1 00:00:07,674 --> 00:00:09,042 [Narrator] A hunter in Hill Country 2 00:00:09,709 --> 00:00:12,412 stumbles upon a shocking scene. 3 00:00:12,445 --> 00:00:16,016 She was nude and there was a bag over her head. 4 00:00:16,049 --> 00:00:18,418 [Tommy] The first thing that came in my mind 5 00:00:18,451 --> 00:00:20,887 was being so close to the border, 6 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,556 you know, there was cartel. 7 00:00:23,590 --> 00:00:26,893 [Narrator] Investigators' antennas quickly go up. 8 00:00:26,926 --> 00:00:30,897 His first comment was that he did not kill her. 9 00:00:30,930 --> 00:00:33,400 There's something suspicious about him. 10 00:00:34,434 --> 00:00:36,269 [Narrator] But an unexpected twist 11 00:00:36,302 --> 00:00:40,206 reveals a decades-old romance. 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,276 It was during high school that she fell in love with her. 13 00:00:43,309 --> 00:00:45,745 They kept coming back to each other. 14 00:00:46,513 --> 00:00:48,314 [Narrator] Behind the devotion, 15 00:00:48,348 --> 00:00:51,184 investigators find a single-minded killer 16 00:00:51,217 --> 00:00:53,286 with a deadly plan. 17 00:00:59,959 --> 00:01:04,931 In 2019, the technology to really take 18 00:01:04,964 --> 00:01:07,334 a deep dive into these phones had advanced. 19 00:01:13,773 --> 00:01:16,409 [Erin] I was able to rebuild the webpages, 20 00:01:16,443 --> 00:01:20,146 deleted text messages, phone calls. 21 00:01:20,180 --> 00:01:23,683 The house of cards started to collapse. 22 00:01:26,152 --> 00:01:35,261 [theme music] 23 00:01:38,131 --> 00:01:40,934 [Narrator] A hundred miles from San Antonio, 24 00:01:40,967 --> 00:01:45,205 Edwards County, Texas is worlds away from city life. 25 00:01:46,306 --> 00:01:49,843 [Dorian] It's very, very sparsely populated open land. 26 00:01:49,876 --> 00:01:55,315 Sagebrush, desert, really out in the middle of nowhere. 27 00:01:55,348 --> 00:01:57,650 And it's mainly, you know, ranchers 28 00:01:57,684 --> 00:01:59,419 and, and hunting leases. 29 00:02:02,689 --> 00:02:05,925 [Narrator] Labor Day weekend, 2012. 30 00:02:05,959 --> 00:02:08,228 On the afternoon of September 2nd, 31 00:02:08,261 --> 00:02:09,596 an emergency call comes in to 32 00:02:09,629 --> 00:02:12,298 the Edwards County Sheriff's Department. 33 00:02:14,067 --> 00:02:16,503 The sheriff's department received a 911 call 34 00:02:16,536 --> 00:02:20,373 from some guys that were out at a hunting lease. 35 00:02:20,407 --> 00:02:22,142 [Mark] This is basically a big ranch 36 00:02:22,175 --> 00:02:25,078 that was split up into multiple tracts of land 37 00:02:25,078 --> 00:02:26,746 for the purpose of hunting. 38 00:02:27,847 --> 00:02:30,350 [Narrator] The caller, 45-year-old Mark Bauer, 39 00:02:30,383 --> 00:02:32,318 makes a frantic report. 40 00:02:33,787 --> 00:02:35,388 [Mark] One of my guests, Tommy, 41 00:02:35,422 --> 00:02:36,923 went to go check all our pig traps 42 00:02:36,956 --> 00:02:39,292 that we had set on our place. 43 00:02:39,325 --> 00:02:42,295 The next thing I know, he came back to camp and he said, 44 00:02:42,328 --> 00:02:45,198 there's a, there's a dead body up there. 45 00:02:48,868 --> 00:02:50,337 So I got my cell phone, 46 00:02:50,370 --> 00:02:52,305 and I called it in to the sheriff's department. 47 00:02:52,339 --> 00:02:55,008 And they told us to just hang tight at camp 48 00:02:55,108 --> 00:02:56,609 and the sheriff would come out. 49 00:03:00,413 --> 00:03:02,549 [Dorian] The first responders were 50 00:03:02,582 --> 00:03:04,484 the Edwards County Sheriff's Department, 51 00:03:04,517 --> 00:03:06,619 along with the Texas Rangers. 52 00:03:07,620 --> 00:03:10,256 [Narrator] Officials find Mark and the other two hunters, 53 00:03:10,290 --> 00:03:15,695 30-year-old Tommy Darity and 38-year-old Troy Ryder. 54 00:03:15,729 --> 00:03:17,530 [Mark] As soon as they pulled in, 55 00:03:17,564 --> 00:03:20,333 they said, who all has been up there? 56 00:03:20,367 --> 00:03:25,271 And Troy said he was up there, and my guest, Tommy. 57 00:03:25,305 --> 00:03:27,407 [Tommy] When the sheriff got to the camp, 58 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,543 they asked general questions if I, if I saw anything 59 00:03:30,577 --> 00:03:33,313 out of the ordinary up there. 60 00:03:33,346 --> 00:03:36,950 At the time, I was still in shock. 61 00:03:36,983 --> 00:03:39,452 [Mark] They ask us to take him up there to show him. 62 00:03:39,486 --> 00:03:44,724 So we went up, all the way up to where the body was. 63 00:03:44,758 --> 00:03:47,093 [Tommy] The body was just off the dirt road, 64 00:03:47,093 --> 00:03:50,930 and it was, it was right there in the, in the bar ditch area. 65 00:03:50,964 --> 00:03:53,933 There was a woman that was found that was nude, um, 66 00:03:53,967 --> 00:03:55,635 there was a bag over her head. 67 00:03:56,836 --> 00:04:00,473 They said, okay, y'all can all go back to your camp. 68 00:04:00,507 --> 00:04:02,409 We'll come see y'all when we're done up here. 69 00:04:06,379 --> 00:04:09,482 [Narrator] Investigators carefully remove the plastic ba 70 00:04:09,516 --> 00:04:12,052 from the victim's head. 71 00:04:12,052 --> 00:04:15,689 It was clear that she had been shot. 72 00:04:15,722 --> 00:04:20,393 The gunshot wound was to the back of her head. 73 00:04:20,427 --> 00:04:24,698 The blood had not coagulated yet, and that suggested that 74 00:04:24,731 --> 00:04:29,469 the body had not been there for very long. 75 00:04:29,502 --> 00:04:31,338 [Marty] The fact that she was nude 76 00:04:31,371 --> 00:04:33,340 and there was a bag over her head, 77 00:04:33,373 --> 00:04:35,842 it was definitely not a hunting accident. 78 00:04:35,875 --> 00:04:37,811 It was a homicide. 79 00:04:40,146 --> 00:04:43,850 If you're dealing with a naked female, 80 00:04:43,883 --> 00:04:46,720 then there's always gonna be the thought of a sexual assault. 81 00:04:50,790 --> 00:04:52,459 [Narrator] But a new discovery throws 82 00:04:52,492 --> 00:04:56,563 this theory into question. 