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 --> 00:00:05.679 not intended for all audiences. 3 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:08.519 Listener discretion is advised. 4 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.560 What happened, It's okay, it's okay. Get it off your chest. 5 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:17.000 I didn't do anything. 6 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:17.640 You're a liar. 7 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:20.640 You danced around in her blood and blah blah, yay me, 8 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.559 look at me. Here's to you, Satan. 9 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:26.960 Here's to you, my first sacrifice. 10 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:36.399 Life is hard, but it is wonderful, isn't it? And 11 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:40.759 every day is a gift. So thank you for sharing 12 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:45.240 yours with us today. This is episode three hundred and 13 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:47.719 thirty of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals it 14 00:00:47.840 --> 00:02:00.239 the worst monsters are really tucked into the no their 15 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:04.560 an edge of Saint Joseph, Missouri. Krug Park spans one 16 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:09.400 hundred and sixty three acres of meticulously landscaped grounds, Renaissance 17 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:12.599 style architecture, and winding walking trails. 18 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:14.879 Sounds nice, not. 19 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:19.800 For its rose gardens, quiet lagoon and even whimsical Italian castle. 20 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:24.639 The park draws families and joggers alike, especially when it 21 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:29.360 transforms into a glowing spectacle during the holidays. But beneath 22 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.840 its tranquil charm and seasonal cheer, Krug Park holds a 23 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:39.080 dark memory, one that shattered it's peaceful Facade's take a 24 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:39.599 number one. 25 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:40.560 Where here emergency? 26 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:43.159 I'm not out running the trails to Krug Pork and 27 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:44.800 I'm pretty sure I just ran right across. 28 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:45.000 The dead body. 29 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:46.840 Why do you think that there's a dead body there? 30 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.080 I wasn't sure there's a mannequin like Halloween or not, 31 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.560 but because it's just sitting there still. But I just 32 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:54.159 stood there, you know, for two minutes, trying to check 33 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:55.919 everything in and it's real. 34 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:57.000 I didn't touch it. 35 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:57.680 I didn't know it. 36 00:02:57.960 --> 00:02:59.840 Does she have any injuries or anything like that? 37 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:00.599 You know? 38 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:01.919 I came up to the front, but it looked like 39 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:04.319 a whole woman over chest and then cut by her neck, 40 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.280 like where her neck was. Okay, can you describe the 41 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:11.919 person Tomy young waiting completely like her close girl rips office. 42 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:12.759 She was right next to her. 43 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:15.680 Did you see any hair, eye color on the female? 44 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:17.800 The wider wide open the ground. 45 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:22.199 On the morning of October sixteenth, twenty sixteen, a young 46 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.439 man was walking through Crug Park when he made a 47 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.599 discovery that would haunt him for the rest of his life. 48 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:34.400 He found the body of a teenage girl lying exposed 49 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:39.360 on the jogging trail. She had been stabbed repeatedly, her 50 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:43.759 throat slit. This was no accident. It was a brutal 51 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:48.560 and deliberate killing. When investigators arrived, the details were as 52 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:52.800 strange as they were disturbing. The girl was naked, her 53 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:56.879 clothes tossed nearby in plain sight. No attempt had been 54 00:03:56.919 --> 00:04:00.479 made to hide her or the clothing. There were no 55 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:04.360 signs of sexual assault, and no form of identification was found. 56 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.439 A search of the surrounding area turned up only a 57 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:10.879 few broken and seemingly useless pieces of a cell phone. 58 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:14.520 A medical examiner later concluded that the murder had taken 59 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:18.160 place recently, likely within twenty four hours of the body 60 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:22.079 being found. It was ultimately determined that the teenage girl 61 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:26.279 was killed the night before. The investigator's first priority was 62 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:29.399 to identify the girl. Until they had a name, she 63 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:34.079 was referred to only as krug Park Jane. Hoping for 64 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:37.600 a lead, detectives examined her discarded clothing and found a 65 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:40.839 logo on a T shirt, one belonging to a nearby 66 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:44.279 high school. They visited the high school, where the principle 67 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:48.600 provided a tentative identification. A seventeen year old student named 68 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:55.399 Caitlin Root. Your book photos confirmed it the victim was Caitlyn. 