1 00:00:07,424 --> 00:00:09,426 [car alarm wails]  2 00:00:10,677 --> 00:00:12,429 [horn blares] 3 00:00:16,099 --> 00:00:21,104 [woman] My mom was the most cautious, overprotective person in the world. 4 00:00:22,147 --> 00:00:24,149 For them to say that she left the church 5 00:00:24,232 --> 00:00:27,277 to walk across the street in 12-degree weather, 6 00:00:27,736 --> 00:00:30,905 dark of night, where it was icy and snowy, 7 00:00:30,989 --> 00:00:33,283 into a foot of freezing cold water 8 00:00:33,366 --> 00:00:34,826 to take her own life, 9 00:00:35,535 --> 00:00:37,203 it just doesn't make sense. 10 00:00:40,373 --> 00:00:42,250 [interviewer] Who did your mom fear? 11 00:00:42,709 --> 00:00:43,543 [sighs] 12 00:00:43,626 --> 00:00:46,046 That's a sensitive subject at this time. 13 00:00:47,130 --> 00:00:50,091 [interviewer] People within the family? Close to the family? 14 00:00:50,175 --> 00:00:51,593 I can't say that right now. 15 00:00:53,303 --> 00:00:56,639 [suspenseful main theme playing] 16 00:01:32,050 --> 00:01:34,219 [distant siren] 17 00:01:39,933 --> 00:01:41,684 [interviewer] State your full name. 18 00:01:41,768 --> 00:01:44,354 Daniel Jensen. J-E-N-S-E-N. 19 00:01:46,731 --> 00:01:49,859 -[interviewer] Where was her car found? -On a one-way exit drive, 20 00:01:49,943 --> 00:01:51,111 adjacent to the church, 21 00:01:51,194 --> 00:01:53,905 approximately a hundred feet from the lakeside. 22 00:01:54,823 --> 00:01:57,200 It was the only car on that exit drive. 23 00:01:58,034 --> 00:01:59,828 It was almost ten o'clock at night, 24 00:02:00,161 --> 00:02:02,205 uh, the church appeared dark 25 00:02:02,288 --> 00:02:04,791 and there was really no reason for it to be there. 26 00:02:04,874 --> 00:02:05,917 [car door closes] 27 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,629 The officer approached the parked vehicle, illuminated same. 28 00:02:10,547 --> 00:02:12,465 He saw the purse in the car, 29 00:02:12,966 --> 00:02:15,844 checked down to the water and saw the footprints. 30 00:02:17,846 --> 00:02:22,350 There was the two prints in the snow from apparently where someone sat down, 31 00:02:22,433 --> 00:02:24,227 with handprints alongside of it. 32 00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:27,939 Slid to the second level, another butt print, handprints. 33 00:02:29,399 --> 00:02:32,193 The minute the footprints and the butt prints were seen, 34 00:02:32,694 --> 00:02:35,905 it was confirmed immediately by all three officers on the scene, 35 00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:38,741 they sincerely believed there was a person in the water. 36 00:02:40,743 --> 00:02:45,165 It went to immediate request for help, for a search and rescue operation. 37 00:02:46,416 --> 00:02:50,336 We have a possibility, a good chance, that we may be able to save a life. 38 00:02:51,004 --> 00:02:52,338 [police sirens] 39 00:02:55,175 --> 00:02:59,095 [woman] That night, my mom had a 7 p.m. prayer service 40 00:02:59,179 --> 00:03:01,848 that she would attend, and at this point, it's 9:20 41 00:03:02,348 --> 00:03:04,350 and my brother's upstairs sleeping, 42 00:03:04,434 --> 00:03:07,061 and I'm getting... You know, just put my pajamas on, 43 00:03:07,604 --> 00:03:09,856 and I see a car come around the corner. 44 00:03:12,609 --> 00:03:15,195 [indistinct police radio messages] 45 00:03:15,278 --> 00:03:16,821 I was like, "Oh, there's Mom." 46 00:03:16,905 --> 00:03:19,199 And I looked out, and it was a police officer. 47 00:03:20,992 --> 00:03:22,952 And I said, "Can I help you?" 48 00:03:23,828 --> 00:03:25,997 And he said, "Yes. 49 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,209 We found your mother's car abandoned in the church parking lot. 50 00:03:29,292 --> 00:03:30,210 Is she missing?" 51 00:03:32,337 --> 00:03:35,089 [woman] We start calling her phone, like, that second. 52 00:03:35,548 --> 00:03:38,843 And her phone's going right to voice mail, so her phone's off. 53 00:03:40,386 --> 00:03:43,264 [Michelle] I was 29, my sister Kellie was 27, 54 00:03:43,348 --> 00:03:45,099 and my brother Michael was 20. 55 00:03:46,601 --> 00:03:48,436 My mom and my dad were separated 56 00:03:48,519 --> 00:03:50,647 and they didn't really get along that well. 57 00:03:51,189 --> 00:03:54,609 Me and my siblings, we all lived together with my mom. 58 00:03:54,692 --> 00:03:56,194 And so, that night, 59 00:03:56,277 --> 00:03:59,405 we started calling family friends and, you know, 60 00:03:59,489 --> 00:04:01,491 anybody she could've gone to get coffee with. 61 00:04:01,866 --> 00:04:05,245 Everyone's like, "No, we didn't hear from her. We're not with her." 62 00:04:07,121 --> 00:04:10,625 [man] My niece Michelle called me and said, "Get over here right away." 63 00:04:11,292 --> 00:04:14,587 And she was totally freaked out. She said, 64 00:04:14,671 --> 00:04:18,049 "These two Grosse Pointe Woods police officers came to the house 65 00:04:18,132 --> 00:04:20,593 and said my mom's missing." 66 00:04:21,427 --> 00:04:22,804 And I was like, "What?" 67 00:04:25,473 --> 00:04:27,725 She said, "Let's get over to St. Paul's Church 68 00:04:27,809 --> 00:04:30,561 because apparently that's where her car is." 69 00:04:33,898 --> 00:04:35,191 [Michelle] My mom was 55. 70 00:04:36,609 --> 00:04:38,111 She was full of life. 71 00:04:40,405 --> 00:04:43,741 The best mom, just the warmest heart. 72 00:04:46,244 --> 00:04:49,455 And we were just really a close-knit family. 73 00:04:51,416 --> 00:04:53,084 [Kellie] My mom was a great lady. 74 00:04:53,167 --> 00:04:54,377 Everyone's best friend. 75 00:04:54,460 --> 00:04:57,880 Like, happy, fun to be around. 76 00:04:58,256 --> 00:05:00,466 Our house was the house to be at when growing up. 77 00:05:00,550 --> 00:05:02,260 All the friends were over. 78 00:05:02,343 --> 00:05:04,804 It made her happy to see us with our friends. 79 00:05:05,972 --> 00:05:07,181 [John] She was an angel. 80 00:05:08,725 --> 00:05:11,519 Just a great soul. You know, out to help everybody. 81 00:05:13,187 --> 00:05:15,690 She was my favorite sister, 82 00:05:16,107 --> 00:05:18,776 and, um, the closest person to me. 83 00:05:21,029 --> 00:05:22,905 She was pretty much everything to me. 84 00:05:24,324 --> 00:05:26,200 [police siren] 85 00:05:27,869 --> 00:05:29,579 [Kellie] We pull up at the church, 86 00:05:29,662 --> 00:05:31,914 we see crime scene tape around the car, 87 00:05:32,498 --> 00:05:35,501 and there's all these police everywhere. We were like... 88 00:05:36,377 --> 00:05:38,046 "What is happening right now?" 89 00:05:39,297 --> 00:05:40,840 [helicopter whirs above] 90 00:05:45,470 --> 00:05:47,930 [Michelle] My mom's car was parked in the driveway 91 00:05:48,014 --> 00:05:49,557 of St. Paul Catholic Church. 92 00:05:51,726 --> 00:05:53,269 The car is locked. 93 00:05:53,853 --> 00:05:56,397 The keys were nowhere to be found at that time. 94 00:05:57,315 --> 00:05:58,691 Her cell phone was missing. 95 00:05:59,233 --> 00:06:01,027 Her purse is on the front seat. 96 00:06:01,110 --> 00:06:03,196 She's never left her purse behind. 97 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,407 So, when I saw the purse in the car, 98 00:06:07,033 --> 00:06:09,452 I was extremely nervous at that point. 99 00:06:13,790 --> 00:06:16,334 [Kellie] We're running around the grounds of the church. 100 00:06:16,417 --> 00:06:21,756 You know, we're just searching through every spot you could possibly get into, 101 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:23,966 inside the building, outside the building. 102 00:06:24,509 --> 00:06:26,177 So, the fact that we're now 103 00:06:26,260 --> 00:06:29,138 approaching three hours and no one's heard from her... 104 00:06:30,223 --> 00:06:31,182 something's wrong. 