WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.640 This episode may contain content of a graphic nature, including 2 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:08.599 descriptions of physical and sexual violence against adults, children, and animals. 3 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:15.160 Listener discretion is advised. Hi everyone, I'm Talia and I'm Tanya, 4 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:36.200 and together we are Crimes and Consequences, a true crime podcast. Hi, everybody, 5 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.000 Welcome to this week's episode of Crimes and Consequences. I'm 6 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:43.880 Talia and I'm Tanya, and together we are two friends, 7 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:48.000 two lawyers that love true crime. And I want to 8 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.880 welcome everybody and let you know we have our own 9 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:54.719 YouTube channel. Now, yes, it's if you go to YouTube 10 00:00:54.719 --> 00:01:02.200 and you type in at crimes and Q and Consequences Consequences, 11 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:06.840 you can find find us. And if you want to 12 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:12.599 hit the subscribe like thumbs up, whatever button, please do. 13 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:14.519 And with that, I'm gonna get started. 14 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:15.400 All right, let's go. 15 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:20.000 This one was suggested by a patron of ours. Her 16 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:24.000 name is Leanne p So thank you, Leanne. And this 17 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:27.159 story has a lot of twist and turns, and it 18 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:31.840 is about a child, so fair warning, fair warning. So 19 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:38.439 I'm gonna start. Okay, you ready, This is about Jeanine Nicarrol, 20 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:41.799 and I'm gonna give you a little background on Jeanine. 21 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.599 She was born July seventh, nineteen seventy two, in Naperville, 22 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:51.439 which is in due Page County, Illinois. Her parents were 23 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:56.799 Thomas and Patricia, and her dad was a Chicago building 24 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:02.040 engineer and Patricia was a school sucker terry at Jeanine's 25 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:07.280 elementary school. Jeanine had two sisters, Chris and Kathy, and 26 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:11.360 the family lived on Clover Court and it's a short 27 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.240 street with a lot of large homes and they have 28 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:18.599 large lots there. One of the neighbors had remarked that 29 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:24.879 it's a really quiet neighborhood. Janine loved horses, and she 30 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.000 was scheduled to attend horseback writing lessons the day after 31 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:36.199 something very bad happened to her. She had won ribbons 32 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.199 for her horse riding skills and she was one of 33 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:42.319 the most popular ten year olds in her fifth grade 34 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:48.159 class at Elmwood Elementary School in Neighborville she'd been in. 35 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:53.520 She was about four foot four feet tall, weighed a 36 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:55.800 little over four feet tall, so she's kind of short. 37 00:02:55.879 --> 00:03:01.879 Weighed sixty three pounds. She had prominent, deep dimples which 38 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:06.000 you'll see in the pictures that we uploaded, brown hair, 39 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:10.639 and big brown eyes. A neighbor described her as being 40 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:16.520 a very lovely, darling, wonderful girl. Oh, the father of 41 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:21.759 Jeanine Thomas, his best friend stated, when you know Janine's 42 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:24.360 family and the love and joy they share, you know 43 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:28.560 where Janine got her bounce and joy and why she 44 00:03:28.680 --> 00:03:33.840 brought so much joy to people in her life. Now, 45 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:38.680 this story takes place on Friday, February twenty fifth, nineteen 46 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.960 eighty three, and Jeanine is ten. She stayed home that 47 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:46.199 day from school because she had the flu, and she 48 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:48.479 was home alone because both of her parents worked and 49 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:54.639 her siblings were at school. Her mother, Patricia, came home 50 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:57.280 to check on her during her lunch break and she 51 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:02.439 made her a sandwich. She was there, Janine told her 52 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.039 that a man from the gas company had come by 53 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.599 and that Jeanine had opened the door for him. 54 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:10.879 Oh. 55 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:15.759 Patricia warned Janine do not ever open the door for 56 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:22.800 a stranger again. Then Patricia went back to work and 57 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:26.000 around one thirty she called Jeanine checked on her see 58 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.480 how she's doing. While she was at work getting ready 59 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:35.240 to leave, Patricia got a phone call from her neighbor. 60 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:41.839 Her neighbor had stated that Patricia's or I'm sorry Janine's sister, 61 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.279 her name was Kathy, had come home and she found 62 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.279 the front door was kicked in, Oh No, and there 63 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:52.279 was a bootprint on it. Janine was no longer in 64 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:56.800 her bed resting. She was no longer in the house. 65 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:07.360 Sometime between one thirty and three, somebody had taken Jeanine. 