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Around 3 pm,
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Diane gets a knock on the door.
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She lets this person in,
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and she is attacked.
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We have a man running around
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talking his way into women's homes.
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He seemed to...
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...worship the ground
she walks on.
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They had broken up,
made up, broken up.
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Maybe this was...
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..."If I can't have you, nobody can."
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During sex, he would strangle her.
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We were able to find pictures
of hands around throats,
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strings around throats.
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We need to get him off the street
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so we don't have another victim.
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You never know
who's knocking on the door.
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In 2001, Austin, Texas
was a rapidly growing city.
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Multiple high-tech companies
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have moved into the area.
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You had Dell coming up.
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IBM was big.
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You had...
Applied Materials was big.
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It was starting to get
that reputation as a...
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...mini Silicon Valley.
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Great Hills
is in Northwest Austin
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and it would be considered
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a higher income neighbourhood,
very safe.
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Diane Holik is 43 years old
and she lives in a house
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in the Great Hills area.
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Diane is an IBM executive
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and had been with the company
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for at least 20 years.
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She has two dogs,
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Rocky and Baylor.
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She has
a great base of friends
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that love her and
love hanging out with her.
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She is engaged to be married to a
man named Dennis Conley
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and they
were going to be moving to Houston,
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so Diane is selling her home.
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The Austin market right now
isn't in very good shape.
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A lot of people are putting their
homes up for sale
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and they're not moving.
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Diane happens to be
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suffering from that issue as well.
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On the afternoon of November 15th,
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Diane is working from home.
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And she had a conversation with
a coworker named Cynthia Barajas.
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She told Cynthia
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that she was very excited
because a man had come to the home
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wanting to purchase her home
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for cash.
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He told her that
he was from Bastrop,
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which is a town
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outside of Austin, about 25 miles.
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The man told Diane that he'd
be back later
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with his wife so that
they could take a tour of the house.
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Cynthia was
very concerned that Diane
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had let a stranger into her home.
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And she told her, "You need to be
careful about doing that."
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"You never know
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who's knocking on the door."
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That afternoon,
a violent thunderstorm
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moved into Austin.
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Diane told Cynthia she needed
to get off the phone
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so that she could batten down
the hatches of her house.
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She ended her call
with Cynthia at 1:30.
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Around 3:00 pm,
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Diane gets a knock on the door.
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And she lets this person in.
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After Diane lets this person in,
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she is attacked.
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By the next day,
the storm had cleared
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and Diane was supposed
to have a IBM Zoom call
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with Cynthia Barajas.
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When Diane did not show up
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on the Zoom call, Cynthia became
concerned that maybe
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something happened
to Diane during the storm.
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She called the home several times.
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When she could not get
in touch with Diane
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she decided to call the
Austin Police Department
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to conduct a welfare check.
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Police arrived at Diane's
house but nobody answered the door.
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Lakki Brown, who is
a neighbour and happens to be
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the realtor selling Diane's home,
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walks down to inquire
what's going on.
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Police tell her that
they're checking on her welfare
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because employees are concerned.
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So, she gives them a key.
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When the police make entry
into Diane's home,
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they find her two beloved dogs,
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Rocky and Baylor
in extreme distress.
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They found a lot of
faecal matter and urine
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all over the carpets.
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The master bedroom
was on the bottom floor.
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They look around
that part of the house,
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didn't find anything.
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They go up the stairs...
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...and in searching one of
the spare bedrooms,
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on the other side of the bed,
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that's where he found the body.
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When the officers realised
that it was a potential homicide,
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they called our detective who was
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on duty at the homicide office.
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And he's actually the one
that called myself
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and Detective De Los Santos
to respond.
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We arrived at the scene
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and went inside.
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My initial observation was
the house was
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immaculately clean.
Everything was in place.
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It didn't seem like
there had been any kind of
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violent disturbance in the house.
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And because her house was so clean
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and organised,
we thought it was very odd
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that there was a towel
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just draped over the couch.
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It seemed very out of place.
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We then went upstairs
to the spare bedroom.
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I walked into the bedroom
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and I saw Diane's body.
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It looks exactly like someone
tried to push
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most of her body underneath the bed,
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but Diane was small.
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She wasn't that small.
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They then slid the bed cover
over her to try to hide her.
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00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,400
One of the things
that immediately struck me
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was a red ligature mark
that went around her neck.
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This indicated to me
that she had been strangled.
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The other thing
that I didn't notice,
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and usually do
in these types of cases,
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is defensive marks
that are on the neck.
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When someone is trying
to pull the ligature away,
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sometimes they cut themselves
with their fingernails.
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00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:36,880
There was no injury present,
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which was odd.
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As I moved further down her body,
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I looked at her wrist and saw
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that she had red linear
lines on both of them.
