Original subtitles

[dramatic music]

♪

- My God. - He's fighting for his life.

♪

- As we live our day-to-day lives,

we encounter strangers everywhere.

But no one expects to cross paths

with someone capable of deadly violence.

♪

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

- Patrol officer said that guy's laying in his bedroom.

Throat is slit.

- An online encounter ends in murder.

- Whoever did this definitely has a head start on us.

- Then... - Holy smokes.

- Detectives hunt for leads in the case

of a man gruesomely beaten

and left for dead on the street.

- I've never seen anything like this.

- And a father's ambushed and gunned down

in a parking lot.

- That's crazy.

[dramatic music]

♪

narrator: Dallas, Texas.

8:15 a.m.

A quiet Monday morning in the Oak Cliff neighborhood.

A handyman arrives at his employer's house

and makes a shocking discovery.

On the bed is his boss, naked and dead.

♪

[dog barking]

- What's going on?

- Patrol officer there said that guy's

laying in his bedroom. Throat is slit.

♪

narrator: The victim is 68-year-old Gerry Canepa,

a retired computer programmer

who worked for the Dallas School District for 19 years.

He was an avid cyclist who lived alone with his dog.

♪

- Oh, wow.

Trauma to his throat and his chest area.

- Damn.

narrator: The victim has two large stab wounds

in his neck and torso.

- He's starting to show a little bit decomp.

narrator: The ME determines the time of death

to be three days ago.

♪

- Brian.

- Yeah.

- Clearly, a TV's gone.

[camera flashes]

♪

- Fingerprints are gonna be key on this one.

Just, best judgment, guys.

A lot of fingerprinting.

- Oh, yeah. - A lot of swabbing.

♪

We haven't found a murder weapon,

and it appears

that our victim may have known the killer,

because there are no signs of forced entry.

It's a matter of finding out who the last people were

that came over to his house.

- When's the last time you saw him?

♪

- Hey, how you doing, man? - All right.

- When was the last time you were over here?

- Thursday.

- [continuing indistinctly]

♪

You don't know of anybody who has an issue?

He owe money to anybody?

- No.

- He's the only one that lives there?

- He don't live with nobody.

He's gay. - Does he have a lover?

- No.

- OK, I got you. All right.

Just hang tight. - No problem.

- I'm heading to the office.

All right, brothers, keep it up.

♪

Whoever did this definitely has a head start on us.

♪

narrator: Then... [phone ringing]

- Tabor. narrator: A call comes in

from the crime scene.

- Oh, good.

narrator: Another man who worked for Gerry

has just shown up at the victim's house.

- Yeah, just take him down to the office,

and I'll talk to him there.

All right, man. Thanks.

♪

[door creaks]

Hey, man. How you doing?

♪

Appreciate you coming down.

- Right.

You have an idea of what happened to him?

narrator: The man says he last saw Gerry Thursday afternoon,

when he cut his lawn.

- Well, he was definitely murdered Thursday night.

Who else hangs out over there?

- Where does he stay?

narrator: The man gives Tabor

the name of the apartment complex

where he heard the victim's friend lives.

- OK.

♪

So we need to find this guy who drives a gray BMW.

For all we know, he could be the killer.

♪

Hey, what's going on?

♪

Kind of just treading water here, you know?

Hopefully, tomorrow, well start getting information

to come in.

♪

We were finally able to ID a print from a Coke can

that was inside of Gerry's house.

And I looked the guy up on Facebook

and found pictures of him with a gray BMW.

So I believe this would be the guy

that was over there at his house.

Hey, this is Detective Tabor

with the Dallas Police Department.

♪

Would you be willing to come down here?

Something's come up, and it's pretty important

that I talk to you.

narrator: One hour later,

the man arrives at headquarters.

♪

- Just to let you know, the reason I'm contacting you

is because something did happen to Gerry.

He was found killed in his house.

♪

The way we came about you is, we found a fingerprint.

♪

It's just a matter of being open and honest.

♪

♪

- So the last time you went over there was when?

Yeah.

narrator: The man claims that he was at Gerry's house

two days before the murder.

He says they watched TV together

for a few hours that evening.

♪

- So you hadn't been to his house after that at all?

- And also, you know Gerry was gay.

- Mm-hmm.

- Y'all had sexual relationship between the two--

- What was that?

narrator: The man says Gerry used

online dating sites.

♪

narrator: He says he never met any of the men

or knew their names.

