- 12 hours ago
The Killer Among Us Season 1 Episode 2
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🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:10Nothing compares to the ties of teenage friendship in the small town of Slapout, Alabama.
00:16Unbreakable bonds are formed while riding four-wheelers,
00:20taking the truck on dirt country roads,
00:22and bonfires in the middle of the woods.
00:25As friends, we were all close-knit, practically family.
00:30They loved each other so much, and they would do anything for each other.
00:35But when the heart of that close-knit friend group,
00:38Anna Catherine Cardwell, is found murdered in her own home the day after Valentine's Day,
00:44loyalty turns to suspicion.
00:47It was somebody that she knew, somebody that she invited into the home.
00:51When we found out that Anna Catherine had let her killer in,
00:56we immediately start thinking, well, who could have been?
00:59We didn't know who to trust.
01:01I couldn't imagine anybody in her circle being capable of doing something like that.
01:07That is an absolute betrayal.
01:10Because here, in the Slapout inner circle,
01:14whoever's riding shotgun might just be wielding the gun.
01:41In Slapout, Alabama, we have one blinking light.
01:45In a small town, everyone knows everyone.
01:50The most important things to Anna Catherine were her family, her friends.
01:56When Anna Catherine graduated from high school,
01:59she wanted to follow her friends and go to Southern Union.
02:03But when she entered her second year of college, she had moved back home.
02:16That day, I was off from work.
02:20Anna Catherine was sleeping in.
02:21She didn't have classes that day, so I stuck my head in her bedroom just to check on her.
02:27And she was still sleeping, so I shut the door.
02:31Went about to do my errands.
02:34I was gone maybe an hour.
02:40When I came back home, the first thing I noticed was her car was missing.
02:51And when I walked in the back door,
02:57I saw blood everywhere.
03:03And bloody footprints headed to the kitchen.
03:11And then it wasn't far into the kitchen that she was laying there on the floor.
03:20And I grabbed the phone.
03:22My name is Paula Cardwell.
03:26And I just came home and my daughter's dead in the floor.
03:30How old is she?
03:31She's 20.
03:33She's 20.
03:33Oh, my God, she's dead.
03:36Oh, my God.
03:37Please send someone.
03:40Somebody has shot her in the head or something.
03:45Oh, my God.
03:46Oh, my God.
03:48Honey, we've got people on the way for you, okay?
03:54What is her name, hon?
03:56Her name is Anna Catherine Carswell.
04:05I remember the ambulance showing up.
04:07They went in and came straight back out.
04:10And I just remember several sheriff's deputies showing up.
04:16We arrived on the scene, and the 911 caller, Ms. Cardwell,
04:21was outside of the residence, very distraught.
04:25We did speak to her and just get an overview of what she saw.
04:30Before we went into the house.
04:34There didn't appear to be any type of forced entry into the residence.
04:41We walked into the garage,
04:44made sure that there's no one else in the garage,
04:49and opened up the back door.
04:56There was a blood trail leading to the kitchen area.
05:03Anna was there on the floor in the kitchen.
05:07It just looked like just a horrendous scene.
05:14It was obvious to us that there was one fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head.
05:22We spoke to Ms. Cardwell, who said that she left the residence around 9-15,
05:28and the 911 call was placed around 10-15.
05:32So we knew there was about an hour window there for the crime to have taken place.
05:39My son was working in Clanton, which was about a 30, 45-minute drive.
05:44My husband was up north on a business trip.
05:49So I kept trying to call him, and finally he answered,
05:52and I told him what had happened.
05:54And one of his co-workers got him on a plane and got him home.
05:58The father and the brother, who also lived there,
06:02they were both out of town working at the time.
06:04So they were not involved in this.
06:09Although the immediate family is ruled out,
06:11in the kitchen, investigators noticed a telling detail within the crime scene.
06:16So based upon the clothing she was wearing,
06:19which is kind of something you would go to bed in,
06:23and the fact that there were no busted windows or doors kicked in,
06:28it did indicate to us that she most likely knew her killer.
06:32She must have gotten up from bed and answered the door.
06:38The overall condition of the house was immaculate, really.
06:41There was not anything obvious that appeared to be missing.
06:47If their hunch is right, and Anna did let her own murderer in through the front door,
06:53there must have been familiarity.
06:58Investigators must track this bloody trail
07:01and figure out how Anna ended up dead on the floor in the kitchen.
07:06The blood trail is telling us that as she's running, she's bleeding.
07:10The blood is striking the ground,
07:12and you can tell her movements from just being able to look at the blood patterns
07:17and see where she had gone.
