1 00:00:02,300 --> 00:00:06,533 [footsteps falling] 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,500 [police officer speaking] 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,100 [Mark Lunsford speaking] 4 00:00:18,066 --> 00:00:19,367 [alarm beeping] 5 00:00:19,367 --> 00:00:21,567 [Ruth Lunsford speaking] 6 00:00:21,567 --> 00:00:22,767 [siren wailing] 7 00:00:22,767 --> 00:00:24,567 We've got the picture nationwide now. 8 00:00:24,567 --> 00:00:27,000 This investigation is wide open. 9 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,266 I know she's out there. I hope she can hear us. 10 00:00:30,266 --> 00:00:33,433 Jessica was surrounded by bad guys. 11 00:00:37,867 --> 00:00:40,934 Your first lesson is your name's on top of the list. 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,367 [detective speaking] 13 00:00:42,367 --> 00:00:43,934 [John Couey speaking] 14 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,166 [Emily] The clock has been ticking this whole time. 15 00:00:49,166 --> 00:00:51,367 Jessie might actually be alive. 16 00:00:51,367 --> 00:00:53,166 -[Jeffrey] You have 48 hours. -[timer ticking] 17 00:00:53,166 --> 00:00:55,734 We got to find out where Jessie is. 18 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,600 Wake up, America. The next child could be yours. 19 00:01:06,567 --> 00:01:09,734 [suspenseful theme music playing] 20 00:01:14,867 --> 00:01:17,133 [theme music continues] 21 00:01:22,066 --> 00:01:24,600 [theme music fades] 22 00:01:32,467 --> 00:01:34,333 This is Jessie's room. 23 00:01:35,667 --> 00:01:37,300 This is her artwork. 24 00:01:38,767 --> 00:01:43,834 This may be the scene of a crime, but it has become 25 00:01:44,900 --> 00:01:46,433 peaceful. 26 00:01:47,467 --> 00:01:50,367 The evilness will never go away. 27 00:01:50,367 --> 00:01:52,266 The pain, the hurt, 28 00:01:52,266 --> 00:01:56,767 the details in your head going over and over and over again 29 00:01:56,767 --> 00:01:58,800 about what happened to your child. 30 00:01:59,867 --> 00:02:02,166 Life will never be normal again. 31 00:02:02,166 --> 00:02:05,967 Everything between the grass being green, and the sky being 32 00:02:05,967 --> 00:02:10,934 blue will change when something like this happens in your life, 33 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,033 but, for some unknown reason, I find peace in here. 34 00:02:19,066 --> 00:02:20,734 [birds chirping] 35 00:02:22,567 --> 00:02:25,967 [Melody] In 2005, Mark Lunsford and his nine-year-old daughter, 36 00:02:25,967 --> 00:02:29,533 Jessie Lunsford, are living in the seaside hamlet of 37 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:30,900 Homosassa, Florida. 38 00:02:31,867 --> 00:02:36,066 Living in Homosassa is very laid back. 39 00:02:36,066 --> 00:02:39,000 Seemed like a great rural place to live. 40 00:02:40,467 --> 00:02:43,467 Me and Jessie used to -- we used to go to the beach a lot. 41 00:02:43,467 --> 00:02:46,934 We'd go to Four Iron Trail, which is also known as 42 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,667 Radiation Beach because there's a nuclear plant right there. 43 00:02:49,667 --> 00:02:50,767 It's really cool. 44 00:02:50,767 --> 00:02:52,133 [chuckling] 45 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:53,333 [seagulls cackling] 46 00:02:54,567 --> 00:02:57,467 Mark is separated from Jessie's mother, Angie Bryant, 47 00:02:57,467 --> 00:03:00,433 who lives in Ohio, and Mark's raising Jessie 48 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:01,867 on his own. 49 00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:07,567 Mark Lunsford and Angie Bryant divorced when Jessie was 50 00:03:07,567 --> 00:03:11,634 a year old -- Mark gains custody of Jessie. 51 00:03:11,700 --> 00:03:14,834 I got no problem being a single father. 52 00:03:14,900 --> 00:03:18,467 I was raised by good Christian people to be close to 53 00:03:18,467 --> 00:03:21,166 your children, and that's what I did. 54 00:03:21,166 --> 00:03:24,133 Mark really wanted to create a stable home life for 55 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:25,433 his daughter, Jessie. 56 00:03:25,433 --> 00:03:29,467 And so he moves back home with his parents, Archie and Ruth. 57 00:03:29,467 --> 00:03:32,734 Jessie's grandmother, Ruth, takes a huge maternal 58 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:34,066 role in Jessie's life. 59 00:03:34,066 --> 00:03:37,867 [Mark] My mom was the most important woman in Jessie's life. 60 00:03:37,867 --> 00:03:39,600 That was her grandma. 61 00:03:40,567 --> 00:03:43,166 [Ruth] Jessica was a miracle. 62 00:03:43,166 --> 00:03:46,467 Even though I had a lot of other grandchildren, 63 00:03:46,467 --> 00:03:47,934 she was special. 64 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,266 She was neat, and she was clean. 65 00:03:51,266 --> 00:03:55,533 You didn't go in her room and find it a mess. 66 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,066 If she had dirty clothes on, 67 00:03:57,066 --> 00:04:00,467 it was coming off and she was gonna go find something else 68 00:04:00,467 --> 00:04:03,300 to wear. She took that after Grandma. 69 00:04:04,266 --> 00:04:06,033 We were always together. 70 00:04:07,100 --> 00:04:08,500 [man speaking] 71 00:04:13,667 --> 00:04:17,233 When you walked with her, you didn't hold hands. 72 00:04:17,300 --> 00:04:19,166 You'd hold little fingers. 73 00:04:19,166 --> 00:04:23,767 See, that made her feel more grown up, holding just 74 00:04:23,767 --> 00:04:25,867 the little finger. 75 00:04:25,867 --> 00:04:28,934 Just hooking your fingers together like that. 76 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:30,233 [chortling] 77 00:04:31,266 --> 00:04:33,867 You never had to worry about Jessie. 78 00:04:33,867 --> 00:04:37,266 She'd go out here and ride her bicycle, but she went three 79 00:04:37,266 --> 00:04:41,133 or four doors down and that's as far as she would go. 80 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,433 She never would go out of sight. 81 00:04:45,100 --> 00:04:47,667 I think no matter where we live, we all think 82 00:04:47,667 --> 00:04:48,900 we're safe. 83 00:04:50,367 --> 00:04:52,066 I guess in reality, 84 00:04:52,066 --> 00:04:54,500 we probably shouldn't be so ignorant. 85 00:05:00,367 --> 00:05:02,000 [TV broadcasting indistinctly] 86 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,266 [Mark] That night, I was going to my girlfriend's. 87 00:05:05,266 --> 00:05:06,333 We had rules. 88 00:05:06,333 --> 00:05:09,100 You had to have a hug and a kiss before you left. 89 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:10,467 Always. 90 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,033 So I get ready to leave, and Jessie comes running out, 91 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:19,100 telling me I can't leave until I kiss and hug her goodbye. 