Original subtitles

Who does something like that?

You know, it's just like an --

an animal.

This was definitely not a normal missing-persons call.

Albuquerque police promptly dispatch

officer tavish barnhill to the scene,

a house in the northwest corner of the city.

I immediately respond to the call,

go straight to the house.

Outside Marilyn gandert's house,

he is greeted by the 911 caller, Harry gandert.

Usually when we get a missing-persons call,

we typically find the person right away

during that call for service.

I went and spoke to Harry about what was going on

so I could kind of get a little bit more detail

as far as if Marilyn does this quite often

or if she's never done this before,

what's normal for her, what's not normal for her.

Alright.

Harry really did seem concerned about what was going on.

She was a very, very good person.

She was a perfect sister,

and she would do anything for anybody.

She would always call back, always.

And she didn't call back that day.

I mean, I figured maybe she could have lost the phone

or something like that,

but she would have found a way to contact me.

Something was definitely wrong.

While officer barnhill and Harry speak in the driveway...

...a woman approaches from the street.

She introduces herself as Nancy Robinson,

Marilyn's neighbor and close friend.

Marilyn's a homebody.

Marilyn's not one for road trips.

Marilyn would have never left her dogs.

This instance, where there's two separate people

telling the same story made it pretty serious to me

that something really possibly did happen.

I'm gonna knock on the door at this point

and see if any doors are,

you know, broken into or unlocked or something

that could be kind of weird in the backyard.

Officer barnhill cautiously approaches the back

of the house with Nancy in tow.

When I got to the side of the house,

there was a door that led to the garage.

It was locked.

I looked through some windows.

There was blinds covering them,

so I couldn't even really see inside.

And I actually at that point made my way

to the rear of the house,

where the sliding-glass door was open a few feet.

I was pretty concerned

'cause the door was wide-open like that

and the dogs had been barking at me.

There was a lot of red flags that were happening.

This was definitely not a normal missing-persons call.

Nancy was so concerned

she actually took a step or two inside of the house.

I had to draw her back.

You could walk in, and somebody could be armed with a weapon.

There could be an intruder still actively in there

trying to steal some stuff.

There's a lot of safety reasons

that I'm not gonna go in there first by myself.

That's why I'm calling for another officer.

Once backup arrives,

officer barnhill and the other responding officer

approach the open, sliding door.

We walk up to the back door.

We UN-holster our firearms.

The officers clear the house,

finding it empty, with no trace of Marilyn.

I'm trying to think best-case scenario at this point.

I saw a lot of pill bottles,

and I saw a lot of hospital kind of paperwork.

I hope so, man.

Then, the officers find something strange.

Yeah...

Marilyn's house and truck keys

are hanging from her front doorknob.

I don't leave the house without my wallet,

my keys, my cellphone.

I mean, her truck is out there, yes,

but house keys would be on there?

Something was just not right in my head

and in my gut telling me that something really did happen.

Back outside, Marilyn's friend, Nancy,

tells officers that Marilyn also owns the nearby rental property

where her former tenants had just moved out.

Nancy said she drove by that residence

looking for Marilyn.

Officers drive to the rental residence.

They discover the garage door open

and a pickup truck parked in the driveway.

Hi.

Officers meet Alissa bickett,

who had been renting the house from her mother-in-law, Marilyn,

and is the widow of Marilyn's son,

who passed away in 2014.

Also living at the house

was Alissa's son and Marilyn's grandson Drake

and Annie rael, a friend of Alissa's.

Alissa states that she made an arrangement with Marilyn

that she was going to pick up the keys from her

on Saturday morning, move out the rest of her stuff,

and she would return the keys back to Marilyn on sunday.

She's adamant that there was some text messages

between her and Marilyn about picking up the keys.

Officers do notice the last text

that was sent from Marilyn to Alissa was on Friday,

which was two days prior to them being at the residence.

Alissa's being cooperative, answering their questions,

and even seemed concerned that yeah,

she hadn't, you know, talked to her that day either.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary.

We obviously need more information.

Who has last seen her?

Who has last spoken to her?

Are we gonna find her okay?

So, as time goes on and the longer you go

without finding her,

the leads get smaller and smaller and smaller.

With no further leads

in the disappearance of Marilyn gandert,

Albuquerque detectives figure the odds of finding her

are not in their favor.

The more time passes that this person is gone,

it could also mean that more time passes

that they could be injured, harmed, or pass away.

And with each passing hour,

Marilyn's loved ones worry she will never be found.

I didn't want to think of the worst,

and I'm afraid to get to the point

something very bad happened to her,

and I'm afraid to go there.

I just don't want to think of that at all.

Marilyn wouldn't go anywhere alone like that,

nor would she just take off without telling somebody.

Sunday morning, I texted, "you need to get back to me,

because I'm starting to really worry."

On January 27, our patrol had received a call

of a possible dead person on a mattress,

but it had been burnt in west rio rancho.

