WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.839 Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is 2 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:05.599 not intended for all audiences. 3 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:17.679 Listener discretion is advised. Madison Small, I mean i'd take off. 4 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:19.600 I mean, if I would have killed her, I would 5 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:21.760 have been gone. You guys have never found me, right, 6 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:23.440 I would never even went back to my apartment. 7 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:24.960 I mean, that's I'm glad you go right there. 8 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.320 This is season thirteen, episode three hundred and fifty six 9 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:35.200 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the 10 00:00:35.240 --> 00:01:31.840 worst monsters are real. It's an overcast day in March 11 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:36.640 twenty eighteen. The winter snow is finally giving way as 12 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.760 the weather warms. Kevin and Jean Zimmerman sit in their 13 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:43.719 living room with lights, a camera, and a local reporter 14 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:45.079 staring back at them. 15 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:48.319 Does time sort of stop for you on that day 16 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:52.840 on April second? Absolutely in two thousand and eight, Like, 17 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.200 do you feel like you can you know that it 18 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:57.200 is ten years later? 19 00:01:57.640 --> 00:01:57.680 No? 20 00:01:59.359 --> 00:01:59.719 I don't. 21 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:02.920 Oh no, it's quite unbelievable. 22 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:04.519 That is ten years already. 23 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.120 It's, you know, completely unbelievable. 24 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:11.560 They've done countless interviews over the years, and they're willing 25 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:16.159 to do thousands more, anything to keep their daughter's case alive. 26 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.039 How often do you think about that day? 27 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:22.479 Every day, every single day. 28 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:25.759 We thought it was going to be solved right away. 29 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:29.240 We didn't even consider that this that we'd be here 30 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:30.360 ten years later. 31 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:34.680 Three days after this interview would mark ten years since 32 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:39.280 their daughter, Brittany was killed. In that decade, the case 33 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:42.719 had passed through three police chiefs and four lead detectives, 34 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:47.199 years of work, with little to show for it. Only 35 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:48.879 once did they think they were close. 36 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:55.639 Why do you think there hasn't been unarrest or even 37 00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:00.800 seemingly like a person of interest or a major break 38 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:01.439 in the case. 39 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:03.639 I mean that we thought there was. 40 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:06.439 You know, it was two and a half years ago. 41 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:09.759 Chief Cobalt came to our door on my husband's birthday 42 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:12.599 and said, we believe we have the person responsible for 43 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.120 killing your daughter the summer ninth. 44 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:19.520 That moment came in twenty sixteen, but two years later 45 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:23.719 there was still no arrest. All the Zimmerman's could do 46 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:24.800 was hold on to hope. 47 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:26.960 That's all we have is hope. 48 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:27.960 We can hope. 49 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:28.800 Yeah, but. 50 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:35.400 Realistically, I'm not really sure that they're ever going to 51 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:39.560 solve this, at least not the way it's being handled 52 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:40.840 right now. I just don't believe it. 53 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:44.719 When parents lose a child, they're powerless to do anything 54 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:49.800 but wait. Justice moves on its own timeline, and in 55 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:55.599 the Zimmerman's case, that timeline stretched endlessly. These interviews, these 56 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:59.400 small acts of advocacy, were all they had control over. 57 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:04.080 If speaking publicly could help or speed up catching Brittany's killer, 58 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.479 they'd do it every day for the rest of their 59 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:08.800 lives to make that happen. 60 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:12.800 What would you really tell people about why they should 61 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.080 rack their brains. 62 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:17.720 Because if it was your child, you'd want everybody in 63 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.560 the world to rack their brains for you. 64 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.800 Put yourself in our shoes just for a second. 65 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:27.439 Just for a second, put yourself in our shoes. 66 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:28.000 And what. 67 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:32.639 This little girl meant everything to us? And you know 68 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:35.079 she was never there to hurt anybody. She was always 69 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:36.079 there to help people. 