105 00:06:31,682 --> 00:06:32,850 It was a shit show. 106 00:06:33,601 --> 00:06:37,355 It seemed like the whole Coast Guard, whatever it was, a helicopter, divers 107 00:06:37,438 --> 00:06:39,399 and all kinds of Coast Guard equipment. 108 00:06:39,482 --> 00:06:41,609 You had the Grosse Pointe Farms cops there. 109 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,445 [Kellie] We start just asking, 110 00:06:44,821 --> 00:06:45,738 "What's going on?" 111 00:06:45,822 --> 00:06:47,323 [siren wails] 112 00:06:47,407 --> 00:06:50,159 They're like, "We think your mom walked into the water." 113 00:06:52,036 --> 00:06:53,746 There's no way she's in the water. 114 00:06:56,582 --> 00:07:00,378 It was freezing. I just remember it being just so cold, 115 00:07:00,461 --> 00:07:02,880 and you're just shivering. 116 00:07:03,339 --> 00:07:06,509 The water was partially frozen. 117 00:07:06,592 --> 00:07:10,012 It was one to two feet deep. You could see the rocks. 118 00:07:12,974 --> 00:07:16,269 They said, "We think that your mom walked to the water 119 00:07:16,352 --> 00:07:17,520 and committed suicide." 120 00:07:18,771 --> 00:07:20,940 [Daniel] There were no signs of a struggle, 121 00:07:21,023 --> 00:07:22,900 either around the car or in the car. 122 00:07:23,609 --> 00:07:25,611 There were no signs of any... 123 00:07:26,112 --> 00:07:30,366 for example, torn clothing, uh, items on the ground, 124 00:07:30,908 --> 00:07:33,744 purse dumped, car ransacked, 125 00:07:33,828 --> 00:07:36,914 scuff marks or drag marks around the scene, 126 00:07:37,457 --> 00:07:41,377 blood, bullet casings, or any type of evidence 127 00:07:41,461 --> 00:07:44,130 that would lead one to believe  that a crime occurred. 128 00:07:51,179 --> 00:07:53,181 [Michelle] 4:00 a.m., nobody had heard from her. 129 00:07:53,639 --> 00:07:55,600 They called off the helicopters, 130 00:07:55,683 --> 00:07:59,437 and they towed the Lexus to the police station. 131 00:08:02,064 --> 00:08:04,692 We just had no idea where she could be. 132 00:08:05,485 --> 00:08:06,611 She had vanished. 133 00:08:10,406 --> 00:08:12,658 [interviewer] Who did the fingerprinting of the car? 134 00:08:12,742 --> 00:08:14,744 -I did. -And what were the results? 135 00:08:15,453 --> 00:08:17,705 There were no clear fingerprints, all smudges. 136 00:08:18,498 --> 00:08:19,832 [interviewer] None on the purse? 137 00:08:19,916 --> 00:08:22,502 -Inside the car? -We didn't fingerprint the purse. 138 00:08:23,085 --> 00:08:25,671 [interviewer] How about door handles? Inside or outside? 139 00:08:25,755 --> 00:08:27,340 No fingerprints found? 140 00:08:27,882 --> 00:08:29,258 No usable prints. 141 00:08:31,093 --> 00:08:33,679 [female reporter] JoAnn Matouk Romain disappeared. 142 00:08:33,763 --> 00:08:36,057 The 55-year-old woman from Grosse Pointe Woods 143 00:08:36,140 --> 00:08:37,892 was last seen at her church. 144 00:08:37,975 --> 00:08:42,271 [male reporter] Suicide speculated. No body found and there's little current. 145 00:08:42,355 --> 00:08:44,941 If she went in here, she should've been here. 146 00:08:48,694 --> 00:08:52,698 [Michelle] My mom worked part-time at a boutique in Grosse Pointe. 147 00:08:56,035 --> 00:08:59,956 Grosse Pointe is the suburb bordering Detroit. 148 00:09:00,748 --> 00:09:03,334 It is a very rich community, 149 00:09:03,417 --> 00:09:05,670 a very tight community. 150 00:09:06,462 --> 00:09:08,297 Everybody knows everybody's business. 151 00:09:09,257 --> 00:09:12,468 If you were born there, you're basically raised there 152 00:09:12,552 --> 00:09:15,680 and you stay there. Nobody ever truly leaves Grosse Pointe. 153 00:09:17,139 --> 00:09:18,808 My mom definitely loved it. 154 00:09:21,894 --> 00:09:26,857 Her social life on a weekly basis was just having lunch with girlfriends, 155 00:09:26,941 --> 00:09:29,443 inviting people over to the house for dinner, 156 00:09:29,527 --> 00:09:32,655 having our friends over, having family over. 157 00:09:32,738 --> 00:09:36,325 It was just a very active, loving lifestyle. 158 00:09:39,203 --> 00:09:41,247 My mom had a lot of friends. 159 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:44,709 So, for my mom to disappear, 160 00:09:44,792 --> 00:09:47,378 it was the end of the world for a lot of people. 161 00:09:49,213 --> 00:09:51,048 We were putting fliers together, 162 00:09:51,132 --> 00:09:52,800 we had a mass search, 163 00:09:53,426 --> 00:09:57,013 people were looking, you know, in woods, in dumpsters, 164 00:09:57,096 --> 00:10:00,224 um, anywhere that she could possibly be. 165 00:10:00,308 --> 00:10:02,852 We just had no idea where she could be. 166 00:10:07,690 --> 00:10:10,026 There was an extensive three-day search 167 00:10:10,109 --> 00:10:13,529 in the area that the police had alleged my mom had entered the water. 168 00:10:15,156 --> 00:10:16,115 There's no current. 169 00:10:17,325 --> 00:10:18,242 It's clear. 170 00:10:19,869 --> 00:10:21,579 It's a foot or two feet deep. 171 00:10:22,538 --> 00:10:25,750 And the night she disappeared, she was wearing a black blouse, 172 00:10:25,833 --> 00:10:29,378 black pants, black high-heeled shoes, a black coat. 173 00:10:30,254 --> 00:10:33,549 You would be able to clearly see her if she was here. 174 00:10:36,344 --> 00:10:39,847 A specialty diving team searched for three more days 175 00:10:39,930 --> 00:10:42,642 to officially say, "She's not in here." 176 00:10:45,144 --> 00:10:47,188 [man] The search that we had done for Ms. Romain 177 00:10:47,271 --> 00:10:49,857 was the most thorough search that I've ever done, 178 00:10:49,940 --> 00:10:51,484 or my team has ever done. 179 00:10:53,486 --> 00:10:56,739 We found a lot of cold water, a lot of ice, 180 00:10:56,822 --> 00:10:57,907 and, uh... 181 00:10:57,990 --> 00:11:00,368 unfortunately, not Ms. Romain. 182 00:11:01,452 --> 00:11:03,871 I just don't think that she was in that location. 183 00:11:05,331 --> 00:11:07,208 [interviewer] There was nothing found indicating 184 00:11:07,291 --> 00:11:10,336 that a person stepped onto broken ice or entered the water, 185 00:11:10,419 --> 00:11:11,253 -right? -Correct. 186 00:11:11,337 --> 00:11:13,506 There was no evidence she went in the water. 187 00:11:13,589 --> 00:11:14,423 Correct. 188 00:11:16,676 --> 00:11:20,054 [Michelle] She would have had to cross the initial two-lane traffic, 189 00:11:20,137 --> 00:11:23,307 gone to the median, crossed the other two-lane traffic, 190 00:11:23,391 --> 00:11:26,936 and then gone over to the embankment where the water would've been, 191 00:11:27,019 --> 00:11:29,480 which was very steep and icy, 192 00:11:29,563 --> 00:11:33,359 and would make no sense for anybody to be over there 193 00:11:33,442 --> 00:11:36,445 at that time of night and that temperature. 194 00:11:36,529 --> 00:11:38,739 It was snowy on the ground. 195 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,118 She's not going anywhere near water 196 00:11:42,201 --> 00:11:44,537 that she could possibly slip and fall into. 197 00:11:44,620 --> 00:11:45,830 That's not her. 198 00:11:45,913 --> 00:11:46,789 Not my mom. 199 00:11:47,456 --> 00:11:50,084 Not this little lady who was cautious for everything. 200 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:52,795 Something's wrong. Someone took her. 201 00:11:52,878 --> 00:11:56,132 She's somewhere and we're gonna find her. 202 00:12:01,095 --> 00:12:03,055 I can't believe this is my life now. 203 00:12:03,431 --> 00:12:04,849 We're talking about a lady 204 00:12:04,932 --> 00:12:07,560 that went to church and cooked. 205 00:12:07,643 --> 00:12:08,602 That's all she did. 206 00:12:08,686 --> 00:12:12,022 [reporter] Police believe the Grosse Pointe Woods mother committed suicide. 207 00:12:12,106 --> 00:12:13,733 Her family does not. 208 00:12:15,860 --> 00:12:19,488 [John] JoAnn is probably the one person that I know 209 00:12:19,572 --> 00:12:21,449 that would never commit suicide. 