Original subtitles

A sweltering summer,

an American city hides a deadly secret.

I couldn't possibly begin to understand

who'd want to shoot my dad.

On its streets lurks a monster.

There was somebody going around shooting people.

Caught on video...

He really was just a normal person.

...video that's never been seen in public...

Yes!

...until now.

He believes that he's smarter than the investigators

that have been pursuing him.

We were right on top of this

when it happened, but we couldn't stop it.

Dale hausner referees a boxing match

between his brother Randy

and friend Edward gomer-goldberg.

I was nervous before that boxing match.

3, 2, 1, box!

Dale was very explicit.

If either one of you get hurt or kneel down, it's over.

1...2...3... 4...5...6...7...8...

Randy, Dale and gomer all work on the cleaning staff

at Phoenix sky harbor airport.

But they each have dreams bigger than janitorial work.

Okay, 1...2...3...4... 5...6...7...8...

You want to fight?

One more. One more knockdown, it's over.

Dale's dream involves big-time boxing.

This footage of Randy hausner, Dale hausner, and gomer goldberg

has never been seen publicly.

It marks the first chapter of a terrifying story

of two brothers and two friends

that would end in a bloodbath.

10 years ago at sky harbor, I started out at the bottom.

I started out as a janitor.

Dale also worked at sky harbor airport.

The airport can be a very fun environment.

You see people coming and going,

you meet people from different countries,

quite a hustle and bustle that goes on.

Dale was very well liked at work,

but I think he found it frustrating

working as a cleaner, a janitor simply because

he had a lot more talent.

Dale is convinced one of those talents is boxing.

Dale and I used to box in the backyard.

It was good exercise.

Dale and I are very, very similar size.

He was faster than me, and he was trained.

Dale was the better boxer, but I can hit harder than him,

so he always had to worry about that.

Time!

Yes!

Dale didn't take defeat too well.

He would get frustrated that he was trained in boxing

and I had no training,

and yet I could hold my own against him.

Randy hausner's dreams aren't about boxing.

They are about show business.

Let's give it up for the vanilla hunk, Randy hausner.

Randy's path out of janitorial work

is becoming a nightclub comic.

I originally started standup comedy

not so much to be a great comic,

but because I was so fearful of speaking in front of people.

The first time I did it, it was terrifying.

Thanks for coming out. This is exciting here, man.

I'm so excited to see this cool audience here.

Even got my hair cut for the show. You like it?

Lady's s cutting my hair. She says, "okay turn your head."

Said, "why? You done trimming?"

She says, "no, I can't stand the sight of blood."

No one in this nightclub

could have known at the time the significance

of who was cracking the jokes in front of them

or who was in the audience with them.

Wow! Now, look at this good-looking audience here.

Wow!

Ooh, what's your name? You're a cutie pie.

What's your name?

Not you, kiddo.

The one holding you, that cutie pie.

There is a cutie right here in the front row, too.

What's your name?

She gave me her name quick. She doesn't want a nickname.

I'll just call you parking ticket.

You got "fine" written all over you girl.

Now, we're just having fun here.

You know, I can open up to you guys.

You guys are so cool.

I can tell you what's on my mind.

And I got to tell you that I recently broke up

with my girlfriend.

She was trying to live a double life,

mine and hers.

Occasionally when I would be performing,

Dale would come out and see me perform,

and he was very supportive.

Randy and Dale hausner,

two brothers who work at the airport,

trying to turn their luck around.

Don't film me man, you should be filming him.

Thank you, guys! Enjoy the rest of the show!

A heat wave grips Phoenix.

It's enough to top the news.

Across the nation,

temperatures have soared this summer.

In Phoenix, Arizona, the heat has been deadly.

The number of suspected heat-related deaths

is now over 30.

That year was just exceptionally hot.

On the cops desk, we usually cover

the weather stories in addition to the crime stories.

We did a series of stories reporting on the weather

and heat-related illnesses and deaths.

So people would have been waiting

until the sun went down to go outdoors

and ride their bikes or go for walks.

The temperature is down into the 90s

by 11:00 at night when Phoenix police get a call.

A man has been found in the street next to a bicycle

on the West Side of town.

It looks like a cyclist has been struck by a vehicle.

Police don't know it yet,

but that's not at all what happened.

Brothers Randy and Dale hausner

hone the skills that could get them out of their dead-end jobs

at Phoenix airport.

For Dale, it's boxing, but he's not very good.

For Randy, its comedy, but he's not very funny.

She says, "no, I can't stand the sight of blood."

It's a scorching-hot may of 2005,

and Phoenix police have been called

to an unusual crime scene.

