. - In the criminal justice system, the people are represented
by two separate, yet equally important groups:
the police, who investigate crime,
and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
- Do you remember when this park
was a refuge from tourists?
- You mean back in the '80s,
when it was full of drug dealers and riots?
- The good old days.
And now we've got these
"van life" people hanging around here.
- They're kids--
seeking adventure, living their best life.
- They're fake hippies driving gas-guzzling motor homes,
drinking oat milk lattes
all paid for with daddy's credit card.
It's a sham.
- They're not bothering anyone.
- They're a nuisance. This is what I'm talking about.
Look at all this trash.
- It isn't trash.
It's blood.
[siren wailing]
- Van is registered to Amanda Larson.
She's 22 from Columbus, Ohio.
- When was the last time someone had eyes on her?
- Yesterday afternoon.
- What was she doing in Manhattan?
- Came to the city five days ago.
Been living in her vehicle. - Uh-huh.
Any summonses on the vehicle? - No.
- What about a wallet?
Phone? - Haven't located either.
I think this is one of her shoes.
Couldn't find the other one. - Yeah, probably on her foot.
Deep scuff marks on the heel.
Probably being dragged someplace.
Must've lost the other one in the process.
- At first I thought it was a simple car break,
but the blood, the shoe, the missing tourist?
Figured I'd better call it in.
- Check 911 calls.
Have LMSI pull video footage from every camera
within a three-block radius.
Also start a canvas on residential
and business cameras. - [whistles]
- You got something?
- A hammer. Blood looks fresh.
- I'll check the hospitals.
She might've ended up in an emergency room.
- Or the morgue.
[tense music]
[dramatic music]
♪
- Amanda and I spent the day together.
We got passes to a gym so we could shower.
And after that, we went to the laundromat.
- What time did you get back here?
- Um, around 5:00.
- Have any idea where she went after this?
Who she might have been with?
- I knocked on her door at around 10:00
to see if she wanted to do a livestream
in front of the Tenement Museum,
but she wasn't here.
- Did you notice the condition of the van?
Was the window broken?
- No. No, no, nothing like that.
- Did you hear anything?
Yelling or glass breaking?
- No, but I sleep with a sound machine.
- Do you have any idea who Amanda was hanging with
while she was here in New York?
- I never saw her with anyone IRL,
but she was huge on social media.
She made van life a thing.
- Living in a van.
How did she make that a thing?
- She had a vlog--
posted about life on the road.
She was actually pretty shy.
But when she was on camera,
everything she did looked like so much fun.
She's the reason I got a van.
A lot of people feel the same way.
- How many is a lot?
- Like over two million?
- And the tips just keep on coming.
I swear, half of her two million followers
are armchair detectives just clogging up the phone lines.
- Who knows?
Maybe they'll help us find a lead.
- Yeah, better chance the Jets win the Super Bowl.
- Well, at 10:00 p. m., the van was intact.
And at 11:37 p. m.,
she posts from a party in Brooklyn.
And then at 7:24 a. m.,
we get the call that the van has been broken into.
- I just got off the phone with the parents--
they're a wreck.
They said they get a check-in call from Amanda every morning.
Ten weeks she's been traveling, never missed a day
until this morning.
They're jumping on a plane and I'd like
to have some news for them when they land.
- Mm-hmm. - Where are we at?
- Canvassing--haven't come up with anything,
nothing on the 911 call logs,
and the Missing Persons Squad have come up empty.
- No credit card activity.
- Yeah, we should check her father's credit card too.
He said that she uses it sometimes
when hers is maxed out. What about her phone?
- It's either turned off or the battery's dead.
I put in a request for a cell site order.
- Forensics? - F-BIO put a priority
on the testing of the blood
and promised a quick turnaround.
- Let's retrace her last steps,
starting with her last-known location,
which is the party, and then we're gonna
have to work forward from there.
- Already have Unis canvassing the area.
- And one of them just found a potential witness
in East Williamsburg.
- Let's go.
- Do you know who Amanda Larson is?
- Yeah, I know her. I DM'd her to come.
Put her on the VIP list. - Why's that?
- She's a big influencer.
- Yeah, she posts about how much fun she's having?