69 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.800 Detectives then reached out to her family and continued the 70 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.439 investigation by interviewing her father. 71 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:08.519 Now, is Caitlin the only child you guys have together? 72 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:09.040 Yes? 73 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:09.560 Okay? 74 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:13.720 And when was the last time you saw Caitlyn? 75 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:16.959 It was actually in person? 76 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:21.399 It was probably around the I think probably the seventh okay. 77 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:25.560 Caitlyn's parents were divorced and she wasn't living with either 78 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:29.040 of them at the time, which partly explained why no 79 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:32.560 missing person's report had been filed before her body was found. 80 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:34.920 And when was the last time that she stayed with you? 81 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:37.279 It's been about a year and by a year through. 82 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:44.920 What's Caitlin's lifestyle? Like Jesus, let's follow her friends, okay, 83 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:45.720 do whatever they do? 84 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:46.439 Okay. 85 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:51.279 A few months before the murder, Caitlyn's mother was preparing 86 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:54.319 for an out of state job transfer. At the time, 87 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:57.480 Caitlyn was living with her, but the prospect of leaving 88 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:00.800 her friends behind didn't sit well. She was determined to 89 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:04.839 stay in Saint Joseph. Looking for another option, Caitlyn reached 90 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.759 out to her best friend's mom and grandmother to ask 91 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:10.759 if she could move in with them. They didn't hesitate 92 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:14.480 and welcome to Caitlyn with open arms. They had known 93 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:17.360 Caitlyn for years and already thought of her as family. 94 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:21.079 How do you feel about Caitlyn before this all happened? 95 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:23.720 You, what'd you think about her? 96 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:28.759 She's my daughter, She's not my biological No, But from 97 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:30.800 the moment she walked in the door met me, I 98 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:31.480 was mom. 99 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:33.000 That was that. 100 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:37.600 Caitlyn was welcomed by a loving family who offered her 101 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:42.279 care and support. But the home was considerably chaotic and 102 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:43.519 very crowded. 103 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:45.079 Hula lives there with her. 104 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:46.279 There's a list. 105 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:52.000 There's my buddy Pablo, and then Tabitha and her two daughters, 106 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:58.000 and then grandma Grandpa and then basically they're nurses. 107 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.920 Don't care people take care of it. 108 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:02.519 Okay, yeah, but. 109 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:04.279 They also are trying to living at the residence. 110 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:07.600 Oh really, Yeah, there's actually two houses right next to 111 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:09.720 store to each other. Okay, Grandpa has one and the 112 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:10.439 grandma eyed the other. 113 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:14.319 And so where does Caitlyn stay? She stayed in Gremls. 114 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:17.680 Despite the crowded living situation, everyone in the house was 115 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:21.279 glad to have Caitlyn move in. They genuinely liked her. 116 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:25.639 In fact, Caitlin was well liked by many. Her cheerful 117 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:30.000 personality and charm made people naturally gravitate towards her. 118 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:35.040 Caitlyn has she's crazy because it's a good crazy. 119 00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:36.040 What do you mean by that? 120 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:41.279 Like, I she's kind of my personality, which is a 121 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:46.680 bubbly which and Kaitlyn's she's fine to be wrong. 122 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:50.000 Yeah. 123 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.319 Tragically, Caitlyn's life was cut short at just seventeen years old, 124 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:58.160 and investigators were faced with the heartbreaking duty of informing 125 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.399 her family and friends that the young woman found in 126 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:04.079 Krug Park was Caitlin Root. 127 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:07.079 You know, there's really no. 128 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:09.319 Easy way to say this or do this. 129 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:13.399 We do believe it is kit And and that was 130 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:19.040 stunned up in crud Park. We're really probably pretty certain 131 00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:19.319 it is. 132 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:22.879 We do have a couple of pictures that. 133 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:26.199 If you'd be willing to take a look out to 134 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:31.360 say for sure. Yeah, you know, there's really no easy 135 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:35.240 way to prepare yourself for this. No, I'll just you 136 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.080 know when you're ready, if you just want. 137 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:46.080 To Yeah, that's fair, relatively certain or one hundred percent or. 138 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:48.600 How can you be so sure? 139 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:51.399 There's too about a picture. 