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- [Man] May it please
The court counsel.

Members of the jury.

Over the next week,

the evidence presented to
you will show you many things

and take you into
areas of Bismarck

that many of us, you
don't even know exist.

I expect the evidence
will show you

that a portion of
society of Bismarck

is not the rural, safe,

hardworking society that
many of us think we live in.

There's a portion of our
community that is somewhat

of a subculture.

Drinking alcohol, taking
drugs is the order of the day.

The society within our
society has many things,

things that we cannot
understand or comprehend.

- [Reporter] Bismarck
authorities won't say

where Gordon and Barbara
Erickstad were murdered.

However, investigators
combed their yard

looking for evidence.

Blood stains can even
be seen on the driveway.

Police have gathered
enough clues on the scene

to link the murder
to two suspects.

Brian Erickstad,
Erickstad's adopted son

is six feet tall, 155 pounds,

blondish-brown
hair and blue eyes.

Robert Lawrence is five foot 11,

175 pounds brown
hair and hazel eyes.

Burleigh County state's
attorney Patricia Burke

says these two men
could be dangerous.

- [Narrator] On the morning of
Friday, September 18th, 1998,

a 17 year old girl
named Amy Warner

walked into the police station
in Bismarck, North Dakota.

The young girl said she was
worried that her boyfriend,

18 year old Brian Erickstad,

might have hurt his parents.

The girl handed the police
officer a small scrap of paper

and said, here,
here's their number.

You should try calling them.

- [Man] Because nobody could
get in touch with these folks,

we'd head on down
there, so we did.

Me, another sergeant
and two patrolmen,

- My name's Bob Haas.

I'm a retired police officer

from Bismarck Police Department.

We were told that the mother
worked for Kirkwood SuperValu,

and the father was
at North Dakota

National Guard
Aviation facility.

We tried contacting
both of the employers

and both of them indicated
that they hadn't heard

from the people for awhile.

And they too were concerned.

So we decided that
we would go over

the boyfriend Brian
was known to us.

We'd already had some
dealings with him that summer.

He'd been arrested
for some drug offenses

and been placed in jail.

And his father had come
down and bonded him out

I think maybe three weeks
prior to this happening.

When we got over there,

it was basically what we
called a welfare check.

Sergeant Holton and I looked
in the windows in the garage

and we couldn't see
any vehicles in there.

Kenen Kaizer and Mike Arnold
went around to the back

to check in the
back of the house.

There was a mess over
by the exterior door,

the door in between the
house and the garage.

There was a carpet
that was all balled up

at the base of the
garage door there.

It looked to me like there
was blood on the freezer.

- [Narrator]
Detective Haas called

the state's attorney's office
and received permission

to enter the home based
on exigent circumstances.

- [Haas] Sergeant Horton and I

opened up the storm door and
right on the base down there,

you could see there
was blood smears,

and we could see
blood on the carpet

on the stairs going up.

And we're yelling police, if
you're in here show yourself.

Let us know where you're at.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, back
at the police department,

Detective Steve Lundeen
was interviewing

the 17 year old
girl, Amy Warner.

Amy Warner explained that her
boyfriend, Brian Erickstad,

had moved in with
her two days earlier

into her family's
house on the corner

of East Sweet Avenue and
South Seventh Street,

next to A&B pizza.

She lived there with her
mom, her mom's boyfriend,

her brother and her two sisters.

Her sister's boyfriend, 27
year old Robert Lawrence,

also lived there with them.

Amy said that all day
yesterday, Thursday,

her boyfriend, Brian, and her
sister's boyfriend Robert,

had been driving around town

in a brand new pickup truck.

The truck belonged
to Brian's parents.

And she didn't think that they
would just let him borrow it.

Oh, and another thing she said.

Last night, my mother's
boyfriend , Weasel,

he told me that
Brian had asked him

how much jail time he
would get for murder.

When's the last time you
saw Brian and Robert,

the detective asked her.

Amy said that the last time
she had seen them was yesterday

at 5:00 PM in Mandan
by the Heart River

at their favorite swimming hole,

a place they called the Rapids.

- [Haas] We go upstairs

and we looked into
the living room

and it was just ransacked.

There was stuff thrown
all over the place.

In the middle of the hallway
there was a big pool of blood.

We go down a little bit further,

and we look into the
bedroom to the left

and that's pretty
much, it's well kept.

There's no issues there.

We looked to the
one on the right.

We can see a big pool
of blood on the carpet.

This bedroom has
just absolutely,

it's like an explosion
went off in there.

The mattresses are thrown
up against the wall.

There's paperwork and stuff
all strewn all over the place,

individual pieces of
jewelry and stuff like that.

Just everything is just
thrown all over the place.

When we went into the kitchen
and we looked under the sink,

low and behold, what do we find?

I think there was three knives

in the kitchen in the sink.

One of the knives,
the blade was broken.

- [Narrator] The
detectives exited the home

until a search warrant
could be produced.

Once that happened,

the coroner took a
walk through the home.