- Would you be willing to give us a DNA sample

to compare it against evidence we have?

- OK.

♪

Well, you know, he seems pretty forthcoming with everything.

He's willing to give us a DNA sample.

So you know, I don't think this is gonna be our guy.

♪

narrator: The next day, Tabor received

the victim's email records

from the night of the murder and gets a break.

- They're obviously talking about having

a sexual relationship when he comes over that night.

- What is the text actually saying?

♪

narrator: Tabor looks up Christopher Beachum.

- I don't want to just go get him cold, yet.

I mean, I think this has a really good potential

of being our guy.

- Online dating is very popular now,

and it's a way for people to communicate

with each other and a way for people to meet people.

But the word stranger is just that.

This person is strange to you.

You know absolutely nothing about them.

Online dating is extremely dangerous

because you have some people that troll these sites,

looking for victims.

The best advice that I can give them

is to be limited to the information that you provide.

And when it comes time to meet someone in person,

you should do it in a public place.

Share this information with as many people as you can.

And so in the event that something happens,

at least you could put law enforcement

on the right trail of the person responsible.

In this case, you have the suspect

and the victim trading emails with each other.

That's a tremendous break for investigators.

♪

[line trilling]

♪

- Last name is Beachum, Christopher.

Anything in March?

♪

♪

narrator: The police database of pawn records

shows that Christopher pawned the cameras

four days after Gerry was murdered.

- We're heading to the pawn shop right now.

Thank you. - All right.

♪

- We recovered two cameras from the pawn shop.

It's a good start.

Keep following this lead and see where it takes us.

♪

narrator: Back at headquarters,

Tabor compares the serial numbers

of the pawned cameras

to two empty camera boxes

retrieved from the crime scene.

- Exact same camera.

0922.

That's the same serial number. There we go.

The fact that the serial numbers match up--

I couldn't ask for anything better than that.

With emails putting the suspect,

Christopher Beachum,

over at Gerry's house the night of the murder

and the pawned cameras, I now have enough

to get a warrant for him.

♪

- The next morning, Tabor heads out to take

his suspect into custody.

- Right now, the U.S. Marshals are already

out watching his apartment.

And so far, they haven't seen him come out.

They think that he's inside possibly, right now.

♪

- Dallas Police. Open the door!

[phone ringing]

- Hey, lieutenant.

Thank you, sir. Bye.

♪

The apartment looked like our suspect

had cleared out recently.

And my guess, he's on the run right now.

So I'm gonna call the U.S. Marshals

and see if they can't track him down.

♪

- This person, and a person that would do this--

they've shown what they're capable of.

And until that person is captured,

there's a certain level of fear that's out there.

He's clearly demonstrated how violent he is.

And there's a sense of urgency to find this suspect

and get him off the street.

[phone ringing]

- Detective Tabor.

Got our guy?

♪

- U.S. Marshals have apprehended the suspect

2,000 miles away in Eugene, Oregon.

- That's what I want. And good work, man.

Appreciate the help.

♪

All right, Chris. My name's Brian Tabor.

I'm actually with Dallas Police Department.

OK?

You know why you're arrested, right?

- Yeah.

You want to ask questions and why do I know

a guy that's been killed. - Right.

narrator: Christopher says he met the man

at a house in Oak Cliff, the same neighborhood

where Gerry lived.

- Over there in Oak Cliff?

- Yeah.

- His name's Gerry, by the way.

♪

What time of night do you think went over there?

- I'd say, 10:30, 11:00.

- Did you have sex with him?

- [bleep]. Yeah, I got-- I received a [bleep].

- That's all?

- Yeah.

I just told him, you know, it was getting late and I left.

♪

- What happened to him happened that night

that you were over there.

- What night? The night he got killed?

- You were the last one over there.

You took his cameras. OK?

I can prove by serial numbers that you pawned them.

Without a doubt, in my mind, you did this.

- No, I didn't.

♪

- Something had to have happened.

♪

- No, no, no, no, no.

So interview over.

I don't like that you called me a liar.

I really don't.

- You have a warrant for capital murder.

You've been arrested for capital murder.

OK?

The interview's over.

♪

narrator: Three weeks later,

Christopher is extradited back to Dallas.

- We're in the process of looking in Chris.

And we just got his text records back

that shows that the night before the murder,

he writes in one of the texts that his car is being repoed

and that he needs to do a robbery.

And then after the murder,

he's texting about selling a flatscreen TV

that we definitely believe is Gerry's.

