1 00:00:10,595 --> 00:00:12,597 [indistinct chatter] 2 00:00:14,599 --> 00:00:15,600 [on video] Hey! 3 00:00:18,144 --> 00:00:21,022 [Dianne Valiante] Tiffany was just... just always beautiful. 4 00:00:21,022 --> 00:00:24,025 Always bright. Energetic. 5 00:00:25,234 --> 00:00:28,446 She got a scholarship to play volleyball. 6 00:00:30,198 --> 00:00:33,117 She was gonna be a middle starter. 7 00:00:33,201 --> 00:00:36,746 That doesn't happen in college, being a freshman starter. 8 00:00:37,872 --> 00:00:39,415 She wanted things in life. 9 00:00:41,459 --> 00:00:43,461 We were all so very proud of her. 10 00:00:49,300 --> 00:00:54,347 That night, she was found approximately four miles away from our house, 11 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,600 where she was hit by that train. 12 00:00:59,352 --> 00:01:03,481 New Jersey Transit put it out there that my daughter committed suicide. 13 00:01:04,899 --> 00:01:06,901 There's absolutely no way! 14 00:01:06,901 --> 00:01:08,569 No way at all. 15 00:01:10,196 --> 00:01:12,448 I wanna know what happened to my daughter. 16 00:01:13,074 --> 00:01:15,076 [mysterious music playing] 17 00:01:58,244 --> 00:02:00,246 [somber music playing softly] 18 00:02:10,423 --> 00:02:11,799 This is my daughter's room. 19 00:02:15,887 --> 00:02:18,139 The whole room is the way she left it. 20 00:02:23,936 --> 00:02:26,480 That's her writing and her little hearts and what. 21 00:02:27,565 --> 00:02:29,525 No one will ever go in this room. 22 00:02:30,693 --> 00:02:31,819 It's like a tomb. 23 00:02:35,072 --> 00:02:38,159 She loved life, and she was full of it too. 24 00:02:40,745 --> 00:02:42,038 That's my baby. 25 00:02:47,627 --> 00:02:51,547 [Dianne] I met Stephen in 1989, 26 00:02:51,631 --> 00:02:55,718 {\an8}and I had already had my girls, Jessica and Krystal. 27 00:02:55,718 --> 00:03:00,181 I ended up pregnant with Tiffany and had her in 1997. 28 00:03:01,474 --> 00:03:04,018 We were shocked when we had Tiffany. 29 00:03:07,980 --> 00:03:10,358 You know, we didn't expect to get pregnant, 30 00:03:10,358 --> 00:03:13,277 but the first time we laid eyes on her, it was just like... 31 00:03:13,361 --> 00:03:14,987 you know, just heaven. It just... 32 00:03:15,071 --> 00:03:17,031 She was absolutely gorgeous. 33 00:03:18,324 --> 00:03:20,284 [Stephen Valiante] Tiff was just a ball of joy. 34 00:03:20,368 --> 00:03:23,496 She enjoyed what she was doing. She didn't worry about nothing. 35 00:03:23,496 --> 00:03:26,666 {\an8}I mean, there's nothing that she didn't like. 36 00:03:28,626 --> 00:03:31,796 [Dianne] Picture up there is of her on a beach in North Carolina. 37 00:03:32,755 --> 00:03:34,382 This is New Year's Eve. 38 00:03:35,967 --> 00:03:39,720 Uh, here's her graduation. You can see how happy she is. 39 00:03:43,057 --> 00:03:45,935 Tiffany's sisters are the ones that had this made for me. 40 00:03:47,103 --> 00:03:50,439 Just a memorial of all, you know, of Tiffany's life. 41 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,111 To walk in here every day just makes me feel close. 42 00:03:56,279 --> 00:03:59,448 I feel like she's with me 'cause I miss her so much. 43 00:04:02,243 --> 00:04:05,246 {\an8}[intriguing music playing quietly] 44 00:04:09,417 --> 00:04:10,668 {\an8}[Dianne] It was a Sunday. 45 00:04:10,668 --> 00:04:14,797 We went to Tiffany's cousin's graduation party across the street. 46 00:04:15,923 --> 00:04:17,591 And Tiffany came with us. 47 00:04:19,051 --> 00:04:21,470 We were there for several hours 48 00:04:21,971 --> 00:04:24,765 steaming clams and having a good old time. 49 00:04:24,849 --> 00:04:26,183 Tiff was having a great time. 50 00:04:26,267 --> 00:04:29,186 Playing volleyball, having fun, waiting for her friends to come over. 51 00:04:30,479 --> 00:04:33,983 {\an8}[Dianne] I remember Tiffany running back home. 52 00:04:35,359 --> 00:04:38,279 {\an8}We were still at the party, and at 9:15, 53 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:41,615 {\an8}I got a phone call from one of her girlfriends and says, 54 00:04:41,699 --> 00:04:44,744 "I'm pulling up now. Can you come over to the house?" 55 00:04:44,744 --> 00:04:46,912 I said, "Sure, is everything okay?" 56 00:04:46,996 --> 00:04:51,334 So I told my husband, Stephen, that I gotta go over to the house, 57 00:04:51,334 --> 00:04:53,336 and he said, "Oh, I'll go with you." 58 00:04:53,336 --> 00:04:57,548 And we walked up to the road between the two houses. 59 00:05:00,384 --> 00:05:03,304 Tiffany's friend got out screaming and hollering, 60 00:05:03,304 --> 00:05:07,725 and accused Tiffany of using her credit card without her knowledge. 