Original subtitles

ODESSA DURING '80s AND '90s,

WE WERE HAVING A LOT, UH,

OF LOT OF HOMICIDES.

IT WAS THE MURDER CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.

SO WE KEPT BUSY.

ON FEBRUARY 2nd, 1994,

SNOW ROBERTSON IS A SERGEANT IN THE ODESSA, TEXAS

POLICE DEPARTMENT.

IT WAS CLOUDY, IT WAS COLD, AND IT WAS WINDY.

GOT CALLED OUT TO A BODY BEING FOUND IN A VACANT LOT

THAT WAS PLACED NEXT TO A CHAIN-LINK FENCE

AND NEXT TO A TREE.

BODY WAS PRETTY DECOMPOSED, SO MUCH SO THAT

WE COULDN'T MAKE A POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION AT THE TIME.

I PLACED SOME PAPER BAGS ON THE HANDS OF THE BODY

TO PREVENT ANY CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTION OF ANY EVIDENCE

SUCH AS DNA OR HAIR OR ANY BLOOD AT ALL.

DETECTIVE JUSTIN CAID IS AN EIGHT-YEAR VETERAN

OF THE ODESSA P.D.

ANY DESTRUCTION OF CLOTHING,

CONTACT WITH SKIN,

THOSE ARE CHANCES OF CONTAMINATION

FROM, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE SOURCES.

I GOT A BODY BAG FROM MY DETECTIVE UNIT

AND PLACED HER INSIDE THE BAG,

AND THEN I PICKED HER UP

AND CARRIED HER TO THE TRANSPORT UNIT

BECAUSE HER BODY WAS SO FRAGILE THAT I JUST DIDN'T WANT

TO TAKE THE CHANCE OF ANYTHING HAPPENING TO HER.

LUCKILY, THE MEDICAL EXAMINER IS ABLE

TO SALVAGE A FINGERPRINT.

THEY RAN HER PRINT THROUGH OUR LOCAL FILES AND DETERMINE

THAT IT WAS DENISE CHRISTIE BROTHERS.

I DID KNOW DENISE BROTHERS.

SHE HAD GREAT PARENTS AND HER KIDS WERE GREAT.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT MY MOM, I THINK ABOUT,

YOU KNOW, BIRTHDAY PARTIES AND MAYBE GOING TO RED LOBSTER.

JUST THE GOOD TIMES I REMEMBER.

HER PARENTS WERE REALLY UPSTANDING PEOPLE,

AND IT WAS A TRAGIC SITUATION ALL THE WAY AROUND,

BUT SHE JUST ALWAYS FELT LIKE SHE WASN'T ENOUGH.

SHE WASN'T, YOU KNOW, A GOOD PERSON.

THERE'S NO FORENSIC EVIDENCE FOUND ON THE BODY,

BUT THEY ARE ABLE TO DETERMINE CAUSE OF DEATH.

FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST REMOVED THE HYOID BONE FROM THE BODY

AND HE AND I WENT UP TO RADIOLOGY,

PERFORMED AN X-RAY OF THE BONE ITSELF

AND FOUND THAT IT ALMOST HAD A CLEAN BREAK,

WHICH WOULD HAVE SHOWN A LOT OF FORCE

USED TO STRANGLE DENISE.

IT WAS MOST LIKELY A MALE SUSPECT

JUST DUE TO THE FORCE USED IN THIS STRANGULATION.

THE VICTIM IS NO STRANGER TO ODESSA P.D.

SHE GOT HOOKED ON NARCOTICS

AND SHE USED PROSTITUTION TO PAY FOR THE NARCOTICS.

SHE WAS ON HEROIN.

TRIED TO GET HER HELP...

FROM MY GRANDPARENTS, TRIED TO GET HER HELP.

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR THAT

TO HAPPEN FROM FROM FAMILIES

THAT ARE UPSTANDING AND, YOU KNOW,

THEY LOVE THEIR KIDS JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.

SHE HAD SPELLS WHERE SHE WOULD BE FINE WITH GOING HOME

AND TAKING CARE OF HER KIDS

AND THEN TIMES THAT SHE'D BE REPORTED MISSING.

SHE'D BE THERE FOR A FEW DAYS A WEEK

AND THEN SHE'D BE GONE A FEW DAYS

AND YOU'D KNOW THEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS GOING ON.

IN JANUARY 1994,

DENISE GOES MISSING FOR LONGER THAN USUAL.

I REMEMBER WE... WE DROVE AROUND FOR HOURS AND HOURS ON DAYS,

LOOKING AND LOOKING AND LOOKING AND COME UP EMPTY-HANDED

AND ASKING QUESTIONS AND NOTHING.

AFTER TWO WEEKS, WE GOT THAT PHONE CALL AND SAYS THAT,

"HEY, WE FOUND... WE FOUND YOUR MOTHER, YOU KNOW,

CAN YOU COME DOWN AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE A LOOK?"

AND SO, ME AND MY GRANDPARENTS, WE LOAD UP THE CAR

AND WE WENT DOWN THERE AND HAD TO LOOK AT THE BODY.

AND IT WAS, MAN, IT WAS SOMETHING AWFUL.

MY GRANDMA WAS TO GO IN

AND SHE... AS SOON AS SHE HIT THE DOOR,

SHE JUST STARTED SCREAMING.

HER MOTHER COULDN'T EVEN TALK TO US.

I THINK IT DESTROYED THEM.

IT JUST... I KNOW IT DID THE MOTHER

AND HER FATHER WAS...

YOU COULD TELL IT JUST DESTROYED HIM, TOO.

SERGEANT ROBERTSON HITS THE STREETS LOOKING FOR CLUES.

DENISE'S FELLOW SEX WORKERS POINT THE FINGER

AT A REGULAR CLIENT OF HERS WHO DRIVES A VAN.

WE DID FIND THE MAN WITH THE VAN

THAT THEY HAD DESCRIBED.

BROUGHT HIM IN, DID A LENGTHY INTERVIEW WITH HIM.

HE FINALLY ADMITTED, YES, HE HAD SEX WITH HER THAT NIGHT,

BUT HE LEFT HER AND SHE WAS FINE AT THE TIME

AND HE CONSENTED TO A SEARCH OF HIS VEHICLE.

WE GOT HIM TO DO THE POLYGRAPH

AND NOTHING TURNED OUT FROM THAT.

WITHOUT A SHRED OF EVIDENCE LINKING THE MAN

WITH THE VAN TO DENISE'S MURDER,

HE'S QUICKLY RELEASED AND THE INVESTIGATION DRAGS ON.

THEY WERE NEVER ABLE TO DEVELOP PROBABLE CAUSE TO PLACE

ANYONE INTO CUSTODY FOR HER DEATH AT THAT TIME.

I CONTINUED WITH GOING OUT

AND TALKING TO THE PROSTITUTES.

AFTER A WHILE, THEY, YOU KNOW, START SAYING,

YOU KNOW, WE'VE TOLD YOU EVERYTHING WE CAN.

WHEN YOU START RUNNING OUT OF LEADS,

IT'S A PRETTY FRUSTRATING FEELING.

AT THE BEGINNING, MY GRANDPA CALLED AND CALLED

AND CALLED AND THE POLICE AND THE FINALLY, I THINK,

THEY GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY SAID,

"PLEASE STOP CALLING US.

IF WE FIND SOMETHING OUT, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW."

WITH THE CASE GETTING COLDER BY THE DAY,

ROBERTSON TAKES A SHOT IN THE DARK.

I STARTED DOING A REPORT FOR THE FBI.

IT WAS FAIRLY DETAILED.

EVERYTHING FROM METHOD... STRANGULATION,

A GUNSHOT WOUND, A KNIFE WOUND,

THE TYPE OF RACE, SEX OF THE VICTIM.

THIS REPORT COULD BE UTILIZED BY THE FBI

TO DETERMINE OTHER HOMICIDE VICTIMS AND SUSPECTS

THAT COULD BE MATCHED, THE SAME TYPE OF INCIDENT.

ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER,

ROBERTSON'S REPORT WILL LAUNCH AN INVESTIGATION UNLIKE ANY

BEFORE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

WE WENT IN THERE THINKING WE MIGHT HAVE

ONE MORE TEXAS CASE TO WORK,

BUT NONE OF US EXPECTED

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE INVESTIGATION.

I'M A CRIME ANALYST.

THE ONE THING I WAS ALWAYS PASSIONATE ABOUT AND THE CASES

I ALWAYS WANTED TO WORK WERE THOSE VIOLENT CRIME CASES.

CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO WORKS WITH THE FBI'S

VIOLENT CRIMINAL APPREHENSION PROBLEM

KNOWN AS VICAP,

THE ONLY NATIONAL DATABASE OF ITS KIND.

STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SUBMIT

VIOLENT CRIME CASES TO OUR DATABASE.

I GO IN AND ANALYZE EVERY ASPECT OF THE CASE THAT I CAN

AND THEN LOOK FOR CASES WHERE I SEE SIMILARITIES.

THAT'S WHAT WE DO. WE TRY TO DRAW CONNECTIONS.

SUCH CONNECTIONS DON'T GUARANTEE A CONVICTION,

BUT THEY CAN HELP LOVED ONES STRUGGLING WITH UNSOLVED CRIMES.

BECAUSE YOU ARE DEALING WITH SUCH HORRENDOUS CASES,

REALLY, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE

SOME SORT OF IMPACT ON THAT,

TO BE ABLE TO BRING SOME ANSWERS,

MAYBE EVEN SOME CLOSURE TO FAMILIES,

THAT'S WHAT REALLY SPEAKS TO ME.

PALAZZOLO'S COLLEAGUE, DR. ANGELA WILLIAMSON,

IS A FORENSICS EXPERT.

I HAVE ABOUT 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE WORKING AS A DNA SCIENTIST

IN CRIME LABS, WORKING MAJOR CRIME CASES.

CHRISTIE IS A LITTLE LIKE ME.

SHE KNOWS ALL THE SERIAL KILLERS.

IN 2013, PALAZZOLO IS CONTACTED

BY THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT.

THEY'RE INVESTIGATING A SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLER.

THEY REACHED OUT TO VICAP ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE

IDENTIFYING SIMILAR CASES

THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE TIED BACK TO HIM.

