[Dylan Heimbraugh] When she'd come around the group,
she dressed and acted like we did.
But, not a whole lot of pretty girls hang around with the rejects.
[Dain Weiner] Even though there was a significant age difference,
he was in love with her. He wanted to be with her.
[Lisette Suder] She's only 14 years old. Her mother begged him
to just leave them alone.
[Jeff Leikauf] There were a bunch of threats made, and...
this enraged him.
[Mike Lensing] The deputies found
a really horrific scene
And the entire bedroom was covered in blood.
Police think he's obsessed,
and that he kidnapped her and she's in danger.
He would speak like a poet.
"If we can't love each other, then we'll just die."
[Lisette] At this point, you're worried that is this
going to be a murder-suicide?
[Greg Hanlon] Detectives race against the clock, hoping...
to find the teen.
But what they found, seemed too crazy to be true.
[opening theme music playing]
[Greg] This case starts out as the story of a modern family.
A successful and dedicated single mom, and her brilliant daughter,
living what appears to be the dream.
But when tragedy strikes, investigators must untangle a web of deception
between two star-crossed lovers,
that ends in the ultimate betrayal.
For 47-year-old Joanne Witt, a single parent,
El Dorado Hills, California, is the perfect place,
to raise her 14-year-old daughter, Tylar.
[Jeff] My name is Jeff Leikauf I'm a sheriff of El Dorado County.
Joanne Witt lived in a big, beautiful home, in a beautiful neighborhood,
in one of the nicest areas in El Dorado County.
Very upscale, um...
Lot of professionals, uh, live in the community.
[Christine Pelisek] Joanne Witt was a very, very smart woman.
She was an IBM engineer before she got a job
with the El Dorado Department of Transportation.
And she also had her masters in metallurgy
from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
[Jeff] Joanne comes from a prominent family.
Her father was pretty successful
in his business dealings, and the family had money.
Joanne wanted to be a mother from very early age,
and she was ecstatic when she found out
she was going to have a baby girl.
Joanne wanted to raise her daughter on her own.
Her father was incredibly supportive, and so was her brother.
[Greg] On November 18th, 1994, Joanne gives birth to her daughter,
Tylar Marie.
With her father and brother nearby,
Joanne is making it work as a single mom.
Her new life with Tylar, is everything she'd hoped for.
My name is Lisette Suder. I'm an assistant district attorney
with El Dorado County.
Joanne was a very caring, a very loving mother.
Tylar was her whole world.
Anything that she could do for Tylar,
anything that would make Tylar better, safer, happier, that was...
Joanne's entire existence.
[Christine] Tylar grew up with a life of privilege.
She lived in a five-bedroom home with a pool.
They went to Mexico. They went to Jamaica.
She gave her horseback-riding lessons, music lessons, piano lessons.
[Greg] By her early teens, she's coming into her own,
and is a force to be reckoned with.
Just like her mother, Tylar is a very smart girl with a promising future.
[Lisette] She's a beautiful young woman,
and is someone that could work a room
and her personality was larger than life.
I'm Dylan Heimbraugh.
The first time I met Tylar was at the teen center,
where a bunch of us hung out.
Tylar saw us hanging out everyday. And, she was much younger,
but she'd fit in with us.
She acted more mature for her age.
She was just a pretty girl that came from money.
And, I got to meet her mom, and...
they were just happy-go-lucky ducky.
[Greg] Joanne and Tylar have everything going for them.
And Joanne's job really allows her the flexibility that she needs
to spend time with her daughter.
[Lisette] One Friday morning, Joanne didn't show up for work.
That was not like her.
If she ever missed work, she let people know.
Paulie started calling her.
They stopped by the house, knocked on the door.
Nobody was home. And so,
they just thought, "Well, maybe she and Tylar went somewhere."
[Greg] On Monday, June 15th, 2009,
Joanne still hasn't shown up for work.
Her co-workers are sure that something isn't right.
[Lisette] At this point, her supervisor at work
called the police to ask for a welfare check.
Our deputies went to Joanne's house.
The doors were secure.
Everything appeared to be normal.
