1 00:00:05,366 --> 00:00:09,283 Narrator: Up next, she doesn't appear to have an enemy in the world. 2 00:00:09,316 --> 00:00:11,366 She loved people, people loved her, 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:13,283 and that's the way she always was. 4 00:00:13,316 --> 00:00:16,300 Narrator: But for someone, that love turned to hate. 5 00:00:16,333 --> 00:00:18,366 What a sick little bastard he is. 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,660 Narrator: A watery paradise becomes a watery grave. 7 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:25,233 You had to wonder if the person was actually thrown 8 00:00:25,266 --> 00:00:28,133 into the water alive in that condition. 9 00:00:28,166 --> 00:00:31,200 Narrator: But the water doesn't wash away everything. 10 00:00:31,233 --> 00:00:34,116 It's very difficult to carry out a crime like this 11 00:00:34,150 --> 00:00:36,300 without leaving behind some sort of evidence. 12 00:00:36,333 --> 00:00:44,383 ♪♪ 13 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:54,350 ♪♪ 14 00:00:54,383 --> 00:00:58,233 Narrator: The intercoastal waterway along Florida's East coast 15 00:00:58,266 --> 00:01:02,830 is a maze of rivers, lagoons, and barrier islands 16 00:01:02,116 --> 00:01:05,366 that once served as hiding places for pirates, gun runners, 17 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,830 and all sorts of people outside the law. 18 00:01:09,116 --> 00:01:12,150 These days, it's mostly a dream destination 19 00:01:12,183 --> 00:01:15,500 for outdoor enthusiasts. 20 00:01:15,830 --> 00:01:17,183 Harrell: Great surfing, fishing. 21 00:01:17,216 --> 00:01:18,383 Great place to live. 22 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:20,183 Schools. 23 00:01:20,216 --> 00:01:21,383 I live over there myself. 24 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,233 Small-town feel, beautiful place to live. 25 00:01:27,316 --> 00:01:31,350 Narrator: On July 23rd, 2000, a local judge noticed 26 00:01:31,383 --> 00:01:37,500 something unusual floating in a river close to his property. 27 00:01:37,830 --> 00:01:40,830 He thought it was a manatee, a freshwater mammal 28 00:01:40,116 --> 00:01:42,233 that can weigh up to half a ton. 29 00:01:42,266 --> 00:01:44,366 Barnett: It floated up in the river and was a pretty good distance 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,166 from his backyard, so he couldn't really tell 31 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,350 with any certainty what it was. 32 00:01:50,383 --> 00:01:53,133 Narrator: But this was no manatee. 33 00:01:53,166 --> 00:01:56,216 It was the body of a young woman. 34 00:01:56,250 --> 00:01:57,333 Harrell: It was a Sunday afternoon. 35 00:01:57,366 --> 00:01:59,333 I was the on-call agent that day, 36 00:01:59,366 --> 00:02:02,350 so everything happening death-wise, 37 00:02:02,383 --> 00:02:04,830 I was getting a call. 38 00:02:04,116 --> 00:02:06,160 This was my fourth call of the day 39 00:02:06,500 --> 00:02:07,316 to respond to a dead person. 40 00:02:07,350 --> 00:02:11,300 Narrator: The victim was unclothed, had nothing to identify her, 41 00:02:11,333 --> 00:02:14,216 and had apparently been in the water for days, 42 00:02:14,250 --> 00:02:16,350 which destroyed some evidence. 43 00:02:16,383 --> 00:02:19,830 There was no evidence of trauma. 44 00:02:19,116 --> 00:02:22,100 There's no gunshot wounds, no broken bones. 45 00:02:22,133 --> 00:02:25,250 Narrator: Whether she'd been raped or engaged in consensual sex 46 00:02:25,283 --> 00:02:28,350 before the murder was impossible to say. 47 00:02:28,383 --> 00:02:32,150 Decomposition was going to create trouble with evidence, 48 00:02:32,183 --> 00:02:35,000 but local police, who had some experience 49 00:02:35,330 --> 00:02:39,330 pulling bodies out of the water, were ready. 50 00:02:39,660 --> 00:02:40,283 Laufenberg: We had our dive team out there, 51 00:02:40,316 --> 00:02:44,660 and they they go down with a body bag into the water 52 00:02:44,100 --> 00:02:46,183 and put the body bag up around the body 53 00:02:46,216 --> 00:02:48,216 and pull it out to the water's edge, 54 00:02:48,250 --> 00:02:51,660 and that body bag is made to wick out the water. 