Original subtitles

[dark tone]

♪

- There's blood and hair all right here.

- That's brutal.

- Homicide detectives don't need a motive to solve a case,

but they always wanna know why.

- I really want to explore his motive.

The dispute wasn't a big enough of a deal

to kill somebody.

- And sometimes, the motive is almost hard to believe.

♪

- This is overkill right here.

- Tonight, on "The First 48 Critical Minutes"...

- It looks like there was some type of fight.

- A retiree is ambushed in her own home.

- It's a very violent, over-the-top murder.

- Then, a night out with friends

ends in a barber's execution...

- He just starts shooting him. - Yeah.

- Stone cold.

- And a friendly game of pool

ends in a hail of bullets.

- That's the pure definition of malice murder.

- Is this some type of a joke?

- It's no joke.

[dramatic music]

♪

[tense music]

- You don't see it often, but there are cases

where the suspect might feel like,

"Even though I don't kill you, I want you to be afraid of me.

"I want you to know how violent I am,

and I'm capable of absolutely anything."

It's an intimidation within itself.

"I want you to feel the psychological effects

of watching people around you die before I come for you."

♪

- What's up?

- I do have her name, and it's Janet Donovan.

narrator: 73-year-old Janet Donovan grew up

in California but moved to Tulsa 16 years ago

to be closer to family.

She had recently retired from a job in the airline industry.

Janet leaves behind a sister, brother-in-law,

and many friends.

- Who else lives here?

- In the apartment? Nobody, just her.

The lady that found her is a good friend.

narrator: Janet's friend has been taken to Homicide

to be interviewed.

- We've got officers doing canvasses on both sides.

Her car is missing.

♪

[radio chatter]

♪

- That's brutal.

- Large knife sitting on here.

♪

- Yeah, for sure.

That's a pretty deep stab wound.

narrator: Janet was stabbed 12 times in her head,

neck, back, and torso.

- It looks like there was some type of fight.

♪

- Yeah, middle on right hand is broken off.

♪

narrator: Leatherman takes a look at the entryway

where the attack likely began.

- There's blood and hair all right here.

She got hit right here and then probably drug into there.

And the beating continues.

And the stabbing probably takes place in there.

No signs back here. The back door is locked.

♪

narrator: In Janet's bedroom...

- Somebody just went all through her purse

and just dumped it here, probably took money.

She has a concealed carry permit.

So if she carried her gun around,

it's probably gone as well.

- It's a very, very violent, over-the-top murder.

- There's no forced entry.

It's somebody who knew her.

♪

narrator: One hour in

- So here's what I've got for you.

narrator: Detective Jason White has a lead

from the neighborhood canvass.

- The trash gets put out on Wednesday night.

- Uh-huh. - The kid that lives upstairs,

at 2300 hours on Wednesday night,

hears the trash can kind of move about.

And then he hears a female screaming.

Approximately five minutes later, that's when

he hears a car speed off.

So we're looking at Wednesday 2300 hours.

narrator: Detectives believe the suspect

ambushed Janet when she took her trash out two nights ago.

As they wrap up the scene...

- Ronnie, that's her sister and husband who came in.

narrator: The victim's sister and brother-in-law arrive.

- So first of all, I'm sorry that this is going on.

I've been told her car is missing.

- Yeah. - Do you guys know what

kind of car she had? - A Mercedes ML350.

- Black.

She would keep her-- - She had a carry permit, too.

- Yeah, I saw-- I saw that.

Was it a pistol?

- Yeah, I think it's a--

narrator: He says the victim carried

a silver .357 revolver.

- Has she been having problems that you know of with anyone?

- Not that we know of.

- No ex-husbands, boyfriends?

- She had an ex-husband, but years ago.

He's in California.

- Did her friend tell you about her struggles with a live-in?

narrator: He says Janet's friend who found her

has been having problems with an ex-boyfriend.

- Took a hammer to her sister's car on Saturday

and was arrested.

narrator: They say the friend's ex

has often threatened to harm her loved ones.

- He's a violent person.

- You know that guy's name?

- Steven Retherford.

- OK, we're gonna talk to as many people as we can,

and then I'll be in touch with you guys, OK?

- OK. Thank you so much.

- Wow.

- The plan is to go talk to this girl

that found our victim, get as much info we can from her.

♪

narrator: The victim's friend

says she lives a few blocks from Janet

in the same neighborhood.

- If you can tell us whatever the drama is with Steve.