61 00:05:07,725 --> 00:05:11,062 And Tiffany denied it until after the friend left, 62 00:05:11,062 --> 00:05:14,940 and then she told me that she did use it. 63 00:05:16,692 --> 00:05:19,361 And I said, "Why would you use somebody else's card?" 64 00:05:19,445 --> 00:05:22,948 "You know better than that. Didn't raise you that way." 65 00:05:23,032 --> 00:05:25,701 "And now I gotta go tell your dad you used the card." 66 00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:28,162 And I went in the house, 67 00:05:28,162 --> 00:05:33,667 I got Stephen, and within one minute, we walked back out, and Tiffany was gone. 68 00:05:43,594 --> 00:05:45,429 [Stephen] We looked for her. Looked around. 69 00:05:45,513 --> 00:05:47,473 I walked up and down the street many times. 70 00:05:47,473 --> 00:05:51,602 There must've been at least 20 or 30 cars going back and forth up this road. 71 00:05:51,602 --> 00:05:55,064 They were all parked on the side of the road. Nobody's seen nothin'. 72 00:05:56,649 --> 00:05:59,860 [Dianne] I know if Tiffany walked, somebody would have saw her. 73 00:05:59,944 --> 00:06:03,823 There's no doubt in my mind. She's 6'2". You couldn't miss her. 74 00:06:04,657 --> 00:06:07,284 [Robert Valiante, Sr.] We were walkin' up and down the streets, 75 00:06:07,368 --> 00:06:09,578 {\an8}looking behind houses and everything close 76 00:06:09,662 --> 00:06:12,957 {\an8}'cause we knew she wouldn't walk any distance 77 00:06:12,957 --> 00:06:15,084 because she was scared to death of the dark. 78 00:06:15,084 --> 00:06:17,169 [phone chiming] 79 00:06:23,509 --> 00:06:25,636 [Dianne] Everybody was calling, texting, 80 00:06:25,636 --> 00:06:28,389 you know, trying to find out where she was. 81 00:06:33,227 --> 00:06:35,729 Stephen's calling and she's not answering her phone. 82 00:06:36,897 --> 00:06:39,733 [Stephen on phone] Tiff, please, just come home. 83 00:06:40,734 --> 00:06:44,488 I love you to death. You mean everything in the world to me. 84 00:06:46,073 --> 00:06:47,825 Please just come home. 85 00:06:49,869 --> 00:06:51,704 [Stephen] I walked up and down that street. 86 00:06:51,704 --> 00:06:53,956 And all of a sudden, I looked down at the ground, 87 00:06:53,956 --> 00:06:56,083 and I had seen something flat. 88 00:06:56,167 --> 00:06:58,335 - And it was Tiff's phone. - [phone vibrates] 89 00:06:58,836 --> 00:07:01,714 [Stephen] Phone was about five to eight feet off the side of the road. 90 00:07:01,714 --> 00:07:03,007 In front of my house. 91 00:07:05,092 --> 00:07:06,886 That kid would have never left her phone here. 92 00:07:06,886 --> 00:07:10,639 That phone was locked to her hand 24/7, seven days a week. 93 00:07:10,723 --> 00:07:12,141 She took a shower with the phone. 94 00:07:12,141 --> 00:07:13,601 Then when we found the phone, 95 00:07:13,601 --> 00:07:15,728 all kinds of things are going through my head. 96 00:07:15,728 --> 00:07:17,479 I knew there was something wrong. 97 00:07:18,647 --> 00:07:19,815 We were searching, 98 00:07:19,899 --> 00:07:24,111 and then later on, Stephen remembered about 99 00:07:24,195 --> 00:07:26,655 the deer camera being in the woods. 100 00:07:26,739 --> 00:07:28,741 [ominous music playing faintly] 101 00:07:34,121 --> 00:07:36,957 [Stephen] Tiff left at 9:28, according to my deer camera. 102 00:07:37,666 --> 00:07:43,631 And me and Dianne walked out at 9:29 with Tucker, which is her dog. 103 00:07:44,173 --> 00:07:46,300 We walked outside and she was gone. 104 00:07:48,928 --> 00:07:51,347 [Dianne] Tiffany was wearing a black shirt, 105 00:07:51,347 --> 00:07:54,308 white blue-jean shorts. 106 00:07:54,308 --> 00:07:56,977 She had her flat shoes that she had just bought, 107 00:07:57,061 --> 00:08:00,606 and she put her hair up with a messy bob on the top 108 00:08:00,606 --> 00:08:02,107 and her white headband. 109 00:08:04,693 --> 00:08:08,280 She's doing her regular stride, walking down the driveway. 110 00:08:08,781 --> 00:08:11,534 And because of the picture on the deer camera, 111 00:08:11,534 --> 00:08:15,120 the only thing I could come up with is that somebody called her name. 112 00:08:17,831 --> 00:08:20,417 And at that point, she was gone. 113 00:08:22,753 --> 00:08:24,672 {\an8}I got a phone call, "Hey, Tiffany's missing." 114 00:08:24,672 --> 00:08:26,507 {\an8}"Can you come and help look for Tiffany?" 115 00:08:26,507 --> 00:08:27,758 {\an8}I said, "Sure." 116 00:08:27,758 --> 00:08:30,844 We went to my mom's house 'cause they assumed she probably went there. 