All language subtitles for The.Real.Murders.of.Los.Angeles.S01E02.720p.WEBRip.x264-BAE

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Los angeles is
a wonderful city.

♪ ♪

A lot of people come from
all over the world to get

Discovered and work in the
movie industry in hollywood.

- But not all of tinseltown's
brightest stars are imported.

Some are homegrown.

♪ ♪

- My sister grew up
close to hollywood.

And she'd tell everybody,
someday,

I'm going to be a star.

- Linda wanted a family.

But first, she was making
it happen in hollywood.

- Hi, my name is linda sobek.

And I just want to say
that I love all you guys.

- As a raiderette,
she immediately

Had hundreds of fans because
we do a lot in the community.

- She was just at the cusp
of making her dreams come true.

But then she fell
into this trap.

[dramatic music]

- The rising star
and hometown hero

Vanishes in broad daylight
and ignites a media

Firestorm that engulfs
the entire city

Of los angeles and beyond.

- This case caught
media's attention

Like nothing I've ever seen.

- But nobody had any clue
where linda sobek was.

- All the evidence was
pointing towards a homicide.

- Her car was found in
the middle of the parking lot.

- So when he said he left her
there, we knew he was lying.

- We found her day planner.

- The day she went missing,
that page was torn out.

- It was the most gruesome,
horrible thing.

- Linda was a hollywood
starlet on the rise.

This was the american story.

It's a mystery
that has to be solved.

♪ ♪

- These are so cute.

- She was so loving
with my kids.

And the thing I remember
the most is linda

Wanted a family
with her own kids.

And that was her main goal.

That was everything
she was working for.

- This is not a lesson.

[laughs]

- The kids, and the animals,

And a happy
california lifestyle.

[soft music]

But that was all
taken away from her.

It was all taken
away from all of us.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Thursday, November 16, 1995,

Thanksgiving is a week away.

But for 27-year-old model
and actress linda sobek,

It's just another gorgeous day
in hermosa beach, which she

Begins as she always does,
with her daily morning phone

Call with her mother, elaine.

♪ ♪

- My name is brooke.

And linda and I met our rookie
year with the raiderettes.

Linda always called her mom
every day at the same time.

She didn't miss calling her.

Elaine was like
her best friend.

The closeness they had
was pretty amazing.

- My name is stephen kay.

I was with the los angeles
district attorney's

Office for 37 years.

That morning, linda had
told her mom, well, I've

Just booked a job
for a photo shoot.

So I can't really
talk a lot now.

But I'll call you
when I get back tonight.

♪ ♪

- Since moving out of her
parents' home six years ago,

Linda's career
as a model and actress

Was starting to take off.

She was enjoying
the life she had always

Dreamed of growing up
in the sleepy suburb

Of lakewood, california.

- My name is steve sobek.

My sister is linda sobek.

And growing up,
she'd tell everybody,

Someday, I'm going to be on tv,
or I'm going to be a star.

[upbeat music]

She was going
to make it happen.

She knew she was.

- Hi, my name is linda sobek.

This is my first year
as a raiderette.

- When she turned 20,
linda got her first break,

Beating out
hundreds of hopefuls

To land a coveted spot
on the raiderettes,

The cheerleading squad
for the los angeles raiders.

- I'm denise villanueva.

I was also a raiderette.

The first time I met linda was
actually at tryouts in 1988.

You see all these
girls trying out.

But there's a few
that just kind

Of sparkle in a different way.

- I just want to say
that I love all you guys.

- And she was stunning,
so fit, so healthy.

If you looked up california
girl in the dictionary,

It'd probably be
a picture of linda.

- Becoming a raiderette
was just the start.

Not long after, linda's
modeling career exploded.

And her face could be seen in
newsstands across the country,

Often on the covers
of fitness and car magazines.

- She worked hard.

She was a really busy model.

- And she was really
starting to get

More television auditions.

So I really feel like
she was going to make it.

♪ ♪

- But on the evening
of Thursday, November 16th,

Linda never calls
her mother elaine back

After her photo shoot,
like she promised she would.

And alarm bells
immediately go off.

- That night,
elaine called me and asked,

Have you seen linda
or talked to her?

It was frightening

To hear elaine,
try and explain,

I haven't heard from her.

Have you heard from her?

All elaine knew was that she
was going on a photo shoot.

And it was kind of last minute.

So there wasn't
a lot of details.

