1 00:00:01,525 --> 00:00:04,491 [sinister music] 2 00:00:04,870 --> 00:00:05,560 ♪ 3 00:00:06,146 --> 00:00:06,836 This is a serial killer 4 00:00:07,456 --> 00:00:09,111 unlike any I've ever seen. 5 00:00:11,215 --> 00:00:13,698 He kills simply to cover his tracks. 6 00:00:13,732 --> 00:00:17,870 Anyone who gets in his way can be disposed of. 7 00:00:17,905 --> 00:00:19,870 Whatever threat comes his way, 8 00:00:19,905 --> 00:00:23,422 he makes that person disappear. 9 00:00:23,456 --> 00:00:26,318 And what could be a more horrific way to kill 10 00:00:26,353 --> 00:00:27,180 than drowning. 11 00:00:29,422 --> 00:00:30,801 One of the most twisted, 12 00:00:30,836 --> 00:00:33,663 psychopathic killers I've ever heard of. 13 00:00:33,698 --> 00:00:36,663 [eerie music] 14 00:00:36,698 --> 00:00:43,629 ♪ 15 00:00:43,663 --> 00:00:47,732 [ambient music] 16 00:00:47,767 --> 00:00:52,077 Newaygo County is a lightly populated county 17 00:00:52,111 --> 00:00:53,249 in the state of Michigan. 18 00:00:53,284 --> 00:00:54,836 It's north of Grand Rapids. 19 00:00:54,870 --> 00:00:57,629 A lot of it is very wooded. 20 00:00:57,663 --> 00:01:00,387 People come to camp and get away 21 00:01:00,422 --> 00:01:02,560 and enjoy our rivers and lakes. 22 00:01:02,594 --> 00:01:06,180 ♪ 23 00:01:06,215 --> 00:01:08,456 July 5th of 1997, 24 00:01:08,491 --> 00:01:11,698 two turtle hunters out in Oxford Lake area 25 00:01:11,732 --> 00:01:15,215 made a 911 call to the Newaygo County Sheriff Department. 26 00:01:16,767 --> 00:01:18,836 They reported that they discovered a body 27 00:01:18,870 --> 00:01:21,043 floating in Oxford Lake. 28 00:01:23,284 --> 00:01:26,284 We were dispatched to the scene, 29 00:01:26,318 --> 00:01:30,111 which is in a very remote, wooded area. 30 00:01:30,146 --> 00:01:33,111 A few hundred feet out from the shoreline, 31 00:01:33,146 --> 00:01:35,249 we observed what appeared to be 32 00:01:35,284 --> 00:01:36,732 a lump of something in the water. 33 00:01:38,732 --> 00:01:40,456 We secured the boat, 34 00:01:40,491 --> 00:01:44,284 which the turtle hunters had used to go out 35 00:01:44,318 --> 00:01:47,284 and examined what was in the lake. 36 00:01:47,318 --> 00:01:51,146 As we got closer, it appeared that it was probably a female 37 00:01:51,180 --> 00:01:52,663 due to the length of hair. 38 00:01:56,422 --> 00:01:59,215 She was wearing a plaid shirt and a pair of blue jeans, 39 00:01:59,249 --> 00:02:01,387 no shoes. 40 00:02:01,422 --> 00:02:03,870 Duct tape had been placed around her head 41 00:02:03,905 --> 00:02:08,215 which covered up her mouth and also covered up her eyes. 42 00:02:08,249 --> 00:02:11,422 Her nose was not covered with duct tape. 43 00:02:14,491 --> 00:02:17,456 We observed chains going around the body. 44 00:02:17,491 --> 00:02:22,698 And attached to the chains were cinderblocks, 45 00:02:22,732 --> 00:02:24,629 one on each side of the body. 46 00:02:24,663 --> 00:02:25,767 That was to weigh the body down. 47 00:02:28,594 --> 00:02:32,698 The decomposition of the body was--was very clear. 48 00:02:32,732 --> 00:02:35,767 It had clearly floated up from the bottom of the lake 49 00:02:35,801 --> 00:02:39,077 due to the gases building up inside the body. 50 00:02:41,353 --> 00:02:43,422 The problem was, what is the best way 51 00:02:43,456 --> 00:02:47,077 we can recover this body without losing evidence? 52 00:02:48,698 --> 00:02:52,560 It was suggested we use a trampoline. 53 00:02:52,594 --> 00:02:56,249 Obviously, water and air can go through the netting, 54 00:02:56,284 --> 00:02:57,836 but there was a-- a really good chance 55 00:02:57,870 --> 00:03:01,077 that we would not lose any other kind of evidence 56 00:03:01,111 --> 00:03:04,456 that may be underneath the body. 57 00:03:04,491 --> 00:03:08,698 We had divers that pushed the trampoline beneath the body, 58 00:03:08,732 --> 00:03:11,284 but at the same time, scooping up about a foot or so of mud. 59 00:03:14,249 --> 00:03:16,318 And then the body was pulled out of the lake 60 00:03:16,353 --> 00:03:17,180 on the trampoline. 61 00:03:20,456 --> 00:03:22,767 When she was recovered from the lake, 62 00:03:22,801 --> 00:03:25,146 we were able to see that her hands 63 00:03:25,180 --> 00:03:27,594 had been handcuffed behind her back. 64 00:03:29,215 --> 00:03:31,663 The cement blocks along with a chain, 65 00:03:31,698 --> 00:03:34,318 along with the padlocks, along with the handcuffs 66 00:03:34,353 --> 00:03:37,215 were removed from the victim. 67 00:03:39,111 --> 00:03:40,698 Cinder blocks appeared 68 00:03:40,732 --> 00:03:42,732 to have some reddish paint on them. 69 00:03:45,801 --> 00:03:47,284 We were very concerned about 70 00:03:47,318 --> 00:03:50,077 any kind of potential forensic evidence. 71 00:03:52,111 --> 00:03:55,077 So it was all sent to the Michigan State Crime Lab 72 00:03:55,111 --> 00:03:56,353 to be examined. 73 00:03:59,353 --> 00:04:02,836 Since the body was in such a decayed state of composition, 74 00:04:02,870 --> 00:04:05,525 her skin--or the fingertips from her hand-- 75 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,215 had sloughed off. 76 00:04:08,249 --> 00:04:09,836 The trampoline still retained mud, 77 00:04:09,870 --> 00:04:11,456 it still retain weeds, 78 00:04:11,491 --> 00:04:14,353 and it also retained the skin 79 00:04:14,387 --> 00:04:17,249 which had come off the hand. 80 00:04:17,284 --> 00:04:18,422 We gave those to the crime lab, 81 00:04:19,387 --> 00:04:20,077 and hopefully they would be able 82 00:04:20,870 --> 00:04:22,422 to develop a fingerprint impression 83 00:04:22,456 --> 00:04:25,284 from this loose skin. 84 00:04:25,318 --> 00:04:27,284 At that point, the body was then 85 00:04:27,318 --> 00:04:31,353 taken to the medical examiner's office. 86 00:04:31,387 --> 00:04:33,387 This was a major case and something 87 00:04:33,422 --> 00:04:34,801 we don't normally see here in Newaygo County. 88 00:04:37,836 --> 00:04:39,836 Myself and Detective Miller 89 00:04:39,870 --> 00:04:43,180 went to the morgue for the autopsy. 90 00:04:43,215 --> 00:04:46,077 We were there for the collection of evidence. 91 00:04:46,111 --> 00:04:48,698 I performed the autopsy on a woman 92 00:04:48,732 --> 00:04:50,180 initially known as Jane Doe. 93 00:04:51,836 --> 00:04:53,525 The body was examined, 94 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,456 looking for injury that might have been fatal. 95 00:04:57,491 --> 00:05:01,284 I did not find any trauma to explain this death. 96 00:05:01,318 --> 00:05:03,456 There was tape on her face, 97 00:05:03,491 --> 00:05:05,353 but the nose was exposed, 98 00:05:05,387 --> 00:05:07,318 so she would have been capable of breathing 99 00:05:07,353 --> 00:05:09,318 until she was put into the water. 100 00:05:11,353 --> 00:05:15,146 I concluded that the cause of death was asphyxia by drowning. 101 00:05:17,594 --> 00:05:19,698 He had determined that our victim, 102 00:05:19,732 --> 00:05:21,836 in all likelihood, 103 00:05:21,870 --> 00:05:25,249 was alive when placed in the water, 104 00:05:25,284 --> 00:05:30,180 which...makes this a really sick individual 105 00:05:30,215 --> 00:05:31,043 that would do that. 106 00:05:33,422 --> 00:05:36,560 She was chained up, her mouth was taped over. 107 00:05:36,594 --> 00:05:38,698 She would have known the fate that she was about to meet. 108 00:05:38,732 --> 00:05:42,456 And she then had the experience of actually drowning, 109 00:05:42,491 --> 00:05:45,767 which can take a minute, upwards of several minutes, 110 00:05:45,801 --> 00:05:47,491 depending on your lung capacity, 111 00:05:47,525 --> 00:05:51,422 which is a very, very long time to be suffering. 