[Debbie] The wedding was at our home, in our backyard.
Tab wore her beautiful red dress
and her dad walked her down the aisle.
I remember Tab saying, "Speed up, Dad." [chuckles]
So, it was a very, very exciting, special day.
She just carried every emotion she had on her sleeve.
- [Tabatha] Ready? - [woman] Yes.
[woman] Whoa!
And so I said, "You better be careful."
[operator 1 speaking]
[Tabatha speaking, screaming]
[man speaking]
You need to not always live in, like, la la land
where you don't think anything can happen because it can.
[woman 2 speaking]
[theme music plays]
[narrator] It's Christmas morning, 1977,
in Mountain View, North Carolina.
Four-year-old Tabatha Spake
is opening her presents,
along with 10-month-old sister Erica,
and mom Debbie.
[Debbie] Loved Christmas morning with the girls.
They weren't the type to wake up early.
I had to go in there and wake them up.
And my husband be saying,
"Leave them alone. Let them sleep."
And I said, "No, no, it's Christmas. We got to get up early."
I always tried to make Christmas very special for them.
[narrator] Dad, Billy Spake Jr., joins in the festivities
but he's more used to being behind the camera.
[Debbie] We purchased the camera.
We just wanted to be able to capture
'cause we knew how quick children grow up
and we just wanted those special moments to remember.
And that's Erica. [laughs]
You can tell by the red hair.
There's big sister trying to help.
Tabatha always came to Erica aid
if she was struggling with something.
Tabatha was a little over three years older than me
and she was always very, like, protective.
Um, she always had my back.
If anybody would say anything bad,
she would be there to correct them.
[Debbie] I loved living where we did in Mountain View.
I worked at a local furniture company
and my husband, Billy,
went into full-time service for the National Guard
to provide for our children.
So, we did work hard.
We were very happy.
You know, we'd come home and spend our evenings together.
We didn't have a fancy life,
but we were very content to just be home together.
In 1985, we took our vacation
to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Tab was 12, Erica was eight.
My dad, every year, got the same hotel.
It was on the other side of the street from the ocean.
Every year, we knew we went to that exact same pool.
They played great together,
throwing sand on each other and water,
and spent time just with each other.
Tabatha was a little quiet, a little reserved.
She didn't have a lot of confidence.
Erica was our little fireball.
She was always full of energy.
People used to joke about redheads,
I learned what that meant.
[Erica] So, the fact that we were opposites
kind of made it best because we completed each other.
And that's really what made her, like, my best friend
because I felt like I could tell her anything
and she could tell me anything.
[narrator] Tabatha comes out of her shell a few years later.
That day, she had asked me to video her.
And so, she got her red and white striped outfit
and her hat, and went out on our back deck,
and I taped her singing.
Once she hit puberty
and she started, like, her body changing,
her appearance changing,
you know, she started getting interests from guys,
which she enjoyed.
[Debbie] As she got older,
she got more into the boys stage.
That was, kind of, hard for my Billy,
kind of, was a little more protective on that.
[Erica] My dad was very strict.
He didn't want her to get involved with boys too early.
He wanted us to concentrate on school,
get a good career, that was a big thing for him.
Mom was a little more easygoing.
She didn't see any harm in it.
Thought that it was something that Tabatha needed,
you know, to make her feel more confident.
[Debbie] Billy didn't like that
and laid down some strict rules.
And, of course, that caused some rebellion.
Then she started pulling away.
And we had other issues.
There was some financial problems.
So, the problems started, you know, building up.
We separated, and a year later,
we did get our divorce in 1989.
It was a very hard decision
because I never wanted to go through a separation or divorce.
I wanted it to work, but we had just become so distant.
And so, I knew it was time we had to make that decision.
[narrator] The divorce splits the family.
Tabatha lives with her mom, Debbie,
and Erica chooses her dad, Billy.
[Erica] I felt bad for him being by his self
and that's one of the main reasons
I went back to move in with him
was because I really just felt sorry for him,
and I knew it was just devastating to him that mom left.