He walked in and he looked
and he came out and he said

that he would have
severe concern

for the wellbeing of the people
that were involved in this.

The amount of blood that
was there in the scene,

he just didn't think
anybody could survive that.

- [Reporter] Trisha Burke
says Erickstad and Lawrence

murdered Gordon and
Barbara here at their home.

But when investigators
arrived yesterday,

the bodies were not here.

- [Man] In all my years on
the streets of Bismarck,

I never lost a lot of sleep,

other than a handful of times,

I lost some sleep during
this investigation.

- I'm Lloyd Halvorson,

currently the vice president

for academic and student affairs

at Lake Region State College

in Devil's Lake, North Dakota.

I worked for Bismarck Police
Department from 1992 until 2002

Friday morning I get
called into work.

My investigative commander
and other higher ups

at the police department,

they started to tell
me what they knew.

They told me who they
suspected was involved,

Robert Lawrence and
Brian Erickstad.

I knew immediately
where to look.

I knew that that
address was going to be

crucial to the investigation.

I dealt with the family a lot.

And every time that there was
a crime in the neighborhood,

anywhere right around there,

that's kind of became the focus.

These kids were basically
provided with a location

to drink and do drugs,

commit crime without
any consequences.

People were allowed to hide
from authorities there.

There was a exit door
near Ryan's bedroom.

You could just
sneak out at will.

I think there was
a lot of people

coming and going in
and out that door.

And I had been there
on Thursday afternoon,

arresting two runaways.

And when I was in
one of the bedrooms

where one of the
runaways was hiding,

I had seen a bloody shirt,

and I relayed that right
away to the commanders.

And I said we got to
get back to that house.

- [Narrator] Detective
Halvorson was assigned

to return to the house
on East Sweet Avenue

to find out what anyone there
might know about this event.

The first person he interviewed

was Amy's brother, Ryan Warner.

- [Halvorson] Ryan
was largely defiant

the first time I
interviewed him.

I talked to him, he wasn't
willing to tell on his friends.

He was very adamant he was
not going to say anything.

I sat him out in the lobby area

of our investigative
unit in a chair,

said, okay, I'm going
to visit with your mom

for a bit, just hang tight.

And ultimately he
just got up and left.

Detective Halvorson
returned to the house

on East Sweet Avenue
and got permission

from Amy Warner's mother, Pam,

to search the house
for a bloody shirt.

While there Amy's brother,
Ryan, walked into the residence.

- Ryan asked if we had found

what we were looking for yet.

And I had told him
that we hadn't.

He led me down to his room.

And behind a chair pulled
out a Dan's Suoermarket bag

that had some bloody
clothes in it.

And I knew this was
a really big piece.

So I bring Ryan and Pam back
down to the police department.

We decided we need to
talk at a greater length

about what Ryan knew
and who told him what.

It sounded like
for the most part

Ryan had received a
lot of information
from Robert Lawrence.

Robert had disclosed
most of what happened.

- [Narrator] What
happened according to Ryan

was that Robert Lawrence
and Brian Erickstad

had woken him up at 5:00
AM two nights earlier.

Outside in the parking
lot of A&B Pizza

was a brand new pickup.

Robert told Ryan smells
like death, doesn't it?

We killed Brian's parents.

You're coming with us
to dump the stiffs.

They're in the
back of the truck.

Ryan Warner told him that
he couldn't go with them

because he had to go to
school in the morning.

And so he went back
inside and went to sleep.

Ryan Warner told
Detective Halvorson

that nobody left with
Robert and Brian.

Nobody had helped them,

but at least 12 people had
knowledge of the homicides.

- When they left the bodies
in the back of the truck

did anybody else go with them?

- Not that I know of.

- Who else had knowledge
about what happened?

- There's like 12 people that--

- There's a lot of
people that know.

- How many is a lot?

- Twelve.

- And they are?

Will you tell me their names?

- [Ryan] Me, Robert, Brian,

Aimee, Michelle, Candy,

Weasel, Rick, D.J.,

Bill, Kristi.

- [Halvorson] As the
interview went on,

I got the impression though

that Ryan may have actually
been at the residence.

and perhaps others.

And that's what I really
wanted to get to the bottom of.

He did not want to go there.

And as the interview
progressed, he got more nervous.

He got more agitated, just
really moving his hands.

And I could tell I
was onto something.

I could tell that he knew
more than he was letting on.

It wasn't just about
what he was told.

It's what he knew to be true.

- [Ryan] Then they
left about one o'clock.

They went down there.

They did it, they came
back to the house.

They wanted me to go
with them to dump them.

- And that was when?

- About 5:30.

And then after that,

Misty,

I don't think
she's down in this.

- Nope, we got to
put Misty on there.

- Misty came over to the house.

She was spending the night
and she found out about it.

She found out about it

and she wanted to
drive by down there.

- 'Cause that was at what time?

- It was after 5:30,

'cause Robert and Brian
were nowhere in sight.

- Okay, so then what?

- So we just drove down there.

- You and Misty?