Tuesday, may 17th, citizens had called thinking that the victim

had been involved in an accident.

He was on the street in a very dark place,

in a location that was very hidden.

Officers responded to what they thought

was a motor vehicle accident.

When paramedics arrived,

they found a bullet wound to his back.

There is not the slightest hint

as to why this man was killed or by whom.

There were no witnesses to the crime.

Neighbors were contacted.

They didn't even hear a gunshot.

You could tell based on the size of his wound

that it was small caliber,

what was believed to be a .22-caliber weapon.

It just does not have the fire power

that you would usually see

in a higher caliber rifle or shotgun.

It would have surprised investigators that he was

shot with a rifle since most of our crimes

are committed with handguns.

Police are at least able to identify the victim --

38-year-old Tony Mendez, father of four.

His son Justin learns the news the hard way.

My aunt sat me down and told me

that my dad was shot.

I couldn't possibly begin to understand

who would want to shoot my dad.

It turns out Tony Mendez was cut down

while on a mission of mercy.

On may 17, 2005, there was power cut

in the neighborhood that night.

Don't forget to check on your friends

and family members and your neighbors.

This is going to be a community effort here.

The night my dad left, he was actually taking candles

to a family that had little kids

that were scared of the dark.

Hey, let there be light, man.

Let there be light.

People would turn to my father when they needed help

because he just, he had a big heart

and he was always trying to help people.

The fact that my father's body had laid there for hours

before he was found,

it was very like devastating and to me.

It's sad.

Words can't even explain like how I feel about that.

It turns out Justin Mendez, the victim's son,

works at Phoenix sky harbor airport.

At the airport, I used to stock magazines

and the airport is kind of like a community.

You know, you got the shops, the janitors,

you got the flight attendants.

Everybody kind of knew everybody.

It was like your own little town.

But he doesn't know the hausner brothers.

The shooting of Tony Mendez

goes unnoticed by the local media.

It's just another shooting on the streets of Phoenix.

The neighbors in the area, they were contacting abc 15

after a cat has been stuck

on an electrical pole for four days.

They say that they have contacted multiple agencies

to try and help out.

In the meantime,

despite his vigorous workouts, caught on camera,

Dale hausner is realizing he'll never be a prize fighter.

But there is still one way into big time boxing --

photography.

In 2005, Dale comes across

flyweight Elena "baby doll" Reid.

She's on her way up.

I got into kickboxing as a kid.

The natural progression was just into boxing.

I turned pro my senior year of high school.

And Dale hausner photographs

he wanted to be, you know, part of my team,

part of the success of it.

In 2005, Elena Reid's career explodes

as she defeats lakeysha Williams in a make-or-break fight.

The ref has to stop the bout in the fifth round.

Ladies and gentlemen, the time,

1 minute, 59 seconds of the fifth round...

Dale has clearly backed the right horse.

He wanted to take pictures from my fights.

Dale called me on the phone

he wanted to do a story on my boxing career.

It was when I had first started, I first turned pro.

You wouldn't notice Dale in a crowd by any means,

just nice, not threatening in any way.

He was a good friend to me and my family.

From an airport janitor,

Dale is now moving in a glamorous circle.

Arizona's central boxing gym is a local gym.

It's very popular.

It's been around forever,

and most famous boxers

when they're in town, that's the gym that they go to.

Dale's at the right place at the right time,

as boxing royalty moves through Phoenix.

When Mike Tyson was living here, he trained there.

There's a lot of excitement around it.

And when the heavyweight

comes to the gym, Dale is ready.

So, when Mike Tyson was there, he went and he took a picture

with Mike Tyson, and he was very proud.

The world famous fighter Bernard Hopkins

comes by, too, as do many other champs.

Dale makes sure he's photographed with them all.

Dale, he took pictures with every boxer.

It was something he loved to do.

Dale hausner is now a true boxing insider in Phoenix,

and he scores his very own local TV show about boxing.

Dale was a go-getter.

Not a normal person that get up off their couch,

and to go be a boxing photographer

to try to write stories,

to take pictures, to start a show.

Hey, man. -Hey bro.

How is it going? -You're ready?

Yeah. How do I look? -You look great.

Local access was a fun show.

You got your name out there.

And he interviewed boxers,

interviewed a lot of local talent,

and so it was a lot of fun.

Have a good one. -Enjoy.

See you on the other side.

Welcome to "the best of boxing," everybody,

I'm your host, Dale hausner.

Meanwhile, Phoenix's long, hot summer moderates.

It isn't just Tony's murder

that goes unnoticed by local news.

