1 00:00:01,369 --> 00:00:02,503 ["People Get Ready We're Moving On" playing] 2 00:00:02,503 --> 00:00:03,937 [vocalizing] 3 00:00:05,173 --> 00:00:07,408 * Everybody feel the beat * 4 00:00:07,408 --> 00:00:09,477 * Clap your hands Stamp your feet * 5 00:00:09,477 --> 00:00:10,778 * As we're moving on * 6 00:00:14,382 --> 00:00:16,617 * Everybody feel the beat * 7 00:00:16,617 --> 00:00:18,686 * Clap your hands Stamp your feet * 8 00:00:18,686 --> 00:00:20,088 * As we're moving on * 9 00:00:24,492 --> 00:00:26,460 * Ain't got no time... * 10 00:00:29,130 --> 00:00:31,799 * Let's get together Everybody * 11 00:00:38,639 --> 00:00:40,574 [ominous sound] 12 00:00:47,748 --> 00:00:49,283 [door creaking] 13 00:01:12,140 --> 00:01:15,843 [Charles Bosworth] Wood River was a, uh, small, residential community. 14 00:01:16,944 --> 00:01:19,146 Very, uh, safe neighborhoods. 15 00:01:19,146 --> 00:01:22,015 Uh, it was a great place to live and raise a family. 16 00:01:23,351 --> 00:01:26,354 We were only 30 minutes from St. Louis. 17 00:01:26,354 --> 00:01:29,357 So, we had kinda, the best of both worlds. 18 00:01:29,357 --> 00:01:31,325 Just a lot of hard working people. 19 00:01:32,793 --> 00:01:35,295 [Charles] It was a great place, uh, for young families 20 00:01:35,295 --> 00:01:39,967 and the fact that Mark and Karla had picked out a house 21 00:01:39,967 --> 00:01:41,702 uh, right in the middle of Wood River 22 00:01:41,702 --> 00:01:44,205 uh, to move into as their first place together, 23 00:01:44,205 --> 00:01:47,775 I think is a great indication of the kind of town that Wood River was. 24 00:01:48,576 --> 00:01:50,378 They both grew up in Wood River 25 00:01:50,378 --> 00:01:52,680 and wanted to stay right in the middle of it. 26 00:01:57,884 --> 00:02:00,521 Back in 1978, it was very shocking 27 00:02:00,521 --> 00:02:03,791 that people moved in together before they would marry. 28 00:02:04,692 --> 00:02:05,959 It just wasn't done. 29 00:02:07,995 --> 00:02:10,062 But she was a different generation. 30 00:02:12,533 --> 00:02:17,070 [Charles] Karla Brown grew up as a very independent, uh, free spirit. 31 00:02:18,306 --> 00:02:19,740 She knew how to take care of herself 32 00:02:19,740 --> 00:02:22,843 and she was a very strong personality 33 00:02:22,843 --> 00:02:26,814 because she had grown up in the shadow of her two older sisters. 34 00:02:27,515 --> 00:02:29,517 Karla was striking. 35 00:02:29,517 --> 00:02:32,620 Very sharp blonde hair, very lovely face. 36 00:02:32,620 --> 00:02:34,922 She was very friendly, very warm 37 00:02:34,922 --> 00:02:37,525 and she was the kind of young woman 38 00:02:37,525 --> 00:02:40,293 that every guy would notice when she walked in the room. 39 00:02:42,530 --> 00:02:44,332 [Don Weber] Karla was 22 years old. 40 00:02:45,333 --> 00:02:46,700 She was going to college. 41 00:02:47,268 --> 00:02:48,236 She did some waitressing 42 00:02:48,236 --> 00:02:50,438 at the International House of Pancakes. 43 00:02:50,438 --> 00:02:52,805 And she was totally in love with Mark. 44 00:02:57,245 --> 00:02:58,679 [Terry Judson] I had liked Mark from the beginning. 45 00:02:58,679 --> 00:03:01,048 He was a little older than Karla 46 00:03:01,048 --> 00:03:02,783 and had been in the Service. 47 00:03:02,783 --> 00:03:04,652 He was an apprentice at the time 48 00:03:04,652 --> 00:03:06,354 for construction and so on 49 00:03:06,354 --> 00:03:09,890 but he was, uh, he was a good guy. 50 00:03:09,890 --> 00:03:13,494 [Charles] There was just a reluctance, I think, by Mark, to settle down. 51 00:03:13,494 --> 00:03:16,264 Very young man, uh, with a very active social life. 52 00:03:16,264 --> 00:03:20,368 And it took him a while to decide that he was beyond all of that 53 00:03:20,368 --> 00:03:23,271 and that he was ready to settle down with Karla. 54 00:03:28,609 --> 00:03:29,743 [crows cawing] 55 00:03:37,418 --> 00:03:39,052 [music playing] 56 00:03:39,987 --> 00:03:42,323 [Charles] They decided to buy the house together 57 00:03:42,323 --> 00:03:47,094 and the buying the house was, uh, more of a commitment on Mark's part 58 00:03:47,094 --> 00:03:51,899 uh, to get married, as Karla had been pushing, uh, for some time. 59 00:03:52,833 --> 00:03:54,435 [Donna] I think at that time, 60 00:03:54,435 --> 00:03:56,003 when they decided to move in together, 61 00:03:56,003 --> 00:03:57,971 she was happier than she'd ever been. 62 00:03:58,739 --> 00:04:00,908 She just was thrilled. 63 00:04:00,908 --> 00:04:04,512 Uh, she wanted to get married and she wanted to marry Mark. 64 00:04:04,512 --> 00:04:07,348 And things were finally falling into place. 65 00:04:07,348 --> 00:04:08,916 [music ends] 66 00:04:22,863 --> 00:04:25,966 Mark, he was working on some kind of construction job 67 00:04:25,966 --> 00:04:27,200 and he left for that. 68 00:04:30,638 --> 00:04:31,905 [music playing] 69 00:04:48,456 --> 00:04:49,823 [telephone ringing] 70 00:04:55,062 --> 00:04:56,530 [telephone ringing] 71 00:04:58,366 --> 00:04:59,733 [music continues] 72 00:05:00,401 --> 00:05:01,769 [telephone ringing] 73 00:05:03,404 --> 00:05:06,073 [speaking indistinctly] 74 00:05:06,073 --> 00:05:09,009 You'll never believe, this house is so beautiful. 75 00:05:09,009 --> 00:05:12,380 I know. I can't believe. We're right in the heart of town, too. 76 00:05:12,380 --> 00:05:14,815 Where we grew up. It's so nice. 77 00:05:14,815 --> 00:05:18,185 You have to come over. We have all of that. [laughs] 78 00:05:18,185 --> 00:05:21,088 And Mark over, all of that. [laughs] 79 00:05:21,088 --> 00:05:24,392 And Mark has just been so crazy about moving. 80 00:05:25,025 --> 00:05:26,827 [indistinct conversation] 81 00:05:26,827 --> 00:05:28,396 [loud knocking at door] 82 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:34,101 [hanging up telephone] 83 00:05:37,037 --> 00:05:38,572 [knocking at door] 84 00:05:47,214 --> 00:05:50,082 [bell tolling] 85 00:06:01,028 --> 00:06:02,730 [ominous sound] 86 00:06:04,932 --> 00:06:10,438 [Charles] Mark and his friend, Tom, came home from work, later that afternoon. 87 00:06:12,573 --> 00:06:14,475 Mark wanted Tom to see the house. 88 00:06:14,475 --> 00:06:16,477 And Mark sees that the door is unlocked, 89 00:06:16,477 --> 00:06:18,145 which is a little irritating to him 90 00:06:18,145 --> 00:06:20,548 because he wanted it to be a little more secure than that. 91 00:06:20,548 --> 00:06:21,949 [music playing] 92 00:06:31,759 --> 00:06:34,161 Mark calls for Karla and doesn't get any answer. 93 00:06:34,161 --> 00:06:35,596 Karla. 94 00:06:35,596 --> 00:06:37,097 They move through the house. 