07:19Three spent shell casings recovered from this area of the hallway.
07:24The blood began where the hallway pretty much meets the den.
07:28It appeared that Anna had been shot there in the hallway,
07:32and she began to run through the residence.
07:37There was a bloody handprint, kind of on the wall, on the door,
07:43as if she was trying to escape, and almost did.
07:49The shell casings in the residence were from a 9mm handgun.
07:55It would appear that the murder weapon was going to be a 9mm handgun.
08:00Once they have assessed the scene,
08:02investigators want to turn back to Paula Cardwell immediately for more information.
08:07She is still in shock.
08:10You don't ever want to see a mother whose child has been murdered.
08:17It's like you're just frozen.
08:18You don't know what to do, and you just do something.
08:24The detective just asked me,
08:26was there anything that I noticed that was missing?
08:28And I said, well, her car's gone.
08:31When we realized the vehicle was missing,
08:33we put out a BOLO,
08:37which basically means be on the lookout.
08:40Meanwhile, Paula begins the near-impossible task
08:43of calling close family and friends with the news,
08:46and word quickly spreads.
08:49My phone kept ding, ding, dinging,
08:51and seeing, like, everyone texting me,
08:54like, did you hear, like, something's wrong.
08:57And then friends started showing up,
09:00and family, and there were a lot of people from her friend group.
09:03It was just a yard full of people,
09:06just everybody, you know, confused,
09:08and can't believe what has happened to her.
09:13Law enforcement takes this opportunity
09:15to ask friends and family about the victim.
09:19Anna Catherine was who she was,
09:21and she was proud of it,
09:23and I loved that confidence about her
09:25and that ability to have such good self-image.
09:30When Anna Catherine graduated from high school,
09:33she wanted to be a school teacher.
09:35She started taking classes,
09:37so I would love to think that's what she would have been,
09:41because she was very good with children.
09:43I don't think she knew a stranger.
09:44If you were a stranger, she would make you into a friend.
09:48You could not ignore her.
09:49That's how her personality was.
09:51I mean, she was the little princess,
09:54and then she was also the little tomboy.
09:58She was so silly that I could just picture it in my head right now,
10:02her hair just slinging around in her mouth,
10:04wide open, like, being crazy.
10:09People go to a couple of different high schools,
10:12even private schools in the area,
10:14but Slapout's a small community,
10:16and so it's pretty common for all of them to be friends with each other.
10:21We always had somewhere to go and something to do.
10:26Anna Catherine had different friends from this group,
10:28and that group, she was just the person that hung out with everybody.
10:31That just goes back to how kind she was.
10:35She loved her friends deeply,
10:37and they were very important to her,
10:40and she loved being part of a group and doing things.
10:48I think the closest friend that was always at her house every single day,
10:51no matter what, was Lacey.
10:54They both confided in each other.
10:55She would tell Lacey everything,
10:58and Lacey would tell her everything.
11:01Detectives want to speak to this best friend
11:04who is grieving at the scene.
11:06Then our conversation with Lacey,
11:09she was upset, she was emotional,
11:11but she really couldn't tell us anybody
11:14who she suspected of committing this crime.
11:18She did not indicate that Anna had a problem with anyone.
11:22I mean, everybody seemed to love Anna.
11:24Everybody got along with Anna.
11:28As friends, we have always been, like, close-knit
11:31and knew everyone.
11:33We knew everyone's business.
11:35There was no one that had that type of anger
11:38that I could think of
11:40or that anyone could think of
11:41that could possibly even have the capacity
11:43to even think to do that.
11:46But I know the whole community felt scared.
11:50For those closest to Anna on her front lawn,
11:53it's unsettling to think someone in their circle
11:55cannot be trusted.
11:59Everyone's crying, everyone's hugging,
12:01but you're glancing at the faces,
12:03and you just wonder if anyone there
12:06could have known something.
12:10Here, you clearly have a beautiful young girl
12:14that is murdered in her own home.
12:16So one of the first things that we start thinking about
12:18is, is there a boyfriend?
12:20Is there an ex-boyfriend?
12:21Is there some type of personal connection
12:24to this young girl?
12:27Anna Catherine had recently started dating Nick.
12:32They seemed to really get along well
12:34and enjoy each other's company.
12:38Anna Catherine liked the guys that were fun,
12:41that were polite and good to her,
12:43and that were good to her family and her friends.
12:46And if they were not,
12:48she just wouldn't stay with them.
12:52Detectives learned that one of those ex-boyfriends,
12:55Todd, is among the group grieving at the crime scene.
