1
00:00:04,215 --> 00:00:07,146
This is a killer who picks
his victims at random,
2
00:00:07,180 --> 00:00:09,629
a sniper
who leaves no evidence.
3
00:00:09,663 --> 00:00:11,353
♪
4
00:00:11,387 --> 00:00:14,905
A killer who has no regard
for human life,
5
00:00:14,939 --> 00:00:17,629
who hunted his victims
like animals
6
00:00:17,663 --> 00:00:20,491
and left them to die alone
in the wilderness.
7
00:00:20,525 --> 00:00:22,974
♪
8
00:00:23,008 --> 00:00:24,836
There's no connection.
9
00:00:24,870 --> 00:00:28,353
There's no pattern and you
don't know when he's gonna hit.
10
00:00:30,043 --> 00:00:33,146
The problem is,
how do you hunt the hunter?
11
00:00:38,939 --> 00:00:45,905
♪
12
00:00:49,146 --> 00:00:53,698
Southeastern Ohio
is a rural area,
13
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you know, small towns.
14
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Great place to be
an outdoorsman.
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There are thousands
and thousands and thousands
16
00:01:02,732 --> 00:01:06,180
of acres of public land
for hunting and fishing.
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If he were off work,
18
00:01:09,732 --> 00:01:11,870
typically you could
see him out hunting.
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It was on
a Saturday morning,
20
00:01:20,491 --> 00:01:22,353
and the sheriff's
office dispatch
21
00:01:22,387 --> 00:01:24,456
contacted me at my home.
22
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They told me that we had
a male individual
23
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that was laying on the roadway
that was deceased.
24
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♪
25
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It was in a very rural area.
26
00:01:36,939 --> 00:01:38,525
When I arrived at the scene,
27
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the body was on the paved
portion of the roadway.
28
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And I observed
that there was a bullet
29
00:01:45,318 --> 00:01:47,560
protruding from the left side
of the individual.
30
00:01:49,905 --> 00:01:51,560
The bullet passed
through his arm
31
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and into his chest area.
32
00:01:55,353 --> 00:01:59,077
A .308 caliber round.
33
00:01:59,111 --> 00:02:02,146
It appeared that he was shot
with a high-powered rifle.
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00:02:05,525 --> 00:02:08,180
At that point,
a lot of deputies and myself
35
00:02:08,215 --> 00:02:10,456
walked that area looking for
36
00:02:10,491 --> 00:02:12,318
any kind of evidence,
tire tracks,
37
00:02:12,353 --> 00:02:14,387
shoe prints, anything.
38
00:02:14,422 --> 00:02:17,905
♪
39
00:02:17,939 --> 00:02:21,180
And we found nothing.
40
00:02:21,215 --> 00:02:23,767
We did find deer tracks
that could have been
41
00:02:23,801 --> 00:02:26,180
maybe related
to someone shooting a deer.
42
00:02:26,215 --> 00:02:30,077
We really didn't know
at that time.
43
00:02:30,111 --> 00:02:34,077
Maybe it was a hunter
that fired an errant shot.
44
00:02:36,008 --> 00:02:40,284
And it just happened to hit
the victim and kill him.
45
00:02:40,318 --> 00:02:43,077
So the only piece of evidence
that we had from that scene
46
00:02:43,111 --> 00:02:46,663
was actually the bullet.
47
00:02:46,698 --> 00:02:50,077
A passer-by gentleman
called Jack Green
48
00:02:50,111 --> 00:02:54,215
actually knew who the victim
was and where he lived.
49
00:02:56,111 --> 00:02:58,456
The victim
was Donald Welling.
50
00:02:58,491 --> 00:03:02,043
He was a 35-year-old white man.
51
00:03:02,077 --> 00:03:04,870
He lived alone
about 6/10 of a mile
52
00:03:04,905 --> 00:03:07,698
from where his body was found.
53
00:03:07,732 --> 00:03:11,801
So I went
to Don Welling's residence.
54
00:03:11,836 --> 00:03:14,077
There was no sign
of any type of struggle.
55
00:03:14,111 --> 00:03:17,629
His wallet was laying
on the table.
56
00:03:17,663 --> 00:03:20,387
It looked like he just
happened to be out for a jog
57
00:03:20,422 --> 00:03:25,180
or just a casual walk
when he was shot and killed.
58
00:03:25,215 --> 00:03:30,939
♪
59
00:03:30,974 --> 00:03:34,974
We made contact
with Mr. Welling's parents.
60
00:03:35,008 --> 00:03:38,180
His father was very,
very upset about it.
61
00:03:41,180 --> 00:03:43,629
My father-in-law
came out to our house,
62
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and when I opened the door,
63
00:03:45,698 --> 00:03:48,629
he just said,
"Donnie was shot."
64
00:03:51,491 --> 00:03:55,732
It was just unbelievable.
65
00:03:55,767 --> 00:03:58,249
Don was a fun-loving,
66
00:03:58,284 --> 00:04:01,008
carefree guy.
67
00:04:01,043 --> 00:04:03,905
He drove trucks for a living.
68
00:04:03,939 --> 00:04:07,732
Donnie had a lot of friends,
so he was well loved.
69
00:04:09,870 --> 00:04:12,525
I mean, it was just so sad.
70
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,146
How could this happen here?
71
00:04:18,077 --> 00:04:20,008
We began talking
72
00:04:20,043 --> 00:04:23,387
to all of Donald Welling's
friends and associates.
73
00:04:23,422 --> 00:04:26,180
He was apparently
just a kind individual
74
00:04:26,215 --> 00:04:30,077
that a lot of people liked.
75
00:04:30,111 --> 00:04:33,008
We also received
some calls from people
76
00:04:33,043 --> 00:04:35,767
that gave us information.
77
00:04:35,801 --> 00:04:37,077
In one of those calls,
78
00:04:37,111 --> 00:04:39,870
there was allegations
that Mr. Welling
79
00:04:39,905 --> 00:04:43,215
was having an affair
with the wife of Jack Green,
80
00:04:43,249 --> 00:04:46,732
the person that identified
the victim.
81
00:04:46,767 --> 00:04:49,422
So that got our attention.
82
00:04:50,870 --> 00:04:52,732
We approached Jack Green
about it.
83
00:04:52,767 --> 00:04:54,180
He didn't know
about an affair,
84
00:04:54,215 --> 00:04:59,077
and he denied
that he had shot Mr. Welling.
85
00:04:59,111 --> 00:05:01,008
We interviewed his wife
and talked to her
86
00:05:01,043 --> 00:05:03,801
about allegations
of her and Mr. Welling
87
00:05:03,836 --> 00:05:05,732
having an affair.
88
00:05:05,767 --> 00:05:09,629
But she told us
that was not true.
89
00:05:09,663 --> 00:05:12,525
There was no proof
that Jack Green had any part
90
00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,732
in Donald Welling's shooting.
91
00:05:15,767 --> 00:05:17,663
We'd followed up
everything that we had
92
00:05:17,698 --> 00:05:19,215
and there was nothing new
to work on.
93
00:05:19,249 --> 00:05:22,870
So it just came
to a standstill.
94
00:05:22,905 --> 00:05:24,732
It's very frustrating.
95
00:05:26,353 --> 00:05:29,111
I initially thought
that it was a homicide,
96
00:05:29,146 --> 00:05:31,560
but we didn't know for sure.
97
00:05:31,594 --> 00:05:35,284
What we really knew is we had
a dead man that had been shot.
98
00:05:35,318 --> 00:05:42,111
♪
99
00:05:42,146 --> 00:05:44,939
On November the 10th, 1990,
100
00:05:44,974 --> 00:05:47,939
I was notified
that a father and son
101
00:05:47,974 --> 00:05:49,836
were just driving
down the road
102
00:05:49,870 --> 00:05:54,939
and they saw this body
laying in the weeds.
103
00:05:54,974 --> 00:05:57,077
So naturally, they called
the sheriff's office
104
00:05:57,111 --> 00:06:00,180
to report this.
