1 00:00:08,341 --> 00:00:10,210 - She was a celebrity realtor to the stars... 2 00:00:11,111 --> 00:00:14,014 - She sold apartments to Steven Spielberg, 3 00:00:14,047 --> 00:00:16,516 Bruce Willis, Bette Midler. 4 00:00:16,549 --> 00:00:17,417 [dramatic music] 5 00:00:17,450 --> 00:00:20,720 - Found dead in her luxury penthouse. 6 00:00:20,754 --> 00:00:22,622 - She was a fun-loving person. 7 00:00:22,655 --> 00:00:25,291 It's still kind of shocking and surreal. 8 00:00:25,325 --> 00:00:28,328 - She says that a male wearing all black 9 00:00:28,361 --> 00:00:30,296 enters the apartment. 10 00:00:30,330 --> 00:00:33,199 - It's catnip for the New York press. 11 00:00:33,233 --> 00:00:35,869 - Cases like this become a complete vacuum 12 00:00:35,902 --> 00:00:37,737 and suck up all the attention. 13 00:00:37,771 --> 00:00:39,372 - How could something so vicious 14 00:00:39,406 --> 00:00:41,608 happen in Manhattan's high society? 15 00:00:41,641 --> 00:00:44,210 - When I looked back at the video, 16 00:00:44,244 --> 00:00:48,448 I could see the taxicab pull up and drop her off. 17 00:00:48,481 --> 00:00:50,450 - Linda had a lot of enemies. 18 00:00:50,483 --> 00:00:53,353 Could anybody be angry enough to want to murder her? 19 00:00:53,386 --> 00:00:55,922 Well, the line forms on the left. 20 00:00:55,955 --> 00:01:03,063 * * 21 00:01:19,446 --> 00:01:21,748 - For the NYPD, the night before Halloween 22 00:01:21,781 --> 00:01:24,784 is always a night to expect the unexpected. 23 00:01:24,818 --> 00:01:30,123 And October 30, 2007, was no exception. 24 00:01:30,156 --> 00:01:32,359 Detectives get a call to a suspicious death 25 00:01:32,392 --> 00:01:35,695 at a 5th Avenue penthouse in Manhattan's Upper East Side, 26 00:01:35,729 --> 00:01:37,731 a neighborhood known for its world-renowned museums 27 00:01:37,764 --> 00:01:40,967 and luxury shops, not for foul play. 28 00:01:41,001 --> 00:01:43,737 Yet it's here that a member of New York's elite, 29 00:01:43,770 --> 00:01:47,640 62-year-old Linda Stein, is found in a pool of blood. 30 00:01:47,674 --> 00:01:50,310 This is one of our most vexing cases. 31 00:01:50,343 --> 00:01:53,279 Many A-listers and all of New York wanted answers. 32 00:01:53,313 --> 00:01:55,515 * * 33 00:01:55,548 --> 00:01:57,851 The mystery begins with a 911 call 34 00:01:57,884 --> 00:01:59,552 from a distraught daughter. 35 00:02:12,832 --> 00:02:17,671 * * 36 00:02:17,704 --> 00:02:21,541 - October 30th is the night before Halloween-- 37 00:02:21,574 --> 00:02:26,546 it would be crazy anywhere in a metropolitan setting-- 38 00:02:26,579 --> 00:02:30,216 when we got the call that there was a suspicious DOA 39 00:02:30,250 --> 00:02:31,584 in the 19th Precinct. 40 00:02:31,618 --> 00:02:33,586 * * 41 00:02:33,620 --> 00:02:37,424 The 19th Precinct is the Upper East Side, 42 00:02:37,457 --> 00:02:38,958 and it really is one of the richest 43 00:02:38,992 --> 00:02:41,094 zip codes in America. 44 00:02:41,094 --> 00:02:42,696 * * 45 00:02:42,729 --> 00:02:45,699 So anything that happens, it's a news case. 46 00:02:45,732 --> 00:02:47,467 [sirens wailing] 47 00:02:47,500 --> 00:02:49,102 - When, I pull up-- 48 00:02:49,102 --> 00:02:50,236 the folks in the media, 49 00:02:50,270 --> 00:02:51,738 they monitor the police frequency-- 50 00:02:51,771 --> 00:02:55,842 there's already a sizable crowd of news stations 51 00:02:55,875 --> 00:02:57,610 outside the building. 52 00:02:57,644 --> 00:03:00,547 - Detectives thread their way past news cameras 53 00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:02,248 and take the semiprivate elevator 54 00:03:02,282 --> 00:03:04,818 to the 18th-floor penthouse. 55 00:03:06,453 --> 00:03:10,623 - The apartment was nice, well maintained. 56 00:03:10,657 --> 00:03:12,859 There wasn't really any kind of upset 57 00:03:12,892 --> 00:03:15,295 in the apartment or mess. 58 00:03:15,328 --> 00:03:17,664 Nothing was in disarray or anything like that. 59 00:03:18,598 --> 00:03:20,333 - When we enter the apartment, 60 00:03:20,367 --> 00:03:22,936 the victim is laying on the floor. 61 00:03:22,969 --> 00:03:25,372 * * 62 00:03:25,405 --> 00:03:27,374 Had a hoodie pulled over her head. 63 00:03:27,407 --> 00:03:29,409 * * 64 00:03:29,442 --> 00:03:32,278 - I observed the female facedown, 65 00:03:32,312 --> 00:03:35,882 and there was a puddle of blood around her head. 66 00:03:35,915 --> 00:03:37,384 * * 67 00:03:37,417 --> 00:03:40,954 - There was no obvious weapon laying around, 68 00:03:40,987 --> 00:03:44,290 but there was holes in the back of the hoodie 69 00:03:44,324 --> 00:03:45,792 that the victim was wearing. 70 00:03:45,825 --> 00:03:51,264 * * 71 00:03:51,297 --> 00:03:52,866 - I got up close and looked in there. 72 00:03:52,899 --> 00:03:55,635 I says, "This is bad." 73 00:03:55,669 --> 00:03:59,472 You could see blood, brain matter 74 00:03:59,506 --> 00:04:02,842 underneath the actual hole itself. 75 00:04:02,876 --> 00:04:06,579 - She looked like she was badly beaten. 76 00:04:06,613 --> 00:04:10,116 It was just obvious that this was a homicide. 77 00:04:10,150 --> 00:04:12,786 * * 78 00:04:12,819 --> 00:04:15,488 - We also found that the front door was locked, 79 00:04:15,522 --> 00:04:18,091 the back door was unlocked. 80 00:04:19,059 --> 00:04:21,261 - Since there doesn't appear to be a break-in, 81 00:04:21,294 --> 00:04:23,730 detectives theorize that Linda might have known her killer 82 00:04:23,763 --> 00:04:26,366 and let them into her home. 83 00:04:26,399 --> 00:04:29,336 They dust the apartment and swab for DNA. 84 00:04:29,369 --> 00:04:30,670 - Medical examiner came. 85 00:04:30,704 --> 00:04:33,139 The body was eventually removed to the morgue. 86 00:04:33,173 --> 00:04:35,875 At that point, I have to interview the building staff, 87 00:04:35,909 --> 00:04:36,910 interview neighbors. 88 00:04:36,943 --> 00:04:39,145 Entire building has to be canvassed top to bottom. 89 00:04:39,179 --> 00:04:42,082 * * 90 00:04:42,082 --> 00:04:45,919 - And the first person detectives speak to is Mandy, 91 00:04:45,952 --> 00:04:48,688 the victim's daughter who called 911. 92 00:04:48,722 --> 00:04:50,156 That's when they start to realize 93 00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:52,592 exactly who Linda Stein was. 94 00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:54,394 - We did find out through Mandy 95 00:04:54,427 --> 00:04:57,797 that Elton John is her godfather. 96 00:04:57,831 --> 00:05:00,834 That's when I realized Linda Stein was a big deal. 97 00:05:00,867 --> 00:05:03,036 * * 98 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:05,939 - Linda Stein was the daughter of a kosher caterer 99 00:05:06,039 --> 00:05:09,042 from the Bronx, and she met Seymour Stein 100 00:05:09,075 --> 00:05:10,910 on a blind date, 101 00:05:10,944 --> 00:05:13,713 Seymour Stein who owned Sire Records. 102 00:05:13,747 --> 00:05:16,182 Sire Records signed Madonna and Talking Heads, 103 00:05:16,216 --> 00:05:18,518 and he was one of the big moguls 104 00:05:18,551 --> 00:05:21,388 of the rock and roll industry, and she married him, 105 00:05:21,421 --> 00:05:23,790 and suddenly she knew every rock and roll star 106 00:05:23,823 --> 00:05:24,858 in the business. 107 00:05:24,891 --> 00:05:26,926 * * 108 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,864 She was only five feet tall, but when she spoke, 109 00:05:30,897 --> 00:05:33,433 this big, booming voice came out of this woman, 110 00:05:33,466 --> 00:05:35,735 and if she was angry, that voice, 111 00:05:35,769 --> 00:05:37,570 you could hear it down the block, 112 00:05:37,604 --> 00:05:41,141 and she also had a vocabulary like a sailor. 113 00:05:41,174 --> 00:05:42,709 [upbeat dance music] 114 00:05:42,742 --> 00:05:45,078 - Linda Stein was a force of nature. 115 00:05:45,078 --> 00:05:46,413 [laughs] 116 00:05:46,446 --> 00:05:49,749 We met first in New York at Studio 54. 