140 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:55.159 I'm so so very sorry for your loss. 141 00:08:56.440 --> 00:08:59.399 Ye, Sanna says, you do that, Jar. 142 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:03.200 We're going to do everything in our power, you know, 143 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:04.799 to be able to answer all the questions for you. 144 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:09.240 Naturally, everyone who knew and loved Caitlyn were desperate for answers. 145 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:12.320 They wanted to know who had done this to her 146 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:13.519 and why. 147 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:16.440 I just want to know who, so would we, And 148 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:19.360 we're working on I just can't figure out why. 149 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:21.960 Even if we figure out who. 150 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:25.480 Why, hopefully they'll be able to explain it. Caitlyn. 151 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:26.720 Who would be that mad at her? 152 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:28.600 I don't know. 153 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:32.759 For a time, the case was a classic who'd done it? 154 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:36.960 Caitlyn was an extremely well like teenager, making the brutal 155 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:41.080 nature of her murder all the more perplexing. Investigators and 156 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:45.080 loved ones alike were left asking the same haunting question, 157 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:49.720 why would anyone want to kill her? Adding to the confusion, 158 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:52.840 no one could explain why Caitlin had even been at 159 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:54.639 Kirk Park in the first place. 160 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:56.879 So, as far as you do, you think it's out 161 00:09:56.919 --> 00:09:58.799 a character for her to be walking in the park. 162 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:02.440 Yes, she enjoyed nature at all, but. 163 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:05.639 She's never been to the park krug Park ever. 164 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:08.519 Okay, and the time even owners didn't like to be. 165 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:10.919 She hasn't been there since I've known her about a 166 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:13.120 year or two. I don't think she would go to 167 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.039 the park unless it was a cohercion. 168 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:20.840 In their efforts to unravel the mystery, investigators spoke with 169 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:24.720 several of Caitlyn's family members and everyone she'd been living with. 170 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:28.519 All were cleared as suspects, and no one could shed 171 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:30.679 light on why Caitlyn had gone to Krug Park that 172 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:34.840 night the night she was killed. With those leads, exhausted, 173 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:40.080 detectives shifted their focus to another group of people, Caitlyn's boyfriends. 174 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:43.559 She has dated several people. He has she was a 175 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:47.360 very promiscuous, a little oh really, yes, And I'm not 176 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:47.919 saying that. 177 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:52.360 To inspect disrespect her character, but she was. 178 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:55.919 And the week before this all happened, and she and 179 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.519 I had gotten into an argument over it. I said, Caitlyn, 180 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:01.759 I wouldn't have to do that to be liked. 181 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:03.879 Do you think she was doing to be liked? 182 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:08.480 I think she was doing it to be liked to. 183 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:10.279 Fit in. 184 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:15.080 Caitlyn had been through many short lived relationships, but at 185 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.679 the time of her murder, she wasn't dating anyone. 186 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:22.480 So who's Caitlin dating at the time? She was dating nobody? Okay, 187 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:25.000 who was she seeing somebody before? 188 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.279 Not that I knew, Like I knew there's somebody named 189 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:30.679 Kevin at the time. 190 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:31.399 Okay. 191 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:33.840 If I were saying to give me somebody that would 192 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:35.879 want to hurt her, who would come. 193 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:36.159 To your mind? 194 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:36.799 Mmm? 195 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:39.679 I would have to say Kevin. 196 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:41.360 Why would you say Kevin? 197 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:45.279 From what she was telling me before that she has 198 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:46.159 put hands on her. 199 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.639 During the initial round of interviews, one name surfaced repeatedly, 200 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:55.399 Kevin Whitmer. It quickly became clear that there had been 201 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:59.200 some recent tension or drama between him and Caitlyn. 