83 00:04:56,596 --> 00:04:58,732 [Roger] The deputies found the clothing separate from the body 84 00:04:58,765 --> 00:04:59,933 but very near. 85 00:05:00,033 --> 00:05:02,502 Looking at the clothing, it was consistent with somebody 86 00:05:02,535 --> 00:05:06,106 receiving a head wound and, and, uh, bleeding downward. 87 00:05:06,139 --> 00:05:08,341 All the patterns, they matched. 88 00:05:08,375 --> 00:05:12,412 So, whoever shot her took her clothes off after she was shot. 89 00:05:12,445 --> 00:05:15,081 The picture's starting to form how this crime played out 90 00:05:15,115 --> 00:05:17,050 was a planned execution. 91 00:05:17,951 --> 00:05:19,586 [Narrator] With the clothing, 92 00:05:19,619 --> 00:05:23,289 deputies locate a wallet and an Arizona driver's license. 93 00:05:24,924 --> 00:05:27,327 [Roger] They found a wallet with a military ID 94 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,562 with the name of Inez Santa Cruz. 95 00:05:31,531 --> 00:05:33,600 They call it a, uh, presumptive ID at the scene, 96 00:05:33,633 --> 00:05:35,535 because the picture looks like her. 97 00:05:36,736 --> 00:05:38,738 [Narrator] Investigators turn the victim's body over 98 00:05:38,772 --> 00:05:42,776 to the medical examiner for an official autopsy. 99 00:05:45,578 --> 00:05:47,580 Then, they head back to the cam 100 00:05:47,614 --> 00:05:51,751 to get more information from the three hunters. 101 00:05:51,785 --> 00:05:54,921 [Tommy] This is all privately owned land. 102 00:05:54,954 --> 00:05:58,491 The main road leads you into your property. 103 00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:02,462 That's where you would have the campground. 104 00:06:02,495 --> 00:06:06,866 These men brought out their four wheelers, their guns. 105 00:06:06,900 --> 00:06:08,601 They had set hog traps. 106 00:06:08,635 --> 00:06:11,905 They were out there just boys being boys. 107 00:06:11,938 --> 00:06:15,241 They were all separated and interviewed individually. 108 00:06:15,275 --> 00:06:17,043 [Narrator] Tommy Darity explains 109 00:06:17,077 --> 00:06:20,647 that he and Mark were at the camp for the holiday weekend. 110 00:06:24,150 --> 00:06:25,452 The evening before, 111 00:06:25,485 --> 00:06:28,054 things were winding down when Troy Ryder, 112 00:06:28,054 --> 00:06:33,893 a guest at a neighboring camp, drove up around 7PM. 113 00:06:33,927 --> 00:06:37,664 [Mark] I realized it was Troy, who I had met twice before, 114 00:06:37,697 --> 00:06:39,833 because he's been a guest of another property owner 115 00:06:39,866 --> 00:06:41,768 out there. 116 00:06:41,801 --> 00:06:43,570 He said, well, he was just out driving. 117 00:06:43,603 --> 00:06:45,872 And when we're on the ranch, common courtesy, 118 00:06:45,905 --> 00:06:48,274 anybody that shows up, we offer them a beer, a Coke, a soda, 119 00:06:48,308 --> 00:06:52,278 whatever, uh, welcome to hang out with us, eat dinner with us. 120 00:06:52,312 --> 00:06:53,346 That's just the way we are. 121 00:06:55,315 --> 00:06:59,652 [Narrator] Dinner turned into a raucous night of partying. 122 00:06:59,686 --> 00:07:03,223 I was the only sober one there. I don't, I don't drink. 123 00:07:03,256 --> 00:07:04,758 They were pretty hammered. 124 00:07:07,627 --> 00:07:10,764 [Narrator] The party wrapped up around 3 AM. 125 00:07:10,797 --> 00:07:12,732 [Tommy] Troy wanted to leave. 126 00:07:12,766 --> 00:07:14,668 He had a lot of stuff to do. 127 00:07:14,701 --> 00:07:17,837 And he was gonna to stay at his friend's property 128 00:07:17,871 --> 00:07:22,842 about a mile or so away from, uh, Mark Bauer's property. 129 00:07:22,876 --> 00:07:26,046 And Mark Bauer told me to grab his keys 130 00:07:26,046 --> 00:07:28,782 so he doesn't drive drunk. 131 00:07:28,815 --> 00:07:33,053 [Narrator] Troy relented and agreed to stay the night. 132 00:07:33,053 --> 00:07:35,221 He slept in his Suburban. 133 00:07:35,255 --> 00:07:40,326 The next morning, I guess about 8:00, maybe, he got up. 134 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,596 I gave him his keys back, he left. 135 00:07:43,630 --> 00:07:46,733 And then I want to say about an hour after he left, 136 00:07:46,766 --> 00:07:50,770 I decided to go see if he made it to his camp okay. 137 00:07:50,804 --> 00:07:52,872 I got up to his property. 138 00:07:52,906 --> 00:07:57,677 That's when I kind of crested the hill and I saw the Suburban. 139 00:07:59,346 --> 00:08:00,714 [Narrator] According to Tommy, 140 00:08:00,747 --> 00:08:03,516 Troy was outside his vehicle looking at 141 00:08:03,550 --> 00:08:06,886 something on the ground. 142 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,490 As I got closer on the ATV, I could tell that it was a body. 143 00:08:13,727 --> 00:08:19,632 I saw him right outside of his vehicle, looking down. 144 00:08:21,034 --> 00:08:24,738 The first thing that came in my mind was 145 00:08:24,771 --> 00:08:28,675 being so close to the border, you know, there was cartel. 146 00:08:30,777 --> 00:08:35,115 So, I kind of panicked and told Troy, 147 00:08:35,148 --> 00:08:37,851 jump on the back of my ATV. 148 00:08:37,884 --> 00:08:42,922 I said it about two or three times, and he wasn't moving. 149 00:08:42,956 --> 00:08:45,759 So, I made the decision to get out of there 150 00:08:45,792 --> 00:08:48,128 as quick as possible. 151 00:08:48,161 --> 00:08:51,364 I went back to our camp, Mark Bauer's property, 152 00:08:51,398 --> 00:08:54,567 and told him that I found a dead body. 153 00:08:59,372 --> 00:09:01,274 [Mark] I called it in to the sheriff's department, 154 00:09:01,307 --> 00:09:06,246 and Troy came in his Suburban after that back to camp. 155 00:09:06,279 --> 00:09:08,748 [Narrator] When investigators speak with Troy, 156 00:09:08,782 --> 00:09:13,019 they ask if he knows anyone by the name of Inez. 157 00:09:13,053 --> 00:09:16,756 [Dorian] Mr. Ryder said that he did not know Inez. 158 00:09:16,790 --> 00:09:18,725 He had just been out shooting, 159 00:09:18,758 --> 00:09:24,030 and just happened to see this body out in the desert. 160 00:09:24,064 --> 00:09:25,865 [Narrator] But it's what Troy says next 161 00:09:25,899 --> 00:09:29,135 that strikes detectives as odd. 162 00:09:29,169 --> 00:09:31,371 [Marty] He kept saying that he, he did not kill her, 163 00:09:31,404 --> 00:09:34,140 which I don't think anybody necessarily asked him that. 164 00:09:38,611 --> 00:09:40,113 [Narrator] After Troy's interview, 165 00:09:40,146 --> 00:09:44,050 Tommy pulls one of the investigators aside. 