1
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[insects chirring]
2
00:00:10,218 --> 00:00:12,220
[bird squawking]
3
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[woman 1] I'm still hurt.
4
00:00:28,653 --> 00:00:29,696
I'm still mad.
5
00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:33,992
And... no trust.
6
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I lost that.
7
00:00:40,331 --> 00:00:42,792
I always tell my grandkids
and great-grandkids,
8
00:00:42,876 --> 00:00:44,961
always watch your back and... [sniffles]
9
00:00:46,588 --> 00:00:47,547
...don't be...
10
00:00:49,174 --> 00:00:52,177
don't think everybody's your friend,
you know? [sniffles]
11
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[whispers] Yeah.
12
00:00:57,015 --> 00:00:59,017
[theme music plays]
13
00:01:46,397 --> 00:01:48,817
[woman 1] I had raised all five of my kids
in Kansas.
14
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I had two boys and three girls,
and Lonzo is the baby.
15
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Growing up, he was...
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upset because half the time
when the kids went somewhere,
17
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he couldn't go
because he was the youngest one.
18
00:02:03,039 --> 00:02:05,041
[wind chimes tinkling]
19
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This is Alonzo's jacket.
20
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He used to wear it all the time.
21
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I wear this jacket and...
22
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I just put it on,
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just 'cause I know it's his.
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It makes me feel good,
you know, comf--
25
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You know, like he's around me.
26
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[woman 2] He was definitely her baby.
27
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He was her heart.
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He was her youngest boy,
29
00:02:31,943 --> 00:02:34,571
and they had a really strong,
tight relationship.
30
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And this is him
when he was three years old.
31
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Karate. He loved to do karate,
'cause he was in a karate thing.
32
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[camera shutter clicks]
33
00:02:49,627 --> 00:02:53,214
[woman 3] He was always a kind,
little, sweet, shy but playful kid.
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00:02:53,298 --> 00:02:54,841
He was a loving person.
35
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A fun person.
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00:02:56,634 --> 00:02:58,261
And he got along with everybody.
37
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[man 1]
As a young man, when he was growing up,
38
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he was polite to everybody.
39
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It was nice to see that,
growing up as a young man like that.
40
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He was a neat freak. Clean.
41
00:03:14,444 --> 00:03:15,945
Had to have, like,
42
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his shorts and pants creased up.
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[man 2] His favorite color was red,
44
00:03:24,370 --> 00:03:26,539
so he was pretty much
either in red or black.
45
00:03:26,748 --> 00:03:28,917
Always wore boots and a beanie.
46
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,336
Always had a beanie on,
and he kept it down, you know,
47
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right above-- right above his eyelids,
48
00:03:33,379 --> 00:03:35,131
so you could barely see his eyeballs.
49
00:03:37,091 --> 00:03:38,635
[man 3] We grew up in Topeka, Kansas.
50
00:03:38,718 --> 00:03:40,470
I actually left there when I was 18,
51
00:03:40,553 --> 00:03:44,515
and, uh, Alonzo moved to Gardner, Kansas
with my mom.
52
00:03:45,016 --> 00:03:47,810
Topeka is more urban, more urban sprawl.
53
00:03:48,228 --> 00:03:50,647
-Gardner is a lot slower.
-[children chattering]
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00:03:50,730 --> 00:03:52,899
It's more... suburbia.
55
00:03:55,735 --> 00:03:58,321
When we were younger,
I would, you know, tease him
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and punch him and,
you know, try to make him hard, you know.
57
00:04:02,158 --> 00:04:04,285
And, uh, try to make him grow up too fast.
58
00:04:04,369 --> 00:04:07,247
And my mom used to get on us about--
get on me about that.
59
00:04:07,330 --> 00:04:08,957
And, you know, "Leave him alone,"
you know?
60
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Like, you gotta be hard, you know?
61
00:04:10,875 --> 00:04:13,962
You gotta be tough out here.
You can't be weak, you know?
62
00:04:14,045 --> 00:04:15,213
People take advantage of you.
63
00:04:18,049 --> 00:04:19,509
[Maria] His nickname is Zo.
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There's him with a football.
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He loves that football.
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00:04:34,649 --> 00:04:37,694
He was... always messing up my hair.
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I used to get so mad.
I miss that, you know?
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00:04:41,406 --> 00:04:43,074
I miss that a lot, but, uh...
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00:04:49,914 --> 00:04:51,916
[insects chirring]
70
00:05:01,134 --> 00:05:02,343
[Maria] That day...
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00:05:03,553 --> 00:05:05,471
he said that he's going to a party.
72
00:05:06,973 --> 00:05:09,142
And I said,
"What party are you talking about?"
73
00:05:10,018 --> 00:05:12,312
He goes,
"This guy's leaving to the service
74
00:05:12,937 --> 00:05:14,355
and we're all gonna go out there."
75
00:05:14,439 --> 00:05:16,399
And I go, "Well, who's 'we'?"
76
00:05:17,942 --> 00:05:19,777
The person who came for him was Justin.
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00:05:21,946 --> 00:05:24,741
[man 4] I'm not really sure
how I learned of the party.
78
00:05:24,824 --> 00:05:28,036
I don't recall that it was something
that was planned out weeks in advance.
79
00:05:28,119 --> 00:05:31,331
That's-- That's not really
how our group was. It was more of...
80
00:05:31,789 --> 00:05:34,959
"Hey, heard this is going on.
The hell with it. Let's just go."
81
00:05:36,252 --> 00:05:38,046
[man 5]
All I know is somebody called and said,
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00:05:38,129 --> 00:05:41,632
you know, "Come out to this party.
A bunch of us are going out. Um...
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00:05:41,716 --> 00:05:43,217
You guys wanna come out here?"
84
00:05:44,552 --> 00:05:48,139
It was kinda just get on the phone,
see who's all going out there,
85
00:05:48,222 --> 00:05:49,849
and we headed out that-- that night.
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00:05:50,350 --> 00:05:53,561
[Daniel] Lonzo, I don't remember him going
to like a ton of parties that we went to.
87
00:05:53,644 --> 00:05:55,897
I mean, we were all a little bit younger
than Lonzo.
88
00:05:55,980 --> 00:05:58,983
He was about 22 years old,
you know, somewhere in that range.
89
00:05:59,067 --> 00:06:01,569
Trey, his little brother,
was really good friends with my brother.
90
00:06:02,070 --> 00:06:04,906
We used to play football,
basketball, sports.
91
00:06:05,323 --> 00:06:07,617
[Tyler] It was probably at football,
the first time I met him.
92
00:06:07,700 --> 00:06:09,744
We used to get together every Sunday,
and, uh,
93
00:06:09,827 --> 00:06:11,621
that's when I knew
that he was an intense person.
94
00:06:12,288 --> 00:06:14,248
[Justin]
Zo was a beast when it came to football.
95
00:06:14,332 --> 00:06:17,293
But he'd go from knocking your ass
in the dirt playing football,
96
00:06:17,377 --> 00:06:20,671
to literally, you guys could just sit down
and just chat.
97
00:06:21,422 --> 00:06:24,717
I mean, he was just the easiest guy
in the world to get along with.
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00:06:29,722 --> 00:06:32,600
I remember before we left Zo's house,
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00:06:33,017 --> 00:06:34,394
him fixing his socks.
100
00:06:34,477 --> 00:06:36,396
He always wore two pair of socks,
but he had...
101
00:06:37,021 --> 00:06:40,358
like, rolled it down
to tie his boot a little tighter.
102
00:06:42,735 --> 00:06:45,655
[Maria] A week before that,
Alonzo was out there playing basketball
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00:06:45,738 --> 00:06:48,866
and he hurt his ankle,
you know, so he was kinda limping.
104
00:06:53,538 --> 00:06:55,623
He had blue jeans on,
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a t-shirt, a sweater,
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and he had that skull hat.
107
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And he said, "I'll see you later, Mama."
I said, "Okay, see you later."
108
00:07:07,176 --> 00:07:10,471
[Justin] It came time to leave,
and we just started divvying up,
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00:07:10,555 --> 00:07:12,390
you know, who was riding with who.