92 00:05:23,567 --> 00:05:24,967 I always tucked her in. 93 00:05:24,967 --> 00:05:28,567 I always made sure she was, you know, tucked in at night. 94 00:05:28,567 --> 00:05:29,900 She had her dolphin. 95 00:05:31,100 --> 00:05:32,667 [Mark] Jessie had a stuffed animal. 96 00:05:32,667 --> 00:05:37,233 It was a purple dolphin that I had won her at the fair. 97 00:05:38,467 --> 00:05:40,834 Jessie liked the color purple. 98 00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:43,233 That seemed to be one of her favorite colors. 99 00:05:44,266 --> 00:05:47,667 And that night was the last time that I kissed her 100 00:05:47,667 --> 00:05:48,967 and hugged her goodbye. 101 00:05:48,967 --> 00:05:51,233 -[door creaking] -[door thudding shut] 102 00:05:52,700 --> 00:05:54,033 [radio broadcasting indistinctly] 103 00:05:54,100 --> 00:05:55,934 [Mark] I got up the next morning to go to work. 104 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:57,800 I had to come home first. 105 00:05:58,867 --> 00:06:02,433 This was 5:30 in the morning, somewhere around there. 106 00:06:02,500 --> 00:06:06,634 When I come home and I come in the door, I could hear Jessie's 107 00:06:06,700 --> 00:06:07,667 alarm going off. 108 00:06:07,667 --> 00:06:08,934 [beeping] 109 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,700 I go in her room to shut the alarm off. 110 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:15,533 And, uh... Jessie wasn't there. 111 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:16,700 [beeping] 112 00:06:17,467 --> 00:06:18,634 I didn't think nothing about it. 113 00:06:18,634 --> 00:06:22,567 I just walk over to my mom and dad's bedroom, asking them 114 00:06:22,567 --> 00:06:25,300 if Jessie was in there with them, and they said no. 115 00:06:26,867 --> 00:06:29,100 It wasn't like her, but I thought at first maybe 116 00:06:29,100 --> 00:06:32,533 she was hiding, you know, in the house. 117 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,634 The panic set in when I seen she was gone. 118 00:06:36,700 --> 00:06:38,300 Where is she at? 119 00:06:40,100 --> 00:06:42,834 And then it got really scary. 120 00:06:42,900 --> 00:06:46,333 Just all of a sudden, fear took over. 121 00:06:47,467 --> 00:06:51,800 You just feel it inside you. It's not a good feeling. 122 00:06:52,900 --> 00:06:54,300 [phone ringing] 123 00:07:21,266 --> 00:07:23,100 We have a 9-year-old child, missing. 124 00:07:23,100 --> 00:07:26,734 We immediately started activating additional staff, 125 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,133 and we get to work. -[siren wailing] 126 00:07:31,467 --> 00:07:33,367 I ran the multi-agency task force 127 00:07:33,367 --> 00:07:36,467 in the Jessica Lunsford case. I walk into the house. 128 00:07:36,467 --> 00:07:39,033 You've got Mark Lunsford in there. 129 00:07:39,100 --> 00:07:40,567 He's upset. He's frantic. 130 00:07:40,567 --> 00:07:44,166 You got his dad in there trying to calm him down, and you got 131 00:07:44,166 --> 00:07:47,133 Mark's mother, and she's trying to keep everybody 132 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:47,900 calmed down also. 133 00:07:47,900 --> 00:07:50,767 I go into Jessica's bedroom. 134 00:07:50,767 --> 00:07:52,767 I see no sign of foul play. 135 00:07:52,767 --> 00:07:54,934 I see no disturbance that occurred in there at all. 136 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,567 We have to figure out, is this a real abduction, or is this 137 00:07:58,567 --> 00:08:00,066 just a runaway? 138 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,033 Jessica Lunsford did not put on her school clothes because 139 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:05,166 they're laid out on a chair. 140 00:08:05,166 --> 00:08:07,734 Jessie's jacket was still there, and Jessie's shoes 141 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:09,166 were still there. 142 00:08:09,166 --> 00:08:12,266 It was a pretty cold day for Florida weather. 143 00:08:12,266 --> 00:08:15,867 It was probably in the low 40s, maybe high 30s. 144 00:08:15,867 --> 00:08:19,667 Bells and whistles go off, because if she was a runaway, 145 00:08:19,667 --> 00:08:21,800 those things would have gone with her. 146 00:08:23,100 --> 00:08:24,533 [Emily] Ruth tells the sheriff that one of 147 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,133 Jessie's prized possessions is missing. 148 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:31,233 [David] There was a purple dolphin that Mark had won at the county fair 149 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:33,066 and given to Jessica. 150 00:08:33,066 --> 00:08:35,734 And that was missing out of the bedroom. 151 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:38,867 Her shoes are still there. Her clothes are still there. 152 00:08:38,867 --> 00:08:41,767 But she takes her dolphin with her. 153 00:08:41,767 --> 00:08:44,333 And what does this mean? 154 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,233 Nothing seems to look right here. 155 00:08:46,300 --> 00:08:48,233 It looked like a child abduction. 156 00:08:50,700 --> 00:08:54,066 The clock is ticking if there's any hope of finding 157 00:08:54,066 --> 00:08:55,000 Jessica alive. 158 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,166 It's unfolding that you had an abduction, 159 00:08:58,166 --> 00:09:01,467 and anybody that's in law enforcement will tell you, 160 00:09:01,467 --> 00:09:04,133 you have 48 hours. -[alarm beeping] 161 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,500 We got to find out where Jessie is. 162 00:09:13,767 --> 00:09:16,433 We were starting to really ramp up the investigation. 163 00:09:16,500 --> 00:09:19,467 We had pretty well ruled out that Jessica Lunsford 164 00:09:19,467 --> 00:09:20,567 walked away. 165 00:09:20,567 --> 00:09:22,433 Something bad had happened here. 166 00:09:23,867 --> 00:09:25,533 [Mark] I was an emotional wreck. 167 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,266 You've come to realize that your daughter is gone. 168 00:09:29,266 --> 00:09:32,266 The sheriff's deputy said he needed us all just to stay 169 00:09:32,266 --> 00:09:35,033 at the house until the other detectives get here. 170 00:09:35,100 --> 00:09:37,066 I'm like, you guys have lost your minds. 171 00:09:37,066 --> 00:09:40,033 This is my child. And I said, "Screw you. 172 00:09:40,100 --> 00:09:43,500 I'm looking for my daughter." And out the door I went. 173 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:47,367 I walked outside, hollering for Jessie. 174 00:09:47,367 --> 00:09:50,433 I walked up to the street and was hollering for her. 175 00:09:50,500 --> 00:09:53,433 -[dog barking] -Mark is just frantic. 