- 12 hours ago
Evil Lives Here - Season 19 - Episode 07: The Granny killer
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TVTranscript
00:06Here we are.
00:07Here we are.
00:11When I first reached out to you about the interview,
00:14what was going through your head?
00:17To be honest, when I read your letter,
00:19I couldn't read it without tears.
00:22And it took me about 10 times to read the letter
00:27to be able to control that flood of emotion.
00:30The fact that your letter triggered such huge emotions
00:36tells me there's a part of me that's still unhealed.
00:41What was it like being married to a man
00:43who turned out to be a serial killer?
00:46It was shame.
00:48It was humiliation.
00:50It was fear.
00:51It was apprehension.
00:53I don't know to this day why I'm still alive.
00:56And that's the truth.
01:10After I left Mike, he called late at night.
01:14And I said, what do you want?
01:18And he's whispering.
01:20And he's like, I just wanted to hear your voice.
01:22And I discovered later on that he had called me
01:29from the victim's home on the night
01:34that they were murdered.
01:39I often think, was it me he was killing each time
01:45he brutally killed these people in his mind?
01:48and he said, beautiful naming these people in his mind.
01:53Come on.
01:55Wait?
02:01I don't know.
02:05Listen.
02:08Listen.
02:09Listen.
02:11Wait?
02:13Listen.
02:16Listen.
02:34I was running a cardiology unit, and I had my office manager call me in one day, and
02:42she found out about my ex-husband, and she told me that she was going to lay me off, because
02:50she couldn't handle the knowledge knowing that I was married to him.
02:59And the nature of his crimes, apparently, and her words freaked her out, and she couldn't
03:05deal with it knowing that I was in the same building with her.
03:10And that makes you feel like you're a plague, like you're a cancer, like you've done something
03:17wrong.
03:18I did nothing wrong.
03:26I remember going home and thinking, what am I going to do?
03:30You know, I have bills, I have children, I have responsibilities.
03:38There was a point in time in my life where I had nobody, where I felt very hopeless that
03:45nothing was going to change.
03:48I always had the stigma of being the serial killer's ex-wife.
04:16I thought he was the most handsome thing.
04:18dark hair, he was very muscular, and at first he was a charmer.
04:27He would buy me flowers, and he would buy me chocolates, told me everything that a young
04:34girl wants to hear.
04:35He told me he loved me.
04:37I never had anybody, including my parents, ever say, I love you.
04:43My family was very strict, overbearing on religion.
04:49There was a lot of abuse.
04:53So he was the first person that made me feel special.
04:59I thought he was the love of my life.
05:03And we also connected through a bond of abuse.
05:12He told me early on about a story that he must have been about 10 years old.
05:22There was a conflict with his father.
05:26And then he proceeded to take his right hand.
05:31When he had turned on the burners to the stove and burned his hand, how could you not have empathy?
05:53He started becoming very jealous and controlling, like even going to school, you know, like who
05:59did you talk to?
06:01You know, like what do you mean, who did I talk to?
06:07One day, they were just driving along, and I don't even know what triggered it, but I
06:11was accused of cheating on him.
06:15When he got mad, he would speed.
06:19Now we're going 110 and 45.
06:23It perpetually got worse and worse and worse and worse.
06:30Just all in anger and rage.
06:33And when he pulled over, the car skidded off to the side.
06:38Get out, get out.
06:43He literally dragged me out of the car.
06:48And he drove off, and I thought, how am I going to get home?
06:54He left me stranded on the side of some road that I had no idea where I was.
07:01I don't have any idea what's going on.
07:07This was my first love.
07:09This was the first person I ever dated.
07:13I truly thought I was in love.
07:17I wish I could go back to the girl I was.
07:21I wish I could just look at her and say, you're beautiful, and nobody needs to tell you that.
07:28I wish I had the strength to walk away.
07:38And then, of course, he came back telling me, get in the car.
07:43So, I got back in the car.
07:48I was scared, you know, and then that became a way of life.
08:06He would lose his temper.
