Original subtitles

Hey, beautiful. -Hi.

In the throes of young love...

It was like an instant-connection type thing.

...emotions can run so hot...

Go away!

Jessica!

I hate you.

Literally, I was afraid for her.

...and it's all too easy to get in too deep

with no way out.

It's straight out of a horror movie.

Get away from me!

Nestled between the cityscapes

of Columbus and Springfield,

Madison county, Ohio,

retains a decidedly more down-home feel.

Madison county is a farming community.

It's a very rural area.

While we do have several villages

and a city in the county, primarily it's agriculture.

You have less traffic, more darkness,

fewer homes, and so forth.

20 miles from Madison county,

15-year-old Jessica keen is just settling in

to her sophomore year of high school.

The pretty, popular cheerleader is already considered

one of her school's most likely to succeed.

Jessica was 13 years old when we moved to Columbus,

where my parents lived.

I had gotten a job there and put her in school.

I was concerned switching schools.

But she adapted to everything so easily.

She made friends right away.

Okay, whoever invented pop quizzes sucks.

Yep.

Jessica would read one chapter of a book

and they'd give her a quiz on it and she'd ace it.

She had a 4.0 average.

Honestly, those last two questions?

I don't know if I passed.

She wanted to go to college.

She wanted to be a zoologist.

I hate you. You're so smart.

And so her grades were very important

so she could get scholarships.

I actually study.

I know you study, but you make it look so easy.

Jessica was good at a lot of things.

She was good at cheerleading, gymnastics.

She was vibrant.

I'm going to the library after practice.

Do you want to come? I should...

But?

But...

Ooh! Don't look now.

Jeremy Reeves is totally checking you out.

Hey.

Stop.

Jessica was beautiful.

The boys were always in the background.

I don't think she made it a priority.

I mean, she probably had crushes like most girls did,

but she didn't always pursue it or chase after it.

I'll see you at lunch.

It is taco Tuesday.

Yum...

On the weekends, Jessica spends her time

like a lot of teenage girls --

shopping and hanging out with friends at the local mall.

All I'm saying is, if you're gonna have a show

about high school, don't cast 30-year-olds.

Andrea looks like my mom.

What's his face is cute, though.

Dylan?

Totally.

I wish we lived in Beverly Hills.

Me too. It would be so nice.

Hey, niky.

Hey, Dane. -How you been?

Good. How are you?

Pretty good. Better now.

Is this seat free?

Sure. You know Jessica, right?

Hey. I'm Shawn.

Jessica. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Shawn was a senior, and she was a sophomore.

He was a football player.

I like your necklace. Thanks.

My cheerleading coach gave one to all of US on the team.

That's where I've seen you before.

At the games.

You excited for homecoming next weekend?

Yeah. We're learning a bunch of new routines,

so it should be fun.

Okay. Are you going?

Well, I'm playing in it, so, yeah, I'll be there.

But honestly?

I'd go regardless just to see you.

Shawn was very cute.

He had a good personality.

He knew how to make her laugh and smile and...

He made her feel good about herself.

Hey, I can get you another one. -You sure?

Yeah. Wait right here.

I'll be right back. Thanks.

What are you looking at?

Nothing.

You could say, like, an instant-connection type thing.

He was so sweet, and they just clicked.

Hey, what's so funny?

Wouldn't you like to know?

Yeah?

Wow. Here you go.

Thanks.

Yeah, no problem.

When Shawn and Jessica begin dating,

suddenly school has some serious competition

for Jessica's attention.

Okay, everyone. Now turn to page 52.

She fell for him pretty fast.

That's all she talked about,

and her letters and writing and doodling

and putting Shawn's name and "Jessica loves Shawn"

and, you know, things like that all the time,

so I think she was head over heels for him.

Jessica.

Jessica.

Ms. Keen?

Sorry.

52.

Can you repeat the question, please?

I'd see on her notebook she'd have "Shawn" written 100 times,

and I really didn't think much of it.

I thought, you know, it's a puppy love type of thing.