13:00Todd was a previous boyfriend,
13:03and they dated for a while,
13:06I mean, a year or longer,
13:08and just had recently broke up
13:11before Anna Catherine started dating Nick.
13:15All of Anna's friends were there.
13:17Lacey was there.
13:19Todd was there.
13:22I didn't see Nick.
13:24The night before was Valentine's Day.
13:28And according to Ms. Cardwell,
13:30Nick had come to the house
13:32just to spend time with Anna.
13:34He was there until approximately
13:362 o'clock in the morning.
13:39Everyone was very confused,
13:42trying to figure out
13:43who could have possibly done that.
13:45And it just kind of made you think.
13:50Coming up.
13:51With Nick being the new guy in the group,
13:53he definitely was questionable.
13:56Todd had texted her
13:58the night before she was killed,
14:00and I think there were
14:01maybe still some feelings there.
14:03They called me on the radio and said,
14:06you're not going to believe this.
14:26The tight circle of friends of Anna Catherine Cardwell
14:29are gathered on her front lawn
14:31to grapple with her mysterious murder.
14:34conspicuously missing among them
14:36is Anna's new boyfriend, Nick.
14:41I was a little shocked later in the day
14:44that Nick did not show up.
14:48With Nick's absence at the house quite glaring,
14:52investigators get even more curious
14:53and gather more intel.
14:57Anna Catherine just told me about him
14:59and that he's a really good guy
15:00and that he was really kind and nice to her.
15:02And, I mean,
15:03she thought he's really good looking.
15:06I had met him.
15:07He was a very nice young man.
15:08He was good to Anna Catherine.
15:10And he told me one day,
15:12he said,
15:13that's just the sweetest girl I've ever met.
15:15So they were really happy together.
15:18Anna was definitely head over heels for him.
15:22But with Nick being the new guy in the group,
15:25he definitely was questionable.
15:27He was the last one to see her.
15:30Nick was the last person really with Anna,
15:34besides her mother.
15:35We were given his name and number
15:38from some of the friend group.
15:41Finally, that afternoon,
15:42Nick surfaces
15:43and agrees to meet with investigators at the station.
15:50When we interviewed Nick,
15:52he did look distraught.
15:54It didn't look like he was hiding anything.
15:57He was immediately very forthcoming
15:59with where he was,
16:00what he had been doing.
16:01And he appeared to be
16:03very shaken up about the situation.
16:06But is there things about him we don't know?
16:08Is there a part of him
16:10that leads us to believe
16:12that he has a violent past?
16:16The first thing that we noticed
16:18is there's no,
16:19what we would call a rap sheet,
16:21but we got to look further.
16:26During our conversation with Nick,
16:28he did say that the night before
16:30she was killed,
16:31they had decided
16:32they would officially be a couple.
16:38So he had come to the house
16:40just to spend time with her
16:41on Valentine's Day.
16:46He was there until approximately
16:472 o'clock in the morning.
16:50I knew he had to work the next day,
16:52so I said,
16:53Anna Catherine,
16:54it's getting late.
16:55You need to go to bed.
16:57And she said,
16:57okay, Mama.
16:59And in a little bit,
17:01I heard her door close
17:02and that was it.
17:06Once we got Anna's cell phone,
17:08there were some text messages
17:10after 2 o'clock in the morning
17:12to Nick,
17:14you know,
17:14things like,
17:15I miss you already,
17:16that sort of thing.
17:17So they did leave
17:18on good terms.
17:20So what he was telling us
17:22was accurate.
17:24We asked Nick,
17:26obviously,
17:26where he was
17:27the morning of the 15th.
17:30His response was
17:32that he was at home
17:33asleep,
17:34alone,
17:35which could be troubling
17:37if you're trying
17:38to prove an alibi.
17:40Nick said
17:41he was woken up
17:43by a cop
17:44telling him
17:44what had happened to Anna.
17:47From the way
17:48he answered our questions
17:49and his demeanor,
17:51it appeared
17:52that he was being truthful.
17:56So Nick's,
17:57you know,
17:58still under consideration,
17:59but not heavily.
18:02Detectives
18:02aren't ruling Nick
18:03out as a suspect
18:04and they also
18:05can't help but think
18:06that Anna's murder
18:07the day after
18:07Valentine's Day
18:08is no coincidence.
18:10So,
18:11they turned their attention
18:12to Anna's ex,
18:13the one who'd been
18:14present at the crime scene,
18:16Todd.
18:18His father
18:19is a well-respected
18:20businessman
18:21in Elmore County.