They walked around the house, and there was nothing out of sorts.
There was no evidence of a robbery.
There was no evidence of any forced entry.
[Greg] Deputies look in the garage window,
and see Joanne's white Cadillac and an SUV.
Unless she left with someone else,
it's likely that she hasn't left her home.
[Jeff] Deputies were able to gain entry on the side of the house.
They made their way up the stairs to the, um, master bedroom.
And, immediately,
discovered a female laying partially on her bed.
She had been covered with a blanket.
There was no movement, but there was a lot of blood.
So, they backed out of the residence,
locked the residence down, and waited for all of us to arrive.
My name is Lieutenant Mike Lensing.
I was on duty that day,
and responded immediately to the area.
When we arrived on scene,
uh, we had the entire area blocked off.
We entered in the front entrance of the residence.
It was dark, but nothing seemed to be out of place.
I walked into the main master bedroom,
and that's where I saw the body lying on the bed.
And that was the only location that had been disturbed in the entire house.
[Jeff] There was a lot of blood. Any time you walk into a crime scene,
it's kinda... shocking to the conscience.
There was multiple puncture wounds or holes in the shirt that she had on,
stab wounds in her neck and shoulder area.
[Mike] T he wound that had stood out the most, was a gaping neck wound
that was, obviously, appeared to be incised.
Or some sharp instrument was used to cut her throat.
We knew the description of Joanne Witt,
and we had the basic information.
She was supposed to be at work.
And, is now found, obviously murdered, in her home.
[Jeff] We don't get a lot of homicides in El Dorado Hills.
Out of the half a dozen homicide investigations that I've been involved with,
this was... the most violent.
[Lisette] It was just a very bloody, horrifying scene,
one that, unfortunately, will never get out of my head, for as long as I live.
Detective Lensing was an expert in blood patterns,
and pointed out what looked like a bloody knife imprint,
like someone laid a butcher knife down on the bed,
which led us back downstairs.
[Mike] We began looking for a rather large knife
that could have been used to kill Joanne Witt.
We found a large kitchen knife that was in the sink.
[Jeff] We couldn't see any blood on it,
but we obtained that as evidence.
[Mike] We then found knives in a butcher block.
So, we photographed all of the knives,
and took those as evidence, they could be the possible murder weapon.
Based on the condition of the body and the... the, the crime scene,
I believe it was three or four days ago that Joanne was murdered.
While we were there investigating, a detective came forward
and was telling us, "I was just here this, like, a couple of days ago,
investigating another crime."
Joanne had reported statutory rape
of her 14-year-old daughter, Tylar.
So, we knew a young girl should have been at the house.
but wasn't there.
There is a sense of urgency that Tylar is in danger.
We immediately knew that we needed to find Tylar.
[Greg] Detectives have learned that the day before her brutal murder,
47-year-old Joanne Witt,
was trying to file a statutory rape charge
against 19-year-old Steven Colver,
for having sex with her 14-year-old daughter, Tylar.
[Christine] They learned Steven had been renting a room
from Joanne for the past six months.
But, without evidence
that the two of them were having a sexual relationship,
Steven can't get arrested for statutory rape.
[Jeff] At that point, we started focusing on Steven Colver.
And we were very concerned about Tylar,
who was missing.
[Greg] Detectives learn from a police report, that about six months earlier,
Tylar started hanging out with a new group of friends.
It was then, that she met 19-year-old Steven Colver,
who goes by the nickname, "Boston".
[Dylan] We referred to each other with nicknames.
I was always known as "Duck".
And then, there was "Boston", which was Steven Colver.
I have no idea how he got that name.
Steven had [sighs] a little bit of trouble at home.
And, kind of just lived out of his car,
and then... couch-surfed with some friends.
And then, Tylar did talk with Joanne about staying with him.
[Greg] At first, Joanne is uneasy about the idea
of Steven moving in with them.
But, when Tylar tells her mom that Steven is gay
and has no interest in her, Joanne reconsiders.
Joanne also knows he's working hard
as a manager at Rubio's Mexican Restaurant,
while going to college. So ultimately, she wants to help him out.