ONE YEAR EARLIER IN 2012,

THE LAPD'S COLD CASE UNIT

RUNS A CALIFORNIA STATE DATABASE SEARCH

AND GETS A DNA HIT

CONNECTING TWO LOS ANGELES MURDERS FROM 1989.

AUDREY NELSON AND GUADALUPE APODACA,

THEY WERE FOUND IN THE SUMMER OF 1989,

ABOUT THREE WEEKS APART.

AUDREY NELSON WAS FOUND IN A DUMPSTER AND GUADALUPE

WAS FOUND IN A VACANT GARAGE.

THEIR SHIRT WAS PULLED UP,

LIKE UP TO THEIR SHOULDERS OR OVER THEIR HEAD.

THEIR PANTS WERE GONE. THEIR UNDERWEAR WAS GONE.

THEY HAD THESE SCRAPE MARKS, YOU KNOW,

ANOTHER TELLTALE SIGN OF A BODY BEING DISCARDED.

THEY WERE BEING DRAGGED TO THEIR...

TO THEIR RESTING PLACE.

BOTH WOMEN HAD BRUISING AROUND THEIR NECKS

AND CRUSHED HYOID BONES,

THE HALLMARK OF STRANGULATION BY HAND.

AND DNA DISCOVERED ON EACH,

LINKS TO ONE SUSPECT IN THE STATE DATABASE.

HIS NAME IS SAMUEL LITTLE.

THE COLD CASE TEAM DIGS INTO LITTLE'S BACKGROUND

AND FINDS A RAP SHEET GOING BACK TO THE 1950s.

IT IS A VERY EXTENSIVE CRIMINAL HISTORY.

THEY REALIZED THAT HE WAS AN INCREDIBLY

TRANSIENT INDIVIDUAL.

HE BASICALLY DROPPED OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL

AND STARTED LIVING OUT OF HIS CAR,

CRISSCROSSING THE NATION,

HITTING THE ROAD WHENEVER HE FELT LIKE IT.

DETECTIVES SPEND WEEKS SCOURING L.A. COUNTY

FOR ANY SIGN OF THEIR SUSPECT WITH NO LUCK...

...UNTIL ONE OF HIS SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS

GETS CASHED THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY

IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

HE WAS LIVING AT A HOMELESS SHELTER IN KENTUCKY

AND HE WAS EXTRADITED BACK TO CALIFORNIA.

THE DA'S OFFICE WAS GOING TO BRING CHARGES,

BUT THEY WANTED TO FIND A PATTERN.

THEY WANTED TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IN HIS PREVIOUS CRIMINAL RECORD,

WHAT CAN WE FIND THAT SHOWS HOW THIS GUY OPERATED?

EVEN THOUGH THEY RECOGNIZED THAT HE WAS VERY TRANSIENT

AND THAT HE WAS PROBABLY GOOD FOR ADDITIONAL CASES

IN OTHER STATES,

HOW ARE THEY GONNA FIND THOSE CASES,

ESPECIALLY GOING BACK TO THE '70s AND '80s?

VICAP, THAT'S HOW YOU FIND THOSE CASES.

IF HE CAME ON YOUR RADAR AND YOU KIND OF KNEW

WHAT HE DID TO GIRLS

AND YOU KIND OF KNEW WHO HE TARGETED,

YOU COULD REACH OUT TO THE FBI AND SAID,

"WELL, ON OUR TIMELINE, HE WAS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD,"

THAT MAYBE HERE'S YOUR SUSPECT.

WHEN PALAZZOLO GETS INVOLVED,

BASED ON HER TRAINING,

SHE SUSPECTS THERE COULD BE MANY MORE VICTIMS.

SO SHE DIGS DEEPER INTO LITTLE'S CRIME-FILLED LIFE.

I TOOK A LOOK AT HIS BACKGROUND AND HE HAS BEEN IN AND OUT

OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FOR A GOOD PART OF HIS LIFE,

EVERYTHING FROM PETTY THEFT TO ASSAULT.

HE HAD A RAPE CHARGE IN HIS BACKGROUND.

HE HAS WEAPONS CHARGES.

HE HAS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN YOU CAN HAVE.

SO MANY TIMES HE HAD GOTTEN ARRESTED

OR MAYBE EVEN CHARGED WITH CRIMES,

BUT IT ENDED UP COMING DOWN WITH A VERY LIGHT SENTENCE

OR HE GOT OUT FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR.

SO HE ENDED UP NOT SERVING A WHOLE LOT OF TIME

FOR THESE CRIMES THAT HE WAS COMMITTING.

PALAZZOLO FOCUSES ON PINNING LITTLE DOWN

TO CERTAIN LOCATIONS DURING SPECIFIC TIMES.

AND THEN, BASED ON HIS TRAVELS,

WENT INTO THE VICAP DATABASE AND JUST RAN DOZENS OF SEARCHES

TRYING TO LOOK FOR ADDITIONAL CASES

THAT FIT WHAT HE WAS DOING.

PALAZZOLO CONCENTRATES ON THE KILLER'S SIGNATURE M.O.

THESE WOMEN WERE STRANGLED TO DEATH,

MANUALLY STRANGLED TO DEATH.

THAT SEEMED TO BE IMPORTANT TO HIM, IMPORTANT ENOUGH

THAT THAT'S WHAT HE DID IN ALL OF THE CASES THAT WE KNEW ABOUT.

SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I FOCUSED ON,

I NEEDED TO FIND OTHER CASES WHERE THE VICTIM WAS STRANGLED.

DR. JONI JOHNSTON IS NOT INVOLVED

IN ANY INVESTIGATIONS OF SAMUEL LITTLE,

BUT IS AN EXPERT ON SERIAL KILLERS.

HE WANTED TO BE AS CLOSE

AND PERSONAL WITH THEM AS POSSIBLE.

THIS WAS NOT SOMEBODY THAT HE WANTED TO KILL FROM A DISTANCE.

AND THERE'S ANOTHER IMPORTANT SIMILARITY.

HIS VICTIMS DID SEX WORK,

VICTIMS WHO WERE HIGH-RISK,

THAT WERE VULNERABLE,

HE DID VERY MUCH HAVE A TYPE.

IT WAS A PERSON DOWN ON THEIR LUCK,

NOT LEADING THE BEST PATH IN LIFE,

NOT TO THEIR OWN FAULT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

BUT IF SOMEONE HAD AN ADDICTION, SOMEONE WAS HOMELESS,

SOMEONE NEEDED MONEY,

SOMEONE WAS MENTALLY ILL AND VULNERABLE,

LITTLE WOULD SWOOP IN.

HE KNEW HOW TO PICK A VICTIM.

SEARCHING THE DATABASE,

ONE CASE JUMPS OUT AT PALAZZOLO,

THE 1994 MURDER OF DENISE BROTHERS

IN ODESSA, TEXAS.

BASED ON HIS TIMELINE, I COULD SHOW LITTLE PASSING

THROUGH AT THE TIME SHE WAS KILLED.

VICTIMOLOGY MATCHED UP WITH THE VICTIMOLOGY

OF HIS OTHER VICTIMS FROM L.A.

SHE WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH

AND THEN HER BODY WAS LEFT OUTSIDE

AN INDUSTRIAL AREA ALONG A FENCE.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE MANNER OF DISPOSAL

THAT LITTLE DEMONSTRATED IN HIS L.A. CASES.

SO ALL OF THESE PIECES REALLY FIT TOGETHER.

AND I FELT REALLY STRONGLY

THAT HE MADE A GOOD SUSPECT IN THAT CASE.

STILL, THERE'S NO HARD EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.

THEY JUST HAD HER BODY AND THEY NEVER RECOVERED DNA FROM IT,

SO IT JUST KIND OF STALLED OUT

AND HAD NOTHING MORE TO GO ON AT THAT POINT.

EVEN SO, PALAZZOLO REMAINS CONVINCED

LITTLE KILLED DENISE.

MEANWHILE, L.A. DETECTIVES DISCOVER

TWO SAN DIEGO SURVIVORS OF LITTLE'S ATTACKS

WHO LIVED TO TELL THEIR STORIES.

HE WAS GETTING OFF ON TORTURE

AND KEEPING HER RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF DEATH.

AFTER SEARCHING SAMUEL LITTLE'S ARREST RECORD,

THE LAPD FOCUSES ON TWO ATTEMPTED MURDERS IN SAN DIEGO

FROM THE 1980s,

WHICH LITTLE COMMITTED UNDER HIS ALIAS,

SAMUEL McDOWELL.

I'M SITTING IN MY OFFICE,

AND I GET A CALL FROM LAPD HOMICIDE,

SAID, "HEY, SARGE, BACK IN '84, YOU ARRESTED A GUY FOR RAPE."

AND I SAID, "SAMUEL McDOWELL."

AND SHE SAID, "HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THAT?"

AND I SAID... I SAID, "I JUST, I REMEMBER THAT ARREST.

IT WAS A GOOD PINCH."

IN 1984, WAYNE SPEES IS A ROOKIE WITH SAN DIEGO PD.

I'M BRAND NEW. I'M TRYING TO LEARN MY JOB HERE.

I'M TRYING NOT TO LOOK STUPID IN FRONT OF MY TRAINING OFFICER,

AND I'M WORKING IN AN AREA OF THE CITY THAT IS REALLY BUSY.

IT'S A LOT OF GANG ACTIVITY,

NOT WHAT PEOPLE NORMALLY ASSOCIATE WITH SAN DIEGO.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TOWN,

BUT AFTER DARK AND FAR AWAY FROM THE CENTER OF TOWN,

IT WAS A BIT EDGY.

THERE WAS A LOT OF DRUG USE, PROSTITUTION.

IF YOU GOT OFF THE MAIN STREETS,

YOU'RE IN KIND OF A NO MAN'S LAND.

ON OCTOBER 24th, 1984,

THERE'S A SEXUAL PREDATOR AT LARGE IN SAN DIEGO.

THEY GAVE US A FLIER, WHICH TOLD US ABOUT AN ATTACK

THAT HAPPENED THE MONTH BEFORE.

THE VICTIM WAS LAURIE BARROS.