66 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:11.120 Jeanine at the time was wearing a short pink nightgown 67 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:16.120 with the words I'm sleepy aw and a picture of 68 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:21.800 the Seven Dwarfs que under the words. So the police 69 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:25.319 get contacted and they are reaching out to all the 70 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:30.800 neighbors to find out what happened to Janine. Neighbors reported 71 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:34.439 seeing a strange man in the area around the time 72 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:38.160 of the abduction. The man was described as being white, 73 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:43.279 age between twenty five and thirty, and possibly wearing wire 74 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:48.879 rimmed glasses and a brown cap. The man was seen 75 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:56.040 driving a heavily rusted, light colored older model four door car. 76 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:05.600 Police began a massive search Jeanine, but it the first 77 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:11.040 two days they found they found nothing. However, it was 78 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:14.360 two days later and this is from the court records, 79 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:19.439 after her disappearance, a guy named Charles Bryant. He was 80 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:23.600 from Aurora, Illinois and a friend of his were hiking 81 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:28.160 through the woods on a biking trail near Naperville. After 82 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:33.279 they'd smoked some weed. Brian saw something and at first 83 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:36.959 he thought it was a white box stuffed under the brush, 84 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:43.079 but it wasn't. It was Jeanine's body. No, Brian thought 85 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:44.319 he was hallucinating. 86 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.720 Oh yeah, sure, I would have thought that too, right, I. 87 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:51.360 Mean he must have smoked some strong he said. Quote, 88 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.120 I've been smoking marijuana and I wasn't really sure what 89 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:57.759 I saw and I didn't want to be made out 90 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:01.199 to be a fool. But they didn't want to get 91 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.759 any closer him and his friend, so Bryant and his 92 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.879 friend went to Batavia, it's some city nearby to pick 93 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.560 up another friend named Gary Anderson. They picked up Gary 94 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:17.639 Anderson to show him what they found. When they found 95 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:20.800 and he wasn't stoned. 96 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:23.759 Oh He's like, so yeah, this is bad. 97 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:28.800 So he confirmed, yes, this is a body, and the 98 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:32.079 three men fled to the nearest farmhouse and then called 99 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:34.319 the authorities to report the findings. 100 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.920 That will sober you up really quick, right. 101 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:42.480 Right, oh man, it's February twenty seven, so it's two 102 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:47.240 days after she was taken. Authorities discovered her body in 103 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:52.480 Northwest in the northwest part of Naperville. The police were 104 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:59.120 more than fairly certain it was Janine's and they decided 105 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:02.000 by the time they went there, it was dark, so 106 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:04.680 they decided to leave the body where it was found, 107 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:07.800 and they had a police like watch it until the 108 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:14.240 following day. So what they discovered was shreds of what 109 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:19.639 was presumed to be Jeanine's nightdown on her body. Her 110 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:24.079 body had been bludgeoned, and the autopsy report claimed her 111 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:27.920 death came as a result of quote massive blunt trauma 112 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:33.080 to the hut and that she'd been struck several times 113 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:37.799 with anything from a lead pipe to a baseball. Her 114 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:42.120 nightgown was pulled up over her shoulders and she didn't 115 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:47.679 have any defensive wounds on her. Also on her body 116 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.639 was adhesive tape that blindfolded her eyes, so her eyes 117 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:55.720 were covered with tape. They didn't know if that meant 118 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:59.320 she was held captive in an unknown location before she 119 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:04.759 was killed, but later on the corner stated that she didn't. 120 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:09.320 It wasn't long after she was abducted that she she died. 121 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:16.440 They found fresh tire tracks near her body. Her body 122 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.919 was found midway between the top of a rise, in 123 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:23.159 the bottom of a semi dry creak. She was face 124 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:27.399 down in the underbrush, and they believed that she was 125 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.480 wrapped in some sort of blanket and bed sheet. This 126 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:34.399 is going to be their theory, and drug to a car, 127 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:43.840 drive to a car where she was repeatedly sodomized and 128 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:44.559 then beaten. 129 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:46.519 It's poor child. 130 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.000 It's time you see you guys can see the pictures 131 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:56.480 of her. It's sad. In an effort to preserve the 132 00:09:56.519 --> 00:09:59.240 evidence of the scene, the officials decided not to drive 133 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:03.440 a hearse onto the nature path where her body was, 134 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:08.639 so six detectives carried the small white body bag across 135 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:12.399 this frozen field to hers that was waiting at the 136 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:17.440 opening of the path. Jeanine was buried. She was dressed 137 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:19.679 in her black velvet riding jacket. 