117 00:08:32,304 --> 00:08:36,725 It's walking distance. I would say roughly a half mile it would be at most. 118 00:08:37,977 --> 00:08:38,811 She wasn't there. 119 00:08:38,811 --> 00:08:41,480 {\an8}So then we started driving around different places. 120 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:42,856 {\an8}We couldn't find her. 121 00:08:43,816 --> 00:08:46,360 {\an8}Something told me just to go down Pomona. 122 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,655 {\an8}And when I drove down Pomona, I crossed the railroad tracks. 123 00:08:51,615 --> 00:08:54,076 {\an8}There's a roadway alongside of the tracks. 124 00:08:54,577 --> 00:08:57,162 - An access road for transit. - [police siren chirps] 125 00:09:00,916 --> 00:09:02,126 [Michael] It was lit up. 126 00:09:06,463 --> 00:09:11,010 There was a Galloway police officer there said somebody was hit, possibly a female. 127 00:09:11,010 --> 00:09:14,013 {\an8}But Galloway Township didn't get involved in it 128 00:09:14,013 --> 00:09:18,559 {\an8}because this happened in the jurisdiction of New Jersey Transit. 129 00:09:22,855 --> 00:09:24,857 I saw a transit police officer there. 130 00:09:28,611 --> 00:09:29,445 I spoke to him. 131 00:09:29,445 --> 00:09:32,615 I say, "Hey, did you happen to see a very big girl, 132 00:09:33,157 --> 00:09:35,659 6'2", very athletic?" 133 00:09:36,869 --> 00:09:40,414 And he said, "No, but we had somebody who was struck by the train." 134 00:09:42,499 --> 00:09:45,294 At that point, I'm thinking, "I hope it's not Tiffany." 135 00:09:45,961 --> 00:09:48,297 But they were pretty confident that it was her. 136 00:09:53,636 --> 00:09:57,139 The transit officer said to me, "Can you identify her?" 137 00:09:59,475 --> 00:10:01,602 And I said, "Yes, I can." 138 00:10:05,189 --> 00:10:09,234 And I am very glad that I am the one that went down there, 139 00:10:09,318 --> 00:10:12,196 'cause I truly believe in my whole heart 140 00:10:12,196 --> 00:10:15,032 that my brother would never have been able to handle it. 141 00:10:17,618 --> 00:10:20,579 What I saw that night, no one needs to see that. 142 00:10:22,706 --> 00:10:25,584 It was probably one of the most horrific things I've seen. 143 00:10:27,169 --> 00:10:29,171 You know, being struck by a train. 144 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,468 So I went there, and I did do the identification, 145 00:10:34,968 --> 00:10:38,639 and then they said, "Hey, we have to go back to your brother's, 146 00:10:38,639 --> 00:10:40,474 and you have to tell your brother." 147 00:10:44,353 --> 00:10:46,188 [Dianne] It was 2:30 in the morning. 148 00:10:46,730 --> 00:10:53,070 And I remember walking out of the house, and my son-in-law was standing there, 149 00:10:53,070 --> 00:10:57,449 and he said that Uncle Mickey called him, told us to stay put. 150 00:10:58,075 --> 00:11:01,578 And I remember my son-in-law looking totally white. 151 00:11:03,330 --> 00:11:06,166 And I remember us waiting 152 00:11:06,250 --> 00:11:09,378 and some type of cop car pull in. 153 00:11:11,505 --> 00:11:14,299 My brother, Mickey, got out of a transit police car, 154 00:11:14,383 --> 00:11:17,761 and Dianne's yelling, "What happened? What happened? What happened?" 155 00:11:20,764 --> 00:11:24,977 [Michael] And I told my brother what happened. Tiffany was hit by a train. 156 00:11:28,772 --> 00:11:32,192 He did say, "I wanna go down there." I'm like, "No, you're absolutely not." 157 00:11:32,276 --> 00:11:34,069 "You don't need to see this." 158 00:11:36,530 --> 00:11:37,865 [Stephen] We just lost it. 159 00:11:38,532 --> 00:11:41,368 It's like... you lost your life. 160 00:11:41,869 --> 00:11:44,830 When one of your kids die, you lose part of your life. 161 00:11:45,622 --> 00:11:47,624 [crying] Oh, God, I miss her so much. 162 00:11:48,375 --> 00:11:49,585 She was my baby. 163 00:11:51,670 --> 00:11:53,338 I miss everything about her. 164 00:12:02,431 --> 00:12:04,725 [Robert, Sr.] I mean, we just held each other and cried. 165 00:12:04,725 --> 00:12:06,143 It was like in disbelief. 166 00:12:08,187 --> 00:12:12,107 It was the most horrible thing you could even imagine at that time 167 00:12:12,191 --> 00:12:14,443 that something like that could happen. 168 00:12:15,861 --> 00:12:17,946 [crying] We were in such shock. 169 00:12:18,030 --> 00:12:19,406 Total shock. 170 00:12:20,699 --> 00:12:22,451 'Cause, like, hit by a train? 171 00:12:22,451 --> 00:12:24,453 It just didn't make sense to me. 172 00:12:38,550 --> 00:12:41,553 [Stephen] Mickey said that Tiffany got hit by a train. 173 00:12:42,054 --> 00:12:43,555 We didn't know what happened. 