105
00:06:00,215 --> 00:06:01,939
Drove to the scene--
106
00:06:01,974 --> 00:06:04,249
rather isolated area.
107
00:06:06,215 --> 00:06:10,180
The body was approximately
100 feet from the roadway
108
00:06:10,215 --> 00:06:12,215
in the high grass.
109
00:06:14,525 --> 00:06:17,974
A young white male
110
00:06:18,008 --> 00:06:21,215
in his early 20s
111
00:06:21,249 --> 00:06:23,318
had been shot three times.
112
00:06:26,525 --> 00:06:29,629
It appeared the first shot
hit him in the chest,
113
00:06:29,663 --> 00:06:33,284
the second shot
hit him in the knee,
114
00:06:33,318 --> 00:06:36,180
and the third shot
hit him in the backside.
115
00:06:38,939 --> 00:06:41,732
We did not see any evidence
116
00:06:41,767 --> 00:06:45,732
of where anyone
had disturbed the grass.
117
00:06:45,767 --> 00:06:49,077
So it appeared as though
he was shot and killed
118
00:06:49,111 --> 00:06:52,043
from some distance
with a high-powered rifle.
119
00:06:54,249 --> 00:06:58,422
Clearly, this individual
was murdered.
120
00:06:58,456 --> 00:07:02,353
Detectives are thinking
this is pretty unusual.
121
00:07:04,284 --> 00:07:07,456
We found a vehicle parked
on the roadway.
122
00:07:07,491 --> 00:07:12,905
And we identified the decedent
from his driver's license,
123
00:07:12,939 --> 00:07:16,353
and from the license plates
of the vehicle.
124
00:07:19,008 --> 00:07:21,422
We had
a 21-year-old young man
125
00:07:21,456 --> 00:07:23,491
by the name of Jamie Paxton.
126
00:07:27,249 --> 00:07:31,146
Inside the vehicle,
we found a crossbow.
127
00:07:31,180 --> 00:07:33,077
We theorized at that point
128
00:07:33,111 --> 00:07:36,939
that Jamie was out
looking for deer.
129
00:07:38,387 --> 00:07:41,698
But the search itself
was rather disappointing.
130
00:07:41,732 --> 00:07:45,146
No shell casings at the scene,
131
00:07:45,180 --> 00:07:46,663
no witnesses--
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00:07:46,698 --> 00:07:49,387
just wasn't really anything
for the sheriff's office
133
00:07:49,422 --> 00:07:51,111
in Belmont County to go on.
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00:07:51,146 --> 00:07:57,284
♪
135
00:07:57,318 --> 00:07:59,939
So now we had two cases
136
00:07:59,974 --> 00:08:03,422
that occurred in these counties
137
00:08:03,456 --> 00:08:06,939
that were not connected.
138
00:08:06,974 --> 00:08:10,456
Law enforcement didn't really
have the communications
139
00:08:10,491 --> 00:08:13,560
that we do today.
140
00:08:13,594 --> 00:08:15,353
Tuscarawas County
did not know
141
00:08:15,387 --> 00:08:17,353
about Belmont County's
homicide.
142
00:08:17,387 --> 00:08:18,905
Belmont County did not know
143
00:08:18,939 --> 00:08:22,180
about Tuscarawas' homicide
at that time.
144
00:08:25,215 --> 00:08:27,801
In the late '80s
and the early '90s,
145
00:08:27,836 --> 00:08:29,387
there wasn't
as much communication
146
00:08:29,422 --> 00:08:30,594
between departments.
147
00:08:30,629 --> 00:08:33,663
But it's really important
to communicate
148
00:08:33,698 --> 00:08:36,905
because if these two killings
are related,
149
00:08:36,939 --> 00:08:39,008
those departments
need to know about it.
150
00:08:39,043 --> 00:08:40,870
When our first victim
is discovered,
151
00:08:40,905 --> 00:08:43,939
he's lying down,
he's on a open road.
152
00:08:43,974 --> 00:08:45,698
And the first initial
thought is,
153
00:08:45,732 --> 00:08:47,353
"Is this a hunting accident?"
154
00:08:47,387 --> 00:08:49,594
When the victim
is actually examined,
155
00:08:49,629 --> 00:08:53,077
they discover that this wound
156
00:08:53,111 --> 00:08:56,180
is in the upper chest,
center body mass.
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00:08:56,215 --> 00:09:00,870
This is where every marksman
aims to shoot.
158
00:09:00,905 --> 00:09:04,974
The second victim
is wearing hunting gear
159
00:09:05,008 --> 00:09:07,767
with a reflective vest.
160
00:09:07,801 --> 00:09:10,456
This is no hunting accident.
161
00:09:10,491 --> 00:09:13,353
This is intentional.
This is murder.
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00:09:13,387 --> 00:09:15,905
If these murders
are connected
163
00:09:15,939 --> 00:09:19,008
and are the same individual,
we have a sniper.
164
00:09:19,043 --> 00:09:21,043
And a sniper poses
165
00:09:21,077 --> 00:09:23,698
a very unique challenge
for law enforcement
166
00:09:23,732 --> 00:09:27,180
because these perpetrators
often leave very little
167
00:09:27,215 --> 00:09:29,801
evidence behind
other than a bullet.
168
00:09:29,836 --> 00:09:34,008
♪
169
00:09:34,043 --> 00:09:38,111
We relayed the--the news
to Mr. and Mrs. Paxton
170
00:09:38,146 --> 00:09:42,043
that Jamie had been killed.
171
00:09:42,077 --> 00:09:44,146
They were traumatized.
172
00:09:46,318 --> 00:09:49,974
I spoke with Jean Paxton
mother to mother.
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00:09:50,008 --> 00:09:52,560
Nobody could tell her
why her beloved
174
00:09:52,594 --> 00:09:55,905
21-year-old son had died.
175
00:09:57,284 --> 00:10:00,077
They could find
no known enemies,
176
00:10:00,111 --> 00:10:04,043
no motives for why
this guy would be killed.
177
00:10:04,077 --> 00:10:07,077
So the case
remained unresolved.
178
00:10:10,215 --> 00:10:13,318
Jamie's mother,
for a long time
179
00:10:13,353 --> 00:10:15,836
after Jamie was killed
in November of '90
180
00:10:15,870 --> 00:10:19,008
would write to the newspaper
in Belmont County
181
00:10:19,043 --> 00:10:21,870
called "The Times Leader."
182
00:10:21,905 --> 00:10:25,560
She felt that she needed
to do something
183
00:10:25,594 --> 00:10:30,629
to bring more attention
to her son's death.
184
00:10:33,698 --> 00:10:38,422
Just to read those letters
would pull your heartstrings.
185
00:10:38,456 --> 00:10:39,698
That's why I told Mrs. Paxton.
186
00:10:39,732 --> 00:10:41,456
I says, "You keep it going.
187
00:10:41,491 --> 00:10:43,836
It's affecting someone."
188
00:10:47,422 --> 00:10:49,146
And then approximately
189
00:10:49,180 --> 00:10:51,594
one year after
her son's murder,
190
00:10:51,629 --> 00:10:53,284
she wrote a letter
191
00:10:53,318 --> 00:10:56,560
that the killer ended up
responding to.
192
00:10:58,629 --> 00:11:02,215
He says that he will
continue to kill.
193
00:11:02,249 --> 00:11:04,594
He had no remorse.
194
00:11:04,629 --> 00:11:06,560
And then it came
to our attention
195
00:11:06,594 --> 00:11:09,111
that there was
another similar homicide.
196
00:11:09,146 --> 00:11:11,801
That really scared people.
197
00:11:16,663 --> 00:11:19,767
On November 4th, 1991,
198
00:11:19,801 --> 00:11:22,836
about a year after
Jamie Paxton's murder,
199
00:11:22,870 --> 00:11:26,180
the newspaper received
an anonymous letter
200
00:11:26,215 --> 00:11:29,629
from someone who had seen
those letters written
201
00:11:29,663 --> 00:11:32,180
by Jamie's mother
202
00:11:32,215 --> 00:11:37,249
and they claimed to be
the murderer of Jamie Paxton.
