- 48 minutes ago
A killer guns down a businessman during a brazen home invasion. The puzzling evidence seems to indicate the crime was well planned and highly calculated. Police explore a variety of motives before they unmask the mastermind behind the attack.
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00:02What happened that morning?
00:10DJ had woken up and saw an unknown assailant that had a firearm pointed at Roger.
00:17A man in dark clothes with a ski mask ordered Roger to tie her up.
00:24She heard the assailant say, stop or I'll shoot.
00:27Then she hears a gunshot.
00:33It appears that Roger fought back and tried to unmask the assailant.
00:40They found a backpack that had duct tape, some nylon rope, as well as a knife.
00:46He brought all the tools to commit a murder.
00:52It did feel like it was premeditated that my dad and mom were the target.
00:58Who stands to gain from the death of Roger?
01:01Roger wanted out of the marriage and was concerned about DJ taking his money.
01:07You believe Roger may have staged this attack?
01:12My impression was Roger knew who the assailant was, and Roger had some play in his demise.
01:33Hi, I'm Paula Zahn, and tonight we're on the case in Douglas County, Colorado, a stunning region between Denver and
01:42Colorado Springs.
01:43It was here in the shadows of the towering red rock landscape that 51-year-old Roger Dean was gunned
01:51down in his own driveway.
01:52The terrifying details of what looked like a brutal home invasion murder had police baffled.
01:59Then, as they analyzed the evidence further, what they found cast a cloud of suspicion on everyone in Roger's inner
02:09circle.
02:14November 21st, 1985.
02:18It was just after 7.30 on a cold, breezy Thursday morning when the Douglas County Sheriff's Office got a
02:25troubling report about gunfire in a safe section of town.
02:30Can you describe the bizarre 911 call that came in that morning?
02:36It was just one of those strange calls that you don't think you're going to get.
02:40911, we're here, Max.
02:42Shots fired man down in a cul-de-sac.
02:45It's a small community. Everyone knew each other.
02:48They knew Roger Dean, and Roger was dying right there in front of them.
02:55When Detective Tony Spurlock arrived, he saw 51-year-old Roger Dean sprawled out in a pool of blood in
03:03his driveway.
03:05Roger was hit in the chest and stomach area.
03:10Did you get the impression that Roger's injuries were really severe?
03:16I had no idea how many times he had been shot, but the way that the paramedics were working on
03:22him led me to believe that something was seriously wrong.
03:26As emergency workers managed to get the beloved businessman into the ambulance, officers spoke with Roger's wife, DJ, who was
03:35in a state of shock, standing barefoot in just a bathrobe, trying to relay the life-shattering series of events
03:43that had just unfolded.
03:50What did DJ Dean tell police had happened?
03:53She told officers that she'd got up in the morning and she was taking a bath, and then she heard
03:58Roger's voice calling her into the bedroom.
04:01DJ was confused and said she would be there in a minute, but Roger was insistent.
04:09Roger asked her to come out from the bathtub right away.
04:13DJ grabbed a towel and put on her robe.
04:16As she opened the bathroom door, she had no clue of the nightmare that awaited her.
04:24She saw Roger sitting on the bed, and then she saw an unknown assailant that had a firearm pointed at
04:30Roger.
04:33It was a man in dark clothes with a ski mask on and a gun.
04:39Roger stood up when the intruder quietly gave him a chilling order.
04:45The assailant ordered Roger to tie her up, lay her on the bed face down.
04:53Roger slowly did what he was told.
04:56She was tied up with some rope, and then she had duct tape to put it over her eyes.
05:02DJ was lying helpless on the bed, uncertain of what might happen next, when she suddenly realized that her husband
05:12and the intruder were no longer in the bedroom.
05:16Roger apparently at this point was in another room down the hall.
05:21She could hear them, but really not clear about what was being said.
05:25Then, the masked intruder returned.
05:30She said that the assailant came over and touched her a couple times on the back.
05:36It was then that the intruder made it clear what he wanted.
05:41He was asking, how much money do you have?
05:44She was very distinct in saying that it was calm and polite.
05:51Eventually, she did disclose that they had $30,000.
05:55At that moment, a loud noise from down the hall caught the intruder's attention.
06:02Did the attacker say anything else to her?