117 00:05:49,783 --> 00:05:52,118 She used to come there, and I worked there. 118 00:05:52,152 --> 00:05:54,954 * * 119 00:05:54,988 --> 00:05:58,458 - One night, she went to see the Ramones 120 00:05:58,491 --> 00:06:01,127 at CBGB, and she went to Seymour, 121 00:06:01,161 --> 00:06:03,063 and she said, "This is, you know, 122 00:06:03,096 --> 00:06:06,066 gonna be the biggest thing," and they signed, 123 00:06:06,099 --> 00:06:08,101 and she managed the Ramones. 124 00:06:08,134 --> 00:06:12,906 * * 125 00:06:12,939 --> 00:06:15,175 She had two beautiful daughters, 126 00:06:15,208 --> 00:06:16,643 Samantha and Mandy. 127 00:06:16,676 --> 00:06:18,778 Can you imagine being brought up in a household 128 00:06:18,812 --> 00:06:22,115 where the Ramones are in and out and so is Madonna 129 00:06:22,148 --> 00:06:23,249 and all these people 130 00:06:23,283 --> 00:06:26,052 and your father is this mogul 131 00:06:26,052 --> 00:06:29,422 who's worth hundreds of millions of dollars? 132 00:06:29,456 --> 00:06:31,791 [dramatic music] 133 00:06:31,825 --> 00:06:33,660 Those two girls, I'll never forget, 134 00:06:33,693 --> 00:06:36,196 their bedroom, they had so much graffiti 135 00:06:36,229 --> 00:06:37,664 on their bedroom walls. 136 00:06:37,697 --> 00:06:39,766 You could go there if you were a Ramone 137 00:06:39,799 --> 00:06:42,635 or if you were whoever-- you could go there 138 00:06:42,669 --> 00:06:44,704 and draw on the girls' bedroom walls, 139 00:06:44,738 --> 00:06:47,640 and that's how they grew up, you know, 140 00:06:47,674 --> 00:06:50,977 in a bedroom full of graffiti from superstars. 141 00:06:51,077 --> 00:06:54,814 * * 142 00:06:54,848 --> 00:06:58,618 - I spoke with Mandy Stein, the eldest daughter 143 00:06:58,651 --> 00:07:01,521 of the victim, and she was extremely emotional. 144 00:07:02,255 --> 00:07:04,391 She did start off by saying, "I don't live here. 145 00:07:04,424 --> 00:07:05,658 "This is my mother's house. 146 00:07:05,692 --> 00:07:07,794 I'm only staying here for a week or so." 147 00:07:07,827 --> 00:07:09,529 She was only gonna stay to Thanksgiving, 148 00:07:09,562 --> 00:07:11,297 and then she was gonna go back to LA, 149 00:07:11,331 --> 00:07:13,199 where she works as a TV producer. 150 00:07:13,233 --> 00:07:14,834 * * 151 00:07:14,868 --> 00:07:18,171 We got our person here that found the body, 152 00:07:18,204 --> 00:07:22,175 so she was going to be our primary suspect. 153 00:07:22,208 --> 00:07:25,478 * * 154 00:07:25,512 --> 00:07:27,881 We interview her. 155 00:07:27,914 --> 00:07:30,483 Where were you? What time did you come home? 156 00:07:31,618 --> 00:07:35,255 Well, she says she was on her way to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 157 00:07:35,288 --> 00:07:37,323 to meet with friends. 158 00:07:37,357 --> 00:07:40,727 Mandy did call for her mom in the afternoon. 159 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:42,929 - She called her mother, wanting to tell her mother 160 00:07:42,962 --> 00:07:44,531 that she wasn't gonna come home. 161 00:07:45,632 --> 00:07:47,934 - Natavia picked up the phone. 162 00:07:47,967 --> 00:07:50,970 She went on to describe that Natavia's a personal aide 163 00:07:51,071 --> 00:07:53,740 that her mother had hired a few months back. 164 00:07:55,075 --> 00:07:58,345 Natavia told her Linda was out running 165 00:07:58,378 --> 00:08:01,715 or she wasn't available at that moment. 166 00:08:01,748 --> 00:08:04,250 - She didn't get to speak to her at all. 167 00:08:04,284 --> 00:08:11,191 * * 168 00:08:11,224 --> 00:08:13,126 [elevator bell dings] 169 00:08:13,159 --> 00:08:15,528 Mandy comes home around 10:30, 170 00:08:15,562 --> 00:08:16,696 goes up the elevator. 171 00:08:16,730 --> 00:08:18,498 - The front elevator 172 00:08:18,531 --> 00:08:20,333 opens up right to the vestibule, 173 00:08:20,367 --> 00:08:22,736 and there's a door there. 174 00:08:22,769 --> 00:08:24,637 - She noticed that the door is locked. 175 00:08:24,671 --> 00:08:25,905 * * 176 00:08:25,939 --> 00:08:27,707 - Ms. Stein, she never locks it. 177 00:08:27,741 --> 00:08:30,210 Mandy found this to be strange. 178 00:08:31,745 --> 00:08:33,880 She started going through the drawer 179 00:08:33,913 --> 00:08:36,082 of, like, a desk that's in the vestibule 180 00:08:36,116 --> 00:08:38,051 'cause she knew her mother always kept a spare key. 181 00:08:41,621 --> 00:08:42,922 She opened up the door. 182 00:08:45,859 --> 00:08:47,527 - She went up to the bedroom, 183 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:49,129 didn't find her mother there. 184 00:08:49,162 --> 00:08:51,865 And she finally went to the living room, 185 00:08:51,898 --> 00:08:53,533 and that's when she saw her mother on the floor. 186 00:08:53,566 --> 00:09:00,707 * * 187 00:09:00,740 --> 00:09:04,811 - As it turns out, tracking all this stuff down, 188 00:09:04,844 --> 00:09:06,780 Mandy was where she was. 189 00:09:06,813 --> 00:09:10,216 She did come home when she said she came home. 190 00:09:10,250 --> 00:09:14,120 So Mandy was cleared as a suspect fairly quickly. 191 00:09:14,154 --> 00:09:17,590 - But Mandy does give detectives another lead. 192 00:09:17,624 --> 00:09:19,893 Linda moved in a high-stakes world 193 00:09:19,926 --> 00:09:22,328 with big money on the line. 194 00:09:22,362 --> 00:09:25,031 - We learned that Linda Stein was a real estate agent 195 00:09:25,031 --> 00:09:29,202 and she did a lot of sales to prominent people-- 196 00:09:29,235 --> 00:09:30,603 singers, stars. 197 00:09:30,637 --> 00:09:33,039 - In the late 1970s, 198 00:09:33,073 --> 00:09:36,276 Linda and Seymour's marriage ended in an amicable divorce. 199 00:09:36,309 --> 00:09:38,311 After her divorce, Linda parlayed 200 00:09:38,345 --> 00:09:41,314 her rock star connections and reinvented herself 201 00:09:41,348 --> 00:09:44,050 as a realtor to the stars. 202 00:09:44,050 --> 00:09:46,720 - In selling real estate, Linda became 203 00:09:46,753 --> 00:09:49,622 very, very well known in a lot of different 204 00:09:49,656 --> 00:09:51,391 social circles in the city. 205 00:09:51,424 --> 00:09:54,728 She marketed herself as the broker to the stars. 206 00:09:56,229 --> 00:09:59,299 It's amazing when you think of who she sold apartments to. 207 00:09:59,332 --> 00:10:01,835 Steven Spielberg, Bruce Willis, 208 00:10:01,868 --> 00:10:03,636 Billy Joel, Bette Midler. 209 00:10:03,670 --> 00:10:05,472 It just goes on and on and on. 210 00:10:05,505 --> 00:10:09,142 * * 211 00:10:09,175 --> 00:10:11,177 - 24 hours after Linda's death, 212 00:10:11,211 --> 00:10:14,481 the medical examiner reports back on the autopsy. 213 00:10:14,514 --> 00:10:17,484 - It was determined that Linda 214 00:10:17,517 --> 00:10:21,221 received around ten blows to the head. 215 00:10:21,254 --> 00:10:26,359 She had a broken spine, and her neck was fractured. 216 00:10:26,393 --> 00:10:30,797 She also received lacerations to the face and ear. 217 00:10:30,830 --> 00:10:32,966 - The medical examiner's report also reveals 218 00:10:32,999 --> 00:10:34,801 that, due to rigor setting in, 219 00:10:34,834 --> 00:10:37,003 Linda died sometime during the day. 220 00:10:38,872 --> 00:10:40,206 And it's an all-out media frenzy 221 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,375 wanting to know who murdered Linda Stein. 222 00:10:42,409 --> 00:10:44,210 * * 223 00:10:44,244 --> 00:10:46,312 - Being that it was a high-profile case, 224 00:10:46,346 --> 00:10:48,915 pressure was very, very, very tough. 225 00:10:48,948 --> 00:10:50,884 - I'm going to get a cup of coffee, 226 00:10:50,917 --> 00:10:53,186 and I got reporters chasing me up the street. 227 00:10:53,219 --> 00:10:56,856 People have an enormous appetite for news. 228 00:10:56,890 --> 00:10:58,525 It becomes a circus. 