Original subtitles

♪

[ police radio chatter ]

Narrator: A young woman's body is discovered

On the steps of a trailer.

She had the deep stab wound in the left side of her neck.

Oh, my god.

Her identity is unknown.

It's not only a whodunit --

It's a "who is it?"

Narrator: As the investigation heats up,

A terrifying pattern emerges.

Don't do this! [ gunshot ]

There are three homicides under investigation

In less than 10 days.

Let's go, man!

Could this be the same guy?

Yeah, it could.

If that is so, we've got a serial killer on our hands.

Man: 10-99 on south wahsatch.

Narrator: And detectives discover

They're dealing with pure evil.

You, on occasion, have to make a deal with the devil.

That's how this works.

When you identify someone who is an emotionless animal,

Who kills because he likes it,

We need to do something about him --

Period, the end.

♪

There's one thing that never changes -- murder.

A life has been taken.

Their stories are now my stories.

I never know where a case is going to lead,

But I'll never stop until it's solved.

Somebody has to look out for the victim.

If you kill, I will find you.

-- Captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪

[ insects chirping ]

♪

Mann: It's about 3:00 in the morning.

John hudson is just getting home from a night out.

♪

[ yawns ]

He lived in a trailer park

On the south end of colorado springs.

♪

And all of a sudden, he notices his back porch light is on.

Martin: When he looked out the back door...

He saw somebody laying on the steps.

Really?!

And he's a little bit irritated

'cause, you know, he wants to get to bed.

Come on.

Hey, man, you got to beat it.

It's too late --

♪

Mann: And to his horror,

There's a woman covered in blood,

And her eyes are wide open.

Oh, my god!

He runs to call 911, but it's too late.

♪

Kenda: In the days of 1975,

I'd been employed as a policeman for two years.

I was 27 years old.

I was working in the west side of the city of colorado springs

As a sector officer.

You're assigned to a specific geographic zone

Within the city.

[ radio beeps ] man: Dispatch to all units.

We have a possible 10-99 on south wahsatch.

All units in district 7, please respond.

In 1975, a homicide was a 10-99,

But it wasn't in my part of town.

So I wasn't permitted to go there.

I wanted to go there so bad, I could taste it.

Man: Report of a female victim discovered.

I repeat --

All units in district 7, please respond.

When I heard that call that night, I had no clue,

Nor did anyone else,

That it would become one of most infamous cases

In the history of colorado springs.

Narrator: Within minutes,

Investigators respond to the trailer park

At 1000 south wahsatch.

It's an older area south of downtown.

The area would be considered somewhat rundown.

[ indistinct conversations ]

Okay, thank you.

Detective smit, good to see you.

Officer.

So, what are we looking at here?

The detective assigned to the case was lou smit,

And he responded to that scene.

It's a bad one.

In fact, it's probably one of the worst I've ever seen.

Show me.

Smit was a brilliant detective.

He had more confessions than anybody.

They couldn't have found a better guy to pursue this case

Than lou smit.

♪

[ siren wailing in distance ]

Oh, my god.

Smit looks at this victim.

She's a white female in her early 20s.

She's covered in blood,

And she has this gaping neck wound.

Martin: Her hair was matted in blood and dirt,

And there was blood all over the porch.

This was a brutal attack -- very savage.

♪

Are those handprints?

Kenda: The blood marks on the doorframe

Indicate that she was approximately 2 inches away

From ringing the bell.

Would that have mattered?

No, it wouldn't have.

She would not have survived that injury

If there was a surgeon living in that trailer.

-Any personal I.D. Found? -No, sir.

[ siren wailing in distance ]

Okay, let's expand a search here

And get a good canvass going.

And let's get the corner down here

And move the body.

Nobody else needs to see that.

Yes, sir. Uh, also...

Assistant district attorney chuck heim --

He's asking to see you. Great. Send him over.

-Yes, sir. -Thanks.

I met chuck heim and worked with him

On many occasions after that event.

I found him to be one of the finest prosecutors

I've ever seen.

Hey, chuck.

If he is your adversary,

You're dealing with a king cobra.

Let's see what we got going on here.

Alright.

Heim: It was office policy that the assistant d.A. Be notified

Of any homicide that occurred

Within the 4th judicial district.