So these texts that we got--

you know, they just strengthen our case against him.

♪

narrator: Later that week,

Gerry's niece and his coworkers

gather to honor his memory.

♪

- It's just a shame that he had to leave us,

because I really would like to spend time with him.

♪

- I love you, uncle.

Here's to you.

♪

- Sometimes, people can reveal information about each other

that leads one to believe

that I really know this person,

which leaves you to open up your life to this person,

allow them access.

You tend to take them at face value

as they present themselves to you at that time,

but you never know who they really are.

Sadly, in this particular case,

it led to his death.

[dramatic music]

narrator: 2:00 p.m., a bar

in Cincinnati's East End neighborhood.

[dog barking]

narrator: Paramedics arrive and pronounce the man dead.

♪

- Holy smokes.

♪

[exhales]

♪

- Went right into his head. - Oh, my God.

♪

- And the weight of that concrete on the end

just probably drove it right in.

♪

- I've never seen anything like this.

Jiminy Christmas.

narrator: Sergeant Liston finds the victim's wallet.

The money is gone.

- They didn't take any credit cards.

narrator: The victim is 51-year-old Ronnie Simpson.

Ronnie was born and raised in the East End.

He worked long hours as a local maintenance man.

- The guys that were in the bar last night

came here today and saw his truck here

and thought something was up.

- OK. And they're in the bar?

- And they're in the bar.

♪

- He was part of the family with all these people.

- I understand.

- That's where he always parked, a lot of times.

- And that's not uncommon? - No, because--

narrator: The bar's owner says that after drinking,

Ronnie would sleep it off in his truck behind the bar.

- That was his routine, then.

- Always, always, always. - OK.

♪

- I mean, see the blood?

all over the windows.

- Inside?

- Oh, man.

He was attacked while he was in the truck.

♪

He would sit there and drug out.

♪

- It's forming up to be a robbery

where the guy was beaten.

They swat him up with the brick up here,

toss it, come back here,

jab him a couple of times in the head with a pole.

But they finish him off here.

This is just a coup de grace.

He's not struggling.

♪

That's just being downright mean.

♪

- In my experience, when you have a case

with this level of brutality,

it shows you that this person is extremely violent.

They are unstable, capable of absolutely anything.

It stokes fear in people.

What is it about that person?

What attracted that suspect to that person?

Do I have any commonalities with that person?

And until it makes sense, anxiety and fear

are very high.

♪

- All righty. Take it easy.

♪

- Tell us about Saturday night.

You're in here with Ronnie.

- Ronnie and Bobby and Warren and I

were sitting on the corner.

narrator: The witness, Mary Helen,

is an old friend of the victim's.

- And Ronnie said I had to buy all night, so... [laughs]

narrator: She says they hung out at the bar

the night of the murder.

- I said, "Ronnie, if you want, me and Chris

will ride you home," and he never.

He wouldn't take a ride.

He's out back sleeping.

He sleeps out there every weekend.

♪

But then, this one guy was in here bumming--

trying to bum drinks off everybody,

and he said, "Well, you guys buy me a beer."

Ronnie said, "Get the hell out of our face."

♪

- Who was that?

♪

- Who was that?

- Jeff Barrett.

♪

narrator: She says Jeff was with a man

named Scott Parleer.

- Was Scott bumming drinks, too, or was he paying?

- No.

- Did Ronnie pull a large sum of money out of--

- Ronnie had money, yes.

He had 20s.

- How much would you say he had?

- Couple hundred dollars.

- What time did they leave?

narrator: Mary says that when she left at 1:00 a.m.,

Scott and Jeff were still in the bar,

and Ronnie was asleep in his truck.

- When you're in a bar, you have to keep in mind

that you don't know the level of intoxication of the person

that you're into an altercation with.

You don't know how much alcohol they've had.

You don't know what other substances

they are under the influence of.

You have to keep in mind, this is a stranger

that you know absolutely nothing about.

So you don't know if they're violent.

You don't know anything about their past.

So as a former law enforcement officer,

especially as someone who spent

a great deal of time in Homicide,

I'm suspicious of everybody. You know?

♪

- This is Jeff Barrett.

narrator: Detective Ballman looks up his suspect,

Jeff Barrett.

♪

- Witnesses tell us he had an altercation with the victim,

Ronnie, that night.

♪

This is Scott.

He didn't argue with Ronnie, but he was with Jeff.

Maybe he can tell us a bit more about Jeff

and what he was up to last night.