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Zo approached me and asked me if I--
who was riding with me,
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00:07:16,144 --> 00:07:17,687
and I said, "Nobody yet."
112
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And he asked if he could jump in.
Like, "Yeah, come on, man. Let's do it."
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[slow rock music plays]
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[Justin] The party was in La Cygne.
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I had never heard of La Cygne
prior to that night.
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It was roughly an hour,
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maybe even a little bit more.
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00:07:37,540 --> 00:07:39,500
[Daniel] There's really not much to it.
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It's a little, tiny, tiny Kansas town.
Um...
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I think they got, like, one gas station.
No real grocery store, nothing like that.
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There ain't nothing down there.
Ain't houses everywhere,
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ain't people everywhere.
You're in the middle of the country.
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-[train horn blaring]
-[crossing bell clanging]
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[slow rock music continues]
125
00:08:01,856 --> 00:08:03,065
[engine stops]
126
00:08:03,149 --> 00:08:05,860
-[country music playing nearby]
-[people chattering]
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[Justin] When we got to the party,
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the first thing I remember is the--
the long driveway going up to the house.
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00:08:19,540 --> 00:08:23,252
It's, uh, your normal country driveway,
next to a creek.
130
00:08:23,628 --> 00:08:27,131
There was a few people standing
out and around the house.
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Zo immediately screamed out,
"Who wants a beer?"
132
00:08:30,843 --> 00:08:33,638
That was how we initiated contact
with everybody at the party,
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00:08:33,721 --> 00:08:35,973
was him yelling out, "Who wants a beer?"
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00:08:36,057 --> 00:08:38,559
-[overlapping chatter]
-[country music continues]
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00:08:39,810 --> 00:08:43,606
Everybody at the party, I would say,
was maybe 16 to 21 at the absolute most.
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00:08:45,566 --> 00:08:48,986
Everybody was playing flip cup or--
or something like that.
137
00:08:51,364 --> 00:08:54,951
You had people kind of off to one side
who were dancing.
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00:08:56,744 --> 00:08:59,789
You had guys inside playing cards.
139
00:09:00,706 --> 00:09:02,208
Other drinking games going on.
140
00:09:03,626 --> 00:09:04,794
Zo wanted to get in on it.
141
00:09:04,877 --> 00:09:07,505
[chuckles] It was--
It was hilarious to watch.
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00:09:07,588 --> 00:09:10,299
Zo was having-- Zo was having a blast.
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00:09:10,383 --> 00:09:12,134
[country music continues]
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00:09:12,218 --> 00:09:15,263
[Daniel] When I got to the party,
Alonzo was already there.
145
00:09:15,346 --> 00:09:18,599
I'd say there was about, you know,
30, 40 people there, maybe-- maybe 50.
146
00:09:18,683 --> 00:09:22,144
I can remember six or eight people
that were from Gardner,
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00:09:22,436 --> 00:09:25,773
from our group of friends that were there,
but a lot of the people I didn't know.
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00:09:26,691 --> 00:09:28,359
[Tyler] Was a lot of people at that party,
149
00:09:28,442 --> 00:09:31,612
and there was a tight group of people
that were there,
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00:09:31,696 --> 00:09:32,863
people that I didn't know.
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00:09:33,322 --> 00:09:36,117
It was more of a country... type thing,
152
00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,412
and we're-- we're not so much that,
so, I mean, it was different that way.
153
00:09:39,495 --> 00:09:40,955
A lot more of the cowboys and stuff.
154
00:09:41,038 --> 00:09:43,040
[music continues, muted]
155
00:09:44,667 --> 00:09:47,753
But it was a good time, music was going,
and I seen Alonzo off the bat.
156
00:09:47,837 --> 00:09:50,089
He came up.
He was in a great mood that night.
157
00:09:50,256 --> 00:09:53,175
And it was a little off
'cause Alonzo's more of a quiet person
158
00:09:53,259 --> 00:09:55,720
and that night he seemed more outgoing,
159
00:09:55,803 --> 00:09:58,306
and Alonzo was enjoying himself
a lot more that evening.
160
00:09:58,764 --> 00:09:59,890
It was-- It was fun.
161
00:10:00,474 --> 00:10:02,226
[Daniel]
I seen Lonzo, he was in the kitchen.
162
00:10:02,310 --> 00:10:04,812
I sat down with him for a little while.
We had a couple of drinks.
163
00:10:04,895 --> 00:10:07,440
I brought a little bottle of Jäger,
and we took a couple shots together.
164
00:10:07,523 --> 00:10:09,442
Then I walked away
to talk to somebody real quick,
165
00:10:10,026 --> 00:10:11,360
and when I turned around...
166
00:10:11,819 --> 00:10:13,738
I don't know who it was,
but him and another guy
167
00:10:13,821 --> 00:10:16,282
just were getting into it
and were face-to-face with each other.
168
00:10:16,824 --> 00:10:18,492
[man] Get your fuckin' hands off my woman!
169
00:10:18,576 --> 00:10:20,911
[Daniel] Started seeming like
they were gonna get serious,
170
00:10:20,995 --> 00:10:22,330
so I stepped in between them,
171
00:10:22,413 --> 00:10:24,624
pulled Lonzo to the side,
moved this guy to the side,
172
00:10:24,707 --> 00:10:26,125
tried to break it up.
173
00:10:26,208 --> 00:10:28,919
[Justin] There was some people
at the party who had, you know,
174
00:10:29,003 --> 00:10:31,547
problems with-- with people's skin color.
175
00:10:31,881 --> 00:10:33,758
[Tyler]
Our group didn't really think about race,
176
00:10:33,841 --> 00:10:35,468
so it never really got brought up.
177
00:10:35,551 --> 00:10:38,262
But Alonzo probably was the only black man
that was there.
178
00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:41,974
[Daniel]
Alonzo, he didn't sweat nothing like that.
179
00:10:42,475 --> 00:10:45,353
He didn't let that worry him at all.
That wasn't gonna ruin his good time.
180
00:10:47,146 --> 00:10:49,565
I think I was only there
about an hour and a half.
181
00:10:49,649 --> 00:10:51,359
We got a call about going to another party
182
00:10:51,442 --> 00:10:54,195
and it happened quick when Nicky
was like, "Oh, let's go, let's go."
183
00:10:54,278 --> 00:10:56,197
That was my ride, so we had to take off.
184
00:10:57,031 --> 00:10:58,699
I do remember saying bye to Lonzo,
185
00:10:58,783 --> 00:11:01,118
and I remember, you know,
shaking his hand,
186
00:11:01,202 --> 00:11:02,244
and that was really it.
187
00:11:02,953 --> 00:11:04,830
[Tyler] I left shortly after.
I didn't stay long.
188
00:11:04,914 --> 00:11:06,874
I was there maybe 45 minutes to an hour.
189
00:11:06,957 --> 00:11:10,252
We just, you know, shook hands,
did the hug, and then that was it,
190
00:11:10,336 --> 00:11:12,129
and said, "Have a good night, Alonzo."
191
00:11:12,213 --> 00:11:15,257
And that was pretty early.
I'd say it was about 11 o'clock or so.
192
00:11:16,592 --> 00:11:18,719
I figured Justin was gonna
give him a ride home
193
00:11:18,803 --> 00:11:20,763
and didn't really think nothing of it.
194
00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:26,018
[Justin] I smoked my last cigarette,
195
00:11:26,102 --> 00:11:28,270
so I went to snatch a cigarette
from Alonzo.
196
00:11:29,105 --> 00:11:30,648
And he was also out,
197
00:11:30,731 --> 00:11:33,776
and said, "Well, if you're gonna go
get some smokes, grab me a pack too."
198
00:11:35,653 --> 00:11:37,488
Then I left to go get us cigarettes.
199
00:11:41,033 --> 00:11:42,284
Out of the driveway,
200
00:11:42,368 --> 00:11:44,704
I should have gone left, and went right.
201
00:11:45,955 --> 00:11:46,914
Ended up...
202
00:11:47,623 --> 00:11:50,960
getting lost on some gravel roads,
getting my car stuck,
203
00:11:51,335 --> 00:11:53,295
and ended up about 30 minutes...
204
00:11:54,547 --> 00:11:57,216
it would be,
north of where I was supposed to be.