[narrator] Summer 1993,
guests gather to celebrate Tabatha's marriage
to 20-year-old work colleague, Chris McGalliard.
[Billy speaking]
She worked at Rose's Department Store
and Tabatha and Chris met and started dating.
[Debbie] The day Tab got married to Chris,
it was a beautiful day.
The wedding was at our home, in our backyard.
We had a gazebo.
So, there was probably maybe 20, 30 people there,
but it was just mostly family and close friends.
[narrator] Also in attendance is two-year old, Chasity,
Tabatha's daughter from a previous relationship.
[Erica] Tabatha found out she was pregnant
when she was 16,
but she decided she wanted to have Chasity,
even if that meant she was gonna have to do it by herself.
[Debbie] It was hard for us to tell her dad.
It was hard for him, and she knew it.
It just took a while for him to accept it
and to move on with it.
It was just wasn't the plan he had for her, for her life.
I told her it was her responsibility, but I would help her.
And she worked and she went to school
where she did her school classes,
and she carried on until she had her baby.
So she was very dedicated.
She made up her mind,
she was just gonna be the best mom and she was.
But Tabatha and Billy's, relationship
was strained for many years.
When she decided to get married,
he did want to be there and be a part of it,
and he did want to walk her in.
Even though they have had some issues,
he still wanted to be there in her life.
She wanted that also, so it was very special.
[narrator] Bridegroom Chris
is willing to take on the role of husband and stepfather.
[Erica] Tabatha didn't think anybody would want her
because she had a child so young,
but Chris came in and stepped up as a dad to Chasity,
and she loved him and she had faith in him.
[Dan speaking]
[Debbie] Tab wore the red dress.
She loved the red and she loved that dress.
But she also had already had her children,
so she didn't want to have a church wedding
wearing the white.
[Erica] And then I got one to match her.
And then later on, everybody kept saying,
"Married in red, better off dead"
and she was like, "I shouldn't have done that." [laughs]
But she was very happy.
[narrator] Tabatha's wedding is truly a family affair.
The minister performing the ceremony
is Tabatha's stepfather, Dan Miller.
I knew Dan for many years.
I actually ran into him one day at a grocery store
and we started talking.
Eventually, we got married.
Tabatha knew that I was a minister and so she asked me
if I would do the ceremony for her and Chris.
And I definitely told her I would.
[Dan speaking]
I felt privileged that Tabatha wanted me
to be part of her wedding
instead of just a spectator
sitting there and watching it.
[Debbie] I was... Thought she looked absolutely beautiful
and this was what she had been searching for,
so I felt like it was her dream coming true.
[Erica] She just... She felt so loved that day.
Tab was very excited for her future.
She thought she had finally found the person
she was gonna marry
and live the rest of her life with
and have a family together,
and that's really all she ever wanted.
[narrator] Christmas morning, 1995,
Tabatha and Chris McGalliard have been married
for two and a half years.
Stepdad Chris films five-year-old Chasity
as she receives her presents.
[Chasity speaking]
[Chris speaking]
[Debbie] In 1995, they had actually found a place
in Morganton,
and it was in, like, a mobile home park,
and they end up having a nice place to live.
- [Tabatha speaking] - [Chris] Travis.
[narrator] And there's a new member of the family,
two-year-old, Travis.
[Debbie] Tab and Chris was very excited to have a son.
Well, him and Chas got along great
and they had good times together.
- [Tabatha speaking] - [Chris speaking]
[Debbie] That was a good Christmas for them.
[Tabatha speaking]
Travis was a typical little boy.
He was a handful.
He was a little daredevil.
He was a lot like his dad.
[Tabatha speaking]
[Chasity speaking]
[Tabatha speaking]
[Chasity speaking]
Tabatha loved Christmas
as much as my mom loved Christmas
and us growing up.
Both of them are definitely givers.
[Chasity speaking]
[Tabatha chuckles]
[Debbie] Tab and Chris were young
and trying to plan a future.
They didn't have a lot of income
and that was a problem.
It was a very hard struggle for them
and eventually took its toll on their marriage.