174 00:12:46,850 --> 00:12:49,061 Then the following morning, 175 00:12:49,061 --> 00:12:51,814 it was already in the papers Tiffany had committed suicide. 176 00:12:56,777 --> 00:12:57,945 I was devastated. 177 00:12:59,238 --> 00:13:03,075 I couldn't understand, you know, how they could come up with that. 178 00:13:11,542 --> 00:13:14,294 My daughter wasn't depressed. She wasn't suicidal. 179 00:13:15,671 --> 00:13:17,589 Tiffy was happy. 180 00:13:17,673 --> 00:13:20,592 She was making plans to go to college. 181 00:13:20,676 --> 00:13:23,428 She was making plans with her roommate. 182 00:13:23,929 --> 00:13:28,600 She was making plans to play softball that Wednesday. 183 00:13:29,184 --> 00:13:35,023 She had plans to go to Great Adventure the next morning with friends. 184 00:13:37,693 --> 00:13:41,113 [Robert Valiante, Jr.] The night I spoke with Tiffany, obviously, at the party, 185 00:13:41,113 --> 00:13:43,866 {\an8}she showed no signs of any kind of stress. 186 00:13:43,866 --> 00:13:47,452 She had her school clothes. She had things prepared. 187 00:13:48,412 --> 00:13:51,957 Tiffany was ready to make that next move. 188 00:13:55,002 --> 00:13:57,838 [Dianne] There's no way in hell she committed suicide. 189 00:14:02,342 --> 00:14:07,180 New Jersey Transit made the determination that my daughter stood on those tracks 190 00:14:07,890 --> 00:14:12,144 and committed suicide in less than 24 hours from the time she was hit. 191 00:14:15,022 --> 00:14:18,400 People that knew Tiffany just couldn't believe it. 192 00:14:21,695 --> 00:14:25,324 We were on a mission because we knew our daughter didn't do this. 193 00:14:25,324 --> 00:14:27,409 [intriguing music playing] 194 00:14:29,870 --> 00:14:32,247 My name is Paul D'Amato. 195 00:14:33,790 --> 00:14:37,169 {\an8}I've been a trial lawyer for 46 years. 196 00:14:39,129 --> 00:14:43,550 {\an8}Most of my cases have involved representing victims. 197 00:14:44,217 --> 00:14:47,804 And there have been those cases, like Tiffany's case, 198 00:14:47,888 --> 00:14:51,058 that you simply cannot say no to. 199 00:14:53,727 --> 00:14:56,647 When I first met Steve and Dianne, 200 00:14:56,647 --> 00:14:58,482 they were sitting right here. 201 00:14:59,149 --> 00:15:03,612 And they were so broken 202 00:15:04,404 --> 00:15:06,448 and so upset. 203 00:15:07,866 --> 00:15:10,494 They told me that 204 00:15:10,494 --> 00:15:13,914 their daughter did not take her own life. 205 00:15:14,706 --> 00:15:18,335 I didn't know if I could help them, and I said to myself, 206 00:15:18,335 --> 00:15:22,047 {\an8}let me get the records 207 00:15:22,047 --> 00:15:24,591 from the New Jersey Transit Police Department. 208 00:15:24,675 --> 00:15:29,221 I'll present the reports to them, and sadly, I'll have to tell them, 209 00:15:29,221 --> 00:15:31,431 "Your daughter took her own life." 210 00:15:33,100 --> 00:15:35,894 But that never happened once we got the records. 211 00:15:37,938 --> 00:15:41,483 Tiffany Valiante was 18 years old and lived with her family 212 00:15:41,483 --> 00:15:46,029 in a very rural area of New Jersey west of Atlantic City. 213 00:15:48,532 --> 00:15:52,244 Now here's what we know about the night that she was killed. 214 00:15:54,663 --> 00:15:56,748 On Sunday, July 12th, 215 00:15:56,832 --> 00:16:00,293 New Jersey Transit train number 4693 216 00:16:00,377 --> 00:16:03,422 left Philadelphia at 9:50 p.m., 217 00:16:03,422 --> 00:16:05,632 heading east to Atlantic City. 218 00:16:08,218 --> 00:16:11,722 There were about 60 passengers and crew on board. 219 00:16:13,682 --> 00:16:17,978 The train had just passed under the bridge at Tilton Road in Galloway Township 220 00:16:17,978 --> 00:16:21,148 and was headed toward the crossing at Genoa Avenue. 221 00:16:21,148 --> 00:16:25,026 It was 11:12 p.m. at mile marker 45 222 00:16:25,110 --> 00:16:29,322 on a very dark stretch of track where Tiffany was hit by the train. 223 00:16:31,116 --> 00:16:33,118 [dark music playing] 224 00:16:34,828 --> 00:16:36,705 [Paul] When the train was examined later, 225 00:16:36,705 --> 00:16:42,210 it showed that the impact was specifically on the lower left side of the train, 226 00:16:42,294 --> 00:16:43,712 close to the track. 227 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,259 There were two engineers on board the train. 228 00:16:49,259 --> 00:16:51,970 A senior engineer and a student engineer. 229 00:16:52,929 --> 00:16:55,182 {\an8}That night, they both signed the report 230 00:16:55,182 --> 00:16:58,518 {\an8}saying that Tiffany dove in front of the train. 231 00:17:01,021 --> 00:17:03,106 But here's the problem. 