WEBVTT 1 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:46.000 Located in the rolling, oak studded hills of Contra Costa County, California, 2 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:49.920 Orinda has long embodied the promise of suburban tranquility. The 3 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:53.280 community's origins traced back to the eighteen forties, when the 4 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.880 land was part of four sprawling Mexican land grants used 5 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.119 primarily for cattle ranching. By the early twent in the 6 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:03.320 eighth century, the area had transformed into a quaint retreat 7 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:08.560 dotted with summer cabins and country estates. It was Theodore 8 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:12.879 Roosevelt's daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who inspired the town's name. 9 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.560 Her childhood nickname was Orinda, and the Cameron family honored 10 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:20.879 her by naming their estate Orinda Park in the eighteen nineties. 11 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:24.159 In the nineteen twenties, the town was developed into an 12 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:29.480 exclusive residential community that attracted wealthy San Francisco families seeking 13 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:33.239 respite from city life. The town grew slowly and deliberately, 14 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:37.400 maintaining its rural character even as suburban development spread across 15 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:42.079 the Bay Area following World War II. By the nineteen eighties, 16 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:47.120 Orinda remained an unincorporated area of Contra Costa County, A 17 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:51.439 collection of winding roads mature trees and carefully maintained homes 18 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:55.840 that felt worlds away from urban concerns. Only about eight 19 00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:58.760 percent of the homes were rented, and more than seventy 20 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:03.519 seven percent occupied by married couples. It was indeed considered 21 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:09.639 suburban bliss. Among Arnda's quiet residential straits, Orchard Roads stood 22 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:14.840 as a particularly serene enclave. This tree lined thoroughfare worn 23 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:18.159 through one of the area's most desirable neighborhoods, where mid 24 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:22.039 century modern homes and traditional California ranch houses sat on 25 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:26.039 generous lots. Many built in the nineteen forties through the 26 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:31.159 nineteen sixties. The families who lived on Orchard Road epitomized 27 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:35.240 the American suburban dream, well educated professionals who commuted to 28 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:39.439 San Francisco via Highway twenty four, returning each evening to 29 00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:43.879 their peaceful hillside community. The street itself embodied the careful 30 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:48.719 planning that characterized Ornda's development. Houses here were set back 31 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:52.560 from the road, separated by mature landscaping that provided both 32 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:56.759 privacy and a sense of spaciousness. In nineteen eighty four, 33 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:01.319 Orinda was still an unincorporated community, its residents debating whether 34 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:05.360 to seek cityhood, while enjoying the benefits of their affluent, 35 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:10.000 close knit enclave. For the families on Orchard Road, life 36 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:13.919 moved at an unhurried pace of suburbia until one night 37 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:18.639 in June, when that peace was shattered. Forever, the suburban 38 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:23.759 quiet was disturbed when a teenage girl's terrified screams echoed 39 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:41.120 up and down the neighborhood. At just fifteen years old, 40 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:46.080 Kirsten Costas embodied everything that made Mirramont High School sparkle. 41 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.960 She was the kind of teenager people naturally gravitated towards 42 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:55.000 her infectious smile, her kind hearted nature, her eager enthusiasm. 43 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:58.439 She moved through the halls of the prestigious school with 44 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.080 the quiet confidence of somebody you seemed to know exactly 45 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:04.479 who she was and where she was going. Mirramont High 46 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:07.840 wasn't just any school. Nestled in the small suburban town 47 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:11.599 of Orinda in California. It had a reputation that stretched 48 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:15.479 far beyond the neat tree lined streets around it. Built 49 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.199 in nineteen fifty five at the height of the baby boom, 50 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.839 the school quickly became known for its excellence. By the 51 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.639 nineteen eighties, Mirramont was a pressure cooker for achievement. A 52 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:31.000 place where ambition ran high and failure felt unthinkable. Students 53 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:35.279 weren't just expected to succeed, they were expected to excel. 