203
00:11:40,008 --> 00:11:41,387
He described how he did it.
204
00:11:41,422 --> 00:11:45,939
There's a .308 rifle that
he used and that he had
205
00:11:45,974 --> 00:11:49,905
shot Jamie three times.
206
00:11:49,939 --> 00:11:52,870
It was very detailed information
207
00:11:52,905 --> 00:11:55,146
only the killer would know.
208
00:11:57,974 --> 00:11:59,456
We were all
strongly believing
209
00:11:59,491 --> 00:12:02,387
that the person
authoring that letter
210
00:12:02,422 --> 00:12:04,836
was, in fact,
the killer of Jamie Paxton.
211
00:12:08,284 --> 00:12:11,043
It was a typewritten letter.
212
00:12:12,456 --> 00:12:15,629
We sent it in to our lab,
213
00:12:15,663 --> 00:12:18,180
but we couldn't find
any fingerprints.
214
00:12:19,801 --> 00:12:22,008
Forensically, there was
nothing that we could do
215
00:12:22,043 --> 00:12:24,456
to positively
identify the suspect.
216
00:12:27,353 --> 00:12:29,767
In his letter,
he describes his self
217
00:12:29,801 --> 00:12:32,249
as being a serial killer
218
00:12:32,284 --> 00:12:35,215
and that he has a strange urge
219
00:12:35,249 --> 00:12:39,491
that he cannot satisfy
until he kills a human being.
220
00:12:43,111 --> 00:12:47,387
He says that he will
continue to kill.
221
00:12:47,422 --> 00:12:49,146
It did alarm me.
222
00:12:49,180 --> 00:12:53,870
I was thinking, "Is there more
murders out there someplace
223
00:12:53,905 --> 00:12:56,422
that we just haven't
come across?"
224
00:12:56,456 --> 00:13:03,560
♪
225
00:13:07,629 --> 00:13:11,422
March 14th, my pager went off
and they informed me
226
00:13:11,456 --> 00:13:13,870
that they had a death
that appeared to be suspicious
227
00:13:13,905 --> 00:13:18,008
in the Wills Creek area
below the dam.
228
00:13:18,043 --> 00:13:20,663
I responded to the scene.
229
00:13:20,698 --> 00:13:23,801
The body was in the process
of being removed,
230
00:13:23,836 --> 00:13:25,870
and he had been shot
in the back
231
00:13:25,905 --> 00:13:27,698
with what appeared
to be a rifle round.
232
00:13:30,180 --> 00:13:33,732
It appeared that
he had been fishing there.
233
00:13:36,043 --> 00:13:39,629
Learned his name
was Claude Hawkins
234
00:13:39,663 --> 00:13:41,456
through his wallet
and driver's license
235
00:13:41,491 --> 00:13:43,594
that were on his person.
236
00:13:43,629 --> 00:13:47,663
His vehicle was parked
above where he was at.
237
00:13:47,698 --> 00:13:49,974
There was no evidence
of any foul play
238
00:13:50,008 --> 00:13:53,249
around Mr. Hawkins whatsoever
239
00:13:53,284 --> 00:13:55,456
or around his vehicle
on the roadway,
240
00:13:55,491 --> 00:13:58,146
where it parked.
241
00:13:58,180 --> 00:14:00,491
We never located
any shell casings,
242
00:14:00,525 --> 00:14:03,525
tire tracks, any foot tracks.
243
00:14:09,180 --> 00:14:12,008
When the autopsy was conducted
on Mr. Hawkins,
244
00:14:12,043 --> 00:14:14,767
a bullet was found
from a high-powered rifle
245
00:14:14,801 --> 00:14:17,215
within the torso of his body.
246
00:14:17,249 --> 00:14:19,077
And that bullet
was later identified
247
00:14:19,111 --> 00:14:23,146
as a 6.5x55 Swedish
Mauser round.
248
00:14:23,180 --> 00:14:27,939
♪
249
00:14:27,974 --> 00:14:31,008
We started doing background
on Mr. Hawkins.
250
00:14:31,043 --> 00:14:34,422
Mr. Hawkins was married,
had four children.
251
00:14:34,456 --> 00:14:37,043
The family was devastated.
252
00:14:37,077 --> 00:14:39,215
We learned that
it was not uncommon for him
253
00:14:39,249 --> 00:14:42,767
to get off
his midnight shift job
254
00:14:42,801 --> 00:14:45,767
and go straight to someplace
to start fishing.
255
00:14:48,663 --> 00:14:51,284
So at that point,
you know, sort of like,
256
00:14:51,318 --> 00:14:52,629
"Wait a minute.
257
00:14:52,663 --> 00:14:54,249
"Did somebody just
drive down this road
258
00:14:54,284 --> 00:14:55,594
"and shoot Mr. Hawkins?
259
00:14:55,629 --> 00:14:58,353
"Did he just happen to be
a victim of circumstance
260
00:14:58,387 --> 00:14:59,801
at that given time?"
261
00:14:59,836 --> 00:15:02,284
And if that's the case,
my mind said,
262
00:15:02,318 --> 00:15:06,008
"He's probably not the first."
263
00:15:06,043 --> 00:15:09,111
So I went home
and I went through my files.
264
00:15:10,801 --> 00:15:14,043
I can remember reading
in one of our local papers
265
00:15:14,077 --> 00:15:19,525
of a homicide that took place
in 1989 in Tuscarawas County.
266
00:15:21,732 --> 00:15:25,594
And of the Jamie Paxton
homicide in Belmont County
267
00:15:25,629 --> 00:15:30,043
that happened
in November 10th of 1990.
268
00:15:30,077 --> 00:15:32,456
I knew the detective
in Tuscarawas County,
269
00:15:32,491 --> 00:15:34,077
Walt Wilson.
270
00:15:34,111 --> 00:15:37,353
So I picked up the phone
immediately and said,
271
00:15:37,387 --> 00:15:40,801
"Hey, Walt, did you ever solve
that crime up there?"
272
00:15:42,732 --> 00:15:44,939
Captain Dane Shryock
contacted me
273
00:15:44,974 --> 00:15:47,698
about the Donald Welling
killing.
274
00:15:47,732 --> 00:15:49,146
He informed me
of their shooting
275
00:15:49,180 --> 00:15:52,008
at the Wills Creek dam.
276
00:15:52,043 --> 00:15:53,870
I said, "Did you ever
have any suspects?"
277
00:15:53,905 --> 00:15:56,594
And he said, "No."
I said, "Was there any chance
278
00:15:56,629 --> 00:15:58,456
he was shot
with a high-powered rifle?"
279
00:15:58,491 --> 00:15:59,939
He said, "Yes. Why?"
280
00:15:59,974 --> 00:16:02,801
So I said,
"I think we need to talk."
281
00:16:04,974 --> 00:16:07,353
Dane Shryock contacted myself
282
00:16:07,387 --> 00:16:10,387
and Walt Wilson
from Tuscarawas County.
283
00:16:12,456 --> 00:16:16,111
Dane suggested that we'd had
the same problem he had had,
284
00:16:16,146 --> 00:16:20,318
was some unsolved homicides.
285
00:16:20,353 --> 00:16:24,594
It was Coshocton, Belmont,
and myself from Tusc.
286
00:16:24,629 --> 00:16:26,560
We all brought our files
and we sat down
287
00:16:26,594 --> 00:16:29,353
and we just talked
openly about,
288
00:16:29,387 --> 00:16:32,939
you know,
what all our cases involved.
289
00:16:32,974 --> 00:16:37,525
All the victims were doing
something outdoors,
290
00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:42,043
and they were by themselves
in an isolated area.
291
00:16:42,077 --> 00:16:43,939
There were no witnesses
to any of it.
292
00:16:43,974 --> 00:16:47,077
They were all shot
with a rifle.
293
00:16:47,111 --> 00:16:49,146
And Fred Thompson
had indicated
294
00:16:49,180 --> 00:16:53,387
that the mother
of their victim, Mrs. Paxton,
295
00:16:53,422 --> 00:16:54,905
had received a letter
296
00:16:54,939 --> 00:16:58,146
that was allegedly
from the killer of her son.