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, SHE WAS GRABBED OFF THE STREET,

KIDNAPPED, TAKEN TO A REMOTE LOCATION,

RAPED AND REPEATEDLY STRANGLED, UNCONSCIOUS,

CAME TO UNCONSCIOUS,

WAS LEFT IN AN EMPTY LOT IN A DARK PART OF TOWN,

CAME TO AND CALLED FOR THE POLICE.

THEY DON'T KNOW WHO THE GUY IS.

ALLS WE KNOW IS A PERSON DESCRIPTION

AND A CAR DESCRIPTION.

LARGE AMERICAN CAR,

AND THE DESCRIPTION WAS VERY DETAILED

FOR THE INTERIOR.

YOU KNOW, SHE NOTICED THAT IT HAD DICE

HANGING FROM THE REARVIEW MIRROR ON THE WINDSHIELD.

THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR WAS KIND OF MAROON.

THERE WAS SOME DAMAGE TO ONE OF THE WINDOWS WHERE IT WAS BROKEN,

YOU KNOW, AND SHE RECALLED ALL THESE THINGS.

AND THAT WAS ALSO PUT ON THIS FLIER THAT WE GOT.

ALL PATROLS ARE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE PREDATOR

AND THAT CAR.

SPEES AND HIS TRAINING OFFICER ARE WORKING THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT.

IT WAS WARM. IT WAS BUSY.

AROUND 4:00 IN THE MORNING

IS WHEN THE RADIO CALLS KIND OF STOP OR SLOW DOWN.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS POINT.

THEY HEAD TO THE AREA WHERE THE ASSAULT OCCURRED

THE PREVIOUS MONTH.

IT WAS A TOTALLY UNDEVELOPED AREA,

NO LIGHTING,

JUST THE KIND OF PLACE A CRIMINAL WOULD LIKE TO BE

IF THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING THEY SHOULDN'T DO.

WE HAVE A LITTLE THING WE DO IS, YOU KNOW,

YOU TURN ALL YOUR LIGHTS OUT IN THE CAR,

AND WE GO UP THE DIRT INCLINE.

AS SOON AS WE LEVEL OFF,

WE CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A LARGE BLACK CAR

UP ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE 50 YARDS IN FRONT OF US.

WE HIT THE HIGH BEAMS,

WE PUT THE RED LIGHT ON TOP OF THE CAR,

AND WE BOTH HAVE CONTROL OF OUR OWN SPOTLIGHTS.

WE CAN SEE A MALE IN THE BACK SEAT,

AND HIS HEAD POPS UP.

THE GUY GETS OUT OF THE BACK,

AND HE STARTS WALKING AROUND THE BACK OF HIS CAR.

AS HE'S DOING SO,

HE'S HE'S PULLING HIS PANTS UP.

HE'S ZIPPING UP HIS PANTS.

AS HIS TRAINING OFFICER HEADS TO THE CAR,

SPEES ORDERS THE MAN TO WALK TOWARDS HIM.

HE'S HESITANT AND, YOU KNOW, HE'S JUMPY,

AND, YOU KNOW, SO IN A LITTLE BIT FIRMER VOICE,

I SAY, "YOU NEED TO GET OVER HERE.

I NEED TO TALK TO YOU."

SO WHEN HE GETS TO ABOUT FOUR FEET IN FRONT OF ME,

I JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

AND HE SAID, "OH, IT'S ME AND MY WIFE.

WE HAD A FIGHT. NOW WE'RE MAKING LOVE.

EVERYTHING'S OKAY."

AND I CAN SEE HE'S GOT FRESH SCRATCHES.

HE'S BLEEDING DOWN HIS NECK.

YOU KNOW, THEY'RE VERTICAL SCRATCHES.

AND HE LOOKS DOWN AT MY GUN ON MY BELT.

I JUST COULD SEE IN HIS EYES, YOU KNOW,

HE WAS THINKING IN TERMS OF, "CAN I GET AWAY?"

HE'S A BIG GUY. HE'S, YOU KNOW, 6'1", 225.

BUT HE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE HE WAS READY TO OUTRUN ME

'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, HE'S PROBABLY IN HIS 40s OR SO AT THAT POINT.

YOU KNOW, SO HE'S GOT A DECISION TO MAKE.

IF HE'S GONNA FIGHT ME,

YOU KNOW, THEN HE'S GONNA FIGHT TWO OF US,

AND THERE'S NO WAY HE'S GONNA WIN THAT FIGHT

UNLESS HE GETS AHOLD OF MY GUN.

AND AS I'M LOOKING AT HIM, I JUST SAID,

"DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID."

YOU KNOW, AND HE TURNED AROUND

AND PUT HIS HANDS BEHIND HIS BACK.

WITH THEIR SUSPECT SECURED,

THE OFFICERS CHECK ON THE WOMAN IN THE CAR.

I SHINE MY LIGHT IN THE BACK,

AND HE'S GOT THE SEATS PUSHED ALL THE WAY UP

TO MAXIMIZE THE SPACE IN THE BACK.

THERE'S A NUDE FEMALE

IN THE BACK OF THE CAR LYING ON HER BACK.

HER CHEST AND SHOULDERS AND HEAD ARE CRAMMED DOWN

ON THE FLOORBOARD BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT.

HER HIPS ARE UP ON THE SEAT,

AND THEN HER LEGS ARE JUST... ARE SPREAD.

SHE'S BLEEDING FROM THE MOUTH, FROM THE NOSE.

YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST SAW HER, I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD.

THEY MANAGE TO REVIVE THE WOMAN, TONYA JACKSON.

MINUTES LATER, AN AMBULANCE TAKES HER TO THE HOSPITAL.

WE BOTH KNOW THAT THIS IS THE GUY FROM THE MONTH BEFORE.

THE DESCRIPTION MATCHED.

THE COMPOSITE LOOKED LIKE HIM.

THE CAR WAS DESCRIBED, MATCHED DOWN TO THE FUZZY DICE,

THE BROKEN WINDOW, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS,

IT WAS A GOOD MATCH.

SO HE WAS ADMONISHED OF HIS MIRANDA RIGHTS,

AND HE AGREED.

HE AGREED TO TALK TO US.

THE NAME HE GAVE US THAT NIGHT WAS SAMUEL McDOWELL.

THEY TAKE HIM TO A HOSPITAL FOR A RAPE EXAM,

WHERE A DOCTOR COLLECTS DNA SAMPLES,

THE SAME DNA THAT WILL COME UP IN THE LAPD'S 2012 SEARCH.

AFTERWARDS, LITTLE MAKES A SHOCKING STATEMENT.

HE GOES, "THE DOCTOR'S EXAM IS NOT GONNA SHOW ANY RAPE,

SO I'M GONNA SHOW WHERE MY HANDS WERE AROUND HER NECK."

HE'S BASICALLY TELLING ME THAT HE STRANGLED HER,

AND HE DOESN'T HAVE A PROBLEM TELLING ME THAT.

BUT HE DID NOT RAPE HER.

HE DID NOT LIKE THE TERM RAPIST BEING APPLIED TO HIM.

HE WASN'T RAPING THESE WOMEN.

HE ADMITTED AND WAS OKAY SAYING HE WAS STRANGLING THEM,

BUT HE TOOK OFFENSE TO BEING CALLED A RAPIST.

AS SPEES AND HIS PARTNER DRIVE LITTLE TO POLICE HEADQUARTERS,

THE SUSPECT KEEPS ON TALKING.

INITIALLY, HE SAYS, YOU KNOW, "IT WAS MY WIFE."

EVENTUALLY THAT BECOMES, "I PICKED UP A PROSTITUTE.

SHE AGREED TO HAVE SEX FOR 20 BUCKS."

SO I TOOK OUT MY LITTLE NOTEPAD,

AND I WROTE DOWN EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.

AND HE MADE A STATEMENT ABOUT,

"I SHOULD HAVE KILLED THAT WHORE."

AND, YOU KNOW, AND THEN HE SAID,

"SHE DESERVED EVERYTHING SHE GOT."

AND THEN I THINK HE WAS ALSO ANGRY AT US

BECAUSE WE STOPPED HIM.

I MEAN, WE LITERALLY DROVE UP ON HIM

AS HE WAS STRANGLING THIS WOMAN.

I'VE ARRESTED MURDERERS, RAPISTS, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.

BUT THIS GUY... YOU KNOW, WE ARRESTED HIM IN PROGRESS.

SAVING THIS PERSON AND GETTING THIS GUY

INTO CUSTODY AND OFF THE STREET...

THAT WAS A BIG DEAL.

SAMUEL McDOWELL, A.K.A. SAMUEL LITTLE,

IS NOW IN CUSTODY.

BUT IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF POLICE AND PROSECUTION

HAVE ENOUGH TO KEEP HIM OFF THE STREET.

I LEARNED A COUPLE DAYS AFTER OUR ARREST, SAMUEL LITTLE,

THAT HE WAS IDENTIFIED IN A LINEUP BY THE FIRST VICTIM.

AND NOW THE D.A. IS GOING TO PROSECUTE HIM FOR BOTH VICTIMS.

IN THE FALL OF 1984,

SAN DIEGO DEPUTY D.A. GARY REMPEL BEGINS

BUILDING HIS CASE AGAINST SAMUEL LITTLE

FOR THE ATTEMPTED MURDERS OF LAURIE BARROWS

AND TONYA JACKSON.

SAM LITTLE HAD ONE OF THE LONGEST RAP SHEETS

I'VE SEEN OF SERIOUS CRIMES WITHOUT CONVICTIONS,

VERY FEW CONVICTIONS.

I SAW NUMEROUS INSTANCES OF THEFT, VIOLENCE,

SOLICITING PROSTITUTION, YOU NAME IT,

PAGES AND PAGES.

AS I LOOKED FURTHER INTO THE RAP SHEET,

I SAW THAT HE HAD BEEN ARRESTED FOR A COUPLE OF COUNTS

OF ATTEMPTED MURDER WITH NO DISPOSITION GIVEN.

THE VIOLENCE HAD ACCELERATED.

IT HELPED ME KNOW WHAT I WAS FACING.

HE'S CONFIDENT THE SURVIVORS' TESTIMONY

WILL FINALLY PUT LITTLE AWAY.

