1 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:08,500 -Oh, there's the captain. -Captain Jack. 2 00:00:08,830 --> 00:00:11,316 Narrator: Up next, everyone in town knew the local handyman. 3 00:00:11,350 --> 00:00:14,830 He was really tough, hardworking. 4 00:00:14,116 --> 00:00:15,283 Really look up to him. 5 00:00:15,316 --> 00:00:18,383 Narrator: His vicious murder makes no sense to anyone. 6 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,100 Somebody has to have an answer. 7 00:00:21,133 --> 00:00:23,200 The motive in this case was tragic. 8 00:00:23,233 --> 00:00:26,350 Narrator: A crime this violent creates evidence, 9 00:00:26,383 --> 00:00:28,333 and some of it can't be hidden. 10 00:00:28,366 --> 00:00:32,166 The jury wants to see things other than testimony. 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,830 They want to see forensics. 12 00:00:34,116 --> 00:00:38,330 Narrator: And those forensics point to a pillar of the community. 13 00:00:38,660 --> 00:00:39,166 People had been talking to him 14 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,233 about potentially running for governor. 15 00:00:41,266 --> 00:00:49,100 ♪♪ 16 00:00:49,133 --> 00:00:56,250 ♪♪ 17 00:00:56,283 --> 00:00:59,316 Narrator: The town of Derry is nestled in the southern part 18 00:00:59,350 --> 00:01:01,500 of New Hampshire, 19 00:01:01,830 --> 00:01:03,316 just across the border from Massachusetts. 20 00:01:03,350 --> 00:01:07,350 It's always been known as sort of a working-class town. 21 00:01:07,383 --> 00:01:10,283 You meet a lot of blue-collar, 22 00:01:10,316 --> 00:01:12,283 just really salt-of-the-earth people. 23 00:01:12,316 --> 00:01:17,133 Narrator: And "Salt of the earth" was how everyone described Jack Reid. 24 00:01:17,166 --> 00:01:21,500 The local handyman was a fixture around town, 25 00:01:21,830 --> 00:01:24,500 a larger-than-life father of five. 26 00:01:24,830 --> 00:01:27,216 Woman: Hi. There's Meggie and Dad. 27 00:01:27,250 --> 00:01:29,000 It was very difficult to find anyone 28 00:01:29,330 --> 00:01:31,133 who had any animosity towards Jack Reid. 29 00:01:31,166 --> 00:01:34,330 Woman: Here's Dad with his fishing gear. 30 00:01:34,660 --> 00:01:35,383 He's fishing already. 31 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:38,330 -Trying to catch a big striper. -Look at this. 32 00:01:38,660 --> 00:01:40,200 He loved fishing, he loved cars, 33 00:01:40,233 --> 00:01:42,333 he loved sports, things like that. 34 00:01:42,366 --> 00:01:45,333 Jack was just a hardworking, loving man, 35 00:01:45,366 --> 00:01:47,200 with his children especially. 36 00:01:47,233 --> 00:01:52,283 Narrator: When Jack didn't show up for a job in June of 2005, 37 00:01:52,316 --> 00:01:57,333 people who knew him immediately suspected something was wrong. 38 00:01:57,366 --> 00:02:01,316 His children put up flyers all over town. 39 00:02:01,350 --> 00:02:03,500 Days passed. 40 00:02:03,830 --> 00:02:05,366 I don't know, just everything just seemed off. 41 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:07,300 Filippone: I immediately called Jack's cellphone, 42 00:02:07,333 --> 00:02:10,316 and it went to voicemail, which I knew was not -- 43 00:02:10,350 --> 00:02:12,100 not a good sign. 44 00:02:12,133 --> 00:02:15,116 Narrator: About a week after Jack went missing, 45 00:02:15,150 --> 00:02:19,000 there was a potential break over the border in Massachusetts. 46 00:02:19,330 --> 00:02:20,316 They said they found Dad's truck, and I said, 47 00:02:20,350 --> 00:02:24,333 "Oh, they found him, right?" They said, "Just come up." 48 00:02:24,366 --> 00:02:29,160 And then when I got home, they both ran out and hugged me. 49 00:02:29,500 --> 00:02:30,316 My Nana was there. She hugged me, too. 50 00:02:30,350 --> 00:02:33,283 It was just -- it was really hard. 51 00:02:33,316 --> 00:02:36,216 Narrator: There was a body in the back of Jack's truck, 52 00:02:36,250 --> 00:02:39,316 and it had undergone a savage beating. 