112 00:05:51,456 --> 00:05:54,249 The lengths that this killer went to, it makes me think 113 00:05:54,284 --> 00:05:57,422 that this was probably a premeditated murder. 114 00:05:57,456 --> 00:05:59,422 Obviously some relationship, 115 00:05:59,456 --> 00:06:01,594 something happened between the two of them. 116 00:06:01,629 --> 00:06:04,629 What was it? What did she do? What does she say? 117 00:06:04,663 --> 00:06:07,629 What would cause somebody to go to this level of brutality? 118 00:06:07,663 --> 00:06:09,215 And who was she? 119 00:06:11,146 --> 00:06:12,698 It was critical to find out 120 00:06:12,732 --> 00:06:16,146 who this individual was. 121 00:06:16,180 --> 00:06:19,180 We checked, is there any missing persons 122 00:06:19,215 --> 00:06:22,387 from Newaygo County or the surrounding areas 123 00:06:22,422 --> 00:06:25,387 to match up to our victim? 124 00:06:25,422 --> 00:06:29,180 We were unable to find anything that related 125 00:06:29,215 --> 00:06:33,353 to what we knew about the body at that point. 126 00:06:33,387 --> 00:06:35,318 There was really nothing to go on 127 00:06:35,353 --> 00:06:38,146 as far as missing persons at that particular time. 128 00:06:41,491 --> 00:06:44,767 Approximately one week after the body was recovered, 129 00:06:44,801 --> 00:06:48,422 our crime laboratory was able to take that sloughed skin 130 00:06:48,456 --> 00:06:50,801 that was recovered from her hand 131 00:06:50,836 --> 00:06:53,215 and was able to, through her fingertips, 132 00:06:53,249 --> 00:06:57,318 make positive ID on who the victim was. 133 00:06:57,353 --> 00:06:59,732 She was Rachel Timmerman, 19 years of age. 134 00:07:03,111 --> 00:07:04,801 She lived near Cedar Springs, 135 00:07:04,836 --> 00:07:07,698 which is probably 20 miles or so 136 00:07:07,732 --> 00:07:11,456 south of where she was recovered. 137 00:07:11,491 --> 00:07:15,180 And we made a notification to our victim's family members. 138 00:07:17,111 --> 00:07:20,215 It is a very, very difficult thing 139 00:07:20,249 --> 00:07:24,801 to let, you know, loved ones know that, 140 00:07:24,836 --> 00:07:28,249 you know, your daughter isn't coming home. 141 00:07:28,284 --> 00:07:30,456 It's even worse how she died. 142 00:07:32,732 --> 00:07:34,422 When we were contacted 143 00:07:34,456 --> 00:07:36,698 by the Newaygo County Sheriff's Department, 144 00:07:36,732 --> 00:07:38,180 it's very traumatic. 145 00:07:40,353 --> 00:07:43,180 People that have never had a child murdered 146 00:07:43,215 --> 00:07:46,422 don't understand how difficult it can be. 147 00:07:46,456 --> 00:07:50,284 It was a hole in my heart. 148 00:07:50,318 --> 00:07:54,180 I had a love and nowhere to give it. 149 00:07:54,215 --> 00:07:56,284 Rachel was my big sister, 150 00:07:56,318 --> 00:07:59,077 um, and my best friend. 151 00:07:59,111 --> 00:08:02,629 She really enjoyed music and singing. 152 00:08:02,663 --> 00:08:05,353 She enjoyed painting, and Rachel was very creative. 153 00:08:07,491 --> 00:08:11,525 And there was the wholehearted, unconditional love almost 154 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,870 that of siblings who have a close bond have. 155 00:08:14,905 --> 00:08:19,491 So it was a really, really awful feeling 156 00:08:19,525 --> 00:08:21,629 that I would never see my sister again. 157 00:08:24,353 --> 00:08:27,249 Rachel was a sweet, smart, loving person. 158 00:08:27,284 --> 00:08:29,456 She had a bright future. 159 00:08:29,491 --> 00:08:31,732 She wanted to be a good mom, 160 00:08:31,767 --> 00:08:33,560 and that was the most important thing to her. 161 00:08:35,870 --> 00:08:38,491 We talked to family members, and they indicated 162 00:08:38,525 --> 00:08:41,629 that Rachel had an 18-month-old baby, Shannon. 163 00:08:43,456 --> 00:08:46,525 That was when we said, "Where is Shannon?" 164 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:49,284 Rachel had left with Shannon. 165 00:08:49,318 --> 00:08:53,180 We told them we're missing a granddaughter. 166 00:08:53,215 --> 00:08:56,387 We recovered Rachel from Oxford Lake. 167 00:08:56,422 --> 00:08:57,698 Is Shannon there? 168 00:08:57,732 --> 00:09:01,663 Is Shannon somewhere else with the suspect? 169 00:09:01,698 --> 00:09:04,594 It was a real concern to the team as a whole. 170 00:09:04,629 --> 00:09:06,629 We have a missing infant now. 171 00:09:10,594 --> 00:09:15,077 Mr. Timmerman explains that he had not seen Rachel 172 00:09:15,111 --> 00:09:17,353 since June 3rd. 173 00:09:17,387 --> 00:09:21,146 Rachel had left with her daughter, his granddaughter, 174 00:09:21,180 --> 00:09:23,663 and that was the last he had seen of either one of them. 175 00:09:27,594 --> 00:09:30,284 On the 3rd of June, Rachel had told me 176 00:09:30,318 --> 00:09:34,215 she was going on a dinner date with a young man named John. 177 00:09:34,249 --> 00:09:36,698 She was very excited about going on, 178 00:09:36,732 --> 00:09:38,111 you know, a first date. 179 00:09:39,146 --> 00:09:40,870 And this guy was really interested in, 180 00:09:40,905 --> 00:09:42,836 you know, hearing about her daughter, Shannon. 181 00:09:42,870 --> 00:09:45,043 He--he just had to meet Shannon. 182 00:09:46,525 --> 00:09:48,836 Rachel came out and said, you know, "Goodbye, Dad. 183 00:09:48,870 --> 00:09:50,801 I love you." 184 00:09:50,836 --> 00:09:52,801 And I, of course, you know, told her "Goodbye, honey." 185 00:09:52,836 --> 00:09:55,456 She was carrying Shannon, 186 00:09:55,491 --> 00:09:57,560 put her in a car seat, and away they went. 187 00:10:02,387 --> 00:10:03,836 Of course, we were concerned 188 00:10:03,870 --> 00:10:05,870 when Rachel didn't come back that night, 189 00:10:05,905 --> 00:10:09,525 but the next morning, we received a letter from Rachel 190 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:11,629 where she had told us not to worry, 191 00:10:11,663 --> 00:10:14,767 that she had met the man of her dreams. 192 00:10:14,801 --> 00:10:17,732 The handwriting was absolutely Rachel's. 193 00:10:17,767 --> 00:10:20,077 It wasn't uncommon for her to write me a letter, 194 00:10:20,111 --> 00:10:22,077 so our reaction to the letter 195 00:10:22,111 --> 00:10:23,284 was simply, we'll have to wait and see. 196 00:10:26,353 --> 00:10:29,111 About a week after Rachel left, 197 00:10:29,146 --> 00:10:30,180 we received another letter. 198 00:10:32,215 --> 00:10:35,284 It was postmarked from Little Rock, Arkansas. 199 00:10:35,318 --> 00:10:38,180 And them letters indicated that she was going 200 00:10:38,215 --> 00:10:40,180 to stay and live with him down there, 201 00:10:40,215 --> 00:10:42,387 start a new life, her and her baby, Shannon. 202 00:10:44,284 --> 00:10:46,353 Didn't make any sense to us. 203 00:10:46,387 --> 00:10:47,594 But there was nothing we could do. 204 00:10:47,629 --> 00:10:49,560 She was 19. She was an adult. 205 00:10:52,836 --> 00:10:57,318 It was critical to find out who this individual was 206 00:10:57,353 --> 00:11:01,629 that picked up Rachel and her daughter, Shannon. 