[Dylan] There was some kind of arrangement where he was helping her out,
for allowing him to rent a room.
[Christine] They end up having, like, a really good report.
They go out for dinner together.
They have breakfast together. And Steven cleans the kitchen and washes the dishes.
They got along famously.
[Mike] According to Joanne, Steven was the perfect house mate.
It wasn't until later, when her suspicions arose
that something was going on with Tylar and Steven.
A month prior to this homicide,
she had entered Steven's room, and found Tylar unclothed, in the room.
[Jeff] Her daughter was 14 years old.
She can't give consent, so it is a crime.
She reported it, and our other detective became involved
in the investigation of that statutory rape allegation.
The detective investigating the allegations of statutory rape,
turns over a recording he made while talking to Joanne.
[Christine] He opens the door, and she asks where's Tylar.
And he was like, "I don't know."
Joanne kind of looked around the room,
and saw this, uh, closet door was slightly ajar.
[Lisette] Joanne was trying
to do everything she could to protect her daughter from Steven.
He's an adult. He was 19 years old.
[Greg] After Joanne discovered what was going on,
she kicks Steven out of the house,
and tried to press charges of statutory rape.
But when detectives interview Tylar,
she tells them that she's just friends with Steven,
that their relationship is strictly platonic.
[Greg] Despite Tylar's claims,
authorities take Joanne's concerns very seriously.
Maybe, he's been manipulating Tylar,
and coercing her into having sex.
[Christine] Joanne was very worried about her daughter,
and wants Steven charged with statutory rape.
But, there was no proof
that there was, you know, the sexual nature,
in the relationship between the two.
[Lisette] On June 10th, the day before Joanne was murdered,
she found Tylar's diary.
It outlines...
very explicit details about the sexual relations between Tylar and Steven.
This was enough proof to actually show that they
in fact, have had sexual relations.
Joanne had threatened Tylar,
stating, "I'm going to turn this diary over to the detective."
And maybe, Steven would get arrested.
I had, literally, just seen Tylar and Steven the day before.
When he said he didn't know what he was going to do, you just knew that...
he needed to get away, so that he didn't go to jail.
[Jeff] Tylar's diary was turned over.
And that investigation was actually taking place
at the time of Joanne's murder.
Almost immediately, the thought was,
there would be a motive for the murder,
and he could be trying to flee the area.
They immediately issue an APB for his vehicle.
As a manhunt is underway,
police also worry,
"Did Steven Colver kidnap Tylar?"
[Greg] On June 16th,
the next day, detectives get a call
from the San Francisco Police Department.
[Christine] Steven Colver's car
is found in an impound lot in San Francisco.
His car had been towed from a loading zone area.
[Jeff] Myself and Detective Lensing were headed down to San Francisco
to work with, uh, our other detectives involved in the investigation
of getting that vehicle secured and locked down,
so we could process that as well.
[Christine] They search Steven's car,
and they find a journal.
Detectives are flipping through the pages,
and they are alarmed at what they're reading.
[Lisette] There was a journal entry found, that was Steven's writing.
He talked about Joanne being his demise,
and that she was the problem in his life.
One entry says, "I love Tylar Goddess Marie Witt with all my heart."
And another entry says, "I will bear eternal damnation just to be with her."
From reading in the journals, they think that Steven
is obsessed with this 14-year-old girl,
to the point where she's in danger.
We wondered, "Where is Tylar Witt?"
[Greg] The police turn to Steven's friends
and try to get more intel on them.
And what they learn, leads them to believe
that Steven could be armed and dangerous.
[Dylan] We had, uh, mass collections
of different kinds of weaponry from around the world.
Brass knuckles, nunchucks, swords.
Steven most definitely have the largest collection of weaponry.
You open his trunk and... there's a lot.
Detectives go talk to one of Steven's other friends,
who might have more information.
[Jeff] We tracked down Matthew.
one of Steven's friends that worked
with him at Rubio's, Mexican Restaurant.
[Greg] What Steven shared with him,
seemed too crazy to be true.