70 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:40.480 Photos of Brittany still aligned every wall of their home, 71 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:45.160 a family scarred by tragedy, frozen in time, clinging to 72 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:49.759 whatever hope remained, and wondering whether the case would ever 73 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:54.319 be solved. Meanwhile, the police department continued to work on 74 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:56.199 their decade old investigation. 75 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.560 This is not what I would consider been relegated to 76 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:03.639 a case. This still has active leads that are worthy. 77 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.480 The Zimmermans knew little about the leads detectives were chasing. 78 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:11.759 They only knew that two years earlier, the police chief 79 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:16.279 had told him they had the guy, but there had 80 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:20.519 been no arrests. They were completely in the dark. 81 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:26.079 If I had the probable cause, based on the totality 82 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:29.519 of the evidence I had, don't you think I would 83 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:30.879 have made an arrest. 84 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:33.959 It turned out that the chief had spoken too soon. 85 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:38.360 It was one of many missteps in an investigation that 86 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:42.279 had been plagued by setbacks from the start. One of 87 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:46.519 the biggest was losing the longtime lead investigator. The emotional 88 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.319 toll of the case eventually became too heavy to bear. 89 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:55.879 He was convulsing at one point, and then I was convulsed, 90 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:05.079 and I realized, we can't continue to sign cases this way. 91 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:09.560 The chiefs wore that moving forward, a team of investigators 92 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:12.680 would carry the case. He was confident they would solve 93 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:14.079 it eventually. 94 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.600 The old school cop and me still hopes now that 95 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:19.959 slips will sink ships. 96 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:23.480 Someone's going to say something to somebody about this case in. 97 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:25.040 A bar or overheard. 98 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.000 But even if they did, even if the killer was 99 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:33.160 finally behind bars, the Zimmerman's knew it would bring them 100 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:38.399 little comfort. What they wanted most was the one thing 101 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:40.399 that no investigation could return. 102 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:45.120 She would be a doctor right now that she wanted 103 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:49.240 to be, and we would be proud of her, and 104 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.199 we could go visit her on her animal farm and 105 00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:56.879 everything she wanted because she loved animals. That's what we wish, 106 00:06:57.160 --> 00:06:59.279 you know, that she could live her life the way 107 00:06:59.319 --> 00:06:59.759 she wanted to. 108 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.399 They had thought the case would be solved quickly by 109 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:08.319 twenty eighteen. They simply hoped it would be solved at all. 110 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.480 Their nightmare started on April second, two thousand and eight, 111 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.079 when their daughter was attacked inside her apartment in the 112 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:19.920 middle of the day. The mistake started almost immediately. And 113 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:22.839 to understand how this case remained open for a decade, 114 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:24.800 you have to go back to the start. 115 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:28.319 Monday will mark ten years as a brutal murder that 116 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:29.759 rocked downtown Madison. 117 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:33.000 It's been five years since Britty Zimmerman was killed here 118 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:33.959 on a Jonas Street. 119 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:37.079 Friday will mark the two year anniversary of the Madison 120 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:42.000 murder of Brittany Zimmerman. It's April second, two thousand and eight. 121 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:46.360 Jordan Gonnering hops on his moped and heads towards the 122 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:51.560 University of Wisconsin Madison campus. This Beyonce. Brittany is already 123 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:55.800 in class. She had a big test that morning. He 124 00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:58.279 rides a short distance to campus from their apartment and 125 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:01.600 joining the sun. It wouldn't feel so cold if it 126 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:05.560 weren't for the wind, he thinks to himself. He gets 127 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.079 back to campus at around eleven thirty. He goes out 128 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:11.639 on one of the balconies of the Van Hies Building 129 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:16.079 and scans the quad for Brittany. She turns her phone 130 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:19.040 off in class, but he knows she'll be coming out 131 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:24.720 of the Bacteriology building. Then he spots her. She stands 132 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:27.079 out with her golden hair and the collar of her 133 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:31.319 lime green pea coat pulled up around her neck. He 134 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:34.360 calls her name. She looks around for a moment before 135 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:38.039 