TONYA JACKSON IS FIRST UP TO TESTIFY

AT THE PRE-TRIAL HEARING.

SHE EYELOCKS WITH US, AND SHE'S CRYING.

AND SHE HUGS US, SAYING, YOU KNOW,

"YOU GUYS, YOU SAVED ME."

SHE TESTIFIED, DID AN OKAY JOB,

AND THEN LAURIE BARROWS TESTIFIED.

SHE WAS AN EXCELLENT WITNESS.

I THINK SHE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, "HE'S GONNA DO THIS AGAIN."

AND SHE SHOULD DO WHATEVER SHE COULD TO STOP HIM,

WHICH SHE DID.

AND FOR A GIRL IN HER POSITION.

SHE WAS INCREDIBLY COURAGEOUS.

LITTLE IS HELD OVER TO STAND TRIAL,

AND REMPEL IS DETERMINED TO LOCK HIM UP FOR LIFE.

BUT SOMETHING ABOUT LAURIE BARROWS' TESTIMONY

GNAWS AT HIM.

SHE STUCK TO HER STORY.

SHE WAS RAPED. SHE WAS KIDNAPPED.

BUT I JUST HAD A HUNCH AND A FEELING ABOUT LAURIE.

YOU KNOW, AND I TOOK HER TO ANOTHER ROOM,

AND I TALKED TO HER ABOUT IT, AND SHE ADMITTED

THAT SHE WAS WORKING PART-TIME AS A PROSTITUTE

TO SUPPLEMENT HER INCOME AND TO SUPPORT HER DRUG HABIT.

SHE WAS NOT, IN FACT, KIDNAPPED.

SHE WAS NOT, IN FACT, RAPED.

HER LIES AT THE PRELIMINARY HEARING

MADE A BIG DENT IN THE CASE

BECAUSE THE JURY KNEW THAT SHE HAD LIED WHILE UNDER OATH.

SO THE QUESTION WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE,

WAS SHE LYING NOW?

NO DOUBT SHE'D GONE THROUGH A TREMENDOUS, VICIOUS,

LIFE-CHANGING ATTACK.

BUT WAS SHE CORRECT ABOUT THE IDENTIFICATION?

AND IF LAURIE BARROWS' TESTIMONY

ISN'T PROBLEMATIC ENOUGH,

TONYA JACKSON'S APPEARANCE WILL TAKE THINGS FROM BAD TO WORSE.

SHE WAS STAGGERING DRUNK

AS SHE TESTIFIED, DRUNK ON THE STAND,

AND I HAD TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

WELL, I SAID, YOU KNOW, "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

AND SHE SAID, "WELL, I HAD TO HAVE

A COUPLE DRINKS TO COME HERE."

REMPEL'S TWO GREATEST ASSETS IN THE CASE

ARE NOW LIABILITIES.

AND I BELIEVED THEM BOTH.

THERE WAS NO DOUBT WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM IN MY MIND,

BUT WE HAD ISSUES WITH BOTH OF THEM THAT AFFECTED US

WHEN THE DEFENSE PUT ON THEIR CASE.

THINGS GET STRANGER STILL

WHEN LITTLE'S ATTORNEY CALLS AN ALIBI WITNESS.

SHE DESCRIBED HERSELF AS HIS WIFE, ORELIA DORSEY.

HE'S 44 AT THE TIME,

AND THIS WOMAN LOOKS LIKE SHE'S IN HER 70s.

SHE WAS 71 YEARS OLD.

SHE WAS WEARING A HAT

LIKE YOU MIGHT COMMONLY WEAR TO CHURCH.

UNDER OATH, HOLDING THE BIBLE,

TESTIFIED THAT THEY ARRIVED IN TOWN

ONLY TWO DAYS BEFORE

THE TONYA JACKSON ATTACK OCCURRED.

AND SHE STATED THAT SHE'D TRAVELED FOR 13 YEARS

WITH MR. LITTLE,

AND HE'D NEVER CAUSED ANYBODY ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL.

SHE CAME ACROSS VERY CREDIBLE, VERY SURE OF HERSELF, DIGNIFIED,

LEFT ME LITTLE ROOM FOR ATTACK.

AND THEN A BIGGER SURPRISE.

THE DEFENSE CALLS LITTLE HIMSELF TO THE STAND.

FIRST DISTINGUISHING FEATURE WAS

THE ROWS AND ROWS OF SCARS

RUNNING FROM HIS CHIN DOWN HIS NECK.

THIS, IN MY OPINION, IS SOMETHING YOU ONLY GET

FROM SOMEBODY SCRATCHING YOUR NECK.

AND WHY WOULD SOMEBODY BE SCRATCHING YOUR NECK

TO THE POINT OF CAUSING A COUPLE OF DOZEN,

MAYBE MORE, PARALLEL SCARS?

THEY'RE GETTING STRANGLED TO DEATH.

THAT'S WHY.

THE OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURE THAT COULDN'T BE MISSED

WAS THE SIZE OF THIS GUY'S HANDS,

IF THERE WAS EVER A NATURAL-BORN STRANGLER,

IT WAS SAMUEL LITTLE.

HIS FINGERS WERE ABNORMALLY LONG AND STRONG-LOOKING.

HIS DEMEANOR WAS UNLIKE OTHER VIOLENT PEOPLE

I'VE SEEN IN THE COURTROOM.

HE WAS HUMBLE. HE WAS STOOPED.

HE SPOKE QUIETLY AND FIRMLY.

THERE WAS ONE POINT ONLY

THAT I COULD GET A RISE OUT OF HIM...

TALKING ABOUT HIM STRANGLING TONYA.

HE GREW INDIGNANT.

HE DIDN'T GET WHAT HE PAID FOR, HIS $20 WORTH,

AND HE FELT THAT HE WAS CHEATED.

AND HE SAID IN A LOUD TONE, "SHE WAS TRYING TO CHEAT ME,

AND THEN SHE ATTACKED ME, AND I HAD TO PUT MY HANDS

AROUND HER NECK TO GET HER OFF ME."

BETWEEN HIS WEAKENED PROSECUTION

AND THE DEFENSE'S STRONG SHOWING,

REMPEL KNOWS HIS CASE NOW HINGES ON HIS CLOSING ARGUMENT.

I CHARACTERIZED HIM AS MORE THAN A WOULD-BE MURDERER.

HE WAS A TORTURE-MURDERER.

THE CASE WENT OUT TO THE JURY.

THE JURY DIDN'T TAKE A LONG TIME,

AND THEY CAME BACK HUNG

NINE TO THREE FOR ACQUITTAL.

I WAS INCREDULOUS.

AS A LAST RESORT, REMPEL OFFERS UP A PLEA DEAL

HE HOPES WILL KEEP LITTLE OFF THE STREET AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.

IF HE WOULD PLEAD GUILTY TO TWO ASSAULTS

WITH INTENT TO COMMIT GREAT BODILY INJURY

AND GO TO PRISON ON THOSE CHARGES,

WE'D HAVE TO DISMISS THE OTHER CHARGES AGAINST HIM.

LITTLE TAKES THE DEAL

AND GETS A FOUR-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE.

AT THE SENTENCING HEARING,

I WAS RED-FACED AND BASICALLY SHOUTING,

"WELL, HE GETS OUT AGAIN, AND HE WILL GET OUT,

HE WILL CONTINUE KILLING."

AFTER SERVING JUST 30 MONTHS IN PRISON,

SAMUEL LITTLE WALKS FREE IN FEBRUARY 1987.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE WAS GONNA TURN UP.

HE PROBABLY WASN'T GONNA TRY TO KILL AGAIN IN SAN DIEGO,

BUT I KNEW HE'D GO SOMEWHERE AND DO IT AGAIN.

SOON AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON,

THE BODIES OF STRANGLED WOMEN START TURNING UP IN LOS ANGELES.

AND MORE THAN TWO DECADES LATER,

THAT DNA TAKEN IN SAN DIEGO

WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT SAMUEL LITTLE.

IN NOVEMBER 2012, DETECTIVES IN L.A.

ARE DESPERATELY UNCOVERING SAMUEL LITTLE'S MURDEROUS PAST

AND HIT PAY DIRT.

AS THEY WERE BUILDING THE CASE, THEY GOT A THIRD HIT ON DNA,

AND THAT WAS CAROL ALFORD.

41-YEAR-OLD CAROL ALFORD

IS FOUND STRANGLED IN JULY 1987,

JUST FIVE MONTHS AFTER LITTLE GETS OUT OF PRISON IN SAN DIEGO.

DNA FROM HER SHIRT IS MATCHED TO THE SUSPECT,

JUST AS IT IS WITH THE TWO VICTIMS

ALREADY LINKED TO LITTLE,

AUDREY NELSON AND GUADALUPE APODACA.

HIS DNA WAS ON ALL THREE OF THE VICTIMS.

THEY ALL DIED THE SAME WAY.

THE MANNER OF DEATH WAS THE SAME.

ALL THREE L.A. VICTIMS ARE ALSO FOUND STRANGLED

WITHIN THE VICINITY OF LITTLE'S APARTMENT AT THE TIME.

THE D.A. CAN NOW TRY HIM FOR MULTIPLE MURDERS,

AND THERE'S NO CHARGE, PER SAY, FOR SERIAL MURDER,

BUT THEY CAN CHARGE MULTIPLE MURDERS,

AND THEN THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED A SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE

AND ALLOWS THEM TO SEEK THE DEATH PENALTY.

IN ADDITION TO THE DNA EVIDENCE

LINKING LITTLE TO THE THREE MURDERS,

THE PROSECUTION ESTABLISHES A PATTERN OF SIMILAR CRIMES

OUTSIDE OF L.A.

HE HAD A FEW SURVIVORS,

AND THEY HAD DOCUMENTED THESE REALLY BRUTAL ASSAULTS

AND KIND OF REMARKABLE INSTANCES WHERE THESE WOMEN SURVIVED.

THERE WERE TWO IN SAN DIEGO, AND THEY FOUND THESE CASES

IN MISSISSIPPI WHERE THESE TWO PROSTITUTES

WHO HAD BEEN SEVERELY BEATEN.