You said Brian and
Robert were with you.

- I was lying.

- You didn't want to
get Misty in trouble?

- She didn't do nothing wrong.

- You didn't want
to get her involved?

Who is Misty?

- Misty Jones.

- He ultimately did
confess, I guess,

to being at the residence

and that he was
driven there by Misty.

Misty was somewhat unknown
to me at this point.

I had heard her name before,

but I had zero expectation

that she was involved to
the degree she was involved.

- [Reporter] Authorities
believe Erickstad and Lawrence

dumped the bodies 52
miles south of Bismarck

off of Highway 6.

Authorities found the
couple's bodies in this field

around eight o'clock last night,

adding another crime
scene to the list.

- [Halvorson] If you
want to get to the truth,

you have to be really patient.

I thought Steve Lundin
did great with Misty,

getting her to a place where
she finally told the truth.

He knew she was stalling.

He knew she had the information,

but he didn't push her.

He played on her heart
strings a little bit.

He talked about her
loyalties a little bit.

And ultimately he got
her to give it up,

but it took a long time.

And that was patience.

He back her into a corner
she'll come out swinging.

- I need to know what
you might have overheard

or what you saw.

[woman talking]

- Is that what
you're getting at?

- Well, the information I
have is that number one,

you were told everything
that happened in that house.

And number two, you
even looked in the house

and saw what, the
aftermath of what happened.

And it's not too late.

You don't want to have to worry

that I'm going to
get you in trouble.

- Can I leave now?

Please?

- Misty, come here, honey.

Misty, come here, honey.

- Misty?

- [Mom] Come here, it's okay.

- [Narrator] It turned
out that Misty Jones

not only drove Robert and
Brian to the Erickstad home,

she had been in the house,

witnessed part of the murders,

and she had also helped
them dump the bodies.

- [Halvorson] She
ultimately described

where they dumped the bodies,

about 50 miles south of Mandan,

in a tree row near Selfridge.

That was the break we needed.

We might not find those
bodies for a long time.

There's a lot of
things about this job

that a person doesn't
want to relive,

that they don't want
to take with them,

that they would
just as soon forget

or be able to put behind them.

This was one of them.

What happened to Barbara
and Gordon Erickstad

was brutal beyond imagination.

And then to be so
callously discarded.

And the reasons,

no reason here.

There was no justification
for doing something like this.

I wasn't even sure I
wanted to open it back up.

And I think when you sent
me the police reports

and you sent me interviews,
videos and things like that,

I think it took me over two
weeks to open the first document

and to view the first video.

- [Haas] My lieutenant
contacts me.

And he says he was
sending somebody over

to 45 Laredo, 'cause this
is where it happened at.

And he wants me to jump
in a car with this guy

and we're to head
down to Selfridge

because the
information that we got

from one of the people
that was involved

in this whole thing
and knew explicitly

what had happened,

had told him that Barbara
and Gordon had been killed

and their bodies had been dumped

on a tree row down by
Selfridge, North Dakota.

- [Halvorson] I remember
my lieutenant telling me,

get ready to go
down to Selfridge,

get ahold of Detective Becker,

get those people back here,

tell the chopper to refuel,
get ahold of the coroner,

get a hold of the
sheriff of Sioux County

and tell them we're coming.

I wrote up a quick little script

for our office
manager D Tremble.

And I said will you call
the sheriff of Sioux County

and tell them that
about a dozen units

from the Bismarck
police department,

an equipment truck, generators,

and a helicopter are on
their way south of Mandan

to try to find a couple of
bodies that were dumped there.

Tell them we're investigating
a double homicide

that happened the
last couple of days.

And so she started in
on this with the sheriff

and he thought it was a joke.

He thought it was a prank call.

- Troy Shaner, I
believe it was Troy,

came and picked me up and
we headed on down there

and it's starting
to get dark now

because it's getting late
in the year and stuff.

And we got down
there about the time

that the sun was going down

and we weren't sure if
we were going to be able

to locate them.

Well, BIA had the
road blocked off

and they had lights going
and all this other stuff.

We had to show them
our identification

and tell them who we were.

And then we had to sign
in on a crime scene log.

They pointed us to
over to the tree row

and they're in the tree row

was Mr. Erickstad
laying on his back,

and Mrs. Erickstad was laid down

with her head on his stomach

and her legs were
bent underneath her.

- -[Halvorson] This
is a crime scene

that I've relived
many, many times.

It's something that
a lot of officers,

a lot of detectives
won't ever witness.

I was assigned as
the photographer.

And it was photographs that
I can still see to this day,

things I would wish
nobody to have to see.

- [Haas] I don't want to
sound crass and unemotional,

but we get, I guess,
from what we do,

we kind of get conditioned
to some of that stuff.

And it's terrible.

And it sets you back
for just a second.

But in the same regard,

looking at them and looking
what has been done to them,

you want to get
them some justice.

You want to get the
family some justice too.

So you have to put
your emotions aside.

If you can't do it, basically,
you tell them I can't do it.