- OK.

narrator: She says she started dating Steven last year,

but their relationship deteriorated

after he moved in with her.

- Then he decided he'd spare my life

and make my life miserable.

- Mm-hmm.

narrator: She says tensions came to a head last Friday.

- He's talking about he's getting a [bleep]

just thinking about slicing my sister's throat.

I mean, he said, "Oh, I'm just gonna catch her walking

her dogs, and I'll choke her."

narrator: She kicked Steven out, but he came back

the next night with a hammer.

- I'll show ya.

See, he's got his gloves and the hammer,

and he's just standing there looking in.

♪

And he proceeded to bust out the windows

of my sister's car.

The police come.

They had to tase him, get him to the ground, handcuff him.

When he got out of jail Monday,

I went down Monday morning, along with my sister,

and we filed protective orders.

- When's the last time you spoke to him?

- Monday night.

I've got those phone messages.

narrator: She pulls up texts Steven sent her

two days before detectives believe Janet was murdered.

- "I understand that I've lost forever the greatest thing

"that has ever happened to me, but take peace

"in knowing you have helped a very troubled soul.

Cheers, and stay safe, beautiful."

♪

Going back, he has threatened Janet when he'd get mad at me.

But you know, I never thought that he'd

actually do anything.

- If you had to find him, where would you start

looking if you were us?

narrator: She gives them an address for a hotel

where Steven used to live.

- I'm really sorry you're dealing with all this.

Just sit tight. - OK.

- I feel bad for this lady.

She's been just literally traumatized

by just his constant abuse.

- If this guy is, in fact, the killer,

he could have just decided he was

just gonna do this to have one little dig at her, you know?

Give her something to live with for the rest of her life.

narrator: 57-year-old Steven Retherford

has a history of assault, burglary, and embezzlement.

- Without a doubt, he's somebody we wanna talk to.

I don't have enough to arrest him at this point.

- She advised that he always stays at that hotel.

narrator: Detective Jesse McNeil sends

the Warrants Squad to check the hotel

where Steven used to live.

[dramatic music]

♪

- They're just setting up on the car right now,

hoping that he returns to it.

If it's Steven, great.

If it's not, whoever comes there

has some explaining to do.

narrator: Then...

[phone ringing]

narrator: Steven calls the victim's friend's cell phone.

[dramatic music]

♪

[phone ringing]

narrator: Before the team can answer

Steven's call, he hangs up.

Then...

narrator: The Warrants Squad spots Steven approaching

the victim's Mercedes.

- If he has done this, I would be concerned that--

of his mental state.

There's a gun of hers that's missing,

so he probably has that.

[intense music]

♪

- Wow!

♪

- The suspect got into the Mercedes.

The Warrants guys started to approach him,

and he shot himself in the head.

♪

- Maybe he was calling her to say goodbye.

- Ronnie and I will go ahead and make

a trip out there to the scene.

We've got to make sure that we don't have

some killer out there that we're just automatically

assuming this guy-- you know, who knows?

Common sense tells us we know what's up,

but we still have to prove it.

♪

- It was--boom.

I mean, there was no standoff, no nothing.

- Yeah, 'cause he-- - You could tell he clearly

had already figured out what he was gonna do.

- All right.

♪

That's definitely Steven?

- Yeah.

♪

- Where's the gun at?

- Revolver, silver.

narrator: The serial number on the gun matches

the revolver that was stolen from the victim's purse.

- At this point, I'm convinced we have our killer in Steven.

- Hey, when we first got to the scene,

I walked up to the Mercedes and "Endless Love"

by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross was playing on the radio.

He was listening to

good old-fashioned love songs in there.

[dramatic music]

♪

narrator: Leatherman and White head in to notify

the victim's friend about Steven's suicide.

- I have some more news to just tell you.

They saw Steven getting into the Mercedes.

They went up to contact him, and he just

shot himself in the head.

- Yeah. - Just now, yeah.

- [sighs]

- None of this is your fault, remember.

You haven't done anything wrong.

You were trying to help him out, OK?

You're all right. Come on.

- She did not.

You don't deserve what he's put you through either, so--

- The situation was just horrible for

everybody involved.

The person who's now gonna have to live

with this probably more than anybody else

is gonna be our witness.

She's the one who's gonna have the tough time going forward.

- He's threatened to kill her friends before to get at her.

She's done nothing to him.