53 00:02:39,350 --> 00:02:42,183 The victim's head had been crushed. 54 00:02:42,216 --> 00:02:46,333 There was a hole in his chest the size of a baseball. 55 00:02:46,366 --> 00:02:50,660 This was a clear case of overkill. 56 00:02:50,100 --> 00:02:53,160 That's one of the things that prosecutors really focused on, 57 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:54,350 was that this was a personal thing. 58 00:02:54,383 --> 00:02:58,160 This was a deeply personal murder. 59 00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:00,183 Narrator: Dental records were needed to confirm 60 00:03:00,216 --> 00:03:03,660 the victim was Jack Reid. 61 00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:05,266 He was 57 years old. 62 00:03:05,300 --> 00:03:06,350 I was shocked. 63 00:03:06,383 --> 00:03:09,660 Just shocking. It felt like a movie. 64 00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:11,300 It was harsh. 65 00:03:11,333 --> 00:03:13,183 Filippone: Jack did not deserve that. 66 00:03:13,216 --> 00:03:14,333 Nobody deserves that, 67 00:03:14,366 --> 00:03:17,133 but it's just the way everything went down. 68 00:03:17,166 --> 00:03:19,216 My heart breaks for him. 69 00:03:19,250 --> 00:03:21,830 Narrator: Investigators looking for 70 00:03:21,116 --> 00:03:24,316 who did this faced problems straightaway. 71 00:03:24,350 --> 00:03:28,266 In a potential setback, this was what investigators 72 00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:31,166 call a secondary crime scene. 73 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,250 It was obvious to us that where we found his body 74 00:03:34,283 --> 00:03:36,660 was not the murder scene. 75 00:03:36,100 --> 00:03:39,366 Narrator: And no one had any idea where that was. 76 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,333 Still, there was a lot of potentially valuable evidence 77 00:03:44,366 --> 00:03:46,330 with the body. 78 00:03:46,660 --> 00:03:49,133 It was covered in thick plastic tarps 79 00:03:49,166 --> 00:03:53,500 and surrounded by rocks and broken tree branches. 80 00:03:53,830 --> 00:03:55,183 All that material that was inside the truck 81 00:03:55,216 --> 00:04:00,183 would be valuable to recover and potentially, down the road, 82 00:04:00,216 --> 00:04:03,383 identify where the crime scene actually occurred. 83 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,500 Narrator: But while analysts collected evidence, 84 00:04:07,830 --> 00:04:09,116 detectives and Jack Reid's family 85 00:04:09,150 --> 00:04:12,100 had one question they couldn't answer. 86 00:04:12,133 --> 00:04:16,250 "Who hated a humble handyman enough to beat him to death?" 87 00:04:16,283 --> 00:04:20,383 ♪♪ 88 00:04:23,216 --> 00:04:24,333 Narrator: The truck with Jack Reid's body 89 00:04:24,366 --> 00:04:26,300 was found in the parking lot 90 00:04:26,333 --> 00:04:30,333 of a busy shopping center 40 miles from his home. 91 00:04:30,366 --> 00:04:34,300 The center had an old video-surveillance system. 92 00:04:34,333 --> 00:04:37,333 We think that having videotape 93 00:04:37,366 --> 00:04:40,660 could be something really helpful. 94 00:04:40,100 --> 00:04:45,000 Narrator: The video showed Jack's truck being dropped off the last day 95 00:04:45,330 --> 00:04:46,200 he was seen alive. 96 00:04:46,233 --> 00:04:51,100 The surveillance from Target revealed Jack Reid's truck 97 00:04:51,133 --> 00:04:56,300 pulling into the parking lot, followed by a minivan. 98 00:04:56,333 --> 00:04:59,250 Two people got out of Jack's truck. 99 00:04:59,283 --> 00:05:03,183 Narrator: They then walked to the Toyota Sienna minivan 100 00:05:03,216 --> 00:05:06,266 and were driven away by the person behind the wheel. 101 00:05:06,300 --> 00:05:09,333 Was it possible to identify these men? 102 00:05:09,366 --> 00:05:14,160 Analysts isolated and scrubbed the images 103 00:05:14,500 --> 00:05:16,200 in an attempt to get better clarity. 104 00:05:16,233 --> 00:05:19,150 But the old tape system made it impossible. 