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On closer inspection, I saw
perpendicular spaces
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between the two parallel lines.
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And these reminded me of zip ties.
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So, I figured that she had been...
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...tied up before she was strangled,
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and that's why
there were no defensive marks.
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She was already in rigor mortis,
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and she was starting
to get some of that...
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...bruising that you get
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as your body decomposes.
And so, we knew
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that she had been strangled 12...
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...possibly 24 hours earlier.
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We had no reason to believe that
she'd been sexually assaulted
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because she was still fully clothed.
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We had a discussion with Lakki Brown
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because she was concerned and
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asked us if we had found
Diane's ring?
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She said that was a massive ring.
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She thought it was
about 20,000 dollars, and that
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if it was missing that maybe that
could have been the motive.
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But we never found that ring.
The potential for this
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to have been a robbery gone bad
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was definitely in the forethought
of our minds
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because we couldn't find the ring.
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When we realised that there was
no forced entry into the house,
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we thought that Diane either knew
them or felt comfortable enough
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to open the door for this person.
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There appeared to be
black mascara and makeup
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on a portion of the carpet,
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which to me, said Diane was
face down at one point
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in this area.
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It indicated to me that
yes, she was definitely moved.
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And that's what really concerned me,
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that this killer is comfortable
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putting his hands on her
after she's dead,
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and then staging her body.
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To me, this is a killer who,
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this isn't his first time.
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He may have done this before
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because he cleaned up
that crime scene.
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We didn't find a lot of
fingerprint evidence.
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It appeared that the house may have
been wiped down,
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and that the attacker had gone to
great lengths to cover their tracks.
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When investigators discover
that elaborate efforts
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have been undertaken by the suspect
to clean the crime scene,
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they have to start wondering whether
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there's significant premeditation
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in this case.
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Somebody who is confident enough
in remaining at the scene
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for a prolonged period
after the murder,
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which carries with it additional
risks of introducing new evidence.
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I mean, there's fibres and cells
that are constantly falling
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off the body, so, to remain there,
this will...
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...communicate to investigators
that this person
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has thought this through and
thinks they're smarter than police.
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After interviewing her
friends and family,
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we realised that Diane
was this gregarious,
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successful, fun-loving woman...
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who liked to throw parties,
liked to hang out with her friends.
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00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,520
But once Diane turned 40,
her friends said that
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she decided
that she wanted to settle down,
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00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:17,920
maybe raise a family.
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00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:23,040
She actually signed up
for a couple of dating websites.
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One of them was called
"It's Just Lunch"
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and I believe that's
where she met Dennis Conley.
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00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,640
Dennis Conley
is a divorced father of two
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and a successful businessman.
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Within a few months,
the two are engaged.
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When we were in the house,
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we noticed that there was an
answering machine
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and it was blinking.
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00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:50,480
We listened to all the messages, and
almost all of them were from Dennis.
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00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,680
Some of them were concerned,
like, "Where are you at?"
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00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:56,880
Because Diane was supposed
to have gone
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to Houston to be with him
for the weekend.
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00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,680
By the second day, he was
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00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,440
pretty distraught and angry
that she hadn't called him back.
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00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:08,360
He just was like,
"What is going on?"
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00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,280
"I don't understand
what's happening,
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00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,360
and you need to call me back."
219
00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:16,120
When we talked to Diane's friends
about Dennis,
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00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:20,200
many of them were not eager
for them to get married.
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They felt like he was very
controlling and I don't think
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00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,720
they thought that
the marriage was going to last.
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00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:31,360
And apparently she was
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00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:35,080
vacillating as to whether she really
wanted to marry him or not.
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00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,640
They had broken up,
made up, broken up.
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00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,600
In talking with two of Diane's
friends, they told me that
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00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,760
Diane had reactivated
her dating service app
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00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,840
and had gone out
with a couple of other men.
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00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,800
One friend told me that
the Thursday before...
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00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:58,960
...that she had had a date from
somebody that she had met
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on the internet.
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00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,640
Is it possible
that Dennis Conley found out
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00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:05,600
and was upset about it?
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00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:09,360
Is it possible that Dennis
235
00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:11,320
was the one she opened the door for?
236
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:19,280
I called Dennis Conley
237
00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:21,280
from the house. He's not there,
238
00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:22,800
but I speak to his roommate,
239
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,240
and I tell the roommate that Diane
240
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was deceased and that we needed to
have Dennis call us.
241
00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,280
Dennis called us back pretty quick
242
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and told us he was already
on his way to Austin.
243
00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:38,920
So, we agreed that
244
00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,680
we would meet him at the police
station for an interview.
245
00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:44,640
When I get him
in the interview room,
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00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:51,040
{\an8}he seems very
distraught about Diane, very upset.