95 00:06:37,097 --> 00:06:39,733 And Mark assumes that Karla's in the basement. 96 00:06:41,001 --> 00:06:41,969 Karla. 97 00:06:43,971 --> 00:06:46,173 But he certainly wasn't expecting to see 98 00:06:46,173 --> 00:06:48,375 what he found when he went down the stairway. 99 00:06:48,375 --> 00:06:49,477 [intense music playing] 100 00:06:51,879 --> 00:06:55,182 [Don] He saw the seat cushions on the couch moved 101 00:06:55,182 --> 00:06:56,984 uh, like there was a struggle. 102 00:06:56,984 --> 00:06:59,853 He saw the TV trays on the floor. 103 00:07:00,287 --> 00:07:01,489 He saw the blood. 104 00:07:01,489 --> 00:07:03,290 Called out for Karla again. 105 00:07:03,290 --> 00:07:04,257 [shouts] Karla! 106 00:07:07,094 --> 00:07:09,797 And then, she was about four feet inside 107 00:07:09,797 --> 00:07:11,298 with her hands tied behind her 108 00:07:11,298 --> 00:07:15,503 and her head and waist dumped in a 25-gallon can of water. 109 00:07:16,637 --> 00:07:19,507 [Charles] Mark pulls her out of the bucket of water 110 00:07:19,507 --> 00:07:21,909 and his friend called 911 111 00:07:21,909 --> 00:07:24,712 and asked for the police and an ambulance. 112 00:07:36,223 --> 00:07:39,058 When the police arrive, Mark is hysterical. 113 00:07:39,058 --> 00:07:41,328 He's crying, he's screaming Karla's name. 114 00:07:41,328 --> 00:07:43,664 [indistinct chatter] 115 00:07:43,664 --> 00:07:48,068 Mark tells the police he has found Karla's body in the basement. 116 00:07:48,068 --> 00:07:52,039 His friend is trying to help give information to the police. 117 00:07:53,541 --> 00:07:55,342 The Wood River police 118 00:07:55,342 --> 00:07:58,579 immediately called, uh, for a crime scene technician 119 00:07:58,579 --> 00:08:00,948 from the Illinois State Police to come in. 120 00:08:00,948 --> 00:08:04,585 And he did the preliminary investigation of the crime scene. 121 00:08:04,585 --> 00:08:06,887 Taking photos, looking for evidence. 122 00:08:06,887 --> 00:08:10,558 Um, preserving the case. 123 00:08:10,558 --> 00:08:13,026 Preserving the evidence, uh, around the body. 124 00:08:18,999 --> 00:08:21,769 [Don] I was an assistant State Attorney at the time of the crime. 125 00:08:21,769 --> 00:08:23,671 So I went over to the crime scene and I actually 126 00:08:23,671 --> 00:08:26,439 went down to the basement where I could see it for myself. 127 00:08:26,707 --> 00:08:28,008 [radio chatter] 128 00:08:28,008 --> 00:08:30,978 It was a very, very strange, 129 00:08:30,978 --> 00:08:33,581 almost like a refrigerator, cold scene, 130 00:08:33,581 --> 00:08:36,584 where you knew that this young girl had died there. 131 00:08:36,584 --> 00:08:39,019 But there was more than that. There was sort of a... 132 00:08:39,019 --> 00:08:43,591 A feeling around in that basement that was really evil what happened. 133 00:08:43,591 --> 00:08:45,192 [indistinct chatter over radio] 134 00:08:46,894 --> 00:08:48,629 [Charles] There was no sign of a break-in. 135 00:08:48,629 --> 00:08:52,099 Uh, the locks weren't broken. There was not a broken window. 136 00:08:52,099 --> 00:08:56,369 All of the evidence suggested there had been a struggle that had begun on the sofa. 137 00:09:09,316 --> 00:09:10,818 [intense music playing] 138 00:09:21,261 --> 00:09:24,164 The condition of Karla's body certainly indicated 139 00:09:24,164 --> 00:09:27,534 that she had resisted and been overpowered. 140 00:09:27,534 --> 00:09:32,640 There is two men's socks tied in a knot around her neck. 141 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:34,742 Her hands are tied behind her back 142 00:09:34,742 --> 00:09:37,044 with, uh, white electrical wire. 143 00:09:38,045 --> 00:09:40,347 She's naked from the waist down. 144 00:09:41,548 --> 00:09:43,984 The cause of death was ruled strangulation. 145 00:09:43,984 --> 00:09:46,253 The socks around her neck were so tight, 146 00:09:46,253 --> 00:09:47,755 uh, that they had to be cut off. 147 00:09:49,256 --> 00:09:51,825 So, it was, uh, a very strange crime scene. 148 00:09:52,660 --> 00:09:54,728 And it was just getting started. 149 00:10:10,343 --> 00:10:12,179 We were actually in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 150 00:10:12,179 --> 00:10:14,247 when we got a phone call from a friend. 151 00:10:15,615 --> 00:10:19,252 And, uh, told us the news of Karla being murdered. 152 00:10:20,587 --> 00:10:22,389 [Terry] It was just staggering to us 153 00:10:22,389 --> 00:10:25,926 and that's... We were there, in the middle of nowhere. 154 00:10:25,926 --> 00:10:29,262 You know, it was a six hour drive 155 00:10:29,730 --> 00:10:32,733 and... It was just... 156 00:10:32,733 --> 00:10:35,268 you know, terrible trying to find out anything. 157 00:10:36,369 --> 00:10:39,406 I mean, this was a time and era when 158 00:10:39,406 --> 00:10:41,474 there weren't cellphones or anything. 159 00:10:42,409 --> 00:10:44,211 It was just devastating. 160 00:10:44,211 --> 00:10:47,014 It was very emotional, you know. 161 00:10:47,014 --> 00:10:50,617 All you know is that she was killed. 162 00:10:50,617 --> 00:10:53,020 We didn't really know how, what, when or why. 163 00:10:55,022 --> 00:10:57,324 [Donna] We drove down to St. Louis. 164 00:10:57,324 --> 00:11:01,228 Worst probably 24 hours, of my life. 165 00:11:01,228 --> 00:11:05,132 We would stop on the side of the road at a gas station 166 00:11:05,132 --> 00:11:06,399 to a pay phone, 167 00:11:06,399 --> 00:11:09,937 and call and try to get some answers about what was going on. 168 00:11:11,571 --> 00:11:16,443 Then, I remember finally reaching Connie on... My older sister, on the phone 169 00:11:16,443 --> 00:11:21,481 and all she could say was, "Donna, it's worse than you can imagine. Get home." 170 00:11:30,057 --> 00:11:32,793 [Charles] There's, uh, a saying that you look at the in-laws 171 00:11:32,793 --> 00:11:34,327 before you look at the outlaws. 172 00:11:35,062 --> 00:11:37,965 And this was a perfect case of that. 173 00:11:37,965 --> 00:11:42,235 Police immediately looked at Mark as a potential suspect. 174 00:11:43,603 --> 00:11:48,441 You've got, uh, a young man who is the one who finds Karla's body 175 00:11:48,441 --> 00:11:53,280 uh, reports to the police in spite his hysterical situation, 176 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:54,815 when the police arrive. 177 00:11:54,815 --> 00:12:00,153 Uh, they knew that they had to look at Mark as perhaps the number one suspect. 178 00:12:06,093 --> 00:12:10,163 But Mark had an absolutely iron-clad alibi. He was at work. 179 00:12:11,298 --> 00:12:14,001 He was 20 miles or so away from the house. 