Then you step aside because
you don't want to mess

something of this stature up.

You're looking for things
that's going to tie it in

from this scene to the
scene that we were just at.

You got to push on,

because if you don't, you're
worthless, you can't do it.

You can't do it anymore.

And you might as well
just get out of it.

We've got to get some
sleep because the next day

we're going to be out at six
o'clock in the morning again,

trying to run down leads,

we're talking to witnesses.

We're going through
the crime scene again,

tabulating things, we're
putting stuff into evidence

and it's an ongoing process.

And now that we have located
Mr. and Mrs. Erickstad,

we know that there's
going to be an autopsy.

- [Reporter] Bismarck police
lieutenant, Myron Hinley,

says the numerous crime scenes,

Ericstads' home, the
field and this car

that was found near West Fargo

will all help investigators
fill in the blanks.

Most of the evidence
has been gathered.

However, the two murderers
are still on the loose,

but they have received
a number of tips

on where the two
murderers could be headed.

- [Halvorson] I can't say
with any degree of certainty

exactly what happened.

I do know that at some point,

Robert Lawrence, Brian
Erickstad and Misty Jones--

- [Haas] They go over to
Rick Storhogg's place.

Try to get him to
come with them.

He doesn't answer the
knocks on the windows

and stuff like that.

- [Havorston] I'm still
a little bit uncertain

about Misty's boyfriend
Rick and his role.

But he's one I never
really felt we got

the full truth out of.

I need you to remember
what you heard.

And I need you to remember

who you heard it from
and what they said

because this is crucial.

Like you said, this,

this isn't like any everyday
conversation, you know,

I just can't buy that
you can't remember

what you've heard yet.

- What I've heard from who?

- This is not going to happen
to you in your lifetime again.

That somebody you
know is involved in
killing their parents.

- I don't remember
who told me stuff.

I know somebody told
me that Ryan was there.

I don't remember who it was.

It could've been DJ,
could've been Buddy,

could've been Kristi,
could've been Candy,

It could've been Aimee,
could've been Michelle.

God knows who it was, 'cause
I talked to everybody.

People have been calling
me up on the phone,

people that I haven't talked
to for like six months

called me up and told me
that they heard stuff.

- That's always
been my contention.

And I guess I can't
really prove it.

But Rick Storhogg knew
what was gonna happen.

And he was supposed to
be that third person

that was going down to Laredo
on the night that it happened.

I think better judgment
got ahold of him.

And he decided I'm not going.

I think Misty ended up
filling in for Rick.

He knew what was going on.

And as I think this whole thing

could have been prevented
if he just opened his mouth.

But he didn't and I don't
know what allegiance

he feels that he
owes to these guys.

But you know,

two people ended up
losing their lives

over him keeping his mouth shut.

- [Halvorson] Robert Lawrence,

Brian Erickstad and Misty Jones

arrived at the Erickstad
residence on Loredo.

- [Haas] They go
into the garage.

And from what I understand,

Brian and Robert
sit down and discuss

how this is all gonna go down.

- [Halvorson] Brian
and Robert went in,

stabbed both of them to death.

At some point, Misty
went into the house.

She says, well, Barbara
was still alive.

She apologized to Barbara for
what was happening to her.

At which time she was
chewed out by Brian

- [Haas] After the murders,

they go downstairs and
they remove the blankets

from a couple of bunk beds

to wrap the bodies up.

- [Halvorson] They loaded
the bodies in the pickup.

Misty went back to the Warner
residence, picked up Ryan,

brought him down to the house.

Ryan says he looked in the door.

He could see all the blood.

Brian and Robert
were already gone.

He went back to the
residence, 701 East Sweet.

- [Haas] And they
take the pickup.

They go over to 701 East Sweet.

- [Halvorson] Robert and Brian
pulled up to the residence.

They wanted Ryan to go
with to dump the bodies.

Ryan declined.

They left with Misty.

- [Haas] Robert
and Misty and Brian

go down to Selfridge to
dispose of the bodies.

- [Halvorson] Headed down to
Selfridge, near Selfridge,

where they dumped the
bodies in a tree row.

That's what I know.

- [Narrator] Five days
after the murders,

Robert Lawrence and
Brian Erickstad were
arrested in Texas.

They were brought
back to North Dakota

and were tried and
convicted a year later.

- [Haas] Nobody has
really conclusively said.

And it still to
this day baffles me.

There's been other
stuff that I've worked.

You know, you
shake your head at,

but at least they'll
give you a reason on why.

There's never been a reason.

And I would welcome
somebody telling me.

- [Narrator] Despite the
vicious reality of the crime,

Robert and Brian's friends
continued to support them.

One journalist who
attended the trial

berated the young followers
for their attitudes,

and quote "smirks
on their faces."

- Now that I kind
of look back at it,

how could you classify it

as maybe kind of
Charles Mansonisque.

Two people died, they
died a horrendous death.

They should have never had
been subjected to that.

And yet we've got
these kids, I guess,

for lack of better term,

are idolizing the people
that did it to them.