06:05No, he left.
06:06Then she hears a commotion where it sounded like Roger was arguing with the individual.
06:15And this is where it's uttered out loud, I'll give you the $30,000.
06:21She then hears what believes to be is a struggle.
06:28She heard the assailant say, stop or I'll shoot.
06:32With duct tape over her eyes and her hands still bound behind her back, DJ couldn't move.
06:40She was paralyzed with fear.
06:43What did she say happened after that?
06:45She hears a gunshot.
06:51The deafening blast sent an adrenaline rush through DJ.
06:56And somehow, she managed to get to her feet.
07:00She says that she's able to stand up.
07:03She could not pull the tape off, but she could see through the bottom.
07:06She walked out of the bedroom and she could hear Roger out on the driveway.
07:13Did she hear any more gunfire?
07:16She heard about three more rounds.
07:19And she heard Roger screaming as well.
07:26Once outside, a neighbor who had rushed over helped DJ remove the duct tape from her eyes,
07:34revealing a scene that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
07:39She remembered rushing out into the street to tend to her husband, who was dying.
07:50To detectives, DJ's story was stunning.
07:54None of them had ever worked a case that was anything like this one.
07:59It appeared that Roger Dean had been shot multiple times during a home invasion robbery gone terribly wrong.
08:08Do you think the struggle started when Roger attempted to break free?
08:13Yes.
08:14I think he tried to do what he thought was best to protect DJ.
08:22Still, those initial theories would slowly change as police analyzed the evidence from around the Dean home.
08:29Each clue seemed to raise new questions about what really happened that morning and why.
08:38There were witnesses that saw the assailant come out of the house.
08:43They heard shots fired.
08:45They saw Roger Dean fall to the ground.
08:47And that's where the twists start to begin.
08:51It was bizarre.
09:04Police were still processing the crime scene of a shocking home invasion when one of the victims, Roger Dean,
09:13was officially declared dead at a nearby hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.
09:19The case was now a homicide investigation.
09:27It was an unimaginable blow for Roger and DJ Dean's daughter, Tamara, who was just 23 years old at the
09:36time.
09:37How did you find out that someone had been shot at your home?
09:44I came around the corner and there's all the flashing lights from the police vehicles and the ambulance and the
09:50road is blocked off.
09:52I was very confused.
09:54Tamara sensed that something terrible had happened to someone she loved.
09:58I saw my mom sitting on the couch in her bathrobe, but I kept asking, where's dad?
10:05And finally somebody said he had been shot, that he was killed.
10:09It was so surreal.
10:11Such a shock.
10:17Tamara had treasured her father, who was the rock of their family.
10:22How close were you and your father?
10:25Very close.
10:26When my heart hurt, it was always my dad I went to for comfort.
10:30What was it like growing up in your family?
10:33We were the Leave It to Beaver family.
10:35My mother was absolutely stunning.
10:38My dad was the businessman.
10:40His discipline was incredible.
10:44Roger had run a successful food brokerage that supplied local groceries and restaurants.
10:51His kindness and generosity made him a pillar of the community.
10:58Residents wanted his killer caught and fast.
11:04Police hoped that Roger's autopsy would provide a break on the case.
11:09What was the medical examiner able to determine?
11:13During the autopsy, they located four .38 caliber slugs, which could be either a .357 or a .38.
11:22There was evidence of stippling, so the barrel of that gun would have to have been within probably 6 to
11:2812 inches.
11:32Police believe those point-blank shots took place, while Roger desperately fought with his attacker for control of the gun.
11:42The struggle led to a shooter fleeing the crime scene.
11:47I saw a trail of footprints that led from the top of the driveway across this yard to an area
11:55where we later learned the assailant's car was parked.
12:03Police found evidence that confirmed that Roger and DJ had been the victims of a carefully orchestrated plan.
12:12In the Dean residence, they found a backpack that had a roll of duct tape, some nylon rope, as well
12:18as a knife.
12:19The items and the bag had been brought in by the killer.
12:30In fact, the killer had left behind more than just his knapsack.
12:36Police found the ski mask he had worn in the living room.
12:41Did investigators believe the killer lost his mask during a struggle with Roger?
12:45Yes, they do.
12:47Roger tried to unmask the assailant, see who was robbing him, to see if he knew who he was.