[Mike] Matthew told our detectives that Steven claimed
he had killed Joanne Witt.
[Mike] When we spoke to Matthew, he stated that
Steven Colver had confessed to him
that he had stabbed Joanne in the stomach.
The friend was like, "I don't believe it.
There's no way that he would do that."
And he was like, "Yes, I did."
And, to show proof, he pulls out the knife, which was in a bag.
[Mike] It's a rather large knife that he had claimed
he had taken from Rubio's Restaurant.
It was covered in blood.
[Greg] Steven had also dyed his blonde hair black,
which seemed a little odd to his friend, Matthew.
Almost like he was trying to disguise himself.
[Mike] Initially, I believe that he wanted to keep the secret for Steven.
He didn't want to be the one that got Steven in trouble.
What Matthew also told us, was that Steven was with Tylar.
And they were going to go to San Francisco to commit suicide.
After this information from Matthew,
we immediately saw Tylar as a suspect...
in the murder of her mother.
[Jeff] I did think that Steven did it, but there was a possibility
that Steven and Tylar were both involved.
[Christine] Based on what we know,
of Steven and what his friends said about him,
law enforcement's greatest fear is that they're too late,
and they're gonna find the two of them dead.
And then, they find out that Tylar and Steven are staying at the Holiday Inn
through his credit card.
[Greg] Detectives race to the hotel,
hoping to the find the teens.
[Jeff] When we made entry into the hotel room,
there was stuff all over the room.
Bowls of Top Ramen, cereal, red velvet cake.
But, there wasn't anybody dead in the room.
[Mike] We searched the room, looking for any evidence of... that could have been
at the crime scene.
But, we were not able to find a knife, or anything like that.
Instead, we found marijuana and cocaine, and Ecstasy.
[Christine] The hotel room has been, like, absolutely trashed.
And there was blood. There was vomit.
They also find many bags of rat poison.
[Jeff] There was a note taped to the side of the TV.
It said that they were going some place
to find a beautiful view, and die together.
This was, essentially, a suicide note.
Maybe they had ingested the rat poison.
Our greatest worry is that they had actually committed suicide.
[Lisette] There were bulletins put out all over
Northern California. It was all over the news, trying to find them.
[reporter] At this time, they are two prime suspects.
[Jeff] Within a very short time,
someone had reported seeing them in San Bruno.
They were in a parking lot of a strip mall.
[Christine] Our patrol officer was driving around the streets,
and he sees two people, changing clothes,
and kissing behind this dumpster.
[Mike] The police officer recognized Tylar's face,
based off the bulletins that we had sent to agencies around the state,
and noticed that she had dyed dark hair, also.
San Bruno Police Department took them into custody, took them to their office.
And, myself and Detective Leikauf
responded down to San Bruno to conduct the interviews.
After analyzing the scene, and all of the rat poison and the food that was there,
it did not appear
that anybody had attempted to commit suicide with the rat poison.
It was just staged.
[Greg] After doing a standard medical check
and confirming Tylar and Steven are okay,
the two are taken into separate rooms to be questioned.
[Mike] When we entered into the interview rooms,
Tylar was the first one that we spoke to.
Tylar makes no mention about her mother's murder.
[Jeff] I was in the interview room,
sitting there, looking at her across the table. She's crying.
"No, this can't be."
[Tylar blubbering]
There was no tears. It appeared to be more of an act than anything else.
[Tylar shrieking]
Is Tylar a victim? Or is she a villain?
[Tylar sniffles]
[Tylar sobs]
[sniffles]
Tylar stopped the interview,
and we met with Steven in the adjoining interview room.
The conversation lasts less than six minutes.
[Lisette] After they stopped their interviews,
Steven and Tylar were sent to jail.
What needed to be determined was who actually did it.
Was it Tylar?
Was it Steven?
Or was it both?
As detectives worked to determine who stabbed Joanne to death,
they find that the evidence against Steven
is enough to charge him with first-degree murder.
But the question is,
will 14-year-old Tylar be charged as a juvenile or an adult?
[reporter on TV] Tylar Witt, face covered by a jacket,
was escorted out the back door of a court house
after her juvenile detention hearing, this morning.