166 00:09:44,050 --> 00:09:47,454 [Tommy] I explained to him that I was listening to the comments 167 00:09:47,487 --> 00:09:50,223 that Troy was saying to the sheriff. 168 00:09:50,256 --> 00:09:55,095 Everything that he was saying was just a little bit off. 169 00:09:55,128 --> 00:09:58,865 Talking about how she was laying. 170 00:09:58,898 --> 00:10:01,868 He just was not answering the questions correctly. 171 00:10:03,303 --> 00:10:05,939 [Roger] He was probably the most nervous of the group, 172 00:10:05,972 --> 00:10:08,742 to the point where at some point he had to go and get some beer 173 00:10:08,775 --> 00:10:11,211 to calm his nerves after the interviews. 174 00:10:12,245 --> 00:10:15,015 We sat around there, kind of still in shock of 175 00:10:15,048 --> 00:10:16,483 what was going on. 176 00:10:16,516 --> 00:10:18,685 There was a lot of what if's. 177 00:10:18,718 --> 00:10:20,754 I know that I slept with my handgun 178 00:10:20,787 --> 00:10:22,689 under my pillow that night. 179 00:10:25,759 --> 00:10:27,494 [Narrator] Coming up-- 180 00:10:27,527 --> 00:10:31,464 disturbing details from the autopsy. 181 00:10:31,498 --> 00:10:32,632 The picture's starting to form 182 00:10:32,665 --> 00:10:35,869 how this was a planned execution. 183 00:10:35,902 --> 00:10:39,706 [Narrator] A grieving sister shares a concern. 184 00:10:39,739 --> 00:10:41,107 [Erica] He showed up at my sister's, 185 00:10:41,141 --> 00:10:43,176 and he said, I just wanted to see you. 186 00:10:58,924 --> 00:11:02,061 [Narrator] Texas authorities are investigating the shooting deat 187 00:11:02,094 --> 00:11:08,067 of a woman suspected to be 27-year-old Inez Santa Cruz. 188 00:11:08,067 --> 00:11:11,904 [Dorian] They did interview everybody at the scene, 189 00:11:11,937 --> 00:11:15,307 and they all denied ever meeting Inez. 190 00:11:16,342 --> 00:11:18,277 [Narrator] After the witness interviews, 191 00:11:18,310 --> 00:11:19,678 investigators get word 192 00:11:19,712 --> 00:11:24,983 that the autopsy confirmed the ID as Inez. 193 00:11:25,084 --> 00:11:27,486 The cause of death was two gunshot wounds 194 00:11:27,519 --> 00:11:30,723 to the back of the head. 195 00:11:30,756 --> 00:11:33,125 It suggests she was shot in cold blood 196 00:11:33,158 --> 00:11:37,096 while she was facing away from the shooter. 197 00:11:37,096 --> 00:11:38,630 [gunshots] 198 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:46,772 [Narrator] The toxicology report reveals another clue. 199 00:11:46,805 --> 00:11:52,244 In Inez's system was benzodiazepine. 200 00:11:52,277 --> 00:11:57,783 Taken properly in low doses, it's an anti-anxiety medication. 201 00:11:58,784 --> 00:12:02,087 But in very high doses, it puts somebody to sleep, 202 00:12:02,121 --> 00:12:06,291 and a very very hard sleep to the point of being unconscious. 203 00:12:11,230 --> 00:12:14,667 [Narrator] With Inez positively ID'd as the victim, 204 00:12:14,700 --> 00:12:19,705 Texas investigators must now notify her family in Arizona. 205 00:12:21,073 --> 00:12:22,841 [Erica] About six something in the morning, 206 00:12:22,875 --> 00:12:26,211 I got a knock on the door. It's an officer. 207 00:12:26,245 --> 00:12:30,916 And his words were, did Inez Santa Cruz live here? 208 00:12:30,949 --> 00:12:34,553 I said, she does. 209 00:12:34,586 --> 00:12:35,654 And then he gives me the news. 210 00:12:35,688 --> 00:12:38,824 You know, we, we found your sister in a rural area. 211 00:12:38,857 --> 00:12:43,729 And I'm like, what do you mean? 212 00:12:43,762 --> 00:12:46,932 I'm like, what happened? Where's Rosa? 213 00:12:48,100 --> 00:12:50,903 And he looks at me, and he takes out his notepad, 214 00:12:50,936 --> 00:12:52,938 and he's like what do you mean? 215 00:12:57,209 --> 00:12:58,977 [Narrator] Erica says she thought Inez 216 00:12:59,011 --> 00:13:03,582 was with her childhood friend, Rosa Medina. 217 00:13:03,615 --> 00:13:04,950 [Erica] I told him Inez is out there 218 00:13:05,050 --> 00:13:08,854 'cause she had an event to attend with Rosa. 219 00:13:08,887 --> 00:13:10,155 [Dorian] Inez's sister said 220 00:13:10,189 --> 00:13:13,559 that she had driven Inez to the airport 221 00:13:13,592 --> 00:13:17,863 on Saturday, September 1st of 2012. 222 00:13:19,064 --> 00:13:21,367 [Narrator] Erica says she didn't hear from her again, 223 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:23,936 but had planned to pick Inez up from the airport 224 00:13:23,969 --> 00:13:26,572 in a couple of days. 225 00:13:26,605 --> 00:13:29,108 My sister, you know, was found dead. 226 00:13:29,141 --> 00:13:30,542 And I'm like, was there a shooting? 227 00:13:30,576 --> 00:13:32,311 Like, what happened? 228 00:13:32,344 --> 00:13:34,079 What is going on? 229 00:13:41,220 --> 00:13:46,325 [Narrator] Inez Santa Cruz was born on February 13, 1985 230 00:13:46,358 --> 00:13:48,894 in Nogales, Arizona. 231 00:13:48,927 --> 00:13:51,597 [Letty] Inez and her sister were two peas in a pod. 232 00:13:51,630 --> 00:13:54,466 They thought they were twins. I had them very close together. 233 00:13:55,501 --> 00:13:56,835 [Erica] I am the oldest. 234 00:13:56,869 --> 00:13:58,337 She was the middle child, 235 00:13:58,370 --> 00:14:01,640 and three, four years older than my brother. 236 00:14:01,674 --> 00:14:03,809 [Corina] Inez was a natural athlete. 237 00:14:03,842 --> 00:14:05,878 Whatever they put her to play, she would play, 238 00:14:05,911 --> 00:14:07,880 and she would play it good. 239 00:14:11,583 --> 00:14:14,920 [Narrator] In high school, Inez excelled at basketball 240 00:14:14,953 --> 00:14:19,892 and bonded with her teammates, especially Rosa Medina. 241 00:14:19,925 --> 00:14:22,294 [Letty] Rosa, I met her in high school. 242 00:14:22,327 --> 00:14:23,429 I really loved her. 243 00:14:23,462 --> 00:14:29,601 She was a nice little girl, respected us very much. 244 00:14:29,635 --> 00:14:32,671 [Narrator] When Inez's teammate Rosa had issues at home, 245 00:14:32,705 --> 00:14:38,310 the Santa Cruz family welcomed her into theirs with open arms. 246 00:14:38,344 --> 00:14:42,214 She was just part of the group that hung out with my sister, 247 00:14:42,247 --> 00:14:44,817 and she lived with us for a while. 