247
00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,400
{\an8}But he also came across as
more concerned
248
00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:56,360
about his own feelings and how he
was going to be dealing with this,
249
00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,040
than he really was with
what happened to Diane.
250
00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,200
{\an8}Conley admitted to me
that their relationship
251
00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,280
did have rough patches.
252
00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,560
At one point, they ended
their engagement
253
00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,560
and did some couple's therapy.
254
00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,040
Finally, they decided that they were
gonna get married,
255
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,640
and Diane made the decision
to sell her home.
256
00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,200
Dennis claimed that he was in
Houston at the time of the murder.
257
00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,360
He had a major presentation to give
258
00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:29,800
the following morning, so,
259
00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:33,080
he had been working all night
on that presentation.
260
00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,600
But it was not out of
the realm of possibility that
261
00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:38,520
Dennis could have
driven to Austin...
262
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,880
...come to Diane's home...
263
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:47,720
...murdered her,
264
00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:49,200
and driven back,
265
00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,000
as it's only a
two-and-a-half-hour drive.
266
00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,680
We asked him if he would voluntarily
give us a sample of his hair
267
00:14:57,840 --> 00:14:59,920
and a sample of his DNAs.
268
00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,960
And he volunteered to do it.
269
00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,280
We did test his DNA
270
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,920
against DNA that we collected
at the crime scene,
271
00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:10,720
and he was not a match
for any of it.
272
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,360
I attend the autopsy,
273
00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:19,080
and we were able to look at those
ligatures around her wrists...
274
00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,240
...pretty closely.
275
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,840
We're able to actually measure
the distance between
276
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,600
the linear marks that are on there,
277
00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,840
and that's when we determined that
those were zip ties
278
00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,680
of some sort
that were around her wrist.
279
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,440
But because we didn't find
anything in the house that even
280
00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:39,600
resembled those zip ties,
281
00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:42,120
we knew that the perpetrator
must have
282
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,280
taken those with him.
283
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,520
The autopsy is really
the linchpin of most
284
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:49,680
effective homicide investigations.
285
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,040
There's significant data
286
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:52,560
that can be gleaned from that,
287
00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:53,800
that will send investigators
288
00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:55,000
in a particular direction.
289
00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:59,320
Approximate time of death,
cause of death, stomach contents,
290
00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:00,920
toxicology. You know,
291
00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:02,920
was this person
consuming drugs or alcohol?
292
00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,080
And that perhaps changes
the circumstances.
293
00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,760
All kinds of things that will really
guide them into where to go next.
294
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,480
At the autopsy
we learned she was
295
00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,440
definitely murdered
by strangulation.
296
00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,400
It looked like...
the angle of the ligature mark
297
00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,600
would've been somebody that was
taller than her
298
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:25,560
as it went kind of up...
299
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:27,160
...and behind her.
300
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,880
And that ligature mark was
very, very deep,
301
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:36,280
so, it would've been a lot of force
used to actually strangle her.
302
00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,680
The time of death
is estimated to be between
303
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,240
3:00 pm on November 15th
304
00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:48,720
and 3:00 am on November 16th.
305
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:53,400
On November 15th,
Dennis Conley went to dinner,
306
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,400
apparently, with his roommate
and a neighbour,
307
00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:56,760
a friend of his,
308
00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:01,160
and was able to provide us
with the receipts for that.
309
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,520
And then we went back
and we also corroborated that
310
00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,200
those two individuals did actually
have dinner with him that night.
311
00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:11,320
{\an8}At this point we were able to
pretty much clear Dennis
312
00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,640
{\an8}as a suspect in this murder.
313
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,640
But when we were
trying to figure out
314
00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,440
who might want to hurt Diane,
315
00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:21,720
he really didn't know,
316
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:23,840
but he did offer up a name
317
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,720
of somebody that
was very attracted to Diane,
318
00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:28,920
that he thought
we should start looking at.
319
00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:54,160
Ray was hired by Diane
a few years earlier
320
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,200
and worked with her at IBM.
321
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,080
When we talked to the people
322
00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,680
that know him,
we know that Ray was...
323
00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,360
He was really
just in love with Diane.
324
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,600
He was willing to do anything
for her that she asked.
325
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,360
Ray was the person who always took
care of Diane's dogs
326
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,400
when she was out of town
and went to Houston,
327
00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,280
because Dennis didn't like
the dogs at the house.
328
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,800
Ray actually showed up at the house
329
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:24,840
while we were working
the crime scene.
330
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,280
He was distraught about the dogs.
331
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,040
I mean, he legitimately
was distraught about the dogs
332
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,400
having been stuck in the house.
333
00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,360
We pulled Ray in to see
if maybe this was...
334
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:38,720
...a jealousy issue or
335
00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,640
if "I can't have you, nobody can"
type of thing.
336
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:46,800
When we get Ray
into the interview room...