08:08He would grab the back of my hair or grab my neck and shove me into the wall.
08:14He had a temper that would flare at a blink of an eye.
08:19You know, and no rhyme or reason, you know, nothing that you could do to prevent it.
08:28And I think I had so much trauma as a child, I just kind of accepted it.
08:35Even though my relationship with Mike wasn't the best, it was the best I ever knew.
08:45People that haven't been physically and emotionally abused in their childhood have a very hard...
08:56It's very hard for them to relate to those of us that have.
09:02So, again, as abusive as it was, it was better than what I was used to.
09:19A friend of ours invited us to a Halloween party.
09:23And we went and we were all dressed up and having a great time.
09:29And, obviously, I'm talking to people and I'm in the moment.
09:34And I had noticed that Mike was gone.
09:39And then I started asking people, hey, have you seen Mike?
09:44And nobody did.
09:46And he was gone a good hour.
09:52And when I finally did find him, I think I always said, hey, I've been looking for you.
09:57You know, and all of a sudden, the mood with him changed.
10:03And there was this refrigerator that was there.
10:06And he started punching it.
10:08And, like, all this rage out of nowhere.
10:15I mean, it was like he was fighting somebody.
10:18I mean, total, complete rage.
10:20You know?
10:21And leaving indentations in this fridge.
10:26It was horrible.
10:28And I was like, what is going on?
10:31And I remember he stopped punching the refrigerator and he started punching me.
10:39What did I do to deserve this?
10:43It's not about love.
10:45It's more like I was his possession.
10:47And he needed something in his life that he can control.
10:52Nobody knew what to do.
10:53When we were kids, it's not like you think now where you shield somebody.
11:00And I kept thinking, I don't want to do this.
11:04And I needed to leave.
11:07And then I found out I was pregnant.
11:19I was dating Mike for about a year and a half when I found out I was pregnant.
11:26I was about 17.
11:29They just kept saying, I want to marry you.
11:32And I just kept saying, no, no.
11:34No, I'm good.
11:35I might be pregnant.
11:35But I don't want to get married.
11:38I knew that this isn't the life I wanted to be in.
11:41This isn't the life I wanted for my kids.
11:43I was petrified.
11:47My parents and his parents emphasized that if I didn't get married, that God would be upset with me and
11:59I would go to hell.
12:00And I truly didn't want to offend God in any shape or form.
12:05And I didn't want to be condemned to hell for eternity.
12:09You know, who would?
12:11You know, who would?
12:39You know, the guy that was driving and screaming and yelling and waving this hammer, you know, and telling him
12:46he was going to kill him.
12:49I mean, I was horrified.
12:52You know, I thought he was going to drag him out of the car and use that hammer on him.
12:59And then he was going to bash his skull in.
13:04And the man had the common sense to leave that immediate area.
13:14And then he just got in the car and nothing was ever said after it.
13:21He would go into these rages and then just snap out of them.
13:27You know, you could switch it on and off like a light bulb.
13:30You know, and your adrenaline's still going.
13:33Your fear's still going.
13:36Not only was I in fear for that man's life, but I was in fear for my life, too, because,
13:41you know, I knew what he was capable of.
13:59The wedding wasn't for me. The wedding was for them.
14:02It wasn't a happy event.
14:05First off, I was pregnant and everybody knew I was pregnant.
14:10And after the event, he was counting some envelopes.
14:13And I went to open up one of the envelopes and asked how much we had.
14:16And I don't know what trigger I hit.
14:37When he grabbed me by the back of the head,
14:43threw me into the closet,
14:46and started beating me.
14:48And I went into a pedo position.
14:52And all I did was start kicking my back and my spine.
15:00And all I could do was try and deflect it.
15:08So my wedding was not a beautiful thing.
15:17And I knew it wasn't going to get any better from here.
15:41Mike had fish tanks throughout the house.
15:47And we had come home.
15:50And there was a fish out of the tank.
15:54And he was enraged.
15:57And I had a kitten at that time.
16:02And whether the fish jumped out of the tank and died or the kitten caught it, I don't know.