105 00:05:19,183 --> 00:05:20,383 It left us very frustrated. 106 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,150 Narrator: Analysts now turned to the minivan in the video 107 00:05:24,183 --> 00:05:26,300 and faced the same problem. 108 00:05:26,333 --> 00:05:29,160 So they took a bold step. 109 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:31,160 Keefe: We sent the video to NASA 110 00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:34,150 to see what they could do to enhance the video 111 00:05:34,183 --> 00:05:37,366 to at least identify the license plate. 112 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,233 Narrator: But glaring sunlight in the image 113 00:05:40,266 --> 00:05:42,333 created too much distortion. 114 00:05:42,366 --> 00:05:45,830 Wilson: Just because of the way the sun was striking 115 00:05:45,116 --> 00:05:49,250 the license plate was completely unable to be seen, 116 00:05:49,283 --> 00:05:52,233 even with NASA working to enhance it. 117 00:05:52,266 --> 00:05:56,266 Narrator: Still, this was hardly a total setback. 118 00:05:56,300 --> 00:06:00,100 Investigators now knew there were at least three people 119 00:06:00,133 --> 00:06:03,216 connected in some way to Jack's murder, 120 00:06:03,250 --> 00:06:06,166 and one drove a distinctive vehicle. 121 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,233 It was a limited Sienna minivan, 122 00:06:09,266 --> 00:06:11,316 where there were fairly small numbers 123 00:06:11,350 --> 00:06:13,283 being sold in the United States. 124 00:06:13,316 --> 00:06:16,166 Narrator: In another piece of surveillance video, 125 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,830 police found an unexpected clue. 126 00:06:19,116 --> 00:06:23,183 Keefe: Jack's daughter is actually on video at Target 127 00:06:23,216 --> 00:06:25,266 while he's dead in the bed of his truck. 128 00:06:25,300 --> 00:06:28,100 Narrator: This was a week after the murder, 129 00:06:28,133 --> 00:06:33,150 and at this point, Jack Reid's body had not yet been found. 130 00:06:33,183 --> 00:06:36,316 When questioned right after her father went missing, 131 00:06:36,350 --> 00:06:39,233 Megan said the last time she saw him 132 00:06:39,266 --> 00:06:44,500 was the night of June 27th, but that was impossible. 133 00:06:44,830 --> 00:06:47,183 Her dad was deceased on the 27th. 134 00:06:47,216 --> 00:06:52,183 Narrator: In a mix-up that took precious time early in the investigation, 135 00:06:52,216 --> 00:06:55,283 this turned out to be an innocent mistake. 136 00:06:55,316 --> 00:07:00,316 Megan simply got her dates wrong and was ultimately alibied. 137 00:07:00,350 --> 00:07:03,283 The timing of her appearance at the shopping center 138 00:07:03,316 --> 00:07:06,250 was just an unfortunate coincidence. 139 00:07:06,283 --> 00:07:08,350 Megan felt terrible that they were thinking 140 00:07:08,383 --> 00:07:12,330 that she had been part of it. 141 00:07:12,660 --> 00:07:16,660 Narrator: Now detectives concentrated on their primary source 142 00:07:16,100 --> 00:07:19,330 of evidence -- Jack's truck, 143 00:07:19,660 --> 00:07:22,216 and in it, they found something that revealed 144 00:07:22,250 --> 00:07:27,000 lots of information about Jack's final days. 145 00:07:27,330 --> 00:07:30,300 Kimble: Jack Reid's logbook was in the cab of his truck. 146 00:07:30,333 --> 00:07:33,200 That logbook was used by Jack Reid 147 00:07:33,233 --> 00:07:35,200 to write down all of his jobs. 148 00:07:35,233 --> 00:07:40,000 Narrator: This logbook indicated that Jack's last known appointment, 149 00:07:40,330 --> 00:07:42,366 apparently with someone named Charlie, 150 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:47,266 was at a specific address in the New Hampshire town of Deerfield. 151 00:07:47,300 --> 00:07:54,160 This was a large house connected to an even larger horse barn. 152 00:07:54,500 --> 00:07:59,200 The owner, Mike Connors, said he didn't know Jack Reid 153 00:07:59,233 --> 00:08:02,333 and denied knowing anyone named Charlie. 