337
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,320
...he's almost jovial and
338
00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,960
super eager to please. He's like,
"I want to help you solve this."
339
00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:54,680
"I want to help you solve this."
340
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:57,280
And I'm like, "Well, I want you
to help me to solve this, too."
341
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:00,840
{\an8}It was very odd the way he acted.
342
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,760
{\an8}I think he was
overzealous to help us,
343
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:05,800
which a lot of times that means
344
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,240
you're inserting yourself
in an investigation because
345
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,160
you want to know what we know
if we catch you.
346
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,400
And that's when we kind
of focused in on Ray.
347
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,360
He told us that he had known
Diane for two years,
348
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,640
but he hadn't spoken with her
in the last two weeks.
349
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,520
He made it clear that he
definitely had feelings for Diane
350
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,080
and would have dated her
in a heartbeat,
351
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,520
but because she didn't feel
the same way,
352
00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,960
they kinda had
a falling out the month before.
353
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,800
But he was still willing to care
for her dogs because
354
00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:40,200
he loved the dogs.
355
00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:43,920
So, she continued to give him
a key to her home
356
00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:48,280
and allowed him to care for the dogs
while she was out of town.
357
00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:53,400
{\an8}We asked Ray about his whereabouts
when we thought
358
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,320
{\an8}the murder might have happened,
359
00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,120
{\an8}and he told us that
360
00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:58,960
he was at work, and that
361
00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:01,760
we should be able to get
his key card information
362
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,440
through IBM, which we did,
363
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,400
and it shows that he was
actually at work
364
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,000
during when we suspected
the murder happened.
365
00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:15,520
Ray was willing to give us
a sample of his hair and his DNA.
366
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,040
When we did the comparison,
we were unable to find
367
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:19,880
a match for Ray's DNA
368
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,960
with anything at the crime scene.
369
00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:24,760
Ray is no longer a suspect.
370
00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:30,840
When we realised that
371
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,440
Diane had actually met Dennis
through "It's Just Lunch,"
372
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,520
we called "It's Just Lunch"
373
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,120
and tried to get the information on
anybody that Diane
374
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,880
had met through that organisation.
375
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:44,360
We really are
376
00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:46,760
living in an age of
ubiquitous surveillance,
377
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:48,240
to the extent that
378
00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:50,760
all homicide investigations now have
379
00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,040
a tech component that involves
cell phone activity,
380
00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:55,760
internet browser history,
381
00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:57,720
and other technical clues
382
00:20:57,880 --> 00:20:59,480
that will really provide police
383
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,320
the laser focus that they need.
384
00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,640
But "It's Just Lunch"
was not eager to help us
385
00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,720
because it's supposed
to be an anonymous site.
386
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:11,440
We were forced to get a subpoena.
387
00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,600
And then I was given all the names
of the people that
388
00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,040
Diane had actually had lunch with.
389
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:21,200
I contacted each and
every one of them...
390
00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,400
...and basically was able to
eliminate them also as suspects.
391
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,960
As effective as technology can be,
392
00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:39,040
it's imperative that police still
speak to flesh and blood neighbours.
393
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,680
Traditional police canvassing,
going door-to-door,
394
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,160
asking the usual questions, "Did you
see or hear anything suspicious?"
395
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,280
"Has there been a car parked
on the street lately
396
00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:51,960
that you found untoward?"
397
00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,600
"Have you seen your neighbour
in recent days?"
398
00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:57,280
I love doing canvassing.
399
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,720
It can produce so many great leads,
400
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:03,960
so much good information.
401
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:07,000
Sometimes an underutilised asset.
402
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:12,320
I wanted to go and talk with every
neighbour I could find and see
403
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,800
if they had seen anything, if they
had had any strange people
404
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,440
come knocking on their doors,
405
00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,240
anything that was unusual
that would stick out.
406
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:24,360
I came across
407
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,280
two or three different ladies that
408
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,920
relayed to me a story of a man
409
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,720
looking to buy a home in the area
410
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:34,800
for him and his wife.
411
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:36,720
Didn't have a realtor
412
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,120
but he had cash to buy.
413
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:42,000
This man
414
00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:43,960
also may have visited Diane.
415
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,800
Same story, was in the house,
416
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,520
told her he wanted to buy.
417
00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,240
So, now our interest
has really piqued.
418
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:56,840
Who is this man?
419
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,160
We became concerned that
420
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,640
now we have a stranger that's in
this neighbourhood
421
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,560
and is possibly attacking women.
422
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:13,200
Well...
423
00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:16,720
We thought, "Well, we need to
figure out who this is quickly."
424
00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:18,200
That's how we moved forward
425
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:19,440
with a sketch artist.