232 00:17:03,190 --> 00:17:07,444 Six days later, when he's put under oath, 233 00:17:07,444 --> 00:17:13,158 the senior engineer comes up with a completely different version 234 00:17:13,158 --> 00:17:16,995 of what he told the detective the night of the incident. 235 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:18,580 Here's his story. 236 00:17:19,623 --> 00:17:22,209 "I was talking to the conductor." 237 00:17:22,751 --> 00:17:26,630 "I never saw her. My back was turned." 238 00:17:27,964 --> 00:17:30,842 So you throw his statements out, 239 00:17:31,635 --> 00:17:35,263 and then you look at what the student engineer said. 240 00:17:36,264 --> 00:17:38,850 Initially, he was asked, 241 00:17:38,934 --> 00:17:42,395 "When did you first see the trespasser?" 242 00:17:42,479 --> 00:17:44,272 What was his answer? 243 00:17:44,856 --> 00:17:49,694 "I didn't see her until I was on top of her." 244 00:17:49,778 --> 00:17:51,404 [train whistle blowing] 245 00:17:52,781 --> 00:17:56,118 Ten days later, he's put under oath, 246 00:17:56,118 --> 00:17:58,870 and now here's his story. 247 00:17:59,913 --> 00:18:02,958 "I see something when I'm half a mile away." 248 00:18:03,792 --> 00:18:07,337 "Then I see something when I'm a quarter-mile away." 249 00:18:07,838 --> 00:18:11,341 "And then I see this person 250 00:18:11,341 --> 00:18:15,512 jump out of the woods on to the tracks." 251 00:18:21,309 --> 00:18:25,397 In the end, the student engineer was the only witness. 252 00:18:25,397 --> 00:18:28,942 A student engineer who gave variations 253 00:18:28,942 --> 00:18:31,695 of what he saw that night. 254 00:18:33,989 --> 00:18:35,198 To this day, 255 00:18:35,907 --> 00:18:39,494 the New Jersey Transit Police Department 256 00:18:39,578 --> 00:18:42,998 stands by the inconsistent, 257 00:18:43,790 --> 00:18:48,044 contradictory statements of the student engineer. 258 00:18:52,757 --> 00:18:55,010 My name's Louise Houseman, 259 00:18:55,010 --> 00:18:58,680 {\an8}and I'm retired from the Atlantic County Medical Examiner's Office, 260 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,766 {\an8}where I was the senior investigator. I worked there for 20 years. 261 00:19:04,936 --> 00:19:08,648 I've probably been to several thousand scenes 262 00:19:08,732 --> 00:19:10,150 over the course of 20 years. 263 00:19:12,444 --> 00:19:13,862 I was really concerned 264 00:19:13,862 --> 00:19:20,243 with the sworn statements by the engineer and the student engineer. 265 00:19:21,661 --> 00:19:24,164 Because a great deal of weight was apparently given 266 00:19:24,164 --> 00:19:27,125 to the information they provided at the scene, 267 00:19:28,084 --> 00:19:31,713 which turned out to not be correct. 268 00:19:32,589 --> 00:19:36,968 The major incident event recorder is considered the black box. 269 00:19:37,052 --> 00:19:42,599 It records everything that happens with the engine as it's going along. 270 00:19:42,599 --> 00:19:44,935 The speed of the train, 271 00:19:45,477 --> 00:19:47,479 when the hand brakes are used, 272 00:19:47,479 --> 00:19:49,731 when the horn is rung, 273 00:19:49,731 --> 00:19:51,399 if the headlights are on. 274 00:19:52,150 --> 00:19:54,527 And it gives the distance the train has traveled 275 00:19:54,611 --> 00:19:56,071 when all this happens. 276 00:19:56,071 --> 00:19:58,406 So it's very easy to read. 277 00:19:58,490 --> 00:20:02,077 There's nothing mysterious about it. It's very straightforward. 278 00:20:03,828 --> 00:20:06,581 According to the event recorder, 279 00:20:06,665 --> 00:20:11,002 from the time the apprentice engineer sounded the horn, struck Tiffany, 280 00:20:11,086 --> 00:20:13,255 and applied the emergency brake, 281 00:20:13,255 --> 00:20:16,132 it took a total of 4.1 seconds. 282 00:20:16,216 --> 00:20:18,343 That train's traveling 80 miles an hour. 283 00:20:19,344 --> 00:20:22,514 So, did he see what he thought he saw? 284 00:20:22,514 --> 00:20:25,684 That she jumped in front of him? I don't know. 285 00:20:29,270 --> 00:20:34,776 I believe that the student engineer was in a type of trauma, in shock. 286 00:20:34,776 --> 00:20:35,944 Anyone would be. 287 00:20:35,944 --> 00:20:37,862 If you hit someone in a car, 288 00:20:37,946 --> 00:20:41,366 are you gonna be able to describe exactly what happened? 289 00:20:41,366 --> 00:20:42,701 Probably not. 290 00:20:44,369 --> 00:20:48,039 When you read the transcription, it seems to be rambling. 291 00:20:49,708 --> 00:20:53,670 He's not really sure of what he saw, 292 00:20:53,670 --> 00:20:56,631 and it's possible what he saw was 293 00:20:56,715 --> 00:20:58,508 when the train struck her, 294 00:20:58,508 --> 00:21:03,096 the body parts flew in all different directions 295 00:21:03,096 --> 00:21:05,181 because she was being dismembered. 