[narrator] Tabatha works as a hairdresser
to bring in some extra cash.
It's not too hot for you, is it, honey?
So, she tried to work as much as she could
to make some extra income,
but it was, you know, kind of, paycheck to paycheck.
So, it was a very hard time for them, financially.
[Erica] After three years of marriage,
the financial burdens finally ended
in them splitting up and going separate ways.
[Erica] She wanted to make it work.
She was really devastated.
She gave it her all.
[narrator] Tabatha, Chasity and Travis
move in with Debbie in 1996.
After her and Chris had split up,
about six months later,
she reconnected with Jason Heavner someone from school.
[Debbie] I think she just enjoyed talking with him
and he had had a previous marriage,
had two children, so they had a lot in common
that, kind of, drew them together.
Eventually, they started,
you know, going out together.
Jason was stable.
He had his own place, he had a good job.
I feel like Tabatha was really drawn to that
because she wanted somebody that she could depend on,
that would take care of her and the children.
I mean, he was a great guy.
Tabatha and Jason got married in 1997.
She finally got her dream wedding.
She actually wore my wedding dress
and we had it at the church
and had her hair fixed and mom got a DJ.
And she was just so happy
because it was like her dream day.
[Debbie] Jason and Tab was very happy
and they purchased his mother's house...
and, of course, had all the children there.
A little while later, Jason and Tabatha
had a little girl and they named her Carly.
And they were very excited about having,
you know, a child of their own,
as well as, you know, bringing her into the family.
Jason wanted Tab to stay home with Carly
and she wanted to give her more attention than before.
So, their goal was to raise all the kids together
and to provide them a good home.
She loved doing hair
but she wanted to do what her husband wanted,
so she did quit and stay home.
It was hard because she gave up her income
and then had to live on a tight budget.
[Erica] Tabatha started losing her hair
a couple years after Carly was born.
It started...
kind of, in small patches
where you could cover it up.
But then, as time went on, it got worse.
[Debbie] She went to different doctors
and never could really determine
what was causing the issue.
Some thought, you know, it was just maybe stress.
She had always been in a profession of doing hair
and always kept her hair done.
So, it was very hard for her to accept this.
She eventually had to wear a hair piece or a wig
and that was devastating to her for a good while.
Her confidence went way down
and that's when I saw a lot of strain
in her and Jason's relationship.
She assumed that Jason wouldn't love her as much
just because she felt like
she wasn't good enough
or pretty enough for him.
And it just got to the point
where it was arguing constantly, which is never good.
I think Tab and Jason realized
that... they weren't able to communicate
without getting, you know, a little too heated.
They weren't able to work things out just talking.
It did lead up to them feeling like
they needed to go their separate ways.
In 2011, they did get their divorce.
They were able to communicate and stay friends
and do things with the children.
They just had that relationship
that they were still there for each just,
you know, just not married.
[narrator] At 38, Tabatha is single again.
[Debbie] Tabatha really had struggled
and going through several relationships.
She really wanted to focus on finding a career
she wanted to really do well in.
She wanted to do that for herself
as well as provide for her children.
[Erica] But she just wanted to keep searching,
thinking she was gonna find the one eventually.
She just carried every emotion she had on her sleeve,
and in some ways, that was good and some ways,
you know, it wasn't.
[Debbie] I think after Tabatha and Jason divorced,
she felt like she had some freedom
that she could enjoy family time,
and we were all very close.
[Erica] Well, once they divorced,
she went and got her own apartment,
she had a good job,
she seemed to be getting everything on track.
[narrator] Tabatha also helps out stepdad Dan
with his painting and restoration business.
She seemed a lot happier.
I think her hair kind of started growing back.
[narrator] Tabatha strikes up a friendship
with Dan's business partner,
48-year-old Aaron Compton Jr.
Aaron was always around my family,
like, he was part of the family.
He teamed up with me in 2002
and we started doing fire and water damage our self.
I was with him 24/7, and a great guy,
great person to be around, you know,
always bubbly, joking.