At that age, they're sort of private.

But just weeks after the two first met,

it's clear that Jessica's feelings for Shawn are serious.

See you in biology.

Hey, beautiful. -Hi.

Shawn became the center of her universe.

Just the whole excitement of it and the butterflies.

How are you? -I'm good. How are you?

I'm good. What's up?

I think he really was her first love,

and he just really meant something to her.

I've got practice later,

but I was thinking we could catch a movie?

What do you think?

Why wait till later? What do you mean?

Let's go now. Come on.

Shawn had that bad-boy image,

but he was still a good guy, had a good heart.

My friend's waiting up the block.

He'll drive US.

I don't think school was such a priority for him.

He just did whatever he wanted to do.

Now? But what about school?

What about school?

Come on, you're the smartest person I know.

I know you want to hang out.

She had a good head on her shoulders.

Come on, let's spend time together, just me and you.

She, you know, never wanted to skip school

with the rest of US and things like that.

It'll be fun, I promise. Come on.

And then things just changed.

Come on. What do you think?

Okay, fine.

Let's go. That's my girl.

Come on.

Over the next few months,

Jessica slips further and further away

from the straight-laced teen she once was.

All the while, she is convinced her behavior is going unnoticed.

Geez, mom. You scared me.

I scared you?

Jessica, I was worried sick about you.

Where have you been?

You're taking too much time away

from your studies and your school

and you don't seem as interested in your cheerleading

and your other activities that you've always loved to do.

And I, you know,

was trying to let her know that I was concerned.

It's not a big deal.

Honey, this is a school night.

You've worked so hard, and now you're gonna throw it all away.

How are you gonna get a scholarship

if your grades keep falling?

I know what I'm doing. Just back off!

Jessica, honey...

Maybe I should've been even a little bit harder on her,

but yet, I didn't want to push the issue

'cause I always believe if you push them away,

they're gonna go farther away.

Despite her mother's concerns,

Jessica is determined to stand by her man.

It's like everything she says is negative.

I mean, she's your mom.

Moms worry.

It's their job.

I understand her point, though.

Jessica and I talked a lot about the problems with her mom.

Sometimes I couldn't understand

why Jessica would get so upset with her mom,

because to me it felt like she had a mom who cared,

versus some of US out there

whose parents just didn't seem like they really cared.

What do you mean?

But you know, at 15, she just wanted to live her life.

She knew what was best for her,

like every other teenage girl out there.

It's just...

Then suddenly, Shawn's bad behavior catches up with him

after he's caught repeatedly ditching school.

Shawn had his own battles.

He had his own personal issues.

Shawn just stopped coming to school.

So that's I think where a lot of the turmoil began.

Later that day,

Jessica is confronted by consequences of her own.

What are you gonna do now?

Yeah. Yeah.

Of course. I'm always here for you.

You know that, right?

Hold on.

I'm on the phone.

We need to talk.

Give me 10 minutes. Now.

Her school called me,

and I had found out she had skipped school,

her grades had dropped, she quit cheerleading.

I didn't even know it. I was taken back.

Sorry. I'm gonna have to call you back.

Love you too.

Bye.

I know.

Know what?

Your principal told me you've been skipping school.

I'm sorry, but enough is enough.

You can't see Shawn anymore.

The more I asked her to not see him and be with him,

the more she wanted to be.

And this is when her rebellions came in.

What? Are you kidding me?

I should've done this a long time ago.

You can't do this!

Yes, I can.

It was just forbidden love with Jessica and Shawn,

and it was really sad it had to be that way,

but her mom was doing what she thought was right at the time.

And it's hard for a teenager to understand that.

I hate you!

-Jessica -- -go away!

Jessica!

Jessica!

I didn't know how to react.

Literally, I was afraid for her.

Jessica!

She wanted to be with him, no matter what.

Go away!

After months of fighting over

Jessica's relationship with her boyfriend Shawn,

her mother, Rebecca, decides something's got to give.

By that time, it was almost a love/hate situation

between US.

