
01:23:02and he killed her
01:23:03a short time later.
01:23:05He knew Rainbow
01:23:06all of three days.
01:23:07She was nice enough
01:23:08to give him a place
01:23:09to stay
01:23:10and the day
01:23:11that she had kicked him out,
01:23:13I believe he came back
01:23:14and killed her that night.
01:23:16I don't know
01:23:16what happened with Tyra.
01:23:18She very well
01:23:18could have tried
01:23:19to leave him as well.
01:23:21If anyone,
01:23:22male or female,
01:23:23is in a domestic violence
01:23:25situation,
01:23:25there's things
01:23:27that you can do
01:23:27to protect yourself
01:23:29to get out
01:23:29of this situation.
01:23:31There's 24-hour hotlines
01:23:33that you can call.
01:23:34You can get
01:23:34a protective order.
01:23:36There is help available.
01:23:38Domestic violence
01:23:39is very common
01:23:39and it affects everyone.
01:23:42It doesn't matter
01:23:42who you are,
01:23:43it can affect you.
01:23:5216 months
01:23:53after Tyra's body
01:23:55was discovered.
01:23:57Her big old smile.
01:23:59You couldn't be around Tyra
01:24:02without being happy.
01:24:06She was a very happy person.
01:24:12She enjoyed life
01:24:15while she was living.
01:24:16Yeah.
01:24:18It was very difficult
01:24:20to hear
01:24:21that my child
01:24:23was deceased.
01:24:27Having to tell her child
01:24:30that he won't be able
01:24:32to see or hear
01:24:34from his mother
01:24:35is difficult.
01:24:38She won't be
01:24:39at her son's graduation.
01:24:42She won't have
01:24:44a first dance with him.
01:24:46at his wedding.
01:24:48People have to
01:24:49still live with
01:24:52what somebody else did.
01:24:55Yeah, he's going to have
01:24:57to answer to the things
01:24:58that he did,
01:24:59but we all have to suffer.
01:25:02And so do the other victims,
01:25:05families and friends,
01:25:07their children.
01:25:09He can be sentenced
01:25:11to the maximum sentence
01:25:13and it wouldn't be
01:25:15good enough for me.
01:25:16He took away
01:25:19something
01:25:20that never can
01:25:22be given back.
01:25:25He took away
01:25:30to the next one.
01:25:31We'll see you next time.
01:25:31We'll see you next time.
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