- Two weeks after the arrest,

Robert and Brian's girlfriends,
Aimee and Michelle,

agreed to a newspaper interview.

They posed proudly
for photographs

and seemed to be
enjoying the attention.

They both said that they wished

they had run off with
Robert and Brian,

both said they would
love them forever.

They were still planning
a future with them.

But this newspaper
interview compared little

to what happened
a few weeks later.

Aimee Warner decided
she needed to break

into the Erickstad
home on Loredo Drive

where Barbara and Gordon
had been brutally murdered.

It was still a crime
scene with police tape

and do not enter plastered
all over the doors.

And she didn't act alone.

Her mother's boyfriend
and others helped her,

What they didn't know was that

the Bismarck Police Department

had set up a portable
alarm in the house.

- [Haas] The police
responded that night,

and they find I think Aimee
coming out of the house

or out of the garage
with stuff in her hand.

They've got Weasel there.

They've got Naomi
there, Kristi's there.

I think they were just
coming out of the garage

and Candy and Steve were
sitting in Steve's car

and they're in the driveway.

What's the purpose of
going back into the house?

I don't know, but they all
ended up getting arrested.

All the juveniles
ended up going to YCC.

The males, the two adults,

They ended up getting
charged with class B felonies

and going to jail that night.

I think it's a very
disrespectful act.

You knew what went on in there.

There's no doubt in your mind.

Why do you need to
go back in there?

- [Narrator] I asked
both Lloyd Halvorson

and Bob Haas for their thoughts

on Misty Jones's role
in this sad event.

Misty Jones had driven Brian
and Robert to the house,

Misty who returned to get help
at the house on East Sweet.

Misty Jones, who rode with
them to dump the bodies.

Misty was never
charged with anything

in regards to these homicides.

And she would later testify

for the prosecution
at the trial.

A lot of people ask me,

do you think it's right
that only Robert and Brian

were charged with
criminal activity

regarding these homicides,

and that the others really
suffered no consequence.

I think the two people that
needed to be held accountable

were held accountable.

And I think these young
people will live with this

for the rest of their life.

And in some ways that's
consequence enough.

- [Haas] Maybe I'm
going to get raked

over the coals over this,

but she had an opportunity.

She could have done
just what Rick did.

She could have walked away.

She could have gone
knocked on somebody's door

saying call the police.

You know, there's something
going on over here.

We need the police.

She did none of that.

- [Narrator] Like Aimee
and Michelle Warner,

Misty Jones continued to
support Brian and Robert

for months after
they were arrested.

She wrote letters
to both of them

while they were awaiting trial.

Every letter was
littered with I love you.

I'll love you forever.

We'll always be connected.

She told them that someday
she would have two sons.

She would name one
Robert and one Brian.

She also said Robert
and Brian didn't deserve

what happened to them.

- [Halvorson] For
two months later,

to say something
like that in a letter

to the two people who put
her in this awful position

and exposed her to
this awful crime,

very surprised, very surprised.

I would say, what's her
motivation for doing this?

Why would she come
out and say that?

He brutally murdered
two innocent people.

- [Narrator] I asked Lloyd
Halvorson and Bob Haas,

if they would have any
questions for Misty Jones today,

if I could find her somehow.

- I dunno, when you called
and you talked to me

about doing a story,

it was just, I have
yet to understand.

I have my thoughts on
why they were killed,

but nobody has really
conclusively said it.

And it still to
this day baffles me.

There's never been a reason.

And I would welcome
somebody telling me.

- The letters months later
to Brian or to Robert

kind of reasserting
her loyalty to them,

her love for them.

I'd love to find out what
she was thinking at the time

and how long it took
her to overcome that

and to think differently.

Or perhaps she doesn't.

Perhaps she still
thinks to this day

that the consequences imposed

on Robert and Brian were unjust.

I'd be really
interested to know that.

This is James.

We just got done
interviewing Misty Jones,

which is someone I didn't think

we were going to have an
opportunity to talk to.

Long interview and
I'm pretty tired,

but she had some interesting
news that I wasn't expecting.

And I wanted to tell you about.

Apparently just in
the last week or so,

she reached out
to Brian Erickstad

in North Dakota
State Penitentiary.

And somehow she has
gotten him to agree

she says to speak with me.

Apparently we will be
interviewing Brian Erickstad.

- [Narrator] Looking back,

it was never part of my game
plan to interview Misty Jones.

For one, I didn't think
I'd be able to find her.

I had the feeling she would
be one of those people

laying low, still hidden
beneath an underbelly

in some town somewhere.

One day though, I
received Misty's

contact information
unexpectedly.

After some initial
correspondence,

Misty agreed to an interview,

and I drove from western
North Dakota to Fargo.

While driving along
interstate 94,

I did a lot of thinking and
I passed a lot of landmarks

related to this tragic crime.

First came the
town of New Salem,

with its giant statue of a cow,

watching me from its
perch on a hilltop.

I recalled that Misty Jones
lived in New Salem in 1998.