12:58Police were intrigued.
13:01If the assailant had fled the Dean home unmasked, they hoped that someone had seen the man who had shot
13:09Roger.
13:09And within hours of the murder, multiple neighbors came forward.
13:15What kind of descriptions did they share?
13:17They reported that it was a white male.
13:19Several residents had watched in horror as he sprinted to the corner and jumped into a car.
13:26Some different descriptions on what kind of car it may have been.
13:30Could they make out his face?
13:32They could not.
13:33Description of height from 5'8 to 6'0 and slender.
13:40But those initial descriptions were thrown into doubt when an unlikely new witness surfaced, one who claimed to have seen
13:49far more than the others.
13:51There was a 9-year-old girl.
13:53She looked out the window after she heard gunshots.
13:56Her bedroom window looked straight into Roger and DJ's driveway and front door.
14:04She saw the assailant run from the Dean house to a car and drive away.
14:10And how did she describe the man she saw?
14:14She described him as a black man.
14:22Investigators were skeptical about her report.
14:25The frightened child was the only person who claimed that the shooter had been black.
14:32What did they do to try to test her memory?
14:36The very next morning, we had a white male officer walk the same path that she described.
14:44And an officer stood where she was at in the room.
14:47And that officer couldn't tell the race.
14:52Police were confident that shadows from neighborhood trees had influenced what the young girl had seen.
14:59They made a determination that, although her statement was partially correct, her identification of the race of the individual was
15:08not.
15:16Investigators understood that the vague description of the shooter and his car weren't much to go on.
15:23They knew the key to finding this brazen killer relied on answering a difficult question.
15:33Why were Roger and DJ Dean his chosen targets?
15:49Detectives investigating Roger Dean's murder were piecing together his wife's puzzling account.
15:56Their focus was on the terrifying moments just before the gunshots began.
16:03A search of the home revealed evidence that showed where the two men went when they left the bedroom.
16:11Roger was taken to Tamara's room.
16:15And he was sat down in a chair.
16:18He was tied up by some cord.
16:23Investigators assumed the loud crash DJ heard next
16:27was caused by Roger breaking free from that chair.
16:32But Roger's autopsy report left them doubting that theory.
16:37During the autopsy, what odd evidence was discovered?
16:41One of Roger's hands was securely tied.
16:44The other one didn't appear that it was tied.
16:47His wrist didn't look like there was any abrasions on it.
16:54It appeared Roger would have had no problem getting out of his bindings.
16:59And additional questions were raised about how effective the duct tape over Roger's glasses had been.
17:07His glasses had duct tape over the lenses.
17:13If I were planning this type of crime, I think I would probably do what the assailant had Roger do
17:18to DJ.
17:19Take the duct tape and cover his eyes without the glasses.
17:23And the decision seemed even stranger when Roger's autopsy revealed that he didn't need his glasses that morning.
17:32We determined that Roger had his contact lenses in.
17:39The odd discrepancies led investigators to re-examine every aspect of the crime,
17:46including why Roger had even been home that morning.
17:50They learned it wasn't his normal routine.
17:54Roger would get up at 5.15 and leave the house when it's dark.
17:58But Roger had gotten up a little bit later because he had a late night meeting.
18:01Police were suspicious.
18:04Who else knew about Roger's change of plans?
18:08It would maybe lend some inference that he knows attacker.
18:16Even the killer's demand seemed confusing.
18:19He wanted cash the deans had in the bank.
18:24That raised red flags.
18:25How is someone getting this money?
18:27And how did the killer know the couple had that kind of money in their account?
18:33A review of the dean's bank records indicated that a large portion of the $30,000 had only been transferred
18:41there very recently.
18:44He was writing checks from the business and depositing it into personal accounts.
18:51As police analyzed all the information, a new theory suddenly emerged.
18:57Could Roger Dean himself have somehow been involved in planning the attack?
19:04The duct tape over the eyeglasses, the money, naturally that would lead the investigators to a suspicion.
19:12Was Roger able to untie himself or was Roger's hand free?
19:17It was beginning to look like it was more staged than anything else.
19:23What would have been his motive for doing that?
19:25If he was just going to be robbed, could this be an insurance claim where he could recoup that money?