154 00:08:02,366 --> 00:08:06,660 Detectives weren't sure what to make of this. 155 00:08:06,100 --> 00:08:09,200 They also weren't sure what to make of Mike Connors. 156 00:08:09,233 --> 00:08:12,150 Houle: He was probably the most nervous person 157 00:08:12,183 --> 00:08:14,166 I've ever interviewed in my life. 158 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,500 He was just shaking. 159 00:08:16,830 --> 00:08:18,333 For a person that had no involvement 160 00:08:18,366 --> 00:08:21,200 or a person that didn't know anything, 161 00:08:21,233 --> 00:08:24,300 there was no need for him to be as nervous as he was. 162 00:08:24,333 --> 00:08:29,366 Narrator: But being skittish around police is hardly proof of murder, 163 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,160 and Mike Connors had a clean police record. 164 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:36,266 He said detectives could look around the property, 165 00:08:36,300 --> 00:08:38,160 and they saw something -- 166 00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:40,150 some tree branches that looked familiar. 167 00:08:40,183 --> 00:08:44,500 Those branches were similar, if not the same, as the branches 168 00:08:44,830 --> 00:08:47,200 that covered the body of Jack Reid in his truck. 169 00:08:47,233 --> 00:08:49,316 Narrator: Police spoke to a landscaper 170 00:08:49,350 --> 00:08:51,266 who kept his truck on the property. 171 00:08:51,300 --> 00:08:54,200 The landscaper had told me that he was missing 172 00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:56,330 a large piece of plastic 173 00:08:56,660 --> 00:08:58,250 that was consistent with the plastic 174 00:08:58,283 --> 00:09:01,660 that was around the body of Jack Reid 175 00:09:01,100 --> 00:09:02,283 when he was discovered. 176 00:09:02,316 --> 00:09:04,283 Narrator: Could this be the plastic tarp 177 00:09:04,316 --> 00:09:08,660 that was used to wrap Jack Reid's body? 178 00:09:08,100 --> 00:09:11,266 At this point, it was impossible to say. 179 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:14,183 Detectives had plenty of suspicions, 180 00:09:14,216 --> 00:09:16,216 but little solid evidence. 181 00:09:16,250 --> 00:09:19,500 My cousin was a Boston police detective, and he said, 182 00:09:19,830 --> 00:09:20,316 "Ginny, someday somebody is going to talk. 183 00:09:20,350 --> 00:09:22,116 Somebody will have a loose mouth 184 00:09:22,150 --> 00:09:25,660 and they will give it up as to what happened to Jack." 185 00:09:25,100 --> 00:09:28,500 Narrator: And that prediction proved accurate. 186 00:09:28,830 --> 00:09:32,100 ♪♪ 187 00:09:35,100 --> 00:09:38,250 Narrator: As detectives tried to backtrack Jack Reid's activities 188 00:09:38,283 --> 00:09:41,100 in the days before his murder, 189 00:09:41,133 --> 00:09:43,200 they turned to his phone records. 190 00:09:43,233 --> 00:09:46,660 They saw a number of phone calls coming in 191 00:09:46,100 --> 00:09:49,250 from what turned out to be a throwaway cellphone. 192 00:09:49,283 --> 00:09:54,316 Narrator: These phones are sometimes referred to as "burner phones" 193 00:09:54,350 --> 00:09:58,660 because they are used and then discarded. 194 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:01,000 Burner phones are typically used 195 00:10:01,330 --> 00:10:03,216 when people don't want to be detected. 196 00:10:03,250 --> 00:10:05,100 You can purchase a burner phone 197 00:10:05,133 --> 00:10:08,830 under anybody's name, anybody's alias. 198 00:10:08,116 --> 00:10:12,166 Narrator: Records showed that in the days before his murder, 199 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:17,660 Jack Reid got several calls from this burner phone number. 200 00:10:17,100 --> 00:10:20,350 Police traced this number and found it was registered 201 00:10:20,383 --> 00:10:23,330 to a man named Charlie Was. 202 00:10:23,660 --> 00:10:26,830 I had never heard such a name before as a last name, 203 00:10:26,116 --> 00:10:28,283 but there are people out there named Charles Was, 204 00:10:28,316 --> 00:10:30,166 as odd as it sounds. 