18:23their family
18:24is fairly well-known,
18:26nothing out of the ordinary
18:28that would raise
18:29suspicion towards him.
18:31So Todd and Anna,
18:33I know they dated
18:34for a long time.
18:37Police learned
18:38that the two
18:38stayed in touch
18:39and that Todd
18:40had texted her
18:41on Valentine's Day.
18:44Todd had texted her
18:46the night
18:46before she was killed.
18:48Anna Catherine
18:49was excited
18:50that Todd
18:51had reached out
18:52to her
18:52and I think
18:53there were
18:54maybe still
18:55some feelings there.
18:57Was Todd's text
18:58meant to rekindle
18:59a lost love
19:00or could it have been
19:01something more sinister?
19:06We brought him in
19:07and talked to him.
19:09We read him
19:10as Miranda writes
19:11and we got a statement
19:12from Todd.
19:14According to Todd,
19:15they broke up
19:16very amicably
19:17but there's always
19:18a possibility
19:19that we're just
19:20getting the story
19:21that they want us
19:22to hear.
19:24We did ask Todd
19:25where he was
19:26that morning.
19:30He advised us
19:31that he was in school
19:32out of town
19:33at college
19:34about an hour away.
19:39We were able
19:40to verify
19:40that that was true.
19:41Pretty much alleviated
19:43him as a suspect
19:43at that point.
19:47Just as they wrap up
19:49Todd's statement
19:50on the afternoon
19:50of the murder,
19:51police get their
19:52strongest lead yet.
19:54A hit on the bolo
19:56for Anna's car.
19:58About 5 o'clock
19:59that afternoon,
20:00one of our
20:01deputy sheriffs
20:02located the vehicle.
20:06The car was
20:07in the parking lot
20:08of a local
20:09grocery store.
20:10He was able
20:11to see the tag
20:13on the front
20:13that said Anna.
20:16The car is located
20:17about 10 miles away
20:18from the house.
20:20Finding her car
20:21was huge
20:22for the investigation.
20:23That car is basically
20:25a rolling crime scene.
20:43Mere hours
20:44after the murder
20:45of 20-year-old
20:46Anna Cardwell,
20:48a hit comes in
20:49on her car
20:50just miles away
20:51from where it was stolen
20:52from the crime scene.
20:57I remember them
20:58saying, hey,
20:59they have located
21:00the vehicle.
21:01And it was downtown
21:02in the Winn-Dixie parking lot.
21:05All right,
21:06we've got crime scene A,
21:08the residence,
21:09and now we've got
21:10a secondary crime scene
21:11that we've got to
21:13start processing also.
21:16That unit
21:17dusted for fingerprints,
21:19collected bottles
21:21from the vehicle,
21:23items that they thought
21:24we may be able
21:25to get DNA off of.
21:29While investigators
21:30await results,
21:32Anna's friends
21:33take the search
21:34into their own hands.
21:36So then we knew
21:38where her car was,
21:39but still,
21:41where's this person?
21:42I hopped in the car
21:44with Lacey,
21:44and I just remember
21:46driving around
21:47just trying to figure out
21:48what's going on.
21:51We even drove
21:53to the Winn-Dixie
21:54after the cops
21:55got the car.
21:57And we just drove
21:57around the parking lot.
21:59Looking around,
22:02we were so determined
22:03to find out
22:04what's going on.
22:07With the car dumped
22:08just miles
22:09from the crime scene,
22:11investigators followed
22:11the hunch
22:12that the killer
22:12was close to Anna.
22:14With several of her
22:15more recent romantic
22:16interests ruled out,
22:19police continue
22:19to question Anna's friends.
22:22Who knows Anna best?
22:24Who is she closest to?
22:25Who does she spend
22:27the most time with?
22:28Who would know
22:29the most details
22:30about Anna's life?
22:33Lacey was one
22:34of the first friends
22:35investigators spoke with
22:36at the crime scene.
22:37But now they know
22:38they need to dig deeper
22:39with Anna's best friend.
22:42Is she holding back
22:43information that could
22:45possibly be helpful?
22:47So we call her back in
22:49and get a written
22:50statement from her.
22:52At the station,
22:53they pressed
22:54Lacey further
22:54about who Anna
22:55was hanging out
22:56with most lately.
22:58So at the time,
23:00Lacey was dating
23:01a guy named
23:02Josh Kaspari.
23:04Lacey introduced
23:05Anna to Josh
23:06and they became
23:08friends.
23:10Anna was always
23:11hanging out
23:12with Lacey and Josh,
23:13whether it was
23:14just the three of them
23:15or whether it was
23:16Josh and Lacey
23:17and Josh's roommate,
23:19Cody,
23:19or anybody else
23:21in the group.