19:31But no matter what the plan was, it was clear something had gone terribly wrong.
19:37I don't think Roger would have said, hey, I want to die.
19:44Still, police began to explore every potential motive for staging the attack.
19:50And they quickly found several.
19:53We found evidence that Roger was having an affair with someone that he worked with.
19:58And then DJ found out about it.
20:02I knew who she was.
20:04She had worked for my dad for 10 years.
20:07It was a challenging time.
20:09Roger and DJ were going through some marital strife.
20:12And he had just recently moved back home.
20:18According to Roger's family, he had ended the affair when he moved back in with DJ.
20:23But investigators heard a different story.
20:27We had witnesses that said that Roger secretly was back in the relationship.
20:33It was news to Roger's loved ones.
20:36We never knew that he was still seeing her, obviously.
20:39My mom had no clue.
20:43Detectives now believe Roger's secret life may have led to his death.
20:51Roger was having an affair.
20:53We had witnesses that stated that Roger was concerned about DJ taking a lot of his money.
20:59Maybe this was a fake home invasion to get some money out of the bank.
21:04We went down that path vigorously.
21:08But that wasn't the only path detectives were exploring.
21:12One of the first places investigators look is,
21:16who stands to gain from the death of Roger?
21:22It turned out that nearly everything Roger had went to DJ Dean.
21:28Could Roger's scorned wife have been the mastermind behind his murder?
21:35What did DJ stand to gain?
21:38Well, she stand to gain a lot of money.
21:40The sale of the businesses, the life insurance policies.
21:45Obviously, we looked at that.
21:47Everything police uncovered seemed to further shroud the mystery.
21:51It appeared the only way detectives would ever learn the truth
21:56was to find the man behind the mask.
22:13The Douglas County Sheriff's Office was exploring every possible angle
22:18for Roger Dean's murder.
22:21Those potential motives forced detectives
22:25to ask both his wife and daughter sensitive questions.
22:29What was it like to be exposed to these highly contradictory theories
22:37of what might have happened?
22:39They were investigating all these paths,
22:41and it was extremely hard to take.
22:48Perhaps the most difficult thing for loved ones to accept
22:52was that none of those paths had led police to a suspect.
22:58Weeks became months, and then years,
23:01and there was still nothing more than vague circumstantial evidence
23:05for police to look into.
23:08How would you characterize where the case was at that point?
23:13Investigators didn't have any new leads to follow up on.
23:17By the late 80s, the case was pretty cold.
23:21Despite the swirling suspicions around their family,
23:25Tamara and DJ had done their best to move forward.
23:29But without an arrest, they had to constantly wonder
23:33if the man who killed Roger could someday re-enter their lives.
23:40And five years later, that's just what happened
23:45when a letter addressed to DJ reopened all those old wounds.
23:51I had just moved back from California,
23:54and I looked over, and her face was just kind of ashen.
23:58And I'm like, what are you reading?
24:00And she just couldn't even really speak,
24:01so I grabbed the letter out of her hand.
24:03It was this extortion letter.
24:06The words in the note were terrifying.
24:10He said he was the person that murdered my dad
24:12and that he felt he had money coming to him.
24:15The killer demanded $150,000 or else.
24:21If my mom didn't pay it, he would kill me.
24:28The consequences for contacting law enforcement were the same.
24:34If you do not do exactly what you were told,
24:37if you do anything,
24:38I mean anything to draw police on the case,
24:42I will wait until they can no longer protect her and kill her.
24:47The author made it clear
24:49he had been watching Tamara's every move for weeks.
24:53If she leaves, I can find her.
24:56How terrified were you?
24:59I knew the threat was real.
25:01The anxiety was pretty intense.
25:03I was just picking up the pieces and moving forward,
25:06and now we're right back.
25:11Despite the obvious risks,
25:14DJ and Tamara made the difficult decision
25:17to bring the letter to the police.
25:19When you analyzed that letter,
25:22did you believe it was likely sent by her killer?
25:27What was in the letter,
25:28the tone and the way that it was written,
25:31led us to believe that it was
25:33the person who committed the murder.
25:36There were details inside the letter
25:39that were not released to the public,
25:41that only law enforcement and the killer knew about.
25:49And the threats quickly began to escalate.