WITH THOSE WITNESSES,

I THINK THEY HAD A REALLY STRONG CASE,

BETWEEN THAT AND THE DNA

AND JUST SORT OF BEING ABLE TO SHOW THAT PATTERN,

SEEING HOW THE BODIES WERE DUMPED THE SAME WAY AND THAT,

YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE OTHER SURVIVORS HAD SIMILAR SCENARIOS.

ON SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2014,

AFTER TWO WEEKS OF TESTIMONY,

74-YEAR-OLD SAMUEL LITTLE IS FOUND GUILTY OF THE MURDERS

OF CAROL ALFORD,

GUADALUPE APODACA,

AND AUDREY NELSON.

IT'S AN EMOTIONAL TIME FOR THE FAMILIES OF THE MURDERED WOMEN.

YOU KNOW, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE WORST PART,

NOT KNOWING, YOU KNOW, WHO DID IT.

I'VE HAD A GAPING HOLE IN MY HEART FOR 25 YEARS.

IT'S A VERY TOUGH TIME, BUT...

I'M GLAD IT'S OVER.

AFTER A LIFETIME OF SKIRTING JUSTICE,

HE'S SENTENCED TO THREE CONSECUTIVE LIFE TERMS.

HE CLAIMED THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE

THAT THEY HAD SUPPRESSED OR SOMETHING

THAT WAS GOING TO, YOU KNOW, CLEAR HIM EVENTUALLY.

THIS CONVICTION WAS BROUGHT ON BY LIES

AND LIARS COACHED BY LIARS.

WHEN THEY WHEELED HIM OUT OF COURT AFTER HE WAS CONVICTED,

HE HAD HIS HAND UP IN THE AIR IN DEFIANCE

AND MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE THROUGHOUT.

AS LITTLE FILES APPEAL AFTER APPEAL,

FBI CRIME ANALYST CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO

NEVER LOSES SIGHT OF HIM.

SHE REMAINS CONVINCED THAT HE'S RESPONSIBLE

FOR DENISE BROTHERS' 1994 MURDER IN ODESSA, TEXAS.

IT WAS ALWAYS ON MY MIND

AS ONE OF THE PARTICULARLY COMPELLING LEADS

THAT I HAD SENT OUT,

AND SO I WAS ALWAYS HOPING THAT SOMEDAY

WE'D BE ABLE TO DO MORE WITH IT.

IN 2018, SHE GETS HER CHANCE.

HER COLLEAGUE ANGELA WILLIAMSON GETS A CALL

FROM TEXAS RANGER JIM HOLLAND ASKING ABOUT SAMUEL LITTLE.

I LITERALLY LEANED BACK AND SAID,

"CHRISTIE, HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THIS GUY?"

KNOWING SHE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH JIM,

I CALL BACK, AND I SAY, "YEAH.

ASK HIM ABOUT THE DENISE BROTHERS HOMICIDE.

IT'S IN ODESSA... IT'S TEXAS. THAT'S HIS TERRITORY."

THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE SOME SORT OF NEXUS BACK TO TEXAS

FOR THE RANGERS TO BE INVOLVED.

YOU KNOW, THEY ARE A VERY SPECIALIZED UNIT

AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF SKILLS,

BUT THEY CAN'T JUST RUN AROUND THE COUNTRY DOING INTERVIEWS

ON BEHALF OF OTHER AGENCIES.

THERE HAS TO BE SOME...

SOME CONNECTION BACK TO TEXAS FOR THEM TO GO.

THE ODESSA CONNECTION TO HOLLAND

IS JUST THE LINK THE CRIME ANALYST NEEDS.

THE TEAM OF THREE... PALAZZOLO, WILLIAMSON, AND HOLLAND...

NOW HAVE A JOINT MISSION... TO GET LITTLE'S CONFESSION

FOR THE MURDER OF DENISE BROTHERS

AND POSSIBLY MANY MORE.

THE VICTIMS... THEIR VOICE WAS STOLEN,

SO THEY NEED SOMEBODY ELSE TO BE THEIR VOICE.

THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT GOT STARTED...

THE STARS ALIGNING AND EVERYONE KIND OF COMING TOGETHER.

THAT'S WHERE WE CAN TRACE THE ORIGIN BACK

TO THIS WHOLE INVESTIGATION INTO SAMUEL LITTLE.

THEIR PLAN... CONFRONT LITTLE IN PERSON.

HOLLAND, AN EXPERT IN INTERVIEWING PSYCHOPATHS,

WILL FACE OFF WITH THE KILLER.

THIS TIME, WE HAD SOMEBODY WHO WOULD BE ABLE

TO FOLLOW UP DIRECTLY WITH LITTLE

AND CONFRONT HIM ON THIS PARTICULAR CASE.

AND WE'LL KNOW THESE CASES

AND BE ABLE TO HELP GUIDE JIM WITH HIS QUESTIONS

TO HELP CORROBORATE ANYTHING THAT HE MIGHT SAY.

THE WAY JIM WORKS IS A LOT OF RESPECT

AND A LOT OF LETTING LITTLE TELL HIS NARRATIVE.

I ALWAYS JUST THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO WORK.

FOUR YEARS AFTER THE L.A. MURDER TRIAL,

THE TIMING IS RIGHT.

LITTLE... HE HAD NINE LIVES.

HE GOT OFF CHARGES. HE GOT ACQUITTED ON THINGS.

HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO FIGHT AND WIN AN APPEAL

ON THE LATEST CONVICTION.

SO HE WASN'T TALKING TO ANYONE.

BUT WHEN WE ALL CAME TOGETHER,

THOSE APPEALS HAD BEEN EXHAUSTED.

HE KNEW AND WE KNEW

THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE IN JAIL FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

THERE WAS NO MORE REASON NOT TO TALK ABOUT IT.

THE QUESTION IS, WILL HE?

THEN THE PLANNING STARTED.

TO ARM YOURSELF WITH AS MUCH INFORMATION IS CRITICAL

WHEN YOU GO IN FOR ONE OF THESE INTERVIEWS.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE SPENT THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS DOING,

IS JUST AS COMPLETE A PICTURE AS POSSIBLE.

IT'S A DEEPER DIVE

THAN PALAZZOLO'S FIRST GO-AROUND IN 2013.

NOW WE'RE TRYING TO LEARN MORE

ABOUT LITTLE AS A PERSON AND WHO HE WAS

SO THAT RANGER HOLLAND COULD HOPEFULLY TALK TO HIM.

LAPD PROVIDED US A LOT OF DOCUMENTATION,

WHICH CHRISTIE AND I SPENT A LOT OF TIME GOING THROUGH

SO WE COULD GIVE JIM PIECES OF INFORMATION

THAT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THE INTERVIEW...

YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE LITTLE LIKED TO BOX,

AND HE LIKED TO DRAW... HE LIKED TO PAINT.

HE'D DONE A MURAL IN A PRISON BEFOREHAND

INSIGHT INTO HIS LIFE.

SAMUEL LITTLE IS BORN IN 1940

AND GROWS UP IN LORAIN, OHIO.

LITTLE IS HIS MOTHER'S LAST NAME.

SOMETIMES, HE ALSO USES HIS DAD'S FAMILY NAME, McDOWELL.

HERE IS SOMEBODY WHO WAS BORN TO A VERY YOUNG MOM

WHO WAS UNABLE TO TAKE CARE OF HIM FROM A VERY EARLY AGE.

HE BEGINS TO HAVE PROBLEMS AT SCHOOL,

AND AS EARLY AS AGE 13,

IS STARTING TO GET INVOLVED IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

HE ENDED UP LIVING WITH HIS BIOLOGICAL MOTHER

FOR A LITTLE WHILE.

SHE DIED IN 1973,

AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THAT'S WHEN HE HIT THE ROAD

AND NEVER REALLY HAD A SOLID ADDRESS

FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME AFTER THAT.

LITTLE SOON MEETS ORELIA DORSEY,

WHO WILL LATER TESTIFY FOR HIM IN THE SAN DIEGO TRIAL.

ORELIA DORSEY WAS A MUCH OLDER WOMAN THAN HIM.

THEY MET IN A PRISON.

I THINK IT WAS IN OHIO.

SAM WAS ARRESTED FOR ARMED ROBBERY.

AND AFTER HE WAS RELEASED,

THEY TRAVELED TOGETHER FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.

SHE WOULD SHOPLIFT, AND THEN HE WOULD TURN AROUND

AND SELL IT TO PEOPLE ON THE STREET,

AND THAT'S HOW THEY MADE THEIR MONEY.

ORELIA SIDED WITH HIM UNTIL THE DAY SHE DIED.

"NO, HE'D NEVER DO THIS. HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT.

SAM'S A GOOD MAN,"

EVEN THOUGH HE BEAT THE HELL OUT OF HER.

HE MAY HAVE BEEN ATTACHED TO HER

TO THE EXTENT THAT HE COULD BE ATTACHED TO ANYBODY,

BUT A LOT OF IT WAS JUST TRANSACTIONAL...

HE'S WITH SOMEBODY

THAT'S GOING TO HELP HIM GET HIS NEEDS MET.

THE SHOPLIFTING BRINGS IN ENOUGH MONEY

FOR LITTLE TO BUY A SERIES OF CARS

HE USES TO CRISSCROSS THE COUNTRY.

IN SEARCH OF HIS PREY.

SO HOW DOES HE GET AWAY WITH IT FOR SO LONG?

IT STARTS WITH HIS M.O.

WHEN YOU HAVE MANUAL STRANGULATION,

IT'S OFTEN ONE OF THE HARDEST TO IDENTIFY,

ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF TIME

BETWEEN WHEN THE VICTIM WAS KILLED

AND WHEN THE BODY IS RECOVERED.

THEN, THERE'S LITTLE'S CHOICE OF VICTIMS,

A LOT OF HIS VICTIMS DID SEX WORK.

SOMETIMES THEY WERE RUNAWAYS, HITCHHIKERS,

JUST WOMEN WHO WERE HIGH RISK, THAT WERE VULNERABLE.

HE REALLY BELIEVED,

AND, UNFORTUNATELY,

THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME EVIDENCE TO BACK HIM UP

THAT, IF HE TARGETED THESE INDIVIDUALS,

LAW ENFORCEMENT ISN'T GOING TO BE AS CONCERNED ABOUT THEM.