210 00:12:23,117 --> 00:12:24,660 She had such great faith. 211 00:12:25,202 --> 00:12:28,038 There's no way that she was gonna, you know, end her life 212 00:12:28,122 --> 00:12:30,666 and walk away from her kids. Never happen. 213 00:12:34,086 --> 00:12:35,963 [Michelle] There was no suicide note. 214 00:12:36,046 --> 00:12:38,090 She was never on any medications. 215 00:12:39,717 --> 00:12:43,929 My mom always was and, as she got older, became more of a devout Catholic, 216 00:12:44,013 --> 00:12:47,725 going to church more than just on Sundays, you know, going during the week. 217 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:52,188 If you're a devout Catholic, suicide is against all beliefs. 218 00:12:55,232 --> 00:12:58,360 [woman] JoAnn and I were friends since the fourth grade 219 00:12:58,444 --> 00:13:01,238 at St. Joan of Arc Elementary School. 220 00:13:02,072 --> 00:13:05,201 I talked to her three days before she disappeared. 221 00:13:05,284 --> 00:13:06,744 She was upbeat. 222 00:13:06,827 --> 00:13:09,205 She and I had a good laugh 223 00:13:09,288 --> 00:13:12,708 about something that had occurred in my life. 224 00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:15,211 And I remember at the end 225 00:13:15,294 --> 00:13:18,798 we both kind of shared, "I love you. See you soon." 226 00:13:20,674 --> 00:13:27,139 JoAnn never displayed to me any signs of depression. 227 00:13:28,349 --> 00:13:31,560 She would never leave her children. 228 00:13:31,644 --> 00:13:33,354 They were her life. 229 00:13:33,437 --> 00:13:35,523 They were her everything. 230 00:13:36,941 --> 00:13:40,402 [Michelle] The police's theory was she committed suicide, closed case. 231 00:13:41,612 --> 00:13:43,614 I believe it was foul play, 232 00:13:44,156 --> 00:13:46,116 'cause she would never just disappear. 233 00:13:48,869 --> 00:13:50,538 [church bell rings] 234 00:13:53,207 --> 00:13:56,669 [man] January 12, 2010. Family's nightmare began right here 235 00:13:56,752 --> 00:13:59,213 at St. Paul Catholic Church, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. 236 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:05,970 I hired Sal Rastrelli to come out as an expert crime scene investigator 237 00:14:06,053 --> 00:14:08,931 and also as a water expert to help solve this case. 238 00:14:09,348 --> 00:14:11,475 Her car was found in the parking lot there. 239 00:14:11,976 --> 00:14:14,270 Behind these cars that you see in our view, 240 00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:16,146 a couple cars back. 241 00:14:16,647 --> 00:14:20,234 An officer claimed she jumped in the water or got into the water somehow 242 00:14:20,317 --> 00:14:21,735 and committed suicide. 243 00:14:24,196 --> 00:14:26,574 I have traveled literally all over the country 244 00:14:26,657 --> 00:14:28,576 and looked at cases like this. 245 00:14:28,659 --> 00:14:31,161 And something I've seen over my career, 246 00:14:31,245 --> 00:14:34,957 even in law enforcement, was officers, they get on a scene 247 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,167 and right away they think it's a suicide. 248 00:14:37,877 --> 00:14:41,881 Everything after that is geared towards proving the theory of a suicide. 249 00:14:42,756 --> 00:14:46,051 Then when I started looking at the photographs that they took 250 00:14:46,135 --> 00:14:48,304 of these apparent footprints, 251 00:14:48,387 --> 00:14:51,015 all you see is basically something walked through. 252 00:14:51,098 --> 00:14:54,435 It could've been anybody or anything, based on those photographs. 253 00:14:56,020 --> 00:14:57,479 The one thing they didn't do, 254 00:14:57,563 --> 00:15:00,774 which is elementary in footwear impression work, 255 00:15:00,858 --> 00:15:02,776 is to take 90-degree photographs. 256 00:15:02,860 --> 00:15:05,696 In other words, you know, you set a camera up on a tripod 257 00:15:05,779 --> 00:15:08,115 and shoot a picture straight down on top 258 00:15:08,198 --> 00:15:09,491 with the scale on it, 259 00:15:09,575 --> 00:15:14,163 so you can enlarge that image to actual size 260 00:15:14,538 --> 00:15:15,789 and then compare it. 261 00:15:16,415 --> 00:15:18,834 Any law enforcement officer that's been trained 262 00:15:18,918 --> 00:15:21,795 should have never omitted those kind of photographs. 263 00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:24,840 That's one of the things that was crucial in this case. 264 00:15:25,966 --> 00:15:27,927 [Daniel] It isn't a confirmed exact footprint. 265 00:15:28,010 --> 00:15:30,971 There's a footprint and then another one, with some sliding, 266 00:15:31,055 --> 00:15:32,848 but it was evident to Det. McCarthy 267 00:15:32,932 --> 00:15:35,434 that it appeared to be a small high-heeled boot. 268 00:15:36,101 --> 00:15:41,690 [interviewer] Did any footprint experts review those photographs at all? 269 00:15:41,774 --> 00:15:43,692 -Not that I'm aware of, sir. No. -Okay. 270 00:15:45,819 --> 00:15:49,865 Ms. Romain was supposed to be wearing a pair of four-inch high heels. 271 00:15:51,116 --> 00:15:54,620 And she was alleged to have traversed this 272 00:15:54,703 --> 00:15:57,289 with high heels on, in the snow, in the dark. 273 00:15:59,625 --> 00:16:02,503 I was curious to see what it would be like for a woman, 274 00:16:02,586 --> 00:16:05,339 wearing similar shoes, to traverse this. 275 00:16:05,422 --> 00:16:06,298 It was dark... 276 00:16:06,382 --> 00:16:07,675 Okay, here we go. 277 00:16:07,758 --> 00:16:10,469 ...and it was full of snow... and ice.  278 00:16:10,552 --> 00:16:11,637 She was wearing shoes 279 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,263 -like you're wearing... -Mm-hm. 280 00:16:13,347 --> 00:16:16,266 ...which, obviously, is difficult for you, and for me. 281 00:16:16,350 --> 00:16:17,559 Let's not both go in. 282 00:16:17,643 --> 00:16:19,228 [woman] And this had ice on it. 283 00:16:19,311 --> 00:16:21,647 -I don't know how-- -It would've been snow and ice. 284 00:16:21,730 --> 00:16:24,608 We got this bad crevice here, so I'm gonna stop here.  285 00:16:24,692 --> 00:16:26,819 -Okay. -If you wanna come a little further. 286 00:16:26,902 --> 00:16:28,487 -Just watch your footing. -Okay. 287 00:16:28,570 --> 00:16:31,156 -Before you go to the next step. -Got it. Let's see. 288 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:32,825 -You wanna come one more? -Yeah. 289 00:16:33,951 --> 00:16:36,120 -Get you on level ground. -This is... Whoa! 290 00:16:36,203 --> 00:16:37,204 -Are you okay? -Yeah. 291 00:16:37,705 --> 00:16:40,666 When I came here for the very first time and saw this slope, 292 00:16:41,291 --> 00:16:43,585 no way a woman could've done this in heels, 293 00:16:43,669 --> 00:16:46,380 and you just proved it without the snow and ice. 294 00:16:46,797 --> 00:16:48,173 Then they claim 295 00:16:48,257 --> 00:16:51,218 that she made her way across that next level. 296 00:16:52,261 --> 00:16:53,762 And then down into the water. 297 00:16:53,846 --> 00:16:57,433 So, that meant she would have had to drop five feet or more, 298 00:16:57,516 --> 00:16:58,934 off that ledge, 299 00:16:59,018 --> 00:17:00,811 down to the boulder-strewn bottom. 300 00:17:03,147 --> 00:17:06,859 The chief of police here said he knew it was a suicide in five minutes. 301 00:17:07,526 --> 00:17:11,447 He must have a crystal ball, 'cause in my 30-some-odd years doing this, 302 00:17:11,530 --> 00:17:13,157 there's no way you can ascertain 303 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,535 something is what it is in five minutes. It's not gonna happen. 304 00:17:20,414 --> 00:17:24,251 [Michelle] You always have a glimpse of hope that they're still alive. 