55 00:02:51,100 --> 00:02:55,366 The water seeps out of the bag so that everything stays intact. 56 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,160 Narrator: The victim had been bound around the hands and feet. 57 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:01,133 The rope itself was a nylon-type rope 58 00:03:01,166 --> 00:03:05,330 that you would commonly see on sailboats or boating. 59 00:03:05,660 --> 00:03:07,300 It had a double-diamond pattern to it, 60 00:03:07,333 --> 00:03:09,366 and the ends were burnt 61 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,233 to apparently avoid fraying of the ends. 62 00:03:13,266 --> 00:03:16,200 Narrator: And the rope had some unusual knots -- 63 00:03:16,233 --> 00:03:18,150 what are known as cow hitches. 64 00:03:18,183 --> 00:03:21,233 These were knots that were done in a very specific way. 65 00:03:21,266 --> 00:03:23,330 That was a knot that's consistent 66 00:03:23,660 --> 00:03:25,660 with being in the Navy. 67 00:03:25,100 --> 00:03:29,133 Narrator: And there was something intertwined in this rope -- 68 00:03:29,166 --> 00:03:30,383 a strand of hair. 69 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:32,216 It was thicker and coarser 70 00:03:32,250 --> 00:03:35,233 than what a human hair normally is. 71 00:03:35,266 --> 00:03:37,250 Narrator: The victim also had duct tape 72 00:03:37,283 --> 00:03:39,283 wrapped around her eyes and neck. 73 00:03:39,316 --> 00:03:42,366 But it's white instead of the standard silver-gray color. 74 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,283 Usually, duct tape is gray or it's in some other colors now, 75 00:03:45,316 --> 00:03:49,660 but at that point time, white duct tape was very rare. 76 00:03:49,100 --> 00:03:51,183 Harrell: I wouldn't really think it was that, 77 00:03:51,216 --> 00:03:53,100 in itself, that big of a deal. 78 00:03:53,133 --> 00:03:55,350 Yeah, it later became part of a big deal, 79 00:03:55,383 --> 00:03:58,333 but at first it's just tape. 80 00:04:00,316 --> 00:04:03,000 Narrator: The killer clearly planned for his victim 81 00:04:03,330 --> 00:04:05,266 to sink to the bottom of the river. 82 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:09,250 He weighed the body down by filling shopping bags with rocks 83 00:04:09,283 --> 00:04:12,166 and tying them to the body. 84 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,150 But the bags were too flimsy. 85 00:04:14,183 --> 00:04:18,160 Laufenberg: The grocery bags had some distinctive markings on them. 86 00:04:18,500 --> 00:04:20,316 It had the design of a baby club on it. 87 00:04:20,350 --> 00:04:23,200 And it also had a set of numbers on it 88 00:04:23,233 --> 00:04:28,266 that was unique in of the fact that these numbers represented 89 00:04:28,300 --> 00:04:31,233 the person operating the machine when it was made. 90 00:04:31,266 --> 00:04:36,660 Narrator: The location of the body also revealed a potential clue. 91 00:04:36,100 --> 00:04:38,266 To find out how it ended up where it did, 92 00:04:38,300 --> 00:04:42,660 investigators did what's called a drift test. 93 00:04:42,100 --> 00:04:43,216 It's done with coconuts. 94 00:04:43,250 --> 00:04:46,150 You know, you throw a bag of coconuts overboard 95 00:04:46,183 --> 00:04:47,350 bound by a net -- 96 00:04:47,383 --> 00:04:49,250 the person's weight or whatever -- 97 00:04:49,283 --> 00:04:51,250 and it was a true test at the time. 98 00:04:51,283 --> 00:04:56,160 It floated right up to the area where the body was. 99 00:04:56,500 --> 00:05:00,383 Narrator: And where it was was one of the deepest parts of the river. 100 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,233 Local people called it the black hole. 101 00:05:04,266 --> 00:05:08,183 If you lived in this area for an extended period time 102 00:05:08,216 --> 00:05:10,266 and you were active on the water -- 103 00:05:10,300 --> 00:05:13,100 boating, fishing, anything like that -- 104 00:05:13,133 --> 00:05:15,216 you would be aware of the black hole area. 105 00:05:15,250 --> 00:05:18,316 Narrator: This indicated the body was dumped from a boat, 106 00:05:18,350 --> 00:05:21,216 not from a bridge or from the shore. 