There are another three random shootings --

of Reginald remillard on may 24th,

of David estrada on June 29th

and of Nathaniel schoffner on November 11th.

Each shot at random and with no apparent motive.

Christmas 2005 comes and goes,

until December 29th

when an orgy of violence erupts

that grips Phoenix in terror.

What, if anything, does it have to do

with the success of Dale hausner?

Or brother Randy's failed attempts at comedy...

It felt like the walls were closing in on me.

What on earth is happening?

...or the arrival on the scene of a terrifying man

named Sam dieteman.

It's five days after Christmas 2005

in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ooh!

A series of four unsolved random shootings

has failed to attract local media attention.

That's about to change.

Now to a string of shootings

over the past six months here at the valley.

Tonight, police think they may be linked.

Police say they know these four

that you're seeing here on valley tracker

are linked by physical evidence

that was found at the crime scenes

mapped out here for you here.

They say these shootings could be related to 12 others,

from central Phoenix to tolleson

where three people have been killed,

two others wounded, and nearly a dozen horses and dogs shot.

I never thought that I would be shot in my life.

I didn't see no vehicle.

December 29th, Tim was injured,

wounded while walking home from work.

This shooting tied to three others

in which animals were shot and killed.

But the same night, there were seven other shootings

all within about a three hour period

including the murders of two homeless men.

By circumstance and by time,

location, and similar caliber of weapons,

small caliber weapon,

other than two incidents involved a shotgun.

All of the rest have similarities

in location and time.

So far, no one has been able to give police

a description of the shooter or shooters.

The news started coming out that there was somebody

going around shooting animals like horses and dogs.

And then it started escalating to people.

It was talked about all over the valley.

While news of a serial sniper

spreads across the city,

Dale has other concerns on his mind.

His daughter ended up being born with some health issues.

She's a walking miracle to still be alive today.

His daughter's illness impacted his work life

because he had to take

what's called medical leave for his daughter.

He'd be off a lot attending to her,

so he missed a lot of work,

and absenteeism started piling up.

Dale is there for his daughter Mandy

as much as he can be.

He has joint custody of her.

Dale did seem like a natural dad when he was with his kid.

He seemed like he got along great with them,

he protected them, he was there for them.

His daughter meant everything to him.

The hausner brothers often socialize together.

Like anyone else in Phoenix,

Dale and Randy can scarcely get a beer

without seeing wall-to-wall coverage of the serial shooter.

They're looking for someone who's responsible

for 18 separate shootings in 4 valley cities.

Someone who drives or walks into a neighborhood,

takes aim and opens fire.

But this night,

the pair is joined by someone Randy doesn't know.

He's a new drinking buddy of Dale's named Sam dieteman.

Hey, buddy! -Hey, man!

This is my brother Randy.

Hey. How's it going?

Nice to meet you.

Sam dieteman, he's lost a job.

He's probably at the extreme low point, barely surviving,

trying to do odd jobs to get some money.

When the subject turns to the serial shooter,

Randy and Dale discover that Sam has

some odd opinions on the subject.

So, what do you think of this guy?

Tell you what I think.

This guy, he's been taking crap

his whole damn life.

He's just had it.

He's gonna be a hunter and shake things up.

When I met Sam, he seemed kind of quiet,

but something just didn't seem right.

I got to go.

Don't know exactly what it was about that gave me

the red flag, but he just, I don't know,

kind of seemed to me a little bit rough,

a little bit socially unskilled,

a little bit like somebody

I wouldn't want to run into in an alley somewhere.

So, um, got myself a late Christmas present,

you interested?

While Randy is repelled,

Dale is intrigued by Sam dieteman,

especially when he suggests they smoke some meth together.

I got a couple of six packs back at my place.

By may 2006, Sam has been hanging out at Dale's place

for weeks drinking, smoking meth, talking boxing,

guns, and especially the serial shooter

who's been on the loose for exactly a year,

but hasn't struck in four months.

It's about this time that Dale's friends and family

notice a change.

He was acting different around people.

I was worried for him.

You okay? What's the matter with you?

I was up late with my daughter.

She's just not sleeping.

He had a stint where he did use some illegal substances,

and I thought, "well, maybe --

I hope he's not slipping back into that stuff."

On may 2, 2006,

just as police hoped the serial shooter

has quit the game, a 911 call.

Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz,

she was gunned down in scottsdale

only two miles from my house.

To see that the shootings had moved into

the community where I lived and I worked was frightening.

Whatever happened happened very quickly

so we knew all the other cases, they were all drive-bys.

It has all the markings

of the serial shooter except one.

This time, the shot's trajectory is different.