202 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:05.360 I know she was getting threats from Kevin Allan Whittmer. 203 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.679 She sent you about the guy who hit her? Yeah, 204 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.960 who's this Whitmer? Apparently he hit her on Friday. She 205 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:16.200 sent him a message saying, hey he hit me and 206 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:18.600 stuff like that. Well, then other people started putting on 207 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:20.919 was she putting on Facebook public? 208 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:21.840 Right? 209 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:22.360 Publicly? 210 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.240 Then all these other people started commenting on that. 211 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:25.159 What was it about? 212 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:26.159 Any idea what that was about? 213 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:26.240 No? 214 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:27.080 I had no clue. 215 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:30.720 Rumors started to swirl after a Facebook post and a 216 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:34.039 string of comments beneath It suggested that Kevin Whitmer had 217 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:38.320 recently gotten violent with Caitlin, but before investigators had a 218 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:43.000 chance to find Kevin, he contacted them and voluntarily came 219 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:44.519 to the police station for an interview. 220 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:46.120 How did you win it with her? 221 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:50.440 She is a friend of my old buddies. How long 222 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:55.120 actually knowing her for? Probably maybe three weeks? When's the 223 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:57.879 first time you gotta started talking or hanging out or whatever? 224 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:02.120 Actually talking? It would have been profotly three weeks ago. 225 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:04.279 That's just you know, conversation. 226 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:06.440 But when did you guys start hanging. 227 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:10.519 Out, hanging out dating? I think the first time we 228 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:12.279 hung out was like a week and a half ago. 229 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:13.559 What did you guys do? 230 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:15.039 Just drove around? 231 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:16.279 Are you guys hanging up? 232 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:16.799 Its friends? 233 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:22.159 Yeah, friend looking into engaging in a relationship with her. 234 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:27.000 She wanted to, but she's seventeen. I'm twenty one. That's 235 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:27.399 my thing. 236 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.159 She wanted to, and I was like, I'm cool with friends, 237 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:33.559 but that's as far as it's going to go. She 238 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:35.120 tried to kissing me. I mean we kissed. 239 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:35.639 That's about it. 240 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:36.480 That's the end of it. 241 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:39.840 Twenty one year old Kevin told investigators he had only 242 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:43.240 known Caitlyn for a short while and insisted he had 243 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:47.360 no interest in a romantic relationship with her. According to him, 244 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.000 that was Caitlyn who had wanted something more. 245 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:52.759 And then we finally got to hang out Thursday, and 246 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:53.960 then she stayed the night with me. 247 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:55.399 You guys watch movies. 248 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:58.240 He wasn't sitting there on Facebook and talking. 249 00:13:58.720 --> 00:13:59.840 Did she stay the night that night? 250 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:06.240 Okay? Anything going on that night? Now, here's the deal. 251 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:11.600 We've already talked about this seventeen twenty one, right, illegal, 252 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:14.840 So I just want to make sure that you're telling 253 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:20.360 you please. And later, the most she and I did 254 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:23.759 talk to her about, you know, having sex. I just 255 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:26.480 and she told me that she's had sex with multiple people, 256 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:29.279 and I'm like, that's not going to happen. So we 257 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:31.840 just cuddled and when we got up next morning, we 258 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:35.279 laid in bed until probably, like I said, twelve thirty 259 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.159 one o'clock, and then I took her ound and dropped 260 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:39.480 her off. 261 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:42.720 Kevin explained he was put off by Caitlin's age and 262 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.879 her alleged promise scuity, so he chose not to sleep 263 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:50.279 with her or pursue a relationship. He also claimed the 264 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:52.960 last time he saw her was three days before the murder, 265 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.759 when he dropped her off at home. The following day, 266 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.360 he received a strange and threatening phone call. 267 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:01.519 Six eight nine number called me and I was like, 268 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:02.919 are you Kevin Whitmer? And I was like, who's this 269 