205
00:11:57,299 --> 00:11:59,301
[engine revving]
206
00:11:59,802 --> 00:12:01,345
And, at that point,
207
00:12:01,429 --> 00:12:04,432
I made a phone call to another
buddy of ours that was at the party,
208
00:12:04,515 --> 00:12:09,311
let him know to get ahold of Alonzo
and tell him I got lost.
209
00:12:09,770 --> 00:12:12,314
Um, I could hear Alonzo talking shit
in the background
210
00:12:12,398 --> 00:12:15,693
that I got lost
and that I wasn't gonna make it back,
211
00:12:15,776 --> 00:12:19,530
and for my friend Adam
to give Zo a ride home.
212
00:12:26,495 --> 00:12:28,622
[phone ringing]
213
00:12:36,338 --> 00:12:38,299
[Maria] I get this phone call and...
214
00:12:38,382 --> 00:12:39,925
"Is Alonzo home?" and I go,
215
00:12:40,801 --> 00:12:42,219
"Well, he should be home."
216
00:12:42,595 --> 00:12:44,597
So that's when I go look in his room.
217
00:12:46,015 --> 00:12:47,767
His bed's still made up.
218
00:12:48,017 --> 00:12:49,769
He hasn't been in his room at all.
219
00:12:51,645 --> 00:12:54,064
And that's when I start yelling
for Alonzo,
220
00:12:54,148 --> 00:12:55,858
you know, if he's down in the basement.
221
00:12:56,942 --> 00:12:57,902
He wasn't there.
222
00:12:57,985 --> 00:13:00,571
I said, "No, Alonzo's not home.
Where is he at?"
223
00:13:00,988 --> 00:13:03,449
He said, "Well, maybe he spent the night
at somebody's house."
224
00:13:04,533 --> 00:13:07,578
There's no way. He will always come home,
no matter what.
225
00:13:10,581 --> 00:13:13,667
So I said, "Call all these people
and find out where he's at."
226
00:13:14,502 --> 00:13:16,504
[dialing number]
227
00:13:16,754 --> 00:13:19,924
-[line ringing]
-[multiple cell phones ringing]
228
00:13:20,007 --> 00:13:21,592
[Daniel]
The next day when we all woke up,
229
00:13:21,675 --> 00:13:24,303
everybody's phone started going off
because everybody was like,
230
00:13:24,386 --> 00:13:26,597
"Where's Lonzo? Who-- Who seen him last?"
231
00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,891
[phones continue ringing]
232
00:13:28,974 --> 00:13:31,811
[Tyler]
I got a phone call that Sunday morning
233
00:13:31,894 --> 00:13:34,146
that just asked if I seen Alonzo,
234
00:13:34,230 --> 00:13:35,689
or if he made it home or not.
235
00:13:35,773 --> 00:13:38,609
I told 'em, "I'm not real sure.
I seen him when I left the party."
236
00:13:39,777 --> 00:13:42,154
[Daniel]
It's not like Lonzo to not come home.
237
00:13:42,238 --> 00:13:44,657
-He would've at least called.
-[line ringing]
238
00:13:44,740 --> 00:13:48,369
[Justin] Somebody called me and said,
"Hey, man, have you talked to Zo?"
239
00:13:48,452 --> 00:13:51,205
I'm like, "No, last time I talked to him
he was still at the party,
240
00:13:51,288 --> 00:13:53,499
and, uh, Adam was gonna give him
a ride home."
241
00:13:53,582 --> 00:13:56,335
But what I've heard is that Adam believed
that he had already left,
242
00:13:56,418 --> 00:13:57,753
or they-- they missed each other.
243
00:13:58,087 --> 00:14:01,048
How it didn't come-- that they didn't
get together at the end of the night,
244
00:14:01,131 --> 00:14:02,132
I'm-- I'm not sure.
245
00:14:14,603 --> 00:14:16,689
I'm Rodney English, Alonzo's best friend.
246
00:14:16,772 --> 00:14:19,400
I'm here at my mom's house.
We're up in North Topeka.
247
00:14:19,942 --> 00:14:21,151
That's where he grew up.
248
00:14:21,235 --> 00:14:23,237
[soft piano music plays]
249
00:14:25,072 --> 00:14:26,490
Played outside all the time.
250
00:14:30,744 --> 00:14:32,705
We used to build ramps
in the middle of the street
251
00:14:32,788 --> 00:14:35,207
with some bricks and some wood,
and we'd just...
252
00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:36,667
jump our bikes.
253
00:14:41,505 --> 00:14:43,966
Played basketball, football, in the yard.
254
00:14:45,217 --> 00:14:46,552
Played King of the Hill.
255
00:14:47,887 --> 00:14:49,972
Climb a little, you know, compost pile.
256
00:14:51,432 --> 00:14:53,934
Hardest guy stands on top,
and you try to knock him off.
257
00:14:54,018 --> 00:14:56,061
Whoever stays on top's the king.
258
00:15:02,818 --> 00:15:05,029
I don't know,
he was just like a brother to me.
259
00:15:15,289 --> 00:15:16,206
[Rodney] I got a call.
260
00:15:16,290 --> 00:15:18,834
His mom asked me if I heard from Lonzo.
261
00:15:18,918 --> 00:15:20,044
I'm like, "No, why?"
262
00:15:20,127 --> 00:15:22,963
"Well, he went to a party last night
and he ain't came home.
263
00:15:23,047 --> 00:15:25,758
And the people
that he went to the party with,
264
00:15:26,133 --> 00:15:27,134
he ain't with them."
265
00:15:28,302 --> 00:15:30,429
That was a sign there that,
okay, something ain't right.
266
00:15:35,726 --> 00:15:37,269
I didn't know his friends.
267
00:15:38,646 --> 00:15:39,772
We met up in Gardner.
268
00:15:40,773 --> 00:15:42,441
We went to go look for him.
269
00:15:44,985 --> 00:15:47,988
Justin showed up to take us
to where the party was at,
270
00:15:48,072 --> 00:15:51,951
'cause we didn't know where to go.
So he rode with me down to La Cygne.
271
00:15:52,034 --> 00:15:54,203
That's the first time
I met Justin and them.
272
00:15:57,831 --> 00:16:01,794
We get to this old farmhouse
that sits off back off this road and...
273
00:16:02,711 --> 00:16:04,213
they say, "Well, the party was here."
274
00:16:04,296 --> 00:16:06,423
So we get out
and start walking around to look.
275
00:16:09,551 --> 00:16:12,346
[Justin] It came up between all of us,
let's go check along the woodline,
276
00:16:12,429 --> 00:16:15,432
make sure he didn't just get drunk
and decide to sleep outside.
277
00:16:15,849 --> 00:16:19,561
And we ended up crossing the street
from the house.
278
00:16:22,439 --> 00:16:24,942
[Rodney] I walked out of the driveway
and across the street
279
00:16:25,025 --> 00:16:27,236
just to, you know,
look on the other side of the road,
280
00:16:27,319 --> 00:16:29,321
and came upon his hat and a boot.
281
00:16:33,534 --> 00:16:37,204
The hat and the boot was right over there,
in between those two poles.
282
00:16:38,455 --> 00:16:42,001
And his other boot we found
right on the side of this creek bank.
283
00:16:45,754 --> 00:16:49,008
They weren't, like, tucked under nothing.
It's like nobody tried to hide them or,
284
00:16:49,091 --> 00:16:51,385
you know,
they coulda threw 'em in the trash can.
285
00:16:55,639 --> 00:16:57,307
It's like somebody was driving
down the road
286
00:16:57,391 --> 00:16:58,976
when they pulled out of the farmhouse,
287
00:16:59,059 --> 00:17:01,395
threw the hat and boot out this way,
and then grabbed another boot
288
00:17:01,478 --> 00:17:03,313
and threw it out
as they was driving down the road.
289
00:17:03,397 --> 00:17:05,149
That's the only theory
I could come up with.
290
00:17:05,232 --> 00:17:06,859
Now, why they would do that,
291
00:17:07,192 --> 00:17:08,152
I have no clue.
292
00:17:10,029 --> 00:17:13,365
Some guy rolled up on a four-wheeler
and, uh...