And that five days
after the murders,

a Morton County Sheriff's
deputy drove to Misty's home

to retrieve some evidence,

a small gas can.

Just before the Missouri river,

I passed Mandan where Michelle
Warner and Robert Lawrence

dump bloody blankets in JC park

near their favorite
swimming hole,

a place they dumped the Rapids.

Some of the East Sweet
kids went swimming there

just a few hours
before the murders.

And the next day,

a few of them
rendezvoused there again

to wave goodbye as their
heroes, Brian and Robert,

rode off in stolen vehicles.

Passing Bismarck and the
state Capitol building,

I thought more about the
house on East Sweet Avenue

than I did the house
on Laredo Drive.

The world inside 701
East Sweet Avenue,

that was a world I felt
I would never understand.

I had wanted to
understand it though.

And from the very start
I had hoped to interview

Aimee and Michelle
and Ryan Warner,

and Rick Storhogg and others.

Aimee first tipped off
police about the crime,

but then later posed proudly
alongside her sister,

Michelle for a
newspaper article,

declaring her everlasting
love and support for Brian.

Aimee, one of six
people arrested

for breaking into the
crime scene on Laredo Drive

just a few weeks
after the murders.

I did reach out to Pam
Warner to request interviews.

Pam told me she did
speak with her daughters

and they all agreed to
respectfully decline

to take part in this story.

Sadly, her son, Ryan
Warner passed away in 2009.

Somewhere along
the way to Fargo,

I realized why I had resisted
seeking out Misty Jones

from the beginning.

In some ways I think for me,

the girl with the little red
car wasn't even a real person.

She had become an almost
nebulous character to me,

a mysterious young spirit
whose movements and behavior

defied understanding in 1998.

Misty Jones had become my ghost.

Finally, I arrived
in downtown Fargo

and I parked outside of a place

named the Lighthouse Church.

And then I entered this church

and I sat down with
Misty and her pastor.

- [Man] Lighthouse Church
is a recovery based church

in downtown Fargo.

We work with people
who are often

putting their life
back together,

who have gone through
some struggles

who are seeking a
community of support.

- I'm Misty Gibree.

I used to be Misty Jones,

but I'm not that girl anymore.

I'm 38.

I am married, I have two
kids, a boy and a girl.

I have three step sons,

and now I have a grandson.

I had my first drink
when I was the baby

and my dad would put
beer in my bottle

and enticed me to
walk towards it.

The first time I started
drinking myself I was 12.

The lady down the street,

I would babysit for her
and she paid me in alcohol.

My ninth grade year I
don't know how I passed,

but I did.

Partied and I was
high all the time.

They knew that I was high.

I mean, what can you do?

I did what I wanted to do.

Mostly smoked weed.

Did acid my first time.

Shrooms.

Shot up, I was
doing meth and coke.

My mom moved us to New Salem

for my sophomore
and junior year.

I refused to go to
New Salem school.

She did homeschooling for me.

I found her answer
keys and I cheated.

Since I was done
with my schooling,

I basically got to
do whatever I wanted.

I had a car then.

That's when I started
really drinking

and partying like crazy.

For my 16th birthday,

my mom decided to
take us to Arizona

to see my dad for the first
time since I was five.

It was like meeting my
dad for the first time.

I was so excited to meet him.

And my experience in Arizona
was alcohol and drugs.

- [Narrator] After her brief
reunion with her father,

Misty returned to North Dakota,

where the summer of
1998 awaited her.

And she stayed on that
path of drugs and alcohol

and cruised right into
the month of September.

- [Misty] I didn't know
where I would sleep.

Sometimes I just knew I'd
follow the flow of the party.

And you know, I always
had an excuse for my mom.

- I asked Misty if
she felt any animosity

towards the adults in her
life when she was young.

Like your babysitter
providing with this stuff,

looking back on your dad,
providing this for you.

How do you look at that?

- I think that things
happen for a reason

and although I don't
understand them,

I believe that
there's a bigger plan.

Do I like it?

Obviously not.

I could've grown up to
be something, you know,

important or special maybe even.

- [Narrator] After Brian
and Robert were sentenced

to life in prison,

Misty moved to Fargo with
her boyfriend, Rick Storhogg.

Things started out well,

but then Rick began
manufacturing meth.

- [Misty] I don't remember
even how we ended up

starting to do drugs again,

but it came and it came fast.

They were making meth and
then he was selling meth.

And then he was doing,

we were doing all kinds
of drugs at this time.

Yeah, I hardly
remember that time.

That time was really
messed up for me.

We would stay at hotels
sometimes and I would crouch

underneath the sink in the
bathroom and crying like,

you know, God let me die.

But whenever I'd be crying,
praying to God, let me just die.

Rick would just hand me a
spoon and a needle underneath.

He'd be doing his stuff
on top of the sink.

And he would just hand it
to me and I would take it.

I was like, that was what I did.

- [Narrator] And
then Rick and Misty

got arrested and both of them
spent time in federal prison.

- [Misty] So I got
out of prison in 2003.