16:12But his rage was focused on that kitten.
16:16And he beat it to death.
16:20I was horrified.
16:24What could I do to stop it?
16:26Absolutely nothing.
16:27I think somehow I was responsible for the kitten that he felt killed his fish.
16:32So I was going to have to suffer and watch the brutality of it.
16:41That's what I think.
16:43I was absolutely terrified of him after that.
16:46I knew in that moment that he was capable of killing me.
17:04This is a picture of all the generations of the Edwin Bernard Capraths.
17:12It's a picture of my ex-husband with my eldest son as an infant.
17:17His grandfather and his father.
17:21And I actually look at this picture and Mike looks happy.
17:25He looks proud.
17:28He looks like a proud father.
17:30He looks hopeful.
17:33Optimistic for the future.
17:36That's the person that I fell in love with.
17:40Not the person that he became.
17:45And I would like to put this down.
17:58Sometimes I would wake up.
18:02And the man would be gone.
18:06Like, I have no idea where he went.
18:08You know what I mean?
18:12You know, like, are you in the bathroom?
18:14So you walk around and, no, he's not here.
18:16No, the vehicle's not here.
18:22And I never once asked him where he was because he wasn't one to take for questioning.
18:30You know, like, it kind of was like, I'm going to do what I want to do when I do
18:35it.
18:35And you're just going to have to deal with it.
18:40But I did notice a box that I never saw before.
18:49And it had all sorts of miscellaneous items.
18:53Like a watch in there.
18:56Foreign money, foreign coins.
19:00Where did this come from?
19:04He probably was breaking into people's homes and stealing items.
19:09That's what occurs to me.
19:16But one time, when he came home early morning, his knuckles were swollen.
19:23And he had, uh, not welts, but red marks on the side of his face and on the side of
19:33his neck.
19:35And I did question him on that, and he told me, none of your business.
19:39You know, that was the finality of it.
19:51The one time he was gone for maybe two months, not a phone call.
19:57Nothing.
19:58Absolutely nothing.
20:00It was a relief.
20:02I didn't want him back at that point.
20:05And, um, I remember the boys were sleeping.
20:11And I went in to take a shower.
20:14And I came out.
20:16And standing in my living room is Mike.
20:26And the first thing I said are, where are my kids?
20:31And he said, they're in the car.
20:37And he said, uh, I'm coming home.
20:41And I said, oh, no, you're not.
20:43And he said, before you say anything else, he said, understand, if you don't allow me back here to live,
20:54he said, I'm going to take both the boys.
20:59And he said, and I'm going to kill him before you can even pick up a phone to call the
21:02cops.
21:10So people ask, why did you stay?
21:12I tried so many times to get out.
21:16I tried so many times to get out.
21:31I tried so many times to come back.
21:32So just the good news did that.
21:32And he said, you know, all of a sudden we're going to Florida, none of it made sense.
21:38Why are we going to Florida?
21:40You know what I mean?
21:41Was there a certain incident?
21:44I don't know the answer.
21:48It was right before Christmas.
21:50We moved in with his parents, and it wasn't good.
21:57At that time, he wasn't working, and I was barely working.
22:03And at Christmastime, he went up to the attic
22:09and came down with everything my children wanted for Christmas.
22:16You know, Nintendos, I believe there was one each.
22:20Video games, things that were beyond his financial capabilities.
22:28You know, like, where is this from?
22:31Don't worry about it, none of your business, was what I was told.
22:35I thought it was very odd.
22:55Because of my childhood,
22:58I was overly protective of my children.
23:02I did everything for my kids.
23:05I lived for my kids.
23:06I took beatings for my kids.
23:10He always used the children as a weapon.
23:13The way that he could continue giving me emotional pain
23:16was by raising his voice to them,
23:19by grabbing their arms, by shaking them.
23:23I took so many beatings by overstepping my bounds,
23:27by telling him not to touch them that way,
23:30by not to scream at them.
23:33You know, Nintendos was a way of life.
23:36It's amazing sometimes you don't stand up for yourself
23:40as much as you should,
23:41but you stand up for other people.