One day, we had a fire damage we were working on.
I got a phone call
and as I stepped outside to take the call,
and apparently, during that time I was outside,
they must've talked enough that he asked her out.
[chuckles] So, that was kind of a surprise, but...
that's kind of how they got started,
um, seeing each other.
He did call me one day
and asked me if I had any issues for him
actually taking Tabatha out
and going out with her.
It did make me feel, "Wow." [chuckles]
That meant a lot to me,
that he was considerate enough to ask, you know.
And I remembered saying "As long as you're good to her,
you know, that's all I care."
Aaron bought her flowers,
wrote her cards.
Just constantly telling her how beautiful she was,
and he made her laugh
and that was something that she needed
'cause... she had not laughed in a long time.
[narrator] Tabatha and Aaron
visit Erica 15 months after they start dating.
[Erica] I remember when Aaron and Tabatha came to the house
and she held up her finger
and showed me a ring,
and she was like, "We're getting married."
And I was like, "Okay." [laughs]
But I didn't want to be too much of a downer on it,
so I was just like, "Well, congratulations."
But I really though that that was way too fast.
That was just the way she felt validated,
I guess, and loved, just to have a man.
Aaron lived with his mother
and was talking care of his mother.
And so, when passed away,
then that's when Tabatha was, like,
invited him to come move in with her.
And... they moved in together
and it wasn't very long at all that I remember...
her telling me he got jealous of the cable guy
coming to hook up the cable.
It just-- It definitely changed
when he moved in with her.
[cell phone ringing]
Hi, Jason.
[chuckles]
Aaron told me that Tabatha's ex-husband would call.
One time, he took the phone from Tabatha.
And told him that he was the man of the house now,
and that he made the rules,
and that he didn't need to be calling.
Tabatha's ex-husband said something like,
"Well, you know, my daughter lives there."
And Aaron bragged and said,
"Oh, well, she's my daughter now."
[Debbie] Tab did not like that.
She started seeing more and more of that,
and that kind of raised a red flag in their relationship.
After about a month of him living with her,
she asked him to move out.
[Debbie] Danny did talk to Aaron a lot,
trying to get him to move on with his life...
and let Tab live her life.
[Dan] Aaron wouldn't let it go.
I mean, every day, he talked about her
and every day, I'm encouraging him,
"Aaron, you got to quit talking about her so much.
Aaron, you got to move on,
you got to try to do something different.
Why don't you take a break and leave town?"
[Debbie] He had a hard time letting go.
He was determined that they were gonna get back together
and work it out.
Aaron was still calling and texting,
and he put flowers on our porch one time.
[Erica] And then that's whenever it, kind of, hit me that
he's not giving up.
[narrator] Tabatha and Erica catch up
a few weeks after Aaron moves out.
Hi.
- Hey. - Hello.
And so what's been happening with you?
[Erica] So mom had treated me to go get my hair done.
Her and Tabatha and Carly met with me up there,
so we just had a little girl day.
And... she had got a phone call
and she walked outside.
[cell phone ringing]
Hi.
And she came back in and she was grinning ear to ear,
and the first thing I asked her is, like, "Who is it?"
Because I could tell it had to be a guy,
and that's when she told me
that she was talking to some other man.
[narrator] The man is an old friend from high school
called Joshua Titus.
I'm seeing someone else.
[Erica] Tabatha was very excited to move on
and start dating again,
and... I didn't ask any questions.
I wanted her to just be happy
and so I said, "You better careful."
[operator 1 speaking]
[Tabatha speaking]
[operator 1 speaking]
[Tabatha speaking]
[operator 1 speaking]
[Tabatha speaking, screaming]
[Aaron speaking]
[Tabatha screaming]
- [operator 1 speaking] - [Aaron speaking]
[operator 1 speaking]
[Michael] When the call came out,
I remember very distinctly hearing a woman scream,
on the radio.
The hair stood up on the back of my neck.
I knew the importance of the call.
I knew where Rocky Ford Road was.
It's not far from where I live,
it's only about five minutes away.