And it was going to be
in a remote location.

So there would be really
no way to reach her.

[tense music]

- Elaine also checks
with linda's agent

And is shocked
to learn that earlier

In the day her daughter
missed the biggest audition

Of her career for a role
in the hit tv sitcom

"married with children."

- When elaine said
she had missed that audition,

That, to me, was so unlike her.

It just wouldn't happen.

- The following morning,
Friday, November 17th, linda

Also misses her daily
10:30 a.M. Phone call

With her mother.

- My mom kept calling linda.

But no answer,
no answer, no answer.

So we knew something
was wrong then.

- With mounting concern,
elaine's next call

Is to the hermosa beach
police department.

- My name is mark wright.

In 1995, I was
a lieutenant in charge

Of the investigations bureau

In the hermosa beach
police department.

On Friday, November 17, a call
came in to the dispatch center

To report a missing person.

And that person
was linda sobek.

- A missing persons
report is filed.

But for police,
a mother going 24 hours

Without hearing
from her adult daughter

Isn't that unusual,
especially in hermosa beach.

- We get everything
from lost kids

On a crowded beach to somebody
who doesn't come home

From a party that evening.

But the majority of times,
the person shows up

The next day or the day after,
nothing nefarious.

- Per protocol, police
alert other law enforcement

Agencies,
sharing linda's photograph

And a description of her
vehicle, a white nissan sedan.

And they promise
elaine someone will

Be in touch the following day.

In the meantime,
linda's friend

Denise uses
her experience as media

Spokesperson
for the raiderettes

To help get the word out.

- So I said to elaine, I can
send out a press release.

And she said, yes, go for it.

So 30-plus faxes later,
that release went out.

- By Saturday morning,
linda's story

Is airing on every
channel in los angeles.

- Media picked up
on this story right away

Because linda was a cheerleader
for the los angeles raiders.

- The raiders
and the raiderettes

Were very popular
in los angeles.

- It's now been 48 hours
since linda vanished.

And she suddenly has the full
attention of the hermosa beach

Police department,
as well as the entire city

Of los angeles.

- We were getting approximately
a hundred calls an hour.

So at that point,
we immediately assigned

Detectives to the case.

- Detectives quickly
zero in on linda's

Last minute photo shoot and
want to know who hired her.

- We didn't know
who was the shoot for

Or who exactly was
the photographer.

Nobody had any
of that information.

- When I learned linda was
going on a remote photo shoot,

She didn't say
where she was going,

She didn't say
who she was with.

Those were red flags to me
because there's lots

Of remote locations
in los angeles county

Where a predator can
have his way with you.

♪ ♪

- But at this point,
investigators also

Can't rule out the possibility
that something

Happened to linda before she
even arrived at the location.

Was there something going on
in linda's personal life

That played into this?

- We needed to find out
about her relationships,

To identify anybody
that might be considered

A person of interest.

So we started
to interview linda's friends.

- Linda was such
a kind and giving soul.

We couldn't imagine
that somebody

Had some kind of ulterior
motive to harm her in any way.

- None of the evidence pointed
towards past boyfriends,

Current boyfriends,
or associates.

- Next, detectives go to
linda's home in hermosa beach

To speak with her roommates.

- Linda lived in a large house
located right on the beach.

And her roommates knew she
had gone on this photo shoot.

But they didn't know
who she was with.

Her roommates said linda
was very professional

And kept all of her scheduled
tv auditions or modeling

Shoots in her day planner.

But when we searched linda's
bedroom, we didn't find it.

♪ ♪

- As the sun sets over
los angeles on Saturday,

November 18th,
linda has been missing

For two and a half days.

- Our biggest clue
was that linda

Was going to go
on a remote photo shoot

With an unknown photographer.

Los angeles is quite
a large county.

And we didn't have any
solid evidence to determine

Where she might be.

♪ ♪

- Then the morning
of November 21st,

Five days after linda

Went missing,
investigators get a call

That could change everything.

- An officer came in
and said there's

A man that wants to speak
with you on the phone.

He says he found
a picture of linda sobek

In the angeles
national forest.

♪ ♪

So I immediately
took the phone call.

And I said, I'm driving
to your house right now.

♪ ♪

- It's pitch dark out there.

And we're following
his directions,

Drive this way, drive
that way, drive that way.

- We were digging in the dirt.

It was something
I'll never forget.

- We found over a hundred
firearms in this man's house.