54 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:40.480 Principal Branislavyek, who also happened to be Kirsten's neighbor, once 55 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:43.959 summed it up plainly. The atmosphere for success is certainly 56 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.240 a good one. It wasn't an exaggeration. Mirramont ranked in 57 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:52.399 the ninety ninth percentile of statewide test scores. Its students 58 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:56.759 weren't only scholars, but athletes, artists, and leaders. The school 59 00:04:56.759 --> 00:04:59.639 demanded much, but it also seemed to produce the best, 60 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.600 and Kirston was no exception. Kirston had grown up in 61 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:06.720 Ornda with her parents, Arthur and Barrett, and her older 62 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:11.160 brother Peter. The Costas home sat on Orchard Road, a quiet, 63 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:14.439 leafy strait that looked like the blueprint of small taunts 64 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:18.959 suburban life. Arthur and Barrett doated on their daughter, describing 65 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.560 her with the kind of endearing phrases that only parents 66 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:24.959 can conjure. Cured as a bug's ear and an all 67 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:30.160 American girl. Kirston herself was a bundle of contradictions, and 68 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.439 that made her all the more magnetic. She had the 69 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:37.079 messiest bedroom in the house, clothes scattered across the floor, 70 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:40.560 make up clustered on her bedside table, yet she always 71 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:45.240 stepped out in the latest styles, effortlessly put together. She 72 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:49.040 complained endlessly about her curly hair, but her friends envied it. 73 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:52.240 She seemed, in many ways to embody the charm and 74 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:56.680 complexity of being a teenager at Merremont, Kirston seemed to 75 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.720 excel at everything that she touched. She was a strong 76 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.480 shite iudent, respected by her teachers and admired by her peers. 77 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:06.399 She was equally at home in the pool as a 78 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.680 member of the varsity swimming team, or on the sidelines 79 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:13.319 with her palm poms during her classmates. On that fall, 80 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:16.079 she was set to join the varsity cheerleading squad, and 81 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:19.199 she'd just come back from spirit camp, buzzing with new 82 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:23.439 routine she couldn't wait to perform. But Kirsten's talents didn't 83 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:27.639 stop at school activities. She threw herself into every passion 84 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:32.759 with her whole heart. Swimming, skiing, ballet, modern dance. She 85 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:36.439 seemed to thrive on movement and energy, always pushing herself 86 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:41.120 towards something new. Despite her popularity. Kirsten's friend said that 87 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:44.120 she wasn't swept up in the teenage drama that often 88 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:48.639 defines high school life. She wasn't chasing boyfriends or obsessed 89 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:52.680 with dating. As one close friend later said, she wasn't 90 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:56.600 boy crazy. She was more friend crazy. Her time and 91 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:58.800 her heart were for the people she cared about, her 92 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.040 circle of friends, her team mates, her family. She had 93 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:06.040 a compassionate strike that randy if somebody was late mating her. 94 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:10.759 She worried if a friend seemed dawn. She noticed. The principal, 95 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:13.240 who knew her both as a student and a neighbor, 96 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:19.279 remembered a good, solid student, very popular, a well liked kid. 97 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.000 It was Thursday, the twenty first of June nineteen eighty 98 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.439 four when the phone at the Costs home rank there. 99 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:36.399 It picked it up, expecting it to be a neighbor 100 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.079 or perhaps one of Kirsten's friends, but instead on the 101 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:42.079 other end of the line was a girl she didn't 102 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.519 immediately recognize. Her voice was hushed but brimming with excitement. 103 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:50.319 She explained that Kirston had been chosen for something special, 104 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:54.040 an initiation dinner for the Bobbies, where as they were 105 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:58.160 more formally known the bobble Lynx. The Bobbies weren't just 106 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.600 any group. They were an off camp as sorority type 107 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:05.079 club made up of ourun thirty girls known throughout Mirramont High. 108 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:08.519 They weren't recognized by the school, but they didn't need 109 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:11.480 to be. They had their own rules, their own rituals, 110 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:14.920 and their own reputation. They held charity events for the 111 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:19.279 Mount Diablo Rehabilitation Center and they raised money with elaborate 112 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:22.800 themed parties on Saturday nights. On paper, they were a 113 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:28.399 volunteer organization. In reality, they were something much more, a 114 