180 00:12:16,303 --> 00:12:18,705 So, he was on the job all day, never left. 181 00:12:18,705 --> 00:12:21,408 Was never out of his co-workers' sight. 182 00:12:21,408 --> 00:12:24,111 And there's no way he could have been at the house 183 00:12:24,111 --> 00:12:25,813 at the time Karla was murdered. 184 00:12:31,051 --> 00:12:35,522 So, the police began to interview the neighbors. 185 00:12:35,522 --> 00:12:37,724 This occurred during broad daylight. 186 00:12:37,724 --> 00:12:40,127 Uh, so they're going to neighbors asking them 187 00:12:40,127 --> 00:12:41,694 if they saw anything, if they heard anything. 188 00:12:43,964 --> 00:12:49,436 The house beside Karla and Mark's house was owned by Dwayne Conway. 189 00:12:49,436 --> 00:12:51,972 Young man. And he told the police 190 00:12:51,972 --> 00:12:55,843 that he and a friend of his had sat on the porch most of the afternoon. 191 00:12:56,877 --> 00:12:59,312 Drank and probably smoked a little pot. 192 00:13:00,848 --> 00:13:03,150 But they both said that they were unaware 193 00:13:03,150 --> 00:13:07,420 of anything happening to Karla, uh, until the police arrived. 194 00:13:12,692 --> 00:13:15,628 While the police are checking with neighbors and everybody, 195 00:13:15,628 --> 00:13:18,999 they find a woman who actually used to live in the house 196 00:13:18,999 --> 00:13:21,634 that Mark and Karla had just moved into. 197 00:13:21,634 --> 00:13:25,906 She was driving by, uh, with her grandson in the car. 198 00:13:25,906 --> 00:13:27,707 Young boy. Six or seven years old. 199 00:13:28,876 --> 00:13:31,644 [Eric Moses] Grandmother was taking me to the dentist. 200 00:13:31,644 --> 00:13:33,180 She said, "Oh, let's pull into your old driveway. 201 00:13:33,180 --> 00:13:34,214 You can see your old house." 202 00:13:34,214 --> 00:13:37,717 'Cause we lived there just nine months earlier. 203 00:13:37,717 --> 00:13:40,020 So, we drove past the house 204 00:13:40,020 --> 00:13:43,156 and we saw Karla Brown and another man arguing. 205 00:13:43,790 --> 00:13:45,993 I maybe saw them for five seconds. 206 00:13:47,294 --> 00:13:49,129 [Charles] They got a very quick look at... 207 00:13:49,129 --> 00:13:53,934 Good sized man, long hair and probably a beard. 208 00:13:53,934 --> 00:13:58,705 They didn't get a real good look at his face, but they see, uh, a profile. 209 00:13:58,705 --> 00:14:03,911 That was the last time anybody could report seeing Karla alive. 210 00:14:08,415 --> 00:14:10,617 [Eric] I probably didn't truly understand how big of a deal 211 00:14:10,617 --> 00:14:13,320 until probably years and years down the road. 212 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,122 I guess the thing that sticks out to me is that 213 00:14:15,122 --> 00:14:18,291 the odds of us pulling in the driveway, 214 00:14:19,426 --> 00:14:21,929 I mean, we really go to the dentist once a year. 215 00:14:21,929 --> 00:14:25,232 I mean, [laughs] it's a very long shot 216 00:14:25,232 --> 00:14:28,301 that we would have seen those two on the day that she was murdered. 217 00:14:34,975 --> 00:14:36,309 [telephone ringing] 218 00:14:37,444 --> 00:14:39,846 [Charles] The police also learned fairly quickly 219 00:14:39,846 --> 00:14:41,949 -that Karla had been on the telephone - [telephone ringing] 220 00:14:41,949 --> 00:14:44,985 with one of her best friends, in the middle of the day. 221 00:14:44,985 --> 00:14:46,353 And they were chatting. 222 00:14:46,353 --> 00:14:48,088 - Karla was telling her about the progress -[knocking at door] 223 00:14:48,088 --> 00:14:49,256 in moving into the house. 224 00:14:49,256 --> 00:14:51,658 And while they were chatting, Karla said... 225 00:14:51,658 --> 00:14:54,327 Someone's here. I gotta go. 226 00:14:57,064 --> 00:14:59,866 And that was the last time that her friend would ever talk to her. 227 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:01,634 [music playing] 228 00:15:01,634 --> 00:15:03,470 [Patrick Gauen] There were other people who made phone calls 229 00:15:03,470 --> 00:15:05,005 -to Karla that day -[knocking at door] 230 00:15:05,005 --> 00:15:07,574 after that time frame, that were never answered. 231 00:15:07,574 --> 00:15:09,476 And they put the time of death 232 00:15:09,476 --> 00:15:12,379 about six hours earlier from the discovery of the body 233 00:15:12,379 --> 00:15:14,781 which was about 5:30 in the afternoon 234 00:15:14,781 --> 00:15:17,084 so she was killed, uh, around noon time. 235 00:15:18,018 --> 00:15:19,552 [door unlocks and creaks] 236 00:15:30,998 --> 00:15:33,233 [Charles] Because Wood River was such a small town 237 00:15:33,233 --> 00:15:35,035 and a fairly tight-knit community, 238 00:15:35,035 --> 00:15:40,307 they knew that anyone who was in Karla's circle of friends, 239 00:15:40,307 --> 00:15:42,742 might be considered as a suspect. 240 00:15:44,011 --> 00:15:47,780 The first guy they looked at was a local tough named Jack Myers. 241 00:15:48,515 --> 00:15:50,317 Jack knew Karla very well. 242 00:15:50,317 --> 00:15:52,519 Uh, they were social acquaintances 243 00:15:52,519 --> 00:15:55,822 and it was well-known in their circle of friends 244 00:15:55,822 --> 00:16:00,127 that, uh, Jack had made advances to Karla any number of times. 245 00:16:01,161 --> 00:16:04,297 But Karla had always rejected his advances. 246 00:16:05,065 --> 00:16:06,733 [Donna] Karla was very, very popular 247 00:16:06,733 --> 00:16:10,037 but she sometimes got attention she was not comfortable with. 248 00:16:12,072 --> 00:16:14,741 She had a picture published of her in a bikini 249 00:16:14,741 --> 00:16:18,078 taken at their beach area there and it was gorgeous. 250 00:16:18,078 --> 00:16:22,882 I mean, she was beautiful in it, this beautiful blonde hair. 251 00:16:22,882 --> 00:16:26,053 And a figure to die for. 252 00:16:26,053 --> 00:16:28,055 She was really a knockout 253 00:16:28,055 --> 00:16:32,059 and, uh, she got a few phone calls that she didn't appreciate. 254 00:16:32,059 --> 00:16:34,561 But, uh, you know, when you're that good looking, 255 00:16:34,561 --> 00:16:36,829 you know, those things, I guess, happen. 256 00:16:36,829 --> 00:16:38,065 But it was kinda scary. 257 00:16:39,366 --> 00:16:41,468 [Charles] Even Karla's closest friends 258 00:16:41,468 --> 00:16:45,072 thought that Jack Myers was probably the lead suspect. 259 00:16:45,072 --> 00:16:48,175 There had been a few incidents of violence with women. 260 00:16:50,577 --> 00:16:52,545 But Jack passed a polygraph. 261 00:16:56,116 --> 00:17:00,287 The police also looked at Karla's former stepfather, Joe Sheppard. 262 00:17:02,122 --> 00:17:06,093 Joe Sheppard was, uh, was known to the police. 