207 00:11:05,215 --> 00:11:07,387 My sister started yelling, 208 00:11:07,422 --> 00:11:10,663 "He's after me. He wants to kill me." 209 00:11:10,698 --> 00:11:12,836 We learned from family members 210 00:11:12,870 --> 00:11:15,836 that Rachel was picked up by somebody by the name of John. 211 00:11:15,870 --> 00:11:17,767 I saw him in the car, 212 00:11:17,801 --> 00:11:20,284 but could not identify him. 213 00:11:20,318 --> 00:11:23,456 The more that you checked in this case, 214 00:11:23,491 --> 00:11:25,836 the more people that you learned about 215 00:11:25,870 --> 00:11:27,146 that had disappeared. 216 00:11:32,077 --> 00:11:35,801 We contacted the FBI off the side of Grand Rapids. 217 00:11:36,974 --> 00:11:40,111 And Agent Roberta Gilligan was assigned to assist us 218 00:11:40,146 --> 00:11:44,939 to investigate the murder of Rachel Timmerman. 219 00:11:44,974 --> 00:11:48,939 Rachel was last seen by her family on June 3rd, 220 00:11:48,974 --> 00:11:52,008 when she and her infant daughter, Shannon, 221 00:11:52,043 --> 00:11:54,801 went out on a date with somebody. 222 00:11:54,836 --> 00:11:57,905 And then Rachel Timmerman's body was found 223 00:11:57,939 --> 00:12:02,146 on July 5th floating in Oxford Lake. 224 00:12:02,180 --> 00:12:06,836 Her infant daughter, Shannon, had not been seen since 225 00:12:06,870 --> 00:12:11,008 and that really escalated the investigation. 226 00:12:11,043 --> 00:12:13,560 We wanted to do everything we could to find out 227 00:12:13,594 --> 00:12:16,215 where's this child and what happened to the child. 228 00:12:16,249 --> 00:12:17,732 Time is of the essence. 229 00:12:17,767 --> 00:12:19,698 [tense music] 230 00:12:19,732 --> 00:12:23,456 We had to figure out who this unknown person was 231 00:12:23,491 --> 00:12:25,663 that picked up Rachel and Shannon. 232 00:12:25,698 --> 00:12:28,180 We learned from family members 233 00:12:28,215 --> 00:12:32,077 that Rachel was picked up by somebody by the name of John. 234 00:12:32,111 --> 00:12:35,043 And this man named John had sweet-talked her on the phone 235 00:12:35,077 --> 00:12:38,629 and invited her to dinner with Shannon. 236 00:12:38,663 --> 00:12:41,491 But when he picked Rachel and Shannon up, 237 00:12:41,525 --> 00:12:44,801 he never got out of the car. 238 00:12:44,836 --> 00:12:48,043 And the car was kind of a nondescript-colored car. 239 00:12:48,077 --> 00:12:51,111 ♪ 240 00:12:51,146 --> 00:12:55,008 A forensic artist was able to sit down with family members 241 00:12:55,043 --> 00:12:57,767 and were able to come up with a composite of the person. 242 00:12:59,732 --> 00:13:01,801 The individual was a white male, 243 00:13:01,836 --> 00:13:04,836 young, kind of thin build. 244 00:13:04,870 --> 00:13:06,629 But at that time, 245 00:13:06,663 --> 00:13:08,939 we weren't able to identify anybody 246 00:13:08,974 --> 00:13:11,801 who specifically matched that composite drawing. 247 00:13:15,111 --> 00:13:17,905 We also took a look at Rachel's background. 248 00:13:17,939 --> 00:13:22,870 We learned that she had been a reported victim 249 00:13:22,905 --> 00:13:27,111 of a rape in Newaygo County the previous year. 250 00:13:28,905 --> 00:13:31,663 On the 9th of August in 1996, 251 00:13:31,698 --> 00:13:34,905 Rachel had made a report 252 00:13:34,939 --> 00:13:37,456 with the Newaygo County Sheriff's Office 253 00:13:37,491 --> 00:13:39,525 that she had been raped the previous night. 254 00:13:42,836 --> 00:13:46,870 Rachel said she had been playing cards at a trailer 255 00:13:46,905 --> 00:13:49,732 with Wayne Davis 256 00:13:49,767 --> 00:13:52,560 and a subject named Marvin Gabrion. 257 00:13:54,870 --> 00:13:56,767 They then decided to go get some beer. 258 00:13:58,767 --> 00:14:03,077 Marvin, Rachel, Wayne Davis all left together. 259 00:14:04,698 --> 00:14:06,663 Marvin Gabrion was driving the car. 260 00:14:08,698 --> 00:14:11,594 At some point, Marvin Gabrion ordered Wayne Davis 261 00:14:11,629 --> 00:14:13,560 to get out of the vehicle. 262 00:14:13,594 --> 00:14:15,594 He then drove on with Rachel. 263 00:14:17,698 --> 00:14:20,111 Gabrion and drove her to a remote area 264 00:14:20,146 --> 00:14:22,525 and he attacked her. 265 00:14:23,870 --> 00:14:27,456 She said that he sexually assaulted her. 266 00:14:29,698 --> 00:14:33,456 Gabrion said that if she went to the police 267 00:14:33,491 --> 00:14:35,594 and told what he had done to her, 268 00:14:35,629 --> 00:14:38,594 he would kill her 269 00:14:38,629 --> 00:14:40,974 and kill Shannon, but make her watch. 270 00:14:43,629 --> 00:14:45,180 Rachel didn't want to tell the police, 271 00:14:45,215 --> 00:14:47,939 but she knew that it was the right thing to do. 272 00:14:47,974 --> 00:14:50,939 If she could speak up about his actions 273 00:14:50,974 --> 00:14:54,663 and maybe he go to jail, 274 00:14:54,698 --> 00:14:58,939 then maybe harm wouldn't come to other girls. 275 00:15:00,836 --> 00:15:02,836 During the rape investigation, 276 00:15:02,870 --> 00:15:05,939 we were able to locate Wayne Davis 277 00:15:05,974 --> 00:15:11,077 and I was able to obtain statements. 278 00:15:11,111 --> 00:15:12,974 His version of what had occurred 279 00:15:13,008 --> 00:15:14,905 was basically the same as Rachel's, 280 00:15:14,939 --> 00:15:18,077 up to the point he was told to get out of the vehicle. 281 00:15:18,111 --> 00:15:21,594 So we had a good case against Marvin Gabrion 282 00:15:21,629 --> 00:15:25,560 and the prosecutor was able to issue an arrest warrant 283 00:15:25,594 --> 00:15:28,043 for him on the rape charges. 284 00:15:31,594 --> 00:15:33,180 Gabrion was eventually arrested 285 00:15:33,215 --> 00:15:36,974 in Newaygo County, January of 1997. 286 00:15:39,111 --> 00:15:42,698 But then, a couple of weeks later, awaiting trial, 287 00:15:42,732 --> 00:15:45,525 he was bonded out by a friend of his. 288 00:15:47,111 --> 00:15:48,767 Rachel Timmerman was scheduled 289 00:15:48,801 --> 00:15:50,939 to testify against Marvin Gabrion 290 00:15:50,974 --> 00:15:54,180 on June 5th, 1997. 291 00:15:54,215 --> 00:15:58,422 She was seen for the last time two days before, on June 3rd. 292 00:15:59,767 --> 00:16:02,663 Marvin Gabrion showed up for court 293 00:16:02,698 --> 00:16:05,663 and Rachel Timmerman did not show up for court, 294 00:16:05,698 --> 00:16:08,939 so the charges were ultimately dismissed. 295 00:16:08,974 --> 00:16:12,663 Is this common among sexual assault victims? Absolutely. 296 00:16:12,698 --> 00:16:15,077 You know, when you have an extended period of time 297 00:16:15,111 --> 00:16:19,008 that goes on between the arrest and the trial, 298 00:16:19,043 --> 00:16:20,663 they move on with their lives 299 00:16:20,698 --> 00:16:22,043 and there's a part that maybe perhaps 300 00:16:22,077 --> 00:16:23,939 they just don't want to go back. 301 00:16:23,974 --> 00:16:28,525 It wouldn't be surprising for Rachel to back out 302 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:30,767 of testifying against her rapist. 303 00:16:30,801 --> 00:16:34,077 This happens all the time, and this is for many reasons. 304 00:16:34,111 --> 00:16:36,836 Fear, shame, embarrassment. 