I wanted to be sober again.

It meant a lot to
me to be sober.

And I started going to
NA as much as I could

I got a job.

- [Narrator] While attempting
to turn her life around

Misty met her future husband

who was attempting
to do the same thing.

They joined forces and
pulled their lives together,

creating a new family.

Misty started her own
cleaning business.

Misty says life was amazing,
but then they both relapsed.

And for awhile Misty
lost everything,

her business, her kids,
her car, everything.

But only for a while,

until she just couldn't
take it anymore

and she turned her
life around again.

- So today I work for a thing
called free through recovery.

I work at a church who would
have thought that would happen?

Right now help people
on parole and probation

get the resources that they need

to help them succeed
in this world.

When I got out of prison,

it wasn't hard for me to get
a job because I had ties,

but a lot of people
don't have those ties.

And so when they get out,

they don't know where
they're going to live,

where they're going to work.

People don't want to hire
them because they're felons.

So these are all the
things that I help with.

So my mom used to work
at the bowling alley.

That was one of her jobs.

And I was constantly
at the bowling alley.

And Brian was there
one day shooting pool,

but he was really quiet.

He was a great guy.

He was funny, he was caring.

He's kind of bashful
in a way with me.

I could talk to
him about anything.

He was my best friend.

Robert was the oldest, I suppose
he was a teacher in a way.

He taught me that if I
was driving down the road

and I was swerving.

So I used to drive drunk a lot

and to pretend like I was
messing with a stereo system

if I drove by a cop,

because then I'd have a
reason to be swerving,

taught me how to shoplift.

He was just kind of a teacher.

And I don't remember
a lot of him.

I just know that he was there
and Michelle's boyfriend.

The guys all really
looked up to him.

He was mean though.

I heard one time he,

I think I was at the house,

but I wasn't with
them when they did it.

But he jumped out of
the back of a pickup

and punched a black
guy with brass knuckles

for no reason other
than just being black.

Ryan and Aimee and
Michelle lived there,

Pam and Naomi and
Lisa lived upstairs.

Ryan had a door, you
just go down and go in.

And his room was pretty big.

We could just go in
whenever we wanted.

And you can just, you know,

if I needed a place
to stay or anything,

I could just, even if it
was like two in the morning,

I could just go in and lay
next to Ryan and go to bed.

They were doing drugs upstairs.

That's where we
got the meth from.

And as long as we left them
alone, they left us alone.

It was like our own
apartment down there.

- This is the only way
I'm going to put it.

Could we just get
this confirmed?

Rick knew what was go--.

I mean, he knew what was gonna,

let me play this here.

- It's always been
my contention.

And I guess I can't
really prove it.

But Rick Storhogg knew
what was going to happen.

Brian and Robert and Misty Jones

came over and knocked
on the window.

trying to get his
attention to get him

to come with them,
'cause I think Misty

ended up filling in for Rick.

And they left a note on his
car and started swimming.

- [Halvorston] I'm still
a little bit uncertain

about Misty's boyfriend Rick.

But it seemed like
he knew details

that only he could
know if he was there.

He's one I never really felt
we got the full truth on.

- Right.

- [Narrator] What's
your comments on that?

- So Rick told me
after where it said

it was supposed to be him,

that he decided not to do it
because they were going to do

it messy and leave
evidence in the house.

Rick actually had
a different plan

and it was to shoot him,

to take him somewhere where
there was a hole already done.

That way there was no evidence
of bodies or anything.

I think my brain
protected me from it

by playing it as a movie.

And still to this day, it's
like a movie in my head.

I was a very
argumentative little girl.

I would be one that's would say,

nobody's going to tell me
what to do, argued a lot.

And so when they told me to
wait in the car, I said, no,

I'm going to go in the garage

cause he can smoke
in the garage.

So I went in there
and sat on the cooler.

I sat on the big freezer
and smoked a cigarette.

I read in a transcript that
Brian went in and said that they

were awake and all that.

I don't remember any of that.

I do remember hearing
a lot of banging

And then I remember
hearing his mom scream

and then they came
in their garage

and they had blood
on their hands.

And some reason I
remember thinking

that they killed a
cat in front of them.

For some reason,
that's what in my head,

that was what they did
was they scared them

killed like a cat or something.

And so I went upstairs,

there was his dad
laying on the floor.

And I remember thinking
this isn't like the movies.

There's not a lot of blood.

His mom was still alive.

Not all the way.

And I don't know if she was
like totally alive or not.

She was breathing.

I think in the paperwork it
says that she was saying,

I love you.

But I don't remember that.

I remember Robert screaming
cut her in the jugular vein,

cut her in the jugular vein.

I remember Brian holding
her head and stabbing her

repeatedly and I just
stood there and watched.

Then I said, I have
to go get help.

And they let me leave.

- You said I have
to go get help?

They never sent you to get help?

- No, I said I
have to go to help.

You guys need help.

I have to go get help.

You guys need help.

And I left.