- Exactly-- gives the party cred.
All it cost me was bottle service.
- You talk to her?
- For a few seconds.
Seemed pretty cool. Good vibe.
- You see her hanging out with anyone?
- She spent most of the time in the VIP section over there.
Everyone was trying to take selfies with her.
But, uh, there was a dude--
he runs a vegan lifestyle blog.
Think they left together.
- We're gonna need his name.
- Yeah. Yeah, I know Amanda.
Yeah, I met her last night.
I was just telling Megan about her.
I can't believe what happened.
I mean, her blood was all over her van like that.
- Wait--how'd you know there was blood on the van?
- It's all over social media.
Let me show you.
- Hmm.
You go to the party, Megan?
- I wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home.
- So you were here all night?
- I was still up when Toby got home.
We went through the content from the party together.
- What time was that?
- Like 2:00?
2:15?
- You come back alone?
- Yeah, yeah.
Um, Amanda and I walked to the subway together.
I got on the L train, Eastbound, and...
last time I saw her, she was on the platform
waiting to go to Manhattan.
- We'll need you and Megan
to come down to the precinct with us.
- Uh, o-okay. Why?
- Because you're lying your ass off.
[tense music]
- You see where Amanda is standing?
- Looks like a bank-- an ATM.
- You see what time that picture was taken?
- It says 4:06 this morning.
- That's when Amanda used her father's credit card
to withdraw cash.
Guess where that ATM is located.
Across the street from your apartment, Toby!
Which tells me you and Amanda didn't part ways
on that subway platform like you said.
- [slams table]
Time to tell the truth.
Otherwise, you and Toby are gonna be
the lead suspects in a kidnap-murder plot.
♪
- I saw her in the apartment.
- When?
- Around 2:00.
She came home with Toby.
- And how did that make you feel, Megan?
Angry? Jealous? - No.
- Your boyfriend brings another woman
to your apartment at 2:00 in the morning?
You had to feel something-- - It's not like that!
Toby can hook up with anyone he wants to.
We're not together anymore.
- Megan and I broke up a couple months ago.
You know, we still live together and everything--
um, we just live in separate bedrooms, you know?
She does her thing, I do my thing.
- Then why lie about bringing Amanda home?
- Our blog is called "Two Vegans in Love,"
and it's about us as a couple living a healthy life.
If people find out that-- that Megan and I broke up,
I mean, it'll-- it'll ruin everything.
- You held up a potential homicide investigation
to protect your brand?
- It took us one year to reach influencer status.
It's how we pay the bills!
Amanda left my apartment around 4:00.
She was alone, and...
I never saw her again.
[knock at door]
- Lab work came back.
The DNA profile shows that the blood in the van
didn't belong to Amanda.
- Might be good news, she might still be alive.
- Hopefully, but if the blood at the scene isn't Amanda's...
- It belongs to a guy by the name of Joseph Denzig.
We got a hit in the database.
His rap sheet looks like a receipt from CVS.
Track him down-- before the internet does.
I don't want a mob of amateur sleuths
hearing about this and taking the law into their own hands.
- What happened to your wrist, Joey?
- I fell.
Climbing over a fence.
- Mm-hmm.
Where were you yesterday morning
between the hours of 4:00 and 7:00 a. m.?
- Here--sleeping.
- Are you familiar with a woman named Amanda Larson?
- Never heard of her.
- That's strange, 'cause I just found
her driver's license in your closet.
[tense music]
- Turn around. Turn around!
- [grunts] - Let's go. Let's go.
. - Your blood is all over Amanda Larson's van. - We don't have time for 20 questions.
Where's the girl?
- I told you, I have no idea.
- Man, we've seen your priors.
You're not a kidnapper-- you're a thief.
So what happened, hmm?
- I used a hammer to smash the window on her van.
When I reached in and unlocked the door, I sliced my wrist.
Almost bled out. - Mm-hmm, and Amanda was there?
- Right before I broke in,
I saw her coming down the street.
She walked up to the van, but a guy came out of nowhere
and started yelling at her.
- There was somebody waiting for her?
- They argued,
then he grabbed her and dragged her away.
She dropped her purse,
and she was kicking so much, one of her shoes flew off.