305 00:16:36,870 --> 00:16:39,043 They know that they're leaving themselves open 306 00:16:39,077 --> 00:16:40,801 to cross-examination 307 00:16:40,836 --> 00:16:43,180 and so anything that's happened in their life 308 00:16:43,215 --> 00:16:45,974 is now fair game in an open courtroom. 309 00:16:46,008 --> 00:16:48,491 And that's a terrifying thing for someone 310 00:16:48,525 --> 00:16:50,560 who has already been traumatized. 311 00:16:50,594 --> 00:16:53,111 There are a few reasons why Rachel may not have shown up 312 00:16:53,146 --> 00:16:55,905 to testify at the rape trial, but now we know 313 00:16:55,939 --> 00:16:59,629 that she disappeared a few days before the trial. 314 00:16:59,663 --> 00:17:01,939 That's probably when she was killed 315 00:17:01,974 --> 00:17:04,732 'cause she was pulled out of the lake a few weeks later. 316 00:17:04,767 --> 00:17:07,491 It sure looks like someone didn't want her to testify. 317 00:17:09,767 --> 00:17:12,008 Of course, by the time we're looking at the case, 318 00:17:12,043 --> 00:17:16,491 we know that she had already been drowned in Oxford Lake. 319 00:17:18,698 --> 00:17:22,043 The circumstances surrounding her rape charge 320 00:17:22,077 --> 00:17:25,801 changed the whole focus of our investigation 321 00:17:25,836 --> 00:17:28,870 toward Marvin Gabrion as the suspect 322 00:17:28,905 --> 00:17:30,974 in the murder of Rachel Timmerman. 323 00:17:32,836 --> 00:17:35,456 The thing that made it mysterious was, 324 00:17:35,491 --> 00:17:36,801 although we knew for sure 325 00:17:36,836 --> 00:17:40,491 Rachel Timmerman left the home, got into a car, 326 00:17:40,525 --> 00:17:44,939 we knew Rachel would never leave with Marvin Gabrion. 327 00:17:44,974 --> 00:17:46,663 She was terrified of him 328 00:17:46,698 --> 00:17:49,801 and she thought he was gonna kill her. 329 00:17:49,836 --> 00:17:52,560 So whoever was in that car on June 3rd, 330 00:17:52,594 --> 00:17:54,870 the last time she was seen, was not Marvin Gabrion. 331 00:17:54,905 --> 00:17:56,077 It had to be somebody else. 332 00:17:59,284 --> 00:18:02,111 [tense music] 333 00:18:03,215 --> 00:18:06,594 Rachel Timmerman would never leave her house 334 00:18:06,629 --> 00:18:09,525 with Marvin Gabrion. 335 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,249 However, once we linked Gabrion 336 00:18:12,284 --> 00:18:16,111 to Rachel's disappearance through motive 337 00:18:16,146 --> 00:18:18,043 and the fact that he's the person 338 00:18:18,077 --> 00:18:20,974 who directly benefitted from her death, 339 00:18:21,008 --> 00:18:24,525 we, of course, went looking for him at his last known address, 340 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:26,905 which was a house in Altona, Michigan. 341 00:18:26,939 --> 00:18:29,318 ♪ 342 00:18:29,353 --> 00:18:34,077 Our priority at this point was to find a baby Shannon. 343 00:18:34,111 --> 00:18:39,077 Our second priority was to locate Marvin Gabrion. 344 00:18:39,111 --> 00:18:41,560 We knocked on the door and nobody responded. 345 00:18:44,353 --> 00:18:47,387 It was noticed a little ways from the home on the property 346 00:18:47,422 --> 00:18:50,422 was a brush pile 347 00:18:50,456 --> 00:18:52,353 with a bunch of cement blocks and cinder blocks. 348 00:18:54,387 --> 00:18:56,318 And I could see on the cinder blocks 349 00:18:56,353 --> 00:18:57,456 that there was red paint. 350 00:18:59,456 --> 00:19:01,111 They were similar to the ones 351 00:19:01,146 --> 00:19:03,353 that were attached to Rachel Timmerman. 352 00:19:08,146 --> 00:19:11,111 As a result, we were able to obtain a search warrant 353 00:19:11,146 --> 00:19:13,939 to get inside Marvin Gabrion's residence. 354 00:19:16,594 --> 00:19:17,456 Inside the house, 355 00:19:17,491 --> 00:19:19,939 it was kinda junky, 356 00:19:19,974 --> 00:19:21,456 stuff was just laying around, 357 00:19:21,491 --> 00:19:23,939 and it was somewhat of a mess. 358 00:19:23,974 --> 00:19:26,077 He made significant use of duct tape 359 00:19:26,111 --> 00:19:28,215 to hang up his blinds and curtain. 360 00:19:30,077 --> 00:19:32,974 The duct tape appeared to be similar 361 00:19:33,008 --> 00:19:34,456 to--to the same type of duct tape 362 00:19:34,491 --> 00:19:36,560 that was used to bind Rachel's head. 363 00:19:38,043 --> 00:19:40,284 We did a thorough search of the house. 364 00:19:42,422 --> 00:19:44,905 Nobody was there. It was a fake inn. 365 00:19:44,939 --> 00:19:47,077 We checked in the fireplace 366 00:19:47,111 --> 00:19:50,043 to see if there could possibly be remains 367 00:19:50,077 --> 00:19:52,491 such as a skull or something, bones from a baby, 368 00:19:52,525 --> 00:19:54,525 or something that may have been burned in there. 369 00:19:57,180 --> 00:20:00,249 We did not find anything which indicated such. 370 00:20:02,008 --> 00:20:05,525 We recovered items such as padlock keys... 371 00:20:06,939 --> 00:20:10,215 duct tape, the cinder blocks. 372 00:20:10,249 --> 00:20:13,456 All that evidence was taken to the FBI lab 373 00:20:13,491 --> 00:20:15,560 to be examined. 374 00:20:18,387 --> 00:20:20,525 The area where Gabrion lived 375 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,215 was just very rural area. 376 00:20:24,249 --> 00:20:27,387 We did neighborhood canvas. We talked to the neighbors. 377 00:20:27,422 --> 00:20:31,491 We learned that Marvin Gabrion 378 00:20:31,525 --> 00:20:36,249 were in the area since the first part of June. 379 00:20:36,284 --> 00:20:38,456 We also learned a number of neighbors 380 00:20:38,491 --> 00:20:42,974 were very fearful of Marvin Gabrion 381 00:20:43,008 --> 00:20:46,387 because he had pointed guns at them 382 00:20:46,422 --> 00:20:49,146 and had threatened to shoot them or kill them. 383 00:20:52,353 --> 00:20:55,318 Got into a fight with one neighbor, and the next morning, 384 00:20:55,353 --> 00:20:57,249 the neighbor woke up and somebody had splashed gasoline 385 00:20:57,284 --> 00:20:59,422 alongside the house and set fire to it. 386 00:21:02,008 --> 00:21:05,008 A really disturbing picture of him started to emerge. 387 00:21:05,043 --> 00:21:07,008 He was a one-man crime wave up-- 388 00:21:07,043 --> 00:21:08,422 up in that area of Michigan. 389 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:13,525 Gabrion has an explosive temper 390 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,146 and he's unpredictable. 391 00:21:16,180 --> 00:21:19,491 He acts out, even overreacts, to people who cross him 392 00:21:19,525 --> 00:21:22,180 or even if he just perceives that they're crossing him, 393 00:21:22,215 --> 00:21:24,284 so you better not cross him 394 00:21:24,318 --> 00:21:26,387 'cause you don't know what's gonna happen. 395 00:21:26,422 --> 00:21:30,043 When you look at the totality of all of the criminal acts 396 00:21:30,077 --> 00:21:32,077 that have been documented, 397 00:21:32,111 --> 00:21:33,594 you know, you talk about arson, 398 00:21:33,629 --> 00:21:35,180 you talk about a drive-by shooting, 399 00:21:35,215 --> 00:21:37,111 you talk about pointing a weapon at somebody, 400 00:21:37,146 --> 00:21:39,422 and then you bring it down to actual rape, 401 00:21:39,456 --> 00:21:42,456 to another different level. 402 00:21:42,491 --> 00:21:45,008 You--what you have is the making of a monster. 403 00:21:45,043 --> 00:21:48,215 It seems to make sense and tie in with the possibility 404 00:21:48,249 --> 00:21:50,249 that this is the same person who has raped 405 00:21:50,284 --> 00:21:53,836 and now maybe killed Rachel and her young child. 