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:04.559 and he's like, don't worry about it. 270 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:06.639 Just know that you're a woman beat and if you're 271 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:08.639 gonna beat on a woman and you can beat on me. 272 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:10.679 So I called Kitlyn and I was like, what the 273 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:13.440 hell is going on? And she's like, you know, you 274 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:15.879 hit me twice and gave me two bloody noses. And 275 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:17.399 I was like, the fuck ever, I don't put my 276 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.440 hands on women. She's like, you know what you did 277 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.759 and fuck off or whatever, and she hung up on me. 278 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:25.960 So I made a status after that and put it 279 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:27.840 on Facebook. I have all the screenshots of all the 280 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:30.679 comments up today to last night. Whenever I went to sleep, 281 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.600 I woke up this morning like thirty plus people will 282 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:34.120 comment on it. 283 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:35.279 So I just went and deleted it. 284 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:40.279 According to Kevin, Caitlyn had told someone you hit her. 285 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:44.279 This was an allegation that he firmly denied. 286 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.799 Was her claiming that he punched her in the face 287 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:49.159 and gave her a blighty nose and all that. 288 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:52.159 Why do you think that she would say that? What 289 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:54.279 does she get out of it attention? 290 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:56.279 I don't know honestly. 291 00:15:57.200 --> 00:16:02.039 With this new information, investigators were faced with possibilities, neither 292 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:05.679 of which was easy to prove. Either Caitlyn upset over 293 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:09.639 being rejected or falsely accused Kevin of violence, or Kevin 294 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:14.559 was lying to cover up something far more sinister. Without evidence, 295 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:20.080 both scenarios seemed frustratingly out of reach, and this was 296 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:24.720 just the beginning. As the investigation unfolded, detectives encountered a 297 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:29.159 growing list of unusual suspects, each one adding new layers 298 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:33.440 of confusion. More often than not, interviews ended with more 299 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:37.919 questions than answers, and investigators were left asking the one 300 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:43.559 question that continued to haunt them. Who killed Caitlin Root. 301 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:11.240 On October sixteenth, twenty sixteen, seventeen year old Caitlin Root 302 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:15.160 was found murdered in Krug Park. She had been stabbed, 303 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:19.279 her throat slit, her naked body left in plain sight. 304 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:24.240 With no witnesses and a few leads, investigators struggled to 305 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:27.200 piece together why she was there, who she was with, 306 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:32.359 and what went so horribly wrong. Suspicions swirled around a 307 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:36.000 young man named Kevin Whitmer, but nothing could be proven, 308 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:41.480 and the deeper investigators dug the stranger the case became. 309 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:46.759 During their conversations with Kevin, investigators learned about another young 310 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:50.519 man who was reportedly eager and maybe even desperate to 311 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:52.759 start a romantic relationship with Caitlin. 312 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:55.440 What exactly did she tell you about her? 313 00:17:57.359 --> 00:17:58.079 This guy has the. 314 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:01.759 Biggest crush on her, going to be with him as 315 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:03.039 messenger suicidally. 316 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:04.559 He wants to cut his health, He wants to kill 317 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:05.279 his hell without on. 318 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:09.160 A Police were already familiar with the name Adam Brown. 319 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:13.480 He was one of Caitlyn's closest friends. They'd known each 320 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:16.599 other for years and were often seen together. To those 321 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:21.799 who knew them, the dynamic was clear. Adam wanted something more, 322 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:24.599 but Caitlyn had firmly placed him in the friend zone. 323 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:28.359 Adam hen always had a thing for it just never 324 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:28.880 worked out. 325 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:33.160 Yeah, that's the way I would interpret it, just being 326 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.079 by actions. 327 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:36.200 What do you mean by his actions? 328 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:39.119 He was always trying to impress her in somewhere. 329 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:42.920 She thought of him as a brother. 330 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:44.480 Nothing. 331 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:48.480 He he wanted more, He wanted more. 332 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:52.839 Do you think he was jealous of the attention neither 333 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:54.880 young man got from her. 334 00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:56.960 If he was, he never let a show. 335 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.400 And technically he's the last person we really know was 336 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:04.200 seen with her right by his own mission. 