297
00:16:58,180 --> 00:17:02,422
♪
298
00:17:02,456 --> 00:17:04,663
We needed to find out
if there's other homicides
299
00:17:04,698 --> 00:17:07,215
around this area,
so we set out a request
300
00:17:07,249 --> 00:17:10,318
for information
from other departments.
301
00:17:10,353 --> 00:17:12,111
And then it came
to our attention
302
00:17:12,146 --> 00:17:15,215
that there was another similar
homicide in Muskingum County
303
00:17:15,249 --> 00:17:17,629
and that case was unsolved.
304
00:17:20,836 --> 00:17:22,491
November 28th,
305
00:17:22,525 --> 00:17:25,525
about 18 days
after Jamie's homicide,
306
00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:28,318
there was an individual
by the name of Kevin Loring
307
00:17:28,353 --> 00:17:31,491
and he was
with a hunting party.
308
00:17:31,525 --> 00:17:34,801
And in the afternoon,
they decided to split up.
309
00:17:34,836 --> 00:17:38,043
They were supposed to meet
back at their cars,
310
00:17:38,077 --> 00:17:40,698
but Mr. Loring
never showed up.
311
00:17:43,215 --> 00:17:46,870
Kevin Loring was found
the next morning.
312
00:17:46,905 --> 00:17:51,008
He had been shot
right below the left eye
313
00:17:51,043 --> 00:17:54,974
and it came out
the back of the head.
314
00:17:55,008 --> 00:18:00,180
He was shot and killed
by a high-powered rifle.
315
00:18:00,215 --> 00:18:04,077
They found no shell casings,
no witnesses.
316
00:18:04,111 --> 00:18:06,043
You know, they just couldn't
find any reason
317
00:18:06,077 --> 00:18:10,387
why somebody would want
to kill Mr. Loring.
318
00:18:10,422 --> 00:18:13,318
And so that case
remained unsolved.
319
00:18:15,767 --> 00:18:17,146
We made a determination
320
00:18:17,180 --> 00:18:20,560
that in all likelihood,
these four homicides,
321
00:18:20,594 --> 00:18:23,560
Donald Welling, Jamie Paxton,
322
00:18:23,594 --> 00:18:26,215
Claude Hawkins,
and Kevin Loring
323
00:18:26,249 --> 00:18:28,111
were connected.
324
00:18:28,146 --> 00:18:30,836
The chance of one person
doing all of these killings
325
00:18:30,870 --> 00:18:33,077
made a lot of sense,
326
00:18:33,111 --> 00:18:35,560
but it was shocking to realize
327
00:18:35,594 --> 00:18:38,215
now you're after
a serial killer.
328
00:18:44,077 --> 00:18:47,491
At this point,
we had four victims killed
329
00:18:47,525 --> 00:18:51,353
with a high-powered rifle...
330
00:18:51,387 --> 00:18:56,732
either hunting or fishing
in remote areas.
331
00:18:56,767 --> 00:18:58,732
There were no witnesses.
332
00:18:58,767 --> 00:19:03,077
So we pretty much figured out
that they might be connected.
333
00:19:05,732 --> 00:19:08,077
We decided that we needed
to get together
334
00:19:08,111 --> 00:19:12,456
and basically
start a task force.
335
00:19:12,491 --> 00:19:14,456
We knew the task
was gonna be daunting
336
00:19:14,491 --> 00:19:17,870
and looked at the FBI at this
point for some guidance.
337
00:19:20,525 --> 00:19:24,560
Mr. Ankrom at Quantico
of the behavioral science unit
338
00:19:24,594 --> 00:19:28,146
prepared a profile
for the shooter.
339
00:19:28,180 --> 00:19:30,008
They had received a letter
from an individual
340
00:19:30,043 --> 00:19:33,008
claiming to be the killer
of Jamie Paxton.
341
00:19:33,043 --> 00:19:35,008
The words that he used in it
342
00:19:35,043 --> 00:19:37,353
were somehow more complex.
343
00:19:37,387 --> 00:19:40,077
He made reference to poetry.
344
00:19:40,111 --> 00:19:42,456
So all of that together
led me to believe
345
00:19:42,491 --> 00:19:45,525
that he was at least a high
school education or higher.
346
00:19:47,525 --> 00:19:51,905
It was apparent to me that
he's most likely a white male.
347
00:19:51,939 --> 00:19:55,043
He was at least
30 years of age.
348
00:19:55,077 --> 00:19:58,905
He's capable of being employed.
349
00:19:58,939 --> 00:20:01,974
He probably didn't have
a lot of close friends.
350
00:20:02,008 --> 00:20:05,905
He was something of a loner.
351
00:20:05,939 --> 00:20:08,560
We believed that we had
a serial killer responsible
352
00:20:08,594 --> 00:20:11,939
for four homicides
over a period of several years.
353
00:20:13,422 --> 00:20:16,249
Right after we started
forming this--this task force,
354
00:20:16,284 --> 00:20:19,284
there was a fifth homicide
that came to our attention.
355
00:20:19,318 --> 00:20:25,215
♪
356
00:20:25,249 --> 00:20:28,560
On April 5th of 1992,
357
00:20:28,594 --> 00:20:30,629
we heard from Noble County,
358
00:20:30,663 --> 00:20:33,594
which is, again,
in this general area,
359
00:20:33,629 --> 00:20:35,801
southeastern Ohio,
360
00:20:35,836 --> 00:20:39,594
an individual had been
shot and killed.
361
00:20:42,180 --> 00:20:44,663
He was identified through
his driver's license
362
00:20:44,698 --> 00:20:49,594
as Gary Bradley from
Williamstown, West Virginia.
363
00:20:49,629 --> 00:20:53,043
He was fishing in a remote area
when he was shot.
364
00:20:55,422 --> 00:20:58,180
He had been shot
once in the back
365
00:20:58,215 --> 00:21:00,353
with a high-powered rifle
366
00:21:00,387 --> 00:21:02,663
and then once in the backside.
367
00:21:05,111 --> 00:21:07,008
His vehicle was parked
in the area,
368
00:21:07,043 --> 00:21:11,663
and there was no other
witnesses that we're aware of.
369
00:21:11,698 --> 00:21:13,939
It was quite evident that
whoever was doing the killing
370
00:21:13,974 --> 00:21:16,456
was being very careful
that he was not leaving
371
00:21:16,491 --> 00:21:20,767
any shell casings,
any tire tracks.
372
00:21:20,801 --> 00:21:24,767
The Bradley killing fit
these other homicides.
373
00:21:24,801 --> 00:21:26,560
And it was very troubling
374
00:21:26,594 --> 00:21:29,353
because we have a serial killer
on the loose,
375
00:21:29,387 --> 00:21:33,939
and what are we going to do and
how are we going to stop him?
376
00:21:33,974 --> 00:21:35,801
And then
the autopsy revealed
377
00:21:35,836 --> 00:21:38,974
that the rounds
recovered from Mr. Bradley
378
00:21:39,008 --> 00:21:42,111
were from a Swedish Mauser
379
00:21:42,146 --> 00:21:44,077
very similar, if not exact,
380
00:21:44,111 --> 00:21:48,146
to the round that was used
to kill Claude Hawkins.
381
00:21:50,180 --> 00:21:53,974
And it was determined
the last two homicides
382
00:21:54,008 --> 00:21:57,767
may have been committed
using the same firearm.
383
00:22:01,387 --> 00:22:04,836
We were devastated
when we had another case.
384
00:22:04,870 --> 00:22:07,560
We felt under the gun
to get this resolved
385
00:22:07,594 --> 00:22:11,249
as quickly as possible
because we had people dying.
386
00:22:13,974 --> 00:22:16,560
So we now have five
different murders
387
00:22:16,594 --> 00:22:20,043
in five different counties
in rural Ohio.