- Okay, you just stood there and let that happen, huh?
Let a dude just snatch her up like that?
- Look, I ain't no hero, bro.
- Yeah, either you're lying or you're a coward.
- Look-- - Neither is good.
- I didn't touch that girl.
I swear! - Okay, what did he look like?
The guy who grabbed her? - I didn't see his face.
- Height, hair color? Anything?
- Brown hair. Around my height.
He dragged her to a blue and tan pickup truck.
- A blue and tan truck? Okay.
You see the license plate?
- No, but I'm pretty sure it was a Chevy.
- Put him in.
- Watch your head.
- Hey, everyone, it's Amanda.
I wasn't able to drive my van all the way to Paris.
- Posted March 1st.
- That's two days before Amanda went missing.
- To see the beautiful arch.
- Check out the background.
That's a blue and tan truck.
[tense music]
- Even though it's freezing,
the park is just full of energy.
There are kids on strollers, and dogs, street performers...
- Pause it right there.
Maybe that's the guy that Denzig was describing.
- And here's another video that she posted about an hour later.
- It is such a beautiful day.
It is freezing--it literally feels like ten degrees.
- Wait, stop it right there.
- Same clothes, same guy. - Maybe she has a stalker.
- Made it easy for him-- posted every detail of her life
and her future plans. A predator's dream.
- I know you are not implying that this is her fault.
- No, I'm just making an observation.
Call me old-fashioned, call me paranoid,
I don't give a rat's ass.
That is why my kids
don't have social media accounts.
- All right, send a screenshot over to Facial Rec
and have SMART do a deep dive on social media.
Let's go back to the area where Amanda's van was parked
and see if anybody knows this guy.
- We're so grateful to all of you for coming out.
There's a signup list for volunteers
at the entrance to the park,
right next to the fliers with Amanda's photo.
We're asking people to pass them out to anyone you see.
At the grocery store, your school, your church.
We appreciate all of you... - Thank you.
- For helping us find our beloved daughter, Amanda.
- She's gonna be more recognizable than the Pope.
- Yeah, this is what happens
when a pretty white girl goes missing.
- Haley, hey. - Oh, hi. Nice to see you.
- Do, uh, do any one of you recognize this guy?
- Oh, yeah, I've seen him before.
- Around here?
- No, we matched on You First a few days ago.
- Huh?
- It's a dating app. - You went out with him?
- No, no, he's like a Wall Street guy.
He's not my type.
- You think I can take a look at his profile?
- Yeah, he said his name was Tim something...
- Suspect's real name is Daniel Garrett.
He's all over the dating sites.
He has, like, 12 different aliases.
- Yeah, and I bet each one has a phony résumé too.
- He told Amanda he was an oncologist,
served in the military, and volunteers
for the local animal shelter.
They arranged to meet two days before she went missing.
They spent the day together.
- So he's not a stalker? - No, they were on a date.
He messaged her to meet up again,
"You wanna go out tonight?"
She blows him off.
- Okay, so she goes to this loft party
on Wednesday night, right? - Yeah.
- And then she posts all about it on her social media,
making it look like she had the time of her life.
And I'm guessing it didn't sit so well with Garrett.
Hey, have we tracked down his truck yet?
- No. - Working on it.
- Have we tried pinging his phone?
- It's turned off.
- What about his boss, his neighbors?
- No one's seen him in the past three days.
- Parents? - Father deceased,
mother lives in Tampa.
- [sighs] - All right.
- Let's call the local PD
and send someone over to her house,
just in case he reaches out.
- License plate readers show Garrett
driving through the Lincoln Tunnel
5:12 a. m. Thursday morning.
- Do we know what exit he took?
- 7. Bordentown.
- That's ten minutes from Wharton State Park.
- A hundred thousand acres of trees and mud.
- Hell of a place to bury a body.
. [indistinct chatter] [suspenseful music]
♪
- Over here.
Clearing about 50 yards up ahead.
- That's his truck.
- [whistles]
- Freeze! Police! - We got him!
[tense music]
- He's going to the river!
♪
- Stop moving!
[handcuffs clicking]
Get up. Get up!
- What have you done with Amanda?
What have you done?