Based on the forensics that we had from that crime scene,

it was determined that a passenger from a car

had to have shot Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz.

Police now must consider that the killer

could be a team.

And the latest killing seems to set off a new frenzy.

Four weeks later, James hodge is shot in west Phoenix.

Help!

James haas was a veteran.

He suffered from a kind of a claustrophobic mental illness

that he had, probably from his days in the military.

Help!

Thankfully, this victim is still alive.

You okay, man?

What's up? -I've been shot.

God. -Wow. Look at all the blood.

Police arrive at the scene

and immediately talk to two witnesses...

Dale hausner and Sam dieteman.

We were out looking for my cat, officer.

She's always getting out.

Y'all are free to go.

Throughout the summer, the rampage continues.

12 more random shootings, and police are no closer

to catching the serial sniper.

But police are about to get a big break

when Sam dieteman enters a bar in west Phoenix

and talks a little too much.

Click, bang...

Dead.

Phoenix, 2006.

29 people have been gunned down by a sniper or snipers,

and police have gotten a call from a man named Ron horton.

Ron horton was a kind of a hellion.

He was a want to be kind of biker guy.

Not the kind of guy who normally talks to police,

but he's got a story that he knows

he must share with investigators.

When Ron horton called the police,

it became a game changer.

It seems horton was at a bar in west Phoenix

and fell into a conversation with a guy named Sam.

Let's celebrate.

Good day hunting.

Good day hunting.

Yeah. I haven't been hunting since I was a kid.

You're missing out.

Pulling that trigger is such a buzz.

I think you've had one too many beers.

Click, bang...

Dead.

Like being god really.

Horton says Sam was drunk

and bragging about hunting humans.

With a serial shooter on the loose,

it was all too strange.

Ron said he's been watching what's going on,

he put two and two together,

"I need to come talk to you guys."

After Ron horton's call,

police decide to set up a meeting

between him and his friend Sam.

They need hard evidence that Sam is indeed the serial sniper.

I was horribly anxious.

If this turned out to be nothing,

we were back to the drawing board again.

Just waiting for the next body to show up.

No one does a thing until I say so.

But it's not just Sam that turns up that night.

Another male exits the car.

He is unknown to police.

We have people that are checking license plates,

and the car is registered to Dale hausner.

We had no idea who Dale was.

Could Ron horton's tip be right?

Sam and Dale leave the bar.

Police follow.

They began to traverse cities.

No location in mind.

Just driving around aimlessly for hours

looking for victims.

Could not pull them over.

They had no probable cause.

The police absolutely need more evidence at this stage.

More evidence means catching

but detective schwartzkopf knows he can't let that happen.

...to church street.

It was the worst night of my life

as a law enforcement officer.

How would we ever explain

that we were right on top of this when it happened,

but we couldn't stop it?

I was scared to death.

Thankfully, dieteman and hausner decide

not to shoot, and police follow the pair

back to Dale's apartment.

Needing more evidence,

police get a warrant to bug Dale's place.

It was a massive gamble getting the wiretap.

We didn't know whether or not Sam dieteman and Dale hausner

would even communicate about the crimes.

We were able to get access

to the apartment right next to Dale's,

and we put in what were called spike Mikes,

which are small microphones.

Police start listening in on the two men.

At first, there is not much to listen to.

But before long, Sam mentioned something

about altering his appearance.

The talk soon turns to the state of the sniper investigation.

Dale appears to be reading

and commenting on a news article.

They're mocking the investigation.

But so far, nothing incriminating.

That's when police hear it.

Dale hausner has just bragged

about shooting a man on 27th Avenue.

From here, the pair only incriminate themselves more.

They discuss being followed.

Next, Dale mocks the death throes

of one of his victims.

And they discuss the thrill of murder.

The same Dale hausner

that has become prominent in the local boxing scene...

Welcome to "the best of boxing," everybody.

I am your host, Dale hausner.

...supported his big brother's comedy career,

and he is raising his 2-year-old daughter,

is in fact the Phoenix sniper.

Typically speaking, most serial offenders

by virtue of the fact that they are just that,

serial offenders, are able to maintain a double life.

They have to if you think about it

because you have to be able to move seamlessly

in the community to re-offend.

Dale did the first 10 shootings on his own,

and the sadistic Sam dieteman joined him for the remaining 19.

And it's all caught on tape.

Police have more than enough to arrest the two of them.

But first it's time for Dale

to put his 2-year-old daughter, Mandy, to bed.

He has her say goodnight to Sam.

Police move in, unaware that this case is far from over.

Phoenix, 2006.