388
00:22:20,077 --> 00:22:24,456
He seems to be intentionally
going to different areas,
389
00:22:24,491 --> 00:22:26,456
maybe knowing that
the police departments
390
00:22:26,491 --> 00:22:27,905
don't talk to each other,
391
00:22:27,939 --> 00:22:30,594
knowing he has a better chance
of getting away with it
392
00:22:30,629 --> 00:22:32,939
if he kills
in different counties.
393
00:22:32,974 --> 00:22:36,698
So you're dealing with
a calculated, highly organized,
394
00:22:36,732 --> 00:22:38,905
sophisticated killer
at this point,
395
00:22:38,939 --> 00:22:41,422
which is a scary thing
for law enforcement
396
00:22:41,456 --> 00:22:42,870
to have to confront.
397
00:22:42,905 --> 00:22:45,698
What's even more frightening
is the use of a rifle.
398
00:22:45,732 --> 00:22:48,663
Makes it very difficult
to track someone
399
00:22:48,698 --> 00:22:51,560
who kills
from an incredible distance.
400
00:22:51,594 --> 00:22:55,284
This is something
that the police can't police.
401
00:22:58,974 --> 00:23:00,870
It was determined
that at this point,
402
00:23:00,905 --> 00:23:03,387
we needed to go public
to save lives
403
00:23:03,422 --> 00:23:05,767
and make people aware
of what was going on.
404
00:23:08,077 --> 00:23:11,560
The profile was provided
in that news release.
405
00:23:13,008 --> 00:23:15,698
The press conference,
besides making people aware,
406
00:23:15,732 --> 00:23:17,560
created a lot of fear
in the community
407
00:23:17,594 --> 00:23:18,801
because there's a lot of people
408
00:23:18,836 --> 00:23:22,146
that spend a lot of time
in the outdoors.
409
00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:24,974
It was terrifying.
410
00:23:25,008 --> 00:23:30,939
And there was a clamor for law
enforcement to get this person.
411
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,870
People reported to the task
force possible suspects.
412
00:23:40,629 --> 00:23:42,698
But these leads
were not that strong
413
00:23:42,732 --> 00:23:45,043
and it did not go anywhere.
414
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,180
And then,
a number of months later,
415
00:23:49,215 --> 00:23:51,836
we got a call
from an individual
416
00:23:51,870 --> 00:23:53,629
by the name of Richard Fry.
417
00:23:55,698 --> 00:23:57,732
He said,
"I think this information
418
00:23:57,767 --> 00:23:59,180
"that's out there in the news
419
00:23:59,215 --> 00:24:01,801
seems like it could be
one of my best friend's."
420
00:24:03,698 --> 00:24:05,974
He wanted to sit down
and talk.
421
00:24:07,905 --> 00:24:10,043
It was pretty obvious
that he was nervous
422
00:24:10,077 --> 00:24:12,008
about talking about this.
423
00:24:14,905 --> 00:24:18,525
He told me his friend's name
was Tom Dillon,
424
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,767
that they had gone
to high school together.
425
00:24:20,801 --> 00:24:23,905
They both very much liked
guns and weapons
426
00:24:23,939 --> 00:24:26,698
and going out and shooting.
427
00:24:26,732 --> 00:24:29,077
But as years went by,
428
00:24:29,111 --> 00:24:32,008
Richard Fry said that he kinda
got away from his friend
429
00:24:32,043 --> 00:24:35,422
because he started doing things
that kind of scared him.
430
00:24:35,456 --> 00:24:37,801
He would shoot out
bank windows,
431
00:24:37,836 --> 00:24:39,525
street signs, cars.
432
00:24:42,905 --> 00:24:44,870
It was pretty obvious
to Mr. Fry
433
00:24:44,905 --> 00:24:48,939
that Tom Dillon's life
was pretty much deteriorating.
434
00:24:48,974 --> 00:24:51,215
He was drinking an awful lot.
435
00:24:53,111 --> 00:24:56,284
Dillon read up on
some different serial killers.
436
00:24:56,318 --> 00:24:58,043
One of them
was being Ted Bundy,
437
00:24:58,077 --> 00:25:00,008
and he just was
really interested
438
00:25:00,043 --> 00:25:02,318
in what they did
and how they did it.
439
00:25:04,525 --> 00:25:07,939
And that really made
Richard Fry highly suspicious
440
00:25:07,974 --> 00:25:10,939
that something was wrong
with Mr. Dillon.
441
00:25:12,767 --> 00:25:14,525
There were a lot of leads
that came in,
442
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,180
but this one made
you wanna dig a lot deeper.
443
00:25:17,215 --> 00:25:20,939
♪
444
00:25:20,974 --> 00:25:23,836
We had no evidence
at this point to stop him.
445
00:25:23,870 --> 00:25:27,043
That was an extremely
tense time
446
00:25:27,077 --> 00:25:30,456
because we were so worried
that he may kill again.
447
00:25:30,491 --> 00:25:32,215
And the plane is telling us,
448
00:25:32,249 --> 00:25:34,422
"Ooh, there's a female jogger
on the road."
449
00:25:34,456 --> 00:25:35,939
It was, like, "Please, God.
450
00:25:35,974 --> 00:25:37,836
Don't let him
shoot this person."
451
00:25:44,698 --> 00:25:47,284
We're looking at
five homicides.
452
00:25:47,318 --> 00:25:51,111
These individuals were killed
out in remote areas.
453
00:25:51,146 --> 00:25:53,043
They were involved in either,
you know,
454
00:25:53,077 --> 00:25:55,077
some type of outdoor activity.
455
00:25:55,111 --> 00:25:57,836
They're hunting or fishing.
456
00:25:57,870 --> 00:26:00,560
We have to put it in high gear
457
00:26:00,594 --> 00:26:03,422
and absolutely
put a stop to it.
458
00:26:05,422 --> 00:26:08,353
We started generating tips
from the public
459
00:26:08,387 --> 00:26:11,663
about possible suspects.
460
00:26:11,698 --> 00:26:13,870
One of them
was Thomas Dillon.
461
00:26:13,905 --> 00:26:19,111
♪
462
00:26:19,146 --> 00:26:22,767
All we had were suspicions.
463
00:26:22,801 --> 00:26:25,180
So we had to find out
as much information
464
00:26:25,215 --> 00:26:28,422
as we could about Dillon.
465
00:26:28,456 --> 00:26:31,836
He was a family man,
had a wife, had a son.
466
00:26:33,801 --> 00:26:36,249
We know from records
467
00:26:36,284 --> 00:26:41,180
that Dillon had one or two
fairly minor arrests prior.
468
00:26:41,215 --> 00:26:43,594
Sometime in early August,
469
00:26:43,629 --> 00:26:46,732
Mr. Dillon was found in a park
470
00:26:46,767 --> 00:26:52,111
in Stark County, Ohio
by a park ranger.
471
00:26:52,146 --> 00:26:57,043
And he was found
with a rifle with a silencer.
472
00:26:59,180 --> 00:27:01,387
Silencer was illegal,
473
00:27:01,422 --> 00:27:05,353
and that case gets turned over
to the ATF.
474
00:27:05,387 --> 00:27:07,456
And eventually,
475
00:27:07,491 --> 00:27:10,732
Dillon pleads guilty
to the charge
476
00:27:10,767 --> 00:27:12,974
and he's placed on probation.
477
00:27:13,008 --> 00:27:17,215
♪
478
00:27:17,249 --> 00:27:19,974
We learned that Thomas Dillon
worked for the city of Canton
479
00:27:20,008 --> 00:27:22,387
as a draftsman
for the water department.
480
00:27:24,732 --> 00:27:26,629
We requested a copy
481
00:27:26,663 --> 00:27:30,043
of Tom Dillon's
prior work schedules.
482
00:27:30,077 --> 00:27:32,456
And we found he was off
on the weekends
483
00:27:32,491 --> 00:27:35,353
of four of the homicides,
and he was off
484
00:27:35,387 --> 00:27:38,801
on the day of Kevin Loring's
killing at Muskingum County.