176 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:55,266 He wants to be out there looking for Jessie, 177 00:09:55,266 --> 00:09:58,133 and as he goes in search of his daughter, police continue 178 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,533 their investigation inside the Lunsford home. 179 00:10:01,700 --> 00:10:06,533 When you go into Jessie's room, you see a pristine room. 180 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:11,133 When we had Ruth in there, we asked, "Is there anything 181 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:12,266 out of place?" 182 00:10:12,266 --> 00:10:15,100 It didn't take Ruth a nanosecond. 183 00:10:15,100 --> 00:10:19,266 She says, "There's dirt on that pillow, that wouldn't be there." 184 00:10:19,266 --> 00:10:22,667 The dirt mark was the catalyst to really kick off 185 00:10:22,667 --> 00:10:24,166 this investigation. 186 00:10:24,767 --> 00:10:29,133 Police focus in on that smudge of dirt on the pillow as a clue 187 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:30,533 showing that someone came into 188 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,400 the house, an intruder, and snatched her up. 189 00:10:35,767 --> 00:10:37,767 All my training was within a half a mile. 190 00:10:37,767 --> 00:10:42,066 That's where the bad person is and possibly where Jessie is. 191 00:10:42,066 --> 00:10:45,000 I wasn't leaving until I found this little girl. 192 00:10:50,066 --> 00:10:52,367 [Emily] So police start canvassing the neighborhood. 193 00:10:52,367 --> 00:10:54,333 They don't have search warrants. 194 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,834 They don't have really even a list of suspects. 195 00:10:56,900 --> 00:10:58,767 They just are trying to figure out what happened. 196 00:10:58,767 --> 00:11:02,367 Part of the investigation is a neighborhood check -- 197 00:11:02,367 --> 00:11:04,667 the Child Abduction Response Team. 198 00:11:04,667 --> 00:11:07,433 30 investigators from throughout the state of Florida 199 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:08,667 arrived in our community. 200 00:11:08,667 --> 00:11:13,533 We had them do the neighborhood check, go to each house, 201 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,367 verify who lives there, verify who lives in the next 202 00:11:16,367 --> 00:11:18,567 house, ask an assortment of questions. 203 00:11:18,567 --> 00:11:21,300 Have you seen anything out of the ordinary? 204 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,266 One door that the police knock on in the neighborhood belongs 205 00:11:26,266 --> 00:11:28,634 to 49-year-old Dorothy Dixon. 206 00:11:30,500 --> 00:11:33,367 Dorothy Dixon's residence was close to 207 00:11:33,367 --> 00:11:34,533 the Lunsford residence. 208 00:11:34,533 --> 00:11:37,934 You had to cross the street and go down another street, 209 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,133 but you can look directly into Jessica's house from there. 210 00:11:43,100 --> 00:11:47,133 Dorothy Dixon lets us into the house, and we were looking 211 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,467 for Jessica, and she says, "Well, she's not here. 212 00:11:49,467 --> 00:11:52,166 I don't know what I can tell you." 213 00:11:52,166 --> 00:11:55,266 [Melody] Dorothy explains that she lives there with three other people, 214 00:11:55,266 --> 00:11:57,233 but her roommates aren't home. 215 00:11:57,300 --> 00:12:00,634 As a result, police can only search communal areas 216 00:12:00,700 --> 00:12:01,834 of the house. 217 00:12:01,834 --> 00:12:04,033 Because they don't have a warrant, they can't require 218 00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:06,667 anybody to let them search, and so police can only look 219 00:12:06,667 --> 00:12:09,266 around where they're given permission to do so. 220 00:12:09,266 --> 00:12:12,266 You can give somebody permission to search an area 221 00:12:12,266 --> 00:12:15,467 that you have access to, but you can't give permission 222 00:12:15,467 --> 00:12:18,266 to search a room that belongs to somebody else. 223 00:12:18,266 --> 00:12:20,467 So you would think, Dorothy could say, 224 00:12:20,467 --> 00:12:22,567 "Search the whole trailer, do what you want to do," 225 00:12:22,567 --> 00:12:25,433 but you can't if it's somebody else's room. 226 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:28,467 So we expanded our search to the neighbor's house, 227 00:12:28,467 --> 00:12:30,767 to the neighbor's house, and we keep expanding, 228 00:12:30,767 --> 00:12:32,467 expanding, expanding. 229 00:12:32,467 --> 00:12:36,166 The search of Dorothy Dixon's residence comes up empty, 230 00:12:36,166 --> 00:12:40,000 but back at the Lunsford home, police notice something that 231 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:41,667 catches their attention. 232 00:12:42,266 --> 00:12:45,567 [Jeffrey] The Lunsfords had a very little dog, and when I knocked on 233 00:12:45,567 --> 00:12:48,567 the door, was given permission to come in, that dog was 234 00:12:48,567 --> 00:12:50,767 barking and barking and barking and barking. 235 00:12:50,767 --> 00:12:54,066 That little dog barked at everything in that house. 236 00:12:54,066 --> 00:12:57,667 We asked Archie and Ruth, did you hear anything 237 00:12:57,667 --> 00:13:00,333 that night? Did the dog bark? 238 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,867 Archie and Ruth said, "The dog did not bark at all 239 00:13:03,867 --> 00:13:06,934 through the evening." -[David] The dog never barked. 240 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,934 That points towards the two men in the house, 241 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:11,033 Mark and his father, 242 00:13:11,033 --> 00:13:14,266 because who else would the dog be familiar with? 243 00:13:14,266 --> 00:13:17,066 Who else would be in there and Jessica wouldn't say a word 244 00:13:17,066 --> 00:13:19,000 if they got her up to walk her out of the house? 245 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,867 This was all very suspicious to us. 246 00:13:21,867 --> 00:13:25,233 It made us really zero in on Mark and his dad. 247 00:13:26,767 --> 00:13:29,567 A quick background check of Mark and his father, 248 00:13:29,567 --> 00:13:32,233 Archie, also raises some alarm bells. 249 00:13:32,300 --> 00:13:35,100 [David] We take a good look at Archie's criminal history. 250 00:13:35,100 --> 00:13:36,934 He does have a criminal history. 251 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:37,800 We look at Mark's. 252 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,333 Mark does have a criminal history. 253 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:44,066 [Melody] Mark has been arrested several times for minor offenses. 