We said, oh, my god,
what are we dealing with here?

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- On Tuesday morning,
November 21st,

Model and former raiderette
linda sobek

Has been missing
for five days.

But thanks to a steady stream
of media coverage,

Hermosa beach investigators
may finally have a lead.

♪ ♪

- My name is raul saldana.

I was a detective for the city
of hermosa beach police

Department for about 26 years.

A gentleman notified
the hermosa beach police

Department that he came
across some photographs

That resembled the girl that
was on the news, linda sobek.

- He had seen my name
on television.

So he requested specifically
to speak with me.

- Lieutenant mark wright met
with a man named bill bartling

And learned that
on Saturday the 18th,

Two days after linda
sobek disappeared,

He was doing community
service in the angeles

National forest, going up

And down angeles crest highway

To empty all the trash bags.

It was about 3:00
in the afternoon.

Bartling was looking
in the trash cans.

And he saw about a dozen
modeling photographs

Of a beautiful young woman.

And he decided
this woman was so beautiful

That he was going to keep
four of the photographs.

Then on Monday,
bill was watching the news.

They were doing a segment
on the missing linda sobek.

And they held up
a large photograph of her.

And bill just about
jumped out of his skin.

- He showed us photographs
that he

Had found in this trash can.

And they were clearly
of linda sobek

From her modeling portfolio.

♪ ♪

- This was significant.

It was many,
many, several miles

Away from where
miss sobek was last seen

At home in hermosa beach.

And for the photographs
to be up on a desolate road

In a trash receptacle,
it was very, very unusual.

- As investigators rushed
to the remote location

Tuesday morning, they are well
aware of its dark reputation.

- It's over 100 square miles,
one of the remotest areas

Of the county.

And it has been known to be
a dumping ground for bodies.

♪ ♪

- By 10:00 a.M., bill bartling
is showing detectives

Exactly where he found
linda's photographs

Three days earlier.

- When we got there,
the trashcan was empty.

So I did further
inquiries and found

That it was picked up
and taken to large dumpsters

Behind a ranger station.

I called the ranger station
and asked them, when do they

Empty those trash dumpsters?

And he said today,
in about ten minutes.

So I said, you have
to put guards on that.

Do not let anyone empty those.

We immediately drove there.

- At the ranger station,
investigators

Are faced with an overwhelming
amount of potential evidence.

- There was four roll-off
commercial dumpsters

That were full of trash
from throughout the forest.

So we began to search
each trash bag

And each dumpster one by one.

- Soon, lieutenant wright
makes a disturbing discovery.

- Well, going through
one of the trash bags,

We found modeling
photographs of linda.

♪ ♪

And then in another trash bag,
I noticed a daily planner.

♪ ♪

And it was linda's.

And I went to the day
she went missing.

And on November 16th,
that page was torn out.

That was not a good sign.

But it was an important
piece of evidence.

- The discovery sets off
all kinds of alarm bells.

And now, lieutenant wright
is convinced

Linda isn't just missing.

- I began to believe that linda
was a victim of a homicide

And that the suspect
had traveled this road

And was tossing out
evidentiary items

In various trash cans
that could

Connect him with her murder.

- Investigators arrange
for all of the trash

To be transported to the
hermosa beach police station.

Next, they organize
a search of the area

Where linda's photographs
and day planner were found.

- We thought
she might have been

Buried somewhere in that area.

But we need helicopters
and equestrian

Units to go in the forest.

So we contacted
the los angeles

County sheriff's department.

They jumped on it right away.

And they were more than
happy to help us out.

- We started our search
with three search teams

And dogs that had
some clothing items

From linda to assist them.

- As soon as the family found
out that linda's property was

Found, her friends
and family got together

And they drove down there.

- The heart-wrenching process
of trying to find her.

Oof, you know, that's--

Hope nobody has to go
through that kind of feeling.

- I mean, everybody went 100%,
just like she would have done.

♪ ♪

- I remember,
I saw this cross in the dirt.

And I was like,
oh, my god, I really

Thought this could be her.

And we were digging
and digging.

It wasn't her.

But your eyes play
tricks on you.

It was something
I'll never forget.

- The search continues
until nightfall.

But nothing new is recovered.

By then the trash bags
have arrived at the hermosa

Beach police department.

- We put plastic tarps
all over the floor.

We spread it all out.

We started sifting
through it for evidence.