ESPECIALLY IN THE 1980s AND '90s.

WE HAD THE CRACK EPIDEMIC GOING ON.

POLICE OFFICERS WERE STRETCHED SO THIN,

THEY WERE HAVING TO MAKE THESE DIFFICULT DECISIONS,

PLUS THE FACT THAT HE KNEW THE LEGAL SYSTEM...

HE'D BEEN INVOLVED IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM

SINCE HE WAS 13 YEARS OLD.

HE FOLLOWED A REAL PLAYBOOK,

AND IT WORKED TIME AND TIME AGAIN.

HE MOVED FREQUENTLY. HE USED DIFFERENT NAMES.

HE TRAVELED WITH AN ALIBI WITNESS.

HE LEFT NO WEAPONS.

HE PICKED VICTIMS WHO WOULDN'T BE MISSED.

INCLUDING,

AS PALAZZOLO AND WILLIAMSON DISCOVER,

A SERIES OF 1982 MURDERS

THAT HORRIFY POLICE ACROSS TWO STATES.

WE'VE HAD OTHER PEOPLE KILL PROSTITUTES,

SO IT'S NOT JUST THAT

WE'RE LOOKING FOR A VIOLENT INDIVIDUAL HERE.

I DON'T THINK WE EVER THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO FIND HIM.

CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO AND ANGELA WILLIAMSON

ARE LOOKING INTO TWO MURDERS

POLICE SUSPECT SAMUEL LITTLE COMMITTED IN 1982.

MINDY HAD BEEN WORKING A STREETCORNER

WITH A FEW OTHERS DOWN IN PASCAGOULA,

WHICH HAS A BIG SHIPYARD THERE.

SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF THAT KIND OF CLIENTELE.

AND HER FRIENDS SAW HER GET INTO THE CAR WITH THIS GUY,

AND THEY NEVER SAW HER AGAIN.

22-YEAR-OLD MELINDA LaPREE

COMES FROM SMALL-TOWN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

HER FAMILY CALLS HER "MINDY."

SHE WAS A VERY HAPPY KID... SHE REALLY WAS.

SHE WAS THE LIGHT OF MY MOTHER'S LIFE,

AND MY MOTHER JUST ADORED HER.

IN 1967,

MINDY'S MOTHER HAS COMPLICATIONS DELIVERING HER FIFTH CHILD.

WE JUST LOST HER OVERNIGHT.

SHE GAVE BIRTH AND DIED 12 HOURS LATER.

SO IT'S NOT LIKE IT WAS A LONG, DRAWN-OUT THING

THAT YOU KIND OF PREPARE YOURSELF FOR.

WE WERE ALL DEVASTATED.

DAD WAS ABSOLUTELY SHATTERED.

HE WASN'T A VERY ACTIVE PARENT, ANYWAY,

SO BEING WIDOWED AT 45 OR 44 YEARS OLD

WITH FIVE CHILDREN...

PRETTY MUCH HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO.

BIG SISTER PAT STEPS UP TO THE PLATE.

SHE DECIDED SHE WANTED TO TRY TO PLAY THE GUITAR,

SO I SHOWED HER A FEW THINGS.

AND I ONLY SHOWED HER A FEW THINGS,

AND SHE TOOK OFF WITH THAT.

WE FOUND HER A USED FLUTE.

SHE BASICALLY TAUGHT HERSELF

ANYTHING SHE WANTED TO...

THE FLUTE AND THE GUITAR AND THE PIANO.

SHE COULD LISTEN TO A PIECE AND THEN PLAY IT BACK.

GENIUS... THAT'S WHAT IT IS.

IT REALLY IS... IT'S GENIUS.

BUT THEIR DAD DOESN'T APPRECIATE MINDY'S GIFTS,

AND HAS A HAIR-TRIGGER TEMPER.

SHE TALKED BACK TO HIM,

AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY WOULD SET HIM OFF IS TALKING BACK.

HIS FAVORITE WAS

THE BACK OF HIS HAND TO THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD

KIND OF THING,

AND HE HAD A BIG HAND AND A BIG MARINE CORPS RING ON IT.

HE BEAT HER AND DRAGGED HER AROUND BY HER HAIR

AND THAT SORT OF THING.

THE OLDER MINDY GETS, THE MORE SHE ACTS OUT.

SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE,

DATING OLDER BOYS, DRINKING AND DRUGGING.

BY THE TIME SHE WAS 12...

SHE WAS PRETTY MUCH ACTIVELY ADDICTED.

WHEN SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL,

SHE WAS INVOLVED IN SEX AND DRUGS,

BOTH USING AND DEALING.

I THINK MINDY WAS TRYING TO ESCAPE THE SITUATION

AT HOME WITH DAD, WITH HAVING NO MOM

BEING, YOU KNOW, A BIG HOLE IN HER HEART.

EVEN SO, MINDY GETS ALL A's IN SCHOOL

AND GRADUATES A YEAR EARLY.

SHE LEAVES NEW HAMPSHIRE IN THE REARVIEW

AND HEADS SOUTH, FINDING WORK WHEREVER SHE CAN.

SHE WAS A BOUNCER IN A BAR.

PRETTY HEADSTRONG, STRONG-WILLED PERSON.

I MEAN, SHE WAS TALKING TO ME FROM A BAR ONE TIME

AND HAD TO STEP AWAY

SO SHE COULD SMACK A GUY AND TAKE HIS GUN AWAY FROM HIM.

AND I SAID, "MINDY, YOU KNOW, COME ON. LET'S BE REAL HERE.

WHY DON'T YOU JUST COME ON BACK?"

AND I JUST REMEMBER THINKING,

"YOU KNOW, WHERE IS... WHEN'S THIS GOING TO END?"

BY 1982, MINDY LANDS IN PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI,

WITH A GUY NAMED BILL.

IT ISN'T A PRETTY LIFE.

I KNEW THAT SHE WAS DOING...

SELLING DRUGS,

THAT SHE WAS A SEX WORKER.

YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO FACE

THAT THIS IS WHAT YOUR SISTER IS DOING.

THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS

THAT PEOPLE WIND UP ENGAGING IN PROSTITUTION.

I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY IN THE WORLD

WHO'S WOKEN UP WHEN THEY'RE 7 YEARS OLD

AND SAID, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP?

A PROSTITUTE."

IN LATE AUGUST 1982,

MINDY GIVES BIRTH TO A SON NAMED WILL.

SHE CALLED TO SAY SHE'D HAD A BABY BOY.

AND I SAID, "CAN I ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME...

WILL YOU PLEASE COME HOME?

BRING YOUR SON. COME HOME."

AND SHE SAID, "NO, NO. I'M FINE. WE'RE GOOD.

BILL AND I ARE GOOD. IT'S ALL GOOD."

AND THAT WAS THE END OF THE CONVERSATION.

"I'LL TALK TO YOU SOON. BYE." CLICK.

THEY'LL NEVER SPEAK AGAIN.

MY FATHER HAD BEEN CALLED BY BILL,

SAYING THAT MINDY WAS MISSING.

IT WAS AFTER LABOR DAY.

I MEAN, SHE GAVE BIRTH TO WILL ON THE 25th OF AUGUST,

SO IT WASN'T MUCH LONG... YOU KNOW,

A COUPLE OF WEEKS MAYBE...

AND THEN... SHE WAS, YOU KNOW...

BILL REPORTED HER MISSING.

OCTOBER 4th, YOU HAD AN INDIVIDUAL

THAT WAS KEEPING UP WITH THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CEMETERY.

AND HE SMELLED OF A VERY BAD ODOR.

AND AS HE'S MOWING THE GRASS, HE COMES ACROSS A BODY.

THE BODY WAS FOUND

ON A BED OF OLD FLOWERS THAT HAD BEEN DISCARDED.

SHE WAS WHAT WE CALL "DECOMPED"...

THE DECOMPOSITION HAD SET IN... QUITE BAD.

I MEAN, YOU COULDN'T TELL SHE'S MALE OR FEMALE.

BASED ON AN OLD LEG FRACTURE,

SHE'S I.D.'d AS MINDY LaPREE.

SHE WAS JUST DUMPED IN A DITCH...

AND...

...LEFT TO ROT FOR THE THREE OR FOUR WEEKS.

THAT'S VERY DIFF... VERY, VERY HARD TO THINK ABOUT.

I THINK I WAS HOLDING ON TO HOPE.

I WAS BEING A POLLYANNA.

I WAS LIKE, "OH, YEAH, NO,

SHE DECIDED TO GO TO COLORADO OR CALIFORNIA,

OR SHE'S JUST OUT THERE, DOING HER THING."

AND SO IT WAS A HUGE SHOCK.

AS IS THE CAUSE OF DEATH.

THE HYOID BONE WAS DISLODGED...

IT WAS NOT BROKEN, BUT IT WAS DISLODGED.

THEY SAID, "THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEBODY STRANGLED."

AS THE INVESTIGATION KICKS OFF,

A WITNESS CLAIMS SHE SAW MINDY GETTING INTO A JOHN'S CAR.

AND SHE GIVES A DESCRIPTION OF THE VEHICLE...

SMALL, A STATION WAGON WITH WOOD-GRAIN SIDES

WITH AN ALABAMA PLATE.

SHE ALSO GIVES A DESCRIPTION OF A BLACK MALE

AND THEN HE WAS STOCKY BUILD.

WITHOUT A NAME, IT'S A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.

I DON'T THINK WE EVER THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO FIND HIM,

BUT A VERY SHARP INVESTIGATOR HEARS THE CALL COME OUT,

WHERE SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ARRESTED FOR SHOPLIFTING.

AND VEHICLE THAT WERE IN WAS A WOOD-GRAIN BROWN STATION WAGON

WITH ALABAMA TAGS.

THEY ARRESTED SAM LITTLE,

WHO ENDS UP BEING OUR SUSPECT.

AND WE HAD THE VEHICLE.

THAT LEADS INVESTIGATORS TO ANOTHER MURDER,

THIS ONE IN FLORIDA.

ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1982,

A WOMAN IS FOUND DEAD

IN A HAYFIELD OUTSIDE OF GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.

THE BODY WAS NUDE.

HER CLOTHES WERE DEPOSITED NEXT TO THE BODY.