254 00:13:44,066 --> 00:13:48,033 And in the 1950s, Archie faced charges for several crimes, 255 00:13:48,100 --> 00:13:50,333 including a kidnapping, an assault, 256 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,667 and even an attempted rape. 257 00:13:52,667 --> 00:13:56,533 All charges against Mark and Archie were eventually 258 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,066 dropped, but they definitely catch the attention of police. 259 00:14:00,066 --> 00:14:04,133 Now we have a totally different picture of what this family may 260 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,634 be, and we have got to confront that. 261 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:09,834 [David] I asked Mark and Archie to come down to the Sheriff's Office. 262 00:14:09,900 --> 00:14:13,233 I need to get them separated, get them on videotape, 263 00:14:13,300 --> 00:14:15,433 and start asking them some pointed questions. 264 00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:17,233 [indistinct radio chatter] 265 00:14:29,300 --> 00:14:33,667 There is nothing that can prepare you for what you have 266 00:14:33,667 --> 00:14:36,767 to go through in an investigation. 267 00:14:36,767 --> 00:14:40,233 Your first lesson is your name's on top of the list. 268 00:14:45,467 --> 00:14:48,333 So Mark Lunsford says that he's with his girlfriend 269 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:49,634 most of the night. 270 00:14:57,266 --> 00:14:58,634 [David] We speak to her. 271 00:14:58,700 --> 00:15:00,200 The stories line up. 272 00:15:04,100 --> 00:15:06,133 [David] Mark showed true emotion. 273 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:08,467 There was no acting going on on his part. 274 00:15:08,467 --> 00:15:11,767 His child's missing, and he wants to find out what 275 00:15:11,767 --> 00:15:13,133 happened to her. 276 00:15:14,367 --> 00:15:17,133 At the same time police are questioning Mark, 277 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,233 another detective is turning up the heat on Archie. 278 00:15:31,300 --> 00:15:34,400 Archie was a big guy. He was kind of a rough guy. 279 00:15:41,567 --> 00:15:44,800 He wasn't taking a lot of guff from anybody. 280 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,734 He was just a great man. He protected his family. 281 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:05,000 For someone to come up with this crazy idea that my dad did 282 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,667 this, that's just so obscene and so far from anything 283 00:16:08,667 --> 00:16:10,166 I've ever known. 284 00:16:10,166 --> 00:16:13,100 And it continued to get worse from there. 285 00:16:13,100 --> 00:16:16,233 [David] I said, look, your dad's acting a little strange. 286 00:16:16,300 --> 00:16:18,934 Why don't we put you in the room alone with your dad 287 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,800 and you talk to him? Mark went along with that. 288 00:17:15,166 --> 00:17:18,567 It just seems like they were really focused on our family 289 00:17:18,567 --> 00:17:21,700 and not so much on anyone on the outside. 290 00:17:25,867 --> 00:17:29,433 [Emily] For two days, Mark and Archie are questioned for hours 291 00:17:29,500 --> 00:17:30,567 and hours and hours. 292 00:17:30,567 --> 00:17:33,066 Police are really focused on Archie. 293 00:17:33,066 --> 00:17:35,667 They are convinced that it is an inside job. 294 00:17:35,667 --> 00:17:37,800 The family know what happened to Jessie. 295 00:17:46,567 --> 00:17:49,367 [Mark] You want to interrogate the family until they feel like 296 00:17:49,367 --> 00:17:51,166 they're in hell? Go ahead. 297 00:17:51,166 --> 00:17:54,266 But while you're doing that, go find my daughter. 298 00:17:54,266 --> 00:17:57,567 Police think they will find Jessie if we can get one of 299 00:17:57,567 --> 00:17:58,700 these men to break down. 300 00:17:58,700 --> 00:18:02,166 And eventually, both men agreed to do a polygraph test. 301 00:18:02,166 --> 00:18:05,567 I gave Mark and Archie a lie detection examination, 302 00:18:05,567 --> 00:18:06,533 and they both passed. 303 00:18:08,166 --> 00:18:10,467 I have to report back to the sheriff that Mark 304 00:18:10,467 --> 00:18:13,333 and Archie have nothing to do with this. 305 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,867 [Mark] It took them a little while, but they finally got 306 00:18:15,867 --> 00:18:16,834 the truth out. 307 00:18:16,834 --> 00:18:19,467 And the truth was that our family had nothing 308 00:18:19,467 --> 00:18:21,734 to do with it. 309 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,133 But you got to keep in mind, though, man, they walked 310 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,133 into a scene. There was no forced entry. 311 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,967 There was no screaming, no barking dog. 312 00:18:31,967 --> 00:18:36,166 It's just like she was just lifted out of here quietly. 313 00:18:36,166 --> 00:18:40,233 So I get it, but it still makes you angry. 314 00:18:43,166 --> 00:18:46,367 With both men cleared, police turned their attention 315 00:18:46,367 --> 00:18:47,667 to the mother, Angie. 316 00:18:47,667 --> 00:18:49,867 [Jeffrey] There was a divorce in this family. 317 00:18:49,867 --> 00:18:53,100 The mom was in Ohio. The dad was here. 318 00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:56,500 So we have to figure out the dynamics of the family. 319 00:18:59,767 --> 00:19:03,867 I always felt bad because Angie got a phone call from 320 00:19:03,867 --> 00:19:06,567 the police asking her if she knew the whereabouts of 321 00:19:06,567 --> 00:19:10,100 her daughter, that she'd been abducted. 322 00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:12,734 Investigators are able to confirm the whereabouts of 323 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,367 Jessie's mom the night her daughter disappeared. -[phone ringing] 324 00:19:15,367 --> 00:19:18,834 The mother was up in Ohio, so we could take her out of 325 00:19:18,900 --> 00:19:20,567 the picture of this abduction. 326 00:19:22,500 --> 00:19:25,867 [news broadcast] Mark Lunsford came home to make a shocking discovery. 327 00:19:25,867 --> 00:19:28,533 Jessica was reported missing Thursday morning. 328 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,000 The story of Jessie's disappearance is picked up by 329 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,367 local TV stations and quickly becomes national news. 330 00:19:35,367 --> 00:19:38,567 [news broadcast] Mark says when he arrived home, the front door was unlocked 331 00:19:38,567 --> 00:19:40,433 and Jessie was gone. 332 00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:43,266 I was in about 7th grade when Jessie disappeared, 333 00:19:43,266 --> 00:19:44,967 and I remember seeing it on the news. 334 00:19:44,967 --> 00:19:48,100 We were both from the South, we were a few years apart, 335 00:19:48,100 --> 00:19:50,033 I remember being scared. 