138 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:22.080 Oh how cute. 139 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:26.440 Writing pants. I don't know how to what they're called. Yeah, 140 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:27.440 there's official name for it. 141 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:29.600 There is an official name. But yeah, I know what you. 142 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:33.120 Mean, shut up hers or something something like that. Don't know, Sorry, 143 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:36.279 don't know, and riding boots with a writing crap in 144 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:40.759 her hand, a horseshy wreath of red roses and white 145 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:45.759 carnations surrounded her casket. So a task force was assembled 146 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:51.720 to find out who killed Jeanine, and they had a 147 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:57.120 twenty four hour tip line and they urged anybody with 148 00:10:57.159 --> 00:11:00.720 any information to call it. And they even off five 149 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.840 thousand dollars, which is the equivalent of fifteen four hundred 150 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:07.600 and eighty two dollars for crime stoppers for any good 151 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:11.799 tip that would help them find the killer. It took 152 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.519 that took a few weeks to get that going though. 153 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:20.320 Evidence that was found at the site was sent to 154 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:28.039 the DuPage County Cram CRAM Crime Lab Analysis for analysis. 155 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:32.000 The evidence included the adhesive tape or that was, the 156 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:36.559 blindfold cast of footprints made by a hiking boot, and 157 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:41.080 the tire tracks found near the body. A witness reported 158 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:45.879 seeing a dark green Mercury Monarch or Marquee. I don't 159 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:49.360 know I know a Marquee, but I know with its 160 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:53.279 left front hubcap missing near the location where Janine's body 161 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:59.559 was discovered. The main clue early in the investigation into 162 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:02.879 the abdoc and murder of Jeanine was this terry cloth towel. 163 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:09.159 The towels brightly colored, possibly made in like an art 164 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:13.360 class at school or a craft class, and that was 165 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:17.879 also used to blindfold Jeanine. It was discovered along her 166 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:21.120 body in a wooded area, so it wasn't actually honor. 167 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.240 They were just assuming that they maybe used it to 168 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.559 blindfold her. The towel was of high quality. It had 169 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:33.240 been washed several times before the color design was applied 170 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:33.600 to it. 171 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:35.759 Huh. 172 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:38.200 The portion of the towel they found had a small 173 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:41.679 figure with two legs, one arm, and part of the 174 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:47.679 face was drawn in bright red, green and blue. They 175 00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:52.240 appealed to the public, you know, hey, have you see 176 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:56.320 anybody seen a towel like this, because it's pretty descriptive, 177 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:00.720 like how many people have towels like that? Had a 178 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:04.279 matching towel and brought it to police. That toll had 179 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:09.200 been purchased in the late nineteen sixties and they said 180 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:11.399 it was in the Chicago area and there were only 181 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.080 two stores that sold it, and the caricature was of 182 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:20.440 Romeo and Juliette. It didn't belong to the Nacario's family, 183 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:27.320 so soon belonged to the Camillary. Schools in the area 184 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.480 launched a campaign to inform the children now of the 185 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:35.039 dangers of meeting strangers, and they started having a latch 186 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:42.120 key program, and they started fingerprinting kiss oh yeah, to 187 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:51.159 retain records. So there were possible leads in this investigation. 188 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:58.120 Police began to believe that perhaps Junine's abduction was the 189 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:03.639 result of a burglary gone wrong, like a burglar came in, 190 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:08.759 didn't know she was there, and more than one burglar, 191 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:13.519 they assumed, and they panicked when they saw her. That 192 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:21.320 was their theory. They then received a tip from a 193 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:26.440 man who ended up being a put I'm sorry. They 194 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:31.879 received a tip and this tip told the investigators the 195 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:40.120 name of a man named Alejandro Alexandre Fernandas sorry, I apologize. 196 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.320 He was nineteen years old, he lived in Aurora, which 197 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.639 is a Chicago suburb, and he was in part of 198 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:50.120 a gang. So that's the tip they got. He went 199 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:55.799 by Alex. Alex was interviewed and stated on the day 200 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:58.879 that he was that day he was out with some friends. 