Local boxing figure Dale hausner and his friend Sam dieteman

have just been heard on wiretaps

confessing to the Phoenix serial shootings.

Police overrun the apartment and place both men under arrest

and take Dale's daughter to his ex-wife.

After 14 months and 29 shootings,

Phoenix police are able to announce

they have their snipers.

Members of the task force arrested Dale s. Hausner

and Samuel John dieteman

for numerous counts of murder and aggravated assault.

They are the serial shooters

that this task force has been hunting.

Why would you do something like this, Mr. Hausner?

News of Dale's arrest reaches his brother Randy.

I felt like the walls were closing in on me

I mean, I could hardly breathe.

I'm like, "what on earth is happening?"

You know, your hindsight starts

working in overdrive after you find out.

And after you're no longer in denial

and you know that this person did that.

They are people that I don't care how good

your intuition is about people,

you would say, "there's nothing wrong with this guy,

this guy is cool, you know, like he's funny,

he's happy, yeah, he's cool."

And they fly under the radar.

I mean, psychopaths just have a way of blending in.

Police place Dale under questioning,

expecting to get the full story.

Instead, Dale shocks detectives

by proclaiming his complete innocence.

Dale hausner is a legend in his own mind.

He believes that he is smarter than the investigators

that have been pursuing him.

Detective schwartzkopf knows better.

I realized Dale was the manipulator,

Dale was the mastermind,

Dale was the person that had all the weapons.

Dieteman was just a dupe in this whole thing.

While Dale lies his way through his interview,

Sam dieteman is co-operating.

He confesses his role in two of the murders,

and is able to escape the death penalty

in exchange for telling the full story.

Meanwhile, before his public defenders even arrived,

Dale hausner has decided to hold a press conference

from behind bars.

Mr. Hausner, thank you for speaking with US.

Did you have any connection whatsoever with crimes

that police are calling the serial shooter crimes?

No sir, I did not.

I mean, how is it that you are here then, sir?

Why I am here is because I had Sam dieteman

staying with me for about five weeks,

and apparently at night, Sam had been taking my car out

and using various weapons that I have in my house

to commit crimes.

And apparently they tracked it to my car.

And when they came and busted in the house,

I was there, and I guess

I'm just guilty by association

even though I did not shoot anybody or kill anybody.

You were never with him in any crimes?

No, absolutely not. No.

You never pulled a trigger?

Absolutely not. No.

He is relaxed, glib, even friendly.

I really -- this is all just overwhelming to me.

I really -- I can't believe this is happening to be honest.

You know, I am upstanding member of the society.

I have been with the same city of Phoenix job

for eight years.

I worked three jobs to make ends meet

because this city unfortunately doesn't always

pay what you like it to.

I am a bartender and photographer.

I have a 2 1/2-year-old daughter

whose got a terminal disease.

And you know, I am not gonna be out

shooting people for no reason.

He coolly rattles off his list of weapons.

I have 2 .410s, 12-Gauge, 20-Gauge,

28-Gauge, 303, like five pellet guns.

Blow guns, various knives and stabbing weapons,

ice picks, awls stuff like that.

Can I just ask, why are you talking to US?

Why not?

I mean, I have nothing to hide

so I would be more than happy to talk to you guys.

Eventually, his public defender arrives

and puts a stop to it.

Okay. I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to stop answering questions.

Sir, who are you, let me ask you, sir?

What's your name?

I just want to say I'm sorry to all the families

who have been hurt by anybody, but it was not by me.

Why do we have to stop the press conference?

When you take a guy like Dale hausner,

someone who is just an extraordinary narcissist,

you throw logic out

and it becomes the Dale hausner show.

In march 2009, Dale hausner is tried

for six counts of capital murder and convicted.

March 27, 2009, sentencing day.

Dale hausner was miserable with his station in life.

He did not like his job, he did not like his upbringing,

he did not like the direction he was going,

and this was his way of making a statement.

The serial shooter case

is the largest criminal investigation

that ever occurred in the state of Arizona.

It's small consolation for the victims' families.

Ooh!

The night they were arrested was my birthday.

I want my father to be remembered as, you know,

a great person who had a big heart.

Welcome to "the best of boxing," everybody.

I am your host Dale hausner.

To think that someone that you can know so closely

could be a serial killer,

he really was just a normal person.

On June 19, 2013 after serving four years,

Dale hausner commits suicide on death row.

Never in my wildest dreams,

would I imagine that my own brother could do these things.

All five of US brothers

were brought up in the same household,

brought up under the same circumstances.

It didn't have to be that way.

It was like a big disguise was pulled off of him

and it was exposed.

I think now if I looked at Dale,

I think I would see evil.