looking up to the balcony. A smile spreads across her 136 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:41.559 face when she sees Jordan. He points to his phone 137 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:45.039 and she remembers her phone is off. She turns it 138 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:49.080 on and it rings instantly. Jordan asks her how her 139 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:54.679 parasitology test went. She sighs, but says it went fine. 140 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:57.679 They have a quick conversation just touching base before their 141 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:01.639 dinner plans that night. Finish their phone call, and Jordan 142 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:05.480 starts heading to his Russian literature class, which starts at 143 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:09.240 twelve oh five. After class ends at twelve fifty five, 144 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:12.679 Jordan walks back to his moped and hops on. He 145 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:17.039 weaves through the campus and onto his street. He gets home, 146 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:19.600 parks his bike on the side of the house, and 147 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:23.679 walks to the front door like he always does. Then 148 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:29.200 he stops. The lock on the outside security door is busted. 149 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:33.840 It looks like somebody kicked it in. He can't remember 150 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:37.679 if it was always like this. He stares at it 151 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:42.720 for a moment, thinking, but dismisses it and starts to 152 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:46.360 go inside. He reaches to open the closed door and 153 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:52.399 notices it's unlocked. He thinks that's weird, but he also 154 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:55.399 knows their landlord was supposed to show the apartment that day, 155 00:09:55.519 --> 00:10:00.320 so he assumes that's why. He walks in saide and 156 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:04.519 takes off his backpack, his jacket, and his shoes. Usually 157 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:06.320 their three cats would greet him at the door, but 158 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:10.919 today they were nowhere to be found. Jordan takes a 159 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:13.559 few steps towards the back of the small apartment and 160 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:18.519 freezes on the floor in the bedroom. Is Brittany. Just 161 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.759 for a second he thinks she's pranking him, But as 162 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:27.039 soon as he inches close, he sees blood. Jordan would 163 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:31.039 call nine one one at one eight pm nine one. 164 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:35.399 One with the adders of the emergency. Nine one with 165 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:40.399 the address of the emergency. Hello, nine one one with 166 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:41.840 the EDIR for the emergency. 167 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:46.759 His phone barely holds a connection. He manages to give 168 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:51.480 the address on West Doty Street before the call cuts out. 169 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:57.639 Class it's what you're cutting out? Can hear me? 170 00:10:59.519 --> 00:10:59.879 Hello? 171 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:00.679 Hello? 172 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:03.440 Okay, your phone's cut now? Did you say upper or 173 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:04.240 lower flags? 174 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:05.000 Yes? 175 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:10.200 The dispatcher tries again. Their voices break in and out, 176 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:11.919 tangled and static? 177 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:14.720 Okay, ambulance and needed. 178 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:15.919 Okay. What is your name? 179 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:17.120 Jordan Garing? 180 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:19.399 Okay, come exactly what happened? 181 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:20.480 I just came home. 182 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.600 The door was bumped in and my girlfriend's been shot. 183 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:30.840 Okay, stand the phone with me. Okay, are you with 184 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:31.919 her right now? Yes? 185 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:32.360 I am? 186 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:34.200 How old is she she is? 187 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:35.440 Thanks? 188 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:40.600 Miss twenty one twenty one? Is she conscious? No, she's not. 189 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:42.480 Is she breathing? 190 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:43.480 No, she's not. 191 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:47.240 Up to this point in his life, the most serious 192 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:51.600 thing Jordan has faced was final exams. Now he's kneeling 193 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:54.519 beside the woman he planned to marry, trying to save 194 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:58.279 her life. The dispatcher checks to make sure the attacker 195 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:02.320 is no longer there. Oh, while relaying information to officers 196 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:03.159 already in round. 197 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:04.960 The color has no idea. 198 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:07.480 He just walked in and found his girlfriend like this. 199 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:12.440 Color has no idea who would have done it? 200 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:19.200 Is there any serious bleeding? Okay? There is serious bleeding? Yes, okay. 201 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:21.360 I'm sending an ambulance to help you. I want you 202 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:23.279 to stand the line that needs to incite what to 203 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:23.679 do next. 204 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:26.240 Okay, Okay, did you say she is or she is 205 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:26.879 not breathing? 