296 00:21:05,807 --> 00:21:07,434 [train whistle blowing] 297 00:21:07,434 --> 00:21:10,562 [Louise] I don't think he saw her jump in front of the train. 298 00:21:10,562 --> 00:21:13,648 And she may have been dead on the tracks. 299 00:21:23,575 --> 00:21:26,661 [Jim Brennenstuhl] If you assume that it's a suicide right at the beginning 300 00:21:27,162 --> 00:21:29,998 and then tailor the facts to fit your assumption, 301 00:21:31,041 --> 00:21:33,376 everything else after that is suspect. 302 00:21:36,212 --> 00:21:38,256 My name is Jim Brennenstuhl. 303 00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:40,300 {\an8}I have, for the last 45 years, 304 00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:42,635 {\an8}either done police work or private detective work. 305 00:21:42,719 --> 00:21:45,722 Mr. D'Amato called me and asked if I would be involved in the case. 306 00:21:46,973 --> 00:21:51,519 The train strike is variously recorded as some time a little after 11:00. 307 00:21:54,564 --> 00:21:59,277 According to the way they reported it, this is where it happened. 308 00:21:59,361 --> 00:22:00,570 Milepost 45. 309 00:22:05,366 --> 00:22:06,826 {\an8}It's pretty dark. 310 00:22:09,079 --> 00:22:13,333 Why would she walk all of that distance and jump in front of a train there? 311 00:22:13,333 --> 00:22:14,793 What is it about there? 312 00:22:15,877 --> 00:22:19,089 If she killed herself that way, why? 313 00:22:19,089 --> 00:22:22,425 Why go that far? Why do it that way? 314 00:22:26,846 --> 00:22:30,683 [Louise] When I saw exactly where she was struck by the train, 315 00:22:30,767 --> 00:22:32,102 I was really surprised. 316 00:22:33,019 --> 00:22:36,231 She was a mile from the closest intersection 317 00:22:36,231 --> 00:22:37,732 into the woods. 318 00:22:37,816 --> 00:22:39,651 And it was dark. There's no light. 319 00:22:41,569 --> 00:22:43,696 The hairs on the back of my head just went up. 320 00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:45,865 I said, "There's something really wrong here." 321 00:22:46,741 --> 00:22:48,743 [train whistle blowing] 322 00:22:50,286 --> 00:22:53,832 {\an8}I think there's probably not a day, certainly not a week, 323 00:22:53,832 --> 00:22:56,960 {\an8}that goes by that I don't ask myself the question. 324 00:22:58,211 --> 00:23:00,422 "How did Tiffany Valiante die?" 325 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,634 I am convinced she did not take her own life. 326 00:23:07,053 --> 00:23:11,683 The lead investigating agency into the death of Tiffany Valiante 327 00:23:13,017 --> 00:23:14,894 was the transit system. 328 00:23:18,940 --> 00:23:23,486 New Jersey Transit is one of America's largest transit operators. 329 00:23:23,570 --> 00:23:26,197 It runs commuter rail trains 330 00:23:26,281 --> 00:23:30,785 and it has a significant-size police force. 331 00:23:30,869 --> 00:23:33,997 And I have great respect for transit police officers 332 00:23:33,997 --> 00:23:35,665 and the job they do. 333 00:23:35,665 --> 00:23:40,336 However, most transit police officers will tell you, 334 00:23:40,420 --> 00:23:45,717 their wheelhouse is not homicide investigations 335 00:23:46,384 --> 00:23:50,388 and not suspicious death investigations. 336 00:23:52,056 --> 00:23:55,894 The first thing investigators need to do, 337 00:23:55,894 --> 00:23:59,898 even in the case of a suspected incident 338 00:23:59,898 --> 00:24:03,026 of somebody possibly taking their own life, 339 00:24:03,026 --> 00:24:07,822 is first determine whether they were the victim of a murder. 340 00:24:08,740 --> 00:24:11,326 We have no indication that was ever done. 341 00:24:12,619 --> 00:24:15,205 [Paul] The area where this whole event took place 342 00:24:15,205 --> 00:24:17,540 was not treated as a crime scene. 343 00:24:18,541 --> 00:24:21,002 People were walking all around there, 344 00:24:21,002 --> 00:24:25,006 and it had not been roped off appropriately. 345 00:24:27,383 --> 00:24:29,344 [Stephan] It appeared from the outset 346 00:24:29,344 --> 00:24:34,182 to be a textbook example of a rush to judgment 347 00:24:34,182 --> 00:24:38,770 to misclassify the manner by which she died. 348 00:24:39,854 --> 00:24:41,814 This is the death certificate. 349 00:24:43,066 --> 00:24:47,862 Tiffany Valiante died shortly before midnight, July 12th. 350 00:24:47,946 --> 00:24:51,950 On the 17th of July, when this is dated, 351 00:24:51,950 --> 00:24:55,745 the manner of death is suicide. 