336 00:19:50,100 --> 00:19:53,033 We've got the picture nationwide now, we've got 337 00:19:53,100 --> 00:19:54,367 the information nationwide. 338 00:19:54,367 --> 00:19:57,634 Wake up America, the next child could be yours. 339 00:19:57,700 --> 00:20:01,066 I know how effective the media can be. 340 00:20:01,066 --> 00:20:03,333 This young lady, Jessica Lunsford, 341 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,367 captured the world's heart. 342 00:20:05,367 --> 00:20:09,867 I just ask you to please help me find my daughter 343 00:20:09,867 --> 00:20:11,166 and bring her home. 344 00:20:11,166 --> 00:20:15,433 I just want to know where she's at, know she's safe. 345 00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:18,300 She needs to be with her family. 346 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,467 Leads are coming in, hundreds and hundreds of 347 00:20:24,467 --> 00:20:25,767 leads an hour. 348 00:20:25,767 --> 00:20:28,634 [news broadcast] There is a strong will to keep the search going. 349 00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:32,367 As time passes, many are starting to think the worst. 350 00:20:32,367 --> 00:20:35,567 Your natural instincts is telling you time is 351 00:20:35,567 --> 00:20:39,166 of the essence. I talk to God every day. 352 00:20:39,166 --> 00:20:42,900 And, uh, I've just begged him to bring her home. 353 00:20:46,567 --> 00:20:48,133 [creaking] 354 00:20:49,567 --> 00:20:52,266 [Emily] Police now think Jessie was snatched by a stranger. 355 00:20:52,266 --> 00:20:55,266 And this comes with 356 00:20:55,266 --> 00:20:57,567 another really difficult component attached, 357 00:20:57,567 --> 00:20:59,934 because statistically speaking, if you're snatched by 358 00:21:00,066 --> 00:21:03,367 a stranger as a child, most likely there is a sexual 359 00:21:03,367 --> 00:21:04,867 component involved. 360 00:21:04,867 --> 00:21:07,567 And so now police are fearing not only an abduction, 361 00:21:07,567 --> 00:21:10,166 but also sexual abuse. 362 00:21:10,166 --> 00:21:14,033 They go through the registry of sex predators in the area. 363 00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:17,266 [David] We had 208 sex offenders in Citrus County. 364 00:21:17,266 --> 00:21:21,100 Out of the 208 registered sex offenders in Citrus County, 365 00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:23,333 50 of them lived close by to Jessica. 366 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:28,700 So she was surrounded by bad guys, and potential bad guys. 367 00:21:29,967 --> 00:21:33,100 We started out with the 50 sex offenders in that neighborhood, 368 00:21:33,100 --> 00:21:36,767 checking where they were, getting an alibi, -[knocking] 369 00:21:36,767 --> 00:21:40,100 authenticating the alibi, and then extended it out to all 370 00:21:40,100 --> 00:21:41,967 208 in Citrus County. 371 00:21:41,967 --> 00:21:45,867 They went one by one, door by door, looking for each of these 372 00:21:45,867 --> 00:21:47,000 sex predators. 373 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,667 [Melody] When detectives arrive at one of the addresses 374 00:21:49,667 --> 00:21:51,667 on their list, something is off. 375 00:21:51,667 --> 00:21:55,166 It's clear no one has lived at the residence 376 00:21:55,166 --> 00:21:56,967 in quite some time. 377 00:21:56,967 --> 00:21:59,934 It's this mobile home, had trash everywhere, 378 00:22:00,066 --> 00:22:02,033 looked like a wreck on the outside. 379 00:22:02,100 --> 00:22:04,333 From what I understand, it was a wreck on the inside. 380 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:05,433 [indistinct radio chatter] 381 00:22:05,433 --> 00:22:08,033 Police are there to check 46-year-old registered 382 00:22:08,100 --> 00:22:10,934 sex offender John Couey off their list. 383 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,166 [David] John Couey had about 24 arrests, everything from 384 00:22:14,166 --> 00:22:17,634 carrying a concealed weapon and narcotics to lewd 385 00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:19,166 and lascivious act on children. 386 00:22:19,166 --> 00:22:22,767 He had a pretty long rap sheet, and he's no longer at 387 00:22:22,767 --> 00:22:25,133 the residence he's supposed to be at. 388 00:22:26,266 --> 00:22:29,533 Police can't find John Couey. He's not where he said he is. 389 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,367 The desire to find John Couey and figure out where he is 390 00:22:32,367 --> 00:22:35,467 and what he knows is of prime importance to investigators. 391 00:22:35,467 --> 00:22:39,066 [Jeffrey] John Couey had an extensive criminal record of misdemeanors 392 00:22:39,066 --> 00:22:41,967 and felonies, but I will tell you the one that stands out. 393 00:22:41,967 --> 00:22:46,567 Couey broke into a house and was caught by the dad in 394 00:22:46,567 --> 00:22:48,233 his little girl's bedroom. 395 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,333 So days into the investigation, as police are looking 396 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,567 for John Couey, everything stops when they get a call from 397 00:22:57,567 --> 00:23:00,066 a neighboring county about 70 miles away. 398 00:23:00,066 --> 00:23:02,333 Sheriff from Hillsborough County called me earlier 399 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,834 this afternoon, advising that they had located a body down 400 00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:07,734 there and it may match our girl here. 401 00:23:15,467 --> 00:23:18,000 [siren wailing] 402 00:23:19,467 --> 00:23:20,867 [Mark] The sheriff came by. 403 00:23:20,867 --> 00:23:24,734 He didn't want to alarm us, but he wanted us to know that 404 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,166 while searching for Jessie, they had found a body 405 00:23:29,166 --> 00:23:32,000 in a pond. -Tensions are high. 406 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,166 You're hearing, "a body in water." 407 00:23:34,166 --> 00:23:37,767 They have a young girl's body in Lake Thonotosassa, which is 408 00:23:37,767 --> 00:23:39,934 about 75 miles from here. 409 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,233 They tell us this is her, it's Jessie. 410 00:23:44,266 --> 00:23:46,266 But then they started describing the body. 411 00:23:46,266 --> 00:23:49,033 She was much older, and there's a tattoo on her. 412 00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:50,867 Of course, Jessica didn't have a tattoo. 413 00:23:50,867 --> 00:23:53,667 We have confirmed that it is not our girl. 414 00:23:53,667 --> 00:23:56,100 I repeat, it is not our girl. 415 00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:58,667 [David] We were notified that she was a prostitute. 416 00:23:58,667 --> 00:24:00,266 That's not uncommon. 