248 00:14:44,850 --> 00:14:46,452 [Narrator] Eventually, the friendship 249 00:14:46,485 --> 00:14:48,087 between Inez and Rosa 250 00:14:48,087 --> 00:14:51,190 blossomed into romance. 251 00:14:51,223 --> 00:14:54,927 It was during high school that Rosa fell in love with Inez. 252 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,696 I would bluntly say, Rosa, do you like Inez? 253 00:14:57,730 --> 00:14:59,698 And she said, of course I like her! 254 00:14:59,732 --> 00:15:01,333 I love her! 255 00:15:04,069 --> 00:15:05,504 [Narrator] But by the end of high school, 256 00:15:05,537 --> 00:15:09,708 the relationship had shifted back to friendship. 257 00:15:09,742 --> 00:15:14,046 They tried it out, and it just didn't work out. 258 00:15:14,046 --> 00:15:16,715 But my sister was one of those who, you know, 259 00:15:16,749 --> 00:15:20,452 I'm always here for you if you, you know, ever need anything. 260 00:15:24,089 --> 00:15:26,325 [Narrator] By the fall of 2012, 261 00:15:26,358 --> 00:15:30,496 Inez was looking to the next chapter--nursing school. 262 00:15:30,529 --> 00:15:32,164 [Letty] That was her plan. 263 00:15:32,197 --> 00:15:35,067 We were gonna go together. 264 00:15:35,067 --> 00:15:36,869 I was gonna try and finish my RN, 265 00:15:36,902 --> 00:15:41,373 and then she was gonna do her anesthesiology. 266 00:15:41,407 --> 00:15:45,978 [Narrator] With her eyes on a career, Inez joined the Navy. 267 00:15:46,078 --> 00:15:49,148 [Letty] Inez was stationed all over the place. 268 00:15:49,181 --> 00:15:52,117 She'd get these awards, and I found them and I'd go, 269 00:15:52,151 --> 00:15:54,186 why didn't you tell me? 270 00:15:54,219 --> 00:15:56,221 You know, she never bragged about anything. 271 00:15:57,189 --> 00:15:58,791 [Erica] After she got out of the Navy, 272 00:15:58,824 --> 00:16:02,594 my sister got a amazing job at UMC. 273 00:16:02,628 --> 00:16:06,265 She was a surgical tech there, so she was super excited. 274 00:16:10,235 --> 00:16:14,106 But all of that changes on September 2, 2012, 275 00:16:14,139 --> 00:16:16,075 when Inez is found dead 276 00:16:16,108 --> 00:16:19,478 in a remote corner of Edwards County, Texas. 277 00:16:20,612 --> 00:16:23,515 [Roger] We found out that she was supposedly 278 00:16:23,549 --> 00:16:26,785 flying into San Antonio on the 1st of September 279 00:16:26,819 --> 00:16:29,321 to visit her friend, Rosa Medina. 280 00:16:33,459 --> 00:16:36,428 [Narrator] Born in Mexico in 1987, 281 00:16:36,462 --> 00:16:40,532 Rosa moved to the US before starting grade school. 282 00:16:40,566 --> 00:16:45,971 Unlike Inez, Rosa's home life was anything but stable. 283 00:16:46,071 --> 00:16:48,440 Her mother had gotten pregnant at a young age, 284 00:16:48,474 --> 00:16:51,410 and she raised her in, in Arizona. 285 00:16:51,443 --> 00:16:54,646 She was kind of a handful growing up. 286 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,215 She said she had nowhere to go. 287 00:16:56,248 --> 00:16:59,151 So, she stayed with us for a good while. 288 00:17:00,185 --> 00:17:03,088 [Narrator] Following graduation in 2003, 289 00:17:03,122 --> 00:17:08,260 Rosa moved to Texas for a fresh start with family. 290 00:17:08,293 --> 00:17:09,828 [Letty] She just said she didn't like her mom. 291 00:17:09,862 --> 00:17:11,296 She only liked her grandma. 292 00:17:11,330 --> 00:17:14,099 So she had to go back to Texas 293 00:17:14,133 --> 00:17:16,468 to where she was living with her grandma. 294 00:17:20,039 --> 00:17:22,307 [Narrator] Though their romance didn't pan out, 295 00:17:22,341 --> 00:17:26,412 Rosa and Inez stayed in touch over the years. 296 00:17:26,445 --> 00:17:30,382 [Dorian] In Texas, eventually Rosa Medina had children. 297 00:17:30,416 --> 00:17:33,852 But even when Rosa was in other relationships, 298 00:17:33,886 --> 00:17:38,290 she didn't want Inez to be with other people. 299 00:17:39,324 --> 00:17:45,097 I think Rosa always wanted something more. 300 00:17:45,130 --> 00:17:47,132 But the person my sister is, 301 00:17:47,166 --> 00:17:49,301 it wasn't like, oh my God, you like me, 302 00:17:49,335 --> 00:17:51,303 we gotta cut off this relationship. 303 00:17:51,337 --> 00:17:55,307 It was, no, like, we, you know, we can be friends. 304 00:17:55,341 --> 00:17:57,810 [Letty] Rosa was living a normal life, 305 00:17:57,843 --> 00:18:01,780 posting pictures on Facebook of her with her daughters, 306 00:18:01,814 --> 00:18:04,049 and she was doing photography. 307 00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:06,418 That was her job. 308 00:18:07,186 --> 00:18:09,588 [Narrator] In late August 2012, 309 00:18:09,621 --> 00:18:11,890 Rosa told Inez that she had booked a job 310 00:18:11,924 --> 00:18:14,326 photographing a wedding. 311 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:17,062 Inez said that she would come babysit the children 312 00:18:17,096 --> 00:18:19,331 while Rosa shot the wedding. 313 00:18:23,702 --> 00:18:27,172 [Narrator] But on September 2nd, the weekend of the event, 314 00:18:27,206 --> 00:18:29,875 Inez's body was found in a remote area 315 00:18:29,908 --> 00:18:33,212 of Edwards County, Texas. 316 00:18:33,245 --> 00:18:36,882 At that point, I just thought, did she suffer? 317 00:18:36,915 --> 00:18:39,451 Like, like, what happened? 318 00:18:39,485 --> 00:18:41,286 Where's Rosa? 319 00:18:42,788 --> 00:18:45,257 Maybe there was an accident or something. 320 00:18:45,290 --> 00:18:48,060 Like, I didn't, my mind was just going crazy. 321 00:18:49,094 --> 00:18:50,929 [Narrator] Rosa's safety isn't the only thing 322 00:18:50,963 --> 00:18:52,931 called into question. 323 00:18:52,965 --> 00:18:54,566 Investigators also wonder 324 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,936 how Inez ended up in Edwards County-- 325 00:18:57,970 --> 00:19:01,407 4 hours away from Midland. 326 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,375 It was like someone had just dropped her out of the sky 327 00:19:03,409 --> 00:19:06,045 and she landed, which kind of just didn't make sense. 