And for him to basically take out his whatever, anger

and rage, he brutally kills her best friend,

a lady that doesn't have any kind of connection

with him at all.

It's sad, very sad.

♪

- I've witnessed just about a little bit of everything,

as it relates to motive.

It probably be pretty difficult to shock me now,

but I've seen a lot of cases when people were killed

for some of the most insignificant reasons

and when the motives just don't make sense.

Human behavior is one of the most difficult things

to predict.

And everybody has different triggers.

♪

- Hey, Detective. How are you, sir?

- All right.

What happened here tonight?

- Well, our complainant was shot here by the door

that goes to the patio.

♪

He was transported before I even got here.

narrator: The victim's phone and wallet

have already been collected.

- Do you know what the victim's name is?

- Waddell Roberts.

narrator: 30-year-old Waddell Roberts,

better known to friends as Smoove,

was a barber and the father of a two-year-old son.

♪

- It was pretty bad.

He was shot several times.

There's shell casings all over the place.

narrator: Investigators find seven 9-millimeter casings

on the bar's patio.

- This is overkill here.

He wanted this guy dead tonight.

So do we have any witnesses to this thing?

- Well, there's two that were here during the shooting,

and they've been taken to Homicide already.

- All right, thanks.

[dramatic music]

♪

narrator: Just 20 feet from

where the shooting went down...

- There's a camera right there.

♪

- Hopefully, it's got the whole thing on it.

Hi.

You work here?

♪

Hey, Sarge. I mean, we got this thing on tape.

So we're gonna get that downloaded now.

And there's a couple witnesses.

So we're gonna go talk to them.

♪

narrator: Detective Eric Barnes will interview

the male witness while Stewart talks

to the woman who called 911.

- I'm Detective Stewart.

Just start at tonight.

- Right.

narrator: Down the hall, the male witness

is telling the same story.

- It was a conversation like they know each other.

They cool.

And then I heard, pow.

Dude that got shot, he said, "Ah!"

And then he shot him again. Pow.

"Ah!"

Then he pointed the gun at her.

- That's how it went down. It was like--[snaps] that.

- Yeah.

- I ain't never been that scared.

- So you think you can recognize him?

- I couldn't really see him.

♪

narrator: The woman may be the team's only chance at an ID.

- If you saw the suspect again, would you recognize him?

♪

♪

♪

- Describe him to me.

- Black male. - Black male, OK.

- OK.

narrator: The witness says the shooter was in his 20s,

wearing a tan hoodie and black jeans.

- You got surveillance video up there?

- Yeah.

♪

- That's the victim.

He's on the phone, and he looks like he's

looking for somebody.

- Well, obviously, he walked outside to meet your guy.

- Right.

That's the girl I just talked to.

This is the girl's friend.

- That might be our guy right there.

He's wearing a hoodie.

- See, then they shoulder bump. - Yeah.

That's him.

♪

Our victim pulls something out and passes it to the suspect.

They maybe were making some kind of transaction.

♪

- He just starts shooting him.

♪

Oh, man. That's brutal.

- Yeah. - Stone cold.

- And then he takes off.

- Bring it to the best place you can bring it for facial

and freeze it.

♪

- Our victim, he might not have realized this suspect had

a problem with him, you know, because it looks like he

knows him, or he obviously was going

out there to wait on him.

- We need to get the victim's phone

to see who he was talking to.

♪

- This is the victim's phone.

Dang, I didn't know it was shot.

I'm not gonna get anything from that phone.

I need to order his phone records,

but they'll take several days to come in.

♪

- Hi. I'm Detective Stewart.

- I just--I don't understand.

- Well, it's all on video.

He does some sort of transaction

with the guy that killed him.

I don't know if it was drugs, or what was he doing.

I mean, did he work somewhere?

- He's a barber. - Yeah.

- A barber. - OK, OK.

♪

This number, does anybody know this number?

- No.

narrator: The same number was called several times

just before the murder.

- It's clear in the video, he went outside talking

on his cell phone.

He may have been talking to the guy.

Here's our best shot of him.

I froze it.

♪

narrator: The family doesn't recognize the killer.

- Please have confidence we're gonna do what's

right by your loved one, OK?

Anybody out there that wants to talk to us,

we want to talk to them.

So put that word out.

- His son, he'll be three.

And it's sad because he's not gonna get to know his dad.

And that's hurtful.

- He didn't deserve this.

He had a whole life ahead of him.

- The family is still in shock about how

this could have happened.