- With every bit of garbage
a potential key piece

Of evidence, investigators
work long into the night,

Handling the trash pile
like it's a crime scene.

But eventually,
they come across something

That just might lead them
to linda.

- I found a oldsmobile
bravada owner's manual.

There was a piece
of paper in it.

It says lease agreement
for a lexus prototype suv.

That's interesting.

Because I knew she
modeled for car magazines.

And the lease agreement
was from November 16th,

The day linda went missing.

And there was a name.
There was an address.

There was a phone number.

And it was all
for November 16th.

Significant?

Yeah, very significant.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Wednesday, November 22,
1995, the former shining star

Of the los angeles
raiders cheerleading squad,

Linda sobek, has
been missing for six days.

As the entire city wonders
what happened to linda,

Hermosa beach
detectives believe

They finally have a hot lead.

♪ ♪

- It was a loan agreement
between lexus corporation

And a photographer
to borrow a prototype vehicle

That was not available
on the market

For a photo shoot.

He borrowed the car
on November 16th, the date

That linda went missing.

- Your spidey senses
kind of get activated.

And you're looking
at it thinking,

Why is this paperwork mingled
in the trash that has linda's

Pictures and her day planner?

- And most importantly, who is
the mysterious photographer?

♪ ♪

- His name is charles rathbun.

Did he know linda?

And what happened
in the angeles national forest?

♪ ♪

- So raul saldana calls lexus
headquarters in torrance

And said do you know
charles rathbun?

And the person he talks
to tells him, why yes.

He was employed
by "autoweek" magazine

To photograph our lexus lx 450.

And he came on November 16th
to borrow this lexus.

And he returned it
on Monday the 20th.

- We want to get
in that lexus.

Said, where's that car?

Oh, it's here.

Preserve it.
Nobody touch it.

- After making arrangements
to have the suv impounded

And brought
to their crime lab,

Detectives asked the lexus rep
about rathbun's reputation.

- I learned
that charles rathbun,

He was a well
sought-after photographer

Among the auto industry,
which is a large

Industry here in los angeles.

- This press vehicle
loan agreement

Showed that charles rathbun
had an address in hollywood

And a local phone number.

And so saldana figured, well,
I'll just call this guy.

- I said, I'm calling
from the hermosa

Beach police department.

I'm working a case regarding
a missing person, linda sobek.

- And saldana said,
do you know linda sobek?

And rathbun said, oh, yes,
I know linda sobek.

I photographed her
a couple years ago

For "all chevy" magazine.

- I said when was the last
time you spoke to her?

- And he says, well, I met her
at the denny's restaurant

In the city of torrance
on November 16th

After I picked up an suv at the
lexus corporate headquarters

To do a photo shoot.

- According to rathbun,
he still needed to book

A model for his photo shoot.

So he arranged to meet
linda and hoped she might

Be a good fit for the job.

But first, he wanted to review
her portfolio to be sure.

- He says, I went to denny's.

And she was already
in the parking lot.

She got in the suv.

And he was looking
through her portfolio.

Then he told her
that he couldn't

Use her in the photo shoot.

So the interview was over.

And he says she gets
in her car and she drives away.

I go, ok.

- Detective saldana
asked rathbun

To come down to the station
so they could

Take his formal statement.

- He says, yeah, sure.

So I was supposed
to meet him at 12:00

At the police department.

But 12:00 came,
he didn't show.

So I call him up.

Say, hey, where are you?

- Rathbun apologizes
and agrees

To be there at 2:00 p.M.

But what he says
next raises eyebrows.

- He said, I guess
it's really important

That you talk to me,
considering I was

The last person to see her.

And I'm thinking,
oh, you son of a gun.

I never said he was
the last person to see her.

He just admitted it.

This guy's got something to do
with this lady's disappearance.

Right then and there,
I knew it.

- After speaking with rathbun,
detectives hurried

To the denny's parking lot,
located less than 5 miles

From linda's home.

There, they immediately spot
linda's white nissan sedan.

- When we found linda's car,
it was locked.

Had quite a bit of dust
on the window.

It had been sitting there
since the day she parked it.

So we knew rathbun was lying.

- She never drove away,
like he said.

So that car is
extremely important.

Now, it's a crime scene
that we have to process.

- As the media frenzy
around linda continues,

Detectives prepare to meet
their suspect in person

For their 2:00 p.M.
Appointment.

But rathbun is once
again a no-show.