It seemed like we were arguing all the time.

We couldn't agree on anything.

I spoke with a school counselor and said,

"can you recommend anything?"

They offered some counseling sessions

at the huckleberry house.

Huckleberry house is a teen crisis center

located in the inner-city of Columbus.

There were a lot of young people there.

All of which, you know, had some sort of issues

that they were receiving counseling for.

I think it was just, like, the last resort.

Her mom didn't know what to do with her.

Jessica didn't know how to handle things with her mom.

They were at each other's throats a lot, so...

I think just the whole separation

and, you know, some time.

Her mom probably thought

that that was a good place for her to be,

that they might be able to help her,

and, you know, kind of get her back on track.

Hey, newbie. I'm your neighbor.

Hey. I'm Jessica.

Michelle....

You sure you're in the right place?

What do you mean?

It's just, you don't really look like a troublemaker,

you know what I mean?

Let me guess.

Your parents don't like your boyfriend?

How did you know?

I've kinda been here so many times I know it all.

But there's a group session in 10.

Some of US are going to get ice cream afterwards.

Are you in?

Yeah. Sure.

Okay. Cool. See you downstairs.

See ya.

I think for Jessica, being at the huckleberry house

was a big transition.

When I talked to her, it wasn't something

that she liked to talk to about

or was happy about being there or anything like that,

but I think there was just so much hostility

between her and her mom,

she felt that's where she needed to be at the time.

Together, Jessica and her mom

work to rebuild their relationship.

I really like that counselor.

She's very...

Chill?

Yes. Chill.

Yeah, I like her, too.

She actually was there almost two weeks.

We were getting along.

The counselor said she's doing better.

She'd been working on her grades,

and trying to get back into some of the school activities again.

I'm really proud of you, honey.

I know this was a big decision,

but thank you for giving it a chance.

I can't wait to have you home.

We made plans for her to come home the next day.

She was excited about, and I was feeling really good about it.

It was, like, good for me too.

I had calmed down some.

I wasn't so angry with her anymore.

But going home

isn't the only thing on Jessica's mind.

Hello?

Hey. It's me.

Hey. What's up?

Actually, I just wanted to let you know

I'm coming home tomorrow.

I miss you.

So, what does this mean?

I don't know. It just...

It just feels like things are different now.

What are you saying?

Listen...

It's just getting old, you know?

Always being blamed for all your problems.

Now look, Jess, you know I love you.

I just...

I just don't think I can do it anymore.

No, d-- don't say that, Shawn.

We can figure this out.

I think she just, you know,

didn't know what to think at the time.

You know, she didn't know

whether they were gonna stay together,

whether they were gonna break up.

You know, she really loved him.

He was her first love.

You know, it probably scared her and, you know,

upset her, of course.

Look, I got to go.

I'm meeting some of the guys at the mall, and then...

And then we're going to that party.

I'll meet you there. When?

I don't know, like...

20 minutes.

Please just give a chance, okay?

That's what prompted her to leave

and then to go catch the bus.

Well, well, if it isn't our soon-to-be graduate.

You know I'm a graduate, too?

Four times and counting.

I'm about to go grab some smokes.

You want to join? No, thanks.

Suit yourself. But, hey.

There's normally cake when it's someone's last night,

so you might want to hurry back.

Actually, scratch that.

I'm pretty sure it's a kind from a box, so...

As night falls,

there's still no sign of the bus,

and Jessica is growing more anxious by the minute.

With all the thoughts that she had of wanting

to get to Shawn...

That was where her mind was.

Just probably wanting to hurry up and get there.

Hey. You okay?

While Jessica was at the bus stop,

she was approached by an individual in a car.

Have you seen the bus?

I heard there was a lot of delays throughout the city.

Where you headed?

The mall.

Down Broadway?

I'm headed that way.

I'd be more than happy to give you a lift.

When Jessica and I hung out,

we didn't get in the car with anybody

unless we actually knew them.

Really?

Yeah. Hop in.

I think it was just such an emotional time

and everything was overwhelming and...