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:33.200 status symbol. At Mirramont. The Bobbies weren't just admired, they 115 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.360 were envied. They were the girls with the best looks, 116 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:40.559 the newest clothes, the wealthiest families. Some pulled into the 117 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.559 school parking lot in porches, others jetted off to Europe 118 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.320 in the summer, while the rest of the student body 119 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:51.600 lingered around Rinda. They were the definition of popular and 120 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:54.519 entry into their circle wasn't something that you asked for, 121 00:08:55.039 --> 00:08:58.919 it was something they granted you. Marcy Geyer, as secretary 122 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:01.679 at the school, once put its simply, Bobbies are a 123 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.039 clean group, something to be proud of. So when the 124 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.440 caller told Barrett that Kirsten had been invited to an 125 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:12.399 initiation dinner. It felt like an honor. Not only that, 126 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:16.120 the caller insisted it had to remain a secret. Kirston 127 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.919 should be ready by nine pm Saturday night, when she 128 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.360 would be picked up and taken to the dinner. To Barrett, 129 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.919 there was nothing unusual about this. For years, mirror Monk 130 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:31.000 girls had gone through silly, sometimes messy initiation rites. They 131 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:34.039 would smear their hair with mayonnaise or raw egg, slip 132 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.200 into their mother's worst old clothing, and attempt to sell 133 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.639 kisses along the rig away. They might wrap a house 134 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:43.879 in toilet paper or be subject to mild pranks, but 135 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:47.840 nothing beyond harmless teenage ritual. If anything, it was considered 136 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:52.240 a rite of passage. Saturday night arrived and at nine 137 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:55.240 pm sharp a car pulled up outside the Costas home 138 00:09:55.240 --> 00:09:58.399 on Orchard Route. It wasn't the sleek Porsche or shiny 139 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:02.200 Mercedes one might expect from the Bobby's. Instead, it was 140 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:06.080 a beat up, old orange Ford pintoo. Behind the wheel 141 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:08.679 saw a teenage girl in a faded yellow T shirt 142 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:13.000 and baggy gracewatpants tied at the waist. Barrett peered out 143 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:17.240 of the window. She smiled to herself. The Bobbies, she thought, 144 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.639 must be playing one of their little tricks. Kirsten, who 145 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.279 was dressed and ready, kissed her mother goodbye and then 146 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:26.919 headed out the front door. She and the girl climbed 147 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:30.039 into the pinto the door, closing with a hollow thud, 148 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.759 before the car rattled its way down Orchard Road and 149 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:38.200 into the night. Barrett didn't worry. This was a rinda. 150 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:41.919 Her daughter was off to join the ranks of the Bobby's, 151 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:46.960 a secret initiation, a silly tradition, a step into the 152 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:51.200 circle of girls who seemed to have it all. But 153 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:54.960 the truth was far darker, and that night the costUS 154 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:58.639 had unknowingly sent their daughter into the hands of somebody 155 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:11.480 who wasn't work she seemed. Around forty minutes after Kirsten 156 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:14.720 had left home, a knock sounded on the front door 157 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:19.519 of Alex Arnold. Alex lived across the town, far from 158 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:23.759 the quiet straight of Orchard Route. It was late and 159 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:27.679 unexpected visitors were rare. When he opened the door, he 160 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:31.000 was startled to see a teenage girl standing there, pale 161 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.799 and frightened. It was Kirsten. Her eyes darted nervously and 162 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:38.200 her voice trembled as she asked if she could use 163 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.799 his phone. Alex stepped aside and let her in. She 164 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:46.519 quickly dialed a number, but then froze, hanging up before 165 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:51.360 the call connected. Something was clearly wrong. Alex asked gently 166 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:55.080 if she was all right. Kirsten forced a faint smile 167 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:58.320 and said, I'm all right, but my parents aren't home. 168 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:01.720 The words didn't match the fear that was etched on 169 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:06.039 her face. Alex offered to drive her home, and she accepted. 