293
00:17:13,741 --> 00:17:14,950
came from back that way.
294
00:17:15,617 --> 00:17:17,786
That's the guy that told us
we had to leave.
295
00:17:19,455 --> 00:17:21,373
At that point, we knew what was up.
296
00:17:21,790 --> 00:17:22,916
Something's not right.
297
00:17:23,042 --> 00:17:25,502
He's missing. Something's--
Something's totally wrong.
298
00:17:26,211 --> 00:17:27,880
Something happened to my brother.
299
00:17:35,888 --> 00:17:38,098
Sorry, but I gotta get the fuck
outta here. I mean...
300
00:17:39,975 --> 00:17:41,643
I do not feel safe at all.
301
00:17:46,356 --> 00:17:49,276
The town we were in was definitely
an all-white dominant town,
302
00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:50,402
La Cygne was.
303
00:17:51,236 --> 00:17:54,323
[Daniel] Definitely, you know,
there's some racism involved down there.
304
00:17:55,115 --> 00:17:58,452
It gets worse when you get down in--
you know, go a little more further south.
305
00:17:58,535 --> 00:17:59,495
[Justin] Obviously,
306
00:17:59,912 --> 00:18:02,414
that crap comes with the area.
307
00:18:05,417 --> 00:18:07,127
[Rodney] I kind of talked to Justin
308
00:18:07,211 --> 00:18:10,923
and I asked him some questions,
like, "How you take someone to a party
309
00:18:11,006 --> 00:18:12,424
and you don't come home with them?"
310
00:18:13,175 --> 00:18:15,844
Especially as far as we were,
out in the middle of nowhere.
311
00:18:16,345 --> 00:18:18,597
When I left him,
he was having a damn good time.
312
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:20,307
He was still laughing, joking around.
313
00:18:20,390 --> 00:18:23,393
There was no animosity in the air,
like, that you could feel. Like--
314
00:18:23,477 --> 00:18:25,395
You know what I mean?
There hadn't been a single--
315
00:18:25,479 --> 00:18:29,441
Maybe other than a couple couples bitching
back and forth between each other,
316
00:18:29,525 --> 00:18:32,528
there was no... no issues. Period.
317
00:18:32,611 --> 00:18:35,739
To leave him there,
an hour away from home?
318
00:18:35,823 --> 00:18:37,574
I ain't understand that.
319
00:18:43,956 --> 00:18:45,541
[Maria] I went to the police station.
320
00:18:47,501 --> 00:18:50,629
They said I have to wait 48 hours
321
00:18:50,712 --> 00:18:52,464
to call him missing.
322
00:18:52,548 --> 00:18:56,385
I said, "No, I'm letting you know
he's missing because I know my son.
323
00:18:57,427 --> 00:18:58,720
You know, he comes home.
324
00:18:59,263 --> 00:19:03,100
Something's telling me
that something went wrong at that party."
325
00:19:03,642 --> 00:19:05,644
[soft chiming]
326
00:19:09,565 --> 00:19:11,525
[Demetria] When I got the call
that he didn't come home,
327
00:19:11,608 --> 00:19:13,068
I knew something was wrong.
328
00:19:13,235 --> 00:19:14,945
He wasn't the type that stayed anywhere.
329
00:19:15,028 --> 00:19:16,697
I know something happened to him.
330
00:19:16,947 --> 00:19:18,824
I know somebody did something to him.
331
00:19:19,199 --> 00:19:22,161
I got a call Sunday-- Sunday night
from my mom.
332
00:19:22,244 --> 00:19:23,287
My mom was frantic.
333
00:19:23,704 --> 00:19:26,039
And I was telling her,
"Calm down, what's going on?"
334
00:19:26,123 --> 00:19:28,292
She kept saying,
"Your brother hasn't come home."
335
00:19:33,046 --> 00:19:35,382
Me and my wife got up on that Monday
336
00:19:35,841 --> 00:19:37,342
and drove down to La Cygne.
337
00:19:38,302 --> 00:19:41,471
Got in touch with the owner of the house
where the party was at,
338
00:19:41,555 --> 00:19:44,266
and we find out that the house was empty.
339
00:19:44,641 --> 00:19:48,145
It was something kind of like
a rented house, or something like that.
340
00:19:48,687 --> 00:19:50,272
When we pulled up to the house,
341
00:19:51,231 --> 00:19:53,358
on the right hand side is just all fields.
342
00:19:55,027 --> 00:19:57,237
And then down the back of the house,
there...
343
00:19:57,529 --> 00:19:59,198
there's a small creek back there.
344
00:20:01,867 --> 00:20:03,952
[Cindy] I remember looking in the window
345
00:20:04,286 --> 00:20:07,664
and just trying to visualize,
what was going on here the night before?
346
00:20:07,748 --> 00:20:08,582
'Cause it was empty.
347
00:20:08,665 --> 00:20:09,958
It just didn't look like a place
348
00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:13,003
that would've had a huge party
just the night before.
349
00:20:14,588 --> 00:20:17,674
[Billy] We drove around the highways
and see if we see anything.
350
00:20:19,051 --> 00:20:20,510
We drove through the town.
351
00:20:22,930 --> 00:20:25,057
People in town were looking at us
kind of like,
352
00:20:25,849 --> 00:20:27,226
you know, "Why are you here?"
353
00:20:29,937 --> 00:20:30,854
You can tell.
354
00:20:31,230 --> 00:20:32,940
You can tell when eyes are on you.
355
00:20:34,524 --> 00:20:36,360
After that, we went to the police station
356
00:20:36,443 --> 00:20:38,612
and we had a meeting
with the sheriff there.
357
00:20:39,363 --> 00:20:41,823
[Cindy]
We were trying to make them understand
358
00:20:41,907 --> 00:20:44,159
how serious this was
that he had not shown up.
359
00:20:44,576 --> 00:20:47,913
And I remember their sheriff saying,
"He's gonna show up any time.
360
00:20:47,996 --> 00:20:51,375
He's just probably out doing what kids do,
just walking around."
361
00:20:51,458 --> 00:20:53,418
And I remember my response was,
362
00:20:53,502 --> 00:20:56,713
"How many people do you know that are out
walking around with no shoes on?"
363
00:20:57,798 --> 00:20:59,049
And it had rained.
364
00:21:03,637 --> 00:21:06,265
That's basically what we got,
and then we left there
365
00:21:06,890 --> 00:21:09,768
and we was just kind of depending
on the police department
366
00:21:09,851 --> 00:21:14,106
to do their investigation
and find out what's going on.
367
00:21:25,951 --> 00:21:29,037
[Paul]
I originally received information on it.
368
00:21:29,121 --> 00:21:31,623
I needed to go to this address in La Cygne
369
00:21:31,707 --> 00:21:33,750
because there's been a report
of a missing person.
370
00:21:35,252 --> 00:21:36,295
And I went there.
371
00:21:36,712 --> 00:21:38,672
Alonzo wasn't at the house.
372
00:21:42,050 --> 00:21:43,802
We walked the creek bed that night,
373
00:21:44,344 --> 00:21:47,889
but there was no indication
that he was outside anywhere.
374
00:21:49,975 --> 00:21:54,146
I just reported back negative contact
with Alonzo or anybody around there.
375
00:21:57,566 --> 00:21:59,818
After that,
the case was turned over to the KBI,
376
00:21:59,901 --> 00:22:04,406
and at that point we became
assisting agency as the sheriff's office.
377
00:22:10,037 --> 00:22:12,456
Within a few days
of the reported missing person,
378
00:22:12,581 --> 00:22:14,499
-there was a very extensive search.
-[dog whining]
379
00:22:14,583 --> 00:22:18,503
The KBI,
their evidence recovery team came down,
380
00:22:19,254 --> 00:22:20,547
walked the creek bed,
381
00:22:21,923 --> 00:22:23,175
looking for evidence.
382
00:22:24,926 --> 00:22:26,928
[man] The Monday following the party,
383
00:22:27,012 --> 00:22:30,599
this department was there with, uh,
air scent tracking dogs
384
00:22:30,682 --> 00:22:31,767
and walked the area.
385
00:22:32,517 --> 00:22:35,604
Also, the Kansas Highway Patrol,
uh, supplied a helicopter.