328 00:19:10,649 --> 00:19:13,852 [Narrator] When asked who might have been at odds with Inez, 329 00:19:13,886 --> 00:19:17,890 Erica says there's only one person who comes to mind-- 330 00:19:17,923 --> 00:19:20,392 Marty Chavez. 331 00:19:20,426 --> 00:19:25,164 Marty Chavez was in the Navy as well, and he was sweet on Inez. 332 00:19:26,031 --> 00:19:28,233 [Narrator] The two became close while they were stationed 333 00:19:28,267 --> 00:19:30,936 at the same Naval base. 334 00:19:31,036 --> 00:19:33,238 I don't know if they actually dated 335 00:19:33,272 --> 00:19:36,108 or if they tried something, 336 00:19:36,141 --> 00:19:38,610 but Marty was in love with my sister. 337 00:19:39,912 --> 00:19:45,651 I don't know exactly what she felt or what he would tell her. 338 00:19:45,684 --> 00:19:48,354 There was a couple times he showed up at my sister's like, 339 00:19:48,387 --> 00:19:50,055 "What are you doing here? 340 00:19:50,055 --> 00:19:52,524 Like, I told you I was busy this weekend." 341 00:19:52,558 --> 00:19:54,226 He said, "I just wanted to see you". 342 00:19:54,259 --> 00:19:56,295 She's like, "Yeah, but I said no." 343 00:19:59,765 --> 00:20:01,166 [Narrator] Coming up-- 344 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,203 a romantic entanglement gets complicated. 345 00:20:09,742 --> 00:20:11,844 [Narrator] And chilling footage surfaces 346 00:20:11,877 --> 00:20:15,748 of Inez's final hours. 347 00:20:15,781 --> 00:20:17,416 [Marty] It took some convincing to get her 348 00:20:17,449 --> 00:20:19,318 to agree to go with him. 349 00:20:19,351 --> 00:20:21,286 She could tell that something wasn't right. 350 00:20:36,703 --> 00:20:39,339 [Narrator] After finding Inez Santa Cruz 351 00:20:39,372 --> 00:20:42,842 shot to death in a remote Texas hunting camp, 352 00:20:42,876 --> 00:20:46,846 investigators are trying to confirm Rosa Medina's safety 353 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:51,284 while looking into a new lead gleaned from Inez's family. 354 00:20:52,952 --> 00:20:54,187 [Roger] There was a, uh, man 355 00:20:54,220 --> 00:20:56,556 that was interested in Inez romantically. 356 00:20:56,589 --> 00:20:58,291 We identified him as Marty. 357 00:20:58,324 --> 00:21:01,327 He was gonna be a person who we're gonna have to talk to. 358 00:21:01,361 --> 00:21:03,797 [Narrator] Investigators locate Marty's superiors 359 00:21:03,830 --> 00:21:05,832 in the military. 360 00:21:05,865 --> 00:21:08,068 He was nowhere even in the state of Texas 361 00:21:08,068 --> 00:21:10,570 during the time of the murder, so we quickly eliminated him. 362 00:21:13,707 --> 00:21:16,543 [Narrator] Next, Texas Ranger Roger Dixon 363 00:21:16,576 --> 00:21:21,648 focuses on finding Inez's friend Rosa. 364 00:21:21,681 --> 00:21:24,951 The family gave us the information to contact Rosa. 365 00:21:24,984 --> 00:21:27,487 I called Rosa and she answered. 366 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,090 And I started discussing Inez with her. 367 00:21:30,123 --> 00:21:31,524 I told her about the murder, 368 00:21:31,558 --> 00:21:35,128 and I basically asked her what she knew about it. 369 00:21:35,161 --> 00:21:36,663 She was in tears. 370 00:21:36,696 --> 00:21:41,334 She said that there had been talk of Inez 371 00:21:41,368 --> 00:21:44,371 coming to visit Rosa over Labor Day weekend. 372 00:21:44,404 --> 00:21:46,906 But Inez had lost her debit car 373 00:21:46,940 --> 00:21:50,577 and couldn't get the money to pay for a plane ticket. 374 00:21:50,610 --> 00:21:52,479 Rosa said Inez had told her, hey, 375 00:21:52,512 --> 00:21:55,281 I'm not gonna be able to come. 376 00:21:55,315 --> 00:21:57,984 So a subpoena was issued to Southwest 377 00:21:58,018 --> 00:22:00,587 to, to find out that she was on that flight. 378 00:22:03,656 --> 00:22:05,325 [Narrator] Investigators ask Rosa 379 00:22:05,358 --> 00:22:08,061 to meet them at the Del Rio DPS Office 380 00:22:08,094 --> 00:22:10,063 for an in-person interview. 381 00:22:24,644 --> 00:22:26,146 [Narrator] When asked for her whereabouts 382 00:22:26,179 --> 00:22:28,148 during the time of Inez's murder, 383 00:22:28,181 --> 00:22:31,151 Rosa doesn't hesitate. 384 00:22:31,184 --> 00:22:34,087 Rosa had been at a concert 385 00:22:34,087 --> 00:22:37,390 in San Antonio at the time. 386 00:22:37,424 --> 00:22:41,628 Um, Rosa also provided photographs to law enforcement 387 00:22:41,661 --> 00:22:45,999 showing her and her kids at this concert. 388 00:22:49,336 --> 00:22:50,570 [Narrator] Investigators ask Rosa 389 00:22:50,603 --> 00:22:55,108 if she knows any of the hunters who found Inez's body. 390 00:22:55,108 --> 00:22:57,610 To their surprise, she says yes 391 00:22:57,644 --> 00:22:59,779 She knows Troy Ryder. 392 00:22:59,813 --> 00:23:02,482 In fact, they met and just started dating 393 00:23:02,515 --> 00:23:06,052 about three months earlier. 394 00:23:06,052 --> 00:23:08,788 [Dorian] She said that she had a romantic relationship 395 00:23:08,822 --> 00:23:10,623 with Mr. Ryder. 396 00:23:10,657 --> 00:23:15,095 That she met Mr. Ryder every Saturday 397 00:23:15,128 --> 00:23:17,464 for lunch at the mall. 398 00:23:49,229 --> 00:23:53,733 The way that Rosa responded was, 399 00:23:53,767 --> 00:23:57,103 I don't know why he would have met Inez. 400 00:24:00,774 --> 00:24:02,175 [Narrator] Before she leaves, 401 00:24:02,208 --> 00:24:07,881 investigators ask Rosa if they can take a look at her phone. 402 00:24:07,914 --> 00:24:12,719 You would expect to see a lot of calls and texts messages 403 00:24:12,752 --> 00:24:17,457 between Rosa and Inez, but there were not a lot. 404 00:24:17,490 --> 00:24:19,359 That indicated to law enforcement 405 00:24:19,392 --> 00:24:22,128 that Rosa had deleted some items. 406 00:24:34,307 --> 00:24:38,144 [Narrator] They release Rosa and circle back to Troy Ryder-- 407 00:24:38,178 --> 00:24:40,980 the first person to discover Inez's body-- 408 00:24:41,081 --> 00:24:45,285 who also happens to be Rosa's boyfriend. 