337 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:09.720 Right after gathering some background information on Adam's relationship with Caitlyn, 338 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.319 investigators brought him in for questioning. 339 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:13.359 WHOA. 340 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:16.400 I believe it was like fifteenth Saturday. 341 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:18.720 So I message Kitlyn and I asked her if she 342 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:20.000 wanted to hang out for a little bit and I 343 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.440 can come by because she was where she was staying 344 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:24.000 was like right up the street from me. 345 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.119 Frinish just set over on the other portrait Grandpa. 346 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:28.119 So we were just talking and talking. 347 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:29.839 And talking, kissing up and we were just sitting there 348 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:31.880 and then she like jumps off the fortune was like 349 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:32.519 I gotta. 350 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:34.119 Go meet to Amanda. And I'm like, Amanda who. 351 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.240 And then she said, Amanda mix and I'm like, I 352 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:38.319 wouldn't even just stay home. 353 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:38.799 It's late. 354 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:40.160 Told you get hurt. 355 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:43.400 Adam freely admitted he was with Caitlyn on the front 356 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:46.359 porch of her home the night she was murdered, and 357 00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:48.640 that he was the last person to see her alive. 358 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:53.440 He claimed that during their final moments together, Caitlyn abruptly 359 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:58.119 decided to leave and meet up with someone else, Poor Adam. 360 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:01.039 Adam said he I had to warn her not to go, 361 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.400 but she ignored his advice. 362 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:04.720 She listened. 363 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:06.799 She went down to the corner on fifteenth and Olive 364 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:09.680 got into the car that I couldn't even actually recognize. 365 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:13.319 It looks like a sub ish kind of lookod thing, 366 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:16.559 and it's last heard from her. 367 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:20.200 Adam told investigators that Caitlin stepped off her front porch, 368 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:25.000 walked down the road, and climbed into a mysterious black suv. 369 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:27.920 If you've heard enough Sword and Scale, you know that 370 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:34.200 this kind of story immediately raises some red flags. Investigators 371 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:36.440 wondered why someone would pick her up down the street 372 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.720 instead of at her house. What were they trying to 373 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:44.720 avoid or hide? Did this even really happen or was 374 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:47.200 it just a whole story that Adam was making up 375 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:48.880 just to cover his tracks. 376 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:51.039 So you guys just aw sitting there chatting on the 377 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:53.880 front porch. So when does take a leave? 378 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:58.440 She left about like in between like ten thirty and eleven. 379 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:02.240 So how did she tell me? Started how she's up 380 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:02.839 the leaves? 381 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:06.200 She was messaging Amanda on Facebook, and. 382 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:11.359 Uh, what's the relationship between her and Amanda as far 383 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.119 than ano, They're just friends and. 384 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:13.960 That's Amanda Mix. 385 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:16.400 Yeah, have they have had any trouble with each other 386 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:19.720 before or no? But I've had my doubts about Amanda, 387 00:21:19.720 --> 00:21:22.359 and I don't really trust her. What do you mean, Patrick, 388 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.720 Donton Like, to me, she's just not the kind of 389 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.440 the right kind of people really be hanging out with 390 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:28.480 personal nitpicking things that meet her. 391 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:30.240 We just don't click, don't make a long run. 392 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:30.960 Yeah. 393 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:33.559 So basically, yeah, they were texting on Facebook. That's whenever 394 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:36.279 she was like, I gotta ry to get down here, 395 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:37.400 She's about to pull up and everything. 396 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:39.279 I'm like, oh, you should not go. 397 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:40.759 Did you say what she's gonna go do? 398 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:43.319 She said that they were gonna go sit at Hyde 399 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:45.640 Park and they were gonna basically be hanging out and 400 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:48.160 everything else, just basically doing girl stuff. 401 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:51.400