263 00:17:06,093 --> 00:17:08,861 He did not have a sterling record in Wood River. 264 00:17:10,997 --> 00:17:13,833 He had been married to Karla's mother for a short time. 265 00:17:14,601 --> 00:17:17,404 I guess my take was 266 00:17:17,404 --> 00:17:20,873 everybody's guilty till we find out something separate 267 00:17:20,873 --> 00:17:22,342 or something different. 268 00:17:22,342 --> 00:17:25,912 And I know we gotta look at the closest people to you. 269 00:17:25,912 --> 00:17:31,951 I was in college when mom got married, uh, we called him Papa Joe. 270 00:17:31,951 --> 00:17:34,587 And that didn't end up being a good relationship. 271 00:17:38,225 --> 00:17:42,028 I was really happy for mother when she got rid of him. 272 00:17:43,130 --> 00:17:45,298 He was a very mean man. 273 00:17:47,534 --> 00:17:51,838 And, yeah, we certainly considered him a suspect. 274 00:17:51,838 --> 00:17:56,042 Some of Karla's friends said that they had always been uncomfortable around him 275 00:17:56,042 --> 00:17:59,446 and, in fact, one of her friends said that he had made 276 00:17:59,446 --> 00:18:01,448 uh, a sexual advance toward her 277 00:18:01,448 --> 00:18:04,151 when she was spending the night with Karla one night. 278 00:18:04,151 --> 00:18:08,955 But it wasn't long before they ruled him out as a potential suspect. 279 00:18:08,955 --> 00:18:12,159 There was absolutely no evidence linking him to the murder. 280 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,296 The problem for the investigation by the police 281 00:18:16,296 --> 00:18:20,267 was that there was almost an endless list of potential suspects. 282 00:18:26,706 --> 00:18:27,907 [birds chirping] 283 00:18:32,879 --> 00:18:35,182 [Donna] I wanted everybody ruled out. 284 00:18:35,182 --> 00:18:37,184 I wanted them to be thorough. 285 00:18:37,184 --> 00:18:40,253 Uh, and if that meant, asking Terry questions, 286 00:18:40,253 --> 00:18:42,789 asking Mark, that's their job. 287 00:18:42,789 --> 00:18:44,491 I could see nothing in the family, 288 00:18:44,491 --> 00:18:45,892 nothing with Mark. 289 00:18:45,892 --> 00:18:48,728 I certainly couldn't believe Mark had anything to do with it. 290 00:18:51,898 --> 00:18:54,000 I remember, a couple of days later, 291 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,304 Mark asked if would go into the house with him. 292 00:18:57,304 --> 00:18:59,639 He wanted to get some things he had there. 293 00:19:00,507 --> 00:19:02,008 I drove him down there. 294 00:19:02,008 --> 00:19:05,945 I didn't want him to, you know, be there by himself. 295 00:19:08,014 --> 00:19:10,517 You could tell he was just still in shock. 296 00:19:10,517 --> 00:19:13,753 And, you know, I'm pretty nervous about it too, 297 00:19:13,753 --> 00:19:15,388 because it's kind of a scary thing. 298 00:19:18,024 --> 00:19:20,527 Walking down the steps, it was just kinda... 299 00:19:20,527 --> 00:19:23,830 As you go down there, it's just a feeling of dread. 300 00:19:23,830 --> 00:19:25,232 I didn't wanna be there. 301 00:19:26,433 --> 00:19:28,701 It was a very, very cold feeling. 302 00:19:28,701 --> 00:19:31,037 Very scary feeling. 303 00:19:31,037 --> 00:19:32,505 You know, scary feeling. 304 00:19:34,341 --> 00:19:36,609 [footsteps approaching] 305 00:19:38,611 --> 00:19:39,779 [siren wailing] 306 00:19:47,354 --> 00:19:49,756 [Charles] As the police continue their investigation, 307 00:19:49,756 --> 00:19:53,793 uh, two of the people that they were very interested in, 308 00:19:53,793 --> 00:19:55,728 were Dwayne Conway, the neighbor, 309 00:19:55,728 --> 00:19:58,965 uh, who lived right next door to Mark and Karla's house. 310 00:19:58,965 --> 00:20:01,734 And his friend, who was named John Prante. 311 00:20:03,536 --> 00:20:05,472 The police were very suspicious of them 312 00:20:05,472 --> 00:20:09,742 because the front porch on Dwayne's house is a matter of feet 313 00:20:09,742 --> 00:20:14,080 from, uh, Karla and, uh, Mark's house. 314 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,650 And if there had been some violent struggle inside, 315 00:20:17,650 --> 00:20:21,821 there's no way that, uh, two people sitting on Dwayne's front porch 316 00:20:21,821 --> 00:20:24,223 wouldn't have heard something. 317 00:20:24,223 --> 00:20:27,226 So, they asked them to come into the police department 318 00:20:27,226 --> 00:20:29,061 to give their statement 319 00:20:29,596 --> 00:20:32,064 and, uh, take a polygraph. 320 00:20:32,599 --> 00:20:34,166 They both agreed. 321 00:20:38,104 --> 00:20:40,373 John Prante passed the polygraph 322 00:20:40,373 --> 00:20:43,610 and indicated that he knew nothing about Karla's murder. 323 00:20:43,610 --> 00:20:45,878 And was ruled truthful by the examiner. 324 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,818 But Dwayne Conway was so upset and rattled 325 00:20:51,818 --> 00:20:55,121 uh, during his polygraph, 326 00:20:55,121 --> 00:20:58,858 that the examiner said that he just was unable to offer an opinion 327 00:20:58,858 --> 00:21:01,394 on whether he was being truthful or not. 328 00:21:05,698 --> 00:21:07,133 As the weeks passed, 329 00:21:07,133 --> 00:21:11,604 the police experienced a tremendous amount of pressure from the public 330 00:21:11,604 --> 00:21:13,340 and from Karla's family, 331 00:21:13,340 --> 00:21:16,509 to make some kind of progress in this investigation. 332 00:21:17,710 --> 00:21:21,147 Karla's family was absolutely shocked 333 00:21:21,147 --> 00:21:24,050 that the police could not identify, 334 00:21:24,050 --> 00:21:28,154 uh, at least a prime suspect, a lead suspect in the case, 335 00:21:28,154 --> 00:21:29,789 let alone, make an arrest. 336 00:21:32,425 --> 00:21:34,260 [Donna] The Wood River Police Department, 337 00:21:34,260 --> 00:21:35,928 they were in over their head. 338 00:21:36,863 --> 00:21:39,632 They were good for getting cats out of a tree. 339 00:21:39,632 --> 00:21:43,470 Things like that, but, they didn't solve murders. 340 00:21:43,470 --> 00:21:47,907 And we were very frustrated that it didn't seem like they were asking for help. 341 00:21:47,907 --> 00:21:51,177 We felt like there were probably agencies out of there 342 00:21:51,177 --> 00:21:53,746 that could have provided a lot of assistance. 343 00:21:53,746 --> 00:21:57,984 But, I think Wood River police wanted to solve this case. 344 00:21:57,984 --> 00:22:00,387 They wanted to go on record as being 345 00:22:00,387 --> 00:22:03,656 you know, the ones who found out who killed Karla Brown. 