229 00:10:58,558 --> 00:10:59,793 * * 230 00:10:59,826 --> 00:11:01,194 - Coming up... 231 00:11:01,227 --> 00:11:02,662 - We're talking multimillion-dollar deals, 232 00:11:02,696 --> 00:11:04,431 so we're talking about a lot of money. 233 00:11:04,464 --> 00:11:06,166 - She asked me, "What would you think 234 00:11:06,199 --> 00:11:08,134 if someone was stealing from me?" 235 00:11:17,344 --> 00:11:19,979 [dramatic music] 236 00:11:20,246 --> 00:11:24,317 * * 237 00:11:24,351 --> 00:11:26,653 - It's been less than 24 hours since Linda Stein, 238 00:11:26,686 --> 00:11:28,588 real estate mogul to the stars, 239 00:11:28,621 --> 00:11:31,624 was discovered facedown in her penthouse apartment. 240 00:11:31,658 --> 00:11:33,426 * * 241 00:11:33,460 --> 00:11:36,096 Her death has just been classified a homicide, 242 00:11:36,096 --> 00:11:38,598 with New York City's press and famous faces 243 00:11:38,631 --> 00:11:42,102 putting extra pressure on the NYPD to find the killer. 244 00:11:42,102 --> 00:11:44,137 Detectives start at the beginning. 245 00:11:44,170 --> 00:11:47,374 * * 246 00:11:47,407 --> 00:11:49,309 - It's always a good starting point 247 00:11:49,342 --> 00:11:51,244 to talk to the last person that you know 248 00:11:51,277 --> 00:11:52,412 that was with the victim. 249 00:11:52,445 --> 00:11:53,847 * * 250 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,249 - And the last person to see Linda Stein alive 251 00:11:56,282 --> 00:11:58,785 is Linda's personal assistant Natavia. 252 00:11:58,818 --> 00:12:01,187 * * 253 00:12:01,221 --> 00:12:04,724 - Natavia was the first person to see her in the morning 254 00:12:04,758 --> 00:12:06,793 and the last person to see Linda. 255 00:12:06,826 --> 00:12:08,461 * * 256 00:12:08,495 --> 00:12:11,798 - Natavia Lowery, she was early to mid-20s, 257 00:12:11,831 --> 00:12:14,868 and she's been working directly with Ms. Stein 258 00:12:14,901 --> 00:12:17,170 for probably two months. 259 00:12:17,203 --> 00:12:20,273 - Natavia was a very friendly girl, 260 00:12:20,306 --> 00:12:22,075 very talkative. 261 00:12:22,108 --> 00:12:23,810 - I asked Natavia to just, like-- 262 00:12:23,843 --> 00:12:25,612 hey, can you just trace your day back? 263 00:12:25,645 --> 00:12:28,948 * * 264 00:12:28,982 --> 00:12:30,483 - Natavia told us that she walked 265 00:12:30,517 --> 00:12:33,453 to and from the office and Linda's apartment. 266 00:12:34,354 --> 00:12:38,758 She told us that Linda had some hand issues, 267 00:12:38,792 --> 00:12:41,628 that she wasn't able to always button something 268 00:12:41,661 --> 00:12:43,430 or zip something up. 269 00:12:44,931 --> 00:12:47,100 If Linda had to get ready or get dressed, 270 00:12:47,133 --> 00:12:49,836 she would help her button her clothes, 271 00:12:49,869 --> 00:12:53,473 curl her hair, help her put on her makeup. 272 00:12:53,506 --> 00:12:55,709 - Natavia said she wasn't there all that long. 273 00:12:55,742 --> 00:12:57,310 She just had to make up her hair. 274 00:12:57,344 --> 00:12:58,978 * * 275 00:12:59,012 --> 00:13:00,714 Linda was gonna leave the apartment 276 00:13:00,747 --> 00:13:03,850 and do her daily routine of exercise. 277 00:13:03,883 --> 00:13:06,453 So Natavia goes back to the office. 278 00:13:06,486 --> 00:13:08,955 * * 279 00:13:09,055 --> 00:13:11,791 - Natavia had gone to the apartment again 280 00:13:11,825 --> 00:13:15,495 to check on Mrs. Stein and give her some comps 281 00:13:15,528 --> 00:13:17,964 from the real estate office. 282 00:13:18,064 --> 00:13:20,166 - Natavia said Linda wasn't there. 283 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:21,167 * * 284 00:13:21,201 --> 00:13:23,870 So she left an envelope with the doorman. 285 00:13:23,903 --> 00:13:27,540 * * 286 00:13:27,574 --> 00:13:29,743 - Natavia tells detectives of a business meeting 287 00:13:29,776 --> 00:13:31,344 Linda had scheduled for that night 288 00:13:31,378 --> 00:13:33,413 as well as a social plan she was trying to make. 289 00:13:33,446 --> 00:13:36,182 * * 290 00:13:36,216 --> 00:13:39,085 - The date October 30th is my birthday, 291 00:13:39,119 --> 00:13:41,888 so, you know, we were gonna have a drink. 292 00:13:41,921 --> 00:13:43,323 * * 293 00:13:43,356 --> 00:13:46,659 I called her around 1:00 in the afternoon. 294 00:13:46,693 --> 00:13:49,095 [line trills] 295 00:13:49,095 --> 00:13:51,131 Natavia, who was her assistant, 296 00:13:51,164 --> 00:13:55,101 answered the phone, and she said no, 297 00:13:55,101 --> 00:13:57,170 she was out walking in the park. 298 00:13:57,203 --> 00:13:59,506 I said, "Okay, have Linda call me, 299 00:13:59,539 --> 00:14:00,573 you know, a little later." 300 00:14:00,607 --> 00:14:03,576 * * 301 00:14:03,610 --> 00:14:06,079 - Natavia makes one more round trip to the office 302 00:14:06,112 --> 00:14:07,814 and returns to Linda's apartment 303 00:14:07,847 --> 00:14:10,316 around 5:00 p.m. with more paperwork. 304 00:14:10,350 --> 00:14:12,118 * * 305 00:14:12,152 --> 00:14:14,187 - The door was locked. 306 00:14:14,220 --> 00:14:16,356 And she said, you know, that was kind of odd. 307 00:14:16,389 --> 00:14:19,959 So she left the items, like, on the table outside 308 00:14:20,060 --> 00:14:22,729 and went home after 5:00. 309 00:14:22,762 --> 00:14:24,431 * * 310 00:14:24,464 --> 00:14:27,167 - Natavia's helped police fill in some of the timeline. 311 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,402 They believe Linda was alive in the morning 312 00:14:29,436 --> 00:14:31,471 but aren't sure about the afternoon. 313 00:14:31,504 --> 00:14:33,973 - I don't hear anything from Linda. 314 00:14:34,074 --> 00:14:36,376 The next morning, I got a call around 8:00, 315 00:14:36,409 --> 00:14:40,613 8:30 in the morning from Linda's two daughters. 316 00:14:40,647 --> 00:14:43,316 Mandy said to me, 317 00:14:43,350 --> 00:14:44,851 "Mommy's dead." 318 00:14:44,884 --> 00:14:47,287 I'm like, "What?" 319 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,089 * * 320 00:14:49,089 --> 00:14:51,891 And I could hear Samantha crying in the background. 321 00:14:51,925 --> 00:14:53,626 * * 322 00:14:53,660 --> 00:14:55,929 - Richard Johnson, who was the editor of "Page Six," 323 00:14:55,962 --> 00:14:57,931 called me and said, 324 00:14:57,964 --> 00:14:59,632 "I've got really bad news for you. 325 00:14:59,666 --> 00:15:02,602 You know, Linda Stein is dead." 326 00:15:02,635 --> 00:15:04,771 I couldn't believe it. 327 00:15:04,804 --> 00:15:06,940 And then when he said murdered... 328 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:09,242 what--I-- [sighs] 329 00:15:09,275 --> 00:15:12,645 It's just too fantastic, too impossible. 330 00:15:12,679 --> 00:15:14,647 My poor Linda. 331 00:15:14,681 --> 00:15:21,855 * * 332 00:15:23,690 --> 00:15:26,493 - Having a clear picture of Linda's last day, 333 00:15:26,526 --> 00:15:28,395 detectives move on to interview her colleagues 334 00:15:28,428 --> 00:15:31,264 at the office, and they're surprised to learn 335 00:15:31,297 --> 00:15:34,300 Linda did not make friends everywhere she went. 336 00:15:34,334 --> 00:15:38,138 - Linda had a lot of pull at Douglas Elliman. 337 00:15:38,171 --> 00:15:41,341 She was their only independent realtor. 338 00:15:41,374 --> 00:15:44,144 She would take 70% of the profit. 339 00:15:46,112 --> 00:15:48,248 We're talking multimillion-dollar deals, 340 00:15:48,281 --> 00:15:50,250 so we're talking about a lot of money. 341 00:15:51,918 --> 00:15:54,454 - With all that money at stake, detectives wonder 342 00:15:54,487 --> 00:15:57,524 if any of Linda's coworkers could have been jealous, 343 00:15:57,557 --> 00:15:59,893 mistreated, or vengeful. 344 00:15:59,926 --> 00:16:02,495 * * 345 00:16:02,529 --> 00:16:04,330 Detectives learn of a man who worked 346 00:16:04,364 --> 00:16:06,666 and was romantically involved with Linda 347 00:16:06,700 --> 00:16:08,668 when things ended badly. 