409 00:24:45,318 --> 00:24:47,787 [Roger] I knew that if Inez flew in San Antonio, 410 00:24:47,821 --> 00:24:49,289 there's probably one of only two ways 411 00:24:49,322 --> 00:24:51,091 she could have gotten to that location, 412 00:24:51,091 --> 00:24:54,160 and one of those ways has a border patrol checkpoint. 413 00:24:54,194 --> 00:24:56,763 I, uh, contacted a, a friend of mine there 414 00:24:56,796 --> 00:24:58,465 and sent him a license plate, 415 00:24:58,498 --> 00:25:00,233 and probably within 30 minutes to an hour, 416 00:25:00,266 --> 00:25:01,768 I received several photographs, 417 00:25:01,801 --> 00:25:06,072 and it showed Ryder in his truck with a small female. 418 00:25:06,106 --> 00:25:09,476 Uh, zoomed in, and it looked just like Inez. 419 00:25:12,879 --> 00:25:14,714 [Narrator] On September 7, 420 00:25:14,748 --> 00:25:19,953 investigators pay a visit to Troy's home in San Antonio. 421 00:25:20,053 --> 00:25:22,756 He sticks by the story he gave on the scene, 422 00:25:22,789 --> 00:25:25,925 denying any prior knowledge of Inez. 423 00:25:25,959 --> 00:25:29,963 He does, however, admit to knowing Rosa. 424 00:25:30,063 --> 00:25:34,067 Rosa and Troy had just recently met at the strip club. 425 00:25:34,067 --> 00:25:35,802 He was a client. 426 00:25:35,835 --> 00:25:37,771 [Roger] Rosa was claiming to be a photographer. 427 00:25:37,804 --> 00:25:39,472 I found that she was actually a dancer 428 00:25:39,506 --> 00:25:42,542 at a men's gentleman's club. 429 00:25:42,575 --> 00:25:44,644 [Narrator] Investigators press on. 430 00:25:44,678 --> 00:25:46,513 They confront Troy with the photos 431 00:25:46,546 --> 00:25:48,214 from the border checkpoint. 432 00:25:56,990 --> 00:26:00,393 [Narrator] Troy claims the woman was a hitchhiker. 433 00:26:00,427 --> 00:26:04,664 Though the story is flimsy, it's not enough for an arrest. 434 00:26:04,698 --> 00:26:06,533 Troy is released. 435 00:26:09,869 --> 00:26:13,373 Days later, investigators receive the flight manifest 436 00:26:13,406 --> 00:26:16,376 from the San Antonio airport. 437 00:26:16,409 --> 00:26:18,712 [Dorian] Inez, she was actually on the airplane. 438 00:26:18,745 --> 00:26:20,680 Law enforcement then review video 439 00:26:20,714 --> 00:26:24,050 from San Antonio International Airport. 440 00:26:24,050 --> 00:26:29,155 [Marty] The video showed Inez, then it showed Troy. 441 00:26:29,189 --> 00:26:30,890 It just shows that they were together 442 00:26:30,924 --> 00:26:32,792 prior to her being killed. 443 00:26:32,826 --> 00:26:34,861 That was a huge deal. 444 00:26:34,894 --> 00:26:37,731 It seemed like it took some convincing by Troy 445 00:26:37,764 --> 00:26:40,166 to get her to agree to go with him. 446 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:42,702 She could tell that something wasn't right. 447 00:26:42,736 --> 00:26:44,170 [Dorian] At this point, law enforcement 448 00:26:44,204 --> 00:26:47,340 had the surveillance video from the airport 449 00:26:47,374 --> 00:26:52,312 and the border patrol checkpoint video showing Mr. Ryder. 450 00:26:53,613 --> 00:26:55,415 [Narrator] Though loose ends remain, 451 00:26:55,448 --> 00:26:59,085 investigators now have enough for an arrest warrant. 452 00:27:03,556 --> 00:27:06,559 On September 13, 2012, 453 00:27:06,593 --> 00:27:09,195 authorities follow Troy to a restaurant 454 00:27:09,229 --> 00:27:10,930 in San Antonio, Texas 455 00:27:11,031 --> 00:27:14,034 and sit down to try and get a confession. 456 00:27:27,847 --> 00:27:32,118 Investigators showed Troy some of the digital evidence they had 457 00:27:32,152 --> 00:27:35,288 at which time he, he shut down on 'em and lawyered up. 458 00:27:47,500 --> 00:27:50,804 Mr. Ryder was charged with capital murder and was facing 459 00:27:50,837 --> 00:27:53,773 either the death penalty or life in prison 460 00:27:53,807 --> 00:27:56,176 without the possibility of parole. 461 00:27:57,711 --> 00:28:00,113 During that time frame, Ranger Lewis 462 00:28:00,146 --> 00:28:03,016 was able to get a search warrant of Ryder's vehicle. 463 00:28:03,049 --> 00:28:05,318 In the search, he seized Troy's gun. 464 00:28:08,154 --> 00:28:11,424 [Narrator] With Troy behind bars, but not talking, 465 00:28:11,458 --> 00:28:14,761 investigators are left with one very important 466 00:28:14,794 --> 00:28:17,831 and unanswered question. 467 00:28:17,864 --> 00:28:22,135 The only connection between Inez and Troy Ryder 468 00:28:22,168 --> 00:28:27,674 in this tragic, senseless killing is Rosa Medina, 469 00:28:27,707 --> 00:28:31,845 and she continued to maintain her innocence. 470 00:28:33,046 --> 00:28:35,248 [Narrator] Almost three months pass. 471 00:28:35,281 --> 00:28:40,820 Then investigators get a phone call from Troy's attorney. 472 00:28:40,854 --> 00:28:46,059 The house of cards for Mr. Ryder started to collapse. 473 00:28:46,092 --> 00:28:50,563 So Troy Ryder was facing potentially the death penalty. 474 00:28:50,597 --> 00:28:53,099 Through negotiations between his attorneys 475 00:28:53,133 --> 00:28:55,535 and the district attorney's office, 476 00:28:55,568 --> 00:28:59,072 he ended up giving a, a full confession. 477 00:29:01,441 --> 00:29:02,809 [Narrator] Coming up-- 478 00:29:02,842 --> 00:29:05,378 Troy reveals a wicked plot. 479 00:29:10,550 --> 00:29:14,754 [Narrator] And new accusations bring new questions. 480 00:29:36,375 --> 00:29:38,510 [Narrator] Three months after investigators 481 00:29:38,544 --> 00:29:41,213 arrest 28-year-old Troy Ryder 482 00:29:41,246 --> 00:29:44,049 for the murder of Inez Santa Cruz, 483 00:29:44,049 --> 00:29:46,719 his attorneys reach out to prosecutors. 484 00:29:47,553 --> 00:29:49,755 We got a confession out him, and there was a plea agreement 485 00:29:49,788 --> 00:29:51,957 to keep him from getting the death penalty. 486 00:29:53,158 --> 00:29:58,063 [Narrator] On December 4, 2012, Troy sits down for an interview 487 00:29:58,797 --> 00:30:02,534 He very quickly implicates not only himself, 488 00:30:02,568 --> 00:30:04,236 but also Rosa Medina. 