406 00:21:53,870 --> 00:21:56,249 He's likely to be violent towards other people 407 00:21:56,284 --> 00:21:58,353 and potentially to kill other people. 408 00:21:58,387 --> 00:22:02,111 And because of this incredible threat now to society, 409 00:22:02,146 --> 00:22:04,111 the pressure is on police to track him down 410 00:22:04,146 --> 00:22:05,456 as quickly as possible. 411 00:22:09,249 --> 00:22:12,180 At this particular point, investigators were not able 412 00:22:12,215 --> 00:22:16,077 to locate baby Shannon or Marvin Gabrion. 413 00:22:16,111 --> 00:22:18,801 We had no idea where he was. 414 00:22:20,905 --> 00:22:22,387 So we tried to track down 415 00:22:22,422 --> 00:22:24,180 and locate people that would know him. 416 00:22:25,870 --> 00:22:28,836 One person that hung around with Marvin Gabrion 417 00:22:28,870 --> 00:22:30,974 was his supposed friend, Wayne Davis. 418 00:22:33,111 --> 00:22:36,043 Wayne Davis was, in fact, also a witness 419 00:22:36,077 --> 00:22:39,422 in the rape of Rachel Timmerman by Marvin Gabrion. 420 00:22:41,146 --> 00:22:44,353 So the police went looking for Wayne Davis 421 00:22:44,387 --> 00:22:47,077 to see what he had to say about Marvin Gabrion's involvement 422 00:22:47,111 --> 00:22:49,111 for the murder of Rachel Timmerman 423 00:22:49,146 --> 00:22:52,077 and the disappearance of Shannon, the baby. 424 00:22:52,111 --> 00:22:54,387 There was no one at his residence, 425 00:22:54,422 --> 00:22:56,318 no indication he was there. 426 00:23:00,249 --> 00:23:02,905 We spoke with an acquaintance of Wayne Davis' 427 00:23:02,939 --> 00:23:04,008 by the name of Darlene. 428 00:23:06,077 --> 00:23:07,939 She did not know where he was. 429 00:23:07,974 --> 00:23:10,491 In fact, she has not seen him in some time. 430 00:23:12,111 --> 00:23:14,318 She stated that there was a note in the house 431 00:23:14,353 --> 00:23:16,353 allegedly from Wayne Davis 432 00:23:16,387 --> 00:23:18,077 saying he didn't want to be involved in any further 433 00:23:18,111 --> 00:23:20,905 in the case with Marvin Gabrion. 434 00:23:20,939 --> 00:23:23,008 Wayne Davis could have possibly testified 435 00:23:23,043 --> 00:23:25,249 against Marvin Gabrion in the rape case, 436 00:23:25,284 --> 00:23:27,284 but the note in the house 437 00:23:27,318 --> 00:23:30,560 was saying he was going to California. 438 00:23:30,594 --> 00:23:32,560 She indicated that didn't seem right 439 00:23:32,594 --> 00:23:34,525 because also left in the home 440 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,560 was a jacket that he wore on a regular basis. 441 00:23:38,594 --> 00:23:42,008 She said it was his favorite jacket. 442 00:23:42,043 --> 00:23:44,215 His friends and family indicated 443 00:23:44,249 --> 00:23:47,387 they had not heard or seen from him. 444 00:23:47,422 --> 00:23:51,456 Wayne Davis had disappeared. 445 00:23:51,491 --> 00:23:55,353 We had no idea whether he could possibly be a suspect 446 00:23:55,387 --> 00:23:57,387 as the person that may have helped Marvin 447 00:23:57,422 --> 00:24:01,180 or if he was another missing person in this investigation. 448 00:24:03,077 --> 00:24:06,387 It was unusual and was very suspicious. 449 00:24:06,422 --> 00:24:11,146 So not only was Rachel now found dead floating in a lake, 450 00:24:11,180 --> 00:24:13,870 but Shannon and a witness to the Rachel's rape 451 00:24:13,905 --> 00:24:15,215 were also missing. 452 00:24:15,249 --> 00:24:18,111 So within a period of two weeks, 453 00:24:18,146 --> 00:24:20,146 there were three people missing or dead. 454 00:24:24,663 --> 00:24:28,353 [tense music] 455 00:24:29,456 --> 00:24:31,939 When this story broke, this was the lead story 456 00:24:31,974 --> 00:24:35,318 on every TV newscast. 457 00:24:35,353 --> 00:24:38,387 Rachel Timmerman's body pops up out of a lake 458 00:24:38,422 --> 00:24:40,698 with bricks and chains, 459 00:24:40,732 --> 00:24:41,836 bound and gagged. 460 00:24:41,870 --> 00:24:44,318 Her baby's missing. 461 00:24:44,353 --> 00:24:47,249 It had a great impact on the community. 462 00:24:47,284 --> 00:24:50,560 It was one of those stories that gripped people. 463 00:24:50,594 --> 00:24:52,215 You know, searching for a baby. 464 00:24:52,249 --> 00:24:55,801 ♪ 465 00:24:55,836 --> 00:24:58,767 We were searching for any leads 466 00:24:58,801 --> 00:25:02,284 as to what may have happened to Rachel's baby, Shannon. 467 00:25:03,974 --> 00:25:05,767 We received tips 468 00:25:05,801 --> 00:25:08,939 that people thought they saw a baby that looked like Shannon 469 00:25:08,974 --> 00:25:12,905 and we would follow up with those leads. 470 00:25:12,939 --> 00:25:16,939 There were suggestions made that Marvin Gabrion 471 00:25:16,974 --> 00:25:19,801 may have tried to sell that baby 472 00:25:19,836 --> 00:25:23,180 or take that baby out of state. 473 00:25:23,215 --> 00:25:24,698 The more time that elapsed 474 00:25:24,732 --> 00:25:27,353 and the more leads that we received 475 00:25:27,387 --> 00:25:30,249 and determined weren't valid leads 476 00:25:30,284 --> 00:25:33,387 about the location of Shannon, the more we were concerned 477 00:25:33,422 --> 00:25:36,318 that Shannon may have been killed as well. 478 00:25:38,387 --> 00:25:40,284 Although we didn't want to give up hope. 479 00:25:43,870 --> 00:25:45,939 The most difficult part of the whole experience 480 00:25:45,974 --> 00:25:49,318 was the missing granddaughter. 481 00:25:49,353 --> 00:25:51,422 But we thought, the only person that could really 482 00:25:51,456 --> 00:25:54,318 tell us anything about Shannon was Gabrion. 483 00:26:00,422 --> 00:26:03,594 Approximately one month into our investigation, 484 00:26:03,629 --> 00:26:05,905 we got a very significant break in the case. 485 00:26:07,836 --> 00:26:09,629 In August of 1997, 486 00:26:09,663 --> 00:26:12,422 a woman by the name of Elaine 487 00:26:12,456 --> 00:26:15,767 calls the Michigan State Police tip line to say 488 00:26:15,801 --> 00:26:19,353 that she has information about the Gabrion investigation. 489 00:26:23,870 --> 00:26:27,663 Elaine told us that she had overheard 490 00:26:27,698 --> 00:26:31,663 a couple of phone calls that her boyfriend, John Weeks, 491 00:26:31,698 --> 00:26:34,801 had made to a female by the name of Rachel. 492 00:26:36,594 --> 00:26:40,767 She thought these phone calls happened in May of 1997, 493 00:26:40,801 --> 00:26:43,629 close to the disappearance and murder of Rachel Timmerman. 494 00:26:45,422 --> 00:26:47,801 She tells us, she confronts him 495 00:26:47,836 --> 00:26:50,732 about, "Why you talking to another girl, 496 00:26:50,767 --> 00:26:52,905 asking her out on a date?" 497 00:26:52,939 --> 00:26:56,525 And she is told by John Weeks, 498 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,870 "Hey, I'm not cheating on you. 499 00:26:58,905 --> 00:27:02,284 "My friend wants me to ask Rachel out 500 00:27:02,318 --> 00:27:04,629 so that he can meet with her." 501 00:27:04,663 --> 00:27:07,215 John had advised her that he wasn't calling for himself. 502 00:27:07,249 --> 00:27:08,594 He was calling for a friend. 503 00:27:08,629 --> 00:27:11,318 She believes that friend to be Marvin Gabrion. 