My role was to coordinate our office

With the colorado springs police department

And work with the different detectives

On anything that they might need.

Pardon the interruption, gentlemen.

We just found a significant amount of blood.

Let's go, chuck.

[ police radio chatter ]

♪

Narrator: The investigators follow a trail of blood

To where it begins, 50 yards away.

This must be where the attack happened.

Look at these tire tracks.

Looks like there must be a getaway car.

Kenda: It's likely she steps out of that car

Either already wounded

Or is attacked outside the car.

She then tries to seek help,

And the perpetrator flees in the car in question.

Let's rope this place off and look for a murder weapon.

Will do.

You said the trailer owner is the one that called this in?

Yes, sir. John hudson is his name.

Last I saw him, he was sitting on the steps on his front porch.

Okay.

♪

He's the last person to see her

Before the police got there and started their investigation.

Is it possible that she knew him?

John, I'm detective smit.

I understand this trailer is yours.

[ sighs ] yeah.

I don't even want to go back inside.

I feel sick.

I understand.

He's 28 years of age.

He is very, very distressed.

Could you walk me through your night?

I had just gotten home when I saw her on the steps.

I thought some drunk or bum had passed out.

Then I saw the blood.

Do you know her? Did you ever see her before?

No, sir.

I know everyone in this trailer park,

And she ain't one of them.

They asked mr. Hudson, "have you seen

Any suspicious activity this evening

Or seen anybody in the area that you've not seen before?"

Now that you mention it, when I was on my way out,

I heard this weird clanking noise,

And here's this guy riding a bicycle with a busted pedal.

Just odd for someone to be out here that late at night.

People don't have to be instructed

On what looks suspicious.

You just feel it. It's human nature.

Did you get a good look at him?

Yeah. He wasn't going real fast.

Young fella, white t-shirt and jeans,

Curly hair.

Okay, john. We'll be in touch with you.

-Thank you very much. -Sure.

♪

Poor kid.

Yeah, no kidding.

Alright.

The sun should be showing her face here

In about half an hour or so,

So let's -- [ clanking ]

Martin: And he heard a clanking noise.

When he looked, it was a young guy on a bicycle.

Kenda: There he is --

White t-shirt, blue jeans, and a clanking pedal.

It's the middle of the night. You're out here riding a bike?

Hey, kid, get over here!

Martin: Right away, you're suspicious of this guy.

He was seen prior to the murder

And now he's seen after the body has been found.

We need to talk to him to find out

What he can tell us about this.

What's going on?

What are you doing out here, son?

What's your name?

Alex. Alex causado.

I was just on my way to get some beer.

You went out to get a beer at this hour?

Kenda: Mr. Causado is nervous,

And he's acting oddly,

And his body language is very resistive.

Is it because he's involved in this murder?

Could be.

Look, man, I don't want any trouble.

I-I'll just get out of your way.

Sit tight.

Martin: So lou calls the police headquarters

And said, "you know, run this guy's name for me

And see what you can tell me."

And the dispatcher came back right away.

Man: We've got an a. Causado listed here --

Active warrant for assault with a deadly weapon.

What type of weapon?

A knife.

♪

You're not going anywhere, kid.

Kenda: So alex now has even more explaining to do

Than he had two minutes ago.

Who are you, alex, and what the hell are you doing here?

♪

[ insects chirping ]

[ police radio chatter ]

Oh, my god.

Lou smit's assigned to investigate

The violent homicide of a young female,

Who is unidentified,

And a suspicious person, alex causado,

Has been observed in the area.

Not so fast.

He's wanted on a warrant involving the use of a knife,

And he's run in to police headquarters

For further investigation.

♪

Causado: I was with my buddy jose all night.

The only time I left was get more beer, I swear.

Alex tells smit that he has no knowledge of a killing --

He didn't kill anybody.

Oh, you're telling me you went on a 5:00 a.M. Beer run

Right next to a murder scene?

It's the truth.

You can ask my friends. You can ask the store clerk.

Check it out.

♪

Well, you want to look into his alibi,

So lou did that.

♪

Checks out.

And that alibi checked out.

He had been home all night with his friends.

The gas station is where he was buying beer.

And it's open 24 hours a day.

And the clerk remembers him and remembers the timeline,

So he's dismissed as a suspect.