205 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,350 Narrator: Could Charlie Was be the same Charlie 206 00:10:33,383 --> 00:10:36,233 that Jack had written in his logbook -- 207 00:10:36,266 --> 00:10:40,366 the man he was supposed to meet at the New Hampshire horse barn 208 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,116 for his last appointment, 209 00:10:43,150 --> 00:10:46,216 or as is common with burner phones, 210 00:10:46,250 --> 00:10:50,100 was this name, "Charlie Was," an alias? 211 00:10:50,133 --> 00:10:52,300 When we pulled the records to that phone, 212 00:10:52,333 --> 00:10:54,660 the Charlie Was phone, 213 00:10:54,100 --> 00:10:56,350 all the calls were made to and from Jack Reid, 214 00:10:56,383 --> 00:10:59,100 and there was only one other call that came in, 215 00:10:59,133 --> 00:11:00,383 which became very important, 216 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:06,250 and that call came in from Jay Brooks' Londonderry Lake House. 217 00:11:06,283 --> 00:11:10,000 Narrator: Jay Brooks -- his full name was John -- 218 00:11:10,330 --> 00:11:12,333 was a well-known figure throughout New Hampshire. 219 00:11:12,366 --> 00:11:14,366 Spiner: John Brooks was incredibly wealthy. 220 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,330 He was worth tens of millions of dollars, 221 00:11:17,660 --> 00:11:19,300 upwards of potentially $50 million. 222 00:11:19,333 --> 00:11:22,330 Narrator: And John Brooks knew Jack Reid. 223 00:11:22,660 --> 00:11:26,333 Brooks moved from New Hampshire to Las Vegas in 2003 224 00:11:26,366 --> 00:11:29,830 and hired Jack Reid to help him. 225 00:11:29,116 --> 00:11:32,330 Keefe: John Brooks was going to become a real-estate developer. 226 00:11:32,660 --> 00:11:36,133 He had hired Jack Reid to pack up his entire home, 227 00:11:36,166 --> 00:11:39,266 all his personal property, into an 18-wheeler. 228 00:11:39,300 --> 00:11:42,200 Narrator: Was there more to this relationship? 229 00:11:42,233 --> 00:11:46,150 Could John Brooks have any motive to kill Jack Reid? 230 00:11:46,183 --> 00:11:52,330 A background check showed that he owned a gold Sienna minivan 231 00:11:52,660 --> 00:11:55,133 exactly like the one in the surveillance video 232 00:11:55,166 --> 00:11:57,333 recorded after Jack's murder. 233 00:11:57,366 --> 00:11:59,116 And the horse barn, 234 00:11:59,150 --> 00:12:03,116 the spot where Jack Reid had his last appointment? 235 00:12:03,150 --> 00:12:05,250 John Brooks had a longtime connection 236 00:12:05,283 --> 00:12:08,283 with the barn's owner, Mike Connors. 237 00:12:08,316 --> 00:12:11,300 Houle: Michael Connors was John Brooks' 238 00:12:11,333 --> 00:12:16,660 former chief financial officer of his company 239 00:12:16,100 --> 00:12:20,000 that he owned for many years in Londonderry, New Hampshire. 240 00:12:20,330 --> 00:12:22,316 Narrator: Enough clues were pointing to this barn 241 00:12:22,350 --> 00:12:24,200 for police to search it. 242 00:12:24,233 --> 00:12:28,660 But by this time, more than a year had passed 243 00:12:28,100 --> 00:12:30,183 since the murder. 244 00:12:30,216 --> 00:12:34,830 The first thing detectives noticed inside the barn 245 00:12:34,116 --> 00:12:39,266 was that it was very clean and some of the flooring was new. 246 00:12:39,300 --> 00:12:43,000 If the barn was the primary crime scene, 247 00:12:43,330 --> 00:12:45,350 the spot where Jack Reid was killed, 248 00:12:45,383 --> 00:12:49,100 there would have been a lot of blood to clean up. 249 00:12:49,133 --> 00:12:51,283 The interior was sprayed with Luminol. 250 00:12:51,316 --> 00:12:56,000 Houle: Luminol is an agent that illuminates blood. 251 00:12:56,330 --> 00:12:59,183 Blood can be sitting for months, years, 252 00:12:59,216 --> 00:13:03,233 several years, and still be detected by Luminol. 