426
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,960
The description of the suspect
that all the women gave
427
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:26,440
was more-or-less the same,
428
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,240
that he was a larger kind of guy,
429
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:30,640
stocky,
430
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:32,280
muscular.
431
00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,320
Police sketches are still used
432
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:35,960
and there are some
well-documented cases
433
00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:37,640
of them being very effective.
434
00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,880
The idea is to get as many
eyeballs as possible on that.
435
00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:42,560
{\an8}Have you seen this person?
436
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,000
{\an8}Do you know who this person is?
437
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:46,680
It's one of the oldest tricks
in the book,
438
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:47,920
but it's still in the book
439
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:49,240
because it works.
440
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,400
{\an8}We immediately put that out
441
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,320
{\an8}and we got a call
from a real-estate agent
442
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,160
named Melody Blount.
443
00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:00,760
She met with a man that she said
matched his description.
444
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,080
She did take him
to see a couple homes,
445
00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:06,800
but she thought it was odd that
446
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:08,840
he only wanted to see vacant homes.
447
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,360
She said, when they went inside,
I felt like he was never really
448
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:14,960
interested in the home.
449
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:18,840
He just kinda wandered around,
looked out the windows,
450
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,680
and always wanted
to be walking behind her.
451
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,360
And that made her
very uncomfortable.
452
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,280
She became concerned and actually
made a police report
453
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,440
to the Travis County Sheriff's
Office and said,
454
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,480
"There's something wrong
with this guy."
455
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,160
And basically
the sheriff's department said,
456
00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:40,800
"Well, if he hasn't
committed a crime,
457
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,160
we really can't do much about it."
458
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,840
I do believe he initially started
with real estate agents,
459
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,840
and then when he wasn't having
any luck with the real estate agents
460
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,720
decided to just go
to affluent houses that
461
00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:57,800
had signs in the front yard and see
462
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,440
if he could work his way
in the house.
463
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,400
A neighbour told us
that she had seen a gold van
464
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,760
with pin striping parked
in Diane's driveway
465
00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,800
around 5:00 pm that day.
466
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:22,560
A gold van with pin striping,
which usually isn't noted
467
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,440
in vehicle registration,
468
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,280
that's gonna be a momentous task
to find
469
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,440
without a licence plate.
470
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,680
But then we got a phone
call on our tipline.
471
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,960
It was from a woman
who believes that
472
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,120
that man had come
to her home...
473
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:49,240
...and told her basically
the same story.
474
00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,680
And he was very insistent about
wanting to get into her home.
475
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,680
She asked him,
"Where's your real estate agent?"
476
00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,400
And he tells her, "Well, you know,
I'm just trying to cut out
477
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,560
the middleman. That way we can make
more money on both of our ends."
478
00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:05,800
She said, "Well,
I'm not comfortable with that,
479
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,960
and you need to go
get a real estate agent."
480
00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:10,800
So, he leaves.
481
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,520
I think it was two or three weeks
and then he actually
482
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,320
comes back to her house.
483
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,960
However, this time she does write
down his licence plate
484
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,600
and she puts it on the refrigerator
with a magnet.
485
00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,400
When this story came out,
she knew that was him.
486
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,080
She felt like she had
the licence plate
487
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,360
to the man who was
possibly Diane Holik's murderer.
488
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,560
That licence plate
is what broke the case for us.
489
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:47,360
A check of the licence plate
revealed that it was owned
490
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,880
by a person named
Patrick Anthony Russo,
491
00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:55,240
a music director at a church nearby.
492
00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:58,800
Russo had a criminal past.
493
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,640
In the late 80s and 90s, he had
494
00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:06,200
several reports of attacking women.
495
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:09,320
One of the ladies reported
496
00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,640
that when he got her alone,
he strangled her.
497
00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:16,320
One attack in Lake Jackson,
498
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,400
that included a kidnapping charge,
499
00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:20,040
got him a prison sentence.
500
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,520
Russo was actually given
a 20-year sentence...
501
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:27,880
...but while in prison,
502
00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,240
Russo found God and he is now
503
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,240
a professed born-again Christian.
504
00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,120
He was paroled early
for good behaviour,
505
00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:40,600
for helping other inmates find God.
506
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,120
They felt like he had been
rehabilitated from his crime.
507
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:49,560
We linked him to
a church in Cedar Creek,
508
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:51,000
which is where he was living,
509
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:55,240
with a woman who was
a volunteer at the prison
510
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:56,840
when he was actually in prison.
511
00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:02,680
We obtained a search warrant to
search the home and the van.
512
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:04,840
When investigators
discover that Russo
513
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:06,800
has a significant criminal history,
514
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:08,200
I mean, this guy's a known felon,
515
00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,040
this changes the game
in terms of their approach.
516
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,960
You just don't show up at this...
at this guy's house
517
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:18,000
with no backup and just knock
on the door and hope for the best.