504 00:27:13,905 --> 00:27:16,525 It's very possible that John Weeks was the person 505 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:18,801 that picked Rachel Timmerman up that day 506 00:27:18,836 --> 00:27:20,180 from her father's house. 507 00:27:21,663 --> 00:27:25,180 The investigators compared the composite 508 00:27:25,215 --> 00:27:29,422 of the person who picked up Rachel to a John Weeks. 509 00:27:29,456 --> 00:27:31,284 And in general terms, 510 00:27:31,318 --> 00:27:34,732 he matched that composite drawing. 511 00:27:34,767 --> 00:27:38,629 Elaine also said that she did not know where he was. 512 00:27:38,663 --> 00:27:42,870 She has not seen John since sometime at the end of June. 513 00:27:45,249 --> 00:27:48,387 So we were trying to find and locate John Weeks 514 00:27:48,422 --> 00:27:53,215 to ask questions about Marvin Gabrion and Rachel Timmerman, 515 00:27:53,249 --> 00:27:55,801 such as when the last time you had contact with her, 516 00:27:55,836 --> 00:27:57,594 what was your relationship? 517 00:27:57,629 --> 00:28:00,732 What were you doing the night she disappeared? 518 00:28:00,767 --> 00:28:02,732 However, nobody had seen him. 519 00:28:04,491 --> 00:28:07,456 We talked to family members, people that knew him, 520 00:28:07,491 --> 00:28:10,387 and he just came up and vanished. 521 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:14,560 So that, I think, was very strange 522 00:28:14,594 --> 00:28:18,525 because the more that you checked in this case, 523 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,801 the more people that you learned about 524 00:28:20,836 --> 00:28:22,249 that had disappeared. 525 00:28:23,594 --> 00:28:25,905 And now, not only was Rachel missing 526 00:28:25,939 --> 00:28:29,801 since she left her home, but Shannon and John Weeks. 527 00:28:29,836 --> 00:28:32,422 The individual we think was responsible 528 00:28:32,456 --> 00:28:36,387 for getting Rachel from her house, they were also missing. 529 00:28:36,422 --> 00:28:38,456 Plus the fact is, is that 530 00:28:38,491 --> 00:28:41,905 investigators were still trying to locate Marvin Gabrion 531 00:28:41,939 --> 00:28:44,353 as the main suspect 532 00:28:44,387 --> 00:28:46,422 along with, of course, Wayne Davis 533 00:28:46,456 --> 00:28:48,525 who had said that he was off to California. 534 00:28:50,767 --> 00:28:53,491 However, the police did 535 00:28:53,525 --> 00:28:55,767 track down more information 536 00:28:55,801 --> 00:28:58,663 about John Weeks and Marvin Gabrion. 537 00:28:58,698 --> 00:29:01,180 In the same area as Oxford Lake, 538 00:29:01,215 --> 00:29:02,870 where Rachel was murdered, 539 00:29:02,905 --> 00:29:07,525 they found a couple of campers that were camping in that area 540 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,974 around the same time, in June of 1997, 541 00:29:11,008 --> 00:29:14,215 when Rachel disappeared. 542 00:29:14,249 --> 00:29:16,387 The campers told the police 543 00:29:16,422 --> 00:29:20,698 that two men drove up to their campsite, 544 00:29:20,732 --> 00:29:22,767 and the person driving asked 545 00:29:22,801 --> 00:29:25,318 if he could store an aluminum boat there 546 00:29:25,353 --> 00:29:29,629 and he had some scratches on his face. 547 00:29:29,663 --> 00:29:32,456 He called himself Lance. 548 00:29:32,491 --> 00:29:34,974 When the police showed them 549 00:29:35,008 --> 00:29:38,387 pictures of Marvin Gabrion, 550 00:29:38,422 --> 00:29:40,767 they identified Lance, 551 00:29:40,801 --> 00:29:43,732 the man driving the pickup truck, as Marvin Gabrion. 552 00:29:47,180 --> 00:29:49,629 And they said he was with another man. 553 00:29:49,663 --> 00:29:50,974 And from pictures, 554 00:29:51,008 --> 00:29:53,801 they identified that person as John Weeks. 555 00:29:56,732 --> 00:29:58,939 These witnesses were significant 556 00:29:58,974 --> 00:30:02,732 because they put Gabrion and John Weeks 557 00:30:02,767 --> 00:30:04,318 at Oxford Lake 558 00:30:04,353 --> 00:30:07,560 between the time that Rachel Timmerman disappeared 559 00:30:07,594 --> 00:30:09,767 and the time where she was found dead 560 00:30:09,801 --> 00:30:10,629 floating in the lake. 561 00:30:15,353 --> 00:30:18,525 There was a real concern that he would kill again. 562 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:20,870 What we discovered is, he was still receiving 563 00:30:20,905 --> 00:30:23,560 social security checks. 564 00:30:23,594 --> 00:30:27,732 An FBI SWAT team staked out the Sherman Post Office 565 00:30:27,767 --> 00:30:30,767 to kind of ambushed Marvin Gabrion, take him by surprise. 566 00:30:33,043 --> 00:30:35,732 [tense music] 567 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:37,870 Marvin Gabrion was our suspect 568 00:30:37,905 --> 00:30:40,318 in the murder of Rachel Timmerman, 569 00:30:40,353 --> 00:30:43,905 for the disappearance of baby Shannon, 570 00:30:43,939 --> 00:30:47,663 and the disappearance of his friend, Wayne Davis. 571 00:30:49,801 --> 00:30:51,008 At Oxford Lake, 572 00:30:51,043 --> 00:30:54,560 the police found a couple of campers. 573 00:30:54,594 --> 00:30:56,284 There were two witnesses 574 00:30:56,318 --> 00:31:00,284 that identified Gabrion, John Weeks, 575 00:31:00,318 --> 00:31:02,801 and someone who appeared to be Rachel Timmerman. 576 00:31:04,698 --> 00:31:06,870 John Weeks, we believe was the person 577 00:31:06,905 --> 00:31:09,180 that picked Rachel Timmerman up that day 578 00:31:09,215 --> 00:31:12,077 from her father's house. 579 00:31:12,111 --> 00:31:15,629 But John Weeks hadn't been seen by his family 580 00:31:15,663 --> 00:31:18,146 or his girlfriend since late June. 581 00:31:20,836 --> 00:31:22,905 Wayne Davis was with Marvin Gabrion 582 00:31:22,939 --> 00:31:25,732 the night that Rachel was raped. 583 00:31:25,767 --> 00:31:27,870 John Weeks might've been the person 584 00:31:27,905 --> 00:31:30,698 who picked up Rachel the night she was last seen. 585 00:31:30,732 --> 00:31:33,801 Both of these guys may have been suspects in those crimes, 586 00:31:33,836 --> 00:31:38,008 rape and murder, but are they now victims? 587 00:31:38,043 --> 00:31:42,215 All of these people are connected to Marvin Gabrion. 588 00:31:42,249 --> 00:31:46,732 All of these people pose a threat to Marvin Gabrion. 589 00:31:46,767 --> 00:31:50,836 Do we have a serial killer among us? 590 00:31:50,870 --> 00:31:55,318 Most serial killers kill out of passion, enjoyment, 591 00:31:55,353 --> 00:31:57,974 sort of the hunter sport of it. 592 00:31:58,008 --> 00:32:01,663 But if the allegations against Marvin Gabrion are true, 593 00:32:01,698 --> 00:32:03,801 he was different from most serial killers 594 00:32:03,836 --> 00:32:06,732 in that he had a very clear motive. 595 00:32:06,767 --> 00:32:11,146 He killed out of pure necessity for self-preservation. 596 00:32:11,180 --> 00:32:13,629 He was trying to protect himself 597 00:32:13,663 --> 00:32:15,698 against people that could have identified him. 598 00:32:18,663 --> 00:32:21,146 Marvin Gabrion was a fugitive. 599 00:32:21,180 --> 00:32:22,767 He had fled the state. 600 00:32:22,801 --> 00:32:25,318 Officers couldn't find him. 601 00:32:25,353 --> 00:32:27,663 But the police kept putting together 602 00:32:27,698 --> 00:32:30,043 the case against Marvin Gabrion, 603 00:32:30,077 --> 00:32:33,663 looking for solid evidence, 604 00:32:33,698 --> 00:32:36,939 airtight evidence so that when we ultimately found him, 605 00:32:36,974 --> 00:32:38,560 we could charge him with the murder. 