'Cause I know she was trying to find a way

to get to Shawn to see him.

She's just thinking, "hey, this will get me to Shawn faster."

Thank you. Thank you so much.

No problem.

Meanwhile, Shawn's growing tired

of waiting for Jessica.

I think Shawn was trying to keep somewhat of a distance

because he didn't want to cause problems

with Jessica and Rebecca.

And I know that was hard on him.

Man, you comin' or what?

Yeah, man. I'm comin'.

Half an hour later, Jessica's ride

comes to an unexpected stop.

She accepted that ride thinking she was gonna go to --

be dropped off at the westland mall.

At some point in time, Ms. Keen recognized

that they weren't going where they should've been going.

I got to grab something out of the trunk real quick.

Just give me a minute.

At that age, you sometimes think

you're a little bit more invincible

and that bad things aren't gonna happen to you.

She undoubtedly had no idea that she was in the danger

that she was in.

For Jessica keen,

what started out as a friendly favor

has suddenly turned into a terrifying nightmare.

Imagine yourself being picked up,

thinking that you're gonna go to a shopping mall,

and you're taken more than 30 minutes

away to a rural section of Madison county.

It just had to be a horrific thing for her

to be going through.

Stop! Stop! Stop!

He became very forceful.

Used duct tape to cover her mouth,

and raped her on several occasions.

Where you going?

The only thing Jessica had to protect herself

was her hands, her feet.

Come here!

Jessica was very feisty, if you will.

She was very athletic.

There was no doubt that Jessica was fighting back.

At some point, she was able to get away from him

and jump out of the car.

Where are you going?!

Back in Columbus,

Jessica's mother is eagerly anticipating her return home.

It was a Friday evening, and sometimes she would call me

or I'd call her at night and wish her goodnight.

But that night I didn't.

I thought, you know, she's coming home tomorrow.

So I just assumed she was safe and sound.

In fact, Jessica is in a fight for her life.

At that time, there were no cellphones,

there were no pay phones.

You're in a very remote area,

and the only thing that you could do

is try to find a house and run towards that house for help.

Where you think you're goin'?

You can't run from me.

You think you can outrun me?

Come here, girl!

Jessica was trying to get away from the road

because he was in a car

and obviously could catch her at that point.

Somebody, please help me!

She was scared.

She was lost.

She was probably thinking, "where do I go?

What do I do?

How do I get away from this? Am I gonna be okay?

Is he gonna catch me?"

At huckleberry house, someone else

is also looking for Jessica.

Jessica? The r.A. Is looking for you. Yo?

At the huckleberry house, their curfew is 11:00.

They can leave any time they wanted as long

as they were in by 11:00.

As Jessica continues to run for her life,

help seems dangerously far away.

When you're running for your life,

you're not waiting around to see if a car is coming.

She did what I think almost anybody

in her situation would've done,

which is to seek the one house that she could see.

And it was unfortunately at a distance.

She was trying to find her way there.

Not realizing that she running into a cemetery.

Foster chapel cemetery is a pioneer-era cemetery.

There are tombstones that'll date back to late 1700s.

You've been the victim of a crime,

and now you're in a cemetery.

And you've got the person that just assaulted you pursuing you.

Get away from me!

It's straight out of a horror movie.

Meanwhile, on the Madison county road,

the assailant's abandoned car is left running.

On that Friday night,

another individual was driving down that road...

Hello?

...and did see a car parked on the roadway.

Hello?

Hello?

It was sort of shocking to him.

What's this car running with the lights on

and the car door open and there's nobody in it?

The distance from that roadway to the cemetery

would've been too far.

The likelihood of somebody hearing a scream

at that location would've been remote.

While he thought it was unusual,

at the time, he didn't think any more about it.

And unfortunately, he left.

Somebody, please help me!

In an old cemetery in Madison county, Ohio,

15-year-old Jessica keen is trapped in a deadly game

of cat and mouse with a stranger.

You can't help but be overwhelmed

with what this young lady must've been going through.