352 00:24:57,372 --> 00:25:02,752 You cannot draw conclusions that early in an investigation. 353 00:25:03,503 --> 00:25:05,463 That's an impossibility. 354 00:25:07,465 --> 00:25:10,635 [Louise] Suicide closes a case, 355 00:25:10,635 --> 00:25:13,513 as far as a prosecutor's office is concerned. 356 00:25:14,138 --> 00:25:16,641 As far as the medical examiner's office is concerned. 357 00:25:16,641 --> 00:25:19,644 As far as New Jersey Transit is concerned. 358 00:25:19,644 --> 00:25:23,648 "This is a suicide," and it's simply a statistic. 359 00:25:24,399 --> 00:25:28,194 As far as the family's concerned, it's their child, 360 00:25:28,278 --> 00:25:31,114 and they wanna know what happened to their child. 361 00:25:33,741 --> 00:25:37,161 [Dianne] They should have investigated like they were supposed to. 362 00:25:38,454 --> 00:25:41,332 You know, the State of New Jersey has books on procedures 363 00:25:41,416 --> 00:25:45,086 on what they're supposed to follow, and those procedures weren't followed. 364 00:25:48,506 --> 00:25:52,302 [Stephan] A full autopsy was never conducted. 365 00:25:52,302 --> 00:25:55,138 No rape kit was ever performed. 366 00:25:55,138 --> 00:25:57,307 DNA was never tested. 367 00:25:57,307 --> 00:25:59,934 No organs were examined. 368 00:26:01,311 --> 00:26:02,186 Why? 369 00:26:02,812 --> 00:26:03,896 Why? 370 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,402 You have to give weight to the toxicology report. 371 00:26:09,402 --> 00:26:15,491 There was no alcohol, no drugs in Tiffany Valiante's system. 372 00:26:15,575 --> 00:26:18,036 A totally clean toxicology report. 373 00:26:18,828 --> 00:26:21,414 After the toxicology report came back, 374 00:26:21,414 --> 00:26:25,501 and it was found that Tiffany had no drugs or alcohol in her system, 375 00:26:25,585 --> 00:26:30,590 the manner of death probably should have been amended to "undetermined." 376 00:26:32,008 --> 00:26:37,847 There's no reason to rule the case "suicide" unless you're sure, 377 00:26:37,847 --> 00:26:39,891 you're absolutely sure, 378 00:26:41,309 --> 00:26:43,019 that this was a suicide. 379 00:26:44,437 --> 00:26:48,483 [Paul] Within a couple of days after Tiffany's death, 380 00:26:48,483 --> 00:26:50,943 her remains were cremated. 381 00:26:51,027 --> 00:26:54,280 So it's not as if we can exhume the body 382 00:26:54,364 --> 00:26:56,407 and have a fresh look at this. 383 00:26:57,909 --> 00:27:02,038 [Louise] Also, the detective does write in his report 384 00:27:02,038 --> 00:27:04,957 that no shoes were found at the scene. 385 00:27:05,041 --> 00:27:07,001 Her shoes were not with the body. 386 00:27:08,127 --> 00:27:10,004 To me, that is suspicious. 387 00:27:12,423 --> 00:27:15,843 [Dianne] When she walked away, she had a white headband on, 388 00:27:15,927 --> 00:27:18,888 she had blue jean shorts that were almost white, 389 00:27:18,888 --> 00:27:21,891 and she had a black T-shirt on and shoes. 390 00:27:23,226 --> 00:27:28,439 When they found her, all she had on was a sports bra and black underwear. 391 00:27:29,190 --> 00:27:31,776 Well, where's her shorts? Where's her shirt? 392 00:27:33,319 --> 00:27:37,156 [Louise] Isn't that one of the questions a medical examiner would wanna know? 393 00:27:38,282 --> 00:27:43,621 The medical examiner's report was so small, so scant. 394 00:27:47,542 --> 00:27:51,712 I saw no evidence that they contacted Tiffany's doctor, 395 00:27:51,796 --> 00:27:54,465 that they contacted anyone from her school. 396 00:27:55,133 --> 00:27:59,595 Nobody ever came and talked to us and asked me questions about my daughter. 397 00:28:00,179 --> 00:28:03,558 [Robert, Jr.] They didn't talk to her mom and dad. They didn't talk to anybody. 398 00:28:03,558 --> 00:28:07,729 You're just gonna say "oh, it's a suicide" because somebody got hit on the tracks? 399 00:28:07,729 --> 00:28:08,896 That's crazy. 400 00:28:12,650 --> 00:28:15,862 [Louise] She had no history of any medical problems. 401 00:28:15,862 --> 00:28:19,323 No history of drug abuse. No history of alcohol abuse. 402 00:28:19,407 --> 00:28:20,867 An active athlete. 403 00:28:20,867 --> 00:28:25,288 Someone that was really loved and was just doted on by her family. 404 00:28:28,583 --> 00:28:32,670 The phone messages that I was able to look at, 405 00:28:32,754 --> 00:28:35,423 I didn't see anything really unusual. 406 00:28:35,923 --> 00:28:40,803 She had broken up with her girlfriend, but it seemed to be amicable. 407 00:28:42,430 --> 00:28:44,849 [Dianne] Tiffany had a girlfriend from Philly. 