- Hey, hey, hey! All good, Frank?
♪
- Yeah, I'm good.
- Junior. Get him in there. - Yes, sir.
- Hey, any sign of Amanda?
- No, but we got a shovel with fresh dirt,
zip ties, and an empty bag of lye.
- Oh, that son of a bitch buried her already...
Somewhere.
- Where'd you bury her, Daniel?
- I have no idea what you're talking about.
- There's still fresh dirt on the shovel.
There was a bag of lye in your pickup.
What was that for?
- We've seen your dating profile.
We know you went out with her. - So?
- She blew you off and it made you very, very upset.
Just-- just tell us where she is.
Tell us where she is, or I swear to God!
- Frank!
- [sighs]
- I want a lawyer.
Now.
- Let's go.
- Clock's running out.
I can only hold him another 18 hours.
- You want us to charge him?
With what?
- Felony murder.
- [exhales]
We don't have a body.
I don't think we even have enough
to make a kidnapping case right now.
I'll run it up the flagpole.
We have a decent circumstantial case.
- Without a body, it is definitely less than decent.
- What evidence do you have?
- We found Amanda's prints in Garrett's truck.
- They went on a date. She was in his truck.
- We also have a witness who saw someone matching
Garrett's description grab her off the street.
- A witness with a four-page rap sheet
who was unable to make a positive ID.
- Garrett was hiding in the woods
with a shovel, zip ties, lye.
I'm not saying it's perfect,
but we definitely have something--
definitely enough to charge him.
- But not enough to convict.
As it stands, we can't even prove Amanda's dead.
- Are you questioning whether or not she's dead?
- No, I'm questioning whether or not
we can convince a jury she's dead.
We get one bite at the apple.
I don't want to blow it by moving too quickly.
- Wharton State Forest is massive.
Good chance we never find Amanda's remains.
It's not ideal, but you need to move forward.
Try this case with what we have.
[tense music]
- With all due respect, you want to try a murder case
even though we can't prove how, when,
or even if the victim was killed?
- That's correct. - May I ask why?
- Because it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative.
. - Docket number CR-200931-22 People v Daniel Garrett alleging murder in the first degree.
- How do you plead, Mr. Garrett?
- Not guilty. - Bail?
- Mr. Garrett is accused of felony murder in connection
with the kidnapping and slaying of Amanda Larson.
The defendant has no significant ties
to the community and has already proven himself
to be a flight risk.
He was apprehended hiding at a campsite
deep in the woods of Wharton Forest.
People seek remand.
- I'll hear you on bail.
- I am filing a motion to dismiss.
The complaint is legally insufficient.
The people will never be able to present
a prima facie murder case.
There are no forensics linking my client to the crime,
and, in fact, no evidence that a crime even occurred.
There is no body.
- You're bringing a homicide case without a body?
- It's true that the victim's remains
haven't yet been recovered.
- Because she isn't dead.
Amanda Larson is a social media star.
This is all a big publicity stunt.
- That's preposterous.
- I literally just read on Twitter that she's
in the Bahamas sitting on the beach.
- Perhaps I'm a purist, Counselor--
I don't accept tweets as evidence.
Motion denied.
The defendant is remanded. Next case.
[gavel pounds]
- It's pretty clear the defense is gonna focus
on Amanda's social media presence,
claim this is all part
of some big, twisted attention grab.
- There's a lot of money in being an influencer.
- Your point? - All they have to do is
convince one juror that
there's a possibility that Amanda is alive,
that this is a publicity stunt, and we have a mistrial.
- [sighs] So let's, uh,
let's keep all social media addicts
and aspiring influencers off the jury.
- That's pretty much everyone under 30.
- And anyone with negative views of social media stars.
- That's pretty much everyone over 30.
- Garrett had a social media presence as well, correct?
- Yeah.
It was complete fiction, but he had presence,
especially on the dating apps.
- So then it's doubtful that Amanda was the first woman that
he ever reeled in with a fake persona.
- Want me to look for other victims?
- Or at least other people that he duped or stalked.
- Worth a try.
- We've identified six women-- all willing to testify
they met Mr. Garrett through phony,
duplicitous social media interactions.