25:55Very shortly after that,
25:56phone calls come in to DJ's house.
25:59You better get back to me really soon, DJ.
26:01I want my money.
26:03He's saying, I'm watching you.
26:05I know what you're doing.
26:07With the help of the FBI,
26:10police traced the calls
26:11to a series of pay phones around Denver.
26:14But each time, they arrived too late.
26:19We were so close,
26:20we had an FBI agent in the parking lot
26:23at a 7-Eleven
26:24within 30 seconds of the phone call
26:27and didn't see anybody on the phone.
26:34Police told DJ she would have to go through
26:37with the money drop after all.
26:40You have my money around?
26:41I'll have the money tomorrow night
26:43where I change my telephone
26:44and canning news where you can't find her.
26:47And they would be with her
26:49every step of the way.
26:51Law enforcement set up a sting operation
26:54to catch the extortionist.
26:57What happened?
26:58They had teams placed throughout the metro area,
27:00helicopters, SWAT team snipers.
27:02All of them focused on a narrow alleyway
27:05where DJ had been ordered to place
27:08a bag containing $150,000.
27:12It was supposed to be dropped by this trash can.
27:14DJ was supposed to drive down the street,
27:17get out of the car,
27:18put it in the can,
27:19and then leave.
27:23With an FBI agent hidden in the back seat,
27:27DJ followed the killer's instructions to a tee.
27:31Did the caller ever come to collect the money?
27:34We had it under surveillance
27:35for a significant amount of time.
27:37No one ever came.
27:38A phone call to the dean's home
27:41made it clear that the killer
27:43had recognized law enforcement's trap.
27:49He called the house
27:50and said that she had messed up
27:53and he would be coming for me.
27:55It might be six weeks, six months, or six years,
27:58but that he would kill me.
27:59She had a knee.
28:00I'll f*** it up.
28:01How did she f*** it up?
28:02I'm gonna f***ing kill him.
28:04And I lost it.
28:08Killing my dad wasn't enough.
28:11Investigators were just as frustrated.
28:14How disappointing was it
28:16that the sting operation failed?
28:18We're so close to just be demoralized.
28:20This guy is still out on the loose.
28:22I had developed a relationship
28:25with Tamara and DJ.
28:27I had seen their pain.
28:28We had an opportunity to catch this person
28:31and were unable to do it.
28:33But no one on the case was giving up.
28:37An investigator's tireless review of the file
28:40revealed that Roger Dean himself
28:43had actually left behind a clue
28:45that might lead police to his killer.
29:01Police had narrowly missed
29:03capturing Roger Dean's killer,
29:06who had returned to torment DJ and Tamara.
29:10He threatened that he was gonna kill Tammy
29:12to kill the one person that DJ had left in her life.
29:16She's reliving the nightmare.
29:24After the last menacing call,
29:27the killer went silent.
29:28But law enforcement remained on the case.
29:33Still, it would take more than a decade
29:36until advances in forensic testing
29:39provided them with a new lead.
29:41What did you end up testing
29:44that was critical to breaking this case wide open?
29:47We tested the ski mask.
29:50We were able to get a DNA marker.
29:53We also had DNA off of the bag
29:56that was left behind
29:57and contents inside the bag.
30:01Investigators were elated.
30:03For the first time in the entire investigation,
30:06they had physical evidence
30:09that linked a suspect to the crime.
30:12And they hoped that those clues
30:14would lead them to the killer's front door.
30:19But the major break quickly became another dead end
30:24when the DNA sample failed to yield a hit in CODIS.
30:32How disappointing was that to you?
30:34Extremely disappointing.
30:36But the DNA analysis did provide a stunning new detail.
30:41The suspect was African American, not white.
30:48What was the reaction of law enforcement?
30:50They were shocked.
30:51They were only looking for a white man
30:53for more than 30 years.
30:54It turned out the young girl police doubted had been right.
31:00And it wouldn't be the last major surprise
31:03of the investigation.
31:07In 2019, police turned over all of their evidence
31:12to investigative genealogy expert Michelle Kennedy.
31:16Where did your job start?
31:18My job started by building the family trees
31:21for the DNA relatives.
31:22It can be a complicated, long-term process.
31:26Did that process give you a family name?
31:29It did.