Alright, get him out.

♪

So mr. Alex causado is arrested on a warrant

For assault with a deadly weapon,

But he's not involved in this killing.

[ door closes ]

Man: Detective smit,

They're ready for you down at the morgue.

Thanks. Chuck, want to go for a ride?

Let's do it.

♪

Narrator: Hoping the autopsy will produce a new lead,

The investigators head down to the morgue to talk to dr. Urich.

Hey, doc. How are you?

You making any progress here?

I think I may have found a few things

That'll interest you.

Take a look.

The cause of death was that gash there --

Severed the carotid artery, and she bled out.

She had a deep stab wound in the left side of her neck,

Like somebody tried to cut her throat.

Any idea what type of knife did that?

It's hard to say.

Whoever did it knew what they were doing, though.

The placement of that cut is almost...Strategic.

He also said that he found four additional stab wounds

In her back.

Attacked from the back. She didn't see it coming.

I'd say that's a safe conclusion.

Kenda: Dr. Urich finds defensive wounds on her left hand.

She tried to stop the blade

At some point during this confrontation.

Also, you should know

There's some signs of sexual activity.

So you think she was raped?

Couldn't say for sure.

There were semen traces on her pants.

Does that mean they were placed there at the time this occurred?

There's no way to know that.

They were present -- that's all dr. Urich can say.

Thank you, doc.

Oh, one other thing --

I found this in her front pocket.

♪

He was unable to find any type of identification,

But he did find one golden key in her jeans pocket.

There's no telling what this key opens.

Hopefully, this will lead us somewhere,

'cause, so far, we have nowhere to go.

I think we got something here.

We have a dead girl whose identity is unknown.

It's not only a whodunit --

It's a "who is it?"

♪

Hey, you got any witnesses.

Ah, stodgy at best.

I'm still asking around,

But, hey, lou, how's your case coming along?

Martin: When detective smit returned

To the police department,

He met with two other detectives

Who were also working homicide cases.

Not so good -- I got a jane doe,

And I got a trailer park full of people that want answers.

It's a very common thing in homicide investigations

For detectives to share information.

I always tried to learn as much as I could

Without being obnoxious about it or even obvious.

I listened and paid attention.

Can you believe we got three people killed

In less than 10 days?

That's terrible.

That's extremely unusual in 1975

In colorado springs, colorado.

Concern begins to build that there is something more to this.

-Keep me posted. -You bet.

Excuse me, detective smit.

I couldn't help but overhear just now.

Do you think these murders are connected?

It's too soon to tell. The motives are all different.

We have drugs. We have robbery.

We have a possible sexual assault.

Oh, wow.

When smit has these conversations

About these other two killings,

There was no real connection to them

Other than the level of violence and the proximity of days.

Could this be the same guy

Doing these crimes for different reasons?

Yeah, it could.

If that is so, we got a serial killer on our hands.

A serial killer is a different breed of cat.

He considers what he's doing over a period of time.

It's not a single event -- it's a series of events.

We need to find him before he strikes again.

It sounds like you got your work cut out for you

Can you keep an ear out on patrol?

Oh, I will, sir. You can count on that.

Oh, thanks, kenda.

Kenda: Lou smit and an innate ability to reach people.

Never objected to the fact I was a rookie.

He was very accepting --

"you're one of the brotherhood now."

And I always liked him. He was a remarkable guy.

Narrator: Back in his office,

Detective smit tries another tactic

For soliciting new information.

You've got a lot of pressure on you

When you're assigned a case like this.

So it would not be uncommon to then call a press release.

Okay, this should do it.

Let's get some copies and get...On the line.

Yes, sir.

Thank you. Mm-hmm.

Mann: When I was in television,

We would be talking to the police department

Several times a day on the phone.

Their information officer would, you know,

Set up an interview with us

With one of the detectives.

We are very careful

When we release information to the press.

We're asking anyone who may have any information

To call the colorado springs police department immediately.

Detective.

The only information we'd provide about this girl

Is her physical appearance --

How tall is she, what does she weigh,

What color's her hair, what's the color of her eyes,

And her clothing --

That's it.

Detective, do you believe she was murdered?

Do you have any suspects?

That's all I have for right now.

-Detective. -Detective.