And by now,
police are convinced

He's trying to evade them.

- It was clear to us,
charles rathbun

Was our number one suspect.

The evidence was
pointing at him.

So I requested
the sheriff's department

Put a surveillance team
on his house in hollywood.

- But just hours into
the surveillance operation

On rathbun's hollywood home,
hermosa beach detectives

Receive a chilling phone call.

- The call I got was from
the surveillance team who said,

You're not going
to believe this,

But the suspect just came out
and shot somebody.

My reaction is,
you've got to be kidding me.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Model and former
raiderette linda sobek

Has been missing for nearly
a week when hermosa beach

Investigators
receive an alarming

Phone call from the la
county sheriff's department.

- The surveillance team
at charles rathbun's residence

Called me and said,
but the suspect just

Came out and shot somebody.

And lapd just rolled in
for a shots fired call

And hooked this guy up.

He's been taken
to hollywood station.

- We find out from lapd
that rathbun, he was getting

Drunk throughout the day.

And he had called an
attorney friend, jim nichols,

And another friend of his,
sharon myers,

Saying he had
some responsibility

For miss sobek's disappearance.

- Rathbun wanted some advice
from his friends.

So they showed up
in front of his home.

And while the surveillance
team was watching,

Rathbun walked out
with a .45 caliber firearm

And fired a round
into the driveway.

- He accidentally shot his gun
into the ground, ricocheted,

Hit miss myers in the arm.

She was fine,
but lapd shows up,

Takes him into custody for
assault with a deadly weapon.

- Detectives immediately
race 20 miles north

To lapd's hollywood station,
where they learned

That myers and nichols
have no information

About linda's disappearance.

Then they turn
their attention to rathbun.

- I go in the interview room.

And he was slurring his words
a little bit because he

Had been drinking that day.

But he was cognizant.

He was aware
of what he was saying.

I said, you know,
we talked on the phone earlier

Today about linda sobek.

Let's get
to the bottom of this.

- Charles was very nervous.

He had this look
of guilt on his face.

- And I said,
well, what happened?

So he said, it was an accident.

I go, ok, it's an accident.

So tell me about the accident.

- Rathbun claims that after
meeting linda at denny's,

They drove together
in the lexus suv

To the mojave desert,
where they

Photographed the car
at the el mirage dry lake.

- Then he proceeds to tell me
that he wanted to take

Some photographs of the lexus
suv doing donuts in the dirt

And that he had miss sobek
drive the car in circles

And kick up the dirt.

But she wasn't doing it right.

He's explaining,
I wasn't getting

The shot that I needed.

- Then rathbun makes
a startling admission.

- He says, I wanted to show
her exactly what I wanted.

So he got in the driver's seat.

And he says now,
I'm doing donuts

And I'm kicking up the sand.

[tires screeching]

And I accidentally
hit her with the car.

And I think I killed her.

- Now, he had this look of,
I'm concocting

A story to defend myself.

We didn't believe that there
was a traffic accident at all.

- You have to remain calm.

Everything inside
of you is just churning.

Are you sure she died?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

Ok, then what happened?

Well, then I tried
to revive her.

I panicked.

He was thinking about
taking her to a hospital,

But he says
that during his panic,

He buried her in the desert.

- While they don't believe
the accident story,

Detectives do think there's
a chance rathbun killed linda

In the desert
and then tossed her photos

In the angeles national forest
on his way

Back home to hollywood.

But there's only one
way to know for sure.

- Detective saldana said,
well, then can you take

Me to where you buried her?

And rathbun agreed.

- By 9:00 p.M.,
rathbun and detective saldana

Are on their way
to the el mirage dry lakebed,

Which is located 40 miles

From the angeles
national forest,

Where linda's photos
and day planner were found.

- It's pitch dark out there.

And we're following
his directions.

Drive this way, drive
that way, drive that way,

And he was basically
just leading

Us around to dead ends.

We never located
miss sobek that night.

♪ ♪

- After spending more than six
hours in the mojave desert,

Detectives take rathbun
to the hermosa beach

Police station,
where he's booked

For the murder of linda sobek.

- I didn't believe that he
buried her in the desert.

I thought that he
was a sociopath

And that he knew all
along where the grave was.

But at that point in time,
he wasn't ready to show us.

- As the sun rises over
los angeles on Thursday,

November 23th,
the sobek family

Learns of rathbun's arrest

While preparing to spend
their first thanksgiving

Without linda.