Cases like this are incredibly sensitive.
There is a family out there.
Specifically, there is a man who has just lost his daughter. And...
law enforcement is telling him
that his granddaughter is the one that did it.
That entire family is just distraught,
and baffled.
[male news reporter] A 14-year-old daughter and her 19-year-old boyfriend,
accused of killing her mother.
[female news reporter] Classmates from Oakridge High School
called her self-centered.
[high school student] Everything that her mom did,
was just to make her life better.
And, uh, Tylar just...
did not appreciate anything that her mom did.
[Lisette] Being mindful of Tylar's age,
we spent a lot of time talking to the family,
and making a group decision as to what was the right way to go about this case.
And ultimately, Joanne's family and the prosecution team
decided to try Tylar Witt as an adult.
A few months later, the autopsy results come in.
[Jeff] The autopsy indicated that Joanne
was stabbed so violently that it hit bones.
[Lisette] There were 20 different wounds.
it was clearly a crime of passion.
[Mike] And there were also indications that Joanne fought
because of some of the wounds
that she had on her hands, which were called defensive wounds.
We took DNA samples
from Joanne Witt's body and scrapings underneath
her finger nails, to try to figure out
who had done this?
[Greg] Detectives are shocked to learn
that there is no DNA found on Joanne's body.
[Lisette] As trial was nearing,
we are planning to go forward, and try the two of them together in one trial.
[news reporter on TV] Tylar Witt walked in
to this El Dorado County courtroom.
Twenty seconds later, her alleged boyfriend, Steven Colver,
appeared and sat down behind her.
My name is Dain Weiner. I am a criminal defense attorney.
I represented Steven Colver.
He was adamant that he was not guilty, that he had not killed Joanne.
But... we had to overcome the statements
that Steven had made to his friends about killing Joanne Witt.
Steven and Tylar maintain their dying love .
And then, just before the trial, Tylar has a change of heart.
She said she wanted to tell the truth,
as to what really happened.
And she would like to potentially plead guilty
to second-degree murder, which carries a much lesser sentence
than a first-degree murder.
[Christine] She tells the district attorney's office
that she was involved,
but the person who killed her mother, was Steven.
[Lisette] He maintained that she stayed right outside the room,
and did not go in and participate in stabbing Joanne.
Steven had done the whole thing.
Part of the plea deal with Tylar, was locating that knife.
And Tylar had stated they had placed it into a storm drain,
not too far from their home.
We searched the area, but...
we were not able to find the knife.
[Lisette] After much discussion,
Tylar plead guilty to second-degree murder,
which holds a sentence of 15 years to life.
And she would, in fact, testify at the jury trial against Steven Colver.
[Dain] When Steven learned that Tylar was going to testify against him,
he did feel betrayed.
I think, in his mind, they were still in love.
[Dylan] When Tylar decided she was going to say that he did it,
he was like, "Oh, okay. So, you don't love me.
You were just trying to use me as your scapegoat."
[Greg] Nearly two years after Joanne Witt is murdered,
Steven Colver's trial begins.
[female news reporter] Former high school classmates describe Colver as odd.
He'd come to school and talk about his, like,
knife collection, and sword collection.
Steven, to me, never came off as never the violent person.
I know he didn't do this. I know he's trying to protect her.
[Greg] In her opening statement,
the assistant district attorney points the finger squarely at Steven.
[Lisette] The purpose of my opening statement and trial,
was to give the jury
an understanding of the relationship
between Joanne, Tylar, and Steven.
Joanne was, 100 percent,
wanting Steven prosecuted for statutory rape of her daughter.
[Mike] In their minds, Joanne was the only thing that was stopping them
from having a relationship.
This, essentially, was a case of...
Romeo and Juliet. They saw the romance
in the homicide.
Our position was that Joanne's murderer was Tylar, not Steven.
[Dain] Twenty separate wounds suggest that somebody
is angry and bitter,
which is consistent with Tylar Witt
being the one that committed this act rather than Steven.