Garrett would present himself as a doctor,
a lawyer, a banker, then meet these women.
When they discovered he was lying,
they ended the date, or the relationship,
as the case may be, at which point
Garrett got incensed,
lashed out at the women, called them whores, tramps.
In two separate instances,
he actually assaulted the women.
- And you want them to testify? - Yes.
- How is their testimony remotely relevant
to this murder case?
- We'll demonstrate a clear pattern of behavior,
admissible under Molineux.
- Molineux requires prior bad acts similar in nature.
My client obviously didn't kill any of these women.
- He came damn close-- two different times.
Hit one woman in the face.
He forced another into his truck at knife point.
Fortunately, she managed to escape.
- Your Honor, none of this has anything to do
with whether or not my client killed Amanda Larson.
- It'll give the jury a complete and accurate picture
of who the defendant really is.
That he is capable of violence.
- It's a close call.
But the prejudicial impact outweighs the probative value.
Motion is denied.
- We'll be fine.
We just need to dig into the evidence we have.
When all the facts have been presented,
the only logical conclusion will be
Garrett threw her in his truck, killed her,
then buried her body in that state park.
- I hope you're right.
Are they here for us? - Oh, no.
- What?
- A new photo was just posted on Amanda's social media feed.
"A little fun in the sun."
Tag says she's in Cancun?
- Someone must've hacked her account.
- Posted six minutes ago, and it already has
over 5,000 comments.
A lot of people are giving her emojis,
smiley faces, and thumbs up.
- Mr. Price, what do you think about Amanda Larson's photo?
- Are you going to ask the Mexican authorities
to help find her?
- I just read that your office is going to drop the charges.
- No, that's false. We're not dropping the charges.
Beyond that, I have no further comment.
. - There's no way Amanda posted that photograph. Not in a million years.
- Why do you say that?
- I know my daughter.
She's a kind, loving, conscientious woman.
If she were alive, she would let us know.
She would call me.
- Were you and Amanda close?
- We talked on the phone every day.
I loved hearing about her life, her adventures.
- Did she have plans to take a break
from the road, come home for a few days?
- Yes, she was going to surprise her grandfather
for his 80th birthday.
We were supposed to have a party.
It would've been yesterday.
She never would've missed it.
Never.
- Thank you.
And again, I'm sorry for your loss.
Your witness.
- Good afternoon, Ms. Larson.
I'm going to have to ask you some difficult questions.
How many social media followers did Amanda have
when she started her van life adventure?
- I'm not sure. - About two million.
Does that sound about right?
- I know that she was very popular.
People loved watching her.
- And how many followers does she have now,
since she left New York?
- She didn't leave New York.
She was abducted and killed!
- The answer is over ten million.
- Objection, counsel is testifying.
- Ask a question, Ms. Knight.
- Your daughter started off her social media career
with a travel blog, is that correct?
- Yes, it eventually evolved into her van life blog.
- And there was some controversy about that account
a few years back, wasn't there?
People accused her of lying to get attention,
said she was photoshopping images of herself
onto fake backgrounds.
Made it look like she was in Paris,
when really, she was sitting in your kitchen in Columbus.
- The blog was fun, aspirational.
Amanda was still a teenager, nobody was supposed to believe
that she was off traveling the world by herself.
- Isn't it true that your daughter's primary goal
is to create buzz?
Increase traffic to her page?
- It's only part of who she was.
Yes, she liked the attention, it gave her a sense
of community, a feeling that she belonged.
- It also generated
quite a bit of revenue for her, too, didn't it?
- It helped defray the cost of her trips.
You are talking about my daughter.
She was a good person!
She was kind to people.
She loved animals.
[sobbing] Loved her family.
And we loved her very much.
And now she's dead.
Where is she?
Please, just tell me. Where is Amanda?
I'm begging you! - Your Honor, please.
- Okay, let's take a breather.
We're in recess. [gavel pounds]
[sobbing]
[somber music]
♪
- I'm sorry you have to go through all this.
- He knows where she is.
Why won't he just--
I just want to know where she is.
Give her a proper burial, for God's sake.
- We have three agencies out there
right now, searching, looking for Amanda.
- We know. And we appreciate it.
- She's my little girl.