348 00:16:08,702 --> 00:16:12,205 - He was a man from the real estate agency. 349 00:16:12,238 --> 00:16:14,641 I think she was trying to get him fired, 350 00:16:14,674 --> 00:16:17,510 and everybody, you know, said, "This must be the guy." 351 00:16:17,544 --> 00:16:22,115 - Raul Garcia, his name came up through a number of people. 352 00:16:22,148 --> 00:16:23,950 Longtime associate 353 00:16:24,050 --> 00:16:26,553 and Linda Stein's old boyfriend. 354 00:16:26,586 --> 00:16:29,255 He goes, "Two years earlier, she wanted me to drop 355 00:16:29,289 --> 00:16:31,725 "everything I'm doing right then and there 356 00:16:31,758 --> 00:16:36,062 for the sake of pushing up a closing on an apartment." 357 00:16:36,062 --> 00:16:38,298 He said, "No, I'm already involved 358 00:16:38,331 --> 00:16:40,066 with things I'm doing today, so I can't do it." 359 00:16:40,066 --> 00:16:41,634 I'll do it tomorrow. 360 00:16:41,668 --> 00:16:43,536 Next thing you know, he finds out he's out of a job. 361 00:16:45,138 --> 00:16:46,740 He realizes, like, "Wow, I can see 362 00:16:46,773 --> 00:16:48,875 where I could be a suspect." 363 00:16:49,476 --> 00:16:51,077 But this was, like, a year earlier 364 00:16:51,077 --> 00:16:52,078 or two years earlier. 365 00:16:52,078 --> 00:16:54,214 It wasn't like it just happened two weeks ago. 366 00:16:54,247 --> 00:16:56,383 - But detectives find no evidence 367 00:16:56,416 --> 00:16:58,885 to tie Raul Garcia to the scene of the crime, 368 00:16:58,918 --> 00:17:01,187 and his alibi checks out. 369 00:17:01,221 --> 00:17:03,690 But then, just as detectives are about to start 370 00:17:03,723 --> 00:17:05,025 a new round of interviews, 371 00:17:05,025 --> 00:17:09,496 the manager of Linda's building reveals a game-changing lead. 372 00:17:09,529 --> 00:17:11,097 * * 373 00:17:11,131 --> 00:17:13,566 - Ed McQuaid had already been a friend of mine 374 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,403 probably close to 20 years at that point, 375 00:17:16,436 --> 00:17:20,273 and Ed--very quiet, laid-back guy-- 376 00:17:20,306 --> 00:17:23,476 says, "I just put a video system in the building." 377 00:17:23,510 --> 00:17:28,648 * * 378 00:17:28,682 --> 00:17:30,917 - I had just installed this new system 379 00:17:30,950 --> 00:17:32,619 about six weeks earlier. 380 00:17:32,652 --> 00:17:35,221 All the recordings were crystal clear. 381 00:17:35,255 --> 00:17:37,390 Could make out the features 382 00:17:37,424 --> 00:17:39,659 on everybody coming and going in the building. 383 00:17:41,227 --> 00:17:42,562 - A small team of detectives take shifts 384 00:17:42,595 --> 00:17:44,798 combing through the footage from the day of the murder, 385 00:17:44,831 --> 00:17:46,933 when there were construction workers working 386 00:17:46,966 --> 00:17:48,368 throughout the building. 387 00:17:48,401 --> 00:17:51,237 - We were renovating the lobby at the time, 388 00:17:51,271 --> 00:17:53,506 but we also had some waterproofing going on 389 00:17:53,540 --> 00:17:55,308 up in the roof. 390 00:17:55,342 --> 00:17:58,945 Probably 15 to 20 people working up there 391 00:17:58,978 --> 00:18:00,880 on any given day. 392 00:18:01,815 --> 00:18:05,685 - Are we missing something? If we are, what are we missing? 393 00:18:05,719 --> 00:18:10,323 - Normally, we would shut down jobs in the building at 4:00, 394 00:18:10,357 --> 00:18:14,694 and a couple of days before she was murdered, 395 00:18:14,728 --> 00:18:17,163 I had given the tile man permission 396 00:18:17,197 --> 00:18:20,166 to stay back a couple of hours. 397 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:25,805 Linda came in, and it was probably around 5:30, 6:00. 398 00:18:25,839 --> 00:18:27,207 The guy was still there. 399 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,843 He was still working, and she was very annoyed 400 00:18:29,876 --> 00:18:33,613 that the construction worker was still working after 4:00. 401 00:18:34,881 --> 00:18:39,052 - Linda could get very angry over small things. 402 00:18:39,085 --> 00:18:41,354 - Just a year earlier, there was a homicide 403 00:18:41,388 --> 00:18:43,723 in downtown Manhattan where a victim was killed 404 00:18:43,757 --> 00:18:46,192 in her building by a construction worker. 405 00:18:46,226 --> 00:18:48,595 Could Linda have met the same fate? 406 00:18:48,628 --> 00:18:50,864 * * 407 00:18:50,897 --> 00:18:53,133 - Linda didn't like the noise going on, 408 00:18:53,166 --> 00:18:55,869 and there was all kinds of equipment 409 00:18:55,902 --> 00:18:59,806 and tarps laid out, and she started cursing at them. 410 00:18:59,839 --> 00:19:02,008 - Could one of the workers have had enough 411 00:19:02,042 --> 00:19:04,077 of Linda's temper and snapped? 412 00:19:04,110 --> 00:19:05,879 * * 413 00:19:05,912 --> 00:19:07,580 - That's gonna raise a flag. 414 00:19:07,614 --> 00:19:10,116 - We realized that there was some motive. 415 00:19:10,150 --> 00:19:12,185 It's what we call a clue. 416 00:19:12,218 --> 00:19:13,353 - Coming up... 417 00:19:13,386 --> 00:19:17,691 - I just felt like that video was going to have a tell. 418 00:19:18,525 --> 00:19:20,126 - "I don't know what had happened. 419 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,828 I woke up, and she was on the ground." 420 00:19:31,403 --> 00:19:33,806 [dramatic music] 421 00:19:34,073 --> 00:19:39,778 * * 422 00:19:39,812 --> 00:19:41,780 - Digging into the murder of Linda Stein, 423 00:19:41,814 --> 00:19:44,516 realtor to New York City's elite, 424 00:19:44,550 --> 00:19:47,419 our guys looked deeper into how her combative personality 425 00:19:47,453 --> 00:19:49,054 may have clashed with construction workers 426 00:19:49,088 --> 00:19:51,557 in the building. 427 00:19:51,590 --> 00:19:53,425 But could her confrontational behavior 428 00:19:53,459 --> 00:19:55,728 have led to her murder? 429 00:19:55,761 --> 00:19:58,497 - Linda didn't like the noise going on up above 430 00:19:58,530 --> 00:20:01,333 and the people trashing through the steps. 431 00:20:01,367 --> 00:20:04,236 She didn't want them coming by the vestibule, 432 00:20:04,269 --> 00:20:06,405 running down the steps with equipment. 433 00:20:06,438 --> 00:20:08,240 She felt it was an annoyance, 434 00:20:08,273 --> 00:20:10,075 and she started cursing at them. 435 00:20:10,109 --> 00:20:14,913 * * 436 00:20:14,947 --> 00:20:16,882 - Detectives quickly begin tracking down 437 00:20:16,915 --> 00:20:18,584 all the workers in the building that day. 438 00:20:18,617 --> 00:20:20,786 - Through the course of the next couple days, 439 00:20:20,819 --> 00:20:24,423 through probably 10 to 15 different detectives, 440 00:20:24,456 --> 00:20:27,292 we've probably interviewed 30 construction workers, 441 00:20:27,326 --> 00:20:28,627 maybe 40. 442 00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:30,229 * * 443 00:20:30,262 --> 00:20:32,664 We're running rap sheets. 444 00:20:32,698 --> 00:20:34,767 Some of them had minor arrests in the past. 445 00:20:36,435 --> 00:20:38,237 They all were interviewed. 446 00:20:38,270 --> 00:20:40,873 It didn't appear that any of the construction workers 447 00:20:40,906 --> 00:20:45,644 that day accessed the 18th floor for any reason. 448 00:20:45,678 --> 00:20:46,512 * * 449 00:20:46,545 --> 00:20:49,848 Nothing that's gonna raise a flag. 450 00:20:49,882 --> 00:20:51,784 They're ruled out completely. 451 00:20:51,817 --> 00:20:55,821 * * 452 00:20:55,854 --> 00:20:57,456 - Three days after Linda's murder, 453 00:20:57,489 --> 00:20:59,792 as detectives continue to pursue leads, 454 00:20:59,825 --> 00:21:01,460 Linda Stein is remembered by loved ones 455 00:21:01,493 --> 00:21:03,629 and New York City's high society 456 00:21:03,662 --> 00:21:06,432 at a memorial service to celebrate her life. 457 00:21:06,465 --> 00:21:08,934 - Linda's funeral was at Riverside. 