206 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:28.000 She's not breathing. 207 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:33.240 She's not breathing. Okay, stand the pool. I can tell 208 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:36.039 you how to help her. Okay, you're right by her now, 209 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:38.000 all right. I want you to lay her flat on 210 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:39.519 her back on the ground. Yep. 211 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:41.279 Remove any collows. 212 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:42.080 Okay, okay. 213 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:44.200 I need you to kneel next to her and her 214 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.639 mom look in her mouth for any food or vomits. 215 00:12:47.399 --> 00:12:48.000 Is there anything? 216 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:50.240 Is there anything in your blood? 217 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:51.399 Just blood? 218 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:57.679 Brittany isn't breathing. Her airway is filled with blood, and 219 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:02.360 she has no pulse. The dispatcher talks Jordan through CPR, 220 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:07.279 but she knows it might already be too late, and 221 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.159 when Jordan rolls Brittany on her back, he notices something 222 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:11.919 he cannot make sense of. 223 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:14.399 Did you think she did this herself? 224 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:16.000 No, she couldn't go. 225 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:21.039 She couldn't have done it herself. And there's no weapon. 226 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.559 Nearby, No no shot woo here. 227 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.159 You're inside with her, you're inside with her, Yes, I am. 228 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:29.080 It might be a stam mood. 229 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:33.720 Yes, I'm not sure. There's piercing, there's swall piercing. 230 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:38.720 The dispatcher stays with him, guiding him, reassuring him, while 231 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:43.919 also coordinating the incoming police units. She switches between comforting 232 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:47.840 Jordan and delivering updates to officers racing towards the scene. 233 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.639 The address is five to one seven West Doughty five 234 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:55.159 one seven West Doty Streets. It's apartment number one. 235 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:56.080 The lower flat. 236 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.559 The female is he and B and he's now saying 237 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:02.320 that it could he has a stabbing wound rather than 238 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:03.240 a gunsight. 239 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:07.000 Then she has to jump right back into the fray 240 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:08.120 with Jordan. 241 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:10.279 Okay, no idea? Who might have done this? 242 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.919 Jow right, I have no idea I have no idea. 243 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:13.919 Okay, with no idea. 244 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.440 Can you feel or hear any breathing? 245 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:16.759 H No, I can't. 246 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:19.600 I chucked for a pulse and I can't see anything. 247 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:24.840 Okay, okay, just so you know, there's there's an ambulance 248 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:26.519 on the way and the officers are on the way 249 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:26.960 as well. 250 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:27.360 Okay. 251 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:33.240 She tells him help is coming, but in moments like this, 252 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:39.679 seconds stretch into hours. Finally, officers arrive and usher Jordan 253 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.039 inside thirty. 254 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:43.480 Fourteen hours and are inside. 255 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:44.919 The building isn't clear. 256 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:50.000 And she sends The police reach the apartment at one 257 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:54.279 ten pm, less than two minutes after dispatch. They check 258 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:59.360 on Jordan, then clear the house room by room upstairs 259 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:04.879 and danced, making sure the attacker is still inside. Only 260 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:08.840 then do they move toward Brittany. It was too late 261 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:12.360 to help her. The officers informed dispatch that the victim 262 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:17.519 was deceased and the call became a homicide investigation. When 263 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:21.600 detectives arrived at the scene, they were confused. There was 264 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:25.759 forced entry, but nothing was stolen. Brittany most likely was 265 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:30.159 working on her computer filing out federal grant forms when 266 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:34.440 someone interrupted her. Her desk was messy with tax documents 267 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:38.960 from the doorway of their bedroom. Detectives saw blood on 268 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:44.480 the bed and the floor. Further checking revealed her cell phone. 