Hopefully, this phone number they gave me

will lead me to the right person.

- I think people always want to know

the motive so they can try to make sense of the crime.

Maybe if I can understand that, then I

can wrap my mind around it, and it

can help me to heal from it.

People have a very difficult time

finding closure in a case that makes

absolutely no sense at all.

Even if a suspect is arrested,

it's very, very difficult to move on

if you don't understand it.

♪

narrator: Stewart searches the database

for the number Waddell called just before his murder.

- Come on.

♪

Antwon Carter.

narrator: Stewart looks up his potential suspect.

25-year-old Antwon Carter has no criminal record.

♪

- It's a good likeness, you know?

- Let me see that.

Oh, yeah, wow.

- Beard, the height, and weight match.

And there's no doubt in my mind he's talking to this guy

as he's walking out of the bar.

- You're good to go.

♪

- [groans]

That kills me, man.

I thought for sure she'd pick this guy.

Dang, dang, dang.

I know this is my suspect. I just gotta prove it.

♪

narrator: Weeks go by without a lead.

♪

[phone ringing]

Three months after Waddell's murder,

Stewart catches a break.

- Is that right?

narrator: A confidential informant says he has

information about the case.

- I need to meet with you, all right?

♪

narrator: A few hours later...

♪

- I'm Detective Stewart.

Thanks a lot for coming in here, man.

I appreciate it. - Yeah.

- Now, tell me about what happened.

- So--

- Tell me what he told you.

♪

- Smoove, that was Antwon's barber?

- Yeah. - Yeah? OK.

narrator: He says Waddell had been cutting

Antwon's hair for years and claims he often sold him weed.

narrator: He claims Antwon thought Waddell

had ripped him off by selling him inferior weed.

- OK.

narrator: Patrol heads out to find Antwon Carter.

[intense music]

After searching for Antwon for over a week...

- A couple of officers saw him walking down the street

and tried to stop him.

And when they asked him his name, he took off running.

They caught him hiding in some bushes.

♪

- I'm Detective Stewart.

I'd like to talk to you about a murder case, all right?

Well, Antwon, on the day that Smoove got killed,

you called him multiple times.

You remember that? - Mm, yeah.

narrator: Antwon claims he never saw Waddell

the night of the murder.

- OK, Antwon, well, the person that killed him

is on videotape.

And the person on videotape looks a lot like you.

♪

- Me and Smoove is like this--

like this.

- Antwon, I interviewed a lot of people.

I know you did it.

- Sure it is.

♪

- So you need to do everything you can do to help

yourself right now, man.

♪

♪

- OK, it's done. You're going to jail.

- [scoffs]

♪

- Antwon can continue to deny that he was involved,

but I've got the evidence to charge him

with Waddell's murder.

- Turn around.

♪

- You know, I've been doing this a long time.

And you just don't ever get used to the brutality

with some of these cases.

It was just a senseless killing.

It's just stupid-- just totally stupid.

♪

- I have had cases where people

are hanging out in a group, having a good time,

and something happens, and it escalates into violence.

Even if we know each other for years,

do we really know each other?

Just because you spend time with somebody an hour here,

a couple of hours there, do you really know what's going on

inside that person's head?

♪

[radio chatter]

- So what do we got?

- The guy in there that got shot was Tony Saffo.

narrator: 46-year-old Tony Saffo was a certified

auto mechanic and electrical technician

who had a passion for cars.

He leaves behind three children, two grandchildren,

and his fianceé.

- You want to walk me through the scene,

let me know what you see?

- Basically, 1 through 7 is all shell casings.

- Was the victim in the passenger's seat

or the driver's seat?

- Yeah.

♪

narrator: Tony was shot twice in the chest

and once in the arm.

- This reads a lot like an assassination.

♪

- Who told you that?

narrator: Detective Joe Golphin

finds a potential witness, one of the workers

at the auto shop.

- Were you inside your office in the back?

- OK.

Was he standing on the driver's side of the car?

- The dude holding the gun, you're familiar with him?

- And you know his name?

[dramatic music]

- OK.

How long have you known him for?

- Can you describe him?

- What's his hair like?

- Bald? OK.

- OK.

narrator: He says after the shooting, T fled in a tan SUV.

- Who else was here when the shooting happened?

- Is there anybody that's still here now?

- Thank you, sir. Take care.

That's the pure definition of malice murder

where someone is standing five feet away from the driver's

window and using an automatic weapon to shoot

inside the driver's seat.