And she's all alone in that forest.
That's all I think about.
I--I can't sleep, I...
- Excuse us.
[phone buzzes]
- Finally some good news. - What?
- Garrett is going to take the stand.
Son of a bitch is so used to lying,
he thinks he can fool the jury.
- I liked Amanda.
I thought she liked me too.
Guess I misread her vibe.
- What'd you talk about on your date?
- Her trip across the country, mostly.
Places she'd been, people she met.
- Did you ask her out again? - Yeah.
But, um, she's the kind of woman
who's always looking for the next party.
There's nothing wrong with that, I guess.
- Thank you.
- Good afternoon, Mr. Garrett.
Or should I call you Mr. Spencer?
Or Mr. Jackson?
Or Mr. Honan?
Those dating profiles are all yours, correct?
- Sometimes I use different names on dating apps.
I have to protect myself--
there's a lot of crazies out there.
- Yes, there are.
But you didn't go to Princeton, correct?
Or Harvard Medical School?
- Come on, people exaggerate on those sites.
- You didn't go to college at all, let alone medical school.
- You just said you did in order to meet women,
women like Amanda Larson.
- Look, I was just playing around.
It was like a social experiment.
I wanted to see which résumé was the best.
It was like a joke. - Oh.
- You went out with Amanda on March 1st, correct?
- Yes--we had coffee, then did some sightseeing.
That was it.
- No, actually, that wasn't it
because a couple of hours after she turned you down
for a second date, you went to Home Depot
on 23rd Street and bought zip ties.
A shovel. A plastic tarp.
- I was going camping.
- You also bought a 30 pound bag of lye.
[tense music]
What was that for?
- To keep animals away.
- Let's go back to the timeline,
the things we know for certain.
You tricked Amanda Larson into having coffee with you.
Did some sightseeing. She rejected you.
You went out and bought a bag of lye and a shovel.
Then you dragged her off the street and into your truck.
She fought back and lost one of her shoes in the struggle.
- Objection, this isn't a question.
It's a closing argument. - Sustained.
Anything else, Mr. Price?
- Uh, no, that covers it.
- Okay, we're adjourned for the day.
[gavel pounds]
- Nice job.
[phone buzzing] - [sighs]
Nolan Price.
Okay, we'll be right there.
That was Bernard.
Someone just found Amanda's missing shoe.
. - Well, as you can see, Lisa's been following the case religiously.
- I went to high school with Danny Garrett.
He was a total loser back then too.
- So how'd you find the shoe?
- I remembered Danny's cousin had a cabin
near Wharton Forest.
He invited me there once, said he was having a party.
But when I got there, there was no party.
And I just started running.
Never been so scared in my life.
- Lisa decided to check out the cabin for herself.
- I thought I might find Amanda's dead body there.
I didn't, but I saw the shoe inside the house.
I knew it was the exact same one found near her van.
- How do you know that?
- I saw the pictures on social media.
- Did someone let you into the cabin?
- No. No one was there.
- How'd you get in?
- I jimmied the lock.
- You broke in? - Yeah, that a problem?
- The good news is, the owners of the cabin
don't want to press charges.
- Bad news is, that damn shoe is fraught with issues.
- No, the law is clear.
The 4th Amendment doesn't apply to private citizens.
A motion to suppress will be denied.
- This is about more than meeting
the threshold for admissibility.
Photos of Amanda's shoe from the crime scene
were all over the internet.
It is plausible this witness saw the photos,
went down to Macy's, and bought its mate.
- That shoe is identical to the one at the crime scene.
Same size, same amount of wear and tear.
- She could easily have manipulated it.
- You think the witness is lying?
- No, but the jury might.
A key piece of evidence suddenly
appears at the 11th hour? It doesn't look good.
And if the jury doesn't buy it, they'll hold us responsible.
- The circumstances surrounding the search
were less than ideal.
But the shoe is the next best thing
to having Amanda Larson's body.
Put the witness on the stand.
- I found it under the mattress.
In his cousin's cabin less than a mile
from Wharton Forest. - Thank you.
Your Honor, let the record reflect
that the shoe I'm holding is the exact same brand,
same size, same color as the shoe
recovered outside of Amanda Larson's van.
