Original subtitles

He said...

I want my brother back,

and he's never coming home.

To think that he died out there by himself...

This ranks up there

with one of the most brutal homicides I've ever seen.

He seemed unfazed by being in a police department,

especially when he's there to be spoken to about a murder.

At this point, we've got a manhunt on our hands.

He matches

the type of person we're looking for,

and he has blood on his pants.

10-4, responding 10-18.

Farmington, new Mexico, police

dispatch officer Steven boitano

to the scene --

a local park on the edge of town.

I activated my body camera.

I wasn't really prepared for what I was responding to

and what I would see in the coming moments.

As I'm walking through the park,

I notice that there are kids playing on swings...

...playing on the monkey bars,

families gathering.

So, to the normal person,

it looks like just another day at the park.

So, kids are wanting to follow me,

so I ask them to stay put

because I don't want them to get hurt.

I'm concerned about their safety.

I approach the 911 caller. She's frantic.

She points me in the direction of a body.

I noticed there was... Obviously lots of blood,

but puncture wounds to the sternum,

as well as other parts of the body,

and it was clear that we had a possible murder.

This is my first time seeing a dead body

that up close and personal,

and, really, not to be vulgar here,

but that fresh.

Although I had these different emotions

going on inside of me,

I understood that there's a task --

there are numerous tasks that I needed to perform

so I kind of started creating this checklist.

Looking for answers about what may have happened,

officer boitano turns to the woman who called 911.

She tells him she saw two boys leaving the area

moments before she discovered the body.

Okay.

She was able to provide a few descriptions

of some people that were in the area,

but she didn't actually witness the crime occur.

I'd only been on the force for about six months

at this time.

And as much training as you go through, you --

nothing can really prepare you for the real thing.

There's kind of this sense of shock, this panic on,

how do you take care of this scene?

Officer boitano begins

by cordoning off the area around the body.

It's a major crime scene,

and you really don't want to mess anything up.

There's preserving the scene. There's preserving the evidence.

They're setting up crime scene tape.

I have this feeling of -- of --

for the lack of a better term, feeling alone.

Detectives arrive and begin processing the scene.

Detective Kenny Smith takes the lead.

So, as I arrived on scene, obviously, we're in a park.

There's heavy foot traffic within there.

We're outside. We're exposed to the elements.

It's a heavily populated area,

and the park is in the residential area.

So you have everybody coming out to you

that lives around the park, wanting to know what happened.

The medical examiner inspects the victim

to determine cause of death.

The wound we noticed first was the wound to the back.

Then, when we proceeded to move the victim,

we identified two stab wounds to his lower left arm,

as well as a large stab wound to the upper left arm,

and one -- when we moved the shirt again --

one to the upper chest.

But at the scene, there was no sharp objects

that could have created those injuries to the victim.

On my time on the force, I've seen multiple homicides.

This ranks up there

with one of the most brutal that I've ever seen,

just based off of the amount of blood

and, you know, the injuries that our victim had.

You could tell that it was an aggressive fight

between him and the aggressor.

The items that we photographed and collected from the scene

were a baseball cap and a cellphone,

which were in the vicinity of the victim, in that area.

And there were also footwear impressions,

as well as bicycle-tire impressions,

and there is also a stick with a "y" on one end

and a fairly large rock.

Steven and his siblings

pretty much grew up in an very isolated area.

They lived -- we call it the heart of the navajo nation.

We grew up

on the navajo reservation in tsaile.

We lived there until I was about 12 years old.

Steven lived with me off and on,

and he would always come in -- whenever he came in the door,

and he'd hug me...

And he would...

And always say, "I love you, grandma."

He took it very hard when his mother died.

You would tell me about his mom and how much he loved her

and how much he missed her.

We had our pictures taken one year --

I think it was Christmas --

and everybody came to my place,

and everybody wanted their picture taken and --

but he waited, and he was the very last one,

and he said, "it's my turn."