So, you know, we're definitely gonna be hunting

for a malicious killer.

narrator: Then...

- Patrol officers get a lead from an anonymous tipster.

- Right now I need to do some research on that phone number

and see if I can find out who this guy, T, is.

narrator: As detectives wrap up the scene...

narrator: A man at the hospital with Tony's family

says he has information about the shooting.

- It would be nice to know who this gunman was tonight.

This is not a guy that I feel comfortable waiting

until the next day to try to identify

or get a warrant for him.

narrator: At the hospital...

- Detective Golphin interviews the witness.

narrator: He says the victim tried to intervene.

narrator: He says T came back with a MAC-10 submachine gun.

- It seems like everybody knows that T shot Tony,

but no one can tell me who T is.

I have to know if this phone number

is going to lead us anywhere.

narrator: Leonpacher runs the phone number

given by the tipster at the crime scene.

- Come on. No whammy.

No whammy.

♪

Tevision Troy, bald-headed, 5' 6", 210.

He's 45. Let's see.

Drugs, DUI, agg assault in '98.

- This is a very odd case because you'll

typically get these type of cases with young people.

You don't often get cases like this where you have suspects

that have reached this age because they've

had experiences with de-escalating situations

or just maneuvering certain situations.

It's one of those cases, you walk away

with more whys than answers.

[dramatic music]

♪

- Do you want to hop in the backseat

and I'll just show you what I need to show you real quick?

All right, whenever you're ready,

just flip that over and take a look at the photographs

and see if you recognize anybody.

♪

♪

- OK.

I really appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.

And I'm gonna do my part to do right by your friend.

narrator: Tony founded a car club in 2013.

He and his club volunteered in the community,

mentoring children and helping homeless teens.

- Yeah.

♪

- The victim was actually trying

to defend someone who was, for lack of a better word,

getting picked on.

narrator: With an arrest warrant in hand,

patrol and the Fugitive Squad search through the night...

♪

and into the next day.

♪

- I was with the family, about to throw

some burgers on the grill.

And I got the call saying that he was in custody.

narrator: The Fugitive Squad spotted a tan SUV,

like the one seen fleeing the crime scene,

leaving Tevision's girlfriend's

apartment complex.

- They initiated a traffic stop.

And lo and behold, there was our suspect.

I really want to explore his motive for shooting this guy.

The dispute wasn't a big enough of a deal

to kill somebody.

♪

- I'm Detective Kevin Leonpacher.

Do you want to have a conversation?

Or would you like to ask me some questions?

- You're charged with murder, malice murder.

- It's no joke.

You are telling me that you have no idea why you

might be charged with murder?

- Yes, sir.

- Do you know anybody that might

have been killed recently?

- No, sir.

- Today is Sunday.

Two days ago, where were you at 5:00 p.m.?

- Try to narrow down for me.

4:58 p.m. That's a pretty narrow focus.

Four-- - 4:58 p.m.?

- Yeah.

- I was over at Target on Moreland Avenue.

narrator: Tevision claims, at the time of the murder,

he was at a store six miles from the crime scene.

- OK.

The cell phone that you had in your possession

when he arrested you today, is that your cell phone?

- Yes, sir. - OK.

Is that the phone that you would have had two days ago?

OK.

So when we ask the phone company,

give us his phone records for this day,

give us Tevision's phone records for Friday,

I think what's gonna happen is I'm gonna

find out that you were not anywhere near Target

on Moreland Avenue.

- I don't want to waste your time...

- Yeah, mm-hmm. - And mines, either.

But I mean, at this point in time,

you know, I remain silent because it's like you're

telling me where I was.

And I'm telling you, I'm being straight up honest with you.

So from this point on, just get in touch with Verizon

and get all your information.

- I'll do that.

- All right, well, listen, I would have been happy

to tell you a little bit more

about what led for you to be here.

- Man, there's nothing to talk about.

There's nothing to talk about, sir.

- All right. - Thank you.

- Yeah, all right. - Have a great day.

- He provided an alibi, but the problem was

is he chose an alibi that was on the other side of town.

It's as good as I could have hoped for that he provides

an alibi that I can disprove.

So I think we're in good shape.

♪

- It bothers you if you don't know why.

Why would anybody do something like this?

But as you progress through your career

and as you have more cases under your belt,

you begin to understand it's not going to

always make sense to me.

Once you come to grips with that,

it helps you tremendously as a homicide investigator.

♪