518
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,320
They're going to have to approach
this tactically,
519
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:23,120
in terms of officer safety
and in terms of
520
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,240
ensuring that nobody else gets hurt.
521
00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:30,160
By the time
we got that search warrant
522
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,240
it was 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.
523
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,120
We got into our cars and headed
524
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:36,760
to Russo's residence.
525
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,160
It was out in the country,
in Bastrop.
526
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:45,400
This particular night there was
no moon, so it was pitch black dark.
527
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,160
So, when we get
to the house, we're all on guard.
528
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,880
We don't know what he's going
to do, how he's going to act.
529
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,080
If he has a gun, is he gonna try
to shoot us through the door?
530
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,800
It was decided that
Tracy and another detective
531
00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:01,480
would go to the door.
532
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:03,960
The rest of us sat back
533
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:05,840
so as not to overwhelm him.
534
00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:09,480
It was nerve-wracking
knocking on that door...
535
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:13,280
...because we had no idea
536
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:14,640
what was on the other side.
537
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,480
Patrick Russo answers the door.
538
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:31,560
His wife is kind of
in the background,
539
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:33,080
asking what's going on.
540
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:34,880
But before...
541
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:36,120
...we could tell him anything,
542
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,040
he tells his wife, "I'm sure
this has something to do
543
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,120
with me being on
parole or whatever."
544
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,480
We basically told him,
545
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,800
"Your name has come up in an
investigation
546
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,240
and we would like for you
to come back to Austin
547
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,080
and discuss it with us."
548
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:55,640
He never said,
"No, what's this about?"
549
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:57,840
He never asked for an attorney.
550
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,400
And then he willingly and
voluntarily came with us.
551
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,120
We transported Russo back to Austin
552
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,000
while the rest of the team stayed
behind and processed the scene.
553
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,520
Among the items to be seized was
554
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:19,000
if he had any computers, any discs,
555
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:20,280
those sorts of things.
556
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,280
I noticed a bundle of fencing,
557
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:30,920
and I noticed that the fencing
was tied up with white zip ties.
558
00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:35,080
Very much like the zip ties
559
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:36,640
that would cause
the same impressions
560
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,240
as we saw in Diane's wrist.
561
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,600
So, we definitely took those.
562
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,440
We drive Russo back to our
offices in Austin.
563
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,360
{\an8}We tell him that he's not under
arrest and that he's free to leave.
564
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:54,600
{\an8}Russo insisted that he has never
565
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:56,240
been out looking at houses.
566
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:58,760
And when we put a photograph down
567
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,400
{\an8}of Diane in front of him,
568
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,920
{\an8}he adamantly denied that he had ever
569
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:05,520
seen her or met her.
570
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,400
When we confronted Russo
about neighbours
571
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,280
in Diane's neighbourhood
572
00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:14,920
saying that they saw his van...
573
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:16,880
...he changed his story
a little bit.
574
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,520
He did say on the day of the storm
575
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,160
that he did drive
in the vicinity of Diane's house.
576
00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,240
And then he said it started
to pour and that
577
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:31,840
he got lost in the neighbourhood.
578
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,440
That he was lost for about two
or three hours,
579
00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:40,000
and his wife calls him,
and then he manages to find
580
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,120
his way back home to Bastrop.
581
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:45,080
And that was basically his story.
582
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:48,560
{\an8}Russo put himself
in the neighbourhood.
583
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:51,800
We take his DNA
584
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:53,280
and we fingerprint him.
585
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,880
We also brought Russo's wife in...
586
00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,760
{\an8}...and we had
a conversation with her.
587
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,960
{\an8}We learned
in our conversation with her
588
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,440
that he would strangle her
during sex.
589
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,000
This went back for years.
590
00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:20,680
We also interviewed his first wife
who told us the same thing...
591
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,800
...that during sex,
he would strangle her.
592
00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:28,880
Investigators are aware
that they're dealing with a...
593
00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:33,400
...sexually disordered, fetishistic,
sadistic offender.
594
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:35,280
This is why, frequently,
595
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,280
police will pull historical files
for behaviour that they know
596
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:39,560
is leading towards
597
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,360
the type of really gruesome crime
that eventually gets committed.
598
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:46,560
While Patrick Russo
599
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:51,080
looks like Diane's killer,
and we think he's the killer,
600
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:53,800
but we don't have
the material evidence
601
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,200
that we need right now
to link him to it 100%.
602
00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:00,560
So, we don't have
an arrest warrant for him.
603
00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:05,120
It's horribly frustrating,
especially when...
604
00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:08,800
...a stranger is running around
talking his way
605
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:11,000
into innocent women's homes.
606
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,360
We need to get him off the street
as soon as possible
607
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:17,080
so we don't have another victim.