His state of mind at that time
was focused on protecting Tylar,
and doing whatever he could to take care of the woman that, that...
he was in love with.
[Greg] Tylar is set to testify.
But moments before she's about to take the stand,
the prosecution gets word about a piece of forensic evidence
that would surely influence the outcome.
[news reporter] We have incoming information, a mysterious halt
to the forbidden love trial in El Dorado County.
His last-minute DNA evidence just obtained by prosecutors.
[Lisette] DNA testing ultimately came back,
that there was male DNA
underneath her fingernails, as well as on her knee.
But, it's a miniscule amount of DNA,
and not enough for a full profile.
Ultimately, I believe it became very apparent
that that was DNA from her attacker... Steven Colver.
And that was important for the jury to understand.
The prosecution is feeling pretty confident.
But the defense hits back, arguing that the DNA evidence is hardly a slam dunk.
[Dain] We had an expert testify,
and he said low levels of male DNA
under several of her fingernails
could have come from multiple other sources.
It could have been picked up by someone she shook hands with,
and there's no proof that it's Steven's.
[Christine] After learning about the DNA, Tylar Witt takes a stand.
And, everyone was wanting
to know what she was going to say. And she'd lied so much,
the question was, what lie is going to come out this time?
[Lisette] On the stand, she acknowledged that she's a pathological liar. And...
Now, she was gonna come forth and tell the truth. I... I actually was shocked
She admitted she's the mastermind behind the planning.
[Dain] She testified that...
you know, at some point in time, she made up her mind
that her mother had to die.
[keypad buttons dialing]
[Lisette] Steven was communicating with Tylar,
"That is the plan."
[Mike] Tylar claimed the original agreement, was that Tylar was going
to drug her mother, and then Steven was going to sneak into the house.
And, they were both going to commit the murder.
[Lisette] Tylar testified that when Steven came over,
he had a... a big long knife with him.
She acknowledged she did have a knife as well.
[Christine] She said she saw Steven sort of slashing around,
practicing slashes...
of the knife. And she said that that really got her scared.
[Mike] Tylar stated that... at the last moment, she wasn't able to do it.
Tylar said that she could hear her mother pleading,
and she could hear the struggles and the sounds. And,
she knew exactly what was going on inside that room...
but did nothing to prevent it.
[Christine] And she said when Steven came out,
one of his pant legs was completely soaked with blood,
and that he had a little teardrop of blood on his cheek.
And then, she got busy cleaning up the crime scene.
[Dain] The jury's gonna be looking
at a witness' demeanor while on the stand.
In her testimony, she talked about how...
her mom needed to die.
She made that statement, with as much emotion...
as if you were brushing a fly off your arm, that complete lack of emotion.
[Dylan] When I had heard Tylar testifying, I'd thought
there's no way that it was... Steven.
This was a... a caring guy that... he's not going out for vengeance.
It's important to point out
that prior to her ever meeting Steven,
Tylar had fantasized and... and talked with people
about killing her mom.
She had approached, uh, a friend of hers, and asked
where she might be able to obtain arsenic.
She had previously, uh, threatened her mother with a knife.
She specifically told her friend,
"If my mom doesn't let me continue to see Steven,
I swear to God, I will her."
[Dylan] During the court proceeding, the only time I got to speak
with Steven, I was sitting
in the foyer area of the court house.
And, they brought him in through the elevator.
And I said, I'm here for you." He smiled, gave me a thumbs up.
Steven was like, "Now it's time
that I need to defend myself, and tell exactly what happened."
On June 8th, 2011, Steven Colver takes the stand in his own defense.
[Dain] Steven was adamant that he was
not guilty, that he had not killed Joanne.
[Christine] On the stand,
Steven said that, you know, Tylar contacted him.
[Christine] He went over there, and Tylar tells him
that she had killed her mother.
Steven was shocked,
and so he goes into the bedroom.
He actually pulled the sheets back...
and saw that Joanne had a major gash in her neck...
and blood all over her.
[Greg] Steven admits that he confessed to his friend, Matthew,
but now he claims his confession wasn't true.