We get quite a few reports of unusual things

and a lot of reports of possible bodies

in the middle of the mesa.

So we sent two deputies out as our normal procedures

is to investigate if this was the actual remains of somebody.

Deputies report to the dirt road where they meet the 911 caller

at the site of the supposed body.

When our deputies arrived, they were unsure themselves

if this was the actual human remains.

Once I arrived on scene, as I approached,

I could definitely tell just by the odors

and my years of experience,

that this was definitely the remains of a human being.

It had ligatures around the extremities.

Appeared the possibly of a head

that had been wrapped in plastic and tied off.

The size was extremely small.

We thought it could possibly be a teenager or a child.

The people that found them are always naturally

gonna be your first people of interest.

Coming upon remains in the middle of an isolated area,

and you have nothing to go by at the scene,

that's probably the toughest case we run into.

Deputies found the charred body and remains

of what appears to be a box spring of a mattress.

The body is undergoing an autopsy

and has not yet been identified.

That evening, we put out that we had discovered these remains

in hoping that we would get tips from the public

as far as missing persons.

We probably received 50 phone calls,

but the call from Nancy was very specific.

Nancy was very concerned that her friend,

who had been reported missing, was the deceased person.

It would fit our timeline and gave me hope

that this was actually the person that we had found.

After autopsy, I contacted the office

of the medical investigator

and provided them with the dentist of Ms. Gandert.

They were able to confirm that the decedent

on the mattress was Marilyn gandert.

Back in Albuquerque, detectives inform Marilyn's brother, Harry,

that his beloved sister is dead.

I've had to tell family members before

that their loved ones are dead,

and in the close to 19 1/2 years

that I've been a police officer, but it doesn't get any easier.

It was devastating.

I felt like there was something more I should do, but couldn't.

She was my sister.

You know, I wish I could have been with her or something.

It's too late. It's gone.

Never hear her voice.

I mean, she was just a wonderful person

and a very wonderful sister,

and I miss her every day of my life.

She was the type of person who would do anything.

When people were having, you know, problems,

she would help them.

The detectives question Harry

about Marilyn's daily life in search of clues

to who would have done this to her.

And Alissa never mentioned to the original officers

that she had been evicted.

That's a huge red flag.

Marilyn gandert has gone from missing person

to murder victim,

delivering a shock to those who knew her.

It takes so much time to wrap your head around

that kind of self-serving, depraved behavior.

Who does something like that? Why?

You know, it's just like an --

an animal.

The next day, detectives speak with Nancy

and learn that she, too, has suspicions

about Marilyn's former tenant, Alissa bickett,

who police have just learned had been evicted.

After learning that from Nancy, huge red flags go up,

because Alissa is telling US

that Marilyn willingly gave her the keys.

Nancy truly believed there was absolutely no way,

100% she would not give Alissa the keys

when she was not there.

Clearly, at that point,

we want to find out who's telling US the truth.

We want to find out how does Alissa have these keys

without Marilyn's permission.

Detectives dig into Alissa's and her 20-year-old son,

Drake's, backgrounds

and discover Drake has a criminal record.

Our understanding was Drake was staying at a hotel

'cause they didn't have a permanent place to live

at this point.

Detectives question Drake at the hotel.

But we wanted to see what his side of the story is,

why he hasn't seen his grandma in a couple days.

Is he gonna make up a story like his mom's?

We need to see who's telling the truth

and not telling the truth.

Drake was very nonchalant about things.

He didn't know what was going on with his grandma.

He's, you know, yawning.

He's just waking up.

He doesn't even seem to care.

Then, detectives break the news that Marilyn is dead.

When Drake was informed that his grandmother was dead

and that she had been murdered, we expect, you know,

maybe some tears or some shock or some sort of emotion.

He just kind of glazed over.

He didn't seem to care at all.

Without that emotion, you wonder

is this something he's already processed

'cause he's known for a couple days that she's dead,

so he processed it the day she died?

Or was he surprised about it?

Suspicious of both Drake and Alissa,

detectives have kept an eye on Marilyn's rental property

and now see activity at what should be an empty house.

Because Alissa is at the house,

investigators obtain a search warrant,

concerned she may be destroying evidence.

When Alissa answers the door, she didn't want to come out.

She was a little upset, and she becomes standoffish.

Albuquerque police prepare to enter.

Clear.

Officers work their way through the house, clearing every room.

At that point, we didn't see anything that stood out

until one of the detectives just happened to notice

a very small drop of blood in the entryway hallway

next to a carpet cleaner.

So huge red flags are going up at that point.

Albuquerque police are searching

Marilyn gandert's rental property,

where they fear evicted tenant Alissa bickett

may be destroying evidence.

It's then that another person pulls up to the scene.

It's Alissa's roommate, Annie rael.

The police approach her.

Officers press her to see what Annie thinks of Marilyn.

Annie was not too happy that we were back at the residence.