THE CLOTHES HAD HUMAN FECES ON THEM,

AND THE BODY HAD SOME OF THE HUMAN FECES ON IT.

ON HER NECK, THERE WAS BRUISING AND GOUGES

THAT LOOKED LIKE... THAT COULD HAVE BEEN FINGERNAIL MARKS.

BASED ON THE MARKS ON HER NECK,

WE ASSUMED THAT SHE WAS PROBABLY STRANGLED.

AN OFFICER RECOGNIZES THE VICTIM.

HER NAME IS PATRICIA MOUNT.

THEY HAD LISTED HER I.Q. OF AROUND 40.

SHE HAD A HISTORY OF, YOU KNOW,

TALKING TO ANYBODY THAT WOULD BUY HER A DRINK OR BEER

AND HANGING AROUND WITH THEM.

JUST THE NIGHT BEFORE,

WITNESSES SAW HER WITH A STRANGER AT A LOCAL BAR.

PATRICIA MOUNT'S... LEFT WITH HIM.

THEY SAID SHE WAS INTOXICATED.

ALL THE WITNESSES WE TALKED TO AT THE BAR THAT NIGHT

DESCRIBED THE SAME INDIVIDUAL

AND THE SAME CAR THAT HE GOT INTO WITH PATRICIA MOUNT...

A BLACK MALE, YOU KNOW, MEDIUM HEIGHTH, HEAVY-SET,

HAD FACIAL HAIR,

AND HE WAS DRIVING A SMALL STATION WAGON

WITH WOOD-GRAIN SIDES AND LOUD MUFFLER.

WE ISSUED A BOLO... BE ON THE LOOKOUT...

FOR THE AREA LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

1st OF DECEMBER, WE GET A CALL FROM MISSISSIPPI,

FROM PASCAGOULA...

BASICALLY SAYS THAT, "WE HAVE A SUSPECT IN CUSTODY

THAT'S DRIVING A VEHICLE THAT LOOKS LIKE Y'ALL'S BOLO."

THEY GAVE US HIS NAME AS SAM McDOWELL,

WHICH IS A NAME THAT SAM LITTLE, WE'VE DISCOVERED, USED OFTEN.

THE FLORIDA INVESTIGATORS

DRIVE TO PASCAGOULA,

WHERE LITTLE'S BEING HELD.

WE WANTED HIM TO MAKE ANY KIND OF STATEMENT THAT HE WOULD MAKE.

HE WAS A HARDENED CRIMINAL.

HE'D BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD MANY TIMES.

HIS ATTITUDE IS SMUGNESS.

HE'S LIKE, "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU GOT.

I DIDN'T DO IT."

HE WAS JUST AS COLD-HEARTED AS COULD BE.

IN DECEMBER 1982,

DETECTIVES WORKING THE PATRICIA MOUNT MURDER CASE

DRIVE FROM FLORIDA TO MISSISSIPPI

TO QUESTION SAMUEL LITTLE.

WE START TALKING TO HIM.

I TOLD HIM, "WELL, WE HAVE YOU IN GAINESVILLE SEPTEMBER 11th,"

SO NOW I WENT THERE.

I SAID, "YEAH, YOU TALKED TO ALL THESE PEOPLE

ABOUT THE FOOTBALL GAME."

"WELL, MAYBE. MAYBE I WAS THERE."

AND ON AND ON WITH THIS KIND OF THING.

HE FINALLY ADMITTED THAT HE WAS AT A BAR,

THAT HE TALKED TO A COUPLE OF PEOPLE THERE,

BUT HE DIDN'T LEAVE WITH ANYBODY.

HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY EMOTIONS, REGRETS.

HE WAS JUST...

"EVIL" IS PROBABLY THE BEST WORD TO DESCRIBE.

YOU COULD JUST TELL HE WAS JUST A CRUEL INDIVIDUAL.

HE'D BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD MANY A TIMES.

I MEAN, YOU CAN TELL IT JUST FROM HIS ATTITUDE

AND THE WAY HE ANSWERED QUESTIONS.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE STANDOUTS FROM HIS BACKGROUND,

OF JUST HOW MANY TIMES HE HAD DEALT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT...

THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, MEANT

THAT HE WAS LEARNING HOW TO GET AWAY WITH HIS CRIMES.

ORELIA DORSEY, LITTLE'S GIRLFRIEND,

IS HOLED UP IN A MOTEL WHEN DETECTIVES TRACK HER DOWN.

SHE WAS OBVIOUSLY A LITTLE HOSTILE

TO OUR JUST BEING THERE.

SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

I SAID, "ORELIA, YOU'VE BEEN ARRESTED WITH HIM

ALL THESE TIMES YOU'VE BEEN WITH HIM."

SHE SAID, "WELL, YEAH, WE DO THAT.

BUT HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE.

HE WOULD NEVER HURT ANYBODY."

BUT ORELIA ISN'T LITTLE'S ONLY COMPANION.

THEY HAD PICKED UP A THIRD PARTNER,

AN ARKANSAS MAN NAMED DANNY.

HE'S CHATTIER THAN ORELIA.

HE STATED THAT THE NIGHT PATRICIA MOUNT WENT MISSING,

SAM WAS NOT AT THE HOTEL THAT THEY WERE STAYING AT.

HE LEFT EARLY AND CAME IN THE NEXT MORNING AT ABOUT DAYLIGHT.

HE ALSO STATED THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT SMELLED AWFUL BAD

IN THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAR.

APPARENTLY, WHEN HE WAS STRANGLING HER, SHE DEFECATED.

DANNY WAS AFRAID OF SAM,

AFRAID THAT SAM WOULD BEAT HIM

OR THROW HIM OUT OF THE HOTEL ROOM THEY HAD RENTED.

SO HE JUST LET IT PASS.

PEOPLE MAKE THIS UNSPOKEN AGREEMENT THAT,

"I MIGHT KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON,

I MIGHT THINK I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON,

BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ASK,

BECAUSE IF I DO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME.

WHILE MACK AND WEEKS BUILD THEIR CASE,

THE PASCAGOULA P.D.'s HITS THE SKIDS.

A NEW WITNESS SWEARS

SHE SAW LITTLE DROP MINDY OFF AT HER HOTEL

HOURS BEFORE SHE WAS KILLED.

SO THAT KIND OF TAKES SAM LITTLE AWAY FROM BEING A SUSPECT.

THE CASE WAS SUBMITTED TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SAYS,

"YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ON THE MURDER."

MINDY'S FAMILY IS DEVASTATED.

HER BROTHER HAD THOUGHT THAT

WE DIDN'T WANT TO PROSECUTE THE CASE

BECAUSE SHE WAS A PROSTITUTE, AND TO HIM, IT'S HIS SISTER.

YOU KNOW, SHE'S NOT JUST ANOTHER LOWLIFE

THAT GOT PICKED OFF BY A SERIAL KILLER.

SHE WAS A GOOD PERSON AND JUST VERY, VERY TROUBLED

AND REALLY NOT FULLY IN CONTROL OF HOW SHE LIVED HER LIFE.

WE RELEASED SAMUEL LITTLE TO ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA.

PATRICIA MOUNT'S CASE LOOKED TO BE

THE CASE THAT WE WERE GONNA GET HIM CONVICTED ON.

IN THE SPRING OF 1983,

THE PATRICIA MOUNT MURDER TRIAL IS ABOUT TO KICK OFF.

THAT'S WHAT WE KNEW... WE HAD A GOOD CASE.

WE HAD THE EYEWITNESSES IDENTIFYING HER

AS LEAVING THE BAR LATE SATURDAY NIGHT,

AND HER BODY WAS FOUND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.

THE CAR WAS IDENTIFIED,

AND THEY IDENTIFIED SAM AS THE PERSON SHE LEFT WITH.

THEY'VE ALSO DISCOVERED

A STRAND OF LITTLE'S HAIR ON CLOTHING FOUND WITH THE BODY.

BASED ON OUR EVIDENCE...

THE HAIR EVIDENCE, THE EYEWITNESS EVIDENCE...

WE FELT WE HAD A REASONABLY GOOD CHANCE

OF CONVICTING SAM McDOWELL.

EVERYTHING MATCHES. WE GOT THE FECES. WE GOT DANNY.

AND ORELIA DORSEY CLEANS THAT OUT OF THE CAR THE NEXT MORNING.

HE HAD TOLD DANNY HE HATED THE WOMEN.

HE HATED THESE WOMEN.

BUT RIGHT BEFORE THE TRIAL IS SET TO START,

DANNY DISAPPEARS.

HE WAS CRUCIAL TO THE ALACHUA COUNTY CASE,

AND THEY COULDN'T FIND HIM.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE DANNY WHEN IT COMES TRIAL TIME,

AND THAT HURT US TREMENDOUSLY.

WE HAD THE TRIAL POSTPONED TWICE, TRYING TO FIND DANNY,

AND THEN THEY MADE US GO TO TRIAL.

LITTLE'S DEFENSE PUTS ON A STRONG CASE,

EVEN CASTING DOUBT ON THAT CRITICAL STRAND OF HAIR.

SAM'S ATTORNEY, PUBLIC DEFENDER,

MADE THE ASSERTION THAT

SAM HAD DANCED WITH HER THAT NIGHT IN THE BAR,

AND THAT'S HOW THE HAIR WAS TRANSFERRED.

THEY DISCOUNTED THAT ALL THESE PEOPLE SAW THEM TOGETHER,

LEAVE THE BAR, AND THAT SHE'S DEAD...

12 HOURS, WE KNOW...

'CAUSE SHE'S 9:00 THE NEXT MORNING.

IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR THE PROSECUTION.

IT TOOK THE JURY ALL OF 30 MINUTES

TO FIND HIM NOT GUILTY.

IF THEY HAD ANY COMPASSION FOR THE VICTIM,

I THINK THEY WOULD HAVE LOOKED AT IT VERY CLOSELY

AND TOOK MORE TIME.

WITHIN TWO HOURS, LITTLE IS BACK ON THE STREETS.

I UNDERSTOOD IT. I JUST... I WAS JUST...

I KNEW WHAT SAM WAS.

HE WAS AN EVIL KILLER.