608
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,600
{\an8}
Police can't act on suspicion.
609
00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:22,680
{\an8}They require probable cause.
610
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,080
Probable cause allows for
an arrest of a suspect
611
00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:27,360
because there's
612
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:28,640
sufficient cause there
613
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:30,080
that a reasonable person
would say
614
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:31,680
that an arrest is warranted.
615
00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,920
It's the legal framework
that gets police
616
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:36,080
a foot in the door.
617
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,840
As we were investigating this,
we came to understand that
618
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:44,200
Patrick Russo would see
the for sale signs,
619
00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:45,560
and if there was a box
620
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,680
that actually had a piece of paper
with all the details of the house,
621
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:51,560
he would grab that piece of paper
622
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,160
and knock on the door
so that people would see him
623
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:56,720
with their house-for-sale
detail paper.
624
00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:00,720
This house that he went to,
625
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,160
there was a black and white
paper in the box.
626
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,320
And when he went inside the house,
he actually laid it down
627
00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:09,320
and took a colour one...
628
00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:13,920
...but he forgot to take the black
and white one with him.
629
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,760
And when that person called us back,
630
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:25,040
she told us, "Hey, I think
I might have his fingerprints."
631
00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:30,640
We actually called a fingerprint
technician in on...
632
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:32,000
...Thanksgiving Day
633
00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:35,120
to do a comparison
with the fingerprint
634
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:36,800
that we had taken from Russo
635
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:40,240
and from the one we got
off the flyer.
636
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:41,720
And it was a match.
637
00:34:42,720 --> 00:34:46,520
{\an8}We were able to prove
with a fingerprint hit
638
00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:49,680
{\an8}that he did lie to us
about not being
639
00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:51,760
{\an8}in any of these neighbourhoods.
640
00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:54,160
{\an8}And that's actually a crime,
641
00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:56,760
giving false information
during a criminal investigation.
642
00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:00,000
This allowed us to revoke his parole
643
00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,880
and that's how we re-arrested him.
644
00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:08,400
But we still need more
evidence on Russo.
645
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:10,800
If not, he's gonna get cut free.
646
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,240
However, everything changed
647
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,160
when we looked
through Patrick Russo's computer,
648
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,240
and nobody could believe
what was on there.
649
00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:27,080
I'm Roy Rector
650
00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:28,960
and I was the...
651
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,320
...computer forensic examiner
on this case.
652
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,040
They brought the computer to me
653
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:35,560
for analysis
654
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:38,800
and we did search the computer
for Diane Holik's name
655
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:40,560
and the name of the street.
656
00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:42,120
We did not find
657
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:44,120
any positive results
for those searches.
658
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,600
They said, "OK, go ahead and now
search for real estate."
659
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:52,200
So, I do a search for real estate,
660
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:56,600
and we're looking at line after line
of text-based content
661
00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,040
and we're seeing realtors, and
we're seeing Necro Babes,
662
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,440
and then the DA says,
"What is Necro Babes?"
663
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:05,720
And I say, "I don't know."
664
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:12,840
I would call it a asphyxiation...
665
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:15,120
...pornographic website.
666
00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,360
What it was is picture stories.
It wasn't video.
667
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:20,960
You would select a story
668
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,680
and it would show you
a series of pictures
669
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:26,440
of women being bound,
670
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,200
and tied, and physically abused.
671
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:33,960
Different pictures of, you know,
hands around throats,
672
00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:36,920
or strings around throats.
673
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,400
And in the end, the female actor
would pretend to be dead.
674
00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,440
So, it's obvious that Russo had a
fetish for asphyxiation pornography.
675
00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:50,920
We realised that
the very last story
676
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:54,320
that he looked at on this website
677
00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:58,280
was very similar
to what happened to Diane.
678
00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:03,520
The story was basically about a man
who was aroused by...
679
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:05,280
...strangling women.
680
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:07,000
I think he wanted to kill somebody.
681
00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:09,880
And he said
the best way to do it is to...
682
00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,520
...make the strangulation look
like a robbery went bad
683
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,400
and you ended up having to kill
the homeowner.
684
00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,480
But aside from the ring that we
couldn't find,
685
00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:22,440
we couldn't say
he stole anything in the house.
686
00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:24,760
So, I think the true motive was
687
00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:26,640
for him to go to that home
and kill her,
688
00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:29,760
and that's what he wanted to do,
and then he tried to make it look
689
00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,240
like a robbery,
just like what was on that story.
690
00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:36,840
We could actually get the company
who sponsors that website
691
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,440
in Las Vegas to give us the exact
692
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,400
date and time that he clicked on
every one of those photographs
693
00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:45,800
or every one of those stories.
694
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,480
The dates are significant in that
I think
695
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:53,000
he was accessing that website
two days before the murder.