23:24Cody was more
23:26of a subtle
23:27type person.
23:29Like, he was
23:30outgoing,
23:30he was always
23:31with the crowd,
23:31but like,
23:32he wasn't that
23:33loudmouth like Josh.
23:35We all clicked
23:37because we were
23:37all goofy
23:38and it didn't matter
23:39what you said
23:40because it was,
23:41everybody's gonna be
23:42laughing at somebody.
23:45Detectives ask
23:46if Lacey had spoken
23:47with Anna in the morning
23:49or night before
23:50her murder.
23:54That morning,
23:55Lacey tried to text her,
23:57couldn't get a hold
23:58of her.
23:59Well, she didn't
23:59really think anything
24:00right away
24:01because Anna always
24:03was sleeping in
24:04if she didn't have
24:04something to do.
24:07Lacey stated
24:08that another friend
24:09called her later
24:10that morning
24:11and told her
24:13that Anna
24:14had been killed.
24:16Lacey called Josh
24:18and told him
24:19what had happened
24:20to Anna.
24:22Lacey gets in her car
24:23and goes
24:24to the Cardwell's house
24:25to be there
24:26with the family
24:26to just try
24:27to comfort them.
24:31Detective Evans
24:32is curious
24:33why Josh Kaspari
24:34did not meet her
24:35at the crime scene
24:36to be with
24:37the friend group.
24:39Lacey explains
24:40that she and Josh
24:40were not exactly
24:42a model of stability.
24:44Lacey and Josh
24:46really had
24:47like a crazy
24:47relationship.
24:49Oh, I'm going to
24:50break up with you
24:50this day
24:50and then we're
24:51going to get back
24:51together this day.
24:54At this time,
24:56she does advise us
24:57that Josh was not
24:59happy with Anna,
25:00that Anna convinced
25:01Lacey to break up
25:03with Josh.
25:04She didn't think
25:05Josh was a good guy.
25:06She didn't think
25:07Josh was good
25:08for Lacey.
25:11Anna Catherine
25:12was quick
25:12to let Lacey know
25:13you deserve better
25:15and would encourage
25:16Lacey to find
25:18someone else.
25:23Anna did definitely
25:24have high standards
25:25for her friends
25:26as far as like
25:27she wanted them
25:28to have a guy
25:29that treated them right,
25:30loved them
25:30for who they were,
25:32treated them
25:32how they were
25:33supposed to be treated
25:33with respect.
25:35Josh and Anna
25:37would talk about Lacey.
25:38It drove Anna crazy
25:40to be in the middle
25:41of the drama.
25:44I think she was
25:45a lot more
25:46wrapped up
25:47in that drama
25:48than we realized.
26:06Investigators have learned
26:07that Anna Cardwell
26:08was trying to convince
26:09her best friend Lacey
26:10to break up
26:11with Josh Gaspari.
26:15Lacey was actually
26:16trying to end it
26:18for good this time
26:21because she was
26:22trying to, you know,
26:24move on.
26:25So detectives
26:26bring in other friends
26:27for questioning
26:28and what they have to say
26:29raises even more
26:31red flags.
26:33They said
26:36Josh blamed Anna
26:38for the relationship
26:39with Lacey
26:40going south.
26:42We realized
26:43that a lot of people
26:45were scared of Josh.
26:47If everybody else
26:48in the group
26:48has that opinion
26:50of him,
26:51are you trying
26:52to cover for him?
26:54The more the friend group
26:55is comfortable talking,
26:57the more tea
26:58gets spilled.
26:59They said,
27:00hey, if you're
27:02going to talk
27:02to anybody,
27:03you need to talk
27:04to Josh Gaspari.
27:06During the course
27:07of our investigation,
27:09we realized
27:10that a lot of people
27:11did consider him
27:13to be the type
27:13of person
27:14that could do this.
27:16They waste no time
27:17bringing in
27:18Josh Gaspari
27:19for an interview.
27:21Like so many
27:22of Anna's friends,
27:23he comes in
27:23voluntarily,
27:25deeply touched
27:26by the tragedy
27:27of his dear friend's death.
27:30When Josh Gaspari
27:32came in
27:32for an interview,
27:33he came in,
27:34he sat down,
27:35he talked to investigators.
27:38He seemed like
27:39he was genuinely
27:40in disbelief.
27:42He voluntarily came in
27:44and gave a statement
27:45for his whereabouts
27:46for that morning.