107 00:05:21,250 --> 00:05:24,160 The clues were starting to come together. 108 00:05:24,500 --> 00:05:27,350 The use of a boat, the unusual knots in the rope, 109 00:05:27,383 --> 00:05:29,350 the body in the black hole. 110 00:05:29,383 --> 00:05:32,350 Investigators knew something about their killer. 111 00:05:32,383 --> 00:05:37,330 The problem was that they knew nothing about their victim. 112 00:05:37,660 --> 00:05:43,283 ♪♪ 113 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:50,500 Narrator: Police were trying to identify 114 00:05:50,830 --> 00:05:51,166 the body of a young woman 115 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,100 who'd been found murdered in the water 116 00:05:53,133 --> 00:05:55,166 off Florida's Atlantic coast, 117 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,316 but she'd been in the water for so long, 118 00:05:57,350 --> 00:05:59,283 a lot of evidence was lost. 119 00:05:59,316 --> 00:06:02,000 The medical examiner couldn't even determine 120 00:06:02,330 --> 00:06:03,266 an official cause of death. 121 00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:06,166 We knew the manner of death being homicide, 122 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,116 but we didn't have an exact cause of death. 123 00:06:08,150 --> 00:06:12,660 So there's an assumption that she was drowned. 124 00:06:12,100 --> 00:06:14,283 Narrator: At the same time, a local family 125 00:06:14,316 --> 00:06:16,283 was looking for their daughter. 126 00:06:16,316 --> 00:06:18,150 Her name was Misty Morse. 127 00:06:18,183 --> 00:06:20,830 Morse: She was a carefree spirit, 128 00:06:20,116 --> 00:06:24,660 and she was also a friend magnet. 129 00:06:24,100 --> 00:06:26,160 Her mother and I always called her a friend magnet. 130 00:06:26,500 --> 00:06:29,183 Everywhere she went, she would instantly make friends. 131 00:06:29,216 --> 00:06:32,100 Narrator: On the night of July 19th, Misty, 132 00:06:32,133 --> 00:06:35,000 who had recently moved back in with her mother, 133 00:06:35,330 --> 00:06:37,250 said she was going out to meet some friends. 134 00:06:37,283 --> 00:06:39,216 Misty appeared to be going out. 135 00:06:39,250 --> 00:06:41,000 She was getting dressed. 136 00:06:41,330 --> 00:06:44,150 She wanted to know what mom thought of her outfit 137 00:06:44,183 --> 00:06:45,316 before she left. 138 00:06:45,350 --> 00:06:47,216 Narrator: When Misty didn't return home 139 00:06:47,250 --> 00:06:48,350 for a couple of days, 140 00:06:48,383 --> 00:06:51,150 her mother wasn't overly concerned. 141 00:06:51,183 --> 00:06:52,383 She's 22 years old. 142 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:54,350 It was not all that unusual for her 143 00:06:54,383 --> 00:06:58,000 to go spend the night with some friends or something, 144 00:06:58,330 --> 00:07:02,160 so her mom didn't think anything of it. 145 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:07,830 Narrator: But after four days passed, Misty's family grew worried. 146 00:07:07,116 --> 00:07:10,200 Across town, and unbeknownst to them, 147 00:07:10,233 --> 00:07:14,233 investigators were employing a rare forensic technique 148 00:07:14,266 --> 00:07:16,266 to identify their victim. 149 00:07:16,300 --> 00:07:21,330 It's called de-gloving, and it involves removing skin 150 00:07:21,660 --> 00:07:25,330 from the victim's hands while keeping the prints intact. 151 00:07:25,660 --> 00:07:29,233 They'd make an incision around the wrist of the individual 152 00:07:29,266 --> 00:07:34,100 and pull the entire outer layer of skin off of them, 153 00:07:34,133 --> 00:07:36,160 and it makes like a glove. 154 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:37,316 One of the forensic technicians 155 00:07:37,350 --> 00:07:40,116 then slide their hand into that skin 156 00:07:40,150 --> 00:07:43,100 and roll the fingerprints for us. 157 00:07:43,133 --> 00:07:46,000 Narrator: Amazingly, the de-gloving worked. 158 00:07:46,330 --> 00:07:50,160 The prints from the dead woman matched Misty Morse, 159 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:53,383 whose prints were on file after a misdemeanor arrest. 160 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,830 When police arrived with the tragic news, 161 00:07:57,116 --> 00:08:00,150 Misty's family already suspected the worst. 