386
00:22:35,687 --> 00:22:38,023
[helicopter flying over]
387
00:22:38,565 --> 00:22:41,276
FBI joined our search team.
388
00:22:42,819 --> 00:22:45,197
[reporter]
The FBI continues to investigate
389
00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,533
to find out if Alonzo may have been
the victim of a hate crime.
390
00:22:48,617 --> 00:22:51,161
According to some witnesses at the party,
391
00:22:51,244 --> 00:22:54,539
Alonzo was threatened
and was the target of racial slurs.
392
00:22:58,835 --> 00:23:03,256
[Martin] The Lee's Summit Underwater
Rescue and Dive Team was brought in
393
00:23:03,340 --> 00:23:04,383
on the 12th.
394
00:23:17,646 --> 00:23:20,941
[man] The team was dispatched at noon
on the day of the search.
395
00:23:22,025 --> 00:23:23,819
When we came out here
and did the initial search,
396
00:23:24,403 --> 00:23:26,571
water was three feet high at--
397
00:23:26,655 --> 00:23:29,866
or three feet deep in--
in, uh the deepest part.
398
00:23:30,534 --> 00:23:31,785
We had three guys in the creek
399
00:23:31,868 --> 00:23:35,372
that started from this bridge
and walked down to the "T" right here,
400
00:23:35,831 --> 00:23:37,791
and then we had three people
on either side,
401
00:23:37,874 --> 00:23:40,627
walking and clearing brush
and everything like that all the way down.
402
00:23:40,710 --> 00:23:44,965
But we found nothing to indicate
that a body was in the creek at all.
403
00:23:45,549 --> 00:23:48,510
We told the sheriff we'd come back out
if they wanted us to.
404
00:23:48,593 --> 00:23:51,346
We weren't invited to come back out
and search again, so...
405
00:23:51,430 --> 00:23:54,057
we wrapped it up
and closed our case part of it.
406
00:23:54,141 --> 00:23:56,143
[dogs barking]
407
00:24:02,149 --> 00:24:03,984
[Billy] There was no signs of him.
408
00:24:04,693 --> 00:24:06,695
The cadaver dogs didn't find anything,
409
00:24:06,778 --> 00:24:08,572
the dive team didn't find anything.
410
00:24:09,364 --> 00:24:10,949
So we were at a loss.
411
00:24:11,450 --> 00:24:15,745
I was mad at all those kids
that are from Gardner and went down there.
412
00:24:15,829 --> 00:24:17,080
They know Alonzo.
413
00:24:17,497 --> 00:24:19,499
Why'd you guys leave my son there?
414
00:24:19,875 --> 00:24:21,168
Nobody had no answer.
415
00:24:23,837 --> 00:24:24,963
There was...
416
00:24:25,505 --> 00:24:27,466
hundreds of interviews
417
00:24:27,549 --> 00:24:31,928
conducted both by the KBI and the FBI.
418
00:24:32,179 --> 00:24:33,096
Hundreds.
419
00:24:33,180 --> 00:24:34,723
And there were some polygraphs done.
420
00:24:34,806 --> 00:24:36,475
So we ran it down that way.
421
00:24:37,225 --> 00:24:39,895
Every other day,
we were meeting with investigators,
422
00:24:39,978 --> 00:24:43,148
giving them, you know, what we knew,
who was there, phone numbers.
423
00:24:43,815 --> 00:24:46,485
And it was just a constant barrage
of law enforcement.
424
00:24:47,652 --> 00:24:50,489
They kept telling us
that he likely just got drunk,
425
00:24:50,572 --> 00:24:52,782
took his shoes off,
and decided to walk home.
426
00:24:54,075 --> 00:24:56,703
Total bullshit. And that's what
we kept trying to tell them.
427
00:24:56,786 --> 00:24:59,414
A: that's out of his character in general,
428
00:24:59,498 --> 00:25:01,208
and B: his ankle's messed up.
429
00:25:01,291 --> 00:25:02,626
Why is he gonna just...
430
00:25:03,627 --> 00:25:04,544
take off his boots,
431
00:25:05,128 --> 00:25:07,964
and then truck
I don't know how many miles home?
432
00:25:15,222 --> 00:25:18,642
[Billy] With that many days gone by,
we know he's not walking down the highway,
433
00:25:18,725 --> 00:25:20,977
we know he's not staying
at somebody's house.
434
00:25:21,061 --> 00:25:24,272
We couldn't say what it was,
but we knew something happened.
435
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:27,609
[Maria] They didn't want my family
to go looking for him.
436
00:25:27,692 --> 00:25:30,946
We want to go out there,
to the farmhouse and search.
437
00:25:31,738 --> 00:25:33,448
The sheriffs told us no.
438
00:25:33,532 --> 00:25:35,367
They say that they looking for him.
439
00:25:36,743 --> 00:25:39,955
[Billy] We were calling Linn County
Sheriffs, Police Department daily.
440
00:25:40,205 --> 00:25:41,498
I mean, daily.
441
00:25:41,581 --> 00:25:43,208
I mean, probably for three weeks straight.
442
00:25:43,291 --> 00:25:45,877
He'd said, you know,
"You need to slow down the phone calls.
443
00:25:45,961 --> 00:25:48,421
Just stop calling. Let us contact you.
444
00:25:48,505 --> 00:25:49,839
We're working on things."
445
00:25:51,466 --> 00:25:53,468
[insects chirring]
446
00:25:59,182 --> 00:26:00,058
[Maria] A month later,
447
00:26:00,141 --> 00:26:02,394
that's when they let my family
go down there.
448
00:26:03,228 --> 00:26:05,063
They gave them the okay
449
00:26:06,439 --> 00:26:08,316
to go down and search for my son.
450
00:26:11,194 --> 00:26:15,031
[Billy] From a Linn County standpoint,
they didn't have anything on this case,
451
00:26:15,115 --> 00:26:17,158
so, of course, they were like,
"Yeah, have your search.
452
00:26:17,242 --> 00:26:19,077
Have at it. Go ahead."
453
00:26:20,620 --> 00:26:22,497
Family were reaching out to friends,
454
00:26:22,581 --> 00:26:26,334
asking anybody, you know,
"We're gonna do a search in La Cygne."
455
00:26:27,419 --> 00:26:30,589
A lot of people heard about it,
and a lot of people wanted to participate.
456
00:26:31,631 --> 00:26:34,718
And, you know, honestly,
we don't know what we was looking for.
457
00:26:34,801 --> 00:26:38,346
But we just wanted to find something
that was a representation of my brother,
458
00:26:38,555 --> 00:26:40,807
or what could have happened, or anything.
459
00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:50,233
[Edward] We all split up.
460
00:26:50,317 --> 00:26:54,279
I was gonna go along the creek bank
on the east side of the house
461
00:26:54,362 --> 00:26:55,739
and follow that creek bank.
462
00:26:59,743 --> 00:27:02,162
There was a white shed
that's not there now.
463
00:27:02,829 --> 00:27:07,250
[stammers] And we had always said
somebody needs to search that shed.
464
00:27:08,627 --> 00:27:11,588
That's where we were actually headed,
toward that.
465
00:27:13,548 --> 00:27:16,885
We were digging, you know,
where we could, through all the brush
466
00:27:16,968 --> 00:27:18,303
and we got down there,
467
00:27:18,637 --> 00:27:21,431
and I looked up and I said, "Oh crap.
468
00:27:26,061 --> 00:27:27,604
There he is. There's Zo."
469
00:27:29,147 --> 00:27:31,983
And I radioed and said,
"We've got him. We've got Zo."
470
00:27:35,945 --> 00:27:38,948
[Billy] I got a call from my uncle
on the walkie-talkie,
471
00:27:39,032 --> 00:27:40,450
saying, "Billy, we found him.
472
00:27:40,533 --> 00:27:42,994
Just-- Just follow the--
follow the creek."
473
00:27:43,620 --> 00:27:47,165
So I kept running all the way
through this mud area out here.
474
00:27:47,832 --> 00:27:49,501
When I seen him, I ran down there,
475
00:27:50,085 --> 00:27:53,046
you know, kind of slid down onto the,
uh, the embankment.