- It was terrible for them.

It was exactly one week since
she was reported missing.

We hadn't located her.

And all the evidence was
pointing towards a homicide.

- It was the worst
thanksgiving of our lives.

And after that, thanksgiving
was never the same.

- That same day, detectives
turned their attention

To the lexus suv.

- There was no body damage.

There were no dents in the car.

There was nothing
that would indicate

That charlie had accidentally
hit linda sobek with the car.

So that was another lie.

♪ ♪

- Next, investigators
serve a search warrant

On rathbun's hollywood home.

And what they find makes
their blood run cold.

- When we searched
charles rathbun's house,

We found things that told us he
had a very violent side to him

And that he was clearly
a very dangerous man.

We found over
a hundred firearms.

♪ ♪

And then we found
something else

Which shocked us even more.

We said, oh, my god,
what are we dealing with here?

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- It's Thursday,
November 23, 1995,

And model linda sobek has
been missing for seven days.

37-year-old photographer
charles rathbun

Is in custody at the hermosa
beach police station.

And as investigators
search his hollywood home,

They are disturbed
by what they discover.

- We found over
a hundred firearms.

Clearly, a very dangerous man.

But one of the items
that really stood out to us

Was a small kit.

It had cord in it.

It had tape in it.

It had some alcohol in it,
all things we felt

Could have been used
in the actual crime.

And they were all
in charles' house.

- The detailed search takes
most of Thursday night.

And when detectives returned
to work early Friday morning,

They are met with yet
another alarming development.

- I got a call to the jail,
and it says

That your boy, charles rathbun,

Tried to kill himself.

- Charles rathbun had
asked one of the jailers

For a shaving kit
so that he could shave.

The jailer gave him
the kit and walked away,

Which allowed him to have time
to disassemble it

And then promptly slit
his wrists.

- And in his cell on the wall,

He had written
in his own blood, "I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

You can't write this stuff,
you know?

You really can't.

- Detectives believe
this is another one

Of rathbun's tactics, rather
than a true act of remorse.

- He had very shallow wounds,

What we used to call
hesitation marks.

- I don't think it was
a real suicide effort.

I think it was another
effort to gain sympathy.

- At 10:00 a.M.,
rathbun is taken

To the south bay regional
hospital for treatment.

There, detective saldana has
one last chance to get rathbun

To reveal linda's location.

- This is my last opportunity
to talk to him because now,

We're going to
have to ship him up

To the sheriff's
department to put

Him in lockdown suicide watch.

So I'm not going to have
access to him after that.

And as he's
in the emergency room,

I'm standing there talking
to him, hey, charlie,

You need to help us out here.

We want to get her back to her
mom, and dad, and her brother.

Can you show us
where she's at?

Sometimes, you have
to reach in there,

And you have to have to tweak
that little human being button

In them in order for them
to do the right thing.

During the conversation,
he says, ok, I agree to help.

- By 1:00 p.M.,
rathbun is sitting

Alongside lieutenant wright
in a police helicopter.

Meanwhile, a concerned city
remains glued to their tvs,

Hoping for an answer
to the question

That's been gripping los
angeles for an entire week.

Where is linda sobek?

- There were seven
other helicopters

Following us, which were all
broadcast media helicopters.

I realized that every move
we were making

Was being broadcast
live in real time.

That puts a lot
of pressure on you.

But there was nothing
we could do about it.

- Rathbun directs them to
the angeles national forest,

Which is 40 miles southwest
of where he brought

Detective saldana
two days earlier.

But it's also where
police recovered

Linda's day planner and
the lexus rental paperwork.

- During the search
in angeles forest,

Rathbun shows them
a couple of locations.

They land, they look.
No, she's not there.

So just more dead ends.

- After flying over
the angeles national forest

For nearly three hours,
police suspect rathbun might,

Once again,
be toying with them.

And with nightfall
fast approaching,

Time is running out.

- I use a little bit
of psychology on him

And advise him, listen, you've
said it was an accident.

I believe you.
These things happen.

The only way that we
can get to the truth

Is by finding her body.

The sun's going down.

Are you going
to help us or not?

This is your chance
to help yourself

And your own defense.

And so he thought about it.

And then he said, ok,
and he told us fly this way.

And we flew directly to
the culvert off of a dirt road.

He pointed down.

And he said that's the spot.

♪ ♪

So they landed.