35 YEARS LATER...

JUSTICE FOR THE 1982 VICTIMS AND DENISE BROTHERS

MAY BE IN SIGHT

IF THE TEAM CAN GET LITTLE TO TALK.

SAMUEL LITTLE NEVER CONFESSED TO ANYTHING.

HE MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE

FOR EVERY HOMICIDE HE WAS EVER CHARGED WITH.

IF HE DOES START TO TALK, WE'LL BE READY.

MAY OF 2018...

TIME TO CONFRONT SAMUEL LITTLE.

THE TEAM'S MAIN GOAL...

GETTING A CONFESSION

FOR THE 1994 MURDER OF DENISE BROTHERS

IN ODESSA, TEXAS.

ODESSA HAD NO FORENSIC EVIDENCE IN THE CASE,

AND SO, WITHOUT LITTLE'S CONFESSION,

WITHOUT HIM BEING ABLE TO CORROBORATE ADDITIONAL DETAILS

IN THE CASE,

THERE WAS REALLY NOTHING LEFT TO GO ON.

WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE WERE WALKING INTO.

OUR FIRST FOCUS WAS GONNA BE THAT ODESSA CASE.

BUT ANYTHING HE WAS GOING TO SAY, WE WOULD TAKE IT.

THEY MAKE SURE THEY'RE CATCHING LITTLE OFF GUARD.

WE HADN'T TOLD PRETTY MUCH ANYONE

OTHER THAN THE PRISON THAT WE WERE COMING OUT THERE.

WE WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT HE HAD NO ACCESS TO TV,

NO ACCESS TO INTERNET FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS

HE HAD NO VISITORS IN YEARS, DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE COMING.

WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO MEET WITH LAPD

TO GO OVER EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED.

ANY LITTLE INSIGHT WE COULD LEARN...

ASPECTS OF TALKING TO LITTLE THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US.

AND THEY'RE THE ONES WHO TOLD US HE REALLY LIKES PEANUT M&M'S.

SO BEFORE WE WENT IN THERE, WE MADE SURE

JIM GOT THIS GIANT PACK OF PEANUT M&M'S READY TO GO.

WE KNEW THAT HE DIDN'T LIKE LAPD AND PROBABLY WAS ANGRY AT THEM

FOR ACTUALLY TYING HIM BACK TO THESE CASES.

AND THEY TOLD US, "FEEL FREE TO USE THAT."

MAY 17, 2018.

THE TEAM ARRIVES AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON

ON THE EDGE OF THE MOJAVE DESERT.

JIM HAD SET UP AN INTERVIEW ROOM WITH LITTLE,

WHICH WAS VERY STERILE, AS THEY ALWAYS ARE.

AND WE'RE IN AN ADJOINING ROOM WITH AN AUDIO FEED.

WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW LITTLE WOULD REACT

IF HE KNEW THAT ANGELA AND I WERE THERE...

YOU KNOW, HOW HE WOULD REACT TO US BEING FEMALES...

WE WEREN'T SURE, SO WE JUST THOUGHT,

"STAY OUT OF SIGHT. THAT'S PROBABLY OUR BEST BET."

WE HAD CASE FILES IN FRONT OF US.

WE HAD PREPARED BASICALLY A BINDER THIS THICK

OF CASES WE THOUGHT COULD BE LITTLE'S CASES

IN CASE HE STARTED TALKING.

WHEN IT WAS TIME,

THEY WHEELED LITTLE INTO THE ROOM WITH JIM.

ANGELA AND I ARE JUST HUDDLED

AROUND THIS ONE SPEAKER ON A DESK,

TRYING TO LISTEN

TO THE INTERVIEW GOING ON IN THE NEXT ROOM.

FOR THE FIRST HALF AN HOUR, ALL LITTLE WANTED TO DO

IS JUST TALK ABOUT HOW LAPD HAD GIVEN HIM A RAW DEAL

AND HOW MUCH HE HATED THEM.

HE JUST ASSUMED THAT JIM WAS WITH LAPD.

IT TOOK HIM A HALF-HOUR

TO EVEN CALM DOWN ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE

THAT THIS WAS SOMEBODY NEW THAT HE WAS TALKING TO.

WE'RE NOT GETTING ANYTHING.

THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA SHUT US DOWN.

I THINK CHRISTIE WAS MORE SKEPTICAL

THAT HE'D SAY ANYTHING

BECAUSE HE'D BEEN SO RELUCTANT TO TALK TO ANYONE.

I MEAN, THIS WAS A DEFIANT MAN.

BUT I'D KNOWN JIM LONGER,

AND I'D SEEN THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HE HAD GOT TO TALK TO HIM.

AND I JUST WAS LIKE, "IF ANYONE CAN DO IT, HE CAN DO IT."

I GO INTO INTERVIEWS CONFIDENT,

BUT AFTER WALKING INTO THE DOOR

AND AFTER THE INITIAL CONVERSATION,

I STARTED, YOU KNOW, SECOND-GUESSING MYSELF...

"IS THIS GOING TO WORK OUT? IS THIS GOING TO GO ANYWHERE?"

SO IT WAS UNKNOWN.

TEXAS RANGER JIM HOLLAND

DRAWS ON ALL HIS EXPERIENCE AS AN INTERROGATOR

AS HE WORKS TO EARN SAM LITTLE'S TRUST.

JIM UNDERSTOOD

THAT LITTLE DIDN'T LIKE TO BE CALLED A RAPIST,

AND THAT IS WHAT HE'D BEEN BRANDED FROM HIS L.A. CASES.

WHAT HE WAS DOING WITH THESE VICTIMS...

HE WAS KILLING THEM. HE WAS STRANGLING THEM.

ONCE JIM ESTABLISHED THAT, LITTLE WAS FINE TALKING.

JIM WASN'T THREATENING HIM

OR YELLING AT HIM, "YOU KILLED THIS WOMAN,

AND I KNOW IT, AND I CAN PROVE IT!"

IT WAS JUST, "TELL ME ABOUT YOU,"

JUST TRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HIM AS A PERSON

AND JUST KIND OF EASE INTO THE CASES.

JIM IS VERY SKILLED IN TALKING TO THESE INDIVIDUALS.

HE JUST GOES IN AND TALKS, SHOOTS THE BREEZE.

IT'S NOT AN INTERROGATION.

IT'S NOT EVEN REALLY AN INTERVIEW.

IT'S A CHAT.

YEAH?

HOLLAND PROMISES

HE'LL WORK ON GETTING THE DEATH PENALTY WAIVED

IF LITTLE COMES CLEAN.

THEN, LITTLE BRINGS UP

THE CASE HOLLAND'S BEEN STEERING HIM TOWARDS ALL DAY.

AND I LOOK OVER AT ANGELA, AND WE BOTH SIT UP.

AND IT'S LIKE, "HE'S TALKING ABOUT ODESSA,"

AND WE GRAB OUR FILES, AND WE JUST START TAKING NOTES.

OKAY.

OKAY.

IT'S CLEAR THAT LITTLE

IS TALKING ABOUT DENISE BROTHERS.

AND CHRISTIE AND I HAD

THE CASE FILE IN FRONT OF US,

AND HE STARTS DESCRIBING THE VICTIM,

WHAT SHE WAS WEARING, CRIME SCENE,

AND IT'S VERBATIM WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US.

WE SAID A FEW UNLADYLIKE WORDS,

AND WE KNEW THAT WE HAD SOMETHING.

RIGHT.

HE JUST STARTED WITH A SIMPLE,

"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ODESSA?"

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, LITTLE STARTED TALKING ABOUT

THE WOMAN HE HAD KILLED IN ODESSA, TEXAS.

DENISE BROTHERS...

SHE'S KIND OF THE ONE THAT BROKE THIS ALL OPEN.

THEN, LITTLE SURPRISINGLY MOVES ON

TO ANOTHER VICTIM.

FIRST, IT'S TWO CASES... THEN, IT'S THREE.

FROM THERE, IT'S A CASE IN ALABAMA.

YEAH.

SO WE HAD PRETTY GOOD INFORMATION ON NUMEROUS VICTIMS

BY THE END OF THE DAY ONE.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.

WHILE LITTLE WAS SITTING

IN THE INTERVIEW ROOM WITH JIM,

THE GUARDS WENT BACK AND SEARCHED HIS CELL,

AND THEY DISCOVERED THAT HE HAD

ALL OF THESE DRAWINGS ON HIS WALL

THAT HE HAD DONE OF MOSTLY FAMOUS PEOPLE...

SOME SINGERS, MOVIE STARS... THINGS LIKE THAT.

HE COULD ACTUALLY DRAW FACES. HE COULD MAKE THEM RECOGNIZABLE.

HE COULD GIVE THEM UNIQUE, DISTINCT FEATURES.

AND WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW,

WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CAPITALIZE ON THIS.

MM.

A NEW TACK THAT WILL SOON UNEARTH

MANY MORE BURIED SECRETS.

AT THE END OF THE DAY,

LITTLE TOOK JIM ON WHAT I CALL A TOUR OF THE U.S.

HE BASICALLY WOULD JUST GIVE HIM

THE NAME OF A CITY AND A NUMBER

TO INDICATE HOW MANY PEOPLE HE HAD KILLED IN THAT CITY.

MM.

ONE...

AND WHEN WE WROTE THEM ALL DOWN AND ADDED THEM ALL UP,

IT CAME OUT TO OVER 90 VICTIMS

THAT HE WAS CLAIMING RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING.

COULD THAT BE POSSIBLE?

IF TRUE, THAT WOULD MAKE LITTLE THE MOST PROLIFIC SERIAL KILLER

IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

AND IT COULD MEAN CLOSURE FOR THE FAMILIES

OF SO MANY MISSING AND MURDERED VICTIMS.

WE WERE EXCITED. WE WERE ANXIOUS.

WE WERE LIKE, "IS HE REALLY TRUTHFUL?"

COULD HE REALLY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THESE VICTIMS?

WE WANTED TO KEEP HIM TALKING.

HE'S ELDERLY. HE HAD HEALTH ISSUES.

WE KNEW THAT HE WOULD TAKE THOSE SECRETS WITH HIM

AND THAT WE WON'T GET TO GET THEM

AND TO GET ANSWERS FOR THOSE WOMEN.

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