476
00:27:53,630 --> 00:27:55,632
My uncle stopped me and says,
477
00:27:55,715 --> 00:27:57,967
"Don't touch him. Don't go over there."
478
00:27:58,051 --> 00:27:59,594
And I was trying
to make my way over there.
479
00:28:00,637 --> 00:28:02,681
It was-- It was just-- It was a mess.
480
00:28:02,764 --> 00:28:04,432
You know, it was a mess, so...
481
00:28:06,226 --> 00:28:08,478
You see him laying there and you...
482
00:28:09,437 --> 00:28:12,899
think back all the times
that you seen him walking around,
483
00:28:13,233 --> 00:28:14,401
having fun.
484
00:28:15,151 --> 00:28:18,780
And you-- And you see
this young man just laying there.
485
00:28:19,698 --> 00:28:21,199
His life's just gone.
486
00:28:23,159 --> 00:28:25,537
Lucky his mom didn't come
487
00:28:25,620 --> 00:28:26,579
and help search.
488
00:28:27,330 --> 00:28:30,125
'Cause I don't think
my sister coulda took that day.
489
00:28:31,126 --> 00:28:32,293
[sobs softly]
490
00:28:33,837 --> 00:28:35,338
He was 23 years old.
491
00:28:36,047 --> 00:28:38,633
He was 23 when he--
when I last saw him.
492
00:28:43,805 --> 00:28:47,934
After we found him,
it was KBI, FBI, I mean, helicopters.
493
00:28:48,017 --> 00:28:49,185
It was-- It was crazy.
494
00:28:49,602 --> 00:28:50,645
It was just like, boom.
495
00:28:50,729 --> 00:28:52,230
[helicopter blades thumping]
496
00:28:52,313 --> 00:28:55,191
[reporter] Family members found the body
of Alonzo Brooks
497
00:28:55,275 --> 00:28:57,277
in a creek just 200 meters from this...
498
00:29:00,655 --> 00:29:02,657
[Billy] We all went down to town,
499
00:29:02,741 --> 00:29:04,743
and that's where
the press conference was at.
500
00:29:05,034 --> 00:29:08,163
We just really wanted to find him.
We just really wanted to find him,
501
00:29:08,246 --> 00:29:12,000
and bring some kind of light to
that he's not just missing,
502
00:29:12,083 --> 00:29:14,377
that there may have been
some foul play into it.
503
00:29:30,268 --> 00:29:34,189
Beginning the examination, what I had
was a decomposing body in the body bag.
504
00:29:34,272 --> 00:29:36,900
-[camera shutter clicking]
-The body was clothed.
505
00:29:37,525 --> 00:29:39,736
It had some personal items,
including a ring.
506
00:29:41,029 --> 00:29:44,741
The examination internally
and the examination of the clothing
507
00:29:44,824 --> 00:29:47,744
does give me a fair degree of confidence
508
00:29:47,827 --> 00:29:51,581
that I don't have penetrating injuries
as a cause of death.
509
00:29:54,334 --> 00:29:56,878
No evidence of any acute bone fracture.
510
00:29:58,505 --> 00:30:01,257
No evidence of a sharp force injury,
nor a gunshot.
511
00:30:02,467 --> 00:30:03,968
Could he have drowned? Yes.
512
00:30:04,928 --> 00:30:09,891
But there are no specific anatomic signs
to make a determination of drowning.
513
00:30:11,351 --> 00:30:14,938
Could he be strangled? Certainly.
The soft tissues of the neck are gone.
514
00:30:16,648 --> 00:30:19,859
They've been damaged
by animals and insects.
515
00:30:20,318 --> 00:30:22,195
So, there's nothing there
516
00:30:22,278 --> 00:30:25,281
that allows me to make the determination
that he was or was not strangled.
517
00:30:25,865 --> 00:30:27,283
There's no broken bone,
518
00:30:27,367 --> 00:30:30,036
there's no penetration of bone.
If he's been beaten,
519
00:30:30,119 --> 00:30:33,957
it has not left anything identifiable.
520
00:30:41,130 --> 00:30:42,549
Mr. Brooks died.
521
00:30:42,882 --> 00:30:45,093
I do not know the circumstances
of his death.
522
00:30:45,468 --> 00:30:47,345
I do not know the cause of his death.
523
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:49,722
Whether there was an accident
524
00:30:50,849 --> 00:30:54,477
or whether there was
a purposeful involvement in his death.
525
00:30:59,858 --> 00:31:02,402
[Billy] There's no accident
that could've happened to my brother.
526
00:31:02,485 --> 00:31:03,736
That was intentional.
527
00:31:04,696 --> 00:31:05,864
Very intentional.
528
00:31:08,533 --> 00:31:11,619
His boots and hat was found
off the side of the highway,
529
00:31:11,703 --> 00:31:14,163
far away, you know,
from his body and everything.
530
00:31:15,206 --> 00:31:18,710
That obviously give you some kind of--
Something happened.
531
00:31:18,793 --> 00:31:19,919
Why is his shoes here?
532
00:31:20,336 --> 00:31:21,671
Why is his hat here?
533
00:31:22,088 --> 00:31:22,922
What happened?
534
00:31:23,006 --> 00:31:25,842
[scoffs] There's just foul play
written all over it.
535
00:31:25,925 --> 00:31:28,720
That's all there is to it, there's just
foul play written all over it.
536
00:31:30,430 --> 00:31:31,764
[reporter] The night of the party,
537
00:31:31,848 --> 00:31:33,933
witnesses say there were four men
living at this house.
538
00:31:34,017 --> 00:31:35,810
They've now since been evicted.
539
00:31:35,894 --> 00:31:39,272
But what happened at the party,
and whether it was a hate crime,
540
00:31:39,355 --> 00:31:41,065
is still under investigation.
541
00:31:41,149 --> 00:31:42,650
There's a lot of...
542
00:31:43,902 --> 00:31:46,070
uh, opinions out there,
543
00:31:46,404 --> 00:31:48,740
on the web and on blogs,
544
00:31:48,823 --> 00:31:53,202
and all sorts of different variations
of what could have happened.
545
00:31:57,916 --> 00:32:00,084
[Justin] The different rumors
that were going around,
546
00:32:00,168 --> 00:32:01,711
some of them I guess were feasible,
547
00:32:01,794 --> 00:32:04,213
and the other ones
were just completely asinine.
548
00:32:06,633 --> 00:32:08,092
[Daniel] You know, rumors that...
549
00:32:08,176 --> 00:32:10,511
maybe he did start walking on that--
that highway
550
00:32:10,595 --> 00:32:12,138
and somebody picked him up.
551
00:32:12,347 --> 00:32:14,849
[Justin] We set him up to drug dealers.
552
00:32:15,725 --> 00:32:18,102
Alonzo was chased down the driveway.
553
00:32:18,186 --> 00:32:20,021
After the party, like, he tried to run.
554
00:32:20,104 --> 00:32:23,316
Somebody kept him in the trunk of a car,
tortured-- I mean, you name it.
555
00:32:23,399 --> 00:32:24,817
[Daniel] Lot of that going around,
556
00:32:24,901 --> 00:32:27,028
you know, and the thing is,
that there was so much of it
557
00:32:27,111 --> 00:32:29,072
that some of it actually
could've been true.
558
00:32:31,950 --> 00:32:33,159
[Justin] I remember...
559
00:32:34,035 --> 00:32:36,663
hearing from the police officers
that there were
560
00:32:37,580 --> 00:32:39,415
a couple fights later that night.
561
00:32:39,499 --> 00:32:41,960
I mean, we all know how everybody can get
when you're drinking.
562
00:32:42,043 --> 00:32:44,128
I mean, tempers are short.
563
00:32:44,212 --> 00:32:46,214
[overlapping chatter, muted]
564
00:32:48,383 --> 00:32:50,009
[Cindy] One of the things that I've heard
565
00:32:50,093 --> 00:32:53,554
is that there was a girl there,
a white girl,
566
00:32:53,638 --> 00:32:58,142
and maybe she flirted with him
or maybe he flirted with her.
567
00:32:59,686 --> 00:33:02,188
And they got too friendly,
568
00:33:02,981 --> 00:33:03,815
and...