269 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:46.960 The battery was missing and it looked like someone had 270 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:51.720 deliberately damaged it. They found it hidden under other garbage 271 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:55.720 in the trash can. Who would want a twenty one 272 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.120 year old microbiology student dead? 273 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:00.360 And why? 274 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:04.080 It was a broad daylight murder with no clear motive, 275 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:09.679 and it would take twelve years for Madison police to 276 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:41.960 uncover the truth. The midday murder of their only daughter 277 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:46.120 had a devastating effect on the Zimmermans. They wouldn't see 278 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:50.600 her graduate or get married. She would never have a career, 279 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.759 a family, or a life. The date of her death 280 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:59.000 would replace her birthday for her parents, and they would 281 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:04.079 spend the next twelve telve years fighting for justice for Brittany. 282 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:07.519 Her fiance Jordan, found her lifeless body on their bedroom 283 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:11.119 floor and called nine one one. The police made a 284 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:14.200 mad dash to the crime scene. When it was determined 285 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:19.240 that Brittany was deceased, the investigation started. The entire street 286 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:24.839 from intersection to intersection was cordoned off. Officers secured the scene. 287 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:27.759 They started to make contact with the neighbors and left 288 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:31.960 dash cams running to capture anyone walking in the area. 289 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:35.640 Jordan had just seen her at eleven thirty. What could 290 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:39.079 have happened in the last hour and a half. They 291 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:41.839 hoped whoever killed her was still in the area, so 292 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:48.960 they started canvassing quickly. Dispatch uncovered some investigation that might 293 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:50.559 have been related. 294 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:52.000 Police inspire. 295 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:57.240 I had been calling to report a suspicious incident that 296 00:17:57.400 --> 00:17:59.799 just happened at my house because I thought I should 297 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:01.960 someone just in case something happened. 298 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:03.799 What was the incident? 299 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:09.240 Some guy walked into my house and was just opened 300 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:12.880 our door and came in and was asking me for money, 301 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:15.519 and he came up our stairs. 302 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:17.319 Okay, and one how long ago? 303 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:21.759 This is about maybe ten minutes top. 304 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:26.279 The caller lived on West Washington Avenue, two blocks away 305 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:29.880 and a straight shot down an alley from Britney's apartment 306 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:31.319 at Dodie Street. 307 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:33.839 Okay, and you don't know whose person was, No, I 308 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:34.279 have no idea. 309 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:35.799 He said that him and his wife had a flat 310 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:38.799 tire on East Washington ab and that he needed forty 311 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:41.799 dollars to buy a tire. Okay, did he walk into 312 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:44.599 your apartment? Because he walked into our house and came 313 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:45.200 up this Sperry. 314 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:49.039 Okay, the possibility that this man with a flat tire 315 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:52.839 could be involved couldn't be overlooked with no idea who 316 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:57.640 killed Britney. Anyone was a possible suspect, especially a middle 317 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:00.400 aged man going from door to door asking for money 318 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:01.599 for unison. 319 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:04.839 This channel, this is really just information for you. I 320 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:06.400 don't know if it has anything to do with your 321 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:10.200 call or not. Five to five West Washington Avenue, five 322 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:14.359 to five Westwah or Collar there says that about ten 323 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:18.200 minutes ago, a bleep stranger washed under her house without 324 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:22.039 any permission, answer for money for a plant fire, white male, fifties, 325 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:26.559 gray hair, gray t shirts, red sweatshirt tied around his waist. 326 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:31.039 That call would give a new theory on who killed Brittany. 327 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:35.680 While she was an extraordinary person, her life was otherwise 328 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:41.039 rather unremarkable. Aside from her academic achievements, she didn't have 329 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:45.400 enemies wanting revenge or jealous friends. She didn't know anyone 330 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:50.440 money and didn't have any to steal. She hadn't wronged 331 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:54.559 anyone in any serious way. But considering the other nine 332 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.359 to one one calls in the area, the idea that 333 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:00.240 the murderer was committed by a stranger at rain them 334 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:05.920 became very likely. Then there was another nine one one call. 335 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:11.039 Nine one one was the interesting emergency, Sorry an emergency. 336 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:13.279 I don't know if you can transfer me to a 337 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:15.839 non emergency liner if I should. 