606 00:32:41,077 --> 00:32:42,939 There were six concrete blocks 607 00:32:42,974 --> 00:32:45,043 from Gabrion's backyard 608 00:32:45,077 --> 00:32:47,525 and blocks attached to Rachel's body. 609 00:32:48,939 --> 00:32:52,663 And what the FBI lab told us is that they were a match. 610 00:32:54,767 --> 00:32:58,594 They had the same color, dark red paint, 611 00:32:58,629 --> 00:33:01,594 just like they had come from the same manufacturer 612 00:33:01,629 --> 00:33:02,525 at the same time. 613 00:33:05,111 --> 00:33:09,043 Now we knew for sure the blocks came from his house 614 00:33:09,077 --> 00:33:11,560 and we knew Gabrion had the motive 615 00:33:11,594 --> 00:33:13,594 to kill Rachel Timmerman, 616 00:33:13,629 --> 00:33:15,043 so we could make a case out of it. 617 00:33:17,663 --> 00:33:21,560 At this point, we still had the locate Marvin himself. 618 00:33:21,594 --> 00:33:23,146 And it was critically important 619 00:33:23,180 --> 00:33:25,836 that we get him off the streets and arrest him. 620 00:33:25,870 --> 00:33:29,111 There was a real concern that if he was left out 621 00:33:29,146 --> 00:33:31,594 in the public, that he would kill again. 622 00:33:37,732 --> 00:33:41,008 During the course of trying to locate Marvin Gabrion, 623 00:33:41,043 --> 00:33:43,767 I analyzed a number of Gabrion's records. 624 00:33:43,801 --> 00:33:45,767 Phone records and bank records. 625 00:33:45,801 --> 00:33:47,870 And what I learned is that 626 00:33:47,905 --> 00:33:51,077 Marvin Gabrion had used an alias 627 00:33:51,111 --> 00:33:52,870 by the name of Robert Allen. 628 00:33:54,905 --> 00:33:59,491 And we also discovered there was a true Robert Allen 629 00:33:59,525 --> 00:34:02,801 who was from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. 630 00:34:04,732 --> 00:34:08,111 He was a disabled person who was totally reliant 631 00:34:08,146 --> 00:34:11,905 on monthly social security. 632 00:34:11,939 --> 00:34:14,870 And what we found from interviewing the family 633 00:34:14,905 --> 00:34:17,905 is that Robert Allen had not been seen by the family 634 00:34:17,939 --> 00:34:22,008 since either late 1995 or 1996. 635 00:34:22,043 --> 00:34:25,801 Robert Allen had vanished around the same time 636 00:34:25,836 --> 00:34:30,111 that Marvin Gabrion started using this name. 637 00:34:30,146 --> 00:34:33,111 Marvin Gabrion stole Robert Allen's identity. 638 00:34:35,905 --> 00:34:39,629 What we discovered is Robert Allen, 639 00:34:39,663 --> 00:34:41,077 although he was missing, 640 00:34:41,111 --> 00:34:43,974 he was still receiving social security checks. 641 00:34:44,008 --> 00:34:47,318 And when the social security checks were due, 642 00:34:47,353 --> 00:34:49,215 they were sent to a post office 643 00:34:49,249 --> 00:34:52,560 in the town of Sherman, New York. 644 00:34:52,594 --> 00:34:53,974 Social Security Commission confirmed 645 00:34:54,008 --> 00:34:57,077 that somebody was cashing the checks. 646 00:34:57,111 --> 00:35:00,870 And what I did was contacted the FBI office in Buffalo 647 00:35:00,905 --> 00:35:04,077 that covered that territory to ask them to investigate 648 00:35:04,111 --> 00:35:07,043 whether or not Marvin Gabrion was the individual 649 00:35:07,077 --> 00:35:11,043 running a post office box in the name of Robert Allen. 650 00:35:11,077 --> 00:35:13,629 And the postal employee identified, 651 00:35:13,663 --> 00:35:17,008 Gabrion is the one renting that box. 652 00:35:17,043 --> 00:35:20,249 Finally, Marvin Gabrion had left a trail 653 00:35:20,284 --> 00:35:21,284 leading back to him. 654 00:35:26,111 --> 00:35:28,939 So the FBI set a sting up, 655 00:35:28,974 --> 00:35:31,043 and on the date that the checks 656 00:35:31,077 --> 00:35:33,905 were supposed to arrive through the post office, 657 00:35:33,939 --> 00:35:36,974 they were there. 658 00:35:37,008 --> 00:35:41,629 An FBI SWAT team staked out the Sherman Post Office, 659 00:35:41,663 --> 00:35:45,284 kind of ambushed Marvin Gabrion, 660 00:35:45,318 --> 00:35:46,525 take him by surprise. 661 00:35:48,974 --> 00:35:52,284 But the local newspaper had done a story on the search 662 00:35:52,318 --> 00:35:56,146 and their fear was that Gabrion would walk past the press box 663 00:35:56,180 --> 00:35:57,698 and see the headline. 664 00:35:59,146 --> 00:36:03,111 So they staked out the post office, 665 00:36:03,146 --> 00:36:04,594 wondering if he would ever show up. 666 00:36:07,077 --> 00:36:11,043 But lo and behold, he shows up to pick up his check. 667 00:36:13,698 --> 00:36:15,767 After Gabrion picked up his mail, 668 00:36:15,801 --> 00:36:17,974 exited the post office, 669 00:36:18,008 --> 00:36:20,594 the FBI SWAT team went in to capture Gabrion. 670 00:36:22,698 --> 00:36:23,939 They jump him. 671 00:36:23,974 --> 00:36:26,801 You know, it's the FBI SWAT team, guns drawn. 672 00:36:28,594 --> 00:36:29,801 They arrested him without incident. 673 00:36:32,698 --> 00:36:35,043 And he was then extradited back to Michigan. 674 00:36:36,836 --> 00:36:37,974 I was ecstatic. 675 00:36:38,008 --> 00:36:39,939 When I found out he was arrested, 676 00:36:39,974 --> 00:36:42,629 number one, he couldn't harm anyone else. 677 00:36:42,663 --> 00:36:44,905 And number two, we might find additional evidence 678 00:36:44,939 --> 00:36:47,594 to indicate what he did with the baby, Shannon. 679 00:36:49,663 --> 00:36:54,698 Marvin Gabrion was indicted for the murder of Rachel Timmerman. 680 00:36:54,732 --> 00:36:58,905 And we went to the Milan Correctional Facility 681 00:36:58,939 --> 00:37:00,249 to meet with him. 682 00:37:00,284 --> 00:37:03,180 I told him we had a concrete case against him. 683 00:37:05,008 --> 00:37:07,077 He said he was not responsible. 684 00:37:07,111 --> 00:37:10,905 Somebody else had Rachel Timmerman and the baby killed. 685 00:37:12,939 --> 00:37:14,801 He was very uncooperative. 686 00:37:14,836 --> 00:37:16,801 At times, he would try to be charming, 687 00:37:16,836 --> 00:37:19,663 but it was unnerving to be around him. 688 00:37:19,698 --> 00:37:22,249 He did seem evil. 689 00:37:22,284 --> 00:37:25,801 We were clinging to this hope that maybe the baby was alive. 690 00:37:25,836 --> 00:37:27,801 That was a concern, 691 00:37:27,836 --> 00:37:30,767 that Shannon may have been killed as well. 692 00:37:33,387 --> 00:37:36,043 [eerie music] 693 00:37:37,215 --> 00:37:38,560 After he was arrested, Marvin Gabrion started 694 00:37:39,594 --> 00:37:41,318 telling people he was not responsible. 695 00:37:41,353 --> 00:37:45,525 Somebody else had Rachel Timmerman killed. 696 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:47,456 However, based on the evidence 697 00:37:47,491 --> 00:37:50,008 that we put together in this case, 698 00:37:50,043 --> 00:37:53,525 we believe Marvin Gabrion had to get rid 699 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:56,353 of Rachel Timmerman 700 00:37:56,387 --> 00:37:59,870 because she was going to convict him of rape. 701 00:37:59,905 --> 00:38:01,491 ♪ 702 00:38:01,525 --> 00:38:04,939 So he set up a plan. 703 00:38:04,974 --> 00:38:09,111 He got John Weeks to befriend her, 704 00:38:09,146 --> 00:38:12,353 ask her out, get her into his car, 705 00:38:12,387 --> 00:38:15,491 and John Weeks drove Rachel and her baby 706 00:38:15,525 --> 00:38:17,663 to where Gabrion was. 707 00:38:21,318 --> 00:38:23,594 We believe that taking the baby 708 00:38:23,629 --> 00:38:26,043 was a way to control Rachel 709 00:38:26,077 --> 00:38:28,663 and make her write these letters to her family. 