162 00:08:00,183 --> 00:08:03,150 Harrell: Linda Morse opened the door, and when she opened the door, 163 00:08:03,183 --> 00:08:08,183 she immediately looked at me and said something like, 164 00:08:08,216 --> 00:08:10,283 "It's her, isn't it?" 165 00:08:10,316 --> 00:08:14,350 I remember being dumbstruck. I just stood there almost numb. 166 00:08:14,383 --> 00:08:19,233 It's like I was in a fog or I was there, but I wasn't there. 167 00:08:19,266 --> 00:08:24,133 Narrator: Detectives' first question -- who would want Misty dead? 168 00:08:24,166 --> 00:08:26,200 The answer -- no one, 169 00:08:26,233 --> 00:08:30,660 at least no one her family and friends knew of. 170 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:31,183 I had no clue. 171 00:08:31,216 --> 00:08:33,330 I had absolutely zero clue. 172 00:08:33,660 --> 00:08:35,500 Narrator: Since the killer tied the body up 173 00:08:35,830 --> 00:08:37,216 and transported it to the river, 174 00:08:37,250 --> 00:08:41,166 he'd have had plenty of time and privacy. 175 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,250 I just believe that it was obviously 176 00:08:43,283 --> 00:08:45,830 somebody that knew her. 177 00:08:45,116 --> 00:08:48,333 It was somebody that was really familiar with the area. 178 00:08:48,366 --> 00:08:51,300 Narrator: And he almost surely had a dog. 179 00:08:51,333 --> 00:08:54,233 Test results had come back from the strand of hair 180 00:08:54,266 --> 00:08:56,660 found with Misty's body. 181 00:08:56,100 --> 00:08:58,216 That's a big deal we know. So there's a dog involved. 182 00:08:58,250 --> 00:09:02,500 And DNA -- I mean, that's the exciting thing about it, 183 00:09:02,830 --> 00:09:04,660 especially in 2000. 184 00:09:04,100 --> 00:09:05,250 You know, you got human DNA. 185 00:09:05,283 --> 00:09:07,183 You didn't have any dog DNA stuff 186 00:09:07,216 --> 00:09:10,166 going on at the time to speak of. 187 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,116 Narrator: And there was someone in Misty's life 188 00:09:12,150 --> 00:09:14,383 who had a dog and a possible motive. 189 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,150 His name was Brent Huck, and they dated off and on for years. 190 00:09:19,183 --> 00:09:21,160 Misty and I met for lunch, 191 00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:24,660 and she was telling me all about this new guy she just met, 192 00:09:24,100 --> 00:09:25,383 and he was good-looking, and he had money. 193 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,316 He came from a well-to-do family on Merritt Island. 194 00:09:28,350 --> 00:09:30,233 My understanding is that he received 195 00:09:30,266 --> 00:09:32,316 an allowance every month, 196 00:09:32,350 --> 00:09:35,333 so it wasn't as though he truly had to work. 197 00:09:35,366 --> 00:09:38,366 Narrator: Brent readily agreed to come to the sheriff's office 198 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:40,200 for an interview. 199 00:09:40,233 --> 00:09:42,116 There, he told detectives that 200 00:09:42,150 --> 00:09:45,660 although his relationship with Misty was over, 201 00:09:45,100 --> 00:09:47,660 they continued to see each other. 202 00:09:56,383 --> 00:09:58,383 Misty was a friend with benefits, 203 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,250 as I remember him saying. 204 00:10:01,283 --> 00:10:06,660 Narrator: But officially Brent and Misty were no longer dating. 205 00:10:06,100 --> 00:10:08,183 In fact, she had recently started 206 00:10:08,216 --> 00:10:10,316 seeing another young man. 207 00:10:10,350 --> 00:10:11,383 He's a tough guy. 208 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:14,316 He's known for being a tough guy, 209 00:10:14,350 --> 00:10:16,166 tatted up, that type of thing. 210 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:17,333 I expected the worst out of him, 211 00:10:17,366 --> 00:10:21,160 and I expected the guy just not to speak with me. 212 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:22,266 Narrator: But he did speak. 