170 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.000 They climbed into his car, but as he backed out 171 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:13.120 of the driveway, he noticed something. A car was idling 172 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:18.279 on the street, a beaten up orange Ford Pinto. Behind 173 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:23.440 the wheel sat another teenage girl watching them. Kirsten stiffened, 174 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.039 she told Alex that she'd been with that girl, that 175 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:30.360 things had taken a turn. She said that the girl 176 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:32.840 was acting weird and she didn't want to get back 177 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:36.240 in the car with her. Alex reassured her she didn't 178 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:39.519 have to, he would take her home, but as they 179 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:43.440 pulled away, the Ford Pinto followed, its headlights, trailing them 180 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:49.120 through the darkened straits of Orinda. Kirsten's anxiety mounted. She 181 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:51.919 asked Alex not to take her directly home, but to 182 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.639 drop her off at a neighbor's house instead. Perhaps she 183 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:58.080 thought it would be safe for that way, she knew 184 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.840 that her parents weren't home. Alex agreed and pulled up 185 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:05.720 outside the house she pointed to. He waited as Kirsten 186 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:08.000 climbed out of the car and made her way to 187 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:11.559 the front door. Then out of the corner of his eye, 188 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.519 Alex saw movement. The driver of the Pinto had parked 189 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:19.879 nearby and was now approaching on foot. She walked briskly 190 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:25.360 past Alex's car, her steps quick, her posture rigid. He 191 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.600 watched in stun silence as the girl closed the distance 192 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:35.000 to where Kirsten was standing. Suddenly, the stranger's arm shot up, 193 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:40.200 her right hand came crashing down on to Kirsten. Screams 194 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:43.799 pierced the night. At first, Alex thought he was witnessing 195 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:47.240 a fight, two teenagers throwing fists in a burst of 196 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:51.039 high school drama. Then he saw the glint of metal. 197 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:55.879 The flash of red in the girl's hand wasn't a fist, 198 00:13:56.679 --> 00:14:00.960 it was a knife. Kirsten crumpled to the ground, but 199 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:05.240 with astonishing strength, she pushed herself back up, blood spreading 200 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:11.639 across her clothing. She stumbled towards Alex's car, desperate to escape. 201 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:15.799 The other girl didn't chase her. Instead, she sprinted back 202 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:19.600 to the Pinto, jumped inside, and roared away, the screech 203 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:23.679 of the tires echoing down the street. Alex slammed his 204 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:28.159 foot on the accelerator, giving chase, but the Pindo disappeared 205 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:32.840 into the night, its tail lights swallowed by darkness. Back 206 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:35.559 in the neighborhood, the sound of Kirsten's screams had drawn 207 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:38.840 the attention of Tom Hillman. He looked out of the 208 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:42.039 window of his home and froze at the sight. A 209 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:46.919 girl was staggering towards his front door, clutching herself, blood 210 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:53.000 staining her shirt. He rushed outside. Tom later recalled, it 211 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:56.840 was obvious something horrible was happening. I opened the screen 212 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:00.679 door and saw Kirsten running in a sort of staggering 213 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:04.320 way towards the house. She said, help me, help me, 214 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:07.759 I've been stabbed, and then she collapsed in my arms. 215 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:12.240 Tom shouted for his wife to call nine one one. 216 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:16.440 He held Kirsten lightly, rocking her slightly, telling her that 217 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:20.360 help was coming. Other neighbors poured out of their homes, 218 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:24.879 drawn by the commotion. Gary Schultz, who lived nearby, remembered 219 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.840 the horrifying sight. She was bleeding so bad it coated 220 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:33.159 her shirt. Minutes later, the wall of sirens split the night. 221 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.840 An ambulance arrived and rushed Kirston to Kaise her hospital 222 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:42.200 in Walnut Creek, but it was already too late. At 223 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:46.200 just fifteen years old, Kirsten cost As was pronounced dead 224 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.240 on arrival. She had been stabbed five times in the back. 225 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:03.440 A murder investigator was immediately launched. Detectives already had crucial 226 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:07.840 eyewitness statements from both Kirsten's mother, Barrett, and Alex Arnold. 227 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:12.080 Both of them described a teenage girl driving an orange 228 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.440 Ford Pinto. She was said to be chunky, with stringy hair, 229 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:22.440 and clearly around Kirsten's age. But as investigators quickly learned, 230 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:25.159 Alex and Barrett weren't the only ones who had crossed 231 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:30.159 paths with that girl that night. Alex's neighbor Patrick Flaherty, 232 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:34.120 had also noticed the Pinto idling outside his house while 233 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:37.840 Kirsten was trying to make her phone call. Suspicious, he 234 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:40.360 had approached the driver and asked if she was all right. 