489 00:30:18,817 --> 00:30:23,856 Rosa had approached Troy about killing Inez. 490 00:30:54,353 --> 00:30:56,255 [Narrator] For Troy, there was another, 491 00:30:56,288 --> 00:30:59,491 more enticing reason to help Rosa. 492 00:31:10,102 --> 00:31:13,105 [Narrator] According to Troy, the day before the murder, 493 00:31:13,138 --> 00:31:15,474 he met Rosa at the mall food court 494 00:31:15,507 --> 00:31:17,242 for their weekly lunch date. 495 00:31:24,083 --> 00:31:25,484 [Narrator] Rosa told him the package 496 00:31:25,517 --> 00:31:27,519 contained sleeping pills. 497 00:31:29,088 --> 00:31:31,457 Rosa had another client 498 00:31:31,490 --> 00:31:35,661 who gave Rosa some drugs. 499 00:31:35,694 --> 00:31:37,529 It was benzos. 500 00:31:53,012 --> 00:31:55,114 [Narrator] She told Troy that Inez would be arriving 501 00:31:55,147 --> 00:31:58,283 on a flight to San Antonio later that day, 502 00:31:58,317 --> 00:32:02,054 and together, they came up with a plan. 503 00:32:02,054 --> 00:32:05,524 The plan was for Troy to pick Inez up at the airport. 504 00:32:05,557 --> 00:32:10,095 Rosa instructed Troy to crush these pills up 505 00:32:10,129 --> 00:32:13,465 and to put them in, uh, ice tea. 506 00:32:13,499 --> 00:32:16,869 Rosa knew that Inez liked to drink iced tea. 507 00:32:50,636 --> 00:32:53,439 [Narrator] Trusting that Troy was Rosa's assistant, 508 00:32:53,472 --> 00:32:57,242 Inez accepted the ride and the tea. 509 00:33:05,084 --> 00:33:06,719 [Roger] She passed out, fell asleep. 510 00:33:06,752 --> 00:33:08,454 But when it got to the campsite 511 00:33:08,487 --> 00:33:10,923 she was awake--groggy, but still awake. 512 00:33:15,461 --> 00:33:17,162 [Narrator] Troy told her that Rosa 513 00:33:17,196 --> 00:33:20,232 had stepped out for supplies and would join her later. 514 00:33:20,265 --> 00:33:22,334 He then left Inez alone, 515 00:33:22,368 --> 00:33:27,072 hoping that she would fall asleep and never wake up. 516 00:33:27,106 --> 00:33:31,110 He spends the night drinking, riding four wheelers. 517 00:33:31,143 --> 00:33:35,547 And the next morning, Troy goes back. 518 00:33:35,581 --> 00:33:38,450 He came back to the trailer thinking he would find, 519 00:33:38,484 --> 00:33:41,587 you know, Inez unconscious or dead, 520 00:33:41,620 --> 00:33:46,091 overdosed with the, um, drugs, but found her quite alive. 521 00:33:48,193 --> 00:33:52,498 Her cellphone had died 'cause there's no electricity, 522 00:33:52,531 --> 00:33:54,700 and she was livid. 523 00:33:59,738 --> 00:34:02,307 [Narrator] In order to explain what happened next, 524 00:34:02,341 --> 00:34:06,278 investigators take Troy back to the crime scene. 525 00:34:23,529 --> 00:34:25,964 [Roger] So, Ryder told her, you have to stand on that rock 526 00:34:26,065 --> 00:34:27,733 and point that way and you can get signal. 527 00:34:38,344 --> 00:34:39,645 [gunshot] 528 00:35:02,835 --> 00:35:06,138 They wanted to make it look like the cartel had got her 529 00:35:06,171 --> 00:35:09,108 and raped and killed her, so he took her clothes off. 530 00:35:09,141 --> 00:35:11,343 He also put a trash bag over, uh, Inez's head. 531 00:35:13,045 --> 00:35:14,680 [Narrator] His efforts were interrupted 532 00:35:14,713 --> 00:35:18,350 when hunter Tommy Darity stumbled upon him. 533 00:35:21,420 --> 00:35:24,056 Troy's confession fills in the blanks, 534 00:35:24,089 --> 00:35:27,793 but it isn't enough to arrest Rosa. 535 00:35:27,826 --> 00:35:30,095 Texas law is very clear 536 00:35:30,129 --> 00:35:33,065 in that the statement of a co-actor 537 00:35:33,065 --> 00:35:34,600 in and of itself 538 00:35:34,633 --> 00:35:38,470 is not sufficient to secure a conviction. 539 00:35:39,738 --> 00:35:43,075 [Narrator] Seven months after Inez's body is found, 540 00:35:43,075 --> 00:35:47,846 Troy is convicted of first-degree murder. 541 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:52,618 The negotiated plea agreement was for 75 years. 542 00:35:52,651 --> 00:35:55,421 Mr. Ryder will not be eligible for parole 543 00:35:55,454 --> 00:35:59,491 until he has served 30 years of that sentence. 544 00:36:03,629 --> 00:36:08,400 [Narrator] For Inez's family, Troy's sentence is bittersweet. 545 00:36:08,434 --> 00:36:11,303 I got pretty sick because they wouldn't arrest her. 546 00:36:11,337 --> 00:36:13,672 I was having faint spells. 547 00:36:13,706 --> 00:36:17,576 I couldn't live thinking that this woman 548 00:36:17,609 --> 00:36:22,114 was living a normal life after what she had done. 549 00:36:23,215 --> 00:36:25,284 [Narrator] But whether or not Rosa will go to jail 550 00:36:25,317 --> 00:36:28,420 isn't all Inez's loved ones struggle with. 551 00:36:28,454 --> 00:36:31,623 They want to know why. 552 00:36:31,657 --> 00:36:36,328 She mentioned to Troy that my sister was gonna blackmail her, 553 00:36:36,362 --> 00:36:39,431 you know, saying she was a stripper, what not. 554 00:36:39,465 --> 00:36:43,202 But in all honesty, my sister could care less. 555 00:36:46,905 --> 00:36:50,876 [Narrator] Was the real motive unrequited love? 556 00:36:50,909 --> 00:36:53,612 Rosa lived in San Antonio 557 00:36:53,645 --> 00:36:57,616 and wanted Inez to move to San Antonio to be with her. 558 00:36:57,649 --> 00:37:03,422 But Inez ended up finding a good job as a scrub nurse 559 00:37:03,455 --> 00:37:07,026 in Tucson, Arizona, where she lived, where her mother lived, 560 00:37:07,026 --> 00:37:12,765 and eventually made the decision not to move to San Antonio. 561 00:37:12,798 --> 00:37:14,533 I think that's what triggered all this, 562 00:37:14,566 --> 00:37:18,837 is that when Inez didn't move, I think it made her mad. 563 00:37:23,809 --> 00:37:28,280 [Narrator] As years pass, Rosa goes on with her life. 564 00:37:28,313 --> 00:37:30,716 She moved on, she got a new job, 565 00:37:30,749 --> 00:37:33,819 she was working as a manager at Home Depot, 566 00:37:33,852 --> 00:37:36,055 she had a live-in partner. 567 00:37:36,889 --> 00:37:39,491 [Narrator] And hard proof of Rosa's involvement 568 00:37:39,525 --> 00:37:45,064 in Inez's murder continues to elude investigators. 