346 00:22:07,193 --> 00:22:11,398 The community was very upset because this murder occurred 347 00:22:11,398 --> 00:22:13,666 amid what they... Everybody found out, 348 00:22:13,666 --> 00:22:16,168 was a series of break-ins and assaults. 349 00:22:19,205 --> 00:22:20,907 [Patrick] Around the time of Karla Brown's death, 350 00:22:20,907 --> 00:22:23,109 there had been other sex crimes in that area. 351 00:22:23,109 --> 00:22:27,013 There was, in fact, a serial rapist, operating there. 352 00:22:27,013 --> 00:22:29,516 Uh, after her death, 353 00:22:29,516 --> 00:22:32,952 the police chief of Wood River resigned 354 00:22:32,952 --> 00:22:37,624 uh, under criticism that he had hidden from the public 355 00:22:37,624 --> 00:22:42,862 reports of 14 sexual assaults, attempted rapes or rapes. 356 00:22:44,797 --> 00:22:48,435 [Charles] And while the police were investigating Karla's murder, 357 00:22:48,435 --> 00:22:49,836 there's another break-in, 358 00:22:49,836 --> 00:22:54,340 not far away, a matter of a few blocks away from Karla and Mark's house. 359 00:22:54,340 --> 00:22:56,543 A man breaks into a house 360 00:22:56,543 --> 00:23:00,112 and sexually molests the woman who lives there. 361 00:23:03,750 --> 00:23:05,818 Police were able to make an arrest 362 00:23:05,818 --> 00:23:07,454 after the woman called to report 363 00:23:07,454 --> 00:23:11,323 that she'd been assaulted by someone who broke into her house. 364 00:23:11,991 --> 00:23:14,461 His name was Tony Garza. 365 00:23:14,461 --> 00:23:19,466 He admits that he's responsible for some break-ins and sexual assaults 366 00:23:19,466 --> 00:23:21,834 that have occurred but he says, 367 00:23:21,834 --> 00:23:23,936 "Look, I certainly didn't murder Karla." 368 00:23:25,137 --> 00:23:28,475 But Tony Garza was a general fit 369 00:23:28,475 --> 00:23:31,778 of the description that, uh, the woman and her grandson 370 00:23:31,778 --> 00:23:35,782 of the man they had seen in the driveway talking to Karla. 371 00:23:35,782 --> 00:23:41,754 And then police got statements from two of the guys who were cellmates with Garza. 372 00:23:41,754 --> 00:23:46,926 And, uh, in these two cases, uh, both of them claim that Tony Garza had confessed 373 00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:49,361 to them that he had killed Karla. 374 00:24:04,376 --> 00:24:06,212 [birds chirping] 375 00:24:07,547 --> 00:24:12,284 [Charles] While the police were investigating Tony Garza for the murder of Karla Brown, 376 00:24:12,284 --> 00:24:15,121 they had incriminating statements by cellies 377 00:24:15,121 --> 00:24:18,725 saying that Tony Garza had told them that he had killed Karla. 378 00:24:18,725 --> 00:24:21,293 However, the description he made of the crime 379 00:24:21,293 --> 00:24:24,196 uh, was nowhere close to what the police knew 380 00:24:24,196 --> 00:24:26,398 uh, were the facts of the case. 381 00:24:26,398 --> 00:24:29,836 And they realized that, uh, that the statements, 382 00:24:29,836 --> 00:24:32,539 probably were based on press reports 383 00:24:32,539 --> 00:24:37,544 uh, rather than based on, uh, statements by the person who actually killed her. 384 00:24:37,544 --> 00:24:41,047 So, at first what they thought might be a break in the case, 385 00:24:41,047 --> 00:24:42,715 turned out to not be true. 386 00:24:43,215 --> 00:24:44,416 [siren wailing] 387 00:24:47,854 --> 00:24:50,657 At this point, people in Wood River were frightened. 388 00:24:50,657 --> 00:24:55,562 There had been a murder of an innocent young woman in the basement of her home. 389 00:24:55,562 --> 00:24:57,564 In broad daylight. 390 00:24:57,564 --> 00:25:00,933 And then, a series of sexual assaults and break-ins. 391 00:25:02,769 --> 00:25:07,039 People felt that they were no longer safe in their homes. 392 00:25:07,039 --> 00:25:13,145 Sales of door locks and firearms had rocketed in the Wood River area. 393 00:25:13,145 --> 00:25:17,584 And the police were under an incredible amount of pressure and criticism. 394 00:25:17,584 --> 00:25:18,985 [indistinct chatter over radio] 395 00:25:18,985 --> 00:25:22,989 [Terry] We appreciate that, you know, small town police 396 00:25:22,989 --> 00:25:24,891 fortunately, they're not accustomed 397 00:25:24,891 --> 00:25:27,059 to handling murder cases. 398 00:25:27,059 --> 00:25:28,695 And that's a good thing, 399 00:25:28,695 --> 00:25:30,329 until you have a murder case. 400 00:25:33,265 --> 00:25:35,635 [Donna] Yeah, we would come back to Wood River every two months. 401 00:25:35,635 --> 00:25:38,070 We'd be down at the police station to see 402 00:25:38,070 --> 00:25:39,271 you know, what was kinda going on 403 00:25:39,271 --> 00:25:42,609 and to kinda give 'em a little nudge, like, 404 00:25:42,609 --> 00:25:44,476 you know, is there anything else you can do? 405 00:25:44,476 --> 00:25:46,613 We didn't want the case to grow cold. 406 00:25:46,613 --> 00:25:48,247 [trolley wheels rolling] 407 00:25:50,116 --> 00:25:53,485 [Charles] Despite the best efforts of the Wood River police, 408 00:25:53,485 --> 00:25:55,722 the case really doesn't advance. 409 00:25:55,722 --> 00:25:58,224 The leads are few and far between. 410 00:25:58,224 --> 00:26:01,193 The murder of Karla Brown becomes a cold case. 411 00:26:12,939 --> 00:26:15,407 A little more than two years after Karla's murder, 412 00:26:15,407 --> 00:26:20,312 there is an election and a new States Attorney is chosen for Madison County. 413 00:26:20,947 --> 00:26:21,914 Don Weber. 414 00:26:22,682 --> 00:26:23,950 [Don] The first day in office, 415 00:26:23,950 --> 00:26:25,752 the first thing I did was I went down the hallway 416 00:26:25,752 --> 00:26:29,055 and I got the, what I could, of the Karla Brown case 417 00:26:29,055 --> 00:26:31,057 and I put it on my desk and I said, 418 00:26:31,057 --> 00:26:32,424 "We're gonna solve this case." 419 00:26:37,764 --> 00:26:40,166 [Patrick] Don Weber and I went to high school together. 420 00:26:40,166 --> 00:26:42,268 I remember, he told me about reopening 421 00:26:42,268 --> 00:26:43,469 the Karla Brown case 422 00:26:43,469 --> 00:26:44,436 and said that 423 00:26:44,436 --> 00:26:47,339 he'd never forgotten about her murder because 424 00:26:47,339 --> 00:26:49,375 her picture looked so much like a girl 425 00:26:49,375 --> 00:26:51,944 that he and I had gone to high school with. 426 00:26:53,379 --> 00:26:56,683 [Charles] Don had made a vow to himself and to Karla Brown 427 00:26:56,683 --> 00:26:58,685 that he would not rest until the case was solved. 428 00:27:04,891 --> 00:27:07,694 [Don] After I read the file, I wanted to form a task force. 429 00:27:07,694 --> 00:27:10,562 Wood River, very well-intentioned, very sincere. 