485
00:27:40,836 --> 00:27:42,801
Thomas Dillon rose to the top
486
00:27:42,836 --> 00:27:45,249
as the number one suspect
quite quickly.
487
00:27:48,111 --> 00:27:51,422
We ended up putting him under
surveillance to try to see
488
00:27:51,456 --> 00:27:53,663
if we could find
any evidence of him
489
00:27:53,698 --> 00:27:57,077
being involved
in these crimes.
490
00:27:57,111 --> 00:27:59,318
We tracked Mr. Dillon
all over Southern Ohio
491
00:27:59,353 --> 00:28:01,560
for several months.
492
00:28:01,594 --> 00:28:05,836
♪
493
00:28:05,870 --> 00:28:07,043
During that time,
494
00:28:07,077 --> 00:28:09,180
we learned he was
committing minor crimes,
495
00:28:09,215 --> 00:28:12,560
vandalizing electric meters,
that type of thing.
496
00:28:12,594 --> 00:28:15,491
He was burning old buildings
and killing animals.
497
00:28:17,249 --> 00:28:20,767
That was a great concern
for the task force.
498
00:28:24,008 --> 00:28:27,215
Burning old buildings
and killing animals
499
00:28:27,249 --> 00:28:29,077
was a big concern
to the task force
500
00:28:29,111 --> 00:28:32,422
because that's a red flag
of a serial killer.
501
00:28:32,456 --> 00:28:35,870
The reason why hurting
or killing animals
502
00:28:35,905 --> 00:28:38,663
is seen as sort of
an early indicator
503
00:28:38,698 --> 00:28:42,560
of potential psychopathic
or serial killing behavior
504
00:28:42,594 --> 00:28:45,180
is because there's
essentially a graduation.
505
00:28:45,215 --> 00:28:47,698
These individuals often
start by hurting animals.
506
00:28:47,732 --> 00:28:49,767
It's sort of a practice
or a warm-up.
507
00:28:49,801 --> 00:28:51,215
And they do that.
508
00:28:51,249 --> 00:28:53,353
And when that no longer
sort of fits the bill
509
00:28:53,387 --> 00:28:56,077
or brings them the arousal
that they want from it,
510
00:28:56,111 --> 00:28:59,180
they move on to hurting
and eventually killing humans.
511
00:28:59,215 --> 00:29:00,870
So the police officers
512
00:29:00,905 --> 00:29:03,284
have identified
their primary suspect, Dillon.
513
00:29:03,318 --> 00:29:05,525
The problem is there's
very little evidence
514
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:06,939
to make an arrest.
515
00:29:06,974 --> 00:29:09,146
And it's one thing to have
probable cause to arrest.
516
00:29:09,180 --> 00:29:11,560
But once you make that arrest,
you better have proof
517
00:29:11,594 --> 00:29:13,560
beyond a reasonable doubt
'cause that's what you need--
518
00:29:13,594 --> 00:29:16,353
a much higher threshold
for trial.
519
00:29:16,387 --> 00:29:18,560
The only thing that they have
to do at this point
520
00:29:18,594 --> 00:29:20,698
is to place him
under surveillance.
521
00:29:20,732 --> 00:29:22,870
There are some moral
and ethical issues
522
00:29:22,905 --> 00:29:25,146
that come with this decision.
523
00:29:25,180 --> 00:29:27,594
How close do you let him get
524
00:29:27,629 --> 00:29:31,249
before he actually
murders someone?
525
00:29:35,008 --> 00:29:38,180
We were very hesitant
to do anything
526
00:29:38,215 --> 00:29:41,939
that would let Dillon know
that he was our suspect.
527
00:29:44,215 --> 00:29:47,043
And we had no evidence
at this point to stop him.
528
00:29:47,077 --> 00:29:51,456
♪
529
00:29:51,491 --> 00:29:53,698
It was very difficult
to do surveillance
530
00:29:53,732 --> 00:29:55,698
because of such remote areas.
531
00:29:57,801 --> 00:30:01,456
I have notified
the FBI's aviation unit
532
00:30:01,491 --> 00:30:06,249
and requested assistance
from them to provide aircraft,
533
00:30:06,284 --> 00:30:09,629
to help us surveil Dillon.
534
00:30:12,111 --> 00:30:14,043
We were out on the surveillance
one day
535
00:30:14,077 --> 00:30:17,284
and the aircraft was up.
536
00:30:17,318 --> 00:30:19,077
FBI Agent Trombitas and I
537
00:30:19,111 --> 00:30:22,560
are in the lead vehicle
behind Mr. Dillon.
538
00:30:24,870 --> 00:30:26,146
We're driving along,
539
00:30:26,180 --> 00:30:28,180
giving Mr. Dillon
some distance.
540
00:30:30,249 --> 00:30:33,387
And the aircraft
is calling out what he's doing.
541
00:30:36,456 --> 00:30:39,422
And the plane is telling us,
"Ooh, there's a female jogger
542
00:30:39,456 --> 00:30:41,456
on the road
that he's going to come upon."
543
00:30:43,491 --> 00:30:46,043
And the aircraft says,
544
00:30:46,077 --> 00:30:48,180
"Okay, he's coming up
on the jogger.
545
00:30:48,215 --> 00:30:50,836
He's slowing down."
546
00:30:50,870 --> 00:30:52,422
Dane and I are looking
at each other.
547
00:30:52,456 --> 00:30:55,801
And I mean, we're--
you know, we're stressed.
548
00:30:58,077 --> 00:31:00,525
Agent Trombitas and I
sped our vehicle up
549
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,422
to try to get close
to Mr. Dillon so he didn't have
550
00:31:03,456 --> 00:31:06,939
an opportunity
to commit any crime.
551
00:31:06,974 --> 00:31:10,974
We have to be able
to stop this from happening.
552
00:31:11,008 --> 00:31:14,318
If we don't get there quick
enough, someone's gonna die.
553
00:31:19,215 --> 00:31:22,456
We had Thomas Dillon
under surveillance.
554
00:31:23,939 --> 00:31:27,560
We're following Mr. Dillon
with an airplane.
555
00:31:30,249 --> 00:31:31,732
And we're driving along,
556
00:31:31,767 --> 00:31:34,008
giving Mr. Dillon
some distance.
557
00:31:35,146 --> 00:31:37,663
The aircraft is calling out
what he's doing.
558
00:31:37,698 --> 00:31:39,077
And then he says,
559
00:31:39,111 --> 00:31:42,318
"Looks like there's a jogger
in the road ahead of him."
560
00:31:44,698 --> 00:31:47,284
And it was, like,
"Oh, my God.
561
00:31:47,318 --> 00:31:49,077
"Please, God," you know,
562
00:31:49,111 --> 00:31:51,353
"Don't let him shoot
this person."
563
00:31:53,663 --> 00:31:56,111
We made the determination
at that point
564
00:31:56,146 --> 00:31:57,594
that we were going to speed up
565
00:31:57,629 --> 00:32:00,560
onto the back of him
very quickly.
566
00:32:03,767 --> 00:32:07,008
And all of a sudden
the plane says,
567
00:32:07,043 --> 00:32:09,767
"Okay,
Dillon is turning right.
568
00:32:09,801 --> 00:32:11,801
He's going away
from the jogger."
569
00:32:16,353 --> 00:32:17,525
So we backed off.
570
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,974
Thomas Dillon never knew
we were behind him.
571
00:32:21,008 --> 00:32:23,939
We thought that Dillon
most likely decided
572
00:32:23,974 --> 00:32:26,767
this was not somebody
that maybe he wanted to target.
573
00:32:29,387 --> 00:32:32,111
To this day,
it still gives me chills.
574
00:32:36,525 --> 00:32:37,939
We felt under the gun
575
00:32:37,974 --> 00:32:41,043
to get this resolved
as quickly as possible.
576
00:32:42,629 --> 00:32:45,939
I mean, if we're on him
and we lose him
577
00:32:45,974 --> 00:32:49,249
and he ends up killing
somebody else that day,
578
00:32:49,284 --> 00:32:52,318
how are we going to explain
to that family
579
00:32:52,353 --> 00:32:54,767
that we weren't there
to prevent him from,
580
00:32:54,801 --> 00:32:57,870
you know, killing your dad,
or, you know, your husband?