So, I responded.
[siren wailing]
[Michael] That morning,
the door's standing open.
No one's there.
The phone was still on.
They were still trying to listen
listen to what was going on inside of that apartment.
It was a very eerie feeling
to know that you only missed them by probably seconds.
There appeared to be signs of a struggle inside the house.
There was a broken window
and also, there was some smears of blood on the hallway.
It appeared to be from, like, fingertips
and it appeared to be going out of the house.
The only thing that is missing is the occupant.
It's a kidnapping.
We heard the name Tabatha Heavner from communications.
It was a absolute race
to try to find Tabatha at that point in time.
[narrator] Deputies learn that Tabatha's daughter Carly is safe.
She's staying with her dad Jason.
[cell phone ringing]
4:56 when I looked at the clock
and I quickly grabbed the phone
so it didn't wake Debbie up
and I said, "Hey, Aaron."
He said, "Dan, don't hate me."
And this is exactly the way he talked,
"Dan, don't hate me, I've done something."
And I said, "What have you done, Aaron?"
"I stabbed Tabatha.
If I can't have her, nobody else is going to."
[Debbie] He didn't say anything for a while.
And I kept saying,
"What is it? What's wrong?
What's going on?"
And he finally said, um...
He told me that Aaron had stabbed Tabatha.
I remember saying, "Where is she?"
And he said...
something about going to the hospital.
[operator 2 speaking]
[Dan speaking]
[operator 2 speaking]
[Dan speaking]
[operator 2 speaking]
[Dan speaking]
[operator 2 speaking]
[Dan speaking]
[narrator] Deputies find Aaron's gold truck
near Tabatha's house.
Tabatha's car is missing from the driveway.
Anytime we have an abduction,
or a kidnapping case,
seconds really do count.
We pretty much knew she was in the white Honda Accord.
And that's what we gave out for the attempt to locate.
[narrator] Dan and Debbie Miller
are now driving to Catawba Hospital.
- [cell phone ringing] - [Dan] My phone rings again,
at, I think, 5:17,
and he said, "Dan, it gets worse."
I said, "What, Aaron?"
He said, "Tabatha jumped from the car,
got hit by a tractor-trailer."
I said, "Where is she?"
He said, "Laying on 321."
I said, "You need to turn yourself in."
And with that, I hung it up and called 911.
[operator 3] 911. What's the address of the emergency?
[Dan speaking]
[operator 3 speaking]
[Dan speaking]
[operator 3 speaking]
[Dan speaking]
[Kerry] Highway 321, it's a very long highway.
It runs through Lincoln County,
Gaston County, and on into Mecklenburg County.
There's a lot of jurisdictions there.
So, when he says she jumped from the vehicle,
they have no idea where that was.
[Tammy] We all had doubts
as to where Tabatha was.
If she had really jumped out of a vehicle.
There were just a lot of ifs.
And we really had no idea
what his next move was gonna be,
or if he was even telling us the truth.
[narrator] 5:25 a.m.,
911 receives another call.
[phone ringing]
[operator 4 speaking]
[Paula speaking]
[operator 4 speaking]
[Paula speaking]
[operator 4 speaking]
[narrator] Eleven minutes later, 911 receives a call
from Tabatha's new boyfriend.
[operator 5 speaking]
[Joshua speaking]
[operator 5 speaking]
[Joshua speaking]
After the calls from numerous people,
that knew Aaron and knew Tabatha,
it's got a little scary.
We didn't know, do we have a serial killer?
Do we have somebody that is
gonna go after family members,
take revenge to the point it just didn't matter to him.
He didn't care what he did anymore.
[operator 6 speaking]
Once we got the call that Tabatha had jumped
from the vehicle somewhere on Highway 321,
we automatically started calling
the surrounding police departments.
[Gaston county operator speaking]
[operator 6 speaking]
[Gaston county operator speaking]
[Tammy] Gaston County had a person
that had been hit on 321.
We didn't have any description.
We didn't have a name.
We were hoping and praying that it wasn't Tabatha.