201 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.120 One of the guys was named Stephen Buckley. So there's 202 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.000 going to be a few players in this. You got 203 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.519 to remember this. So we have Alex, and we have 204 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.600 Stephen Buckley, and the other guy he knew is an 205 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:17.600 acquaintance named Ricky. According to Alex, Ricky admitted to killing Jeanine. 206 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:18.399 Oh really. 207 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:24.639 Police then interviewed Stephen Buckley and during the interview, he 208 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:27.480 denied having anything to do with the murder of Janine, 209 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:32.080 but he said he did have boots that were similar 210 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:35.519 to what was described by the officers based on the 211 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.720 treading of the boots, and he handed them over to 212 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.480 the police. The first person that analyzed the boots said, 213 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:47.279 this isn't a match, so they had it analyzed again. 214 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:53.159 Second time it said could be a match. They had 215 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:55.559 an analystk third time. 216 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:00.639 Seriously, it's a match. That's very reliable information. 217 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:04.840 Police ended up figuring out who Ricky was. His name 218 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:12.240 was Rolando Cruz and both Alex and Stephen and Ricky 219 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:16.360 were all in a gag. Now this is where it 220 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:20.879 gets it starts getting strange. One of Alex Fernandez's friends 221 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.320 got arrested for robbery. Now keep in mind there's this 222 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:33.799 reward for any information leading up to Salad tips. Alex, 223 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:38.759 his friend gets arrested forbery, burlary, robbery, one of those 224 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:44.600 and he tells the police, I know who did it. 225 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:49.799 It was. It was it was Alex and the police 226 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:54.919 at this time had Alex in custody, so the police 227 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.519 gave his friend who I don't know the name of 228 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:01.840 a box with ten thousand dollar in it and put 229 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:05.920 a wire at him. And at the the jail or 230 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:09.759 the police department, both of them were put in a 231 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:10.440 room together. 232 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:12.720 Oh, the friend in Alex. 233 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:16.720 Okay, So the friend tells Alex, listen, say this money 234 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:22.119 right here. I'm getting that money and they're dropping the 235 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:25.720 charges against me, and you will get the same amount 236 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:30.319 of money if you tell them what happened to Janine. 237 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:38.119 What you know, and Alex sold his friend, Oh, okay, well, 238 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.079 I know where the murder occurred. It was at a 239 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:46.240 barn by a farmhouse, and he knew that because he 240 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:47.400 held Janine down. 241 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:48.759 Oh. 242 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:56.400 Police searched the local farmhouses because Alex couldn't give them 243 00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:00.559 an exact one local barns, and they could find anything 244 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:06.480 that connected her in the murder to any barn. And 245 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:09.519 there wasn't any evidence, I don't know, like hey or 246 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.680 anything that would lead them to believe that she was 247 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:19.920 in a barn. But they searched anyway, and eventually they 248 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:24.000 started thinking, I don't know if what Alex is saying 249 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:31.079 is true. It took a year with hardly any evidence, 250 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:38.839 but Stephen Rolando and Alex were eventually indicted by grand 251 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:44.279 jury on March eighth, nineteen eighty four. It's Rolando Cruz 252 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:53.039 and he was also offered reward money, so he gave 253 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:58.000 some statements too, but the police couldn't verify any of 254 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:01.759 these statements he gave. So these kids little weird and 255 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:04.200 I'll just tell you a little bit about Rolando Cruz. 256 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:09.319 Twenty he was described as being too high on paint. 257 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:11.720 Too high on paint. 258 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:16.480 I think he snuffed a lot of paint, okay, And 259 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:22.559 he told the grand jurie some story that didn't really 260 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:30.519 make sense, and eventually they charged him with perjury, which 261 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.960 is kind of strange, but they didn't believe and I 262 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:36.839 think they were thinking that if they charged him with perjury, 263 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:43.559 maybe he'll come forward and tell the truth. He had 264 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:49.200 been sentenced for burglary that was committed before, so all 265 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:54.039 of these three guys have all had burglary charges, which 266 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:57.720 goes with the prosecution's theory that this was a burglary 267 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:04.880 gone wrong. Eventually, Cruz was charged with murder, rape, deviant 268 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:09.799 sexual assault, and aggravated liberties with a child, aggravated kidnapping, 269 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:14.240 home invasion, and residential burglary. His bond was set at 270 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:19.359 three million Wow. Alex Hernandez. He was arrested. He was 271 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:24.400 found at a homeless shelter run by a church in Aurora. 