569 00:37:45,064 --> 00:37:48,901 But in June 2019, everything changes 570 00:37:48,934 --> 00:37:52,171 when investigators are able to look at old evidence 571 00:37:52,204 --> 00:37:55,441 through a new lens. 572 00:37:55,474 --> 00:38:00,713 The technology to really take a deep dive into these phones 573 00:38:00,746 --> 00:38:05,050 had advanced, and investigators started looking at it some more. 574 00:38:06,218 --> 00:38:10,389 The last analysis of the device was detrimental to the case. 575 00:38:10,422 --> 00:38:12,591 So, it's actually kind of a really cool thing 576 00:38:12,624 --> 00:38:15,928 that technology can be your best friend or your worst enemy 577 00:38:16,028 --> 00:38:17,596 at the end of the day. 578 00:38:19,264 --> 00:38:21,033 [Narrator] Coming up-- 579 00:38:21,066 --> 00:38:23,736 will that day finally come? 580 00:38:28,874 --> 00:38:32,478 [Narrator] New technology cracks the case. 581 00:38:32,511 --> 00:38:35,681 It proved that Rosa did know Inez was coming to Texas. 582 00:38:50,662 --> 00:38:55,567 [Narrator] Seven years after the 2012 murder of Inez Santa Cruz, 583 00:38:55,601 --> 00:38:59,071 triggerman Troy Ryder is behind bars. 584 00:38:59,071 --> 00:39:03,409 But the alleged mastermind behind the crime, Rosa Medina, 585 00:39:03,442 --> 00:39:05,778 remains at large. 586 00:39:08,914 --> 00:39:11,583 But new life is brought back to the investigators 587 00:39:11,617 --> 00:39:15,387 when old evidence is examined in a new way. 588 00:39:16,689 --> 00:39:18,624 [Erin] They brought me Rosa's iPhone data 589 00:39:18,657 --> 00:39:20,459 that had been, been given to the Texas Rangers 590 00:39:20,492 --> 00:39:23,762 when they interviewed her initially. 591 00:39:23,796 --> 00:39:28,067 And I was able to rebuild the webpages, deleted text messages 592 00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:30,436 to be able to look at them as you would've seen 'em 593 00:39:30,469 --> 00:39:33,272 in their native format. 594 00:39:33,305 --> 00:39:34,707 [Narrator] The analysis yields 595 00:39:34,740 --> 00:39:38,110 what investigators have been waiting for. 596 00:39:38,143 --> 00:39:41,313 A week before the killings, 597 00:39:41,347 --> 00:39:46,485 Rosa was doing searches for date rape drug. 598 00:39:46,518 --> 00:39:48,454 Slipping a mickey. 599 00:39:48,487 --> 00:39:51,056 How to make untraceable calls. 600 00:39:52,057 --> 00:39:55,094 [Erin] The final thing that we found was a text that said, 601 00:39:55,127 --> 00:39:58,397 "I'm boarding my flight, amor. I'll see you soon." 602 00:40:03,168 --> 00:40:04,470 It had been deleted, 603 00:40:04,503 --> 00:40:08,107 but with the new technology, it was extracted. 604 00:40:08,140 --> 00:40:11,477 That was exceptionally important when it came to showing that, 605 00:40:11,510 --> 00:40:13,912 that Rosa knew Inez was coming in. 606 00:40:16,215 --> 00:40:18,317 [Dorian] By June of 2020, 607 00:40:18,350 --> 00:40:21,687 the case against Rosa Medina 608 00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:25,824 had gotten much, much stronger. 609 00:40:27,059 --> 00:40:31,330 Within a month after we got the last forensic stuff, 610 00:40:31,363 --> 00:40:33,132 we went to arrest her. 611 00:40:37,202 --> 00:40:40,005 [Narrator] On June 29th, 2020, 612 00:40:40,039 --> 00:40:44,076 authorities locate Rosa at her home in San Antonio. 613 00:40:45,577 --> 00:40:47,546 [Marty] When we first made contact with Rosa, 614 00:40:47,579 --> 00:40:48,714 we tried to explain to her 615 00:40:48,747 --> 00:40:51,784 we were trying to finish up the case and close it out. 616 00:40:51,817 --> 00:40:54,453 She was still acting very nice. 617 00:40:54,486 --> 00:40:57,723 [Narrator] At the station, her demeanor changes. 618 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,136 [Erin] She started to get more upset. 619 00:41:11,170 --> 00:41:15,641 She was not willing to, to talk with any of us after that. 620 00:41:29,321 --> 00:41:32,524 [Narrator] Investigators reveal they have a warrant. 621 00:41:46,605 --> 00:41:48,874 [Narrator] Prosecutors are confident in their case, 622 00:41:48,907 --> 00:41:52,911 but there are other factors they must consider. 623 00:41:52,945 --> 00:41:55,247 [Dorian] I believe fully that Ms. Medina 624 00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:56,281 would've been convicted, 625 00:41:56,315 --> 00:41:58,984 but we also have to weigh the wants and the wishes 626 00:41:59,018 --> 00:42:01,253 of the victim's family. 627 00:42:01,286 --> 00:42:02,354 I don't want to go through court. 628 00:42:02,388 --> 00:42:04,356 I don't want to hear all this stuff. 629 00:42:04,390 --> 00:42:06,058 It's not gonna bring my daughter back. 630 00:42:07,593 --> 00:42:09,928 [Narrator] Authorities honor the family's wishes 631 00:42:09,962 --> 00:42:13,065 and approach Rosa with a plea bargain. 632 00:42:13,098 --> 00:42:18,370 She agreed and entered into a negotiated plea bargain 633 00:42:18,404 --> 00:42:21,106 for manslaughter. 634 00:42:21,140 --> 00:42:23,442 I was hoping that during that process, she would, uh, 635 00:42:23,475 --> 00:42:25,444 you know, give a confession in, 636 00:42:25,477 --> 00:42:27,413 in, in return for the leniency. 637 00:42:27,446 --> 00:42:29,114 But she never did. 638 00:42:32,184 --> 00:42:34,286 [Narrator] In April 2022, 639 00:42:34,319 --> 00:42:38,090 Rosa pleads guilty to the reduced charge of manslaughter 640 00:42:38,090 --> 00:42:42,928 and receives an 18-year sentence. 641 00:42:42,961 --> 00:42:46,098 [Marty] I wished that she could have been sentenced longer 642 00:42:46,098 --> 00:42:47,232 than what she got, 643 00:42:47,266 --> 00:42:50,102 but we finally got her arrested and got her convicted. 644 00:42:53,672 --> 00:42:54,907 [Narrator] While it is comforting 645 00:42:54,940 --> 00:42:57,676 that Rosa is finally behind bars, 646 00:42:57,710 --> 00:42:59,111 there is little that can ease 647 00:42:59,144 --> 00:43:03,082 the pain of not understanding why. 648 00:43:05,050 --> 00:43:08,187 [Letty] I wrote her a letter, but she's never responded. 649 00:43:09,288 --> 00:43:12,858 That's all I say, is, why, why? 650 00:43:12,891 --> 00:43:16,962 And I guess I'll go to my grave saying why. 651 00:43:17,062 --> 00:43:21,867 I see the world very temporary, very limited. 652 00:43:21,900 --> 00:43:25,471 I live in the moment, like my daughter taught me. 653 00:43:25,504 --> 00:43:27,706 I'm very proud of the person she was. 654 00:43:31,410 --> 00:43:43,555 [music]