♪

Narrator: As news of the murder spreads,

The cspd is inundated with tips from the public.

There is a natural built-in problem

Where people are absolutely convinced

That it's their cousin, it's their sister,

It's their aunt, it's her lifelong friend,

And you wind up chasing down a number of false leads.

Okay, well, I'm glad you found her.

Take care now.

[ receiver clicks ] any luck?

I'm afraid another dead end.

♪

Detective, I've got a woman up front --

Says she needs to talk to you.

What is this today -- the ninth walk-in?

Well, I better go see if I can rule this one out.

Can you send her to my office?

Yes, sir. Good.

♪

One of the tips that came in was a gal named jenny erickson.

Hi there. What brings you down here today?

I heard about that girl who was killed the other day.

I know the one.

I live right around the corner from there,

And, you see, that very same day,

I saw a man walking,

And his shirt was covered in blood.

Do you know he is?

♪

She's seen this individual before,

It's close by to the area where the victim was found,

And she's able to point out the apartment he lives in.

Well, somebody covered in blood in the crime-scene area

Would certainly work.

So they're very interested in who this guy is.

And you're sure that was the same day.

I'm positive.

We'll check it out.

Thanks for coming down, jenny.

He either has to be part of this, or he's not.

He has to be cleared or arrested --

One of the two.

[ birds chirping ]

♪

Martin: So, smit went over there, knocked on the door.

Yes?

And, sure enough, this individual

Has got a cut over his eye.

Sir, I'm detective smit.

You mind if I come in and ask you a few questions?

I guess so.

Martin: Well, could he have gotten that cut

In a fight with our victim?

Very well could have.

Narrator: Inside, smit sits down with 31-year-old james connelly.

What's all this about?

Mr. Connelly, we have reports

Of you seen in the same area where a murder took place.

You were covered with blood. Can you explain it?

Mr. Connolly reports

That he was recently in a motorcycle accident

And it adversely affected his equilibrium.

He has great difficulty in walking

And now he has to use a cane.

But he went out the other day to buy some beer

At the gas station he frequents.

And he had forgotten his cane.

I took a nasty fall on the way.

I split my eye open --

Damn near bled through my shirt.

I see.

Now, any policeman knows

That a head wound bleeds profusely.

There are many capillaries in your scalp and your forehead.

And when you get even a minor injury to your forehead,

You are covered in blood

And you look like you're going to die any minute.

So that's a very reasonable explanation.

Can anybody verify that?

I suppose the gas-station clerk?

I bought beer and bandages from him.

Actually, I have the receipt.

Let me go get that.

I appreciate that.

He needs a cane just to walk.

It would be very difficult

For someone who has difficulty walking

To engage in a physical confrontation

With a resistive victim.

♪

Made this purchase at 3:15 p.M.?

Sounds about right.

The time stamp on the receipt told lou right away

That this was much, much earlier in the day

Than this homicide occurred.

-Okay, mr. Connolly, thank you. -Officer.

Kenda: His timeline doesn't work at all for this murder.

His explanation is more than reasonable.

And the officers decide

That connolly has no promise whatsoever.

Narrator: Back at the station, it's all hands on deck

To wade through the endless flood of tips.

Excuse me, detective.

There's a woman on the phone for you.

She says she's your jane doe's roommate.

Another one of these tips?

You're gonna want to take this phone call.

She's on line 2.

It's always difficult to take anyone seriously

When they call in to report they know who it is

When you've already had 100 people do that

And 100 people were wrong about it.

[ clicks ]

Detective smit.

Roost: I know it's her. I know it's my roommate.

I haven't seen her in days.

Okay, slow down.

What's your name? Pamela roost.

Listen, she always comes home eventually.

She carries her apartment key with her everywhere.

What did you say?

It's a gold key -- a single gold key.

She always keeps it in her front jean pocket.

This is very specific information

That was never released to the public.

So here we have someone

Who knows something that nobody knows --

That the person carries a key in their pocket.

Well, my, my, my.

After hundreds of people,

We may have found the magic one.

♪

[ police radio chatter ]

Lou smit has been assigned the gruesome homicide

Of a young female who is yet unidentified.

Cause of death was that gash there.

But now, finally, after hundreds of tips,

We have a person that seems to be extremely promising.

Roost: I know it's my roommate.