♪

Hey, is this Mr. Parleer?

♪

What time did you leave the bar?

- I think it was around 11:00 or a little after 11:00.

Me and Jeff went on down to my house.

We were there for about two hours.

narrator: He says Jeff left

and walked back towards the bar

around 2:30 a.m..

- And we've got people saying that Jeff's in the bar

till closing.

- I mean, I can't really swear to the times

because I was drunk, you know, basically.

I mean--

- We brought you down here for a reason, OK?

You know a lot more than what you're telling us, OK?

- I'm just telling you what I know.

- Listen.

I know you know a lot more than what you're telling us.

♪

- How do I know a lot more than what I'm telling you?

That's what I can't-- - We just gave--

- I mean, the times might be a little screwed up.

- It just ain't a little screwed up.

It's a lot screwed up.

- I'll tell you right now,

I was not nowhere around Ronnie

or whoever did this to him.

I mean, if I knew anything else than what I'm telling you,

you would be the first ones to know.

♪

- I've been in Homicide five years now.

I've seen a lot of dead people.

I've seen bodies tore up many different ways.

I've never seen anything like this.

I mean, it almost has a savagery to it.

♪

- I mean, I was at the bar, you know, and I was drinking.

But I wasn't nowhere around where that man died.

You know, that's-- I was nowhere around that.

♪

I was at my house.

Jeff left my house, and that's the last time I seen Jeff.

♪

- Well, I believe the guy.

I wish he could have given us a little bit more.

My next step is to talk to Jeff Barrett.

He's really our last lead.

♪

[phone ringing]

Hi, this is Detective Ballman.

♪

You're there right now, right?

We'll be there shortly.

Barrett confessed to her

and threatened if she told anyone,

that he would kill her and take a lot of people

out with him before he went down.

♪

[tires screeching]

- We'll do everything we can.

We're gonna protect you. - You're gonna be OK.

- All right, you just gotta be able to be honest with us

and tell the truth.

♪

- I'll tell you everything that he told me.

He said, "I killed a man, and I don't feel

nothing about it, either."

And he was dead cold.

- OK.

- He said he pulled something up out of the ground

and just beat the man to death.

- He said with what?

- Some metal bar with concrete on the end.

♪

- Was he in his clothes, bloody clothes?

- Yes, they're right in here.

- Show me.

♪

Where'd you find these at?

- In the garbage.

And I watched him put them in there.

He just came and murdered--

- You're not. You're not. - You're coming with us.

We need to get information so we can get him

off the street right now so he don't hurt nobody.

- It takes a damn monster to do that,

and the monster is my son.

♪

♪

- Did he say he was by himself?

- No one else was involved.

He told me he was by himself.

- He was by himself.

- Then he said, "I dove in that window

and I beat that man to death," first, with his bare hands.

And that wasn't good enough.

And I said, "Jeff, you beat a man to death?"

Yeah, and it don't bother me any.

And I thought, "Oh, my God."

- He said it didn't bother him any?

- Yes, he did tell me that.

He wasn't even upset...

- OK. - That he just--

- OK. All right.

♪

- It's very unusual for family members

to incriminate each other, especially in a homicide case.

Family members tend to be extremely protective

of each other in a case where they know

that there's a potential of you going away

for the rest of your life,

especially if it's a sister or a mother.

I think both need to be highly commended in this case to say,

"You know what?

"This might be my brother, this might be my son,

"but they committed a crime, and they need

to be held accountable for it."

narrator: Barrett's sister, Tina,

agrees to show investigators

where Jeff works.

♪

- He's never been trustworthy.

And he's mean and violent.

We never had a good relationship.

He's just a very angry, hostile person.

♪

It's not far from up here.

- All right.

♪

♪

narrator: Detective Feldhaus thinks he spotted the suspect

in a passing vehicle.

♪

That's him.

- Get out of the car!

Get out of the car and lay down!

- Your hands up. - Get down!

Get down!

Get on the ground!

Put your hands behind your back.

- Put your hands behind your back.

- Go back here.

Pat him down really good.

♪

- You know what happened to Ronnie, right?

Everybody up there knows--

- I don't know who he is, but I know about the situation.

- OK.

Tell us what you know about the situation.

- All I know is that someone murdered him.

- OK.

Didn't know Ronnie?

- No, I never knew Ronnie. - OK.

♪

- Never see him in the bar? - No.

I don't even know what the guy looks like.