305 00:17:25,252 --> 00:17:28,297 But as the days turned into weeks, 306 00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:29,965 turned into months, 307 00:17:30,049 --> 00:17:32,968 you realize your odds are slim. 308 00:17:33,802 --> 00:17:38,098 It's just a very traumatic event to happen, 309 00:17:38,182 --> 00:17:40,350 to have your mom disappear, 310 00:17:40,434 --> 00:17:43,729 and for my brother and sister, it's been extremely difficult. 311 00:17:45,230 --> 00:17:48,567 My brother Michael emotionally is a wreck. 312 00:17:48,650 --> 00:17:50,027 He still is. 313 00:17:50,110 --> 00:17:53,655 And it's very hard for him to talk about any of this. 314 00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:55,824 I'm the oldest, 315 00:17:55,908 --> 00:17:59,078 so I knew I was gonna have to take this into my own hands. 316 00:18:00,662 --> 00:18:03,499 And I need to find the witnesses that saw something. 317 00:18:03,582 --> 00:18:07,252 I need to go back to that night 318 00:18:07,336 --> 00:18:10,798 and I need to re-walk the steps of what occurred 319 00:18:10,881 --> 00:18:13,801 and what they say happened, versus what could've happened. 320 00:18:17,262 --> 00:18:18,472 The day she disappeared, 321 00:18:18,555 --> 00:18:21,183 my mom dropped my brother off at home and told him, 322 00:18:21,266 --> 00:18:24,853 "I'm gonna go fill up gas for the next morning. I'll be right back." 323 00:18:31,693 --> 00:18:33,862 [man] JoAnn was a really good friend of ours 324 00:18:33,946 --> 00:18:36,240 and a good customer for a very long time. 325 00:18:39,785 --> 00:18:43,497 So, the night that JoAnn came in here, actually she was just like normal, 326 00:18:43,580 --> 00:18:44,957 very happy, cheerful. 327 00:18:45,624 --> 00:18:47,960 I went out there, pumped her gas for her, 328 00:18:48,043 --> 00:18:49,586 nothing out of the ordinary. 329 00:18:49,670 --> 00:18:51,630 Um, we just had normal conversations. 330 00:18:51,713 --> 00:18:53,799 "How's the day going?" "How's the family?" 331 00:18:53,882 --> 00:18:56,343 Talking about her daughters, so on and so forth. 332 00:18:56,426 --> 00:18:58,512 Then she was on her way, and that was it. 333 00:19:05,936 --> 00:19:08,564 [Michelle] There was a prayer service at 7 p.m. 334 00:19:08,647 --> 00:19:11,275 It was about a 15-to-20-minute prayer service. 335 00:19:12,651 --> 00:19:15,737 From what we know, after she went to get gas, 336 00:19:15,821 --> 00:19:18,031 she decided to go to the church. 337 00:19:19,658 --> 00:19:23,036 So, it was a very routine thing for her to do, 338 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,455 and if she could make it to it, she would. 339 00:19:29,084 --> 00:19:33,255 There was only about 10 or 15 people in the entire prayer service, 340 00:19:33,338 --> 00:19:35,048 so it was a very small thing. 341 00:19:36,592 --> 00:19:39,970 There is a witness that identified my mom in the church. 342 00:19:40,762 --> 00:19:43,223 They were sitting in the front, by the altar, 343 00:19:43,307 --> 00:19:45,267 and my mom was sitting in the back. 344 00:19:45,809 --> 00:19:48,729 So, when they had turned around, they saw her in the aisle. 345 00:19:48,812 --> 00:19:50,981 And she departed at 7:15 346 00:19:51,064 --> 00:19:53,483 when the service ended. 347 00:20:08,332 --> 00:20:10,584 Within the month of my mom disappearing, 348 00:20:10,667 --> 00:20:15,255 I hired retired FBI agent Bill Randall to help solve this case. 349 00:20:17,382 --> 00:20:20,636 [Bill] Originally, when Michelle and Kellie met with me 350 00:20:20,719 --> 00:20:23,805 and told me what had occurred, the first thing we needed to do 351 00:20:23,889 --> 00:20:26,391 was to get a copy of their mother's phone records. 352 00:20:27,684 --> 00:20:29,186 [phone beeps rapidly] 353 00:20:29,269 --> 00:20:31,230 There was one number in particular. 354 00:20:31,313 --> 00:20:34,483 We called the number and found out it was a security company. 355 00:20:34,566 --> 00:20:37,903 The week prior to her disappearance, JoAnn had left a voice mail, 356 00:20:38,403 --> 00:20:41,740 and, uh, she was attempting to contact an investigator. 357 00:20:41,823 --> 00:20:44,159 I think she believed she was being followed 358 00:20:44,660 --> 00:20:46,453 by person or persons unknown. 359 00:20:47,204 --> 00:20:48,497 And she was concerned. 360 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:52,376 [Michelle] In the weeks leading up to my mom's disappearance, 361 00:20:52,459 --> 00:20:55,003 she did seem more nervous, more cautious. 362 00:20:57,381 --> 00:21:00,550 And I personally wasn't paying as much attention 363 00:21:00,634 --> 00:21:01,927 as I probably should have 364 00:21:02,010 --> 00:21:03,178 until she disappeared. 365 00:21:05,347 --> 00:21:08,892 [John] She was acting very troubled, not herself, very scared. 366 00:21:09,726 --> 00:21:13,063 She wouldn't tell me what she was concerned about, 367 00:21:13,146 --> 00:21:14,898 and she always told me everything. 368 00:21:14,982 --> 00:21:18,652 Almost like, if she told me, she would put her kids or myself in jeopardy. 369 00:21:19,027 --> 00:21:21,280 So, I was like, "What... what's going on?" 370 00:21:21,822 --> 00:21:23,282 Like, something's not right. 371 00:21:24,908 --> 00:21:26,493 [Bill] I contacted people. 372 00:21:26,576 --> 00:21:30,831 I contacted a woman that owns the clothing store where JoAnn worked, 373 00:21:31,415 --> 00:21:34,167 and I also talked to one of her... one of her coworkers. 374 00:21:34,251 --> 00:21:35,210 [phone rings] 375 00:21:35,294 --> 00:21:38,046 One of the persons that I talked to indicated to me 376 00:21:38,630 --> 00:21:43,176 that starting around January the 7th to January 8 of 2010, 377 00:21:43,260 --> 00:21:46,805 that JoAnn was receiving more calls than usual, 378 00:21:46,888 --> 00:21:48,890 and that she would always walk away 379 00:21:48,974 --> 00:21:52,144 to talk to whoever the party was that she was on the phone with, 380 00:21:52,227 --> 00:21:54,396 and that was very uncommon for her to do so. 381 00:21:57,524 --> 00:22:01,361 There was an instance where she felt that her mail was being interdicted 382 00:22:01,445 --> 00:22:02,779 from the post office, 383 00:22:02,863 --> 00:22:05,574 and that someone had followed her to the post office. 384 00:22:06,992 --> 00:22:11,246 She also indicated that she felt that her phone was being tapped. 385 00:22:12,748 --> 00:22:15,250 [Michelle] She didn't like going many places alone, 386 00:22:15,792 --> 00:22:18,837 and the only place she truly felt safe was church. 387 00:22:22,799 --> 00:22:24,676 [church bell rings] 388 00:22:27,304 --> 00:22:29,556 [Bill] I spoke with witnesses from the church. 389 00:22:29,639 --> 00:22:33,935 They indicated that they did see JoAnn at the service the night she disappeared. 390 00:22:34,936 --> 00:22:38,648 After leaving the services, approximately 7:15 to 7:20 p.m., 391 00:22:39,066 --> 00:22:42,944 one of the witnesses indicated she thought she heard the auto alarm going off 392 00:22:43,028 --> 00:22:45,030 on the Lexus that was driven by JoAnn, 393 00:22:45,530 --> 00:22:47,407 or it could've been the panic alarm. 394 00:22:47,491 --> 00:22:49,576 [alarm wails, horn blares] 395 00:22:49,659 --> 00:22:52,537 [Michelle] The witness saw the lights flashing. 396 00:22:52,621 --> 00:22:54,998 She said it lasted for about 15 seconds. 397 00:22:58,835 --> 00:23:02,297 She didn't make anything of it because there was no other disruptions. 398 00:23:02,381 --> 00:23:04,132 So, they went about their business. 399 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,596 I interviewed another witness who was at the service. 400 00:23:09,679 --> 00:23:14,601 She indicated that she left the church at approximately 7:25 to 7:35. 401 00:23:14,684 --> 00:23:16,353 She was one of the last to leave. 