She knows things that no one else would know

That wasn't associated with the case.

Narrator: After finally catching a potential break,

Investigators rush to meet the tipster, pamela roost.

Now, pamela, you told me

That your roommate carried her apartment key in her pocket.

Yes, always.

This look familiar? That's it.

It's very important to get the identification

As quickly as possible.

Then once you've got that, you have something

That will start you down the right path.

-May I? -Please.

[ clicks ]

Kenda: Smit inserts the key in that door...

And it unlocks it.

[ lock disengages ]

He knew then that he probably just identified

His jane doe victim.

♪

Narrator: But smit still needs her

To positively I.D. The body.

I'm going to show you a photo.

Can you do that?

That's got to be just very traumatic and very stressful

And, you know, the kind of thing where your stomach's churning.

♪

[ voice breaking ] oh, my god.

That's -- that's her. That's karen.

It's a huge step up in this investigation.

♪

Her name is karen grammer.

♪

What can you tell me about her?

She was just so lovely.

Karen grammer was your typical 18-year-old

Starting out life.

She was adventurous. She was kind of a free spirit.

She liked poetry.

And people liked her.

She says, "she came here to find work in the restaurant business.

She's a waitress by trade.

And we met and became roommates and became friends."

Does she have family here? We'd like to notify them.

No, they're mainly in florida.

God, her brother's gonna be devastated.

They were very close.

Karen grammer was, in fact, the sister of kelsey grammer,

Who went on to become a very famous actor.

Their father was lost to them when they were young.

Mann: So they leaned on each other.

They were close.

Who could have done this to karen?

She didn't have any enemies in the world.

Everyone loved her.

Well, that's what we're trying to find out.

Now, when is the last that you saw her?

Kenda: She said that karen works the evening shift

At a seafood restaurant.

And the last time she saw her,

She went to work and she never came back.

I didn't know what to think.

And that was the night of the murder.

So we know that karen grammer was at the seafood restaurant

The night she was killed.

Do you have any idea where this seafood restaurant is?

It's over on academy.

The seafood restaurant is several miles across town

From where she was discovered.

So how does she get from the seafood restaurant

To the place where she's found

In a relatively short amount of time?

How'd that happen?

I noticed she wasn't wearing glasses

In the photograph that you showed me.

Did you find them?

Why do you ask?

Her roommate said that she was almost as blind as a bat,

That she wore very thick glasses.

Kenda: Well, those glasses were never found.

And then the question becomes, where are they?

Thank you, pamela. You've been a great help.

♪

Narrator: With no time to waste,

Smit heads over to the restaurant where karen worked.

Did she show up for her shift? Did she work all day?

We can find out a lot from the people that she worked with.

Excuse me, sir. Do you work here?

I do. I'm the manager. How can I help you?

Smit meets the manager of the place,

And he remembers karen being there that night.

He was a little annoyed

That karen never showed up for the rest of her shifts.

Karen may not have a job with us much longer.

We haven't seen her since.

He doesn't realize what's happened to karen grammer.

I'm sorry to tell you, sir,

But, uh, karen's been killed.

Oh, my god.

He's incredibly distressed

And immediately willing to do anything he can do to help.

You know, tyler worked that night.

Maybe he can help you.

Thank you.

The cashier is tyler harrington.

Hi, tyler. I'm detective smit.

Tyler had just overheard the conversation

That karen is dead,

And he's very distressed.

Oh, my god.

I don't think those guys would actually hurt her!

And smit said, "what did you say?

What guys are you talking about?"

What -- what have I done?

He says, "the night she was killed,

Three guys came in here,

And one of 'em pulled a gun on me

And tried to rob the place."

I had already emptied the cash register,

And it had nothing, so they left.

But then he saw them approach karen and start talking to her.

God.

So smit's immediate thought is,

Could this have been a robbery gone wrong,

And karen grammer was collateral damage?

That could very well be true.

We're going to have to find out.

♪

She didn't see it coming.

Lou smit is investigating the violent death of karen grammer.

He encounters a cashier at a seafood restaurant

Where she was employed

Who says that an attempted robbery took place.

It's fairly clear to smit

This could be connected to this homicide.

Narrator: After countless dead ends,

Detective smit believes... God.

...17-year-old tyler harrington

Might be the key witness. He's been searching for.