He says, "this is my grandma."

He says, "I'm her baby I'm her grandson."

So he was -- he was my -- he was my grandson.

I just loved him.

For a man that was single

and didn't have kids,

the way he took care of me and all of my brother's kids

was admirable.

He was -- he was a big part of their lives.

He was always playing with them.

Okay.

It was just funny.

All his brother's kids just loved Steven.

Steven was really funny.

I never would be laughing -- he'd be laughing.

When they told me...

I guess they had found out from the --

from the police officers how he had been killed.

You know, to think that

he died out there by himself...

...and none of US were there with him --

I think that that really bothers the kids

that they weren't there with him.

Back at the park,

investigators continue examining the scene.

So...

That's where the blood trail goes.

There we go.

So that blood trail kind of opens up this pandora's box

of other questions that we have.

Is it a suspect's blood? Is it another victim's blood?

We don't know.

Okay.

Okay.

When we discovered the blood trail,

our suspect had at least a few hours of head start on US.

We've got an individual who's been out there --

he's stabbed somebody. He's got a knife with him.

And we got information that our suspect could have gone

that direction that the blood trail was leading

and could be anywhere.

So now, at this point, we've got a manhunt on our hands.

Police in Farmington, new Mexico,

have found the body of 28-year-old Steven begay.

Now investigators have discovered a blood trail

leading away from the victim.

Following the trail,

they discover a man by the side of the road.

Yeah. Yeah.

Officers search the man for identification

and discover his name is Jules.

We have a male subject who is in proximity to the scene.

He was heavily intoxicated.

We didn't know why he was there or what his involvement was.

All units at perimeter,

break down and advance toward the park.

Yeah.

He matches the type of person we're looking for

as in clothing description.

He's emotionally reactive, and he has blood on his pants.

The first thing that I thought was,

"this this very well could be our suspect."

So, while speaking with Jules, we've got the name of Trevor --

however, we don't have a last name.

It's hard to say, is this guy just giving US a different name,

making US run down a different rabbit hole

on something that doesn't actually exist?

Police detain Jules

and transport him to the station for questioning.

He is extremely agitated.

We can't... Until you calm down.

He is just rubbing his pants on the ground.

And I noticed the blood there.

And I'm afraid he's trying to rub the blood off.

And at this point, I'm like,

"why is he trying to clean off his pants?"

Alright, bro.

Alright. Alright.

Alright, alright, alright.

Alright, alright.

Alright!

Going to jail!

So, at that point we make the decision

that we cannot interview him

because he is not in any state to talk to US.

Because he had been fighting with officers,

we have a resisting charge, a battery on a police officer,

so and book him on the current charges we have.

Detectives collect blood evidence from Jules' pants

and send it off for DNA testing.

It's not going to be anything

that's going to be helpful to US right at that second.

We don't have a magical machine that we can stick it into

and pull up a name right at that point in time.

So while we're waiting for this DNA evidence

to return from the labs,

it's imperative that we follow up on other leads.

While investigators continue their work,

the begay family gathers to Bury their beloved Steven.

I selected not to put him in a coffin.

So we wrapped him in navajo blankets,

and we buried him in the traditional way.

We bath them ourselves. We get them ready.

We dress them.

And that's --

that's what I did for my mother,

and that's what I did for Steven.

I knew it was him.

But I couldn't recognize him.

My kids still ask for him every day.

So, later on that night,

we received a phone call from a female

who stated that her stepson

was possibly involved in a stabbing.

Farmington police

dispatch s.W.A.T. Officers to the scene,

worried the suspect may be armed

and afraid of a potential hostage situation there.

Officers draw their weapons and surround the house.

Down!

Police working the Steven begay murder

in Farmington, new Mexico,

are surrounding a suspect

they believe may have been involved in the stabbing.

But, to their surprise, he surrenders without incident.

We've located trustin.

Officers have him in custody.