235 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:44.200 The girl seemed nervous, but she explained she was having 236 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:49.200 trouble starting her car. When Patrick later spotted Kirsten, he 237 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:53.240 asked if she was okay too. She looked shaken. She 238 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:56.480 had just abandoned her call, unable to reach her parents, 239 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:00.879 and she admitted that something wasn't right. She said that 240 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:04.640 the girl in the car, her so called friend, was 241 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:09.400 starting to get weird. She didn't explain further, but it 242 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:11.759 was a chilling hint that something had already gone wrong 243 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.880 in the short window of time between leaving the Costs 244 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:19.079 home that night and arriving at Alex's doorstep. As word 245 00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:23.359 of Kirsten's murder spread across Rinda, other pieces of information 246 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.680 began filtering in. Another local girl came forward with a 247 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:31.240 disturbing account. She too had received the phone call from 248 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:34.640 somebody claiming to be the President of the Bobbies, inviting 249 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:39.279 her to an initiation dinner, but unlike Kirsten, she didn't 250 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:42.519 take the bait. She knew that the real president was 251 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:46.640 on vacation in Hawaii. It was becoming clear that the 252 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:50.920 phone calls were a ruse, a ploy, that so called 253 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:55.759 initiation dinner didn't exist in fact, detectives confirmed there had 254 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:58.079 been no Bobby's event planned for that night at all. 255 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.200 Whoever had called, whoever had pulled up in the Pinto 256 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:06.240 was the same person, and she was also Kirsten's killer. 257 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:10.319 One mother of a girl and the Bobby speculated grimly, 258 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:14.319 I think the killer was somebody aunty Bobby, someone who 259 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.119 used the initiation as an excuse to get to her. 260 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:23.119 Investigators were determined to find out who that was. They 261 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:26.240 released a description of both the suspect and her car. 262 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:30.480 A teenage girl about five foot five inches tall with 263 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:34.519 shoulder length blonde or light brown hair, described by witnesses 264 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:38.720 as chunky. She was driving a noisy, possibly yellow, hatchback 265 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:43.759 model Pinto. If she saw the familiar, detectives urged somebody 266 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:47.599 needed to come forward. But in the community as tight 267 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:53.000 knit as Arinda, the description didn't immediately match anybody. Nobody 268 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:56.640 seemed to know her. While police searched desperately for the 269 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.640 girl in the Pinto, the cost As family prepared to 270 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:04.759 bury their daughter at the Lafayette wherein the Presbyterian Church, 271 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:08.240 friends and family gathered to say their goodbyes to fifteen 272 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:13.279 year old Kirsten. The sanctuary overflowed with grief, every pew 273 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:17.279 filled with classmates, neighbors, and community members still in shock 274 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:21.119 over the census tragedy. The program handed to the mourners 275 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:24.359 contained words that Kirston had written not long before she 276 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.880 was killed. I like to be free, to go where 277 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:29.799 I want to go, and be what I want to be. 278 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:34.839 Reverend James Little presided over the service. He spoke warmly 279 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:39.200 of Kirsten's personality, her drive, and her kindness. She had 280 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.480 a will of her own, he said, but she was 281 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:46.359 kind and loving and always reaching out. The longer the 282 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.880 case went unsolved, the more terrified the residents of Orinda became. 283 00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:53.799 This was a quiet bedroom community, a place where neighbors 284 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:58.240 waved across manicured lawns and children bagged freely through the streets. 285 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:03.200 Burglaries were rare. The most common crime was speeding. A 286 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:05.480 Now in the middle of summer, a teenage girl had 287 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:09.400 been murdered, and another teenage girl was the main suspect. 