24:00I bought my ex-husband a big old bottle of Jack Daniels.
24:05I got him good and drunk and I knocked on the door.
24:14I introduced myself.
24:16I told him I need to go in there and get my kids and my cats.
24:22And he said, absolutely, I'll go to the house with you.
24:25And I remember walking through that front door,
24:29deputies behind me,
24:31he says, you go in there.
24:32And he says, and I'm not leaving until you retrieve your kids,
24:36get them safely in the car.
24:38And that's what I did.
24:41I wanted to leave from the day I got married.
24:46I remember being in that car
24:50and thinking that this is something I didn't want to have
24:55as a permanent part of my life.
24:58And I wanted something better.
25:01I guess a moment of clarity, a God moment,
25:05a universe moment, I don't really know.
25:07But I know that was the day.
25:12I didn't feel that sense of freedom
25:15until hours later when I realized
25:19nobody was following me.
25:32I was in New Jersey
25:34and I was at my parents' house.
25:37I remember thinking, I can do this.
25:41I had a job.
25:42I took care of my kids.
25:43I remember thinking, am I really free?
25:48I felt safe.
25:53Until I opened that door.
25:58And he was just standing there.
26:04He had showed up out of the blue.
26:07Like, no phone call ahead of time.
26:09Just like, you hear the doorbell
26:12and you open up the door and he's there.
26:16He told me how much he loved me
26:18and he missed the kids.
26:21And my parents had this,
26:23that's your husband sort of attitude
26:26so he can come and see his children
26:28anytime he wants.
26:30And he walked in the house and never left.
26:35So there wasn't much I could do about it
26:37because I was not in my own home.
26:40He just moved in like he owned me again.
26:45I felt trapped.
26:47I felt like, what the hell am I going to do?
26:49And how do I get away from this now?
26:52Because I have nowhere to go.
27:11Two detectives from Florida
27:15had come to my parents' home
27:18and asked to speak to Mike.
27:21And at that time, I knew nothing.
27:24And they didn't just speak to him.
27:26At that time, they put him in a car
27:28and that was it.
27:31I had asked, you know,
27:33what's going on?
27:34And that's when I was informed
27:36that he is being extradited back to Florida
27:39and placed under arrest for murder.
27:43That the man was bludgeoned to death.
27:47And that Mike was caught using his credit cards
27:53and that's how they traced it back to him.
27:58After the fact,
27:59I put two and two together
28:01to realize that man lost his life
28:04to get my children presents.
28:07That's horrific.
28:20The system sucks.
28:22I truly did believe
28:24that he had killed this man.
28:26I filed for a divorce.
28:30And right before I left him,
28:32he grabbed my...
28:36elbow and dragged me into a room
28:39and raped me.
28:44Sorry, you're hard.
29:00The last time that I had seen
29:03my ex-husband
29:06was when I was leaving the courthouse,
29:09Mike had come up to me
29:10and grabbed my arm.
29:12And his words to me were,
29:15I don't care about the kids.
29:17I only care about you.
29:20And that you need to come to Florida.
29:23And that's what I want.
29:25And that's what you're going to do.
29:28And as he's talking to me,
29:30his hold on my arm
29:32is getting tighter
29:33and tighter and tighter.
29:36And all I knew
29:37is there was a snowball's chance
29:39in hell
29:39that I'd ever go back
29:40to Florida with them.
29:42I fought too hard to get out.
29:46I heard that apparently
29:48he had gotten arrested
29:49at one point in time
29:51and he was an informant
29:53to have his freedom.
29:55He was a rat.
29:56He was a coward,
29:58a bully, and a rat.
30:01And he had no idea
30:02that I knew.
30:04I told him,
30:05you f***ed over
30:05some pretty big cats
30:07and I gave him some names
30:08which I'm not going to share here.
30:10And I said,
30:11if I don't get to where
30:12I'm supposed to be
30:13at five o'clock,
30:14rest assured,
30:15there are three envelopes
30:17that are getting mailed.