- I'll allow it.
- You never liked my client, did you?
- Correct. - You've known him
since high school?
- He was in my 10th grade homeroom.
- You asked him to prom, and he turned you down, right?
- Is that what he said?
He's delusional.
- Please just answer the question.
- No, I never asked him to prom.
- You started a podcast about this case about a week
before miraculously finding this shoe.
- I have a podcast, yes.
- And this trial will increase the size of your audience?
- Probably. - And your social media
followers will skyrocket as well?
- I suppose.
- You planning to do any of the morning talk shows?
- I got a few requests.
- Must feel good, all that attention.
- I'm just doing what's right because I know the truth.
I know that Daniel Garrett is dangerous.
- You haven't spoken to my client in several years.
You have no idea if he's dangerous.
You're just fabricating stories so that you can raise
your profile to help launch
your social media brand. - Objection.
- Withdrawn. That's all I have.
- Are there any additional witnesses?
- No, Your Honor. - Ms. Knight?
- May I have some time to confer with the prosecution?
- Let's recess until tomorrow.
[gavel pounds]
- Hypothetically speaking, if my client
could lead you to the location of Ms. Laron's remains,
what kind of deal are you willing to proffer?
[tense music]
- What are you looking for?
- Man one. Fifteen years.
- On a felony murder?
- Choice number two is Amanda's parents
never find their daughter.
♪
- We'll get back to you.
I can't make any guarantees, but as things stand right now,
I think we have a good shot at a guilty verdict.
- If so, Garrett is staring down a life sentence.
- Believe me, I want him to rot in prison.
But there's one thing I want more.
Closure.
- A conviction will give you closure.
- No, a conviction will give you closure.
You'll move on to your next case.
But we'll still be in the exact same position!
Waiting by the phone,
wondering where our daughter is.
- But you'll have the peace of mind to know
that Garrett is behind bars,
that he won't be able to hurt anyone else's daughter.
- Look, we get it, but we--
- No, we want to give our daughter a proper burial.
So please.
Make the deal.
[somber music]
♪
- I think we should make the deal.
We can't just ignore the Larsons' desire for closure.
- I have tremendous empathy for them, I do.
But we're not their personal attorneys.
We can't let their grieving,
their emotions, drive the train here.
- You want to go to the jury with this?
- We can't just give a predator a sweetheart deal
to make the family feel better about a horrible situation.
- It's a jury trial.
That photo of her on the beach is still making the rounds.
Anything's possible.
Means there is a chance we could lose.
Then what?
The Larsons will never know where Amanda is buried,
and Garrett will be back out on the street.
- How old is Garrett? - 27.
- If we take the deal...
Garrett will wind up serving about 12 1/2 years,
which means he'll be 39 years old when he's released.
Plenty of time to victimize
a whole new generation of women.
Can you bring this one home, Nolan?
- I believe I can.
- Then pass on the deal.
[tense music]
Bury this son of a bitch.
♪
- People have always been interested in true crime,
but lately, it's become a national obsession--
fueled by the internet.
Someone goes missing, and people want to follow along
in real time.
A family's tragedy becomes entertainment,
an exciting mystery to be solved.
And the people involved become objects of our--
our curiosity.
Their faces are splashed all over social media,
so many times that we begin to think we know them,
based on nothing more than a photograph
or a description on a dating site.
The line between truth and fiction is blurred.
Daniel Garrett created a false narrative in order
to dupe Amanda Larson.
And that is exactly what the defense
is trying to do to you.
Don't fall for it.
Learn from Amanda's mistake.
The credible, reliable, real-life evidence
proves that Amanda Larson is dead
and that he killed her.
When you go back to the jury room to deliberate,
remember one thing.
"Verdict" comes from the Latin "veredictum."
It means to speak the truth.
So when you come back out here, I ask you to do
what Daniel Garrett seems incapable of doing.
Speak the truth.
♪
- Has the jury reached a verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
We find the defendant guilty.
[crowd gasping] - [whimpering]
- Members of the jury, thank you for your service.
You are excused.
- [sobbing]
- We did the right thing, Sam.
- Not sure Amanda's parents would agree.
[somber music]
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
[wolf howls]