And we jumped out
of the helicopter,

Walked over to the culvert,
where there was a large rock.

We pushed the rock aside,
brushed away some dirt,

And there she was.

♪ ♪

So he knew all along.

- While rathbun is transported
to the sheriff's department

Jail, the sobek family
is left reeling

From what they just watched
unfold on live television.

- We were all watching that
together at mom's house.

And when they located the body,
that was when we heard too.

It was just me,
my mom, and my dad.

And we all hugged
each other and...

We just were all crying.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- Linda's body is carefully
exhumed by a csi team

Of forensic archaeologists.

And by late Saturday,
her body is

Taken to
the sheriff's department

Where an autopsy is performed.

- The coroner's office
was in shock

Because at that point in time,
she had been in the ground

Nine days.

And it looked like she had been
laid there nine minutes ago.

It was incredible.

I've never seen
anything like it.

- When linda's
body was exhumed,

Rigor mortis had not set in.

And her body wasn't decomposed
because it was so cold

Up in that area
at the 6,500-foot level

Of the angeles forest,
nature preserved her.

- Because of the remarkable
condition of linda's body,

The autopsy tells a chilling
story of linda's last moments.

- Linda helped solve her own
case because her body proved

That she was not hit by a car.

She was clearly
violently assaulted.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- On Saturday, November 25th,
nine days after linda sobek

Disappeared,
her body is recovered

From a shallow grave, high in
the angeles national forest.

That evening,
an autopsy is performed.

And a horrific picture
of linda's final moments

Quickly comes into focus.

- The coroner found there
was no damage to her body

Or her bones consistent
with being hit by a car.

So rathbun's whole
story about the traffic

Accident, that was a lie,
and we proved it.

- Far from accidental, the
autopsy shows linda's death

Was as deliberate as it gets.

- She had ligature marks
on her ankles.

She was clearly tied up.

And she clearly struggled.

And the ligature marks were
the same size as the cord

That we found
in rathbun's house.

So that was the cord
that was most likely

Used to tie up the victim.

- The coroner determined
her legs were tied apart

Because the ligatures
on each leg

Were fastened to something
apart from the leg.

- She was clearly sexually
and violently assaulted.

- And the coroner discovered
that miss sobek had suffered

Blunt force trauma
to her head and that she

Had died of asphyxiation.

- So the cause of death
was strangulation.

And the manner
of death was homicide.

♪ ♪

- Charles rathbun is
charged with sexual assault

And the first-degree murder
of linda sobek.

In October 1996,
rathbun goes on trial.

Prosecutors have
a compelling case.

- It's hard to untangle
that web of rathbun's mind.

I think he thought,
I'm going to take

Her out to the
el mirage dry lakebed

And see what I can get.

So they went out there,

Rathbun took
photographs of her.

Then he hit on her,
and she said,

No, she wasn't interested.

And he went crazy
and attacked her there.

♪ ♪

- He had his cord
with him and his firearm.

And he took her captive.

He tortured her.

And then he drove to
the angeles national forest.

And then he just threw
her away, along with all

Of her belongings.

I mean, how cold is that?

He was a monster.

- Charlie's defense was
that they had consensual sex

And got in an argument and,
during which time,

He accidentally
asphyxiated her.

- But everything I presented
in the case showed that this

Was a non-consensual act
by the defendant, especially

The injuries to the ankles.

There was no way
that he could explain that.

He was 6'3".

And she was 5'3"
and 107 pounds.

She was no match for him.

The motive was because he
didn't want to get caught.

Linda knew who he was.

How could he let her go
after what he had done to her?

- The trial lasts five weeks.

But the jury only
needs six hours

To reach a guilty verdict.

- Charles rathbun was
sentenced to life in prison.

And he's still there
to this day.

- Well, some people,
they're the forgiving type.

But I can't.

I will never forgive him,
never, not after what he did.

- What happened
to her was horrible,

The most gruesome,
horrible thing.

But it doesn't
define her at all.

It doesn't change
how special she was

And what an impact
she had on everyone's life.

- She only lived
a quarter of her life.

That's it.

She had--we had a quarter
of a life with her.

And she was taken
away from all of us.

It's just something
you can't get it back.

It's never
going to come back.

- The world's missing
that happy, lovable girl

That just cares so much
about people.

She always was so kind,
just a beautiful person.

- She is in heaven,
looking down on all of us.

We see her
and feel her all the time.

[soft music]

♪ ♪