30:19It felt good to make a stand
30:21and take my power back.
30:23And he didn't say a word,
30:24he just released my arm
30:26and that's the last time
30:28I ever saw the man.
30:41I heard that he was arrested
30:46and he was a suspect
30:48in multiple killings.
30:51I knew he was a monster.
30:54He was labeled
30:56a serial killer now.
31:00I think it was shock.
31:02I think it was traumatic.
31:04It was trauma.
31:08And then I was told
31:10that he targeted elderly women,
31:14which I think about
31:15and I thought about the horror
31:17that I went through him
31:18and then I thought about
31:19the horror that they went through.
31:23To me,
31:25it looked like
31:26the perfect victim
31:28because I can't fight back.
31:32I really think it was
31:34because it made him feel powerful.
31:52So this is a page
31:53from Hernando County Sheriff's Office.
31:57You know,
31:58they didn't put a transcript
31:59of his confession,
32:00but they described it.
32:02I hope I don't have
32:03to read this out loud.
32:04You can make me do it
32:05if you want.
32:06It's much easier
32:07because
32:10it's very emotional.
32:13In Kaprat's own words,
32:15he stated,
32:16I'm a sick individual.
32:17I broke in,
32:19found the people,
32:20did what I did.
32:21They were sexually assaulted
32:23and then they were killed.
32:25He stated he confronted
32:26the victim
32:27and struck her several times.
32:29He admitted
32:30that he made the victim
32:31have vaginal intercourse
32:32with him
32:33and then made her
32:33perform oral sex on him.
32:36He states the victim
32:37did resist
32:38and that at one point
32:40while he was on top of her,
32:41she appeared as though
32:42she was having a heart attack.
32:44So he, in turn,
32:45stepped on her throat
32:46to put her out of her misery.
32:50Our body is shaking.
33:07Lydia M. Rydell
33:09was 79 years old.
33:11Lydia Rydell
33:13was active in her church.
33:14Neighbors remember her
33:15as caring and helpful,
33:17someone who often
33:18looked out for others.
33:21What a beautiful soul.
33:25Some beautiful person
33:27lost their life
33:28for no reason.
33:30None of this
33:31should have ever happened.
33:32She should have died
33:33of old age
33:34in the arms of her family.
33:37William and Alice Whitney.
33:40William was brutally beaten
33:42and later died
33:43of pneumonia
33:44from his injuries.
33:46Alice,
33:47who has
33:47Alzheimer's disease,
33:48was also assaulted
33:50but survived the attack,
33:52living with the trauma
33:52for the remainder
33:53of her life.
33:57I can only imagine
34:00growing old
34:01with the person
34:02that you love
34:04and trying to save
34:06your wife.
34:09and I couldn't even imagine
34:12what they felt
34:13during it
34:14and what they felt
34:15after it.
34:18Alice Dahl,
34:20it was 87 years old.
34:23Alice Dahl was found dead
34:24in her Spring Hill home
34:26which had been set
34:26on fire.
34:34the 87-year-old
34:35had been sexually assaulted
34:36and beaten to death.
34:37Dahl,
34:38the one-time speed skater,
34:40an athlete,
34:41fought hard.
34:42I'm sure she did.
34:43Good for her.
34:45Her bloody dentures
34:46were found near her body.
34:48She had bitten
34:49the assailant
34:49in the back.
34:54That was the last victim,
34:56the one that got him caught.
34:57Good.
35:00I mean,
35:00it's not good
35:01that any of this happened
35:03but it's good
35:04that somebody
35:05finally connected
35:06all the dots
35:07and put the pieces together.
35:22it's an atrocity
35:23and if that wasn't
35:25horrific enough,
35:25I think the thing
35:26that hit home to me
35:27was when
35:28I had read articles
35:30that the victims,
35:32they were
35:33sexually assaulted.
35:36Essentially,
35:37it gave him
35:38a euphoria
35:39and a sense of power
35:42when he
35:43assaulted them
35:44in that manner
35:45and that's very hard
35:47for me to talk about.