402 00:23:17,270 --> 00:23:18,980 She felt uneasy because it was dark. 403 00:23:20,190 --> 00:23:22,067 So, as she proceeded towards her car, 404 00:23:22,150 --> 00:23:24,778 she looked to the left and to the right of the drive. 405 00:23:25,529 --> 00:23:28,573 And she said she noticed no vehicles parked in the driveway. 406 00:23:29,741 --> 00:23:31,451 [Michelle] It's... empty, 407 00:23:31,910 --> 00:23:34,496 which indicates the Lexus left the church 408 00:23:34,579 --> 00:23:36,456 and then at some point had come back. 409 00:23:36,998 --> 00:23:40,043 It was like someone moved the car 410 00:23:40,127 --> 00:23:44,047 and put it close to the very same spot, although not exactly the same spot. 411 00:23:45,048 --> 00:23:48,260 When the cops found the vehicle, it was positioned right here, 412 00:23:48,343 --> 00:23:50,762 with the front of the car aligned with this bush. 413 00:23:51,972 --> 00:23:54,057 So, the car left and then it came back. 414 00:23:54,641 --> 00:23:57,686 But nobody understood why. How could this have happened? 415 00:24:03,108 --> 00:24:05,110 [soothing music playing] 416 00:24:19,166 --> 00:24:22,711 It was a Saturday and I got a call from a detective. 417 00:24:22,794 --> 00:24:24,171 "You need to call me back." 418 00:24:24,921 --> 00:24:28,258 At this moment, you know, I'm thinking worst-case scenario, like, 419 00:24:28,341 --> 00:24:30,177 obviously something bad's happened. 420 00:24:30,260 --> 00:24:32,596 Michelle comes out of her bedroom, 421 00:24:32,679 --> 00:24:34,139 and she's like... 422 00:24:35,390 --> 00:24:36,641 "They found Mom." 423 00:24:37,184 --> 00:24:38,560 It was a sinking feeling. 424 00:24:40,729 --> 00:24:42,481 The body was found by two fishermen 425 00:24:43,023 --> 00:24:44,191 on Boblo Island, 426 00:24:44,733 --> 00:24:47,194 in Amherstburg, Ontario, is where she was found. 427 00:24:49,529 --> 00:24:51,615 It was 35 miles 428 00:24:51,698 --> 00:24:55,535 from where they allege she entered the water. 429 00:25:04,294 --> 00:25:06,755 Our worst fear came to light at that point. 430 00:25:07,255 --> 00:25:10,300 You know, all these days that we're hoping and praying just, 431 00:25:10,383 --> 00:25:12,552 you know, that she'd walk through the door. 432 00:25:15,013 --> 00:25:18,058 [Michelle] Losing my mom, it was like we lost everything, 433 00:25:18,141 --> 00:25:21,228 'cause she really was the backbone of the family. 434 00:25:23,355 --> 00:25:26,816 Her brothers and sisters and just the entire family. 435 00:25:29,110 --> 00:25:33,865 So, it was a huge shock and a huge adjustment, 436 00:25:33,949 --> 00:25:36,284 and a huge loss for everybody. 437 00:25:41,289 --> 00:25:44,376 Yeah, we were devastated, but we didn't stop. 438 00:25:46,211 --> 00:25:49,047 Now let's figure out how it happened and why it happened. 439 00:25:50,966 --> 00:25:53,552 I want justice for JoAnn. That's the bottom line. 440 00:26:08,233 --> 00:26:10,151 [man] So, right around in this area 441 00:26:10,235 --> 00:26:13,405 is where the GPS says her body was recovered. 442 00:26:14,739 --> 00:26:18,201 [Michelle] Scott Lewis is a investigative reporter 443 00:26:18,285 --> 00:26:19,953 for 25 years in Metro Detroit, 444 00:26:20,537 --> 00:26:23,248 then turned PI after he retired. 445 00:26:23,331 --> 00:26:26,543 Scott came in, new fresh set of eyes on the case. 446 00:26:29,254 --> 00:26:32,173 [Scott] JoAnn Romain was found down in the Detroit River, 447 00:26:32,257 --> 00:26:35,218 on the Canadian side of an island called Boblo Island. 448 00:26:35,719 --> 00:26:39,347 This is kind of a historic island in Detroit. 449 00:26:39,431 --> 00:26:42,100 Back in the day, it had an amusement park on it, 450 00:26:42,183 --> 00:26:46,229 and people about my age will tell you they remember going there as kids. 451 00:26:46,313 --> 00:26:47,772 Eventually, it closed down 452 00:26:47,856 --> 00:26:51,359 and I think it became a development with housing and some other things. 453 00:26:54,487 --> 00:26:56,698 [Michelle] I didn't realize how far... 454 00:26:58,116 --> 00:27:00,994 the travel actually was until we took this trip. 455 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:03,538 [Scott] I had the same perspective. 456 00:27:03,622 --> 00:27:07,542 It's one thing to look at it on a map and talk about 30 miles. 457 00:27:07,626 --> 00:27:10,754 You get in the car, drive 30 miles, it doesn't take very long. 458 00:27:10,837 --> 00:27:13,590 But when you actually get out here on the water, my God. 459 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,054 So, for her body to have left that shallow water 460 00:27:19,638 --> 00:27:21,848 along the shore with no current, 461 00:27:21,931 --> 00:27:24,643 it would have had to get out into that shipping channel 462 00:27:24,726 --> 00:27:26,061 in the middle of the lake, 463 00:27:26,144 --> 00:27:28,938 and then found its way into the Detroit River 464 00:27:29,022 --> 00:27:30,649 and 30 miles downriver. 465 00:27:30,732 --> 00:27:32,734 That's a little bit of a stretch for me. 466 00:27:33,985 --> 00:27:36,863 At first I wasn't sure if this was a kind of case 467 00:27:36,946 --> 00:27:38,365 I would wanna get into, 468 00:27:38,448 --> 00:27:40,283 so, what I told Michelle is that, 469 00:27:40,367 --> 00:27:44,162 "If I review your case and I think there's even a chance 470 00:27:44,245 --> 00:27:46,331 that this was a suicide, I'm done. 471 00:27:47,540 --> 00:27:50,126 If I think this is a murder, I'm in." 472 00:27:50,210 --> 00:27:54,214 I don't see anything that points to... suicide. 473 00:27:56,841 --> 00:28:00,303 To begin with, who fills their gas tank on the way to commit suicide? 474 00:28:01,054 --> 00:28:03,014 That was the first red flag to me. 475 00:28:03,098 --> 00:28:06,851 If she had driven into the garage, and closed the garage door, 476 00:28:07,394 --> 00:28:09,020 and let the car run, 477 00:28:09,813 --> 00:28:10,647 I'd buy it. 478 00:28:11,398 --> 00:28:15,193 If she had shot herself, I'd buy it. 479 00:28:18,613 --> 00:28:21,700 I don't believe for one second that she walked into that lake. 480 00:28:24,828 --> 00:28:29,290 I can't see any way that you could go into two feet of calm water, in a bay, 481 00:28:29,374 --> 00:28:32,085 and somehow get out into the deep water with a current, 482 00:28:32,168 --> 00:28:35,755 and end up 30 miles downriver without somebody finding that body 483 00:28:35,839 --> 00:28:38,341 with all the divers they had out, the helicopters, 484 00:28:38,425 --> 00:28:40,009 and all the searching they did. 485 00:28:42,345 --> 00:28:45,014 [Michelle] Nobody thought, out of the investigators I hired, 486 00:28:45,098 --> 00:28:47,142 that she could've traveled 487 00:28:47,225 --> 00:28:49,978 from where the police were alleging she had entered 488 00:28:50,061 --> 00:28:53,022 to the vicinity in which she was found. 489 00:28:53,106 --> 00:28:55,817 The only other possibility is that she didn't enter 490 00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:58,653 at the location the police alleged that she had entered, 491 00:28:58,737 --> 00:29:01,281 that she had entered somewhere way further down, 492 00:29:01,364 --> 00:29:04,534 somewhere in Detroit, and that she was dumped. 493 00:29:05,410 --> 00:29:06,953 [boat engine chugging] 494 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,834 I'm just thinking if she struggled, 495 00:29:12,917 --> 00:29:15,462 if she was scared. 496 00:29:16,045 --> 00:29:19,382 You know, the moments before she entered the water, 497 00:29:20,216 --> 00:29:22,427 if she knew what was going on. 498 00:29:24,304 --> 00:29:26,806 And, you know, what her last thoughts were 499 00:29:26,890 --> 00:29:30,560 when she knew she was in danger and she wasn't gonna make it. 500 00:29:47,786 --> 00:29:52,499 [man] JoAnn Romain's body was recovered on March 20th, 2010. 