- See, the thing is, is we're not here to question

whether you did it or not.

- Right.

- We know you did it.

♪

- I didn't do this crime.

- Well, you did... - I did not.

- And we can prove it.

- Then I want to talk to an attorney,

then, if you guys want to do that.

♪

- You're gonna be charged.

And you're gonna be charged with his murder.

And you're gonna be taken downtown.

- All right. - All right.

- Don't know what you got on me.

- It's more than enough.

♪

This was one of the most brutal crimes, probably,

in the five years that I've been in Homicide

that I've ever seen.

This man was truly an innocent victim.

♪

And it's part of the reason why I do what I do.

People like that scare me that they're in our society,

that they walk among us.

You want to get those people away

from the decent law-abiding citizens

before they can harm anybody else.

And that's really what we do.

- All right, thanks.

- OK. - Take it easy.

[dramatic music]

narrator: Tulsa, Oklahoma.

2:55 a.m..

The parking lot of a Mexican restaurant.

[line trilling]

narrator: Police and paramedics arrive

and find a man shot in the parking lot.

♪

[sirens wail]

He is rushed to the hospital, where he dies.

♪

- Our victim was over here.

♪

narrator: 36-year-old Jose Luis Cordova

grew up in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

At 20 years old, he and his girlfriend

moved to Tulsa, where he worked in construction,

supporting their two children.

♪

- There's .380 casings.

narrator: Jose was shot once in the chest.

It checks back to the victim.

- All right.

- The security guard

that was working Don Francisco's--

he says he saw it.

And the owner of Don Francisco,

he says he'll get video footage.

- Let's go look at the video.

♪

- Hey, how are you?

- So you have a camera? - Yeah.

♪

- Do you know anything about the shopping mall next door?

The cameras?

- They will be open tomorrow? - Yeah.

- Well, thank you very much.

♪

narrator: Ten hours in...

- Look at this.

narrator: Kennedy returns with video from the bar

next door to the crime scene.

- All right.

- This is about six minutes

before the victim shows up.

I think that's a Cadillac, possibly my suspect's vehicle.

- It's almost like this guy's waiting.

narrator: Minutes after the Cadillac parks.

- I think that's my victim pulling in.

♪

Ooh, look at that.

Here he goes.

narrator: As Jose gets out of his truck,

a man approaches.

- You can almost see him pulling for the gun.

♪

- Oh, [bleep].

Maybe? - Yeah, yeah.

- But he's fighting for his life.

♪

- My God.

♪

- That's crazy.

♪

Then he tears out of the parking lot.

♪

- The suspect is lying in wait for a victim,

and he just brutally robs him.

Ends up shooting and killing him.

- It tells me he's a brutal son of a bitch.

♪

- Here, you have a case where an unsuspecting victim

was prey of somebody

who probably would have done this to anybody.

When you find out a suspect is just lying in wait,

I'm just looking for a victim.

I'm here to rob somebody, and the first person

that I feel is vulnerable enough for me to do that,

that's that person.

Not necessarily mean that there was one particular person

that he was looking for.

It just means that anybody that came that I felt

was vulnerable enough for me to do that,

that was his intent.

♪

- In a developing story, the 15-year-old daughter

of murder victim Jose Cordova

is speaking out about her father's death.

- It's just, like, crazy how you can see someone someday

and the next day, they're gone.

It's just sad that he's gone now.

Don't really wish this on anybody else 'cause it's--

it's very hard.

- Jasmine hopes that her move to speak out

will make others speak out if they saw anything.

♪

- Wow.

I just got a Crime Stoppers tip.

Let's see.

Tipster's saying that they knew who killed Jose Cordova.

♪

It gives a shooter's name as Larry Darrell Jones.

He drives a beige Cadillac.

Oh, gosh. they even give the tag number of the vehicle.

Tipster stated that Larry Darrell Jones

is violent and has weapons on him.

♪

narrator: 33-year-old Larry Darrell Jones

has prior convictions

for possession of a stolen vehicle,

assault and battery with a dangerous weapon,

and possession of a firearm.

- It looks like he's wanted for a traffic violation

in Bartlesville.

narrator: Bartlesville is 45 miles North of Tulsa.

- Unknown address.

narrator: Kennedy searches for the license plate number

from the Crime Stoppers tip.

♪

- Checks to a girl on a gold Cadillac '95 model.

This girl may be our suspect's girlfriend.

Let's see if they are friends.

♪

[line trilling]

♪

I got a call from Detective Davidson.