- Do you remember why it
was that your main concern,

them getting help or did you
just want to get out of there

or do you know?

- I don't know.

I just knew that I got
out of there real fast

and I went and got Ryan.

I didn't know the bodies
were still on the truck

when I got in it.

I found that out later,

Brian was just crying and sad.

I held him for
awhile in a truck,

cradled him like a
baby and rocked him.

Robert was like
driving and he's like,

you like my new truck.

Robert I'm honestly kind of
scared for if he ever gets out.

And I don't know if it was,
I, I can't get the image,

what he did,

the way he acted and the
way Brian acted were totally

different afterwards.

- You know, a person struggles

with how could you know
about what happened to them

and not come forward
and not tell the truth

about what you knew and do so
willingly to not understand

the gravity of right and wrong
in this way to be conflicted

in terms of loyalty, to the
truth, loyalty to your friends.

That's what we, a lot of
people don't understand.

Can you just help in any way,

help people understand
that mentality.

- So in a drug world,

you don't tell on people,

you're a narc and that's
the narcing thing.

And you don't want to be the
one that you don't want to be

labeled that person,
cause that will ruin you.

Nobody will want to do drugs
with you and nobody will want

to talk to you.

You don't know that a murder
isn't in, not included in that.

You just know that you're not
supposed to tell on people.

I remember in the psych ward,

people yelling at me
telling me don't you care,

are you that whatever they
said, I don't remember.

And I remember being in
prison five years later,

three years sober.

And the first time I
realized, oh my God,

there was two people died.

So all my actions that
are unexplainable,

I blocked the whole
thing out of my head

until I was old enough.

And my brain was
thought I was ready.

- [Narrator]
Everybody has a story.

Misty and I'm assuming the
other kids at the time,

you know, came from
their own life issues

of their own upbringing.

And you know, in
her life experience,

there was no real shaping
of a moral compass

that perhaps a lot
of people would have.

And so her compass said
it's loyalty to the people

who give you sense of security

a sense of purpose and meaning
and unconditional love.

Even though it was far
from unconditional,

she was a 16 year old kid,

drugs and alcohol affects
your cognitive abilities.

It can overtake your
brain even at young ages.

- I started writing Brian again.

I knew that I wasn't going
to ask him in letters.

And so I tried to
set up visitation

with a half hour before closing.

Cause I was really
scared, not of him,

but seeing him after
all these years.

And I didn't ask him,
I was too afraid.

- Ask him what?

- Why he did it.

What happened? Why was I there?

Why did he do it in front of me?

Why did it have to happen?

You know, Rick told me
all kinds of reasons,

but I had never heard
them from Brian.

I didn't know if they were
right or wrong, you know?

So I finally talk to him
on the phone the other day,

- How many days ago?

- Monday and Tuesday.

And I finally asked him,
but I can't tell you,

cause that's his
story to tell you.

- [Haas] Maybe I'm
going to get raked

over the coals over this,

but she had an opportunity.

She could have done
just what Rick did.

She could have walked away.

This is not the
actions of somebody

that we should give
some leniency to.

I don't believe it.

I think she's just as
complicit as these other two.

Sure she didn't stab anybody.

She didn't kill anybody.

But there were actions that
she could have taken that maybe

it would minimize
some of this stuff.

Maybe two people wouldn't
have lost their lives.

- [Man] She was a
16 year old kid,

drugs and alcohol affects
your cognitive abilities.

- [Halvorson] The two
people that needed

to be held accountable
were held accountable.

And I think these young people

will live with this for
the rest of their life.

And in some ways that's
consequence enough.

- I remember back
in the eighties,

Hollywood ran a campaign
advertising campaign where they

encourage us to get out
and escape to the movies.

If you think about it,
that's kind of what we do.

When we watch a movie
we escape from reality.

Is that what Misty Jones did
that night instead of driving

to the police department,
she walked down those steps

and went through that door
and woke up Ryan Warner.

Did she escape to a movie her
brain produced in her head?

I don't know.

There's still a lot
I don't understand.

Sure I have more information,

but a part of me still
does not understand,

but I do know that
Hollywood movies

almost always end neat and tidy.

You're served up with an
ending that is tied with a bow,

served on a platter
and you're left

with no unanswered questions,

but this story and the
movie in Misty's head

were not Hollywood productions.

This was real life.

Two people really died.

And I guess in real life stories

don't always end neat and tidy.

One unanswered
question at present is

will Brian Erickstad
speak with us?

Will he answer some
of those questions

that Bob Haas and
others still can't quite

get out of their heads
all these years later?

Why did this happen?

At the time of this
recording I've spoken

to Brian Erickstad three
times on the phone.

We've only discussed how such
an interview might take place,

but now suddenly I've not
heard from him in over a month.

Perhaps he's changed his mind.

One thing I do know though,

or at least I believe when the
16 year old Misty Jones wrote

those crazy letters to
Robert and Brian in jail,

she was right about one thing.

She said, they'd
always be connected.

I think that's
something she got right.

I think they always will be
tethered together because of

this horrific experience.