[narrator] The victim is unrecognizable following the collision.
[Kerry] I had to report to the Sheriff's Office
where the family had started to gather,
there's when I met with those guys.
That was probably one of the hardest things
I've ever had to do...
especially...
in the condition that body was in
after that horrible incident on Highway 321.
The only way the family could
positively identify her
was a tattoo of a butterfly.
It was on her shoulder.
I remember taking Mr. Miller
out in the hall way alone.
He's a strong man.
I showed him that picture.
[Dan] And I said, "Yeah, that's it."
And unfortunately, that was the way I had to identify her.
Then, my mind was going to a lot of different places
at that point,
and at same time, worried about my wife.
I just, I just, I didn't wanna accept it,
I didn't wanna believe it.
I think I kept telling myself it wasn't her,
it was somebody else, but I knew it was
but, um...
It was just-- It was devastating.
[Tammy] We had called Aaron Compton's phone numerous times.
He wouldn't answer. We tried again.
He did answer the phone.
[Tammy] We were able to get him to come to a local pharmacy
there in Catawba County,
and he was gonna turn himself in.
When the deputies arrived,
they encountered Mr. Compton
still seated inside the white Honda.
They instructed Mr. Compton to get out of the car
where he was then handcuffed and detained.
[Aaron T. speaking]
Aaron and I arrived at the Sherriff's Office
a little after 7:00 a.m.
Initially, Aaron was offered his Miranda Rights.
Aaron waived those rights
and agreed to speak with us
without an attorney being present.
[Aaron T. speaking]
[Aaron T.] I began the interview with Aaron
by speaking with him about
his relationship with Tabatha.
Aaron explained to me that
he was trying to rekindle
his relationship with Tabatha,
but that she'd begin to see another man.
[narrator] Aaron drives to Tabatha's house
on the morning of August 14th, 2013.
Store surveillance cameras
revealed that Aaron purchased some items at 3:58 a.m.,
forty minutes before Tabatha's call to 911.
The surveillance footage captured Aaron
purchasing a length of rope,
a machete and a knife,
which he eventually used to stab Tabatha.
Aaron claimed that his only intent was to speak with Tabatha
in hopes of resuming their relationship.
That footage... was integral
in proving premeditation in this incident.
It was clear to us that from the outset,
Aaron intended to kidnap...
and ultimately murder Tabatha Heavner.
So, Aaron Compton was charged with first-degree murder
and first-degree kidnapping.
[narrator] Investigators piece together the events
that led to Tabatha's murder.
Tabatha had been on a date
with her new boyfriend, Joshua Titus, that evening.
We feel, for sure, that Aaron waited there
for Josh Titus to leave,
so he could force entry into Tabatha's home.
Once inside, Aaron confronted Tabatha
and told her that she had a short time
in which she could leave with him
or that he would have to kill her
because Aaron was aware that the police were on the way.
Aaron had kidnapped Tabatha from her home,
stabbing her on her own front porch.
Aaron convinced her to get into her car
with him driving under the guise
of him driving her to an area hospital.
Tabatha realized during that trip
that they were not in fact heading to that hospital.
It was then that Tabatha decided to jump out of the car.
Aaron called after Tabatha
and began stabbing her again
in an effort to stop her from running.
[Kerry] And trying to get away from Aaron,
I feel she ran into oncoming traffic.
[car honking]
The driver of the vehicle that struck Tabatha
wasn't at fault, nor charged with any crimes
related to this case.
[narrator] Aaron Compton pleads guilty
in April, 2014,
to avoid the death penalty.
The judge sentences him to life without parole.
And I think Aaron Compton Jr.
Is exactly where he needs to be...
for the rest of his life in prison.
[Debbie] I was so proud to be her mom.
And I'd do anything to get her back.
Life's been hard without her.
I was glad to have her the 40 years I had her.
She just wanted to be loved,
it's all she ever wanted.
[Dan] You may kiss the bride.
[Erica] Out of every person in her life,
she wanted to be loved.
And I wish that she could have that,
but I know that she has it now in heaven.