27:48He said that he had
27:49left his vehicle
27:50at a friend's house
27:52and he had called
27:53his mother
27:53to come pick him up
27:54and take him
27:55to his truck
27:55at a friend's house
27:57down the road
27:57and that she had
27:58come and picked him up.
28:01His demeanor
28:01didn't stand out
28:03as being suspicious.
28:06Nothing that really
28:07drew any alarms
28:08from us.
28:09He just seemed like
28:10one of the crowd,
28:11one of the group.
28:12But we knew
28:13we were going to have
28:14to do a little more digging.
28:18And it doesn't take
28:19a steam shovel
28:20to uncover
28:21the real dirt.
28:25The next day
28:27on the 16th,
28:28we had another investigator
28:30who had gone
28:31to interview
28:31Josh's mother
28:33and he called me
28:34on the phone
28:35and said
28:36she told him
28:37that she had indeed
28:39picked her son up.
28:40But it was
28:41in the Winn-Dixie parking lot
28:43where Anna Cardwell's
28:45car was dropped off.
28:47So at this point,
28:48his mother
28:49destroyed his alibi.
28:51He had lied to us
28:52about his whereabouts.
28:54He was located
28:57where the car
28:58was ditched
28:59after the murder.
29:01So he's immediately
29:02in that timeline.
29:05This is a major
29:06turning point
29:07in the investigation.
29:09It's just 24 hours
29:11after Anna's murder
29:12and Josh's own mother
29:13has ruined
29:14his alibi.
29:15This gives police
29:16the ammo they need
29:17to obtain a search warrant
29:19for Josh's home.
29:21They need more
29:22than catching him
29:23in a lie.
29:24They need
29:25a smoking gun.
29:27We were able
29:28to enter
29:29Josh Kaspari's residence.
29:31The house
29:32was fairly orderly
29:33for a couple of guys
29:34to be living in it.
29:36Nothing really
29:36out of the ordinary there
29:38until we started
29:40searching the residence.
29:42As we began
29:43our search,
29:44we located
29:45numerous firearms
29:47throughout
29:48the entire residence.
29:51There were
29:52shotguns,
29:53rifles,
29:54pistols.
29:56This was
29:57an arsenal
29:58of firearms.
30:04I took
30:05a list
30:06of
30:06what we had
30:07recovered,
30:08handed it
30:09to dispatch,
30:10and asked
30:11them to start
30:11running the weapons.
30:14You run
30:15the serial number
30:16for those guns
30:16to find out
30:17its origin.
30:20They called me
30:20on the radio
30:21and said,
30:22you're not going
30:23to believe this,
30:23but all these weapons
30:25are coming back
30:26stolen from our jurisdiction.
30:33November of 2011,
30:34we got a call
30:35of a home invasion
30:36robbery.
30:41A former police officer
30:43was the victim
30:44of a home invasion.
30:47These masked men
30:48bust into his house
30:49and stick a gun
30:51to his head
30:51and tell him
30:52they're going to kill him.
30:53They pistol whipped him
30:55and his gun collection
30:56was taken.
30:58The cache of guns
31:00implicates Josh Kaspari
31:02in the home invasion.
31:05But does it also
31:06implicate him
31:07in Anna's murder?
31:12And as we start
31:13squeezing those walls in,
31:16it's all about
31:16Josh Kaspari.
31:19We're looking at
31:20someone who is capable
31:22of that type of violence.
31:36It's almost 24 hours
31:38after Anna's murder
31:39and investigators
31:41now have a strong suspicion
31:42that Josh Kaspari
31:44is her killer.
31:48We're starting to see
31:50a complete picture
31:51of the violence
31:54that he's capable of.
31:56During the search
31:57with Josh Kaspari's residence,
31:59there was also
31:59a safe found.
32:01We opened the safe
32:02and there were steroids
32:04and a large amount
32:05of currency.
32:07And then there were
32:08two handguns in there,
32:09both 9 millimeters.
32:14So we had to send
32:15them both off
32:15for testing.
32:18Josh is arrested
32:19for home invasion
32:20and brought in
32:21for interrogation.
32:23Now they need
32:24to hear from Josh
32:25what actually happened.
32:27It wasn't going
32:28to be easy
32:29to get the truth.
32:32This guy
32:33was a huge
32:34steroid taker.
32:36When he walks
32:37in the interview room,
32:37he's actually
32:38flexing his muscle.
32:43It kind of painted
32:45the picture
32:45of just an
32:46egotistical bully.
32:49We go back
32:50to Kaspari
32:52and re-interview him
32:54this time
32:55about the home invasion.