Now, wait a minute.

Are you telling me that you saw

The suspects talking to karen

After they just tried to rob you at gunpoint?

Yes. Yes.

All of a sudden,

Tyler harrington has provided him

With what is likely to be their prime suspects in this case.

♪

What I need you to do now is start from the beginning.

What happened?

♪

It was getting time for me to lock up,

And these three guys walked in.

♪

[ door creaks ]

♪

Excuse me. We're closed.

Not anymore.

Give me all your money.

Martin: And one of the males opened his coat

And showed him a gun.

I'm not playing. Give me all your money now.

I swear, I don't have anything!

I swear!

Tyler said, "the register's already been cleaned out.

There's nothing here."

[ door creaks ]

Kenda: So it's a botched robbery.

There's no people to rob. There's no anything to rob.

How do you get them to leave?

I told them I had someone waiting outside for me,

And they got spooked, I guess.

Well, did you?

No, but I didn't -- I didn't know karen was out there.

Tyler says he looks out the window

And sees these guys talking to karen.

Now, maybe these three guys assumed

That karen was the one waiting for tyler.

Did they decide that karen grammer is a witness

To their attempted robbery

And make a decision to take her?

Why didn't you report this?

I don't want to get in trouble.

I w--

I was supposed to have already locked the door.

If I would have did that, man,

None of this even would have happened.

What happened to karen is not your fault, son.

He was just too scared to say anything to anybody.

Now, at his age, that's understandable.

There's a fear factor there

That's unexplainable to somebody who's an adult

And understandable to somebody who's a kid.

Now, what I need you to do

Is try to remember everything about these individuals.

Right.

Well, there was, uh...

It was three black guys.

Definitely military.

And why do you say that?

He had the impression that they were military

'cause they had short, high, and tight haircuts,

The military-style cut,

And one of them was wearing a field jacket.

Okay, tyler.

If you remember anything else, call me --

Understand? Yes, sir.

So, now, going from zero to 60 miles an hour

In this case,

We now know we're looking for three black males

With military haircuts.

♪

When smit returned to the station,

He encounters detective burns and detective adams,

And they're discussing their investigations

Into their homicides.

So they all sit down 'cause now smit's got something to say.

Sounds like we're looking for a couple of military guys.

Black males, armed.

Well, that's interesting.

The witnesses gave me the same description in my case.

No kidding.

We've got three cases now

With seemingly different motives,

But they could always be connected.

You keep in the back of your mind.

What are the details?

Victim was a 29-year-old male.

Narrator: Smit learns that the first victim was identified

As daniel van lone... Daniel van lone.

Narrator: ...A cook at the four seasons hotel.

11 days before karen grammer is murdered,

Daniel van lone was found on the side of the road

By a patrolman just a mile from where he worked.

[ gunshot ]

He had a scarf tied over his face,

And he'd been shot in the temple.

Narrator: And only three days before grammer's death,

Winfred proffitt, a soldier stationed at fort carson,

Was also murdered under mysterious circumstances.

Detective adams says that winfred proffitt

Was found stabbed to death at prospect lake.

They stabbed him in the chest with an army-issued bayonet.

People in the area said they saw a group of black males

And a green vehicle cruising around.

Any idea who they might be?

We're not sure,

But we may all be looking after the same guys.

You know, I'm starting to think the same thing.

They start thinking,

"do we have serial killers on our hands?"

If they are the same guys, they are incredibly dangerous.

They kill without compassion.

Detective smit, I'm sorry to interrupt.

You have a phone call in your office.

It's pretty urgent.

-Person say who they were? -No, sir.

Thanks, kenda.

Well, fellas, we're gonna have to circle back on this.

You got it.

Narrator: Later that day,

Detective smit gets the break he's been looking for.

[ rings ]

Detective smit.

Man: I'm calling from

The new orleans district attorney's office.

I have to find a defendant in custody

I think you'll be interested in.

He says that he has information about the murder

Of karen grammer in colorado springs,

And he also knows about

The murder of daniel van lone and winfred proffitt.

You got to be kidding me.

Could this be the key piece of information

To coaching a serial killer?

It most certainly could.

♪

[ police radio chatter ]

Kenda: Lou smit is investigating

The murder of 18-year-old karen grammer,

But has learned of two other investigations...