501 00:29:53,750 --> 00:29:56,669 The body was in an advanced state of decomposition, 502 00:29:56,753 --> 00:29:59,631 such that we couldn't make a definitive determination 503 00:29:59,714 --> 00:30:00,965 as to the time of death. 504 00:30:01,883 --> 00:30:04,260 But the body may have been there for some time, 505 00:30:04,344 --> 00:30:07,806 as there was gray-brown algae and zebra mussels 506 00:30:07,889 --> 00:30:11,643 that were stuck to the legs and lower, uh, extremities. 507 00:30:12,644 --> 00:30:17,565 In my opinion, JoAnn Romain's death was caused by drowning. 508 00:30:18,358 --> 00:30:20,068 But it's certainly possible 509 00:30:20,151 --> 00:30:24,113 that she could have been dead prior to entering the water. 510 00:30:24,864 --> 00:30:27,283 The manner of her death was indeterminate, 511 00:30:27,367 --> 00:30:29,744 meaning that we can't differentiate 512 00:30:29,828 --> 00:30:33,540 between a homicide or a suicide or an accident. 513 00:30:35,208 --> 00:30:37,293 There may have been someone else involved 514 00:30:37,377 --> 00:30:39,879 or it may have been a self-inflicted drowning. 515 00:30:42,006 --> 00:30:45,844 There were two bruises to the left upper portion of the arm. 516 00:30:48,596 --> 00:30:51,266 The bruising on JoAnn Romain's upper arm 517 00:30:51,349 --> 00:30:54,185 certainly could've been the result of an assault 518 00:30:54,269 --> 00:30:57,355 or some kind of injury inflicted by another person. 519 00:30:58,147 --> 00:31:02,235 Or it could represent just two coincidental bruises to the arm. 520 00:31:02,777 --> 00:31:06,614 However, it would be my opinion that those bruises were antemortem 521 00:31:06,698 --> 00:31:08,324 or occurred before death. 522 00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:15,081 So, this was my mom's brand-new designer purse 523 00:31:15,164 --> 00:31:18,668 that she had purchased about six weeks before she disappeared. 524 00:31:18,751 --> 00:31:20,503 And this is the condition it was in 525 00:31:20,587 --> 00:31:23,464 when we got the purse back from the police. 526 00:31:23,548 --> 00:31:24,465 It's ripped. 527 00:31:25,633 --> 00:31:28,344 There's a big hole where the rip was. 528 00:31:28,428 --> 00:31:31,514 My mom always had her purse on her left shoulder. 529 00:31:32,265 --> 00:31:33,433 Like this. 530 00:31:33,516 --> 00:31:35,935 And she had contusions on her upper left arm, 531 00:31:36,019 --> 00:31:39,355 which is the same place that she carried her purse. 532 00:31:45,403 --> 00:31:49,908 So, that's just another piece of evidence that suggests she was grabbed. 533 00:31:49,991 --> 00:31:51,075 Her purse was ripped. 534 00:31:51,618 --> 00:31:53,745 To me, that is important evidence 535 00:31:53,828 --> 00:31:56,122 that there was a crime committed against her, 536 00:31:56,205 --> 00:31:57,832 that she did not commit suicide. 537 00:31:58,666 --> 00:32:01,461 [interviewer] You're aware that, uh, Ms. Romain's purse 538 00:32:01,544 --> 00:32:03,630 -was found in the car? -[Daniel] Yes, sir. 539 00:32:03,713 --> 00:32:05,924 -You're aware that it was torn? -Yes, sir. 540 00:32:06,007 --> 00:32:07,842 Why do you believe it's not evidence of a crime? 541 00:32:07,926 --> 00:32:09,427 Because of where the tear was. 542 00:32:09,510 --> 00:32:11,387 -Where was the tear? -Not on a strap. 543 00:32:11,554 --> 00:32:13,932 It didn't appear to come from physical struggle. 544 00:32:14,015 --> 00:32:15,892 -Okay. -There was no buckle torn free, 545 00:32:15,975 --> 00:32:17,810 there was no, uh, rivet torn. 546 00:32:17,894 --> 00:32:20,313 It came from a... by the flap area of the purse. 547 00:32:20,813 --> 00:32:22,899 [Michelle] They never fingerprinted the purse. 548 00:32:22,982 --> 00:32:25,401 They never got any DNA off of it. 549 00:32:25,485 --> 00:32:27,487 They never tested it for any DNA. 550 00:32:27,570 --> 00:32:29,739 And they just acted like, "Oh, no big deal. 551 00:32:29,822 --> 00:32:32,867 So, it's, you know, shredded and torn, it's not... 552 00:32:32,951 --> 00:32:36,162 That's just probably how it was." And just let it go like that. 553 00:32:38,206 --> 00:32:39,958 When they found my mom's body, 554 00:32:40,041 --> 00:32:43,670 her car keys were found zipped up in her coat pocket. 555 00:32:47,882 --> 00:32:51,177 Now, what bothers me about that is that everything was zipped up. 556 00:32:51,260 --> 00:32:52,971 Her coat pockets were zipped up, 557 00:32:53,513 --> 00:32:55,807 her jacket was zipped up to her chin. 558 00:32:56,349 --> 00:32:59,644 That didn't make sense because she never zipped up her jacket. 559 00:32:59,727 --> 00:33:01,437 Not something she would've done. 560 00:33:05,149 --> 00:33:07,026 There's two things that were missing, 561 00:33:07,110 --> 00:33:09,237 and it was her rosary and her cell phone. 562 00:33:09,779 --> 00:33:12,740 Both are things that she would've had in her coat pocket. 563 00:33:15,243 --> 00:33:19,747 When there's some type of crime committed, what's the thing you wanna get rid of? 564 00:33:19,831 --> 00:33:22,000 A cell phone, because you can track a phone. 565 00:33:23,376 --> 00:33:26,337 The other thing was that her shoes were intact. 566 00:33:27,714 --> 00:33:31,050 The police assert that she walked down an embankment 567 00:33:31,134 --> 00:33:33,678 over some concrete rods 568 00:33:33,761 --> 00:33:35,430 into some rocks, 569 00:33:35,513 --> 00:33:38,391 walked out a hundred yards to drown herself. 570 00:33:38,933 --> 00:33:41,811 Now, the entire bottom of the lake is rocky. 571 00:33:46,149 --> 00:33:48,609 Her clothes were intact, her shoes were still on. 572 00:33:49,110 --> 00:33:52,530 So, it didn't really seem that she had been traveling too far 573 00:33:52,613 --> 00:33:54,323 and gone through too much 574 00:33:54,407 --> 00:33:57,535 to have all of her clothes still on, her shoes still intact... 575 00:33:58,161 --> 00:34:01,456 you know, her jewelry still on, it's very odd. 576 00:34:02,457 --> 00:34:03,708 [keys jangle] 577 00:34:07,211 --> 00:34:08,296 [car door lock beeps] 578 00:34:14,260 --> 00:34:17,388 I believe that my mom was abducted while walking out of church. 579 00:34:17,472 --> 00:34:19,057 She was grabbed from the left side, 580 00:34:19,140 --> 00:34:21,976 where the bruises and contusions are on her arm, 581 00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:23,311 and her purse was ripped. 582 00:34:24,562 --> 00:34:25,855 Pushed into her own car, 583 00:34:25,938 --> 00:34:29,067 where the abductor then drove away, in her vehicle. 584 00:34:30,359 --> 00:34:33,654 [Scott] They took her somewhere along the Detroit River, 585 00:34:34,113 --> 00:34:36,199 rendered her unconscious or killed her, 586 00:34:36,866 --> 00:34:38,451 put her body in the water, 587 00:34:38,534 --> 00:34:40,745 drove the car back to the church, 588 00:34:40,828 --> 00:34:44,457 parked it in a spot where it would maybe get a little attention... 589 00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:47,001 and created the scene in the snow 590 00:34:47,085 --> 00:34:48,795 with the trampled footprints 591 00:34:48,878 --> 00:34:50,463 and the butt marks in the snow. 592 00:34:52,090 --> 00:34:55,468 Her car being moved from the location 593 00:34:55,551 --> 00:34:58,346 and back to the church indicates it was foul play. 594 00:34:59,097 --> 00:35:02,934 Whoever did this wanted it to look like a suicide. 595 00:35:03,017 --> 00:35:05,728 So, they left her purse on the seat of the car 596 00:35:05,812 --> 00:35:07,688 after they abducted her and took her. 597 00:35:08,856 --> 00:35:12,527 [interviewer] Did the fact that this Lexus was not in the parking lot, 598 00:35:12,610 --> 00:35:14,487 according to a number of witnesses... 