417 00:24:00,266 --> 00:24:03,367 Bodies get dumped all over the place around here. 418 00:24:03,367 --> 00:24:04,567 It's sad. 419 00:24:04,567 --> 00:24:08,300 You know, you look for one, and you find somebody else's. 420 00:24:11,367 --> 00:24:14,066 Over a week has passed since Jessie disappeared. 421 00:24:14,066 --> 00:24:17,266 The nation is captivated by her story. 422 00:24:17,266 --> 00:24:19,867 Jessie's name is all over the news. 423 00:24:19,867 --> 00:24:22,767 Day in, day out, the media are covering the story from 424 00:24:22,767 --> 00:24:25,667 every angle. People want to help find her. 425 00:24:25,667 --> 00:24:28,467 [news broadcast] Desperate for clues, volunteers began searching 426 00:24:28,467 --> 00:24:31,867 nearby wooded areas again this morning. 427 00:24:31,867 --> 00:24:33,667 [Jeffrey] We had 3,000 leads come in. 428 00:24:33,667 --> 00:24:37,967 One of the leads came from Madie Secord, Couey's niece. 429 00:24:37,967 --> 00:24:43,266 Madie Secord came in because she knew John Couey's history 430 00:24:43,266 --> 00:24:45,367 of sexually assaulting people. 431 00:24:45,367 --> 00:24:49,967 She told us Couey was living at the house across the street 432 00:24:49,967 --> 00:24:52,967 from Jessica Lunsford, but nobody knew it. 433 00:24:52,967 --> 00:24:57,166 [Melody] The home belongs to Dorothy Dixon, who it turns out is 434 00:24:57,166 --> 00:24:58,667 John Couey's sister. 435 00:24:58,667 --> 00:25:02,433 This is significant, because Dorothy Dixon is one of 436 00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:05,100 the people that police interviewed when they first 437 00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:06,467 were canvassing the neighborhood. 438 00:25:06,467 --> 00:25:08,867 They spoke with her, they went into her home, 439 00:25:08,867 --> 00:25:10,066 they looked around, 440 00:25:10,066 --> 00:25:11,734 but there had been these limitations. 441 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:13,233 They hadn't been allowed in certain rooms. 442 00:25:13,300 --> 00:25:15,166 They'd only been able to look at common spaces. 443 00:25:15,166 --> 00:25:17,567 So now things are starting to fit together, 444 00:25:17,567 --> 00:25:20,000 and they're concerned, did we actually go into 445 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,066 this home, and maybe the kid was there, 446 00:25:22,066 --> 00:25:23,333 and we missed her. 447 00:25:24,667 --> 00:25:26,066 [door handle rattles] 448 00:25:26,066 --> 00:25:30,133 Investigators race back to the residence, this time with 449 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:31,100 a search warrant. 450 00:25:31,100 --> 00:25:33,066 [indistinct radio chatter] 451 00:25:33,066 --> 00:25:35,567 [banging] 452 00:25:35,567 --> 00:25:41,333 Once detectives got inside, they go into John Couey's room. 453 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,100 They found a bloody mattress. 454 00:25:44,100 --> 00:25:46,867 They also found some speaker wire. 455 00:25:46,867 --> 00:25:49,533 They turned it into evidence for examination. 456 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,934 [Emily] Police find evidence that Jessie has been there, 457 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,367 but she's not anywhere to be found now. 458 00:25:56,367 --> 00:25:59,867 [Melody] But when detectives ask Dorothy Dixon where her brother is, 459 00:25:59,867 --> 00:26:02,767 they get a frustrating answer. 460 00:26:02,767 --> 00:26:07,567 Dorothy said that she had provided John Couey with money 461 00:26:07,567 --> 00:26:11,867 for a bus ticket to leave town, and that bus ticket was to 462 00:26:11,867 --> 00:26:14,467 Savannah, Georgia. 463 00:26:14,467 --> 00:26:17,767 Without a doubt in my mind, Dorothy Dixon bought that 464 00:26:17,767 --> 00:26:20,567 ticket to get him out of the house because John Couey 465 00:26:20,567 --> 00:26:24,533 definitely compromised that whole family simply by being 466 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:26,000 there without being registered. 467 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,166 [Emily] Dorothy Dixon says she never knew that Jessie was 468 00:26:28,166 --> 00:26:29,266 in the house. 469 00:26:29,266 --> 00:26:32,667 She knew nothing of what was going on in the bedroom. 470 00:26:32,667 --> 00:26:36,333 Although Dorothy's actions are suspicious, police focus on 471 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:37,834 finding John Couey. 472 00:26:44,166 --> 00:26:46,166 [news broadcast] There is also another man detectives are 473 00:26:46,166 --> 00:26:47,300 desperately seeking. 474 00:26:47,300 --> 00:26:51,133 They say some 3,000 clues into their office led them to 475 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:52,300 this individual. 476 00:26:52,300 --> 00:26:55,567 Law enforcement blasts John Couey's name and picture 477 00:26:55,567 --> 00:26:58,467 everywhere, and a homeless shelter worker 478 00:26:58,467 --> 00:27:02,767 in Augusta, Georgia, recognizes Couey and calls police. 479 00:27:02,767 --> 00:27:05,533 I have a meeting with the sheriff, and we decide to 480 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,500 send detectives up there to interview John Couey. 481 00:27:26,900 --> 00:27:28,867 John adamantly denies, he has nothing to do with it. 482 00:27:28,867 --> 00:27:30,734 He doesn't even know who Jessica Lunsford is. 483 00:27:37,100 --> 00:27:38,834 So they said, well, we'll go ahead and give you 484 00:27:38,900 --> 00:27:39,967 a polygraph up here. 485 00:27:39,967 --> 00:27:42,233 And if it all comes good, you know, we'll move on. 486 00:27:42,300 --> 00:27:44,967 [Emily] So they subject John Couey to a polygraph test. 487 00:27:44,967 --> 00:27:47,634 And early in, he breaks down. 488 00:27:48,667 --> 00:27:50,867 That's where the detectives came back in 489 00:27:50,867 --> 00:27:52,734 and got the confession. 490 00:28:30,767 --> 00:28:33,433 In the midst of this, John Couey asked for a lawyer. 491 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:36,467 But police don't want to wait, so they proceed anyway. 492 00:28:36,467 --> 00:28:38,767 We didn't know where Jessie was. 493 00:28:38,767 --> 00:28:40,467 We got to find out where Jessie is. 494 00:28:40,467 --> 00:28:42,433 [David] The sheriff made a tactical decision. 495 00:28:42,500 --> 00:28:44,467 He said, if this girl is still alive someplace, 496 00:28:44,467 --> 00:28:46,000 we need to find her. 497 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,333 If his statement gets thrown out, it gets thrown out. 498 00:29:07,567 --> 00:29:10,367 John Couey entered the Lunsfords' house through 499 00:29:10,367 --> 00:29:13,166 a door that was unlocked, woke her up. 500 00:29:13,166 --> 00:29:15,233 That's where the dirt smudge came. 501 00:29:16,166 --> 00:29:17,500 From his hand. 502 00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:37,266 [Emily] From what John Couey says, it was simply 503 00:29:37,266 --> 00:29:38,567 a crime of opportunity. 