213 00:10:22,300 --> 00:10:25,300 And what he told police ultimately put them on the trail 214 00:10:25,333 --> 00:10:29,366 of another man with a clear motive to harm Misty Morse. 215 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:38,500 ♪♪ 216 00:10:42,166 --> 00:10:44,100 Narrator: A one-time boyfriend of Misty Morse 217 00:10:44,133 --> 00:10:48,830 emerged as a potential suspect in her murder. 218 00:10:48,116 --> 00:10:51,266 I went there, of course, hoping this was our guy. 219 00:10:51,300 --> 00:10:56,660 I'm working on this case and there was something there. 220 00:10:56,100 --> 00:10:59,100 Narrator: But this young man had none of the things investigators 221 00:10:59,133 --> 00:11:02,300 were looking for in the suspect, and he was cleared. 222 00:11:02,333 --> 00:11:04,166 He doesn't have a boat, 223 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,216 he doesn't have the boating experience, 224 00:11:06,250 --> 00:11:08,300 and he certainly doesn't have the dog. 225 00:11:08,333 --> 00:11:11,300 Narrator: But this one-time boyfriend did have a lead 226 00:11:11,333 --> 00:11:14,330 on another potential suspect, 227 00:11:14,660 --> 00:11:17,000 a man who showed a lot of interest in Misty 228 00:11:17,330 --> 00:11:21,216 and who police found was no stranger to the law. 229 00:11:23,830 --> 00:11:25,316 Harrell: Here's a guy that's got a felony arrest, 230 00:11:25,350 --> 00:11:28,000 sexual battery in his background, 231 00:11:28,330 --> 00:11:32,660 lives with his sister, no work, no gainful employment. 232 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:34,160 The guy's going nowhere. 233 00:11:34,500 --> 00:11:37,500 And this, I'm thinking, is our best suspect -- 234 00:11:37,830 --> 00:11:38,183 just a criminal. 235 00:11:38,216 --> 00:11:40,233 Narrator: His name was Teddy Underwood, 236 00:11:40,266 --> 00:11:43,166 an ex-convict with a violent past. 237 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:44,300 Harrell: This is the guy. 238 00:11:44,333 --> 00:11:46,150 He has the history, he has the look, 239 00:11:46,183 --> 00:11:47,383 he has the life -- 240 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:49,366 I mean, everything that you're looking for, 241 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,250 he is just checking off all the boxes. 242 00:11:52,283 --> 00:11:54,133 Narrator: Except for the boxes 243 00:11:54,166 --> 00:11:57,116 that in this case made all the difference. 244 00:11:57,150 --> 00:11:59,250 Teddy Underwood didn't have a boat, 245 00:11:59,283 --> 00:12:02,160 he was unfamiliar with the water, 246 00:12:02,500 --> 00:12:05,383 he didn't have a dog, he didn't even have a car, 247 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,830 and he was eliminated as a suspect. 248 00:12:09,116 --> 00:12:13,330 Whoever we're looking for has resources. 249 00:12:13,660 --> 00:12:16,383 Narrator: Which led investigators back to Brent Huck. 250 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,160 A background check showed Huck had no prior criminal record, 251 00:12:21,500 --> 00:12:25,250 but he had been in the Navy, and that didn't go so well. 252 00:12:25,283 --> 00:12:27,250 Harrell: He had problems in the Navy, 253 00:12:27,283 --> 00:12:29,233 attitude problems, was discharged. 254 00:12:29,266 --> 00:12:33,000 Narrator: Brent didn't advertise his discharge to friends. 255 00:12:33,330 --> 00:12:39,660 Instead, he bragged that he was a Navy SEAL, which was false. 256 00:12:39,100 --> 00:12:40,333 Brent had talked about being a Navy SEAL. 257 00:12:40,366 --> 00:12:42,266 I remember even on one of his vehicles, 258 00:12:42,300 --> 00:12:45,133 he had a little Navy SEAL sticker. 259 00:12:45,166 --> 00:12:46,283 But all his friends of his, 260 00:12:46,316 --> 00:12:48,150 they all thought he was a Navy SEAL. 261 00:12:48,183 --> 00:12:53,660 Well, Brent didn't even pass the swim test for the Navy. 262 00:12:53,100 --> 00:12:56,133 Narrator: And Brent had one of the key things investigators 263 00:12:56,166 --> 00:12:58,300 were looking for in a suspect. 264 00:12:58,333 --> 00:13:02,300 He was comfortable on the water and with boats. 265 00:13:02,333 --> 00:13:05,266 Barnett: He loved boats. He wanted to be a boat Captain. 