31:30It reduced the suspect pool down to two brothers.
31:38The results were mind-boggling.
31:41A decades-old mystery was suddenly
31:44on the brink of being solved.
31:47And when the FBI eliminated one of the brother's DNA,
31:50the suspect pool was now down to a single target,
31:56Michael Jefferson.
32:00Was that a name that was anywhere in the case file?
32:04We had never seen that name ever.
32:06And nothing in the initial deep dive
32:10into Jefferson's past indicated police
32:12were on the right track.
32:14What did you end up learning about Michael Jefferson?
32:18Grew up in California.
32:19He moved to Colorado,
32:20obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology,
32:23worked as a pharmacy tech.
32:24Did he have a criminal history?
32:26Nothing of note.
32:27The lack of felony convictions
32:30explain why Jefferson's DNA
32:32wasn't in the CODA system.
32:38Still, investigators did note
32:40one detail that lined up.
32:43He had lived in Denver in 1985.
32:46But he was no longer in the city.
32:50Investigators knew they had to locate Jefferson
32:53if they wanted to close the case.
32:55Captain Joel White was part of the team
32:58that decided to focus the search in Los Angeles.
33:05We knew that Michael had a brother
33:07and we put a pull cam on the brother's house.
33:12And I'll never forget the day
33:14that we watched him walk up to the house.
33:17How did the arrest come down?
33:19We contacted LAPD.
33:20We had surveillance units,
33:21undercover units, and a helicopter.
33:23He climbed into an Uber
33:24and they stopped him
33:25and took him into custody.
33:32Investigators hope the arrest
33:34was just the first step
33:35in getting the answers
33:37that had eluded them for decades.
33:41You had been chasing this man
33:43for more than 40 years.
33:46What was it like for you
33:47to finally sit across from him
33:49and be able to question him?
33:51It was a combination of exhilaration
33:55and relief.
33:57I knew without a question
34:01he was the murderer of Roger Dean.
34:08But Jefferson repeatedly denied the allegations.
34:13Do you recognize this guy at all?
34:17No.
34:18What did he admit to?
34:20Very little.
34:21He admitted to being in Denver at the time.
34:25Police asked Jefferson
34:26if he had ever seen the knapsack
34:28or ski mask found at the crime scene.
34:32What is that?
34:34That's a backpack.
34:36All right.
34:37He said the ski mask was never his.
34:39He never wore one.
34:41The backpack wasn't his.
34:43The DNA testing proved that was a lie.
34:47In your mind,
34:49were his denials
34:49to those very specific questions
34:51as powerful as a confession?
34:54Absolutely.
34:55He basically gave all the deniability.
34:57We gave him out.
34:57He didn't take that.
34:59At the end of the interrogation,
35:02Michael Jefferson
35:02was officially charged
35:04with extortion and murder.
35:12Sheriff Darren Weakley
35:13remembers sharing the news
35:15with Tamara.
35:18I sat with Tammy
35:19and I just told her we got him.
35:20She couldn't believe it at first.
35:22There wasn't a dry eye in the room.
35:23It's one of those moments in my career
35:25that I will never forget.
35:28I don't even have words
35:29to describe how that feeling felt.
35:31It was unbelievable.
35:34It was mind-blowing.
35:36Unfortunately,
35:37Tamara wasn't able
35:38to experience the moment
35:40with her mother.
35:42DJ had passed away
35:43just months before
35:45the sheriff's visit.
35:47How much pain did it cause
35:49to know that she died
35:53just as justice
35:55was being reached?
35:57She would have loved
35:58to have seen that day.
35:59I wish she would have been able
36:00to hang on a little bit longer.
36:07And the decades-old allegation
36:10that Roger had somehow
36:12been behind his own murder
36:13was finally put to rest
36:16when a former love interest
36:17of Jefferson's came forward
36:19with an incredible story.
36:22After we had made the arrest
36:25and we posted his picture,
36:27an individual calls us up
36:29and says,
36:29I know who that guy is.
36:30I used to be his girlfriend.
36:33The tipster revealed
36:35that in the 80s,
36:36she had also been
36:38one of Roger Dean's secretaries.
36:40She admitted
36:41that she regularly discussed
36:43her work
36:44with her then-boyfriend.