430 00:27:10,562 --> 00:27:12,298 Really wanted to solve the case. 431 00:27:12,298 --> 00:27:14,566 They had been given a couple of years, they couldn't do it. 432 00:27:14,566 --> 00:27:17,103 And it was time to assemble people 433 00:27:17,103 --> 00:27:20,572 who had more resources and more expertise. 434 00:27:20,572 --> 00:27:23,009 [woman reporter] The Madison County States Attorney, Don Weber, 435 00:27:23,009 --> 00:27:25,745 has been obsessed with Karla's unsolved murder. 436 00:27:25,745 --> 00:27:27,279 [Don] Everyone was a suspect. 437 00:27:27,914 --> 00:27:29,115 And no one was a suspect. 438 00:27:29,115 --> 00:27:31,818 And that's the trouble with investigations like this 439 00:27:31,818 --> 00:27:34,120 is you have a hundred suspects, 440 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:35,922 but no one to really focus on. 441 00:27:35,922 --> 00:27:39,191 So, we started analyzing the evidence very carefully. 442 00:27:39,191 --> 00:27:42,394 One of the primary investigators in the case had an opportunity 443 00:27:42,394 --> 00:27:46,198 to attend a presentation by John Douglas from the FBI 444 00:27:46,198 --> 00:27:51,103 who was developing the psychological profiling ability of the FBI. 445 00:27:53,239 --> 00:27:56,843 He was interviewing serial killers around the country. 446 00:27:56,843 --> 00:28:00,346 Ted Bundy and those kind of serial killers 447 00:28:00,346 --> 00:28:07,519 and building the ability to analyze the evidence, analyze the crime scene 448 00:28:07,519 --> 00:28:10,222 and from that, extrapolate the kind of person 449 00:28:10,222 --> 00:28:11,824 that would commit that kind of crime. 450 00:28:14,460 --> 00:28:18,564 And, uh, Douglas agreed to look at the Karla Brown case 451 00:28:18,564 --> 00:28:21,367 and see if there was anything that he could offer 452 00:28:21,367 --> 00:28:23,970 the, uh, investigators, that they might have missed, 453 00:28:23,970 --> 00:28:26,538 in the preliminary investigation. 454 00:28:26,538 --> 00:28:32,078 And he gave them, uh, perhaps the most incredible analysis 455 00:28:32,078 --> 00:28:35,782 of the crime scene, uh, that left them absolutely stunned. 456 00:28:37,249 --> 00:28:40,386 [Don] He looked at the crime scene photos he asked one question, 457 00:28:40,386 --> 00:28:41,888 "Was she feisty or was she docile?" 458 00:28:41,888 --> 00:28:43,823 Well, answer was, "She was feisty." 459 00:28:43,823 --> 00:28:44,891 He looked at it for a little while 460 00:28:44,891 --> 00:28:48,260 and then he started in with this uncanny 461 00:28:48,260 --> 00:28:50,096 psychological profile of the killer. 462 00:28:50,096 --> 00:28:51,663 He says, "Here's what we got. 463 00:28:51,663 --> 00:28:56,668 He's a white male between the ages of 25 and 30. 464 00:28:56,668 --> 00:29:01,841 He was living or visiting within one or two houses of the victim at the time. 465 00:29:01,841 --> 00:29:03,575 He was in the Navy. 466 00:29:03,575 --> 00:29:07,213 He had some kind of electrical, practical experience 467 00:29:07,213 --> 00:29:09,481 He was a loser with women. 468 00:29:09,481 --> 00:29:13,185 He stayed around the area for about a month and he left the area." 469 00:29:13,185 --> 00:29:16,823 And then, a real interesting one at the end, he said, 470 00:29:16,823 --> 00:29:20,860 "He was driving a beat-up car, red or orange. 471 00:29:20,860 --> 00:29:22,294 Probably a Volkswagen." 472 00:29:24,864 --> 00:29:26,866 [Terry] The John Douglas stuff was... 473 00:29:26,866 --> 00:29:28,935 I mean, it's the sort of thing they make movies of. 474 00:29:28,935 --> 00:29:32,839 It's kind of scary, you know, that they can do that. 475 00:29:33,940 --> 00:29:35,875 Douglas told us what we needed to do. 476 00:29:35,875 --> 00:29:40,246 We needed to hype this in the media as much as we could. 477 00:29:40,246 --> 00:29:43,249 He said, "This killer is complacent. 478 00:29:43,249 --> 00:29:44,851 He thinks he got away with it. 479 00:29:46,052 --> 00:29:47,719 And you have to make him nervous." 480 00:29:47,719 --> 00:29:49,889 He said, "If you do this right, 481 00:29:49,889 --> 00:29:53,659 the killer will eventually call you on the phone. 482 00:29:53,659 --> 00:29:58,730 Because he's so obsessed with knowing what's going on with the investigation. 483 00:29:58,730 --> 00:30:01,267 He will call you, but when he does, 484 00:30:01,267 --> 00:30:05,171 he will try to disguise it by saying something like, 485 00:30:05,171 --> 00:30:07,139 'I'm a witness, but I don't wanna be a suspect.'" 486 00:30:16,682 --> 00:30:20,286 [Charles] A few weeks later, one of the crime scene investigators 487 00:30:20,286 --> 00:30:22,754 meets with a forensic expert 488 00:30:22,754 --> 00:30:28,995 who is pioneering a way of investigating crime scenes using a computer 489 00:30:28,995 --> 00:30:34,666 to enhance the photographs from crime scene investigations. 490 00:30:34,666 --> 00:30:39,205 The investigator asked him if he'd be willing to look at the photos 491 00:30:39,205 --> 00:30:43,943 from the Karla Brown case using this new computer enhancement technique. 492 00:30:46,012 --> 00:30:50,316 He notices bite marks on Karla Brown's neck and collarbone 493 00:30:50,316 --> 00:30:53,019 that had not been discovered by the police 494 00:30:53,019 --> 00:30:57,723 or the forensic experts during the autopsy, the original autopsy. 495 00:30:57,723 --> 00:31:00,859 Investigators believed that those bite marks might help 496 00:31:01,961 --> 00:31:05,764 at least narrow the field of suspects. 497 00:31:07,133 --> 00:31:09,401 As far as I'm concerned, from what I can see 498 00:31:09,401 --> 00:31:12,238 and from other cases and other convictions, 499 00:31:12,238 --> 00:31:15,207 bite marks are as dependable as finger prints. 500 00:31:17,443 --> 00:31:21,613 [Charles] Douglas suggests that it would be a good idea to exhume the body 501 00:31:21,613 --> 00:31:26,618 because the skin would retain the bite marks even after this period 502 00:31:26,618 --> 00:31:29,155 uh, after the body had been buried. 503 00:31:29,155 --> 00:31:31,157 [Don] We really had to do the exhumation 504 00:31:31,157 --> 00:31:34,560 because we didn't have good pictures of the bite marks. 505 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,264 [Donna] On the exhumation, I don't know if they had to, but they did come to us. 506 00:31:38,264 --> 00:31:40,532 They kinda asked our permission. 507 00:31:40,532 --> 00:31:44,736 We all sat down and talked and said, you know, we need to do 508 00:31:44,736 --> 00:31:47,373 anything we can to help with this investigation 509 00:31:47,373 --> 00:31:53,179 and, uh, so we... I think we did have to sign off on it. 510 00:31:53,179 --> 00:31:56,815 [female reporter] Weber is looking for one conclusive piece of evidence. 