504 00:29:38,567 --> 00:29:41,166 And it was just by chance the dog didn't wake up 505 00:29:41,166 --> 00:29:42,867 and start barking. 506 00:29:42,867 --> 00:29:44,166 Dog never barked. 507 00:29:44,166 --> 00:29:46,300 She never yelled, never screamed. 508 00:30:04,867 --> 00:30:08,333 [Melody] Detectives continue to press John Couey for answers, 509 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,200 and they're devastated to learn the truth. 510 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,000 [David] Jessica was tied up in that closet with speaker wire, 511 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,266 alive, with the door cracked open, with the TV on so 512 00:30:24,266 --> 00:30:28,033 she could watch everybody searching for her. 513 00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:32,233 I know she's out there. I hope she can hear us. 514 00:30:32,300 --> 00:30:35,567 And whoever's got her, she needs to be 515 00:30:35,567 --> 00:30:37,367 with her family. 516 00:30:37,367 --> 00:30:40,634 He's having her watch the search, looking for her, 517 00:30:40,700 --> 00:30:42,467 and she can probably see out the window and hear 518 00:30:42,467 --> 00:30:46,266 the helicopters, and the dogs, and the commotion out there. 519 00:30:46,266 --> 00:30:48,667 Probably one of the most heinous mind games I've ever 520 00:30:48,667 --> 00:30:50,233 seen in my life. 521 00:30:50,300 --> 00:30:52,100 I need your help. 522 00:30:52,100 --> 00:30:55,233 [Emily] It's now been more than two weeks since they first 523 00:30:55,300 --> 00:30:56,400 searched the house. 524 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,767 For an investigator, I think it would be, you know, 525 00:30:59,767 --> 00:31:02,667 incredibly difficult to know that you were so close. 526 00:31:02,667 --> 00:31:05,834 Jessie was there in the closet, but you couldn't search that 527 00:31:05,900 --> 00:31:07,033 bedroom because you're not allowed. 528 00:31:07,033 --> 00:31:11,433 Detectives are shocked to realize how close Jessie was 529 00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:13,867 the whole time, and they missed it. 530 00:31:13,867 --> 00:31:17,533 But John Couey still hasn't answered the most 531 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:21,400 important question -- where is Jessie now? 532 00:31:43,100 --> 00:31:46,166 On day three, Couey's just, "I don't know what 533 00:31:46,166 --> 00:31:48,533 "I'm gonna do. The police have been here. 534 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,533 "I don't want to get caught, and I need to get rid 535 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:53,000 of Jessica." 536 00:32:25,367 --> 00:32:27,333 [John sobbing] 537 00:32:42,066 --> 00:32:44,567 When you hear a confession like that and you receive 538 00:32:44,567 --> 00:32:47,467 a confession like that, everybody suffers with that. 539 00:32:47,467 --> 00:32:50,200 The problem is we were responsible 540 00:32:51,066 --> 00:32:52,300 [voice breaking] to bring her home. 541 00:32:53,667 --> 00:32:57,834 So you take that responsibility to heart. 542 00:33:02,300 --> 00:33:05,433 I'm standing out here in the yard, Sheriff's Department, 543 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:07,800 two deputies come flying down the road. 544 00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:11,367 They stop right here in front of this house, 545 00:33:11,367 --> 00:33:13,400 and they start taping it off. 546 00:33:14,567 --> 00:33:18,100 And my sister came outside, and I told her to go back 547 00:33:18,100 --> 00:33:20,233 inside and turn the TV off. 548 00:33:21,567 --> 00:33:24,133 And she goes, "What's going on?" I said, "They found her." 549 00:33:27,567 --> 00:33:30,934 I didn't need them to tell me that. 550 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:37,900 Time went by, 551 00:33:38,767 --> 00:33:40,867 all the bigwigs in the Sheriff's Department 552 00:33:40,867 --> 00:33:43,934 showed up, they get out, they walk in my direction. 553 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,667 I told them they didn't need to come [bleep] near me. 554 00:33:46,667 --> 00:33:50,066 You go in there and you tell that woman what happened 555 00:33:50,066 --> 00:33:51,500 to her granddaughter. 556 00:33:53,266 --> 00:33:58,333 The officers came here to the house, and we sat right in 557 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,166 here in the front room, and he got right down on his knees in 558 00:34:01,166 --> 00:34:03,700 front of me, but I already knew. 559 00:34:20,900 --> 00:34:24,767 We took Jessie out of that hole and started the process of 560 00:34:24,767 --> 00:34:26,266 bringing her home. 561 00:34:26,266 --> 00:34:31,467 Jessie died of asphyxiation from being under three or four 562 00:34:31,467 --> 00:34:34,266 feet of dirt in a plastic bag with her hands tied 563 00:34:34,266 --> 00:34:35,767 behind her back. 564 00:34:38,467 --> 00:34:43,734 I can't even describe how angry a man could be to find out that 565 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,400 she's 150 yards from her own bedroom, 566 00:34:48,967 --> 00:34:51,467 that every day I opened that door and looked out in 567 00:34:51,467 --> 00:34:54,133 this yard, and asked God where she was at. 568 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,967 He told me. I just didn't hear him. 569 00:34:57,967 --> 00:34:59,600 She was right in front of me. 570 00:35:01,100 --> 00:35:04,667 I asked God to just bring her home. 571 00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:08,533 I won't ask you to bring her home in a certain way. 572 00:35:09,467 --> 00:35:11,333 I just want you to bring her home. 573 00:35:12,967 --> 00:35:15,000 So she came home. 574 00:35:18,967 --> 00:35:22,367 [Melody] John Couey is charged with first-degree murder, 575 00:35:22,367 --> 00:35:25,767 sexual battery, kidnapping, and burglary. 576 00:35:25,767 --> 00:35:28,133 He faces the death penalty. 577 00:35:29,667 --> 00:35:32,433 [Emily] Eventually, police do charge Dorothy Dixon with obstruction 578 00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:33,333 of justice. 579 00:35:33,333 --> 00:35:34,867 These charges had all been dropped. 580 00:35:34,867 --> 00:35:38,767 We felt that Dorothy Dixon and Madie Secord were 581 00:35:38,767 --> 00:35:40,467 complicit in this case. 582 00:35:40,467 --> 00:35:43,667 We arrested them, we charged them, but I couldn't 583 00:35:43,667 --> 00:35:44,734 make it stick. 584 00:35:44,734 --> 00:35:47,333 The state attorney's office wouldn't charge them. 585 00:35:48,767 --> 00:35:51,100 [news broadcast] Prosecutors started to lay out their case 586 00:35:51,100 --> 00:35:52,333 against John Evander Couey, 587 00:35:52,333 --> 00:35:56,000 accused of murdering nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005. 