338 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:17.640 Tell you it's just fine. What's the problem. 339 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.079 My neighbors directed me across the street. There are some 340 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.279 kind of old men I think, drinking from a bag, 341 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:26.160 sitting on the porch and looking in the windows, and 342 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:29.920 I was just worried that there may be a ventilia, 343 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.880 burglary or something that among those lines. 344 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.440 This caller was a college student like Brittany and Jordan. 345 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:39.000 He was waiting for the bus to take him to 346 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:41.880 school when he noticed some suspicious activity. 347 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:44.160 How many of how many people were there? 348 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:48.960 Just two older men. I figure they're just taking a 349 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:51.200 break or something, but it was the word They were 350 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:53.559 looking at the mailbox or something like that too. 351 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.519 To be clear, this call was about two other men, 352 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:00.920 not the man with the flat tire begging for money. 353 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:03.960 These two men were sharing a drink from a paper 354 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:08.720 bag while looking through windows and rifling through mailboxes. It 355 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:12.480 was certainly suspicious, and with the early theory that a 356 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:16.359 stranger murdered Brittany. It was even more so. But to 357 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:20.880 understand the obstacles in the investigation into Brittany's death, you 358 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.440 have to know about the neighborhood she lived in. She 359 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:28.000 lived on West Dote Street, just off South Bassett Street, 360 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:33.720 in the Bassett neighborhood. Is it Bassett or Bassett? I 361 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:37.039 guess it's the same difference between Boudet and Buddett. Who 362 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:40.920 gives a shit? This area was sometimes called the student 363 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:44.559 Triangle because of the proximity to the university campus only 364 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:48.799 six blocks away. The neighborhood was a mix of students 365 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:53.480 and apartments, families and small houses, and a few long term, 366 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:59.759 low income tenants oh in transient foot traffic. The downtown 367 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:04.440 air had homeless shelters, dropping shelters, and a bus depot 368 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:08.319 with a mix of college students and transients. The area 369 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:11.759 had a high call volume, so the police were there 370 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:16.000 often at the same time. There were roughly fourteen hundred 371 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:19.279 service calls a year, and one third of those were 372 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:24.160 for panhandling and other loitering complaints. So when all the 373 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:26.640 evidence at the scene of the crime pointed to a 374 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.480 random person murdering Brittany, the police knew they had a 375 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:35.000 difficult investigation on their hands, but the man with the 376 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:39.240 flats hire entering people's homes and invited was their first 377 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:40.319 possible lead. 378 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:41.680 What were the. 379 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:45.079 Time frames of when we called and when we had 380 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:46.599 done then called the by one Fellar. 381 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:50.799 It was about a five minute last between nicolls, so 382 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:54.720 it checks be about fifteen al together, about fifteen altogether. 383 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:58.400 Yeah, that description for second detailers. I want you at 384 00:22:58.480 --> 00:22:59.920 check in the area. I want to accompany you to 385 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:02.599 it on the day's tree to check around that area 386 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:05.880 and manage it in a three, four or five block area. 387 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:09.119 Circle the area looking for that party. Once he's done 388 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:11.720 doing that, and that I need Holth to respond down 389 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:13.039 to Masters. 390 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:18.920 And Dy's creations and police work coincidences are rare, so 391 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:21.519 the idea of a man walking into someone's home within 392 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:25.160 fifteen minutes of a home invasion and murder set off 393 00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:29.359 alarm belts. The police would quickly locate the man with 394 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:32.599 the flat tire. He was known to the department as 395 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:38.599 an active panhandler. David Call would walk around the neighborhood 396 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:42.480 asking people for money at random, with some made up 397 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:47.440 story to illicit sympathy. Turns out this homeless guy had 398 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:53.559 exhausted his entire friends and family list for help. They 399 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:57.279 had all had enough of them and said no thanks, 400 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:01.119 and now society was left to deal with them. By 401 00:24:01.160 --> 00:24:05.000