511 00:31:57,349 --> 00:31:58,384 Bite marks. 512 00:31:58,384 --> 00:32:00,386 Weber says, whoever killed Karla, 513 00:32:00,386 --> 00:32:02,754 left a bite mark on her lower neck. 514 00:32:02,754 --> 00:32:06,025 Tomorrow, a national expert will examine Karla's body, 515 00:32:06,025 --> 00:32:10,096 hoping to match the bite mark with the dental records of the killer. 516 00:32:11,197 --> 00:32:14,466 [Patrick] It was a beautiful, blue sky, sunny day. 517 00:32:14,466 --> 00:32:17,103 I remember when they opened the concrete vault, 518 00:32:17,103 --> 00:32:18,504 it hissed. 519 00:32:18,504 --> 00:32:22,008 Which sounds kind of macabre, but it was a good sign. 520 00:32:22,008 --> 00:32:26,612 Because it suggested that the vault had held, that it was air tight. 521 00:32:26,612 --> 00:32:30,649 And that that might portend the better condition of the body in the casket. 522 00:32:32,218 --> 00:32:35,387 [Charles] The investigators re-examined Karla's body. 523 00:32:35,387 --> 00:32:39,525 The pathologist said that Karla had drowned. 524 00:32:39,525 --> 00:32:44,196 Uh, which was a switch from the strangulation verdict that had come out before. 525 00:32:46,898 --> 00:32:49,335 Armed with some of the new evidence, 526 00:32:49,335 --> 00:32:53,039 including the fact that, uh, Douglas believed that 527 00:32:53,039 --> 00:32:57,309 the killer would have been somebody who was comfortable in the neighborhood. 528 00:33:00,546 --> 00:33:03,249 They decided to go back and renew their look 529 00:33:03,249 --> 00:33:06,752 at, uh, the two people who had been right next door 530 00:33:06,752 --> 00:33:10,622 uh, at the time of this crime, that was Dwayne Conway and John Prante. 531 00:33:13,459 --> 00:33:17,563 John Prante had passed the polygraph in 1978 532 00:33:17,563 --> 00:33:19,531 but Dwayne Conway did not. 533 00:33:19,531 --> 00:33:23,369 So, police brought Dwayne Conway back into the police station 534 00:33:23,369 --> 00:33:25,171 for a renewed investigation 535 00:33:25,171 --> 00:33:29,441 by one of the expert interrogators by the State Police. 536 00:33:30,276 --> 00:33:33,279 Conway was very nervous, very upset 537 00:33:33,279 --> 00:33:36,148 but adamant that he had done nothing wrong. 538 00:33:42,554 --> 00:33:44,956 [Don] And while we were with Conway, there's a phone call. 539 00:33:44,956 --> 00:33:46,092 [telephone ringing] 540 00:33:46,692 --> 00:33:48,160 It was John Prante. 541 00:33:49,861 --> 00:33:51,297 And he said, 542 00:33:51,297 --> 00:33:54,266 "I was a witness to this, but I don't want to be considered a suspect." 543 00:34:03,475 --> 00:34:07,012 [Charles] When Dwayne Conway was in the police station, 544 00:34:07,012 --> 00:34:09,114 they were literally talking about the case 545 00:34:09,114 --> 00:34:11,250 in Weber's office, when John Prante called, 546 00:34:11,483 --> 00:34:12,717 and said, 547 00:34:12,717 --> 00:34:15,821 "I'd be happy to provide any information 548 00:34:15,821 --> 00:34:18,524 that I can, because I was next door. 549 00:34:18,524 --> 00:34:20,126 I just don't wanna be a suspect." 550 00:34:20,126 --> 00:34:23,295 ...thing of that nature, but I'm just curious. 551 00:34:23,295 --> 00:34:25,731 When Prante called, it just confirmed 552 00:34:25,731 --> 00:34:27,833 everything that Douglas said that was gonna happen 553 00:34:27,833 --> 00:34:31,036 in the psychological profile that he gave us. 554 00:34:31,036 --> 00:34:34,239 I mean, it was incredible. We were all mystified by it. 555 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:35,706 [hangs up] 556 00:34:39,145 --> 00:34:41,147 [Charles] When the police renewed their investigation of Prante, 557 00:34:41,147 --> 00:34:43,514 one of the things that they wanted to find out 558 00:34:43,514 --> 00:34:47,853 was what kind of car was he driving at the time of the crime. 559 00:34:47,853 --> 00:34:52,257 Well, John Prante was driving an old, beat-up, red Volkswagen "Squareback", 560 00:34:52,257 --> 00:34:53,458 at the time of the crime 561 00:34:53,458 --> 00:34:56,527 that fit the description that John Douglas had given 562 00:34:56,527 --> 00:35:00,031 as the kind of car that the killer would likely drive. 563 00:35:00,031 --> 00:35:03,535 The police knew that with the new bite mark evidence, 564 00:35:03,535 --> 00:35:08,574 that the way to either rule in or rule out a suspect, 565 00:35:08,574 --> 00:35:11,677 was to have an impression of their teeth. 566 00:35:11,677 --> 00:35:15,247 So, they took impressions from Dwayne Conway 567 00:35:15,247 --> 00:35:16,882 and from John Prante. 568 00:35:16,882 --> 00:35:20,186 So that they could have their forensic odontologist expert 569 00:35:20,186 --> 00:35:23,355 review the teeth and see if they fit the pattern 570 00:35:23,355 --> 00:35:27,493 of the bite mark that had been discovered on Karla's collarbone. 571 00:35:27,493 --> 00:35:33,098 They took the cast of the teeth to their expert in New York. 572 00:35:33,098 --> 00:35:36,202 And he looked at the cast of John Prante's teeth, 573 00:35:36,202 --> 00:35:37,603 made some measurements, 574 00:35:37,603 --> 00:35:40,105 compared it to the photo and the marks 575 00:35:40,105 --> 00:35:42,208 and said, "This is your guy." 576 00:35:47,413 --> 00:35:52,784 That gave the police the evidence they needed to arrest John Prante. 577 00:35:55,587 --> 00:35:57,489 Once Prante had been arrested, 578 00:35:57,489 --> 00:36:00,526 some witnesses came forward who told stories 579 00:36:00,526 --> 00:36:04,296 of Prante talking about the crime. 580 00:36:04,296 --> 00:36:07,233 And reviewing facts about the crime scene 581 00:36:07,233 --> 00:36:10,602 that nobody could know unless they were at the crime scene. 582 00:36:10,602 --> 00:36:12,938 He knew about the barrel of water. 583 00:36:12,938 --> 00:36:16,242 He knew about the hands tied behind her back. 584 00:36:16,242 --> 00:36:18,009 Prante knew more than he should have. 585 00:36:20,846 --> 00:36:23,349 [Don] There were a number of his friends 586 00:36:23,349 --> 00:36:28,420 who talked about how Prante could not accept rejection from women. 587 00:36:28,420 --> 00:36:30,155 And that's the same thing Douglas told us. 588 00:36:30,155 --> 00:36:32,724 And that one of his friends said, 589 00:36:32,724 --> 00:36:34,460 "I've never seen anyone 590 00:36:34,460 --> 00:36:37,529 become as depressed and agitated, 591 00:36:37,529 --> 00:36:39,498 as he did, when he was rejected by women." 