Having been sexually assaulted in a violent fashion,

and having somehow managed to escape

and really understanding at that moment

you're just running for your life.

Where are you?!

I'ma find you!

You hear me?!

While in the cemetery, she hid behind tombstones,

hoping to get away from him.

She was hurt, lonely, confused...

Just lost.

She probably just couldn't understand, "why me?"

What did I do so wrong to deserve this?

I actually, at times, I can visualize her

hiding behind that tombstone, praying.

Saying, "dear Jesus, help me."

She had a brief window

where he was not immediately on her tail

to actually crouch down and avoid being seen.

She was successful in buying that distance.

I know you're out here!

Where you at?!

The cemetery was primarily surrounded with farm fields.

There was one large farmhouse

that was located behind where the cemetery is at,

but at least a quarter of a mile away.

Here you go!

Come here!

As midnight approaches,

Jessica's friends and family

have no idea she is in the middle of a nightmare.

Hello?

Yes. Yes, this is she.

I received a call from the huckleberry house

that Jessica hadn't showed up for curfew.

Yes.

Yes, that is disappointing.

No, I...

Think I may know where she is.

Thank you.

And of course I was like, "she's with Shawn."

I know -- I thought, you know, "she's coming home tomorrow,

so this is what she's gonna do --

she's gonna go play a little game here

so she can be with Shawn."

That night, I was calling several of her friends,

you know, "has anybody seen Jessica?

Did she come to your home or call you or anything?"

Thank you.

Of course, it was late, so I didn't bother too many people.

I kept having this feeling that she'll call me

and say, you know, "come get me."

I didn't want to believe that something was wrong.

Though her attacker is gaining ground,

Jessica refuses to give up.

Jessica was a fighter.

She was attempting to get to that farmhouse,

which would've been her only place to get help out

in that isolated area in the country.

She had two socks on.

She loses one.

She was running for her life,

and she knew she was running for her life.

As she was running through the cemetery,

she ran into a fence post at full speed,

which knocked her down to the ground.

No!

He caught up with her.

There was a tombstone, probably 20 inches wide,

30 inches tall, he was able to pull out of the ground.

No!

The next morning,

the search for Jessica keen continues.

Jessica?

Jessica?

Did you find anything?

I drove by every place you told me to,

but no sign of her.

I told a couple of my friends that, you know,

I couldn't find Jessica and I was concerned.

My friends came to help me.

I don't know what else to do.

I know. I know. I know.

But it's like you said.

She's probably with Shawn.

It's not like her to stay out all night,

even if she was with him.

Or maybe she was too afraid to go back to the huck house.

Maybe she was too afraid to call me.

You know, all these...

Thousands of thoughts run through your mind.

Maybe try the police again?

So I called the police.

But they would not take a report for 48 hours.

I don't know.

I wrote a letter to god that night, and I said,

"please, dear lord, even if she doesn't come home,

let me know she's okay."

The following morning,

a young photography student decides to explore

the Madison county cemetery.

On sunday, march the 17th,

a lady had gone to the cemetery to take pictures in that area.

Hello?

Um, hey...

Hey, are you okay?

And she discovered Jessica's body

in the back corner of the cemetery.

After discovering the body, she left the cemetery

and went to another location to make the phone call to US.

Hours after Jessica keen's lifeless body

is found in a Madison county cemetery,

the area becomes an active crime scene.

I arrived on the scene shortly afterwards,

looked it over, began looking for evidence

to find out what could've happened here.

She's young.

Teenager at most.

But no I.D. Nothin'.

We were able to trace her footprints through the cemetery.

Her skull was fractured.

Her upper body had many abrasions and contusions

from being struck with the tombstone repeated times.

Obviously the evidence that we had gathered

was painting a very horrific picture,

of a young girl running for her life.

With no identification found on her body,

the victim's identity remains a mystery,

until news of the horrific crime hits Columbus.

The news said that they'd found a young girl

between the ages of 15 and 20.

And I called Madison county.

So they came to my house.

Ms. Smitley, I hate to do this, but there's no other way.