288 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:14.000 Lieutenant James Robinson summed it up bluntly, this is the 289 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:17.880 kind of case that nobody likes. The motive remained. The 290 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:22.960 mystery detectives found themselves circling over the same question again 291 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:27.759 and again why everybody who knew Kirsten described her the 292 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:32.759 same way, popular, friendly, well liked. She didn't have enemies. 293 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:36.599 If somebody had wanted to harm her, nobody could explain why. 294 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:41.519 But fear and speculation took hole quickly. The Bobbies, who 295 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:44.920 had once worn their group's T shirts proudly quietly put 296 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:48.599 them away. Whispers circulated that the killer must have been 297 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.960 someone with a grudge against the exclusive club. After all, 298 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.960 the call that lured Kirsten out of her home had 299 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:00.759 revolved around the Bobbies. Others succeeded on the car, A 300 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:04.519 noisy bade up Ford Pinto stood out in Rinda, as 301 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:08.839 one of Kirsten's classmates remarked, most of them drive BMW's 302 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:15.200 and Mercedes. Surely someone somewhere must have recognized it. And 303 00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:18.519 then there was the darker possibility, the suspicion that the 304 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:22.720 killer wasn't an outsider at all. Many believed it had 305 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:26.279 to have been somebody that Kirsten knew. It couldn't have 306 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:31.440 been an outsider, one friend insisted. The uncertainty changed everything. 307 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:35.839 Teenagers stopped going out alone. They clung to their groups, 308 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:40.960 scanning unfamiliar faces with wary suspicious eyes, and sometimes those 309 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:46.000 suspicious eyes turned towards people they knew, neighbors, even classmates. 310 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:50.400 In early July, a reward fund was established by Arthur Hillman, 311 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:53.559 the neighbor who had cradled Kirsten as she bled out 312 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:57.640 in his arms. Within days, it reached fifteen thousand dollars 313 00:21:58.200 --> 00:22:01.599 thanks to contributions from the community. By the end of 314 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:03.960 the month, an anonymous downer had increased it to fifty 315 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:09.079 thousand dollars. Tips poured in. Some claimed to recognize the girl, 316 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:13.200 others thought they had spotted the pinto. Each lad was 317 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:16.960 chased on, each car investigated one by one. They were 318 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:21.960 ruled out by August with no arrest. Kirsten's parents stepped 319 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:26.400 forward publicly. They appealed directly to their daughter's killer to 320 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:29.720 come forth. At the same time, they laid out their 321 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:33.400 own theory of what had happened. Arthur and Barrett believed 322 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.119 that the murderer hadn't been random at all. They suggested 323 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:40.480 a group of girls resentful of the Bobbies had lured 324 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:44.680 Kirsten into some kind of ambush, a prank or confrontation 325 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.240 that had spiraled fatally out of control. They even speculated 326 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.519 that the killer might be another student, someone who was 327 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:58.000 being shielded by their peers. Arthur explained the planning, the 328 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:01.400 way they set us up Kirsten out of the house. 329 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:04.799 They had to know the area, they had to know Kirsten. 330 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:08.920 He believed that the motive was rooted in jealousy, or 331 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:15.359 perhaps in resentment of what Kirsten represented, her popularity, her opportunities, 332 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:21.599 her belonging to Renda's social establishment. The press conference coincided 333 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:25.680 with the first day of school after summer break. Standing 334 00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:29.279 before the cameras, Arthur said grimly, there may be some 335 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:34.359 kids who don't show today. The tectives weren't convinced. Captain 336 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:38.920 Stan Garvin pushed back against the theory, saying investigators didn't 337 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:43.200 believe that Kirsten's murder had been planned. Still, as weeks 338 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:47.000 turned to months, the fear that had gripped Rinda began 339 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:52.519 to fade. Life crept back towards normal. Students returned to 340 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:57.960 their classes, cheerleaders practiced new routines. The buzz of teenage 341 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:02.440 life filled the halls of school once again, but Kirston's 342 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:05.680 absence was deeply felt. In front of the school, her 343 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:09.880 classmates plannedd a twelve foot magnolia tree, a living memorial 344 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:14.400 to the girl they had lost. For detectives, the work continued, 345 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:19.279 though resources thinned. By October, only four detectives were working 346 