458 00:21:08,967 --> 00:21:12,471 There were crowds in front of the funeral parlor 459 00:21:12,504 --> 00:21:13,972 and photographers. 460 00:21:14,073 --> 00:21:15,974 * * 461 00:21:16,075 --> 00:21:18,911 - I went to Linda's memorial. 462 00:21:18,944 --> 00:21:20,846 It was a very heart-wrenching experience. 463 00:21:22,081 --> 00:21:23,615 Amazing turnout of people. 464 00:21:23,649 --> 00:21:27,152 I mean, you know, it was full. 465 00:21:27,186 --> 00:21:29,488 * * 466 00:21:29,521 --> 00:21:32,424 - We were shoulder to shoulder with each other. 467 00:21:33,459 --> 00:21:35,761 Everybody in the whole funeral parlor 468 00:21:35,794 --> 00:21:37,629 had a Linda Stein story. 469 00:21:38,630 --> 00:21:41,834 - I remember one time, we were driving out to the Hamptons... 470 00:21:43,702 --> 00:21:47,206 Because she had a chance to show a property, 471 00:21:47,239 --> 00:21:50,342 and so while we were speeding out to the Hamptons, 472 00:21:50,376 --> 00:21:52,511 she's getting dressed in the car, 473 00:21:52,544 --> 00:21:54,847 doing her hair, you know, putting on a dress. 474 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:56,315 I mean, like, completely getting dressed 475 00:21:56,348 --> 00:21:59,184 in the car while we're driving. 476 00:21:59,218 --> 00:22:01,053 So I was, you know, driving, 477 00:22:01,053 --> 00:22:03,555 praying that we wouldn't be stopped by the police. 478 00:22:04,957 --> 00:22:07,259 That was the kind of life it was. 479 00:22:07,292 --> 00:22:09,428 If you had a high-money client 480 00:22:09,461 --> 00:22:11,063 and they wanted to see something, 481 00:22:11,063 --> 00:22:12,331 you made it happen. 482 00:22:12,364 --> 00:22:13,699 That's what she did. 483 00:22:13,732 --> 00:22:16,635 I mean, that's what she was known for. 484 00:22:18,404 --> 00:22:20,072 - She had cancer. 485 00:22:20,072 --> 00:22:22,908 She had two mastectomies on the same breast. 486 00:22:24,076 --> 00:22:26,078 There were a lot of close calls to find out 487 00:22:26,078 --> 00:22:27,613 if her cancer was back. 488 00:22:29,815 --> 00:22:33,218 And so she came out here to the Hamptons 489 00:22:33,252 --> 00:22:35,821 in the winter, and she would walk 490 00:22:35,854 --> 00:22:38,557 for hours and hours by herself on the beach 491 00:22:38,590 --> 00:22:40,359 like she was walking off the cancer. 492 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,564 Through her having cancer, she raised millions of dollars 493 00:22:45,597 --> 00:22:47,533 for Memorial Sloan Kettering. 494 00:22:47,566 --> 00:22:51,670 She got Elton John to perform at their great benefits. 495 00:22:51,704 --> 00:22:53,572 She worked very, very hard 496 00:22:53,605 --> 00:22:56,442 in money for cancer research. 497 00:22:56,475 --> 00:23:00,379 - At the funeral, her daughters got up and spoke. 498 00:23:00,412 --> 00:23:02,815 It was great because there was smiles 499 00:23:02,848 --> 00:23:07,219 amongst all the tears because of the way she was eulogized. 500 00:23:07,252 --> 00:23:09,421 * * 501 00:23:09,455 --> 00:23:11,924 - It was just enormously sad. 502 00:23:11,957 --> 00:23:14,793 * * 503 00:23:14,827 --> 00:23:18,564 As it went by, I kissed her coffin. 504 00:23:18,597 --> 00:23:23,068 I wanted her to take my kiss to the other side. 505 00:23:23,068 --> 00:23:27,072 * * 506 00:23:27,072 --> 00:23:28,407 - The newsworthy funeral 507 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,775 and stories of Linda's generosity 508 00:23:29,808 --> 00:23:32,077 amped up the need to solve the case, 509 00:23:32,111 --> 00:23:35,414 with all of New York and beyond wanting justice. 510 00:23:35,447 --> 00:23:37,850 - It's a headline case. 511 00:23:37,883 --> 00:23:41,086 Homicides happen every day in New York City. 512 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:45,524 Cases like this tend to just become a complete vacuum 513 00:23:45,557 --> 00:23:47,326 and suck up all the attention. 514 00:23:48,527 --> 00:23:49,895 - Honestly, it starts with the mayor. 515 00:23:49,928 --> 00:23:51,630 He gets the calls. 516 00:23:51,663 --> 00:23:52,731 What do you think he's gonna do? 517 00:23:52,765 --> 00:23:53,732 He's gonna call the commissioner. 518 00:23:53,766 --> 00:23:54,900 What's the commissioner do? 519 00:23:54,933 --> 00:23:55,901 He's gonna call the chief of detectives. 520 00:23:55,934 --> 00:23:57,803 And what's the chief of detectives gonna do? 521 00:23:57,836 --> 00:24:00,039 He's gonna call the Manhattan chief of detectives. 522 00:24:00,039 --> 00:24:02,408 So sh-- rolls downhill in a police department 523 00:24:02,441 --> 00:24:04,810 pretty much like anywhere else. 524 00:24:04,843 --> 00:24:07,146 - We felt the glaring light of public pressure, 525 00:24:07,179 --> 00:24:10,049 but that just motivates us at the NYPD. 526 00:24:10,049 --> 00:24:11,150 [indistinct police radio chatter] 527 00:24:11,183 --> 00:24:13,052 In the week after Linda's murder, 528 00:24:13,052 --> 00:24:14,620 detectives review the surveillance footage 529 00:24:14,653 --> 00:24:17,823 from that day over and over. 530 00:24:17,856 --> 00:24:23,429 - I go through that video to see if we spotted anything... 531 00:24:24,530 --> 00:24:25,964 Anything suspicious, 532 00:24:26,065 --> 00:24:27,933 any strangers coming in and out of the building... 533 00:24:29,668 --> 00:24:32,771 Anything that didn't look right 534 00:24:32,805 --> 00:24:34,840 to see, did we miss something? 535 00:24:34,873 --> 00:24:39,845 - The only people that show up are the roofers, Natavia. 536 00:24:39,878 --> 00:24:42,414 Matter of fact, Linda Stein doesn't show up 537 00:24:42,448 --> 00:24:44,149 on any of the tapes. 538 00:24:44,183 --> 00:24:45,851 We were told that she went out running. 539 00:24:45,884 --> 00:24:48,587 You start figuring out, like, where is Linda leaving? 540 00:24:48,620 --> 00:24:49,855 Where is Linda coming? 541 00:24:49,888 --> 00:24:52,091 She never left. She never came back. 542 00:24:52,124 --> 00:24:54,860 * * 543 00:24:54,893 --> 00:24:58,764 - No one had seen Linda Stein at all. 544 00:24:58,797 --> 00:25:02,167 No one heard of Linda Stein after Natavia left. 545 00:25:02,901 --> 00:25:05,871 So that made it more interesting now. 546 00:25:05,904 --> 00:25:09,742 - With confirmation that Linda never left the apartment, 547 00:25:09,775 --> 00:25:11,744 there's a new focus on the surveillance. 548 00:25:13,045 --> 00:25:14,747 - I went through the footage myself, 549 00:25:14,780 --> 00:25:17,216 and I kept rewatching it. 550 00:25:17,249 --> 00:25:21,053 I just felt like that video was going to have a tell, 551 00:25:21,086 --> 00:25:25,724 and until I found out what that tell was, 552 00:25:25,758 --> 00:25:28,494 I kept looking at it over and over again. 553 00:25:29,762 --> 00:25:32,564 - I give all the kudos in the world 554 00:25:32,598 --> 00:25:35,501 to Detective Loffredo. 555 00:25:35,534 --> 00:25:39,071 - There's probably some point where I should have given up, 556 00:25:39,104 --> 00:25:40,072 but I didn't. 557 00:25:40,072 --> 00:25:41,774 I kept watching it over and over again. 558 00:25:42,808 --> 00:25:45,744 - She's like, "Holy crap. 559 00:25:45,778 --> 00:25:48,480 Look at this. This could be huge." 560 00:25:59,325 --> 00:26:01,928 [dramatic music] 561 00:26:02,195 --> 00:26:08,702 * * 562 00:26:08,735 --> 00:26:11,037 - Detective Loffredo has been doggedly reviewing 563 00:26:11,071 --> 00:26:13,206 surveillance footage from Linda's apartment building 564 00:26:13,239 --> 00:26:15,608 to search for any suspects arriving or leaving 565 00:26:15,642 --> 00:26:16,910 the day of Linda's murder. 566 00:26:18,712 --> 00:26:20,113 A week after Linda's death 567 00:26:20,146 --> 00:26:21,748 and countless hours of viewing, 568 00:26:21,781 --> 00:26:23,116 she may have caught something. 