253 00:13:03,266 --> 00:13:07,000 Narrator: The cracks between the barn's floorboards 254 00:13:07,330 --> 00:13:11,660 began to glow and so did some spots on the ceiling. 255 00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:16,283 We were able to find significant amounts of blood in areas 256 00:13:16,316 --> 00:13:20,116 where blood had seeped through planks in the barn floor. 257 00:13:20,150 --> 00:13:23,100 Narrator: Samples of this blood were so diluted, 258 00:13:23,133 --> 00:13:27,000 investigators suspected the area had been bleached. 259 00:13:27,330 --> 00:13:30,166 The blood was sent out for DNA testing. 260 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:34,283 This looked like the spot where Jack was killed. 261 00:13:34,316 --> 00:13:38,150 But for now, it was impossible to say for sure. 262 00:13:38,183 --> 00:13:42,200 ♪♪ 263 00:13:45,166 --> 00:13:47,333 Narrator: Detectives investigating Jack Reid's murder soon 264 00:13:47,366 --> 00:13:52,830 discovered he had a contentious relationship with John Brooks. 265 00:13:52,116 --> 00:13:54,266 It all really goes back to the moving job. 266 00:13:54,300 --> 00:13:59,330 Narrator: Numerous sources said Brooks was convinced Jack Reid 267 00:13:59,660 --> 00:14:01,200 had stolen some of his belongings 268 00:14:01,233 --> 00:14:03,333 when he helped Brooks move from New Hampshire 269 00:14:03,366 --> 00:14:06,150 to Las Vegas in 2003. 270 00:14:06,183 --> 00:14:09,330 John Brooks became obsessed with this missing stuff. 271 00:14:09,660 --> 00:14:10,216 It consumed his life. 272 00:14:10,250 --> 00:14:13,166 Narrator: Though John Brooks lived in Las Vegas, 273 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,233 he was seen by numerous people in New Hampshire 274 00:14:17,266 --> 00:14:20,216 around the time of Jack Reid's murder. 275 00:14:20,250 --> 00:14:25,330 TSA records revealed that when Brooks flew to New Hampshire, 276 00:14:25,660 --> 00:14:28,330 he flew with two business associates. 277 00:14:28,660 --> 00:14:31,133 Detectives theorized these might be the men 278 00:14:31,166 --> 00:14:33,233 seen in the surveillance video 279 00:14:33,266 --> 00:14:35,366 recorded the day Jack Reid's truck 280 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,166 was left abandoned in Massachusetts. 281 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:43,216 That was our first lead on potential suspects. 282 00:14:45,830 --> 00:14:48,183 Narrator: When one of these suspects, Robin Knight, 283 00:14:48,216 --> 00:14:50,200 was confronted by police, 284 00:14:50,233 --> 00:14:53,283 he immediately told them the whole story. 285 00:14:53,316 --> 00:14:58,250 That was the first time we heard a version of what happened 286 00:14:58,283 --> 00:15:00,100 and why to Jack Reid. 287 00:15:08,266 --> 00:15:12,830 Narrator: Other co-conspirators quickly confessed 288 00:15:12,116 --> 00:15:14,250 and also pointed to John Brooks 289 00:15:14,283 --> 00:15:17,266 as the mastermind behind Jack Reid's murder. 290 00:15:17,300 --> 00:15:20,150 Jay was livid at the guy for stealing his property. 291 00:15:20,183 --> 00:15:23,316 I understood the plan was to murder Jack Reid. 292 00:15:23,350 --> 00:15:27,330 Man: He said, "Would you like to make $10,000?" 293 00:15:27,660 --> 00:15:28,166 Detective: What did you say? 294 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,000 I said, "Of course I'd like to make $10,000." 295 00:15:31,330 --> 00:15:34,300 Narrator: John Brooks denied any involvement in the murder, 296 00:15:34,333 --> 00:15:37,660 and police had no physical evidence 297 00:15:37,100 --> 00:15:40,283 tying him to the crime or the crime scene. 298 00:15:40,316 --> 00:15:44,316 Confessions, while valuable, weren't nearly enough. 