[ gunshot ] ...Involving the murder

Of daniel van lone and winfred proffitt

That are connected.

Man: I think you'll be interested.

A district attorney's investigator in new orleans says

He has a defendant in custody

Who knows everything about all three murders,

And he's willing to trade this information

In exchange for leniency.

♪

Narrator: And detective smit knows just the person

To help broker a deal.

Hey, chuck. Hey.

The police department or lou smit

Cannot grant immunity to any witness --

It has to come through the district attorney, chuck heim.

You know that grammer case I'm working?

Of course. What's the latest?

You'll never guess who called me.

Who?

Kenda: Smit says the new orleans district attorney's office

Had been tracking an individual through the fbi

Whose name was larry dunn.

And what mr. Dunn wants

Is immunity from the murder charges.

Lou says, "we need to talk to this guy."

I said, "alright. Where is he?"

He's in new orleans.

What do you think he knows?

He said, "I think he knows about at least three murderers.

He may have been at them or was told about them

By the people that did the killing."

Interesting. Let me just make a quick phone call.

Alright. I'm gonna go get back.

♪

Narrator: Over the next hour, investigator chuck heim

Quickly works out a deal with his boss.

I said, "alright, I will give him immunity

For anything he has done in the 4th judicial district

If he agrees to give us

All the information that he knows about these killings."

[ bell dings ]

So, we went down on an afternoon flight to new orleans,

And we interviewed him the next morning

At the new orleans house of detention.

♪

Sure appreciate you giving us a call.

Nice to meet you fellas. Glad you made the trip.

Seems like dunn's ready to talk.

Let's get in there.

♪

Heim: We went in there and shut the door.

We looked at him.

And I looked -- drilled him in the eyes.

And he looked like he was dead serious.

♪

Okay.

You tell us the truth about these murders

And you agree to testify at trial,

We'll give you immunity for all the crimes you've committed

In the state of colorado.

Are you interested?

♪

Kenda: Immunity transactions are conducted

With the following caveats -- in no uncertain terms that,

"you need to spill your guts,

You need to vomit your information

All over this table,

And if you leave out one single fact,

We're gonna burn you to the ground."

You, on occasion, have to make a deal with the devil.

It's how this works.

Now...Tell me about daniel van lone.

Well, we needed the money,

And he seemed like an easy target.

Kenda: Dunn said that he,

Another guy named freddie glenn,

And another guy named michael corbett

Waited for mr. Van lone to get off of work.

Daniel van lone was a cook.

They decided, "let's go rob him."

-Get him out the car. -Got on the ground.

-Let's go! -[ man grunts ]

Please! Help!

-Hey, blindfold his ass. -Please don't do this!

Get on your knees.

Get on your knees, man.

I'm begging you, I got a wife and children!

[ gunshot ]

-They shot him in the head. -Check his pockets, man.

Aw, come on, man. Fifty cents?!

Kenda: And robbed him of a mere 50 cents,

And left him in a ditch on the side of the road.

The guy was a bust. Had, like, two quarters on him.

What happened next?

There was that one guy, um, winfred.

Dunn said they next targeted winfred proffitt

Who was a soldier that they all knew.

They had arranged a bogus drug deal to lure

Winfred proffitt to prospect lake.

Hey, guys.

Proffitt, give me all your money.

-What? -There was no deal going down

They didn't have any marijuana. They wanted to rob him.

-What are you doing? -That's right. Your money.

Freddie. Come on, man, please.

Heim: Freddie glenn stabbed him in the chest

And then gleefully told people about how lovely it felt

When he stuck this bayonet into this guy's chest

And felt the bones crunch.

I mean these guys are animals.

It's not that they're trying to get money.

Michael corbett and freddie glenn are killing

Because they like to kill.

I want to talk about karen grammer.

Why don't we start from the beginning,

The night of June 30th.

It was me, corbett, and glenn just chilling at the apartment.

Glenn got the idea to make a few hits, which is nothing new.

How do you mean?

Larry dunn said that they were all

In the military together out of fort carson.

But they were always in trouble,

They were robbing fellow soldiers,

And they're all together on this evening.

Then larry dunn said just prior to leaving

The apartment, they each ate a hit of lsd.