581
00:33:00,663 --> 00:33:04,215
We can't really afford to
let him stay out much longer.
582
00:33:09,836 --> 00:33:12,111
On November 21st, 1992,
583
00:33:12,146 --> 00:33:15,077
the surveillance team
was following Thomas Dillon
584
00:33:15,111 --> 00:33:19,456
when he went to a gun show
in Tuscarawas County.
585
00:33:19,491 --> 00:33:21,629
One of our
task force officers,
586
00:33:21,663 --> 00:33:25,629
they see Dillon
purchase a handgun.
587
00:33:25,663 --> 00:33:27,594
Dillon was out on probation
588
00:33:27,629 --> 00:33:29,974
now for possession
of a silencer,
589
00:33:30,008 --> 00:33:32,698
and he wasn't allowed
to purchase weapons.
590
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:37,836
They don't have enough
to arrest him for murder.
591
00:33:37,870 --> 00:33:40,146
They do have them
on other charges.
592
00:33:40,180 --> 00:33:42,387
So the question is,
do they bring them in
593
00:33:42,422 --> 00:33:46,422
on the other charges
and hope maybe he'll talk
594
00:33:46,456 --> 00:33:48,974
and incriminate himself
about the murders?
595
00:33:49,008 --> 00:33:52,077
This is a very troubling
conundrum for them to be in.
596
00:33:52,111 --> 00:33:54,111
They have to weigh the costs
and benefits of
597
00:33:54,146 --> 00:33:55,870
if it pays to keep him in jail
598
00:33:55,905 --> 00:33:57,663
until they can get
enough evidence,
599
00:33:57,698 --> 00:34:00,215
or do they trail him
and track him
600
00:34:00,249 --> 00:34:01,594
until they have
enough evidence,
601
00:34:01,629 --> 00:34:03,456
but take the risk
that he could,
602
00:34:03,491 --> 00:34:06,077
you know, evade them
and kill somebody else?
603
00:34:06,111 --> 00:34:09,353
There's a time
in every investigation
604
00:34:09,387 --> 00:34:12,077
where you just have
to roll the dice.
605
00:34:12,111 --> 00:34:14,249
You have to make a decision.
606
00:34:14,284 --> 00:34:16,767
You have to make the arrest,
607
00:34:16,801 --> 00:34:19,974
and you have to let
the chips fall where they may.
608
00:34:22,491 --> 00:34:25,284
A decision was made
that we would go ahead,
609
00:34:25,318 --> 00:34:26,905
get him off the street
610
00:34:26,939 --> 00:34:29,974
before he had an opportunity
to kill anybody else.
611
00:34:31,387 --> 00:34:34,077
We came up with a plan.
612
00:34:34,111 --> 00:34:36,870
We knew that Dillon liked
to go to this dairy mart
613
00:34:36,905 --> 00:34:38,525
not too far from his home.
614
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:41,525
He would leave his residence
about 7:00 in the morning.
615
00:34:43,111 --> 00:34:46,387
It was prearranged
with the ATF
616
00:34:46,422 --> 00:34:47,732
that they would arrest him
617
00:34:47,767 --> 00:34:51,353
for his probation violation
for purchasing a weapon.
618
00:34:53,594 --> 00:34:54,939
Everything is in place.
619
00:34:54,974 --> 00:34:57,008
And sure enough,
Dillon comes down,
620
00:34:57,043 --> 00:34:58,870
turns into the dairy mart.
621
00:34:58,905 --> 00:35:02,353
♪
622
00:35:02,387 --> 00:35:04,905
I gave the signal to ATF.
623
00:35:04,939 --> 00:35:08,732
They came in
and made the arrest.
624
00:35:11,594 --> 00:35:12,767
While they were
patting him down,
625
00:35:12,801 --> 00:35:14,111
they found a handgun on him.
626
00:35:14,146 --> 00:35:16,974
So in fact,
he did have a firearm on him.
627
00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:22,146
And I said, "Mr. Dillon,
I'm with the FBI.
628
00:35:22,180 --> 00:35:24,353
We'd like to talk to you."
629
00:35:26,870 --> 00:35:28,146
He looked surprised.
630
00:35:28,180 --> 00:35:31,249
And he said,
"I'ma call my lawyer."
631
00:35:34,870 --> 00:35:37,215
They took him
to Stark County jail.
632
00:35:37,249 --> 00:35:41,525
♪
633
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,767
We obtained a search warrant
for his residence.
634
00:35:47,663 --> 00:35:50,560
The hope was
when they search the home,
635
00:35:50,594 --> 00:35:52,698
they would find
physical evidence.
636
00:35:52,732 --> 00:35:55,387
But unfortunately,
they found next to nothing.
637
00:35:57,215 --> 00:36:01,318
We never found any evidence
of any guns, any bullets
638
00:36:01,353 --> 00:36:03,732
that would connect him
to any of the murders.
639
00:36:07,111 --> 00:36:10,422
We still had the probation
violation charge,
640
00:36:10,456 --> 00:36:14,215
and the magistrate agreed
that he was a danger.
641
00:36:14,249 --> 00:36:17,905
So he was not given bail.
642
00:36:17,939 --> 00:36:20,111
What we decided to do
at this point
643
00:36:20,146 --> 00:36:23,077
was go to the media and say,
644
00:36:23,111 --> 00:36:28,284
"Tom Dillon is a person
of interest in these cases."
645
00:36:29,663 --> 00:36:32,180
They put out
a widespread plea.
646
00:36:32,215 --> 00:36:37,077
"If anyone sold him a gun
or bought a gun from him,
647
00:36:37,111 --> 00:36:39,974
please get in touch with us."
648
00:36:43,180 --> 00:36:46,698
♪
649
00:36:46,732 --> 00:36:51,077
Pretty soon, we get a call
from an individual who says,
650
00:36:51,111 --> 00:36:55,318
"I bought a Swedish Mauser
from Mr. Dillon.
651
00:36:56,422 --> 00:36:59,111
I recognize his face
from the news media."
652
00:37:00,974 --> 00:37:02,077
And then he says,
653
00:37:02,111 --> 00:37:05,215
"You're welcome
to come get the weapon."
654
00:37:05,249 --> 00:37:10,180
And Dane volunteered
to actually hand carry the gun
655
00:37:10,215 --> 00:37:13,594
to Washington D.C.
to the FBI lab.
656
00:37:15,146 --> 00:37:18,629
The FBI performed
a ballistics on the weapon
657
00:37:18,663 --> 00:37:20,870
and we ended up
getting a 100% match
658
00:37:20,905 --> 00:37:23,353
on Gary Bradley, Noble County,
659
00:37:23,387 --> 00:37:26,767
and about a 90% match
on Claude Hawkins' homicide.
660
00:37:28,594 --> 00:37:31,836
Concrete evidence
that sealed the deal really
661
00:37:31,870 --> 00:37:33,560
on those two cases.
662
00:37:33,594 --> 00:37:38,043
So we're in a position where we
believe we have enough evidence
663
00:37:38,077 --> 00:37:40,077
to seek the death penalty
on Dillon.
664
00:37:42,974 --> 00:37:44,594
But we still could not prove
665
00:37:44,629 --> 00:37:47,629
the remaining
three murder cases.
666
00:37:47,663 --> 00:37:49,974
And so we wanted
to be willing
667
00:37:50,008 --> 00:37:51,353
to drop the death penalty
668
00:37:51,387 --> 00:37:54,077
in exchange
for Dillon's admission.
669
00:37:55,905 --> 00:37:58,249
Dillon's attorneys let us know
670
00:37:58,284 --> 00:38:01,353
that he was willing
to speak with us.
671
00:38:02,836 --> 00:38:06,387
We were trying to get
a confession from him.
672
00:38:06,422 --> 00:38:08,801
This may be it.
We're really close.
673
00:38:15,525 --> 00:38:19,284
We sat down with Dillon to go
through each of the homicides.