Our target vehicle is there.

So our suspect is more than likely there.

narrator: With a search warrant in hand,

Kennedy meets with the Bartlesville SWAT team.

- Let's go.

- I do not have enough probable cause to arrest Larry

for Jose Cordova's murder.

We're hoping that they can arrest Larry

on his outstanding warrant.

That way, it'll give me an opportunity

to go up and interview him, get a search warrant.

We're needing a gun.

We're going to sit by and let the Bartlesville

SWAT team serve this warrant.

♪

We're there.

It's gonna be, like, three houses to the west.

♪

He's coming out in handcuffs.

narrator: With Larry in custody

on his outstanding warrant,

Kennedy moves in to execute the search warrant.

♪

- We're gonna do a search of the house and the car.

♪

narrator: Inside the house...

- Let's take the cell phone.

- Detectives collect Larry's phone.

♪

But they do not find a gun.

- I think we're out of here.

♪

- All right.

We're from Tulsa Police Department, OK?

I'm Detective Kennedy.

I'm a homicide investigator.

Detective Ryden is also.

Have you been to Tulsa lately?

- When was I down there?

♪

I wanna say Sunday before Thanksgiving.

narrator: Larry claims he went to Tulsa the morning

after Jose was murdered.

- I took my daughter to the Petco

to go buy one of those little hamsters.

- How did you get to Tulsa?

- My girl's car.

- Yeah.

♪

- Prior to that Saturday night, where were you at?

♪

- Well, here's the deal.

I had a murder that occurred at a little place

called Don Francisco's Taco Hut on the 19th,

probably about 3:00 in the morning.

Well, fortunately, for you, you're on video in Tulsa.

And that vehicle is on video

during the time you say you're watching movies.

- Not in Tulsa.

- Well, in the parking lot, there's a fight.

And I can tell who's in the fight.

And you're one of those people.

- Y'all trying to make it seem like I did something.

Is that what you're trying to say?

- I'm saying this gentleman ended up dead.

♪

What you need to do is tell me what happened.

♪

- Y'all say I got footages of you doing this.

Show y'all footages.

- We don't get search warrants with bluffs.

We don't get here without evidence.

- I would rather get my story out now

than let it look like it was this cold-blooded murder.

- Nah, [bleep].

♪

I'm telling the honest truth.

I am not guilty.

♪

- You think we're done here?

- I think so.

- I think so, too.

♪

- All right, Mr. Jones.

narrator: Larry will be booked into the Bartlesville jail

on his unrelated warrant.

♪

One week later.

- This is right around the time of your murder, right?

- Larry's cell phone records come in.

- Let's see where it puts our suspect.

♪

OK, drum roll.

♪

Right there.

- 22nd and Memorial.

- Dude, that's 300 meters.

Gee. [laughs]

I think I've got enough now.

♪

narrator: The next day...

- That'll work, man. I appreciate it.

narrator: Kennedy gets a murder warrant

issued for Larry.

- He will be extradited to Tulsa.

This is the daughter, Jasmine. She's with mom.

I, uh... - OK.

Hi, Jasmine. How are you?

- So where was it repoed from?

- We've made an arrest in the murder of your father.

- Yes.

We placed him right there at the crime scene

at the time of the murder.

And so we've got that person who murdered

your father in custody.

- OK.

- I'm sorry for your loss,

but we're going to do our best to make sure

that he is punished

for the crime that he committed.

OK?

- Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

- A'ight. No problem.

- OK, bye. - Bye.

It's tough for the families all the way through this.

And I don't know that you ever get closure,

but it's a relief to know that the person

who's responsible for killing their father is in custody.

♪

- It's more common to be killed by someone that you know

or, at least, affiliated with than it is to be killed

by a complete stranger, unless it's

in commission of another crime, a carjacking,

a robbery that goes wrong.

And when that happens, it makes it

extremely difficult for a homicide investigator.

You have a family that has a loved one

that's been the victim of a crime,

and it's a senseless crime.

It's huge to them to be able to bring closure to this

and to say, "You know what?

"We're never going to be able to make sense of it,

"but at least the person responsible for this

is off the street."

narrator: Two years after Jose's murder,

his family takes part in Tulsa's Day of Remembrance

to honor victims of violent crimes.

♪

- We are planting flowers for my dad

with a written message.

♪

He's missing out on seeing us grow up,

graduation,

where, like, you actually need a dad to be there.

♪

I miss him all the time.

♪