272 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:28.680 Because this is a year later and it's March ninth, 273 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:31.599 nineteen eighty four, he was charged with murder rape. He 274 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:34.079 was charged with the same thing, three million dollar bond. 275 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:38.440 He was later it was determined that he had the 276 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:43.839 IQ of seventy six and he had to wear really 277 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:51.480 thick glasses because he was very cross eyed. Okay, he 278 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:54.680 was described well, his nickname was crazy Alex. 279 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:56.680 Oh boy, crazy Alex. 280 00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:58.559 That's what they called them on the streets because of 281 00:20:58.599 --> 00:20:59.119 his eyes. 282 00:20:59.319 --> 00:20:59.720 Okay. 283 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:04.160 Now, Stephen Buckley, he was twenty one. He dropped out 284 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:08.200 of high school. He went to East, a rural high 285 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:12.440 He had a history of burglary and thraft and theft. 286 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.960 He was described as being very creepy, very scary, with 287 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:22.119 very scary eyes. His eyes always looked drugged out and crazed. 288 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:26.359 They arrested him at his parents' house on March ninth, 289 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:28.880 nineteen eighty four, and he was charged with the same 290 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:37.799 exact things. Now, there was an investigator named John Sam. 291 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:42.640 John Sam he worked for DuPage County Sheriff's office. He 292 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:46.200 resigned from his job before the trial of these three 293 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:51.319 men occurred, and he was so adamant these men didn't 294 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:54.920 do it that he offered to testify for the defense 295 00:21:55.559 --> 00:22:00.880 really in the trial of all three of them, but prosecution, 296 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:04.480 the prosecutor was able to make it so he couldn't 297 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:05.720 because he worked on the case. 298 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:08.119 Maybe a conflict of interest or something. 299 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:12.359 Sam stated he'd always been unsettled because they're about their 300 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:17.319 arrest because there's there's really no evidence except for that 301 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:23.880 boot prince true and for the fact that Alex told 302 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:28.440 nine different versions of how he was participating in the 303 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:37.519 murder of Janine, nine different versions. So there's this, you know, 304 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:43.599 the state's attorney and he wants to charge them with 305 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:51.880 a death penalty and also multiple felonies. The defense attorneys 306 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:55.079 tried to get it moved out of DuPage County because 307 00:22:55.359 --> 00:23:00.839 obviously the publicity there was all over, and he didn't 308 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.160 they didn't think that they could get a fair defense. 309 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:08.559 So the judge said, no, we're staying here, and this 310 00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:11.160 is all important. There's a point to why I'm going 311 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:16.160 through about the trial. The trial of all three defendants 312 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:20.119 began on Monday, January seventh, nineteen eighty five, in a 313 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:21.960 courtroom in Wheaton, Illinois. 314 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.960 Were they all tried together or they all had separate trials. 315 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:31.079 I think they all had they were tried together. They were, 316 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:34.480 but there's more than one trial, and there's some twists 317 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:42.640 to this story. Okay, Prashcustin's case, Really, the only thing 318 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:45.039 was the height of the bootprint on the front door 319 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:49.440 of the carrio home, the size of the shoe prints 320 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:54.640 on the door and in the tire tracks, which I 321 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:58.200 don't even believe matched any of the vehicles that the men, 322 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:04.559 but they tried to link the bootprint to Buckley and 323 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:09.519 that was the one on the front door. So the 324 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:16.880 prosecutor's case against Cruz was through a detailed vision of 325 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:20.640 the crime that Cruz told the police came to him 326 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:23.039 about two months after the murder. 327 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:23.240 A vision. 