569
00:33:04,565 --> 00:33:07,568
some of the other guys that were there
at the party didn't like it.
570
00:33:14,826 --> 00:33:16,911
[Billy] If he's the only black kid there,
571
00:33:17,912 --> 00:33:19,914
you're gonna have somebody in there,
572
00:33:19,998 --> 00:33:21,708
or a group of some people,
573
00:33:22,417 --> 00:33:24,127
that's just gonna probably...
574
00:33:24,210 --> 00:33:27,630
wanna do something just because--
just because of his color.
575
00:33:28,172 --> 00:33:29,632
[man] Get your fuckin' hands off my woman!
576
00:33:29,716 --> 00:33:32,427
[Tyler] I'm sure the "n" word
was getting thrown out that night.
577
00:33:33,428 --> 00:33:35,388
Alonzo would get mad about it,
578
00:33:35,471 --> 00:33:36,556
I do believe.
579
00:33:38,808 --> 00:33:41,686
I think he got his ass beat
by about four or five people.
580
00:33:41,769 --> 00:33:44,147
That's what I believe,
Alonzo got beat up, he got jumped.
581
00:33:46,607 --> 00:33:51,446
It definitely would've taken a few guys,
or some type of brutal force of something.
582
00:33:52,780 --> 00:33:54,907
-[soft grunts]
-'Cause Alonzo wouldn't have gave up.
583
00:34:08,755 --> 00:34:11,007
[reporter 1]
The FBI continues to investigate
584
00:34:11,090 --> 00:34:14,635
to find out if Alonzo may have been
the victim of a hate crime.
585
00:34:14,802 --> 00:34:18,890
[reporter 2] Brooks' body was found here
in this ravine in La Cygne, Kansas.
586
00:34:19,057 --> 00:34:22,977
Sheriff Stites says his crew was there
many times before.
587
00:34:23,311 --> 00:34:25,813
His body was absolutely not
where it is now
588
00:34:25,897 --> 00:34:27,648
at the time law enforcement was there.
589
00:34:28,316 --> 00:34:31,319
[Billy] It doesn't make any sense
that a dive team came out,
590
00:34:31,402 --> 00:34:32,403
KBI came out,
591
00:34:32,528 --> 00:34:34,280
that we had cadaver dogs out,
592
00:34:34,363 --> 00:34:37,909
and you'd done all these searches before
and never found him.
593
00:34:38,618 --> 00:34:40,161
But we do a search,
594
00:34:41,454 --> 00:34:43,498
and within 30 minutes, we find him.
595
00:34:47,126 --> 00:34:49,337
[Bill] When we came out here
and did the initial search,
596
00:34:49,420 --> 00:34:52,131
the creek level was so low,
they could actually see the bottom.
597
00:34:52,215 --> 00:34:54,467
We would have found him doing,
you know, this motion here,
598
00:34:54,550 --> 00:34:57,553
just shuffling our-- our bodies
and our feet like this,
599
00:34:57,637 --> 00:34:59,639
just walking through the creek doing this.
600
00:34:59,722 --> 00:35:02,391
If there was a body in here
when we searched it,
601
00:35:02,475 --> 00:35:04,185
he would've been found that night.
602
00:35:04,685 --> 00:35:06,687
[insects chirring]
603
00:35:11,067 --> 00:35:15,404
[Dr. Mitchell] Searches often fail
to find the person you're looking for.
604
00:35:15,988 --> 00:35:19,075
You'll have helicopters and dogs
and police and family
605
00:35:19,158 --> 00:35:21,077
and then all of a sudden they get found.
606
00:35:23,329 --> 00:35:25,331
He could have floated down the creek
607
00:35:25,414 --> 00:35:28,668
when the creek had higher water levels
after a rainstorm.
608
00:35:30,128 --> 00:35:32,922
We've got a clog there
of brushes and branch,
609
00:35:33,005 --> 00:35:35,133
and he's simply trapped in that mess.
610
00:35:37,510 --> 00:35:39,220
[Billy] When we found my brother,
611
00:35:39,637 --> 00:35:43,057
his body did not look like it was bloated,
612
00:35:43,141 --> 00:35:44,725
like he was in the water.
613
00:35:45,017 --> 00:35:47,478
His complexion of his skin
looked normal to me.
614
00:35:47,562 --> 00:35:49,230
He actually looked like he was...
615
00:35:50,022 --> 00:35:52,859
you know,
like he had his color and stuff on,
616
00:35:52,942 --> 00:35:54,986
like he wasn't, you know...
617
00:35:55,528 --> 00:35:56,654
uh, dead.
618
00:35:59,031 --> 00:36:01,576
[Maria] All these item was found
on my son, all of them.
619
00:36:02,410 --> 00:36:04,453
For him supposed to be in that water
for over a month,
620
00:36:04,537 --> 00:36:07,957
it doesn't look like it,
because this stuff is not damaged.
621
00:36:09,125 --> 00:36:10,793
His billfold's still intact.
622
00:36:11,002 --> 00:36:12,879
His bandanna is not even that bad.
623
00:36:15,715 --> 00:36:18,259
Everything's still intact. His papers.
624
00:36:19,510 --> 00:36:20,887
Look at that. Nothing.
625
00:36:23,472 --> 00:36:26,184
This too, the plastic.
Look at that, that's still good.
626
00:36:28,144 --> 00:36:30,688
[voice breaks] This is his video card
to go to the movies,
627
00:36:30,771 --> 00:36:32,607
and it's still intact. Look at that.
628
00:36:37,278 --> 00:36:38,946
That's it, I can't do no more.
629
00:36:48,915 --> 00:36:51,918
[Billy] We believe that the body
had been placed in the creek
630
00:36:52,001 --> 00:36:53,878
after the last search.
631
00:36:55,504 --> 00:36:57,924
When we went down there
to ask Sheriff Stites
632
00:36:58,007 --> 00:36:59,508
that we wanted to do our own search,
633
00:36:59,592 --> 00:37:00,635
I don't know...
634
00:37:01,844 --> 00:37:03,971
who Sheriff Stites talked to,
635
00:37:04,305 --> 00:37:07,475
and let them know that, hey, you know,
the Brooks family are gonna do a search.
636
00:37:10,019 --> 00:37:13,439
La Cygne, being a small town,
somebody could tell somebody,
637
00:37:13,522 --> 00:37:15,900
somebody could tell somebody,
and it just goes like wildfire.
638
00:37:16,943 --> 00:37:19,737
And then somebody that had him or whatever
probably just figured,
639
00:37:19,820 --> 00:37:22,740
like, "Hey, it's time,
we can get rid of him right now.
640
00:37:23,407 --> 00:37:24,325
Let 'em find him."
641
00:37:25,076 --> 00:37:26,369
So that's what we believe.
642
00:37:26,452 --> 00:37:28,454
Somebody had placed him there.
643
00:37:30,623 --> 00:37:34,961
Where was he at from April 4th,
all the way to May 1st, when we found him?
644
00:37:35,628 --> 00:37:37,129
Where was he at all that time?
645
00:37:42,385 --> 00:37:43,344
I believe...
646
00:37:43,970 --> 00:37:47,765
my brother could have been
in a meat locker or something.
647
00:37:49,934 --> 00:37:52,603
For the body to not decompose as fast.
648
00:37:54,230 --> 00:37:55,356
That's what I believe.
649
00:38:05,449 --> 00:38:08,244
[Dr. Mitchell]
There's nothing that allows you to know
650
00:38:08,828 --> 00:38:10,413
whether somebody's been frozen.
651
00:38:11,330 --> 00:38:14,000
If you find it immediately upon thawing,
652
00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:16,419
there are some microscopic changes
653
00:38:16,502 --> 00:38:19,213
that might suggest
that that's what's happened.
654
00:38:19,297 --> 00:38:21,257
However, when you have
significant decomposition
655
00:38:21,340 --> 00:38:22,925
that's superimposed upon that,
656
00:38:23,009 --> 00:38:24,343
these signs disappear.
657
00:38:24,427 --> 00:38:27,888
There's no way to prove or disprove
that a body's been frozen.