569 00:26:23,149 --> 00:26:27,887 * * 570 00:26:27,921 --> 00:26:30,123 - When I interviewed Natavia Lowery 571 00:26:30,156 --> 00:26:33,493 and asked her about the events of that day 572 00:26:33,526 --> 00:26:34,961 and how she got back and forth, 573 00:26:35,061 --> 00:26:37,364 she specifically told me that she walked 574 00:26:37,397 --> 00:26:41,267 to and from the office that day several times. 575 00:26:41,301 --> 00:26:43,436 * * 576 00:26:43,470 --> 00:26:46,272 And I said, "Oh, you walked back and forth several times?" 577 00:26:46,306 --> 00:26:47,941 And she's like, "Yeah." 578 00:26:47,974 --> 00:26:49,976 She did not explain that she went anywhere else that day. 579 00:26:50,076 --> 00:26:52,278 Just to and from Linda's apartment. 580 00:26:52,312 --> 00:26:57,684 * * 581 00:26:57,717 --> 00:27:00,153 One of the times I was watching the video, 582 00:27:00,186 --> 00:27:02,756 I saw Natavia Lowery walk in the building, 583 00:27:02,789 --> 00:27:06,292 and this time, I noticed that she had money in her hand. 584 00:27:06,326 --> 00:27:08,795 * * 585 00:27:08,828 --> 00:27:10,530 And I thought to myself, 586 00:27:10,563 --> 00:27:12,232 "Why would she have money in her hands?" 587 00:27:12,265 --> 00:27:15,268 * * 588 00:27:15,301 --> 00:27:17,704 And then it dawned on me that maybe she got dropped off 589 00:27:17,737 --> 00:27:20,907 by a taxicab, and when I looked back 590 00:27:20,940 --> 00:27:23,476 at the video and I kept watching it, 591 00:27:23,510 --> 00:27:28,515 I noticed that the doorman at some point had walked out 592 00:27:28,548 --> 00:27:30,316 like he saw something coming 593 00:27:30,350 --> 00:27:32,752 and then walked back in with Natavia... 594 00:27:34,220 --> 00:27:35,822 Which made me realize 595 00:27:35,855 --> 00:27:37,691 that there was a taxicab out front 596 00:27:37,724 --> 00:27:38,725 that had just dropped her off. 597 00:27:38,758 --> 00:27:41,327 * * 598 00:27:41,361 --> 00:27:44,731 And when the door swings open, in the reflection, 599 00:27:44,764 --> 00:27:48,068 you could see the taxicab 600 00:27:48,101 --> 00:27:50,270 pull up and drop her off. 601 00:27:51,938 --> 00:27:55,241 Not at any point did she say, "I took a taxi." 602 00:27:56,176 --> 00:27:59,713 - So now we know Natavia is lying about only walking. 603 00:27:59,746 --> 00:28:02,048 Detective Loffredo revisits Natavia's story 604 00:28:02,082 --> 00:28:04,551 to see what else doesn't add up. 605 00:28:04,584 --> 00:28:08,855 - Natavia told us that Linda could not grasp things tightly. 606 00:28:08,888 --> 00:28:10,623 She needed help and assistance 607 00:28:10,657 --> 00:28:12,892 when grabbing things that were small 608 00:28:12,926 --> 00:28:15,528 or needed to be squeezed, like a curling iron. 609 00:28:15,562 --> 00:28:17,764 * * 610 00:28:17,797 --> 00:28:19,866 Linda had a business meeting that night 611 00:28:19,899 --> 00:28:21,368 with some real estate guys 612 00:28:21,401 --> 00:28:24,537 that had a business venture with her. 613 00:28:24,571 --> 00:28:29,042 This was a really big meeting for Linda, she said. 614 00:28:29,042 --> 00:28:31,378 At some point, Linda said she was gonna go for a walk. 615 00:28:31,411 --> 00:28:36,383 She went by herself, and she never came back, 616 00:28:36,416 --> 00:28:38,785 so Natavia went home. 617 00:28:38,818 --> 00:28:40,387 * * 618 00:28:40,420 --> 00:28:44,924 Everything sounded normal with her story. 619 00:28:44,958 --> 00:28:47,394 The only thing that did catch my attention 620 00:28:47,427 --> 00:28:51,064 was the fact that she had just finished describing 621 00:28:51,064 --> 00:28:54,401 that Linda would need her to get ready 622 00:28:54,434 --> 00:28:58,071 and she left without helping her get ready, 623 00:28:58,104 --> 00:29:01,174 and when I asked her who was gonna help Linda 624 00:29:01,207 --> 00:29:03,410 get ready that night for her business meeting, 625 00:29:03,443 --> 00:29:04,911 she said, "I don't know." 626 00:29:06,012 --> 00:29:09,015 And I found that to be suspicious. 627 00:29:09,015 --> 00:29:12,385 Why wouldn't they make prior arrangements, 628 00:29:12,419 --> 00:29:15,422 and why would she think that, on that particular day, 629 00:29:15,455 --> 00:29:17,190 she would go home on time 630 00:29:17,223 --> 00:29:19,125 and not wait for Linda to come home? 631 00:29:19,159 --> 00:29:20,694 * * 632 00:29:20,727 --> 00:29:23,430 Why weren't you concerned that she didn't come back? 633 00:29:23,463 --> 00:29:25,131 * * 634 00:29:25,165 --> 00:29:28,201 This time, it dawned on me that something was different. 635 00:29:28,234 --> 00:29:31,171 * * 636 00:29:31,204 --> 00:29:34,908 I told Detective Walla and Detective Rivera 637 00:29:34,941 --> 00:29:36,910 that I think that this was a really important 638 00:29:36,943 --> 00:29:39,412 piece of the picture. 639 00:29:39,446 --> 00:29:41,314 - Further scrutiny of the footage 640 00:29:41,348 --> 00:29:44,417 reveals another unsettling detail. 641 00:29:44,451 --> 00:29:47,821 - There was nobody else that went upstairs 642 00:29:47,854 --> 00:29:51,324 to the apartment, only Natavia. 643 00:29:51,358 --> 00:29:55,061 - I specifically focused on the lobby of the video, 644 00:29:55,095 --> 00:29:58,198 and Linda did not come in and out of the building. 645 00:29:58,231 --> 00:30:00,934 * * 646 00:30:00,967 --> 00:30:03,136 - Detectives Walla and Rivera's next call 647 00:30:03,169 --> 00:30:05,238 is to talk with Natavia again. 648 00:30:05,271 --> 00:30:12,212 * * 649 00:30:13,947 --> 00:30:15,482 - So we get to the Seventh Precinct, 650 00:30:15,515 --> 00:30:16,983 and that's where we set her down, 651 00:30:17,017 --> 00:30:19,486 and Tony and I both started to talk to her 652 00:30:19,519 --> 00:30:22,622 about everything that happened again that day, 653 00:30:22,655 --> 00:30:24,657 and she agreed to talk. 654 00:30:24,691 --> 00:30:30,163 * * 655 00:30:30,196 --> 00:30:33,466 - Natavia stated that she didn't know 656 00:30:33,500 --> 00:30:36,503 what happened to Linda, and we proceeded 657 00:30:36,536 --> 00:30:38,505 just to talk to her a little bit more. 658 00:30:38,538 --> 00:30:40,373 * * 659 00:30:40,407 --> 00:30:43,943 - She stuck to the same story, and I said, 660 00:30:43,977 --> 00:30:47,847 "Well, Natavia, you have a lot of inconsistencies." 661 00:30:47,881 --> 00:30:49,049 * * 662 00:30:49,082 --> 00:30:51,851 - So she kind of looked surprised. 663 00:30:51,885 --> 00:30:53,520 She was getting a little nervous. 664 00:30:53,553 --> 00:30:58,091 * * 665 00:30:58,124 --> 00:31:00,860 And then finally, we said, you know, 666 00:31:00,894 --> 00:31:03,363 "We don't believe your story. 667 00:31:03,396 --> 00:31:05,765 You have to tell us what really happened." 668 00:31:05,799 --> 00:31:12,439 * * 669 00:31:12,472 --> 00:31:13,440 - Coming up... 670 00:31:13,473 --> 00:31:16,843 - She says that a male wearing all black 671 00:31:16,876 --> 00:31:19,245 enters the apartment. 672 00:31:19,279 --> 00:31:21,915 - "I know where you live. I know who your family is." 673 00:31:21,948 --> 00:31:25,251 - She heard the male hitting Linda. 674 00:31:35,395 --> 00:31:38,098 [dramatic music] 675 00:31:38,298 --> 00:31:45,205 * * 676 00:31:45,238 --> 00:31:47,474 - Detectives Walla and Rivera have brought 677 00:31:47,507 --> 00:31:49,843 Linda Stein's personal assistant Natavia 678 00:31:49,876 --> 00:31:51,344 in for another interview, 679 00:31:51,378 --> 00:31:53,913 since she was the last person to see Linda alive. 680 00:31:53,947 --> 00:31:59,686 * * 681 00:31:59,719 --> 00:32:01,054 - I went in by myself. 682 00:32:01,054 --> 00:32:03,289 * * 683 00:32:03,323 --> 00:32:04,891 I said, "There's something that we know 684 00:32:04,924 --> 00:32:05,792 that we never shared with you." 685 00:32:05,825 --> 00:32:08,461 * * 686 00:32:08,495 --> 00:32:12,399 "That you keep telling me and Detective Loffredo 687 00:32:12,432 --> 00:32:14,067 that you walked wherever you went." 688 00:32:14,067 --> 00:32:15,835 * * 689 00:32:15,869 --> 00:32:17,570 "You're seen on video..." 