Sometimes it could make you very violent.

We drove around till we came to that seafood spot.

-The one on academy? -Yeah that one.

Give me all your money. Give me all your money now.

I swear, I don't have anything! I swear!

The place was a bust. So we left.

Then we seen that white girl outside.

-Karen grammer? -Yeah. Her.

♪

Kenda: Karen grammer was standing in exactly the wrong place.

At exactly the wrong moment.

Hey.

How long you been standing out here?

I'm just waiting for my friend to get off work.

She's seen us, bruh. She's seen us!

Wait, saw what?

Enough of this. You know what, you're coming with us. Come on.

[ karen gasps ]

♪

Her fate was sealed. The moment she crossed paths.

With these killers.

They saw her as somebody that they could kidnap and brutalize

And that's what they wanted.

♪

And they decide to drive back to freddie glenn's apartment.

And then the sexual assaults started.

[ door opens ]

They all took turns

Sexually assaulting her every way which you can.

And that's all I want to say about.

Now what? What we gonna do with her?

I don't know, man. She's seen our faces.

Yo we can't let her go, man.

Dude, shut up!

Let's get her back in the car and drop her off someone.

Kenda: The initial decision is they're going to just drop her off

On the other side of town.

They had tied her hands together with a blue scarf

And they had taken off her glasses

And put them on the dashboard of the car.

So essentially she's riding around with them

And can't see anything.

Please don't let them kill me. I'll do anything you want.

Please help me!

Don't worry, it'll be alright.

[ cries ]

They came across this alley next to a trailer park

On the south side of the city.

And dunn says they decided this was a good place

To let her go.

Dunn: Get out of there.

Okay, man. Let's go.

Narrator: But according to larry dunn,

That's when freddie glenn had a change of heart.

No, man. She's seen too much.

Kenda: Glenn goes up behind karen grammer...

Roll your neck back.

...And tells her to tip her head back.

[ chokes ]

He cuts her throat and stabs her several times in the back.

And she tries to fight him off getting a few defensive wounds

But is unsuccessful.

Dunn: Freddie, what's wrong with you, man?

Drive! Now! Come on. Go.

She is stumbling around blind

Without her glasses bleeding to death.

And they speed away in their car.

And she staggers probably toward the light

As she sees a porch light.

[ gasping, grunting ]

♪

To still be alive and crawl along the ground.

Clawing her way you know touching seeing a door

Thinking you know maybe I can get some help.

That's the hard part.

Is to know what she went through.

Martin: She was able to get to mr. Hudson's trailer.

Where she ended up dying.

But yet a young girl, loses her life,

For no reason at all.

I think we've heard enough. Officer.

Narrator: Larry dunn agrees to testify against corbett and glenn.

And receives immunity for his involvement

In the three murders.

[ siren wails ]

Kenda: This information from dunn is sufficient

To obtain arrest warrants for freddie glenn

And michael corbett.

Martin: They track down freddie glenn and michael corbett,

Arrest both of them, but they both lawyered up.

Well, you know what? We don't need you to talk.

We got what we need. There is more than

A sufficient case here to put them away forever.

Narrator: Freddie glen and michael corbett are convicted

Of three counts of first degree murder.

They are sentenced to life in prison.

Kenda: Michael corbett died in the summer of 2019

In his cell at the age of 64. Freddie lee glenn remains

Locked up in the colorado state penitentiary.

♪

-Excellent work everybody. -Yes.

We all played a part.

I'm just glad we got justice here.

Here, here.

Heim: I was very proud of colorado springs' police department

And the sheriff's department.

Lou smit was the one that really put the frosting

On a cake coordinating this.

They did an excellent job starting with nothing

And getting people charged.

Kenda: It was inspiring for me

To see the level of competence of the police department.

It made me proud to be a policeman.

I just want to congratulate you, sir.

Amazing work. Thanks, kenda.

It further inspired me to want to get there.

I wanted to be one of those homicide detectives.

And I was a very fortunate fellow

That I was able to do precisely that.

Narrator: Although her killers were caught the tragic loss

Of karen grammer will forever haunt those who loved her.

Karen grammer was an 18-year-old girl

With her whole life in front of her,

Taken by extreme violence for no reason at all.

And killed for the thrill of the killing.

The sickest possible form of murder.