33:06He implicates
33:08his roommate,
33:10Cody Abernathy,
33:11in the home invasion.
33:13While investigators
33:15continue to take
33:16Josh's statement
33:17at the sheriff's office,
33:18detectives track
33:19down his roommate
33:20and the quiet member
33:21of the slap-out
33:22friend group,
33:23Cody Abernathy.
33:28We then go get
33:29Mr. Abernathy
33:30and arrest him
33:33for the home invasion,
33:36interview him.
33:38I think Cody
33:39was open
33:40with law enforcement
33:41because he realized
33:42the walls
33:43had really closed
33:45in on him.
33:47Abernathy's statement
33:47to us was,
33:48you know,
33:49basically,
33:49you just do
33:50what Josh
33:51wants you to do.
33:52They're all scared
33:54of Josh.
33:56In exchange
33:56for leniency,
33:57Cody cooperates
33:58and confesses
33:59that Josh
34:00had coerced him
34:01into the home invasion.
34:03But that admission
34:04is immediately
34:04overshadowed
34:05by a far more
34:06significant revelation.
34:09we asked him
34:10if he knew anything
34:11about the murder.
34:17So he admits
34:19to taking Josh
34:19up there
34:20on the 15th
34:21of February
34:22and dropping him off
34:24and leaving him
34:26there at the
34:26Cardwell house
34:27in the early morning
34:28of the murder.
34:30I mean,
34:30you've got someone
34:31who can actually
34:32place him there
34:33in an awfully
34:36questionable context.
34:38Being that close
34:39to the actual incident,
34:41you know,
34:42that's important.
34:45So now you have
34:46Cody Abernathy
34:47committing the home invasion
34:48with Josh.
34:49You have him dropping
34:50Josh off
34:51at Anna's home
34:52not too long
34:53before Anna
34:53was killed
34:54in her house.
34:58Did he know
34:59Josh Caspar
35:00was going there
35:00to kill her?
35:05What did Josh tell him?
35:07So those are things
35:08to where we had
35:09to sort that out.
35:10For Cody,
35:11that was kind of
35:12the difference
35:12between are you
35:13looking at
35:1410 to 99 or life
35:16for being an accomplice
35:17of murder
35:17or are you looking
35:19at a smaller sentence
35:21in connection
35:22to the home invasion
35:23and for,
35:24you know,
35:25admitting your role
35:26in basically
35:27helping this crime
35:29occur even if you
35:30didn't know
35:30he was going there
35:31to kill her?
35:33Whether or not
35:34Cody knew
35:35what Josh
35:37was going to go do
35:38to Anna,
35:38I still don't know
35:40the answer to that.
35:41I don't want to think
35:42that he did know.
35:45I hope he didn't know.
35:48Cody claims
35:49he had no idea
35:50Josh was planning
35:51on killing Anna,
35:52but the intel
35:53he provides
35:54helps investigators
35:55hone in
35:55on Josh's interrogation.
36:00I think there was
36:01a part of him
36:02that would want
36:03to unload this
36:04and get it
36:05off his chest.
36:08Hey, boss, man.
36:09Why don't you
36:10listen to me?
36:12I don't know what you've got
36:13going on in your life
36:14and I'm not trying
36:16to be your daddy,
36:18but you've got to get
36:20beyond this
36:20I'm the baddest mother
36:21talking to him
36:22and I'm going to
36:24and you get to listen
36:24to somebody.
36:26You see these shoes
36:27right here?
36:29Those shoes right there
36:32just fisting their
36:32step in front of each
36:34other.
36:34I'm going to go over there
36:35and talk to the DA.
36:36And you know
36:37what we're going
36:37to talk about?
36:39Ask me.
36:41Sir,
36:43we're going to talk
36:43about whether or not
36:44you're going to have
36:45a chance to be
36:46off or die.
37:08Josh Gaspari
37:09has been arrested
37:09for the murder
37:10of his friend
37:11Anna Cardone.
37:12But he still
37:13won't explain
37:14why he did it.
37:19And everything
37:20happened like a blur.
37:22I don't know
37:22how to explain it.
37:23Like, it wasn't meant
37:24to happen.
37:24I didn't have it
37:25planned out like this.
37:27Y'all look at me
37:28like I'm a monster
37:31and all this.
37:31I don't know
37:32how to explain it.
37:34He needs to understand
37:35that, hey,
37:36this is a cold-blooded
37:37killing and that
37:39you need to give
37:40a plausible explanation
37:41and a truthful
37:42explanation
37:43on exactly
37:44what's going on.
37:58With Josh
37:59claiming memory
37:59lapsed,
38:00the investigation
38:01turns to cold,
38:02hard science.