The next step at that point is to bring him back to the station

and see if he's willing to talk with US.

Hey.

Okay.

Prior to me speaking with trustin,

he seem unfazed by being in a police department,

especially when he's there to be spoken to about a murder.

The way he acted, I was like,

"man, maybe this guy isn't involved."

Every interview that you do, the first thing you want to do

is just try to build rapport with that person.

I'm sorry.

The suspect's last name, begay,

is the same as the victim's --

however, detectives determine

there is no relation between them.

The last name of begay is very common.

It's almost like Smith,

especially within the city limits of Farmington.

While I was reading trustin his juvenile Miranda rights...

...he advised at that point

that he would like to have his father present

during any questioning.

So, after trustin's father gets in the room,

I stayed outside,

observed them on the closed circuit television.

At that point, the name Trevor came back up.

Trustin said that Trevor was gonna be our suspect.

This was a huge red flag for US

just because of the sheer fact

that Trevor's name had come up in the past.

It's come up twice now.

It's definitely not a coincidence,

especially with trustin saying

that he was the one who committed the murder.

Detectives wonder if this is the same Trevor

their other suspect, Jules, claimed was responsible

for the blood on his clothing at the park.

So all these things are kind of adding up.

Now that we had Trevor's name,

the main thing that we wanted to do

was find Trevor.

Trevor was a person of interest at that point.

Based on the description trustin provides,

detectives identify a man named Trevor in town...

And bring him in for questioning.

Those officers were actually able to find Trevor

relatively quickly.

They actually transported Trevor and his father

to the police department,

where I met them and ended up interviewing him.

Every time I do an interview, I go into the room

and just have a conversation with the person, initially,

try to get to know them a little bit,

give them some information about me

in hopes that we can build some type of rapport.

Detective Solomon

continues to press Trevor for answers,

but Trevor remains unfazed.

Trevor wasn't responding

to my questioning at all.

People that can talk about a subject like that,

knowing information about it,

are more cold-blooded, and they're harder to interview.

Okay.

Um.

As the interview went on,

I found it to be very frustrating

with his constant denials.

He denied knowing trustin.

It didn't appear as if he was taking me seriously

or this investigation seriously at all.

He appeared to be playing dumb,

saying that he doesn't know anything about the incident.

At this point. It's a little unnerving

because maybe he's more involved than what we think he is.

Unable to get Trevor to crack,

detectives decide to take a more unconventional approach.

They lead Trevor out of the interview room

and purposely walk him down the hallway past trustin.

Our main concern was to let them know

that we're talking with both people

to try to maybe use them against each other.

The hope behind that was that they would know the jig is up,

that we had both of them,

and that we were gonna interview them

and that we would find the truth.

Detectives next return to trustin,

waiting inside the interview room.

No.

After I brought trustin back into the room,

we realized that we had the wrong Trevor.

Detectives hunting for Steven begay's killer

in Farmington, new Mexico,

have two men in custody

and, after a case of mistaken identity,

are searching for a third man named Trevor,

leaving Steven's family wondering

if the case will ever be solved.

We talked to the cops. We sat there for a long time.

Myself and my siblings... Sat there,

and we cried and...

Were looking around,

trying to figure out what was going on.

Before detectives can locate Trevor,

they receive a visit

from a school friend of trustin begay's.

She tells detectives that trustin showed her a video

placing him at the scene of the murder.

And then...

Okay.

So, at this point,

we get the information that there's possibly a video.

And, holy smokes, that was --

that was a huge breakthrough at that point.

The likelihood that there would be a video

is, you know, few and far between.

Very seldom do we get videos, especially involving homicides.

It was very important for US to find that video.

Essentially, at this point, that's gonna be our smoking gun.

Narrator before ending the interview,

trustin school friend

gives detectives another big break --

a lead on where they can find the person named Trevor

they've been looking for.

Hello.

Back at the station, detectives question Trevor.