328 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:32.519 So these guys are making confessions, confessions sort of about 329 00:24:32.519 --> 00:24:36.880 what happened. So the prosecutor's case against Hernandez hitched on 330 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:40.480 the fact that he told nine different accounts of his 331 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:46.559 knowledge or involvement in the crime. All. Of course, the 332 00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:51.240 defendant's attorneys objected because they were eighty one photos of 333 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:57.519 Janine's body that the prosecutor wanted the jury to see, 334 00:24:58.119 --> 00:25:03.880 and they were horrific photos. Only twenty one of them 335 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:08.160 got in. Three witnesses testified that Hernandez and Cruz admitted 336 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:12.359 in conversations that they were involved in Janine's abduction and murder. Well, 337 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:15.319 I mean they were blab in their mouth yea, that 338 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:18.119 they were part of it. And they were all either 339 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:23.920 friends or relatives of the men. The defense said they 340 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:28.039 were all drug drug users and high school dropouts, and 341 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:34.240 they had long criminal histories. So they talk about the 342 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:40.920 bootprints and comparing it. And some other people testified that 343 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:46.039 they saw Buckley driving a car matching the suspects description 344 00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:51.079 in that same time as Janine was abducted. Two as 345 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:59.200 a brother and a family friend of Hernandez testified against him. Well. 346 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:03.759 The verdict came in Febuer twenty second, nineteen eighty five, 347 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:07.680 after twenty seven days of testimony from ninety witnesses, two 348 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:11.039 days of closing arguments, and thirteen and a half hours deliberation, 349 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:15.400 the jury found Cruise and Hernandez guilty of murder, rate 350 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:21.160 and all the other charges. I explained that was they 351 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:23.720 were found guilty three days before the second anniversary of 352 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:28.000 Janine's death. But when it came to Stephen Buckley, the 353 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:34.079 jury was hopelessly dead locked. Then prosecutor said, we're gonna 354 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:34.440 try to again. 355 00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:37.559 But he was the one with the bootprint, right, hopelessly 356 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:40.640 dead locked. It's kind of crazy, like if that's really 357 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:43.759 like one of the big pieces of evidence and their deadlocked. 358 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:47.480 But the other two guys did it, Okay. 359 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:51.559 He following because it gets seems. 360 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:54.480 A little odd, very interesting, I'm with you. 361 00:26:54.759 --> 00:27:03.160 So Buckley was released on bond, and it gets even 362 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:07.240 more complicated, and two of his journeys ended up getting arrested. 363 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:09.079 But I'm not going to go into all of that. 364 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:17.480 In the long short of it, he was acquitted or 365 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:21.279 yeah he was acquitted. Yeah he was acquitted, or he 366 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:23.799 wasn't tried again. I should say that he wasn't tried again. 367 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:27.599 Cruise and Hernandez weigh the rights to a jury trial, 368 00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:34.119 and they were sentenced to death. Cruz claimed that he 369 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:36.559 grabbed her by the throat and threw down the stairs. 370 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:38.720 That was one of the things that he had confessed to. 371 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:45.519 They were sentenced to Menard Correctional Center, where they would 372 00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:49.799 be executed. Cruz was sentenced to an additional two hundred 373 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:52.759 and fifty five years in prison, including two six year 374 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:57.359 terms for rape and all these other things. So he 375 00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:02.640 got the worst of it. You know, death sentences are 376 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:08.680 automatically appealed by the Supreme Court, and everybody did all 377 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:15.160 the appeals they could, and they all got denied. But 378 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:23.480 things changed. There was a twist, And I'm gonna tell 379 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:29.680 you about Brian Dugan, Okay. Brian James Dugan was born 380 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:33.359 in September twenty fifth, on September twenty third, nineteen fifty six, 381 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.559 in Nashua, New Hampshire. 382 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:41.519 Nisha, maybe Yessa, what's. 383 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:45.559 Got of ah? I don't know. He was born in 384 00:28:45.559 --> 00:28:49.839 New Hampshire. He showed signs of being a psychopath at 385 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:53.640 a very early age. And there's a point to me 386 00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:58.319 talking to you about Brian. Let me tell you a 387 00:28:58.359 --> 00:29:02.920 little bit about Brian. Right. He burned down his garage 388 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:07.400 at the age of eight. Oh damn, so he's starting fires. 389 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:11.079 At the age of thirteen, he poured gasoline on a 390 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:13.039 cat and lit the cat on a fire. 391 00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:15.599 Animal cruelty, fucker. 392 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:20.960 So yet we got arson, we got animal cruelty. At 393 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:24.279 the age of fourteen, he got caught burglarizing a home 394 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:26.880 and he was sent to the youth detention center, the Juvy. 395 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:31.799 His brother thinks that he was molested there. I don't 396 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:35.160 know if he was, But when Brian returned home, eventually 397 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:41.119 he attempted to molest his younger brother, Stephen. Brian was bedwetter. 398 00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:45.359 There are the three, there we go, there's the triad. 399 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:53.160 Even as an adult. Wow, yeah, he probably still what's 400 00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:56.880 his bed? Did I? Yeah? In nineteen seventy four, he 401 00:29:56.920 --> 00:29:59.000