696
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:57,560
So, we were able to find the motive.
697
00:37:57,720 --> 00:38:01,000
It was to actually strangle
and murder a woman.
698
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,520
It wasn't to steal a ring or to rob
anybody, it was to kill her.
699
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,320
That was where he was aroused.
700
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,680
When you have a stranger
murder involving restraints,
701
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:14,960
a sexual motivation,
702
00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,320
significant pre-planning
703
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:17,480
and fantasy development,
704
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,400
this is a budding serial killer.
705
00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:24,200
He's gotten away with this once.
706
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:27,560
The fantasies will continue to be
developed and cultivated.
707
00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:31,160
And investigators know he has
to be caught before he can do this
708
00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:32,600
to another woman.
709
00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:35,160
They know they're on a clock.
710
00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:38,480
That day, November 15th,
711
00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:39,960
it's raining hard.
712
00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:49,120
And Russo was probably dripping wet.
713
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,280
Diane probably offered him a towel
so that he could dry off.
714
00:38:57,720 --> 00:38:59,800
He dried off with the towel,
715
00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:02,440
but he didn't take
the towel with him.
716
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:04,240
That's his mistake.
717
00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:06,840
Leaving something behind.
718
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:12,920
Well, forensics
finds hair on that towel.
719
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:15,880
That hair is submitted
for DNA analysis.
720
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,480
And the DNA comes back
to Patrick Russo.
721
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:23,280
This is enough to arrest
722
00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:26,480
Patrick Russo
for the murder of Diane Holik.
723
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:32,240
Driven by violent fantasies of
strangling women,
724
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:34,880
Russo goes to affluent
neighbourhoods,
725
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:37,480
all around different parts
of the city of Austin,
726
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,480
looking for homes that are for sale.
727
00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:45,960
Going to the doors.
728
00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:49,440
He pretends like he's
a interested buyer
729
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,200
looking to buy a home with cash.
730
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,400
Some of these women
731
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:58,080
open the door
and let him into their house.
732
00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:04,360
Sometime in the morning
on November 15th,
733
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:08,080
Russo made his first contact
with Diane Holik
734
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:10,520
stating he was looking
to buy a house.
735
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:14,320
I believe Russo
looked at her stature,
736
00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:16,640
he looked at whether
the dogs were friendly,
737
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:20,280
he looked at
if there was a security system.
738
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:22,360
I think he probably knew that
739
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:26,120
she was not married
and was living alone, and that
740
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:28,240
this would probably
be an easy target.
741
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:34,400
At about 3:00 pm,
742
00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:36,600
Diane receives a knock on the door.
743
00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:43,040
When she opens it,
she realises it was the man
744
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:45,920
that was there earlier inquiring
about buying her house,
745
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:47,480
so, she lets him in.
746
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:01,680
Seeing that Russo
was wet from the rain,
747
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:04,560
Diane gave him a towel
to dry himself off.
748
00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:08,600
Diane gave Patrick
a tour of the house.
749
00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:12,120
At some point they go upstairs
750
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:15,120
to where that spare bedroom is,
751
00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:16,840
and that's where he attacks her.
752
00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:23,360
Between 3:00
753
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:24,960
and 3:59 pm
754
00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,800
Diane Holik
is murdered by strangulation.
755
00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,320
Patrick Russo
cleans up the crime scene,
756
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,680
wiping down his prints,
757
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:41,800
taking the zip ties.
758
00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:50,880
Russo is eventually
convicted of capital murder
759
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:54,160
in February of 2004.
760
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:56,280
I think the murder of Diane Holik
761
00:41:56,440 --> 00:41:59,320
hit the community of Austin
really hard.
762
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:02,400
That neighbourhood
obviously was devastated.
763
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:06,760
The murder
of Diane Holik shook everyone.
764
00:42:06,920 --> 00:42:09,800
People very suddenly
became very fearful.
765
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:16,080
Diane truly was a well loved
person in the community
766
00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:18,640
that just had her life taken
from her needlessly.
767
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:19,880
It was shocking.
768
00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:22,240
That doesn't happen
every day in Austin.
769
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:26,000
But the thing about this case
that haunts me is that this guy,
770
00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:30,120
I think, would've been a prolific
serial killer had we not caught him.
771
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:33,960
He was good at lying. He had
772
00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:36,840
mastered getting into women's homes.
773
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,560
It was very important
for us as detectives
774
00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:43,760
to do the best we can
to bring justice.
775
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:48,600
ERIC It makes me incredibly proud to
be a part of the team
776
00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:52,480
that got justice
for Diane and her family.
777
00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:56,720
I think everybody, we really
need to be careful
778
00:42:56,880 --> 00:42:59,800
and be mindful of what's around us
779
00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:03,160
and who we're letting
into our homes.
780
00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:34,960
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