690 00:32:17,604 --> 00:32:19,572 * * 691 00:32:19,606 --> 00:32:23,076 "Getting out of a cab with money in your hand 692 00:32:23,076 --> 00:32:27,080 "in front of 965 5th Avenue 693 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:28,782 on the date of Linda's death." 694 00:32:28,815 --> 00:32:31,584 * * 695 00:32:31,618 --> 00:32:32,585 "Where did you go?" 696 00:32:32,619 --> 00:32:34,921 * * 697 00:32:34,954 --> 00:32:37,157 "Oh, sorry, I didn't tell you. 698 00:32:37,190 --> 00:32:39,159 "I was extremely emotional. 699 00:32:39,192 --> 00:32:41,828 Linda was trying my last patience that day." 700 00:32:41,861 --> 00:32:43,797 [horn honks] 701 00:32:43,830 --> 00:32:45,098 "I took a drive in a cab." 702 00:32:45,131 --> 00:32:48,735 * * 703 00:32:48,768 --> 00:32:49,869 "Yeah, I cleared my head. 704 00:32:49,903 --> 00:32:51,004 "I went to go call my mother, 705 00:32:51,104 --> 00:32:51,938 but my mother was no help." 706 00:32:51,971 --> 00:32:54,274 * * 707 00:32:54,307 --> 00:32:55,608 "I just didn't go anywhere." 708 00:32:55,642 --> 00:32:57,210 * * 709 00:32:57,243 --> 00:32:59,412 I told her, "You're full of it." 710 00:32:59,446 --> 00:33:04,617 * * 711 00:33:04,651 --> 00:33:07,620 And then she started getting really emotional, 712 00:33:07,654 --> 00:33:09,789 almost tearing. 713 00:33:09,823 --> 00:33:10,857 I grab her hand. 714 00:33:10,890 --> 00:33:12,359 I'm, like, holding her hand, 715 00:33:12,392 --> 00:33:13,526 shaking it a little bit like this. 716 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,496 I says, "Natavia, what did you do?" 717 00:33:17,263 --> 00:33:19,065 "Did you do something to Linda that day?" 718 00:33:19,099 --> 00:33:20,633 * * 719 00:33:20,667 --> 00:33:23,470 And she came in with some blackout story. 720 00:33:23,503 --> 00:33:24,904 * * 721 00:33:24,938 --> 00:33:27,640 She says, "It happened in college once. 722 00:33:27,674 --> 00:33:29,109 "I choked my roommate, 723 00:33:29,142 --> 00:33:31,244 "and I didn't even know I did it. 724 00:33:31,277 --> 00:33:33,079 "I don't know what had happened. 725 00:33:33,113 --> 00:33:36,616 I woke up, and then she was on the ground." 726 00:33:36,649 --> 00:33:39,386 And then something snapped in her head, 727 00:33:39,419 --> 00:33:41,654 and she's like, "I don't know why I told you that." 728 00:33:41,688 --> 00:33:44,357 * * 729 00:33:44,391 --> 00:33:46,092 "That's not what happened." 730 00:33:47,193 --> 00:33:48,561 "I didn't do that. I didn't kill Linda." 731 00:33:48,595 --> 00:33:51,664 * * 732 00:33:51,698 --> 00:33:53,099 I said, "We're gonna take a little break, 733 00:33:53,099 --> 00:33:54,167 "and you think about everything 734 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:56,269 that's going on here." 735 00:33:56,302 --> 00:33:58,104 I go back out, talk to Tony. 736 00:34:00,273 --> 00:34:01,441 We started leaning towards, 737 00:34:01,474 --> 00:34:02,509 this girl's not going home tonight. 738 00:34:02,542 --> 00:34:05,679 * * 739 00:34:05,712 --> 00:34:08,281 - We went back into the interview room 740 00:34:08,314 --> 00:34:11,418 and proceeded just to talk to her a little bit more 741 00:34:11,451 --> 00:34:15,155 about family, friends, who does she know. 742 00:34:15,188 --> 00:34:17,057 * * 743 00:34:17,057 --> 00:34:19,959 And she felt a little bit more comfortable. 744 00:34:21,127 --> 00:34:23,530 And at that point, 745 00:34:23,563 --> 00:34:26,533 I asked her, "What really happened?" 746 00:34:26,566 --> 00:34:29,536 And she looked at me, and she said 747 00:34:29,569 --> 00:34:31,938 she received a phone call from an unknown male 748 00:34:31,971 --> 00:34:33,707 on her phone. 749 00:34:33,740 --> 00:34:36,076 [phone buzzing] 750 00:34:37,610 --> 00:34:39,379 - Somebody called her on her phone and said, 751 00:34:39,412 --> 00:34:42,716 "Open up the door. Leave the door open. 752 00:34:42,749 --> 00:34:45,418 I know where you live. I know who your family is." 753 00:34:45,452 --> 00:34:48,588 And basically threatening her. 754 00:34:48,621 --> 00:34:50,690 * * 755 00:34:50,724 --> 00:34:54,661 - Natavia says that she left the door open. 756 00:34:54,694 --> 00:34:57,130 [door clicks open] 757 00:34:57,163 --> 00:34:59,733 She says that a male 758 00:34:59,766 --> 00:35:01,368 wearing all black... 759 00:35:02,769 --> 00:35:04,704 Enters the apartment. 760 00:35:05,405 --> 00:35:08,608 She heard the male hitting Linda. 761 00:35:08,641 --> 00:35:11,878 * * 762 00:35:11,911 --> 00:35:14,514 She says that the male told her, 763 00:35:14,547 --> 00:35:17,584 "Take the bag and put a stapler 764 00:35:17,617 --> 00:35:19,753 "and other office supplies in the bag 765 00:35:19,786 --> 00:35:22,122 and leave the building." 766 00:35:22,155 --> 00:35:24,457 The male said, "You're the only one 767 00:35:24,491 --> 00:35:27,761 that's gonna see Linda last," 768 00:35:27,794 --> 00:35:29,662 and to leave. 769 00:35:29,696 --> 00:35:31,164 [elevator bell dings] 770 00:35:31,197 --> 00:35:33,733 And she leaves the building. 771 00:35:33,767 --> 00:35:41,074 * * 772 00:35:41,741 --> 00:35:44,711 Knowing that we had surveillance camera, 773 00:35:44,744 --> 00:35:47,113 knowing that Detective Loffredo 774 00:35:47,147 --> 00:35:51,785 looked at it so many times and made several observations 775 00:35:51,818 --> 00:35:55,455 of no one entering the elevator-- 776 00:35:55,488 --> 00:35:57,357 it was only Natavia and no one else, 777 00:35:57,390 --> 00:35:59,726 no one wearing black, no one leaving... 778 00:35:59,759 --> 00:36:02,328 * * 779 00:36:02,362 --> 00:36:06,366 We believed that Natavia made the story up, 780 00:36:06,399 --> 00:36:08,768 but she was getting closer to the real story. 781 00:36:08,802 --> 00:36:10,403 * * 782 00:36:10,437 --> 00:36:14,207 - So now we went from "I blacked out" 783 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:19,279 to "a ninja dressed in all black came up and did this." 784 00:36:19,312 --> 00:36:21,081 * * 785 00:36:21,114 --> 00:36:22,582 Here's two times now she's telling us 786 00:36:22,615 --> 00:36:27,053 that she's standing in Linda's apartment 787 00:36:27,053 --> 00:36:28,188 and Linda's dead. 788 00:36:28,221 --> 00:36:31,291 * * 789 00:36:31,324 --> 00:36:33,827 Regardless of how she got dead, 790 00:36:33,860 --> 00:36:35,428 Linda's dead, 791 00:36:35,462 --> 00:36:38,064 and Natavia's standing over that body. 792 00:36:38,098 --> 00:36:40,834 So we go back in a third time. 793 00:36:40,867 --> 00:36:44,771 - And said to her, "Natavia, this is not making any sense. 794 00:36:44,804 --> 00:36:49,075 "You know, we know that you're the only one 795 00:36:49,075 --> 00:36:51,678 that was in that apartment, that there was no male." 796 00:36:51,711 --> 00:36:53,980 * * 797 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,517 - We tell her, say, "Listen, no ninja came up. 798 00:36:57,550 --> 00:36:58,852 "It didn't happen that way. 799 00:36:58,885 --> 00:37:00,754 You got to tell us what the hell's going on here." 800 00:37:00,787 --> 00:37:03,223 * * 801 00:37:03,256 --> 00:37:04,424 "What pushed you to the point 802 00:37:04,457 --> 00:37:06,860 that you needed to kill Ms. Stein?" 803 00:37:06,893 --> 00:37:10,030 * * 804 00:37:10,030 --> 00:37:11,364 "How did she wind up like that? 805 00:37:11,398 --> 00:37:13,767 How did she wind up with those wounds on the top of her head?" 806 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:15,502 * * 807 00:37:15,535 --> 00:37:20,140 - Natavia started to kind of cry a little bit, 808 00:37:20,173 --> 00:37:21,875 and she said she didn't mean it... 809 00:37:21,908 --> 00:37:24,477 * * 810 00:37:24,511 --> 00:37:27,847 And that Linda Stein had got her upset... 