38:05The prints
38:06that we were able
38:07to extract
38:08from Anna
38:09Carwell's car
38:10were sent
38:11to the Department
38:11of Fransic Science
38:12and those
38:13particular prints
38:14came back
38:15to Josh Gaspari.
38:20Investigators
38:21can place
38:21Josh inside
38:22Anna's car
38:23that was stolen
38:24from the crime scene.
38:25But they need
38:27to confirm
38:27that one of the
38:28dozens of guns
38:28Josh had stolen
38:30was used
38:31to kill
38:31Anna.
38:33There were
38:34two 9mms
38:35in the safe
38:36from Josh's house
38:37so we had
38:38to send them
38:39both off
38:39to the Department
38:40of Forensic Science
38:41for examination.
38:46And one of them
38:47does come back
38:48as the murder weapon.
38:51The autopsy results
38:52come in
38:53and tell the story.
38:55The medical examiner
38:57performed an autopsy
38:58on Anna's body
38:59and it showed
39:00a total
39:01of four gunshot wounds.
39:03Two rounds
39:04that went
39:05through her back
39:05and then
39:06another round
39:07to the chest
39:09and she's still up
39:10and she's still fighting
39:11and she's still
39:12trying to get away
39:14until he ultimately
39:15brings her back
39:16into the house
39:17and executes her.
39:21I think he drug her
39:23back in
39:23from the back door
39:25and kind of pushed her
39:26down onto the floor
39:28and shot her.
39:31Just standing
39:32over somebody
39:32the moment
39:34before you take
39:34their life
39:35I think that's
39:36a power thing.
39:42In exchange
39:43for his cooperation
39:44Cody isn't charged
39:46as an accomplice
39:47to the crime
39:47but he gets
39:50ten years
39:50for the home invasion.
39:53Josh is charged
39:54with capital murder.
39:59Lacey gets the text
40:01and says
40:02well Josh
40:03has been arrested.
40:05All of us
40:06were just
40:07started bawling
40:09crying with her
40:11as she was
40:12unconsolable.
40:15I don't think
40:16that Lacey knew
40:17what to do
40:18at that point.
40:20Your best friend
40:21is gone
40:22and then
40:23your boyfriend
40:25was charged
40:26with her murder.
40:28How do you deal
40:29with that?
40:33I still don't
40:34understand.
40:36Everyone would think
40:37that he would do it.
40:44Justice was very important
40:46to me
40:47and my family
40:49because
40:49that's the last thing
40:51I could do
40:52for Anna Catherine.
40:53What else could I do?
40:54But I can get justice
40:55for her.
40:58So it was my last job
40:59as a mom.
41:03We decided
41:04to seek
41:05the death penalty.
41:06When the death penalty
41:08is on the table
41:08Josh finally
41:09comes clean
41:10and owns up
41:11to the premeditated murder.
41:16That story was
41:18I blamed Anna
41:19for my relationship
41:21with Lacey
41:22that went south.
41:23It was Anna's fault
41:24and I went
41:25to her house
41:26to basically
41:27get revenge
41:28on Anna
41:29for taking away
41:30something that I love.
41:33Joshua Kaspari
41:34pled
41:35to the capital murder
41:37of Anna Cardwell.
41:38Murder in the course
41:39of burglary
41:40in the first degree
41:41and in exchange
41:43for giving the full story
41:44in open court
41:46his punishment
41:47was life
41:48without the possibility
41:49of parole.
41:55I feel like
41:56it did make us all
41:57grow up
41:58really quick
42:00and realize
42:01like this is real
42:02and it can happen
42:03to you
42:03and it can happen
42:04in your circle
42:05and it can happen
42:05in your town
42:06so when it's
42:07your friend
42:08someone you know
42:09you went to school
42:10with
42:10you worked with
42:11that is insane
42:13because it still
42:14don't seem real.
42:16We learned that
42:17always tell each other
42:18that you love them
42:19and spend as much time
42:20as you can.
42:21You don't ever know
42:22when the last day
42:23will be.
42:27she did make a difference
42:29with other people.
42:32She was just
42:33an amazing person.
42:38Josh Kaspari
42:39has tried to escape
42:40from prison twice
42:42unsuccessfully.
42:44Thankfully
42:44he remains
42:45incarcerated
42:46where he will be
42:47for the rest
42:47of his life.
42:49For Anna Cardwell's
42:50family and friends
42:51Anna's legacy lives on
42:53but the promise
42:54of safety
42:55within the friend group
42:56remains forever broken.
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