299 00:15:44,350 --> 00:15:47,266 When you're dealing with cooperating co-defendants, 300 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:49,250 no matter how credible they are, 301 00:15:49,283 --> 00:15:52,383 juries want permission to believe them. 302 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,116 Scientific evidence gives jurors permission to believe 303 00:15:57,150 --> 00:16:01,100 somebody they might not otherwise like. 304 00:16:01,133 --> 00:16:05,216 Narrator: One suspect told detectives something they didn't know -- 305 00:16:05,250 --> 00:16:09,830 just before the murder, John Brooks mailed a package 306 00:16:09,116 --> 00:16:14,150 with some very unusual contents from Vegas to New Hampshire. 307 00:16:14,183 --> 00:16:16,383 They had decided that they would ship some items, 308 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,166 including things like a taser or handcuffs, 309 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:21,283 that they may be able to use 310 00:16:21,316 --> 00:16:25,830 during the course of confronting Jack Reid 311 00:16:25,116 --> 00:16:27,266 so that they could ultimately kill him. 312 00:16:27,300 --> 00:16:31,160 -And who went to the FedEx? -Jay and myself. 313 00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:35,283 Kimble: For the return label, John Brooks used a fake name. 314 00:16:35,316 --> 00:16:40,330 It was "Jay Brice," and it was an address 315 00:16:40,660 --> 00:16:43,166 for this fictional company in Las Vegas. 316 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,500 So, we filled out the shipping label. 317 00:16:47,830 --> 00:16:50,150 -Who filled out the label? -Jay did. 318 00:16:50,183 --> 00:16:51,316 Keefe: The address was handwritten. 319 00:16:51,350 --> 00:16:54,166 A handwriting analyst compared the writing 320 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:58,116 on the address portion of the package 321 00:16:58,150 --> 00:17:00,330 with Jay Brooks' handwriting. 322 00:17:00,660 --> 00:17:04,166 Narrator: That analysis proved who filled out the packing label. 323 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,133 Beyond a degree of scientific certainty, 324 00:17:07,166 --> 00:17:10,200 this was Jay Brooks' handwriting. 325 00:17:10,233 --> 00:17:14,000 Narrator: The blood from the horse barn finally came back 326 00:17:14,330 --> 00:17:17,133 with a match to Jack Reid's DNA. 327 00:17:17,166 --> 00:17:22,660 This, along with the Luminol evidence and the confessions, 328 00:17:22,100 --> 00:17:25,116 left no doubt about what happened, 329 00:17:25,150 --> 00:17:27,350 where it happened, and who did it. 330 00:17:27,383 --> 00:17:31,330 Wilson: Jurors can say, "Okay, these co-defendants, 331 00:17:31,660 --> 00:17:32,383 even though they cut a deal with the State, 332 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:34,150 they're telling me the truth." 333 00:17:34,183 --> 00:17:36,216 Narrator: Detectives believe John Brooks 334 00:17:36,250 --> 00:17:41,500 planned Jack Reid's murder for months, if not years. 335 00:17:41,830 --> 00:17:45,250 Brooks and his co-conspirators used a burner phone 336 00:17:45,283 --> 00:17:47,330 to make Jack think 337 00:17:47,660 --> 00:17:50,160 there was work for him at the isolated horse barn. 338 00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:54,266 Once inside, they subdued him and then beat him to death 339 00:17:54,300 --> 00:17:57,383 with a sledgehammer, which was never found. 340 00:17:58,160 --> 00:17:59,383 I come down with the hammer like this, 341 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,330 and I hit him on the side of the head. 342 00:18:03,660 --> 00:18:04,216 Detective: Again, how many times do you hit him? 343 00:18:04,250 --> 00:18:06,133 Three times, I think. 344 00:18:06,166 --> 00:18:11,133 Narrator: The final blow to Jack Reid was struck by John Brooks. 345 00:18:11,166 --> 00:18:14,266 I had said, "He's still -- he won't stop bleeding." 346 00:18:14,300 --> 00:18:19,500 Jay picked up the hammer, hit him at least two times. 347 00:18:19,830 --> 00:18:21,166 It stopped the heart, stopped the bleeding. 348 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:27,830 Narrator: In his zeal to kill Jack Reid, John Brooks made many mistakes. 