35:49I know towards the end
35:51sex became
35:52very, uh,
35:53violent.
35:55He was violent
35:56with you during sex?
35:57Yes.
35:59It was choking.
36:01It was restraining.
36:04It was demeaning.
36:07And I still
36:08to this day
36:09believe that
36:09everybody that he killed
36:11he thought
36:11he was killing me
36:13because he lost control
36:15because he couldn't
36:16control me anymore.
36:30I had a friend of mine
36:31that I was discussing
36:32this with
36:33and my friend
36:34had asked him,
36:35hey man,
36:35where you been?
36:36We've been looking for you.
36:37And he said,
36:38I just killed somebody
36:39and smiled.
36:41And the person
36:42that told me
36:43was very freaked out
36:44about it
36:45and he was like,
36:46do you think he did?
36:46And I said,
36:47I have no idea.
36:48I said,
36:49none of us know
36:49where he went.
36:51Now that I reflect back on it,
36:53I feel like
36:54it could have been possible.
37:13It's surreal.
37:15I don't know
37:16all the people
37:17that he killed.
37:18I honestly don't know.
37:21where is the line
37:23that the only thing
37:25that brings you joy
37:27is extreme violence
37:29and cruelty.
37:40I have looked
37:42at this picture many times
37:44and at first
37:45it was hard
37:46for me to
37:48meet his eyes
37:49in it.
37:51All I feel
37:52in this picture
37:53is suppressed
37:54underlying rage
37:57because he had
37:58gotten caught.
38:00I don't identify
38:01with who this person is.
38:03I mean,
38:05before I left him
38:06he was becoming
38:07this person
38:10but he wasn't
38:11wholly this person
38:12at this point in time.
38:13It doesn't even look
38:14like the same person.
38:19I don't know
38:20what makes people
38:22capable of killing
38:23another human being.
38:26But I really believe
38:28and especially
38:29after looking
38:30at those pictures
38:33the only thing
38:34that made him
38:35feel anything
38:35was committing
38:36these murders.
38:52I have no remorse
38:54for him being dead.
38:56I feel like death
38:57was too easy
38:57on him.
39:00I would have rather
39:01seen him
39:03spend his
39:05life in prison
39:07and be brutally
39:09sodomized
39:11by
39:12not one
39:13but many people.
39:15I would have liked
39:16him to be in fear
39:17for his life
39:17of every one
39:18of his days.
39:21I would have liked
39:22everything
39:24that he did
39:25to me
39:26and to these people.
39:28I would have liked
39:29to have him relive
39:30it every
39:32day.
39:37I feel like
39:37he got off
39:38too easy.
39:40I do.
39:41I think he
39:44he got off
39:45easy.
39:49So that's the truth
39:50and that's how
39:50I feel.
40:04I wouldn't be
40:05the person
40:05I am today
40:07if this
40:08didn't happen
40:09the way
40:09that it did.
40:11It made me
40:12stronger.
40:14It made me
40:16live my life
40:17with no regrets.
40:20It made me
40:22recognize
40:24who the true
40:25people in my
40:26life were.
40:27And there is
40:28hope.
40:30And there is
40:31more to life
40:33than dysfunction.
40:36You know
40:37I'm alive
40:37to tell my story.
40:39You know
40:42and in
40:43some odd
40:44way
40:46I am thankful
40:47for this
40:48experience
40:49as painful
40:51as it is
40:54because
40:57it's helping
40:58me heal.
41:00and that's
41:00what I want
41:01for all
41:01people
41:02that have
41:02suffered
41:03abuse
41:04is healing
41:05and to be
41:05better
41:07and beautiful.
41:19I hate him.
41:20Sight of him
41:21makes me sick.
41:22I think
41:23Wesley put him
41:24in the closet
41:24and left him.
41:26I don't know
41:27how they felt
41:27but I think
41:28about it all the time.
41:30I chose this man
41:31to be my husband
41:32and I
41:33that's
41:34hard pill
41:34to swallow.
41:34to swallow.
41:35I love it.
41:35I love it.
41:35I love it.
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