36:46We were able then
36:48to tie the fact
36:50that Michael Jefferson
36:51knew that Roger Dean
36:52had money,
36:53knew a lot of secrets
36:53about Roger Dean
36:54and took advantage of it.
37:02Finally,
37:03all of the evidence
37:04made sense.
37:05Jefferson had insider knowledge
37:08of Roger's life.
37:09And after his arrest,
37:11recordings of Jefferson's
37:13prison calls left no doubt
37:15that he was the man
37:17who tormented DJ and Tamara
37:20after the murder.
37:21Did the voice on those calls
37:25sound like the voice
37:26of the extortionist?
37:28Yes, I'm convinced
37:29that the person who called DJ
37:31is the same person
37:32I heard on jail calls.
37:38An analysis of Jefferson's lifestyle
37:41and behavior through the years
37:43left police convinced
37:45that the motive
37:46for both the murder
37:47and the extortion
37:49was the same.
37:50Pure greed.
37:53This man is motivated
37:55by one thing, money.
37:56It was always about money.
37:58So, what do you think
38:00Jefferson's plan
38:01actually was that morning?
38:03Robbery was 100%
38:05his motive.
38:06He showed up that day
38:08to the Dean residence
38:09and he was going
38:10to get Roger's money.
38:12I think that when Roger
38:14pulled off his mask
38:16then he had no choice.
38:18Him and Roger
38:18were face to face
38:19and he fires multiple rounds
38:21into Roger's body
38:23and then he runs away.
38:31Prosecutors worried
38:32that without DJ Dean's testimony
38:35about how the home invasion
38:37had unfolded,
38:38his defense team
38:39might convince a jury
38:41the shooting was an accident.
38:44There was concern
38:45that a defense attorney
38:47could make such a compelling argument
38:49to a jury
38:49that the jury could potentially find
38:52Michael Jefferson guilty
38:53of a significantly lesser charge.
38:58A deal was ultimately reached
39:01in which Jefferson pled guilty
39:03to conspiracy to commit murder
39:05and was sentenced
39:06to 32 years in prison.
39:09Given Jefferson's age
39:10and health issues,
39:12he will likely spend
39:13the rest of his life
39:14behind bars.
39:16They say justice delayed
39:18is justice denied.
39:21For Tamara,
39:22Jefferson's conviction
39:23did little
39:24to ease
39:25her 40 years
39:26of suffering.
39:28There is no price tag,
39:30no way for him
39:31to pay the debt
39:32he owes my family.
39:33The only thing
39:34he can give now
39:35is his freedom.
39:38But the decades-long
39:40fight for justice
39:41has given Roger's daughter
39:43a renewed faith
39:45in herself.
39:46When I look at myself
39:48as a child,
39:49I had no self-confidence,
39:50no belief in myself.
39:54And what I've taken away
39:55is I am not a weak person.
39:58I am a strong person.
39:59I can endure
40:00whatever comes my way.
40:03Tamara hopes to one day
40:05write a book about the case
40:07and how it was
40:09ultimately solved.
40:12How much gratitude
40:13do you have
40:14to the many different
40:17generations of law enforcement
40:19that were on this case
40:21and never gave up?
40:23There are no words
40:25to appropriately thank them.
40:26I felt like they gave
40:28their all to me
40:29and my mom
40:29and my dad.
40:32What part of your father
40:34lives on in you today?
40:36I definitely have
40:37his personality,
40:38his work ethic,
40:39his love of his family.
40:42I feel so much of my dad
40:43in me all the time.
40:49Investigators hope
40:51that Michael Jefferson's conviction
40:52sends a powerful message.
40:55That law enforcement
40:56will use every tool
40:58in their arsenal
40:58to bring killers to justice,
41:00no matter how long it takes.
41:04I'm Paula Zahn.
41:06Please join us again next time
41:08when we're back
41:08on the case.
41:10On the next
41:11On the Case.
41:13What was it about this case
41:15that really got your attention?
41:17She stabbed
41:17and set on fire.
41:19Who could do something like this
41:21to a young mother?
41:22It was horrifying.
41:23It made me feel
41:24just sick.
41:25The inhumanity
41:27is just beyond
41:27my comprehension.
41:28I'll see you right next time.sh
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