349 00:18:27,116 --> 00:18:29,200 Driving a distinctive minivan 350 00:18:29,233 --> 00:18:32,830 to where the body was dumped was one. 351 00:18:32,116 --> 00:18:36,100 Putting his handwriting on the murder kit was another. 352 00:18:36,133 --> 00:18:40,316 Leaving blood behind at the crime scene, yet another. 353 00:18:40,350 --> 00:18:45,660 But detectives agree that what finally did him in 354 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:48,116 was his sloppy handling of the burner phone 355 00:18:48,150 --> 00:18:51,300 used to lure Jack Reid to the murder site. 356 00:18:51,333 --> 00:18:54,283 Without that phone call, there's a possibility that 357 00:18:54,316 --> 00:18:58,000 John Brooks would have never been arrested for this murder. 358 00:18:58,330 --> 00:19:02,500 Narrator: This was how John Brooks ultimately got exposed. 359 00:19:02,830 --> 00:19:06,150 Just days before the murder, he called the burner phone 360 00:19:06,183 --> 00:19:09,160 to make sure the voicemail worked. 361 00:19:09,500 --> 00:19:11,216 This was the same burner phone later 362 00:19:11,250 --> 00:19:17,160 used to lure Jack Reid to the horse barn where he was killed. 363 00:19:17,500 --> 00:19:20,283 When John Brooks called that number, phone records 364 00:19:20,316 --> 00:19:25,116 of those calls clearly linked him to the burner phone, 365 00:19:25,150 --> 00:19:30,000 to Jack Reid, and to the murder conspiracy. 366 00:19:30,330 --> 00:19:31,266 Spiner: It was less than one minute, 367 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:35,100 but police were able to track down all of the murderers 368 00:19:35,133 --> 00:19:37,166 based on that one single phone call. 369 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:42,183 Narrator: In the fall of 2008, John Brooks stood trial in New Hampshire's 370 00:19:42,216 --> 00:19:46,830 first death penalty case in 70 years. 371 00:19:46,116 --> 00:19:48,366 He was convicted of capital murder. 372 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,100 Wilson: Out of the 12 jurors, one juror decided 373 00:19:52,133 --> 00:19:57,100 to exercise mercy for Jay Brooks and not sentence him to death, 374 00:19:57,133 --> 00:19:59,166 and so he is serving a life sentence. 375 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:04,183 Narrator: The co-conspirators got sentences ranging from 15 years 376 00:20:04,216 --> 00:20:06,000 to life in prison. 377 00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:08,166 The barn owner, Mike Connors, 378 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,233 was cleared of any involvement in the murder. 379 00:20:11,266 --> 00:20:15,133 John Brooks was the mastermind behind this whole thing. 380 00:20:17,283 --> 00:20:20,116 Narrator: The residents of Derry, New Hampshire, 381 00:20:20,150 --> 00:20:23,300 still have trouble understanding this murder, 382 00:20:23,333 --> 00:20:26,300 and so do investigators who worked the case. 383 00:20:26,333 --> 00:20:32,330 A hardworking family man dead, a family torn apart, 384 00:20:32,660 --> 00:20:34,133 a slew of lives ruined, 385 00:20:34,166 --> 00:20:38,250 all to get revenge over a theft that never even happened. 386 00:20:38,283 --> 00:20:42,350 There was no evidence that Jack ever stole from John Brooks. 387 00:20:42,383 --> 00:20:45,266 Keefe: This case left us and many people wondering, 388 00:20:45,300 --> 00:20:47,500 "Why would a multi-millionaire 389 00:20:47,830 --> 00:20:49,316 who had the world at his fingertips 390 00:20:49,350 --> 00:20:51,200 kill someone like Jack Reid?" 391 00:20:51,233 --> 00:20:54,166 Spiner: I think the moral of the story is that, no matter 392 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:58,166 how long you plan a crime, how much money you spend on it, 393 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,000 even one single piece of evidence 394 00:21:01,330 --> 00:21:04,133 can land you in jail for the rest of your life.