[Mike] We knew that Steven told Matthew
that he had stabbed Joanne in the stomach.
That turned out not to be true.
[Dain] If he was the one that had done this,
he would certainly know that there was no stab to her stomach, which...
suggested to me that... that he was making this up.
[Christine] Steven says he took the blame, because...
they had every intention of killing themselves,
as like a heroic thing to save her reputation.
He wanted Tylar to die, without people thinking
that she actually killed her mother.
[Dain] As far as the plan to commit suicide,
Steven said that the rat poison,
it didn't taste good, and... and so, they... they ended up not eating it.
I think Steven Colver presented very well to the jury,
but I believe that there is plenty of evidence
to convict him.
[Greg] In her closing statement, the state argues
Tylar was an accessory to the murder of her mother.
But the person who actually killed Joanne
was Steven Colver.
[Lisette] It was important for the jury to hear he was angry,
because this evil mother was stopping him from having this relationship.
And he didn't like that.
[Greg] In his closing statement, Defense Attorney Weiner argues
that while his client may be guilty of statutory rape,
he didn't murder Joanne Witt.
[Dain] The important things to focus on
were the inconsistencies in Tylar's testimony,
Steven's lack of aggression or violence in the past.
And, that level of DNA could have been picked up from a number of sources.
It's not an indication that it was Steven Colver's.
[Christine] This defense attorney had said
she is a deeply disturbed young girl,
who didn't seem to have any remorse whatsoever about the death of her mother.
[Dain] But I think, in her mind, mom had to die
if she and Steven were going to be together.
[Greg] On June 15th, 2011,
two years to the day since Joanne Witt was murdered,
the jury reaches a decision after deliberating for less than a day.
[jury member] We, the jury, empaneled in the above entitled action,
find the defendant, Steven Paul Colver, guilty of the crime of murder.
[Greg] Twenty-one-year-old Steven Colver
is found guilty of first-degree murder.
When the jury came back "guilty",
it was very emotional.
[Dylan] Just kind of blew my mind, that the prosecution
turned Steven into some monster...
and that just wasn't who he was.
[Lisette] Because of the plea deal,
Tylar was sentenced to second-degree murder,
which carries a sentence of 15 years to life.
Which is a much lesser sentence than first-degree murder.
[Mike] This case was so egregious,
and there was such planning and intent.
Uh, I believe that Tylar Witt should have gotten more than 15 to life.
And Steven Colver was sentenced to life.
However, I would have preferred a death sentence for a case like this.
[news reporter] Today, during sentencing,
a string of comments from the victim's family,
directed squarely at Steven Colver.
Steven Colver had a dark side.
He took a 14-year-old girl, turned her into a heavy drug user,
sex addict, and murderer.
May he rot in the hell he wrote so often about in his journals.
Tylar, you never appreciated what your mother did for you.
You were her whole world.
Everything your mother did, was for you to have the best possible life.
You are a murderer.
[Lisette] I watched the pain
in Joanne's father and, and in Joanne's sibling's eyes.
And it was just heartbreaking.
[Mike] I believe Tylar killed her mother.
The person that brought her into this world, the person that cared for her,
the person that gave her everything in her life...
And she just took her mother's life,
as if it was nothing.
[Dain] What makes this even more of a tragedy is that, even if he had been,
uh, arrested and charged with having a relationship with Tylar,
the consequences would have paled in comparison
to what both of them are going through now.
Tylar Witt is eligible for parole in 2023,
one year before she's even served the minimum 15-year sentence.
I'm uncomfortable speaking on that, at this time.
[Lisette] I anticipate Tylar will be released shortly from state prison.
She has served her time.
And I am hopeful that she will use her intelligence
and her ability
to persuade people of things for good, not for evil.
[Christine] It's just such a tragic story.
Joanne lived for that girl.
She gave her everything she possibly could want.
It was just never enough
for her daughter, and it's so tragic...
that Joanne was killed by that one person she loved the most.
13 years and multiple serial killers...
what's going on?
The Times Square Killer.
The Virdin County Strangler.
The Torso Killer.
It never occured to me that this was just one person.
♪♪