266 00:13:05,300 --> 00:13:08,350 I think he had actually captained some boats 267 00:13:08,383 --> 00:13:10,200 back and forth from the Bahamas 268 00:13:10,233 --> 00:13:13,166 or from South Florida to this area. 269 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,200 And he was very comfortable being on the boat. 270 00:13:15,233 --> 00:13:18,383 Narrator: Brent appeared to be the only person with the resources 271 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:23,330 to perpetrate this particular crime. 272 00:13:23,660 --> 00:13:26,330 But was there evidence to prove it? 273 00:13:26,660 --> 00:13:28,150 Investigators went to Brent's house, 274 00:13:28,183 --> 00:13:30,166 which happened to be right on the river 275 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,316 where Misty's body was found. 276 00:13:32,350 --> 00:13:34,233 Harrell: His parents were away. 277 00:13:34,266 --> 00:13:36,316 They had other property in the Bahamas. 278 00:13:36,350 --> 00:13:41,830 He was the only occupant of the house at that time. 279 00:13:41,116 --> 00:13:44,100 He answers the door. This dog tries to rush out. 280 00:13:44,133 --> 00:13:49,283 Narrator: Brent and his dog were only too happy to welcome the police. 281 00:13:49,316 --> 00:13:53,160 Harrell: I'm standing there with my partner, watching this, 282 00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:55,100 and I remember looking at each other 283 00:13:55,133 --> 00:13:59,330 'cause we knew we were looking for at least someone with a dog, 284 00:13:59,660 --> 00:14:00,333 and bingo. 285 00:14:00,366 --> 00:14:03,250 Yeah, here's the clue number one. 286 00:14:03,283 --> 00:14:08,166 Narrator: And so began an extensive search for possible evidence, 287 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:09,350 starting with the dog. 288 00:14:09,383 --> 00:14:11,366 And believe me, I felt bad getting the standards 289 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,316 of that dog. 290 00:14:13,350 --> 00:14:16,166 I had to pull 50 hairs from the dog. 291 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:17,333 -Oh, gosh. -Yeah, I felt bad. 292 00:14:17,366 --> 00:14:19,383 -How'd he take it? -Oh, he was a champ. 293 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:21,166 -Oh. -He was a real good dog. 294 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,233 Narrator: What detectives wanted to know 295 00:14:23,266 --> 00:14:25,166 was whether anything in the house 296 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,233 could connect Brent to the crime scene. 297 00:14:28,266 --> 00:14:30,330 Brent was the kind of guy that thought 298 00:14:30,660 --> 00:14:32,150 that he was smarter than everybody else. 299 00:14:32,183 --> 00:14:34,133 Narrator: But he wasn't smart enough to realize 300 00:14:34,166 --> 00:14:36,316 what detectives were looking for, 301 00:14:36,350 --> 00:14:39,166 and he allowed them to search his house. 302 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,183 I went into Brent's bedroom, and on the dresser 303 00:14:42,216 --> 00:14:45,316 I found a crumpled-up piece of white duct tape. 304 00:14:45,350 --> 00:14:47,383 Harrell: A crime scene detective brings out 305 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,183 the crumpled-up piece of white duct tape, 306 00:14:50,216 --> 00:14:54,000 and Brent's, you know, jaw hits the floor. 307 00:14:54,330 --> 00:14:55,183 You wish he had that all on tape 308 00:14:55,216 --> 00:14:59,330 because you could never ask for it to be any better. 309 00:14:59,660 --> 00:15:01,233 The tape appeared to be identical to the tape 310 00:15:01,266 --> 00:15:04,166 found with Misty's body. 311 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:06,300 I started getting the feeling that we were 312 00:15:06,333 --> 00:15:09,383 really onto something in this residence. 313 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,100 Narrator: In the kitchen, investigators found a grocery bag 314 00:15:13,133 --> 00:15:15,250 that turned out to be identical to the ones 315 00:15:15,283 --> 00:15:18,330 used to weigh down Misty's body. 316 00:15:18,660 --> 00:15:21,133 It had the same number system stamped onto it, 317 00:15:21,166 --> 00:15:26,133 so we knew at that juncture that that bag was manufactured 318 00:15:26,166 --> 00:15:30,216 by the same person on the same lane on the same shift. 