599 00:35:15,738 --> 00:35:18,908 and then was in the parking lot later that evening, 600 00:35:18,991 --> 00:35:21,744 did that particular fact or that evidence... 601 00:35:22,495 --> 00:35:24,622 um, make you think one way or another 602 00:35:24,705 --> 00:35:28,334 about whether or not  this was an abduction, suicide, 603 00:35:28,459 --> 00:35:29,794 -something suspicious? -No. 604 00:35:33,047 --> 00:35:36,968 I believe that more than one person abducted my sister JoAnn. 605 00:35:37,051 --> 00:35:39,428 I think they took her to scare her. 606 00:35:39,971 --> 00:35:41,180 I really do think that. 607 00:35:41,973 --> 00:35:45,059 I don't think the intention was to kill her. 608 00:35:45,143 --> 00:35:47,812 If it wasn't a robbery, which it didn't appear to be, 609 00:35:47,895 --> 00:35:50,273 it could've been some sort of an issue 610 00:35:50,356 --> 00:35:52,108 between her and someone else, 611 00:35:52,191 --> 00:35:53,442 a family member, I mean, 612 00:35:53,526 --> 00:35:56,445 'cause most of the time it is family, but not all the time. 613 00:35:56,529 --> 00:35:57,905 Or someone that she knew, 614 00:35:58,281 --> 00:35:59,657 that knew she'd be there, 615 00:35:59,740 --> 00:36:02,827 may have been following her or just knew she was going there. 616 00:36:05,705 --> 00:36:08,624 [man] We definitely know enough that it was not a suicide, 617 00:36:08,708 --> 00:36:09,584 it was a murder. 618 00:36:10,710 --> 00:36:12,837 Once you sit back and reflect, you realize, 619 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:16,424 "Oh, wow, look... look at all these dots that do not connect." 620 00:36:21,637 --> 00:36:25,683 [Michelle] Initially, I told the police there was potentially several suspects. 621 00:36:26,559 --> 00:36:27,643 One was my father. 622 00:36:29,937 --> 00:36:33,065 My mom and my dad, they were married a long time, 25 years. 623 00:36:33,691 --> 00:36:36,360 Towards the end, the reason they separated 624 00:36:36,444 --> 00:36:38,946 was she just got to a point she was fed up 625 00:36:39,030 --> 00:36:41,908 and she just wanted to live, like, a peaceful, happy life 626 00:36:41,991 --> 00:36:46,120 instead of a toxic, you know, argumentative household. 627 00:36:46,871 --> 00:36:49,916 My dad was really angry that my mom left him. 628 00:36:51,083 --> 00:36:54,337 And so you... There's always that in the back of your mind, like, 629 00:36:54,420 --> 00:36:56,047 "Could he have done something?" 630 00:36:56,130 --> 00:36:59,217 But I wasn't really sure, but still put him on the list. 631 00:36:59,300 --> 00:37:02,136 I asked Michelle to contact David Romain 632 00:37:02,220 --> 00:37:03,971 for the purpose of an interview, 633 00:37:04,555 --> 00:37:07,016 and he declined, uh, to be interviewed. 634 00:37:07,558 --> 00:37:10,770 With my investigation, I didn't find anything that would indicate 635 00:37:10,853 --> 00:37:12,939 he had anything to do with her disappearance. 636 00:37:16,317 --> 00:37:21,656 I told the police my number two suspect is John Matouk, her brother. 637 00:37:22,365 --> 00:37:23,866 I don't think he did anything, 638 00:37:23,950 --> 00:37:26,786 but there could've been people out to get John, 639 00:37:26,869 --> 00:37:30,039 and it could've been a revenge on my mom because of him. 640 00:37:31,207 --> 00:37:34,001 John has an interesting past, 641 00:37:34,085 --> 00:37:37,171 a lot of business deals that hadn't gone right, 642 00:37:37,255 --> 00:37:41,050 and a lot of people that he allegedly owed money to. 643 00:37:41,676 --> 00:37:44,845 [Bill] There was rumors that John had a large amount of money 644 00:37:44,929 --> 00:37:46,681 that he owed to a number of people, 645 00:37:46,764 --> 00:37:50,142 and that this could be a plausible reason for JoAnn's disappearance. 646 00:37:50,226 --> 00:37:54,146 I did speak with him, he says he had nothing to do with it. 647 00:37:54,230 --> 00:37:57,984 And maybe he didn't, maybe it was someone that he was dealing with, 648 00:37:58,067 --> 00:38:00,069 he had some dealings with, I don't know. 649 00:38:04,156 --> 00:38:08,744 [Scott] I think it's entirely possible that John got in trouble with somebody, 650 00:38:09,287 --> 00:38:13,291 and everybody knew that he and JoAnn were very tight. 651 00:38:13,374 --> 00:38:16,711 And in some situations she bailed him out financially. 652 00:38:16,794 --> 00:38:19,714 So, I think if somebody wanted to get back at John Matouk 653 00:38:19,797 --> 00:38:21,132 or send a message to him, 654 00:38:21,674 --> 00:38:25,845 there would be no better way to do it than to kill his sister, 655 00:38:25,928 --> 00:38:28,431 probably the most important person to him. 656 00:38:32,184 --> 00:38:35,563 [John] Well, in 2009 and '10, I was struggling financially. 657 00:38:36,439 --> 00:38:40,401 When the real estate depression hit, it was awful for everybody 658 00:38:40,484 --> 00:38:42,653 that had any real estate liabilities at all. 659 00:38:43,404 --> 00:38:46,782 So, I owed a lot of money to certain people. 660 00:38:48,159 --> 00:38:50,870 It's possible that someone I had dealings with 661 00:38:50,953 --> 00:38:52,413 could have murdered JoAnn. 662 00:38:53,164 --> 00:38:54,665 I can't control that. 663 00:38:55,041 --> 00:38:55,958 [cue strikes ball] 664 00:38:56,042 --> 00:38:58,127 I'm sorry this happened, no matter what. 665 00:38:58,669 --> 00:39:00,671 I wish they would've done this to me. 666 00:39:05,384 --> 00:39:09,096 [Michelle] I told the police my number one suspect was a cousin 667 00:39:09,180 --> 00:39:10,389 that was a cop. 668 00:39:10,473 --> 00:39:11,849 His name was Tim Matouk. 669 00:39:11,932 --> 00:39:13,809 [interviewer] Give me your full name. 670 00:39:13,893 --> 00:39:16,020 Timothy James Matouk. 671 00:39:16,687 --> 00:39:19,231 [Michelle] Tim is a first cousin of my mom. 672 00:39:19,857 --> 00:39:24,111 There is an estranged relationship between Tim and my mom. 673 00:39:26,238 --> 00:39:28,616 We had a big family, a big loving family, 674 00:39:28,699 --> 00:39:32,411 but as soon as my grandma had passed in 1994, 675 00:39:32,495 --> 00:39:35,539 the family just started falling apart. 676 00:39:35,623 --> 00:39:37,583 There was a lawsuit between the siblings 677 00:39:37,666 --> 00:39:41,003 over family inheritance, which was pretty substantial. 678 00:39:41,087 --> 00:39:43,714 Money was supposed to be split five equal ways, 679 00:39:44,340 --> 00:39:46,509 and it was never distributed properly, 680 00:39:47,134 --> 00:39:49,387 and ever since that time, 681 00:39:49,804 --> 00:39:52,056 the family had never been the same. 682 00:39:52,139 --> 00:39:57,561 [interviewer] When was it you last spoke to JoAnn 683 00:39:57,686 --> 00:40:00,523 prior to discovering she was missing? 684 00:40:01,232 --> 00:40:04,485 It was sometime in October of 2009. 685 00:40:04,568 --> 00:40:08,239 [Michelle] Weeks before mom disappeared, Tim Matouk had called my mom 686 00:40:08,322 --> 00:40:11,075 and she got into an argument with him. 687 00:40:11,742 --> 00:40:14,245 And I don't know what he said to her exactly, 688 00:40:14,328 --> 00:40:16,163 but I remember her screaming at him, 689 00:40:16,247 --> 00:40:20,042 saying, "How did you get my number? Never call me again." 690 00:40:20,126 --> 00:40:23,129 I could hear him yelling, but I couldn't hear what he said, 691 00:40:23,212 --> 00:40:24,922 and I heard her say, 692 00:40:25,005 --> 00:40:27,591 "Leave me and my family alone. Never call me again." 693 00:40:28,384 --> 00:40:30,886 She hung up on him and, at that moment, 694 00:40:30,970 --> 00:40:34,432 she turned to me and said, "If something happens to me, look to Tim." 695 00:40:34,515 --> 00:40:37,351 [interviewer] Do you recall  the conversation you had with her? 696 00:40:37,435 --> 00:40:38,269 I do. 697 00:40:38,978 --> 00:40:41,605 My cousin Billy had called me and told me 698 00:40:41,689 --> 00:40:44,024 that JoAnn had just said to him 699 00:40:44,108 --> 00:40:47,736 that all of John's problems were because of me. 700 00:40:48,904 --> 00:40:50,322 So, I took exception to that 701 00:40:50,823 --> 00:40:53,451 and I called JoAnn's phone number. 