588 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,934 The evidence will show that the one man responsible for all 589 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:02,967 of these acts is sitting right there. 590 00:36:02,967 --> 00:36:05,867 But the case hits a huge roadblock. 591 00:36:05,867 --> 00:36:09,533 As the Sheriff anticipated, the judge does throw out 592 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:13,100 John Couey's confession because the interview continued after 593 00:36:13,100 --> 00:36:14,967 he had asked for a lawyer. 594 00:36:14,967 --> 00:36:18,367 But we had the mattress, and we had blood on it, 595 00:36:18,367 --> 00:36:20,233 and we had DNA on it. 596 00:36:20,300 --> 00:36:24,033 So we had enough, even without his confession. 597 00:36:25,266 --> 00:36:29,367 The defendant took her, raped her, buried her alive, 598 00:36:29,367 --> 00:36:33,700 and murdered her, put her in two garbage bags. 599 00:36:49,266 --> 00:36:52,233 [judge] State of Florida versus John Evander Couey. 600 00:36:52,300 --> 00:36:55,000 It is hereby ordered and adjudged, 601 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,166 and for the murder of Jessica Marie Lunsford, this court 602 00:36:58,166 --> 00:37:01,467 sentences you, John Evander Couey, to death. 603 00:37:01,467 --> 00:37:04,433 My daughter got justice, and he's gonna die. 604 00:37:04,500 --> 00:37:08,000 -And that felt good. -[judge] Adjourned. 605 00:37:09,667 --> 00:37:12,734 [Ruth] You harmed a child, one of God's children, 606 00:37:14,700 --> 00:37:15,934 and you are to die. 607 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,500 You don't deserve to be on this earth. 608 00:37:20,467 --> 00:37:22,734 [Mark] That's not something that should make anybody happy, 609 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:26,767 but when someone hurts a child, there isn't anyone more worthy 610 00:37:26,767 --> 00:37:29,834 of dying than someone who hurts a child. 611 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,000 A dead pedophile cannot re-offend. 612 00:37:42,100 --> 00:37:46,000 Ultimately, John Couey dies from natural causes in 2009, 613 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,233 before his execution could take place. 614 00:37:54,166 --> 00:37:58,233 After Jessie's horrific death, Mark becomes this great child 615 00:37:58,300 --> 00:38:01,934 advocate, making huge moves within legislation. 616 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:06,166 After they found Jessie, that's when my advocacy began. 617 00:38:06,166 --> 00:38:08,767 And that's how I pushed Jessie's Law. 618 00:38:08,767 --> 00:38:12,367 My job now is to declare war on child sex offenders 619 00:38:12,367 --> 00:38:15,033 and predators, to get you to join me. 620 00:38:15,100 --> 00:38:18,066 Instead of them stalking our kids, we will stalk them. 621 00:38:18,066 --> 00:38:20,333 Predators forewarned. 622 00:38:21,967 --> 00:38:25,634 Jessie's Law was based on sentencing guidelines, 623 00:38:25,700 --> 00:38:29,433 registration guidelines, where sex offenders were 624 00:38:29,500 --> 00:38:30,734 allowed to go. 625 00:38:30,734 --> 00:38:34,533 It increased a lot of different penalties for sex offenders 626 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,166 and people who harbor sex offenders. 627 00:38:37,166 --> 00:38:41,867 [Melody] The law includes a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in 628 00:38:41,867 --> 00:38:45,934 prison for certain sexual offenses, and lifetime 629 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,467 electronic monitoring for convicted sex offenders. 630 00:38:48,467 --> 00:38:51,266 With great pride, I will sign the Jessica Lunsford Act 631 00:38:51,266 --> 00:38:52,400 into law. 632 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:56,433 Thanks to Mark's advocacy, Jessie's Law is approved in 633 00:38:56,500 --> 00:38:59,667 Florida in 2005, and goes into effect in more than 634 00:38:59,667 --> 00:39:01,066 40 other states. 635 00:39:01,066 --> 00:39:05,567 Jessie's Law is her legacy, but her legacy extends 636 00:39:05,567 --> 00:39:07,066 past that law. 637 00:39:07,066 --> 00:39:10,367 They came up with an idea for child advocacy centers, 638 00:39:10,367 --> 00:39:12,834 and I got behind them and supported those. 639 00:39:14,166 --> 00:39:18,767 [Melissa] We weren't able to save Jessie, but we were able to give 640 00:39:18,767 --> 00:39:19,800 her a legacy. 641 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,734 This is the child advocacy center that we created 642 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:24,767 and named after Jessica Lunsford. 643 00:39:24,767 --> 00:39:28,433 The intention is to make every child who has experienced 644 00:39:28,500 --> 00:39:32,467 violence and abuse have a safe and comfortable place to come 645 00:39:32,467 --> 00:39:35,467 and tell their story and begin their journey to recovery. 646 00:39:35,467 --> 00:39:38,667 When you have a Child Advocacy Center in your community, 647 00:39:38,667 --> 00:39:42,567 cases are stronger and criminal outcomes are more successful, 648 00:39:42,567 --> 00:39:44,233 prosecution rates go up. 649 00:39:44,300 --> 00:39:48,634 I hope she is proud of what we have built. 650 00:39:48,700 --> 00:39:51,500 I hope she is proud of the Child Advocacy Center. 651 00:39:59,066 --> 00:40:02,233 [Mark] This is the memorial that was put up for Jessie. 652 00:40:06,266 --> 00:40:11,967 I can tell you in time, whatever happened to your child it won't 653 00:40:11,967 --> 00:40:17,433 go away, but it will be replaced, and you will be 654 00:40:17,500 --> 00:40:20,767 overwhelmed with memories 655 00:40:20,767 --> 00:40:26,166 of the good times, and less about what happened. 656 00:40:26,166 --> 00:40:28,567 She changed our lives forever. 657 00:40:28,567 --> 00:40:33,000 She's always been with us. She's not in the graveyard. 658 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:36,066 Her body's there, but she's not there. 659 00:40:36,066 --> 00:40:37,934 She's with us. 660 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:45,266 We used to argue over who loved each other the most. 661 00:40:45,266 --> 00:40:49,000 I told her one time, I love you more, I love you more, 662 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,467 just back and forth like that. 663 00:40:50,467 --> 00:40:53,800 I said, "I love you this much, and that's all the way around." 664 00:40:54,867 --> 00:40:56,233 And she said, 665 00:40:58,266 --> 00:41:02,066 she said, "I love you this much and nothing will come 666 00:41:02,066 --> 00:41:03,300 between us." 667 00:41:05,700 --> 00:41:07,867 She stole everybody's heart. 668 00:41:07,867 --> 00:41:12,433 She was, she was a thief of hearts, and if you met her, 669 00:41:12,500 --> 00:41:13,467 you loved her.