319 00:15:30,250 --> 00:15:33,333 Narrator: But none of this evidence was conclusive. 320 00:15:33,366 --> 00:15:36,250 Detectives needed something more 321 00:15:36,283 --> 00:15:39,333 and were looking to Brent's dog to provide it. 322 00:15:39,366 --> 00:15:46,183 ♪♪ 323 00:15:49,233 --> 00:15:51,266 Narrator: Brent Huck was emerging as the only suspect 324 00:15:51,300 --> 00:15:53,366 in the Misty Morse murder. 325 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:55,350 Police divers now search the river 326 00:15:55,383 --> 00:15:57,266 near the dock by his house. 327 00:15:57,300 --> 00:16:01,330 In the water, they found a piece of nylon rope 328 00:16:01,660 --> 00:16:03,330 that looked remarkably familiar. 329 00:16:03,660 --> 00:16:06,150 Laufenberg: That rope was a double-diamond pattern, 330 00:16:06,183 --> 00:16:09,150 nylon rope, similar in consistency 331 00:16:09,183 --> 00:16:13,000 to the rope we found on Misty Morse. 332 00:16:13,330 --> 00:16:17,216 Narrator: And knots in the rope were the same unusual cow hitch knots 333 00:16:17,250 --> 00:16:20,216 that had been used to bind Misty's hands and feet. 334 00:16:20,250 --> 00:16:23,350 People in the Navy, this is a knot that's taught to them 335 00:16:23,383 --> 00:16:26,116 as a routine part of their basic training. 336 00:16:26,150 --> 00:16:29,330 Narrator: But most damning was the DNA. 337 00:16:29,660 --> 00:16:32,366 Brent's dog was a German Shepherd Rottweiler mix. 338 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,166 The breed was consistent with the dog hair 339 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:37,133 found at the crime scene. 340 00:16:37,166 --> 00:16:42,233 And a mitochondrial DNA test indicated the hair from that dog 341 00:16:42,266 --> 00:16:46,333 was consistent with the hair found on Misty's body. 342 00:16:50,660 --> 00:16:53,116 The problem for Brent Huck was not that one single piece 343 00:16:53,150 --> 00:16:58,233 of evidence definitely tied him to the crime, because it didn't. 344 00:16:58,266 --> 00:17:03,830 His problem was the combination of all that evidence. 345 00:17:03,116 --> 00:17:05,660 The state proved the case on the strength 346 00:17:05,100 --> 00:17:06,233 of the forensic evidence. 347 00:17:06,266 --> 00:17:08,383 This wasn't just a circumstantial evidence case. 348 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:13,100 Now, a circumstantial evidence of guilt is evidence of guilt. 349 00:17:13,133 --> 00:17:18,330 Narrator: In October of 2002, Brent Huck was charged with kidnapping 350 00:17:18,660 --> 00:17:20,233 and first-degree murder. 351 00:17:20,266 --> 00:17:22,330 What was his motive? 352 00:17:22,660 --> 00:17:24,116 Oddly enough, he gave it up to police 353 00:17:24,150 --> 00:17:26,350 during his initial interrogation. 354 00:17:26,383 --> 00:17:30,233 He told investigators that the night Misty was last seen, 355 00:17:30,266 --> 00:17:32,133 he was at a bar with several friends 356 00:17:32,166 --> 00:17:34,216 when he heard a disturbing rumor. 357 00:17:39,216 --> 00:17:41,283 That presented a problem. 358 00:17:41,316 --> 00:17:43,316 Brent Huck had just gotten engaged 359 00:17:43,350 --> 00:17:46,500 to a woman from West Palm Beach. 360 00:17:46,830 --> 00:17:48,000 Harrell: She was a socialite, if you will, 361 00:17:48,330 --> 00:17:51,250 the same caliber of society that his mother, 362 00:17:51,283 --> 00:17:53,100 I think, was more used to. 363 00:17:53,133 --> 00:17:55,660 Narrator: Brent admitted he became angry 364 00:17:55,100 --> 00:17:58,166 and called Misty from the bar. 365 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,216 The prosecution argued that Brent was enraged 366 00:18:01,250 --> 00:18:03,383 that Misty's rumor of pregnancy -- 367 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,000 and it was just a rumor -- 368 00:18:06,330 --> 00:18:08,366 the autopsy showed she was not pregnant -- 369 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,116 would break up his engagement. 370 00:18:11,150 --> 00:18:14,333 In their first phone call on her final night, they argued. 