674
00:38:21,456 --> 00:38:24,801
Thomas Dillon was
very intelligent.
675
00:38:24,836 --> 00:38:28,387
It was a game to him
with investigators.
676
00:38:28,422 --> 00:38:31,077
One thing that I think
he struggled with
677
00:38:31,111 --> 00:38:33,422
was how he ever got caught.
678
00:38:33,456 --> 00:38:36,698
That really troubled him.
679
00:38:36,732 --> 00:38:40,077
We spent several hours
in an interview with him.
680
00:38:40,111 --> 00:38:42,663
Finally,
he realized at that point
681
00:38:42,698 --> 00:38:45,284
that it was in his
best interest to confess.
682
00:38:45,318 --> 00:38:48,801
♪
683
00:38:48,836 --> 00:38:51,870
He said on April 1st, 1989,
684
00:38:51,905 --> 00:38:56,870
"I happened to be driving
through Tuscarawas County..."
685
00:38:59,043 --> 00:39:00,594
And he came across
Donald Welling
686
00:39:00,629 --> 00:39:03,180
walking in this remote area.
687
00:39:03,215 --> 00:39:05,146
And he said,
688
00:39:05,180 --> 00:39:07,318
"I just heard a voice
that said,
689
00:39:07,353 --> 00:39:09,698
'Do it, do it.'"
690
00:39:09,732 --> 00:39:11,560
And he rolled down
his window, shot him...
691
00:39:12,939 --> 00:39:15,180
With a high-powered rifle,
692
00:39:15,215 --> 00:39:17,387
and drove on down the road.
693
00:39:17,422 --> 00:39:21,698
The next incident
was November 10th, 1990
694
00:39:21,732 --> 00:39:25,077
with Jamie Paxton.
695
00:39:25,111 --> 00:39:27,077
Thomas Dillon drove by him
and saw him
696
00:39:27,111 --> 00:39:30,456
about 100 feet off the road.
697
00:39:30,491 --> 00:39:32,974
He said,
"I heard that voice again,
698
00:39:33,008 --> 00:39:36,318
telling me, 'Do it, do it.'"
699
00:39:36,353 --> 00:39:39,008
He said that Jamie Paxton
didn't even recognize
700
00:39:39,043 --> 00:39:41,422
that somebody was pointing
a gun at him,
701
00:39:41,456 --> 00:39:43,146
shot him...
702
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:46,732
The first round hit him
in the chest.
703
00:39:46,767 --> 00:39:48,422
He dropped to the ground.
704
00:39:49,870 --> 00:39:53,008
He heard Jamie groan
and he went down.
705
00:39:53,043 --> 00:39:56,043
But he wanted
to finish him off,
706
00:39:56,077 --> 00:40:01,180
so Dillon continued to pump
two more rounds into him.
707
00:40:02,422 --> 00:40:05,353
The next case was
the Kevin Loring case
708
00:40:05,387 --> 00:40:11,008
that happened
on November 28th, 1990.
709
00:40:11,043 --> 00:40:13,353
Thomas Dillon had been
deer hunting with some friends
710
00:40:13,387 --> 00:40:15,077
and he left,
started driving around,
711
00:40:15,111 --> 00:40:18,077
came across Kevin Loring,
712
00:40:18,111 --> 00:40:20,525
shot him from the roadway.
713
00:40:22,870 --> 00:40:25,939
We moved into
the fourth one,
714
00:40:25,974 --> 00:40:30,008
Claude Hawkins
on March 14th, 1992.
715
00:40:30,043 --> 00:40:32,422
Dillon said he was just
driving around
716
00:40:32,456 --> 00:40:36,111
and he saw a guy
all by himself fishing.
717
00:40:36,146 --> 00:40:40,043
He walked down about 50 feet
into some pine trees.
718
00:40:41,422 --> 00:40:42,836
Shot him square on the back.
719
00:40:45,111 --> 00:40:49,077
And then he moved on
to the fifth homicide,
720
00:40:49,111 --> 00:40:52,043
Gary Bradley,
721
00:40:52,077 --> 00:40:55,491
roughly three weeks
after Claude Hawkins.
722
00:40:55,525 --> 00:40:57,008
He saw him fishing...
723
00:40:58,491 --> 00:41:01,594
Shot him from the roadway
in the torso twice...
724
00:41:03,111 --> 00:41:05,043
Got in the vehicle
and drove away
725
00:41:05,077 --> 00:41:08,353
like nothing ever happened.
726
00:41:08,387 --> 00:41:10,836
And he said it was
like shooting,
727
00:41:10,870 --> 00:41:12,698
you know,
bottles at--at the dump.
728
00:41:12,732 --> 00:41:16,939
That's how much
it really meant to him.
729
00:41:16,974 --> 00:41:18,905
You know, it's just awful.
730
00:41:22,767 --> 00:41:27,698
Here we have a sniper
who hunts men.
731
00:41:27,732 --> 00:41:31,732
Each one of these victims was
doing something that they love,
732
00:41:31,767 --> 00:41:33,836
having a peaceful day,
733
00:41:33,870 --> 00:41:36,146
not even knowing
that it's coming.
734
00:41:36,180 --> 00:41:38,594
What makes this killer
so twisted
735
00:41:38,629 --> 00:41:41,939
is the simplistic motive
behind his killings.
736
00:41:41,974 --> 00:41:45,698
Anyone who's aimed
at a target who shot a basket
737
00:41:45,732 --> 00:41:51,077
knows the thrill in hitting
the target or making the score.
738
00:41:51,111 --> 00:41:53,732
And that's what happened
with Thomas Dillon.
739
00:41:53,767 --> 00:41:58,456
He didn't care whether
his subject was a bottle,
740
00:41:58,491 --> 00:42:01,284
a squirrel, or a human being.
741
00:42:01,318 --> 00:42:02,698
To him, they were just targets
742
00:42:02,732 --> 00:42:06,491
and he got the thrill
just hitting his target.
743
00:42:06,525 --> 00:42:08,249
He had a history
of doing this
744
00:42:08,284 --> 00:42:12,146
on sort of stressed-out days
or bad days.
745
00:42:12,180 --> 00:42:14,525
And so the very
simplistic explanation
746
00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:16,732
is he was having a bad day.
747
00:42:16,767 --> 00:42:19,974
This was sport for him.
This was blowing off steam.
748
00:42:23,801 --> 00:42:25,870
Thomas Dillon entered
a guilty plea
749
00:42:25,905 --> 00:42:28,318
to these five
aggravated murders
750
00:42:28,353 --> 00:42:30,318
as we call them
under our statute.
751
00:42:31,905 --> 00:42:33,629
The courtroom was packed
752
00:42:33,663 --> 00:42:35,801
and the judge sentenced him
753
00:42:35,836 --> 00:42:39,077
to life in prison
with no chance of parole
754
00:42:39,111 --> 00:42:41,353
for 165 years.
755
00:42:43,111 --> 00:42:47,629
It was so good to get
this guy off the street
756
00:42:47,663 --> 00:42:50,077
where he would never
get out again.
757
00:42:52,387 --> 00:42:54,215
But even with all of that,
758
00:42:54,249 --> 00:42:57,560
you just can't replace the five
victims that he left behind.
759
00:43:01,318 --> 00:43:04,456
There's always
a little part of me that
760
00:43:04,491 --> 00:43:05,939
kind of thinks
this whole family
761
00:43:05,974 --> 00:43:08,560
was ripped apart
because of him.
762
00:43:08,594 --> 00:43:11,939
My father-in-law sat in a bar
every day until he died.
763
00:43:11,974 --> 00:43:15,077
And I think it was just
grieving over his son.
764
00:43:15,111 --> 00:43:19,008
♪
765
00:43:19,043 --> 00:43:22,594
How many people would
Mr. Dillon be responsible for?
766
00:43:22,629 --> 00:43:24,525
It was a tremendous satisfaction
767
00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:27,974
that we maybe have saved
somebody else's life.
768
00:43:28,008 --> 00:43:35,043
♪