710 00:38:30,491 --> 00:38:32,974 And then, they drove to the lake, 711 00:38:33,008 --> 00:38:36,525 him and John Weeks with Rachel and the boat. 712 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:39,077 She was alive in that truck when witnesses observed 'em. 713 00:38:40,594 --> 00:38:42,180 At Oxford Lake, 714 00:38:42,215 --> 00:38:45,939 they had duct-taped her-- her mouth, her eyes-- 715 00:38:45,974 --> 00:38:48,008 handcuffed her hands behind her back, 716 00:38:48,043 --> 00:38:50,284 and then connected her to two concrete blocks. 717 00:38:53,111 --> 00:38:55,249 Going out on the water in the boat, 718 00:38:55,284 --> 00:38:57,456 she had to know that he was going to kill her. 719 00:39:00,974 --> 00:39:04,111 The sheer terror that he put this victim through 720 00:39:04,146 --> 00:39:06,111 is--it's--it's--it's unreal. 721 00:39:06,146 --> 00:39:07,146 It's unmatched. 722 00:39:09,387 --> 00:39:11,043 We believe Marvin Gabrion 723 00:39:11,077 --> 00:39:13,008 could not allow baby Shannon to live 724 00:39:13,043 --> 00:39:15,077 because she linked Gabrion to the murder. 725 00:39:17,939 --> 00:39:20,974 He had to--he had to kill baby Shannon 726 00:39:21,008 --> 00:39:25,353 in order to--to escape justice. 727 00:39:25,387 --> 00:39:28,180 All of Marvin Gabrion's victims had clear motive. 728 00:39:28,215 --> 00:39:30,249 They could identify him to law enforcement, 729 00:39:30,284 --> 00:39:31,698 with one exception. 730 00:39:31,732 --> 00:39:33,353 Shannon was an exception. 731 00:39:33,387 --> 00:39:36,215 She couldn't identify him. She couldn't even speak. 732 00:39:36,249 --> 00:39:38,043 And so, killing her 733 00:39:38,077 --> 00:39:40,663 seemingly was done out of pure convenience. 734 00:39:40,698 --> 00:39:43,353 This is a man who just doesn't wanna get caught. 735 00:39:43,387 --> 00:39:45,284 What's he gonna do with a baby, right? 736 00:39:45,318 --> 00:39:47,284 He--if he has this baby, 737 00:39:47,318 --> 00:39:49,560 people are gonna trace the killings to him, 738 00:39:49,594 --> 00:39:51,318 so he gets rid of the baby. 739 00:39:51,353 --> 00:39:56,146 And when we look at the brutality that Rachel suffered, 740 00:39:56,180 --> 00:39:59,353 I believe that baby Shannon was killed in front of her. 741 00:39:59,387 --> 00:40:01,939 This--this was brutal. He was sending her a message. 742 00:40:01,974 --> 00:40:03,456 He's carrying out a threat. 743 00:40:03,491 --> 00:40:08,387 There's no doubt in my mind she watched her child die 744 00:40:08,422 --> 00:40:12,939 at the hands of Marvin Gabrion before her own death. 745 00:40:12,974 --> 00:40:15,318 This man is a monster, 746 00:40:15,353 --> 00:40:19,318 anyone who can kill a child as young as Shannon. 747 00:40:19,353 --> 00:40:22,422 It reminds me of what Timothy McVeigh said 748 00:40:22,456 --> 00:40:24,456 when asked to comment about the children he killed 749 00:40:24,491 --> 00:40:26,077 in the Oklahoma City bombing, 750 00:40:26,111 --> 00:40:27,698 and he said they were collateral damage. 751 00:40:27,732 --> 00:40:29,353 Well, that's what Shannon was. 752 00:40:31,939 --> 00:40:35,663 We believe that Marvin Gabrion killed Robert Allen, 753 00:40:35,698 --> 00:40:37,974 he killed Wayne Davis, 754 00:40:38,008 --> 00:40:40,387 and he killed John Weeks. 755 00:40:40,422 --> 00:40:44,249 Wayne Davis had to go because he could possibly help 756 00:40:44,284 --> 00:40:46,043 send Marvin Gabrion to jail. 757 00:40:47,974 --> 00:40:50,111 John Weeks, he's a witness to the murder. 758 00:40:52,111 --> 00:40:54,974 Robert Allen, he was a source of money. 759 00:40:55,008 --> 00:40:58,077 He was just a means to an end. 760 00:40:58,111 --> 00:41:00,249 It just shows you that we believe 761 00:41:00,284 --> 00:41:03,594 that Marvin Gabrion was truly a serial killer. 762 00:41:06,180 --> 00:41:07,491 We only found one body, 763 00:41:07,525 --> 00:41:10,594 so Marvin Gabrion was charged with a single count 764 00:41:10,629 --> 00:41:13,525 of first-degree murder of Rachel Timmerman 765 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:15,387 on federal land, 766 00:41:15,422 --> 00:41:19,284 specifically the Manistee National Forest. 767 00:41:19,318 --> 00:41:21,387 Michigan doesn't have the death penalty, 768 00:41:21,422 --> 00:41:24,077 but any murder committed on federal property 769 00:41:24,111 --> 00:41:26,043 carries the possibility of a death sentence. 770 00:41:30,698 --> 00:41:32,698 Marvin Gabrion's trial began 771 00:41:32,732 --> 00:41:35,974 on February 25th, 2002. 772 00:41:36,008 --> 00:41:38,387 He claimed he's not guilty. 773 00:41:38,422 --> 00:41:42,629 He made a great effort of trying to appear insane. 774 00:41:42,663 --> 00:41:46,387 At one point, he actually lunged across the table 775 00:41:46,422 --> 00:41:48,111 to try to choke his attorney. 776 00:41:48,146 --> 00:41:51,284 I don't know if that was an act or if he's just that angry. 777 00:41:53,111 --> 00:41:56,629 After about a week of evidence, 778 00:41:56,663 --> 00:41:58,008 the jury decided not only 779 00:41:58,043 --> 00:42:02,456 that Gabrion murdered Rachel Timmerman, 780 00:42:02,491 --> 00:42:04,422 he deserved the death penalty for that. 781 00:42:09,249 --> 00:42:12,422 A couple of months after Gabrion was convicted, 782 00:42:12,456 --> 00:42:13,629 just by coincidence, 783 00:42:13,663 --> 00:42:16,180 Wayne Davis' body was found 784 00:42:16,215 --> 00:42:19,629 in a small pond in Newaygo County. 785 00:42:19,663 --> 00:42:22,318 He was found in rope 786 00:42:22,353 --> 00:42:25,111 and weighted down with rocks, 787 00:42:25,146 --> 00:42:27,422 very similar to Rachel Timmerman's body. 788 00:42:30,043 --> 00:42:32,111 This case clearly stands out to me 789 00:42:32,146 --> 00:42:34,974 as--as the most horrific that I investigated. 790 00:42:36,698 --> 00:42:40,318 He's a monster and a psychotic 791 00:42:40,353 --> 00:42:44,353 who has no feelings or remorse or concern for others. 792 00:42:48,698 --> 00:42:51,318 What I miss most about Rachel was just her smile. 793 00:42:51,353 --> 00:42:53,387 When she walked into a room, she would lighten a room. 794 00:42:55,284 --> 00:42:57,215 Rachel was very full of life. 795 00:42:57,249 --> 00:43:01,146 And I think the thing I miss the most is, 796 00:43:01,180 --> 00:43:02,629 I miss having a best friend. 797 00:43:04,456 --> 00:43:06,249 Well, Shannon, it's so much fun 798 00:43:06,284 --> 00:43:09,077 to watch a kid grow and mature and develop, 799 00:43:09,111 --> 00:43:10,525 and so, we never got to see that. 800 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:12,629 We never got to see what her potential was. 801 00:43:15,491 --> 00:43:19,284 There are truly evil people in this world. 802 00:43:19,318 --> 00:43:20,698 It's just not good people 803 00:43:20,732 --> 00:43:22,560 who do bad things or make bad decisions. 804 00:43:22,594 --> 00:43:24,939 There are truly evil people in this world.