She started making Marilyn look like the bad guy,

that Marilyn didn't like her

and Marilyn was blaming her for the eviction.

She's acting like, "we're just trying to move our stuff.

I don't know why you guys are bothering me.

What is this all about?"

And she's starting to get a little bit more standoffish.

While officers question Annie,

detectives continue to interview Alissa outside.

We still need to collect some information from her.

We need to get another story.

So, as Alissa's telling US,

"I saw Marilyn on Saturday morning."

We know that she's lying 'cause Marilyn was found

deceased in the early hours of Saturday morning

prior to Alissa stating she picked up the keys.

So we asked field officers to transport

both Annie and Alissa to the main police station

so we can conduct some formal interviews.

Detectives also arrest Drake back at the hotel

and bring him to the station...

...where detective juarez questions him.

When Drake states that, you know,

"my grandma wanted me to kill her.

She had a death wish," I was, like, deep down inside,

I was like, "yes, I finally got it,"

but then I also knew that wasn't the truth.

I knew that Marilyn didn't ask Drake to kill her.

I knew that Marilyn didn't have a death wish.

Drake shuts down, and he asks for an attorney,

and it almost is like a defeat again for me,

because I know there's more to this story,

and I can't get it anymore from Drake.

Marilyn's grandson Drake

has just admitted to detectives that he killed her,

but claims it was at her behest.

I knew in my heart I arrested the right people,

but what bothered me was I did not know

their exact role in the homicide.

I wanted to know exactly who did what that evening.

Detectives next turn to Alissa to get her version of events,

but she spins an entirely different story,

blaming someone else for Marilyn's murder --

her roommate, Annie rael.

Alissa said she kind of freaks out

and she needs to get out of there,

so she leaves Marilyn in the house with Annie.

She states when she comes back

she noticed that Annie is cleaning a knife.

It didn't quite ring true to me, because first of all,

she's putting Drake out of the story.

Annie really has no reason to stab Marilyn

just out of the blue.

They beat her up. She's unconscious.

Why would Annie just stab Marilyn?

Detective juarez next presses Alissa to explain

how they disposed of Marilyn's body.

But detectives aren't convinced Alissa is telling the truth.

They turn next to roommate Annie for her side of the story.

She surprises them

by claiming the murder was in fact premeditated.

Both Annie and Alissa admit

that Annie was the first one to lay hands on Marilyn,

but Alissa never mentions that this was planned

and that she actually spoke about it

the day of the homicide.

We realized that Annie and Alissa's stories

are very similar.

The primary difference is Alissa

never admits to it being preplanned,

and Alissa never admits to Drake being present.

Annie is adamant that Drake's actually the one

who stabbed Marilyn in the neck and in the throat.

I do believe that she's being more truthful.

I think that Alissa, being a mom,

is trying to protect her son

from any involvement in this case.

We believe that all three of these individuals

did beat Marilyn,

did kick Marilyn, punched Marilyn, choked Marilyn.

They hit her with a souvenir bat.

They wrapped plastic around her neck.

They attempted to choke her to death

and eventually stabbed her to death.

They load Marilyn's dead body into a vehicle

and drive Marilyn's body into the rio rancho area...

...and watch Alissa pour gasoline on her...

...and set her on fire.

And as they drove away, they could see her body

burning in the rearview mirror.

All three individuals --

Annie rael, Alissa bickett and Drake bickett --

were all charged and pled guilty

to the murder of Marilyn gandert.

Alissa is sentenced to 30 years in prison

while her son Drake receives 26 years

for the murder of Marilyn gandert.

For her willingness to testify against Alissa and Drake,

Annie receives a reduced sentence of 12 years.

I think ultimately what happened on that Friday

was they begged Marilyn to allow them to stay there,

and Marilyn was not having it anymore.

She was fed up. She was done.

I think that Alissa felt

that she was entitled to live in that house,

that she was owed something,

because Marilyn was at one point her mother-in-law.

So Alissa, in her mind, felt like,

"if we get rid of Marilyn,

we don't have any worries anymore."

I think ultimately, the ringleader is Alissa,

but in this whole thing,

the victim is Marilyn and Marilyn's family.

Her grandson, you know, her daughter-in-law --

that doesn't make sense at all.

Family members -- you know, you don't expect them

to do things like that.

That's the most shocking part is that people that you know well

can do the most heinous things.

She cared about people and others,

and me, I kind of isolated myself.

She would be the only person I would pretty much talk to.

I'm not gonna be able to share anything with her anymore.

You know, sometimes I wish I could see something or spirit

or feel that she's right there.

That's what I could do now, is to see her

as she was when she was alive.

No?

And she uses it for coffee? Yeah.

Come on. When you put hot liquid in it, the candles come on.

That'd be neat. -It's very cute.

I'm going to miss everything about her.

I miss Marilyn a lot, and I'm not the only one.

There's lots of US out here.