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:22.880 the case full time, with two more part time. They 347 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:26.119 chased on nearly eight hundred separate leads, checked out seven 348 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:30.640 hundred cars, and interviewed countless witnesses, and still they were 349 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:35.440 no closer to naming Kirsten's killer. Captain Garvin admitted, while 350 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:39.000 everyone on the task force was failing, all it has 351 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:54.160 led to his frustration. Miramont High School stood as a 352 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:58.839 symbol of educational excellence in Orinda, with its college preparatory 353 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:04.799 curriculum and impress array of advanced placement courses. It was 354 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:08.799 founded in nineteen fifty five in an old orchard off 355 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:12.519 Maraga Way. The school had since built a reputation for 356 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:16.960 academic achievement that matched the aspirations of its well healed 357 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:21.359 student body. But beneath the polished veneer of success, a 358 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:25.480 complex social hierarchy had taken root, one that would prove 359 00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:29.759 both defining and divisive for the teenagers who walked its halls. 360 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:34.559 To outsiders looking in, Miremont's students seemed to live in 361 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:39.640 a world of privilege that bred arrogance. Students from neighboring 362 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:43.200 schools whispered that the kids from Miramont were snobby, that 363 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:46.480 they thought they were better than everyone else simply because 364 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:49.440 of where they lived and what their parents could afford. 365 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:54.720 These weren't entirely unfair judgments. The evidence was there for 366 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:58.680 anybody who cared to look. The school's nineteen eighty three 367 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:02.519 year book told the story in black and white. Page 368 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:05.440 after page revealed the student body whose dreams were measured 369 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:10.440 in luxury brands and exotic destinations. When seniors listed their 370 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:14.640 favorite cars, the responses read like a German automotive catalog. 371 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:22.480 Porsches BMW's VW Rabbit convertibles dominated the lists. Their ideal 372 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.119 vacation spots weren't local camping trips or visits to grandparents. 373 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:31.240 They dreamed of European adventures and tropical escapes to Hawaii. 374 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:36.240 And these weren't just seenage fantasies. For many Mirramont students, 375 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:41.359 these were realistic expectations, the natural extension of lives already 376 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:45.759 cushioned by wealth. But the glossy yearbook pages didn't tell 377 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:49.519 the whole story. While the school's reputation was built on 378 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:53.519 the achievements and affluents of its most visible students. Not 379 00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:57.920 everyone at Mirrimont came from money. Scattered throughout the student 380 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:01.440 body were kids who lived in more modesty homes, whose 381 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:05.799 parents worked regular jobs and budgeted carefully for school supplies 382 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:11.000 and basic necessities. These students drove hammi drawn cars, held 383 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:14.359 together with prayers and ductape if they were lucky enough 384 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:16.960 to have a car at all. Some took the bus 385 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:20.160 or cot rides with friends, acutely aware of how their 386 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:25.000 transportation compared to the shiny vehicles in the student parking lot. 387 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:29.599 For these students, the social pressure was suffocating. Every day 388 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:33.279 brought reminders of what they lacked from the designer closed 389 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:37.279 their classmates wore effortlessly to the casual mentions of weekend 390 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:41.599 trips and expensive hobbies that others took for granted. The 391 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:46.720 divide wasn't just economic, it was social, cultural, and deeply personal. 392 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:50.720 Some students found ways to bridge the gap, working part 393 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:53.759 time jobs to afford the right clothes, or finding their 394 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:57.359 niche and activities where talent mattered more than bank accounts. 395 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:02.759 Others struggled in silence, feeling like outsiders in their own school. 396 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:06.880 The pressure to fit in could be overwhelming. It created 397 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:10.039 an environment where some students would go to extraordinary lengths 398 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:13.599 to gain approval to find their place in the carefully 399 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:19.480 constructed social order that governed teenage life. At Mirrimont, the 400 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:25.160 stakes felt impossibly high. Acceptance meant everything, Rejection could feel 401 00:28:25.240 --> 00:28:29.599