702 00:40:53,534 --> 00:40:56,370 I asked her, I said,  "JoAnn, why would you tell people 703 00:40:56,454 --> 00:40:59,665 that I am the reason why John's got so many problems?" 704 00:41:00,207 --> 00:41:01,959 Her response to me was, 705 00:41:02,042 --> 00:41:03,961 "You're nothing but a big troublemaker. 706 00:41:04,044 --> 00:41:06,964 I don't even wanna talk to you." And she hung up the phone. 707 00:41:09,008 --> 00:41:11,510 Throughout all of my interviews, it became apparent 708 00:41:11,594 --> 00:41:15,389 that there was a lot of infighting going on, 709 00:41:15,473 --> 00:41:19,018 and a lot of... a lot of dislike amongst family members, 710 00:41:19,852 --> 00:41:22,897 which again makes it even harder and more difficult 711 00:41:22,980 --> 00:41:27,610 to try to get down to the root cause of JoAnn's disappearance 712 00:41:27,693 --> 00:41:29,111 and subsequent death. 713 00:41:29,195 --> 00:41:31,864 [interviewer] Did you attend the funeral service 714 00:41:31,947 --> 00:41:34,617 of JoAnn Matouk Romain, your cousin? 715 00:41:34,700 --> 00:41:35,659 No, I did not. 716 00:41:36,660 --> 00:41:40,581 Were you specifically asked to avoid that service? 717 00:41:40,664 --> 00:41:41,707 I was. 718 00:41:41,790 --> 00:41:45,294 Who specifically asked that you not attend 719 00:41:45,377 --> 00:41:48,088 and pay respects to your cousin? 720 00:41:48,756 --> 00:41:50,508 It came from John Matouk 721 00:41:50,591 --> 00:41:53,802 and just to avoid any controversy or conflict, 722 00:41:53,886 --> 00:41:56,472 we decided it was better that I don't... I don't go. 723 00:41:57,097 --> 00:42:02,520 It's my understanding that there was probably some personality clashes 724 00:42:02,603 --> 00:42:04,438 between Tim and John. 725 00:42:04,522 --> 00:42:07,816 I think Tim maybe harbored some bad feelings towards John. 726 00:42:07,900 --> 00:42:10,569 There's a lot of family dynamics that come into play 727 00:42:10,653 --> 00:42:12,279 and they feed off of each other. 728 00:42:12,363 --> 00:42:14,365 There was an issue between Tim and John. 729 00:42:14,448 --> 00:42:15,866 They were butting heads. 730 00:42:15,950 --> 00:42:18,702 Tim was always poking his nose into what John was doing. 731 00:42:18,786 --> 00:42:22,164 It's just been ugly between the two of them, 732 00:42:22,248 --> 00:42:23,499 and it always has. 733 00:42:24,208 --> 00:42:27,211 My mom was always kind of like a mentor to John. 734 00:42:27,294 --> 00:42:29,463 So, when John was having an issue, 735 00:42:29,547 --> 00:42:32,299 or especially this battle he had going on with Tim, 736 00:42:32,383 --> 00:42:35,052 I felt like my mom was trying to be, 737 00:42:35,135 --> 00:42:37,429 you know, the mediator, the peacekeeper 738 00:42:37,513 --> 00:42:40,099 of the drama that was going on. 739 00:42:42,017 --> 00:42:43,185 In the back of my mind, 740 00:42:43,269 --> 00:42:47,147 I just keep rehashing that conversation she had with me regarding... 741 00:42:48,607 --> 00:42:49,441 Tim. 742 00:42:49,858 --> 00:42:51,944 The conversation, and the fight on the phone. 743 00:42:52,319 --> 00:42:57,032 Even though I don't know what the content of the reason he's calling her is, 744 00:42:57,116 --> 00:43:01,036 but I do know that she has a fear of him and now she's gone. 745 00:43:02,288 --> 00:43:06,292 [interviewer] Did you, at any point in time, conspire with anyone 746 00:43:06,375 --> 00:43:08,794 to have JoAnn Matouk Romain murdered? 747 00:43:09,378 --> 00:43:10,546 No, I did not. 748 00:43:11,255 --> 00:43:14,216 [Bill] I did speak with, uh... Tim Matouk, 749 00:43:15,175 --> 00:43:18,470 and, uh... I found him to be credible. 750 00:43:18,554 --> 00:43:20,973 I didn't find anything that would indicate he had 751 00:43:21,056 --> 00:43:22,850 anything to do with her disappearance. 752 00:43:24,476 --> 00:43:27,104 [interviewer] Was there a time the department considered 753 00:43:27,187 --> 00:43:30,566 a crime may have been committed against Ms. Romain? 754 00:43:32,151 --> 00:43:32,985 No, sir. 755 00:43:33,861 --> 00:43:37,489 [interviewer] Do you have a belief as to how Ms. Romain died? 756 00:43:38,532 --> 00:43:41,327 My belief is, uh, she committed suicide. 757 00:43:41,410 --> 00:43:43,829 What I mean, not just that she committed suicide, 758 00:43:43,912 --> 00:43:44,830 how did she do it? 759 00:43:45,414 --> 00:43:47,082 By drowning, walked in the water. 760 00:43:48,500 --> 00:43:52,129 [interviewer] You think she walked into the water and just kept walking? 761 00:43:52,212 --> 00:43:54,923 [Daniel] I don't know. I believe she entered the water. 762 00:43:55,007 --> 00:43:58,135 How far she walked without falling or whatever, I don't know. 763 00:43:58,218 --> 00:43:59,511 We have no witnesses. 764 00:44:01,347 --> 00:44:04,016 Knowing the history of her youngest brother 765 00:44:04,099 --> 00:44:06,935 and the stress he may have brought into the relationship, 766 00:44:07,019 --> 00:44:10,648 knowing the history of the family divided between half the family 767 00:44:10,731 --> 00:44:12,608 against the other half of the family, 768 00:44:13,192 --> 00:44:16,236 these are all things that could lead a reasonable person, 769 00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:17,863 such as myself in this field, 770 00:44:17,946 --> 00:44:21,659 to believe these are major stressors that could... could lead to a suicide. 771 00:44:26,038 --> 00:44:27,456 [church bell rings] 772 00:44:28,374 --> 00:44:30,250 [Bill] In my years in law enforcement, 773 00:44:30,334 --> 00:44:33,253 we don't operate on theories, we operate on facts. 774 00:44:34,630 --> 00:44:38,175 All the facts that I've obtained through my interviews 775 00:44:38,258 --> 00:44:39,593 indicate to me that... 776 00:44:40,386 --> 00:44:41,595 I can't determine. 777 00:44:41,679 --> 00:44:44,014 I can't determine whether she took her own life 778 00:44:44,098 --> 00:44:47,643 or whether it was done through other criminal means. 779 00:45:18,006 --> 00:45:20,134 [Kellie] My mom was a very strong spirit. 780 00:45:20,217 --> 00:45:22,010 As much as we miss her every day, 781 00:45:22,553 --> 00:45:24,555 we still feel her around, a lot. 782 00:45:26,974 --> 00:45:30,144 So, I don't really feel like she's completely gone. 783 00:45:30,853 --> 00:45:32,438 If that makes any sense at all. 784 00:45:34,064 --> 00:45:37,276 [John] She gave me this rosary that I keep with me. 785 00:45:39,862 --> 00:45:41,989 She wanted me to, you know, have faith. 786 00:45:43,657 --> 00:45:45,033 I think about her often. 787 00:45:46,326 --> 00:45:48,328 I'm never gonna move on until... 788 00:45:49,079 --> 00:45:50,831 this gets exposed and solved, 789 00:45:51,373 --> 00:45:54,960 and we get justice for her, and we put certain people 790 00:45:55,043 --> 00:46:00,424 that I believe are responsible for the murder of my sister 791 00:46:00,507 --> 00:46:02,551 where they should be. Prison. 792 00:46:03,969 --> 00:46:07,181 [Michelle] The day that she disappeared, we lost everything. 793 00:46:07,806 --> 00:46:09,600 It's... empty. 794 00:46:10,309 --> 00:46:14,146 You don't have that love anymore, you don't have that light. 795 00:46:16,106 --> 00:46:17,691 I miss everything. 796 00:46:18,233 --> 00:46:21,153 But just, you know, that... that warmth and love 797 00:46:21,236 --> 00:46:23,906 and just comfort that she would give us, 798 00:46:24,448 --> 00:46:27,242 and, that's something you can never really get back. 799 00:46:33,457 --> 00:46:35,334 [suspenseful main theme playing]