592 00:36:41,367 --> 00:36:43,535 [Donna] John Douglas did that complete profile 593 00:36:43,535 --> 00:36:45,737 on the murderer of Karla Brown. 594 00:36:45,737 --> 00:36:48,374 And it amazingly fit John Prante. 595 00:36:48,374 --> 00:36:51,510 When he was the one arrested, 596 00:36:52,077 --> 00:36:54,179 you know, you look back and, uh, 597 00:36:54,179 --> 00:36:56,382 it was really amazing. 598 00:36:56,382 --> 00:36:59,285 John Douglas' profile was right on. 599 00:37:05,491 --> 00:37:09,661 [Charles] Weber's theory was that Prante had gone over to talk to Karla 600 00:37:09,661 --> 00:37:13,164 in hopes of a sexual encounter. 601 00:37:14,199 --> 00:37:15,634 Then she had rejected him. 602 00:37:16,201 --> 00:37:17,403 * Everybody feel the beat * 603 00:37:17,403 --> 00:37:18,837 * Clap your hands... * 604 00:37:29,014 --> 00:37:31,683 And that their argument may have started outside 605 00:37:31,683 --> 00:37:33,619 but it proceeded down into the basement 606 00:37:33,619 --> 00:37:36,922 where there was a physical confrontation. 607 00:37:36,922 --> 00:37:41,192 And that the violence got out of control and, uh, cost Karla her life. 608 00:37:43,495 --> 00:37:45,030 * Everybody feel the beat * 609 00:37:45,030 --> 00:37:46,832 * Clap your hands Stamp your feet * 610 00:37:46,832 --> 00:37:48,367 * As we're moving on * 611 00:37:57,443 --> 00:37:59,210 [ominous sound] 612 00:38:23,369 --> 00:38:24,803 [screams] 613 00:38:28,974 --> 00:38:33,445 I think he thought she was already dead when he put her in the water. 614 00:38:33,445 --> 00:38:35,146 [metal barrel being dragged] 615 00:38:36,081 --> 00:38:37,916 [ominous sound] 616 00:38:39,551 --> 00:38:42,754 The really bad part, to me, about the crime scene is staging it. 617 00:38:42,754 --> 00:38:43,889 Putting her in the barrel of water 618 00:38:43,889 --> 00:38:46,392 and what Douglas told us about that is, 619 00:38:46,392 --> 00:38:50,261 when you see water, a toilet, a bathtub, a tub of water like this, 620 00:38:50,261 --> 00:38:53,765 that always means the crime scene has been staged. 621 00:38:53,765 --> 00:38:56,668 The killer is trying to make the crime 622 00:38:56,668 --> 00:38:59,405 look different from the way it really happened. 623 00:38:59,405 --> 00:39:01,172 And, I think he did in this case. 624 00:39:03,108 --> 00:39:06,111 And Karla had her hands tied behind her with electrical cord. 625 00:39:06,111 --> 00:39:08,680 And that's where Douglas got the part about 626 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:11,216 uh, he had some kind of electronic background 627 00:39:11,216 --> 00:39:13,318 because this guy used electrical cord. 628 00:39:13,318 --> 00:39:16,522 Not rope or twine or anything else. 629 00:39:16,522 --> 00:39:21,893 And, uh, he used what Douglas later identified somehow, magically, 630 00:39:21,893 --> 00:39:23,028 as a Navy knot. 631 00:39:23,028 --> 00:39:25,030 He knew that's a kind of knot you use in the Navy. 632 00:39:25,030 --> 00:39:28,900 And from that, he concluded that the killer must have been in the Navy. 633 00:39:28,900 --> 00:39:30,669 And that's where he got that part of the profile. 634 00:39:31,903 --> 00:39:34,339 If you see a picture of Prante around the time of the crime, 635 00:39:34,339 --> 00:39:38,043 he's got a baseball hat on, he's got a three-day old beard. 636 00:39:38,043 --> 00:39:41,146 He hadn't had a haircut in like, three weeks. 637 00:39:41,146 --> 00:39:43,915 I mean, he was just... Didn't look very well at all. 638 00:39:44,916 --> 00:39:46,952 But then, two years later, 639 00:39:46,952 --> 00:39:49,154 he was showing up with a great haircut. 640 00:39:49,154 --> 00:39:51,056 Nice looking guy, carrying a briefcase. 641 00:39:51,056 --> 00:39:53,058 Very professional, just like Douglas said he would 642 00:39:53,058 --> 00:39:55,994 because he'd gotten away with the murder of the century. 643 00:40:10,476 --> 00:40:16,281 [Patrick] The bite mark was a major key to the attention this case got. 644 00:40:16,281 --> 00:40:19,184 Is this going to be the opening 645 00:40:19,184 --> 00:40:21,587 of a new frontier of forensic science? 646 00:40:21,587 --> 00:40:24,656 When I say that, I like to point out 647 00:40:24,656 --> 00:40:28,860 that it sort of was, but one that collapsed upon itself later. 648 00:40:28,860 --> 00:40:32,564 Now, bite mark evidence has been pretty much relegated 649 00:40:32,564 --> 00:40:34,165 uh, to the scrap heap. 650 00:40:34,165 --> 00:40:38,069 I don't think any courts are taking bite mark evidence seriously anymore at all. 651 00:40:39,104 --> 00:40:41,507 But in the case of the Karla Brown murder, 652 00:40:41,507 --> 00:40:43,775 the bite mark evidence did not appear to have made 653 00:40:43,775 --> 00:40:45,577 a great impression on the jury. 654 00:40:46,512 --> 00:40:49,014 Jurors said that they had just 655 00:40:49,014 --> 00:40:52,751 pretty much disregarded it because of all the other evidence in the case. 656 00:41:00,892 --> 00:41:05,597 [Donna] I think it just shocked the whole community so much when Karla was killed. 657 00:41:06,532 --> 00:41:09,434 She seemed so innocent, so vibrant. 658 00:41:09,434 --> 00:41:12,037 So much alive that it just 659 00:41:12,037 --> 00:41:14,840 uh, really scared everybody and made everybody think 660 00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:18,076 about their own mortality and their own families. 661 00:41:18,810 --> 00:41:20,546 It's now been 45 years. 662 00:41:20,546 --> 00:41:22,447 We know the lives Karla touched 663 00:41:22,447 --> 00:41:26,151 in her first 23 years, was many. 664 00:41:26,151 --> 00:41:27,819 And you stop and think of, you know, 665 00:41:27,819 --> 00:41:32,023 what she could have done in the next 45 years and in the future. 666 00:41:32,023 --> 00:41:36,261 It's...it's just a shame that the world is gonna miss that. 667 00:41:36,261 --> 00:41:38,163 And that we as a family, 668 00:41:38,163 --> 00:41:40,932 have missed watching her grow up. 669 00:41:40,932 --> 00:41:43,769 We had a resolution. Probably not the one I wanted, 670 00:41:43,769 --> 00:41:45,436 but we had a resolution. 671 00:41:45,436 --> 00:41:47,038 Uh, he was convicted. 672 00:41:47,038 --> 00:41:49,174 All the suspects that we had, 673 00:41:49,174 --> 00:41:52,077 they were all cleared when we came up with the right guy. 674 00:41:52,077 --> 00:41:53,979 Uh, the family was relieved. 675 00:41:53,979 --> 00:41:55,747 The community settled down. 676 00:41:55,747 --> 00:41:58,917 And it's a relatively peaceful community now where 677 00:41:59,450 --> 00:42:00,586 people don't even know 678 00:42:00,586 --> 00:42:02,387 that that's the house where it happened.