371 00:18:14,366 --> 00:18:18,333 In the second call, Brent said they patched things up. 372 00:18:18,366 --> 00:18:21,216 Prosecutors believe he picked Misty up 373 00:18:21,250 --> 00:18:23,266 and brought her to his house. 374 00:18:23,300 --> 00:18:27,660 And once there, she was at his mercy. 375 00:18:27,100 --> 00:18:30,200 He overpowered her, bound her hands and feet, 376 00:18:30,233 --> 00:18:33,166 tying her with a distinctive cow hitch knot 377 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,350 and double-diamond rope. 378 00:18:35,383 --> 00:18:40,830 A single dog hair, later linked by DNA to his dog, 379 00:18:40,116 --> 00:18:42,233 was intertwined with that rope. 380 00:18:42,266 --> 00:18:45,366 He taped Misty's eyes and mouth shut with the unusual 381 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,100 white duct tape later found in his house, 382 00:18:49,133 --> 00:18:52,383 he weighed her body down with the same kind of plastic bags 383 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:55,150 also found in his house, 384 00:18:55,183 --> 00:18:58,830 then he threw her into the black hole, 385 00:18:58,116 --> 00:19:01,830 mistakenly thinking all evidence of his crime 386 00:19:01,116 --> 00:19:04,150 would sink to the bottom of the river. 387 00:19:04,183 --> 00:19:06,150 Barnett: I think that she was tossed overboard 388 00:19:06,183 --> 00:19:07,350 while she was still alive. 389 00:19:07,383 --> 00:19:10,283 What kind of evil person this must be. 390 00:19:10,316 --> 00:19:15,366 No remorse, no compassion for another person. 391 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,100 Harrell: He thought that he's getting rid of this problem, 392 00:19:18,133 --> 00:19:20,316 but it's so stupid. 393 00:19:20,350 --> 00:19:24,330 You think and look back at all these mistakes that he made. 394 00:19:24,660 --> 00:19:25,116 But you know what? 395 00:19:25,150 --> 00:19:27,330 The guy was drinking all the time. 396 00:19:27,660 --> 00:19:28,250 He's smoking pot, he's stupid. 397 00:19:28,283 --> 00:19:30,100 You know, he's just one of these guys -- 398 00:19:30,133 --> 00:19:35,300 he's just making himself dumber by his lifestyle. 399 00:19:35,333 --> 00:19:38,316 Narrator: Following a two-week trial, the jury deliberated 400 00:19:38,350 --> 00:19:44,300 just 3 1/2 hours before finding Brent Huck guilty. 401 00:19:44,333 --> 00:19:47,100 It was funny to me. I mean, the way he reacted -- 402 00:19:47,133 --> 00:19:49,330 he was stunned. 403 00:19:49,660 --> 00:19:53,166 His expression, he just literally went. 404 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,350 Like, "How dare you convict me? This isn't possible. 405 00:19:56,383 --> 00:20:00,100 My dream team is gonna get me off." 406 00:20:00,133 --> 00:20:02,660 Clearly not. 407 00:20:02,100 --> 00:20:08,133 He was as shocked or stunned as I was pleased and relieved. 408 00:20:08,166 --> 00:20:11,166 Narrator: In the end, it came down to this single dog hair 409 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:16,316 intertwined with the rope used to bind Misty's arms and legs. 410 00:20:16,350 --> 00:20:20,266 This was an ironic twist because Misty had given 411 00:20:20,300 --> 00:20:23,283 Brent the dog as a gift. 412 00:20:23,316 --> 00:20:27,166 She had a puppy, and she couldn't take the puppy 413 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:32,160 where she was moving, so he kept the dog -- Cheba. 414 00:20:32,500 --> 00:20:36,216 Narrator: The Morse family and investigators all agreed 415 00:20:36,250 --> 00:20:39,383 Brent's conviction might not have happened 416 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:41,383 if it weren't for the dog. 417 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:47,100 To have the dog hair be a significant portion 418 00:20:47,133 --> 00:20:53,166 of solving this crime for Misty and it having been her dog, 419 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,183 I just thought that was an amazing aspect to the case. 420 00:20:56,216 --> 00:20:58,316 That's a big part of what was used to convict him, 421 00:20:58,350 --> 00:21:01,000 in fact, was that dog hair. 422 00:21:01,330 --> 00:21:04,330 ♪♪