658
00:38:29,140 --> 00:38:31,100
As far as how long
that body's been in the creek,
659
00:38:31,183 --> 00:38:33,561
it's consistent
with having been there 30 days.
660
00:38:34,061 --> 00:38:35,563
It could easily be shorter.
661
00:38:36,022 --> 00:38:39,442
I also don't know the circumstances
under which he ended up in the creek,
662
00:38:39,525 --> 00:38:43,112
so I can't tell you whether
he placed himself in that environment
663
00:38:43,195 --> 00:38:45,239
or somebody else placed him
in that environment.
664
00:38:47,241 --> 00:38:49,076
We know that most people,
665
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:51,203
when they kill somebody
and dispose of a body,
666
00:38:51,287 --> 00:38:53,164
do so in convenient fashions.
667
00:38:53,247 --> 00:38:55,624
Moving a dead body is not convenient.
668
00:38:59,628 --> 00:39:03,549
To bring that body down there and dump it,
very inconvenient.
669
00:39:03,632 --> 00:39:04,842
You gotta go through brush,
670
00:39:04,925 --> 00:39:07,261
you gotta go an extended period
across a field.
671
00:39:07,428 --> 00:39:09,680
That's highly improbable.
672
00:39:11,057 --> 00:39:12,558
Now, having said that,
673
00:39:12,641 --> 00:39:15,728
if somebody sets their mind to it,
674
00:39:15,853 --> 00:39:18,230
you can take a body and you can move it
675
00:39:18,314 --> 00:39:19,815
and you can dump it somewhere.
676
00:39:25,237 --> 00:39:26,989
They hid my son from me.
677
00:39:27,448 --> 00:39:30,618
They hid my son from all of us. [sniffs]
678
00:39:38,709 --> 00:39:40,961
Sometimes I think about, you know,
if he was...
679
00:39:41,170 --> 00:39:42,963
you know, being jumped or something,
680
00:39:43,047 --> 00:39:45,966
you know, he could've been
calling out for me, you know, as well.
681
00:39:46,050 --> 00:39:48,844
You know, calling out
for his big brother to come and help him.
682
00:39:49,345 --> 00:39:51,931
So, I didn't get that opportunity.
683
00:39:55,726 --> 00:39:58,229
You don't wanna think about him suffering
and being in pain.
684
00:39:58,312 --> 00:40:00,731
I'm sure he was very scared
and didn't know what was happening,
685
00:40:00,815 --> 00:40:01,774
or why it was happening.
686
00:40:05,069 --> 00:40:07,405
I wish I was still there
'cause I woulda grabbed him up.
687
00:40:07,947 --> 00:40:10,574
I woulda grabbed him up
and he wouldn't have been there.
688
00:40:17,706 --> 00:40:19,834
[sniffling]
It's my fault. I should've been there.
689
00:40:21,210 --> 00:40:22,628
He wouldn't have been alone.
690
00:40:24,964 --> 00:40:27,383
[sniffles]
I'd have gone down with him fighting.
691
00:40:28,342 --> 00:40:30,052
I'd trade places with him today.
692
00:40:31,303 --> 00:40:32,304
In a heartbeat.
693
00:40:33,764 --> 00:40:34,682
[sniffles]
694
00:40:37,435 --> 00:40:39,979
[Demetria]
They say time heals all wounds, but...
695
00:40:41,021 --> 00:40:41,856
it doesn't.
696
00:40:42,356 --> 00:40:45,609
What they took from us
was a piece of our heart.
697
00:40:46,944 --> 00:40:48,571
You know, a piece of our soul.
698
00:40:52,450 --> 00:40:53,951
[low murmurs]
699
00:40:56,245 --> 00:40:58,956
[Felicia] Everyone else is going on
with their day, living their life,
700
00:40:59,039 --> 00:41:00,791
and... here we are stuck,
701
00:41:01,125 --> 00:41:03,252
wondering who did it, why.
702
00:41:03,335 --> 00:41:06,088
They could be walking past us.
We don't know. I mean, you know?
703
00:41:06,630 --> 00:41:09,341
It's just always one of those questions
that stays in your mind.
704
00:41:09,425 --> 00:41:10,509
Why, and who did it?
705
00:41:11,093 --> 00:41:13,471
[Billy] He didn't get to have his family,
706
00:41:13,554 --> 00:41:14,388
to get married,
707
00:41:14,805 --> 00:41:15,764
go to work.
708
00:41:16,265 --> 00:41:19,560
You know, we could have
barbecues or something right here,
709
00:41:19,977 --> 00:41:21,437
hear his crazy laugh.
710
00:41:21,729 --> 00:41:23,063
I can't hear that no more.
711
00:41:23,689 --> 00:41:25,065
You know, all that's gone.
712
00:41:35,743 --> 00:41:39,246
[Billy] This is a letter from the, um,
Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
713
00:41:39,455 --> 00:41:42,958
It says, "The KBI was one
of the several law enforcement agencies
714
00:41:43,042 --> 00:41:46,253
who investigated the April 4th death
of Alonzo Brooks.
715
00:41:47,505 --> 00:41:49,089
No evidence or information
716
00:41:49,173 --> 00:41:51,050
gained throughout
the lengthy investigation
717
00:41:51,133 --> 00:41:54,887
indicated that Alonzo Brooks
was the victim of a crime.
718
00:41:55,262 --> 00:41:59,433
For this reason, the investigation
into his death was closed."
719
00:42:04,355 --> 00:42:05,314
My brother...
720
00:42:06,065 --> 00:42:08,651
deserves more than this,
along with his family.
721
00:42:10,236 --> 00:42:11,737
His case needs to stay open.
722
00:42:12,446 --> 00:42:13,906
It shoulda never closed.
723
00:42:14,323 --> 00:42:19,495
It should stay open till it's actually...
closed with results.
724
00:42:19,787 --> 00:42:20,871
There's no results.
725
00:42:21,747 --> 00:42:25,000
If you can find Osama bin Laden
way across the dang world,
726
00:42:25,751 --> 00:42:28,462
you could find somebody here
who did something.
727
00:42:28,546 --> 00:42:30,548
[overlapping chatter, muted]
728
00:42:32,341 --> 00:42:34,885
[Tyler] I think there was enough people
at that party that night
729
00:42:34,969 --> 00:42:37,137
that they could've figured something out.
730
00:42:37,221 --> 00:42:40,558
Or there would be more evidence out there
for them to find what happened.
731
00:42:44,853 --> 00:42:47,523
[Daniel] I just don't know how the FBI
didn't get anything out of anybody.
732
00:42:47,606 --> 00:42:48,816
I mean... [scoffs]
733
00:42:48,899 --> 00:42:51,694
...for all the people they probably
put that lie detector test to,
734
00:42:51,777 --> 00:42:53,612
how are you gonna come up with nothing?
735
00:42:54,530 --> 00:42:56,115
Some people lawyered up
736
00:42:56,198 --> 00:42:58,784
and then a lot of people
didn't have to take lie detector tests.
737
00:42:59,243 --> 00:43:01,370
Why are you refusing it
in the first place?
738
00:43:02,246 --> 00:43:04,081
You obviously got something to hide.
739
00:43:04,748 --> 00:43:07,126
All I can say is that
you know who you are.
740
00:43:08,002 --> 00:43:09,295
Think about this being your son.
741
00:43:10,921 --> 00:43:14,466
Think about this being your brother
or your friend.
742
00:43:17,928 --> 00:43:19,471
If you know something, please come out.
743
00:43:19,555 --> 00:43:22,266
Please come out
and just give us a little help.
744
00:43:22,349 --> 00:43:23,809
That's what we're asking for.
745
00:43:37,531 --> 00:43:41,076
[Maria] This was tragic for our family.
746
00:43:43,412 --> 00:43:45,247
I want answers now.
747
00:43:46,332 --> 00:43:49,293
It's been 15 years. It's too long.
748
00:43:51,337 --> 00:43:53,714
That town still hasn't say anything.
749
00:43:54,131 --> 00:43:57,676
And the people and the kids
don't say shit. [sniffles]
750
00:43:57,801 --> 00:43:58,719
And...
751
00:44:00,387 --> 00:44:01,889
I still wanna know why.
752
00:44:20,282 --> 00:44:22,284
[theme music playing]