811 00:37:27,881 --> 00:37:29,649 * * 812 00:37:29,683 --> 00:37:30,850 And she couldn't take it. 813 00:37:30,884 --> 00:37:33,753 * * 814 00:37:33,787 --> 00:37:37,257 Linda was badgering and screaming at her, 815 00:37:37,290 --> 00:37:39,893 and she just freaked out 816 00:37:39,926 --> 00:37:41,127 and struck her with an object. 817 00:37:41,161 --> 00:37:43,430 * * 818 00:37:43,463 --> 00:37:45,365 She said it was a yoga stick. 819 00:37:46,466 --> 00:37:48,068 - "How many times did you hit her?" 820 00:37:48,101 --> 00:37:49,369 "A lot. I don't know." 821 00:37:49,402 --> 00:37:51,204 * * 822 00:37:51,237 --> 00:37:52,706 "I wasn't counting. A lot." 823 00:37:52,739 --> 00:37:55,175 * * 824 00:37:55,208 --> 00:37:56,876 "She just went down." 825 00:37:56,910 --> 00:38:00,280 * * 826 00:38:00,313 --> 00:38:01,715 I says, "What did you do next?" 827 00:38:01,748 --> 00:38:04,017 And she says she left the building. 828 00:38:04,584 --> 00:38:07,654 - We felt that we got her to a point 829 00:38:07,687 --> 00:38:10,056 where she's telling us some of the truth. 830 00:38:10,090 --> 00:38:12,926 * * 831 00:38:13,026 --> 00:38:15,862 - I think we all knew there was more to it. 832 00:38:15,895 --> 00:38:17,530 * * 833 00:38:17,564 --> 00:38:19,199 We took her possessions from her, 834 00:38:19,232 --> 00:38:22,335 informing her that she's now in custody 835 00:38:22,369 --> 00:38:24,404 and you're not going home tonight. 836 00:38:24,437 --> 00:38:26,873 - We didn't have the full story. 837 00:38:26,906 --> 00:38:29,776 We didn't know why she struck Linda. 838 00:38:39,451 --> 00:38:41,887 [dramatic music] 839 00:38:42,154 --> 00:38:47,059 * * 840 00:38:47,059 --> 00:38:48,660 - Natavia is in custody 841 00:38:48,694 --> 00:38:50,062 the day following her admission 842 00:38:50,062 --> 00:38:52,498 to beating her boss Linda Stein to death. 843 00:38:52,531 --> 00:38:54,433 Detectives work with the DA's office 844 00:38:54,466 --> 00:38:56,669 to get her confession on tape. 845 00:38:56,702 --> 00:38:58,837 That's when Natavia throws in a twist. 846 00:38:58,871 --> 00:39:02,675 She claims Linda provoked her for no reason. 847 00:39:24,029 --> 00:39:28,067 * * 848 00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:32,204 - I found it very shocking that she was capable 849 00:39:32,237 --> 00:39:33,672 of murder 850 00:39:33,706 --> 00:39:36,075 and that she could sit across 851 00:39:36,108 --> 00:39:39,111 from detectives and attorneys 852 00:39:39,144 --> 00:39:42,548 and she wasn't scared or upset. 853 00:39:42,581 --> 00:39:45,951 On the other hand, I guess that's what it takes 854 00:39:46,051 --> 00:39:50,289 to be able to kill someone is being able to do it 855 00:39:50,322 --> 00:39:53,125 and being cold afterwards. 856 00:39:53,158 --> 00:39:54,893 * * 857 00:39:54,927 --> 00:39:56,562 - But detectives believe Natavia 858 00:39:56,595 --> 00:39:57,863 isn't telling them the real reason 859 00:39:57,896 --> 00:39:59,465 she killed Linda 860 00:39:59,498 --> 00:40:00,799 and, in the following days, 861 00:40:00,833 --> 00:40:02,534 turn up the investigation on motive. 862 00:40:02,568 --> 00:40:04,570 * * 863 00:40:04,603 --> 00:40:07,473 - The night before Linda was murdered, 864 00:40:07,506 --> 00:40:09,775 I was in Linda's apartment. 865 00:40:09,808 --> 00:40:11,343 She asked me, "What would you think 866 00:40:11,377 --> 00:40:13,612 if someone was stealing from me?" 867 00:40:13,645 --> 00:40:17,950 And I was like, "That would be terrible." 868 00:40:17,983 --> 00:40:19,518 She goes, "Well, what do you think I should do?" 869 00:40:19,551 --> 00:40:22,154 And I said, "Well, I think whoever it is, 870 00:40:22,187 --> 00:40:24,623 you should confront them." 871 00:40:24,656 --> 00:40:27,493 And then I kind of left, 872 00:40:27,526 --> 00:40:29,361 and I never saw her again. 873 00:40:29,395 --> 00:40:33,766 * * 874 00:40:33,799 --> 00:40:35,801 - Detectives pull all recent phone records 875 00:40:35,834 --> 00:40:38,971 with her credit card companies and find their answer. 876 00:40:39,004 --> 00:40:39,938 * * 877 00:40:39,972 --> 00:40:42,608 - We heard Natavia on the phone saying 878 00:40:42,641 --> 00:40:46,645 that she was Linda Stein requesting a credit card. 879 00:40:46,679 --> 00:40:49,848 - She was using Linda's credit cards. 880 00:40:49,882 --> 00:40:50,883 * * 881 00:40:50,916 --> 00:40:54,586 She had opened credit cards in Linda's name 882 00:40:54,620 --> 00:40:56,355 and was charging on those credit cards, 883 00:40:56,388 --> 00:41:01,126 so it looked like grand larceny was her motive. 884 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:04,463 * * 885 00:41:04,496 --> 00:41:05,764 - We think Linda went down 886 00:41:05,798 --> 00:41:07,066 and got the American Express bill 887 00:41:07,066 --> 00:41:09,368 and confronted Natavia when she showed up 888 00:41:09,401 --> 00:41:10,736 for work that day. 889 00:41:12,871 --> 00:41:15,974 - I believe that Linda Stein was gonna call the police 890 00:41:16,075 --> 00:41:16,942 and make a complaint, 891 00:41:16,975 --> 00:41:19,678 but Natavia didn't want that to happen, 892 00:41:19,712 --> 00:41:22,781 and she just freaked out and murdered Linda. 893 00:41:53,112 --> 00:41:55,014 - Detectives can see the taxi number 894 00:41:55,114 --> 00:41:57,383 in the reflection and track its destination 895 00:41:57,416 --> 00:41:59,918 to a nearby clothing store. 896 00:41:59,952 --> 00:42:02,488 - Why would she take a cab to a store? 897 00:42:02,521 --> 00:42:04,623 When we looked at the video surveillance, 898 00:42:04,656 --> 00:42:07,659 she had her cargo pants inside out, 899 00:42:07,693 --> 00:42:09,728 maybe 'cause there was blood on it. 900 00:42:10,396 --> 00:42:13,532 We interviewed the clerk at the store. 901 00:42:13,565 --> 00:42:15,734 As it turns out, she went to try 902 00:42:15,768 --> 00:42:17,369 and replace those pants. 903 00:42:17,403 --> 00:42:19,571 * * 904 00:42:19,605 --> 00:42:21,940 And that was the taxi ride. 905 00:42:21,974 --> 00:42:25,310 * * 906 00:42:25,344 --> 00:42:26,812 - With Natavia's confession 907 00:42:26,845 --> 00:42:28,480 along with all the other evidence, 908 00:42:28,514 --> 00:42:30,082 the case is tried before a jury 909 00:42:30,115 --> 00:42:32,785 nearly three years after Linda Stein's murder. 910 00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:36,588 Natavia Lowery is found guilty of second-degree murder 911 00:42:36,622 --> 00:42:37,790 and grand larceny. 912 00:42:37,823 --> 00:42:40,626 She is sentenced to 25 years to life. 913 00:42:40,659 --> 00:42:42,294 * * 914 00:42:42,327 --> 00:42:44,396 - It was a grueling case, 915 00:42:44,430 --> 00:42:48,701 but the New York City NYPD detectives-- 916 00:42:48,734 --> 00:42:51,637 we've been doing it since the 1840s-- 917 00:42:51,670 --> 00:42:53,272 they come through. 918 00:42:54,106 --> 00:42:56,141 - The case was very high-profile 919 00:42:56,175 --> 00:42:59,478 because of what Linda did and who she knew. 920 00:43:00,312 --> 00:43:03,048 Like any other case, it's important to solve it 921 00:43:03,048 --> 00:43:06,618 to bring it to justice and have closure to the family 922 00:43:06,652 --> 00:43:09,054 and everyone else. 923 00:43:09,054 --> 00:43:11,290 * * 924 00:43:11,323 --> 00:43:15,728 - Linda Stein is an intrinsic part of the city, 925 00:43:15,761 --> 00:43:18,163 somebody who was with it and who knew everybody 926 00:43:18,197 --> 00:43:20,699 and lived in a penthouse on 5th Avenue 927 00:43:20,733 --> 00:43:22,735 and had a marvelous sense of humor. 928 00:43:22,768 --> 00:43:26,572 You know, she was an enchanting character to me, 929 00:43:26,605 --> 00:43:29,174 and I was so pleased and so lucky 930 00:43:29,208 --> 00:43:30,976 to know Linda. 931 00:43:31,076 --> 00:43:34,146 She lives on in everybody who she touched, 932 00:43:34,179 --> 00:43:37,649 and the best legacy I think you can have 933 00:43:37,683 --> 00:43:39,351 is that people miss you. 934 00:43:39,385 --> 00:43:46,191 * *