I need to take a look at these photos

and tell me if you think it's your daughter.

Okay.

All right?

She had a black eye, a busted lip,

and a big cut on her chest.

And I kept looking at the picture

and thinking, "that's -- that's not her.

I know that's not Jessica."

No.

No.

No, that isn't my daughter. That isn't her.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the house

was a photograph of Jessica,

and I knew at that point we had found who our victim was.

As to be expected, Rebecca was in denial

that this could be her daughter.

Unfortunately, it was.

With their victim now confirmed

as 15-year-old Jessica keen,

her boyfriend, Shawn Thompson,

becomes a prime person of interest.

In 1991, DNA was a relatively new science,

and while we had DNA from Jessica's body

that obviously was not hers,

there was no way to determine whose it may be

without submitting suspect DNA against it.

That same weekend, Shawn Thompson

and a couple of other friends

took off on a vacation to Florida on their own,

which raised red flags with US.

Shawn, you want to tell me why you chose to leave town

the night after your girlfriend went missing?

Um...

Look, sir, I know it looks bad, all right?

But...

Look, you got to believe me.

It had nothing to do with her.

Sure enough, when the DNA test results come back,

detectives confirm Shawn is telling the truth.

In addition to his verifying Shawn Thompson's alibi,

his DNA was not a match either.

Despite investigators' best efforts,

and the help of the Ohio state bureau

of criminal investigation,

years pass, and the case goes cold.

It was really hard not knowing

and just thinking that there's the possibility

that we're never gonna know,

we're never gonna have any answers, and...

We wanted answers.

Just when all hope seems lost,

there's a major breakthrough.

This is sabin.

Hey. How's it goin'?

17 years later, on the date, march 17th,

we received a phone call from the director

of the Ohio crime lab.

The phone conversation started off with him saying,

"I'm going to make your day."

Okay.

He had made a match with Jessica keen's DNA.

Who is it?

The individual whose DNA matched that that we found

with Jessica keen was Marvin Smith's.

We were able to find additional cases within several months

of Jessica's disappearance in Columbus

that he was involved with,

and was arrested for sexual assaults

and did time in the penitentiary.

Two weeks later,

police find Marvin Smith hiding in plain sight.

We were able to locate Smith in north Carolina,

and we approached him at his work.

Marvin? Hey.

I'd like to have a word with you,

if you have a minute.

Sure.

You seen this girl?

We did show Smith photographs of Jessica from the crime scene.

He did not want to look at those photographs,

which as well was kind of an indicator

to US that we were on the right path.

Sorry, I-I got to get back to work.

Hold on, Marvin. Hold on. Hold on.

Why don't you take a good hard look?

I've never seen her before in my life, man.

He consented to come to the police department

for an interview.

During the interview,

he denied several facts that we absolutely knew.

And the biggest fact that we absolutely knew

was that it was his DNA that we had collected from Jessica.

And he could offer no excuse, no reason for that whatsoever.

17 years after the crime,

on march 28, 2008,

Marvin Lee Smith is finally arrested.

He is charged with the murder

and sexual assault of Jessica keen.

Smith pled guilty.

And even though he had never offered US

any explanation of what had happened that evening,

he still took full responsibility

in front of a three-panel judge in Ohio.

And the judges sentenced Smith to life in prison.

My prayers were answered.

I'm glad he's where he's at.

I'm glad he can't do it to anybody else.

He's gonna be there for a long time.

He will never get out.

With justice finally served,

Jessica's loved ones keep her close to their hearts.

If I could bring her back, I would.

And that I could've been there to protect her,

I'd have been there in a heartbeat.

But I will take her with me everywhere I go.

And I will love her for the rest of my life.

I keep her alive in my heart.

I can't touch her and kiss her and hug her.

I have dreams of her where I do that,

and I swear I can smell the smell of her hair

when I hug her in my dream...

And it's a happy dream.

There is life after the death of a child.

No matter how hard and how tough it is.

Because she's my daughter.

She will always be with me.