Trevor gives US information that he's at the park with trustin.

Trustin's been drinking.

Trustin seems to be agitated easily,

and he's even involved in an altercation

with another individual, Jules,

just prior to the incident happening.

Jules runs into Steven begay.

Words are kind of exchanged.

And Steven, at that point --

you know, they -- they start exchanging words

between trustin and Steven across the park.

Okay.

Okay.

So, with Trevor telling US

that trustin is the one who stabbed Steven,

it was extremely imperative for US to find this video...

To determine who had actually committed the crime.

At this point we have both trustin and Trevor's phones,

and a search is done on both phones

to determine where the video is.

While all this is unfolding,

we try to speak with trustin a little bit longer.

Trustin's dad has a medical emergency

and has to leave the room.

He allows the interview to continue without him,

so detectives use the opportunity

to take a more aggressive approach.

While interviewing trustin,

another detective came in the room.

Trustin wasn't giving US a whole lot of information

at this point,

but we knew, in the back of our heads,

that we had the video,

and it was going to show what happened.

After conducting the search warrants on both phones,

we discovered that the video was on trustin begay's phone,

and on that video was something just horrific

to sit down and watch.

Detectives investigating

the murder of Steven begay

have recovered a video they believe shows the killing

after locating it on the phone of suspect trustin begay,

we also discovered

that the person doing the filming was Trevor.

In the interview,

Trevor told detectives that, prior to the stabbing,

trustin was in a fight with Jules.

Trevor tells me,

after the altercation with the other individual,

that that other individual, Jules, runs into Steven begay.

The cellphone video appears to start at this point,

with Steven trying to intimidate trustin,

who had just hurt Jules.

Steven engages trustin by standing up for Jules,

but the video shows

trustin raises the stakes to dangerous levels.

So, at approximately the 120 Mark

in the cellphone footage, off to the side of the frame,

there's an attack between the victim and the suspect.

He now has a red bloodstain on the left side of his shirt.

See the victim stumble and fall.

The suspect then, like, almost excitedly

rushes towards where the victim is located on the ground.

Trustin chases him down

after he knows that he's injured him.

He chases him down and continues to stab him.

We knew that we had the video.

But detectives want more

to strengthen their case against him.

The fact that he and this other detective,

you know, had it out for each other there,

you know, they're kind of an argument,

and now this other detective is out of the room.

At that point,

after several hours in the interrogation room,

trustin finally cracks.

I felt a huge sigh of relief.

We'd been in there for numerous hours,

and it was just grueling.

I would say, after doing this whole interview

and him being so determined that he was not, you know,

the person who had committed the murder,

I would say that, you know,

he had no remorse for what he had done,

almost to the point where he didn't care

what had happened to this individual.

Trustin begay is arrested

and charged with the murder of Steven begay.

After a one-week trial,

he is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Due to his age at the time of the incident,

he is tried under new Mexico's children's code

and receives two years in prison.

To me, the irony that

trustin was attempting to act like a man, act older,

try to be something I don't think he really was,

and then go to court, and he's tried as a juvenile

doesn't quite fit

and wasn't appropriate for his actions at the scene.

In exchange for his testimony against trustin,

police decide not to bring charges against Trevor.

This case was very memorable to me.

You know, I dealt with the family day in and day out,

you know, late nights, over the weekends,

and...i almost feel like they're part of my family now.

There were times when we went to hearings

where he would turn around, and he would smirk at US.

It just...

It's just like having been slapped across the face.

I think we all feel like two years is not enough.

There's no justice.

I want my brother back, and he's never coming home.

My nieces and my nephews... Want him to come home,

and he's never coming home.

I just thought, you know, "who does that?

Who -- who -- who does that to somebody?"

I...

I can't come to terms with that.

It's...

I know that he was really sad after his mom died.

And now, you know, what gives me comfort

is I know that they're together somewhere.

He's back with his mother.

That gives me a lot of comfort.