408 00:28:45,349 --> 00:28:50,521 It was, uh, right around that Friday before she died that they broke up. 409 00:28:51,189 --> 00:28:52,482 But it was mutual. 410 00:28:57,361 --> 00:29:00,031 [Louise] There didn't seem to be any hostility 411 00:29:00,031 --> 00:29:01,991 from the phone records that I read. 412 00:29:03,326 --> 00:29:08,414 And actually, Tiffany had started another relationship with another woman, 413 00:29:09,165 --> 00:29:11,000 according to her phone records. 414 00:29:13,044 --> 00:29:14,462 [Dianne] She actually wrote, 415 00:29:14,462 --> 00:29:16,714 even in her phone the night before she died, 416 00:29:16,714 --> 00:29:19,175 that "I'm actually content with my life." 417 00:29:21,761 --> 00:29:24,013 [Louise] So, why did she do this? 418 00:29:24,013 --> 00:29:26,516 If she committed suicide, was there a reason? 419 00:29:26,516 --> 00:29:28,309 Why would she commit suicide? 420 00:29:35,107 --> 00:29:39,320 [Robert, Sr.] This happened at night, and I came down early the next morning. 421 00:29:41,739 --> 00:29:46,577 I didn't want my brother, Stephen, or his wife, Dianne, 422 00:29:46,661 --> 00:29:49,664 to have to walk down that tracks and see what I saw. 423 00:29:50,456 --> 00:29:52,166 Pieces that they just left behind. 424 00:29:52,917 --> 00:29:54,919 [somber music playing] 425 00:29:56,462 --> 00:29:59,465 [Robert, Jr.] My father and I were looking for things that were missing. 426 00:29:59,549 --> 00:30:01,050 {\an8}We're looking for her sneakers. 427 00:30:01,050 --> 00:30:02,677 {\an8}We're looking for her headband. 428 00:30:02,677 --> 00:30:08,015 We're looking for her earrings, her jewelry, her shorts. 429 00:30:08,683 --> 00:30:10,434 [Robert, Sr.] I don't know how I did it, 430 00:30:10,518 --> 00:30:14,230 {\an8}but I picked up pieces of her skull with hair on it. 431 00:30:14,230 --> 00:30:20,444 I picked up a jawbone with teeth and various parts of her bones. 432 00:30:22,780 --> 00:30:25,366 We found one of her bracelets and gave it to Dianne, 433 00:30:25,366 --> 00:30:26,867 and she has that today. 434 00:30:27,410 --> 00:30:30,204 And that was on her at the time. 435 00:30:32,206 --> 00:30:35,126 To have to pick up pieces of her off the track 436 00:30:35,126 --> 00:30:38,588 was the most devastating thing I ever done in my life. 437 00:30:44,135 --> 00:30:45,636 [Robert, Jr.] Walking to the tracks, 438 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:49,307 I see bloody rubber gloves laying on the ground. 439 00:30:49,307 --> 00:30:51,267 That scene's already contaminated. 440 00:30:52,143 --> 00:30:53,894 It wasn't even roped off. 441 00:30:55,271 --> 00:30:58,274 New Jersey Transit just... They're not trained for that. 442 00:30:58,774 --> 00:31:01,277 And they didn't do a good job cleaning the tracks. 443 00:31:02,069 --> 00:31:04,697 We would go down there and keep looking, and looking, 444 00:31:04,697 --> 00:31:06,532 but we never found her shoes there, 445 00:31:06,616 --> 00:31:08,492 we never found her headband there, 446 00:31:08,576 --> 00:31:10,995 we never found any of her clothes there. 447 00:31:13,748 --> 00:31:17,126 Where is the stuff that she was wearing from the party? 448 00:31:30,890 --> 00:31:34,518 [Dianne] Walking down Tilton Road, just walking, 449 00:31:34,602 --> 00:31:37,647 I had already been up and down that street a million times. 450 00:31:40,733 --> 00:31:44,403 For weeks, we were walking just looking for any kind of sign of something 451 00:31:44,487 --> 00:31:46,864 'cause I knew my daughter's shorts were missing. 452 00:31:46,948 --> 00:31:49,700 Her headband was missing. Her shoes were missing. 453 00:31:49,784 --> 00:31:51,702 And as I'm walking along, 454 00:31:52,912 --> 00:31:59,251 I got to about here, and I looked over, and I saw my daughter's shoes. 455 00:32:05,174 --> 00:32:08,177 [crying softly] And when I saw that, I fell to the ground. 456 00:32:10,346 --> 00:32:13,599 And when I fell to the ground, about six feet away, 457 00:32:13,683 --> 00:32:16,185 was Tiffany's white headband. 458 00:32:18,312 --> 00:32:21,607 I felt like a Mack truck hit me. 459 00:32:23,317 --> 00:32:24,652 I'll never forget that day. 460 00:32:24,652 --> 00:32:26,779 And I remember it like yesterday. 461 00:32:26,779 --> 00:32:28,823 We got a phone call from my Aunt Dianne. 462 00:32:30,032 --> 00:32:32,576 That she found Tiffany's shoes and headband. 463 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,413 And it was almost two miles away 464 00:32:35,413 --> 00:32:37,039 from where she was struck. 465 00:32:38,624 --> 00:32:41,127 I ran down there and she's just losing it. 466 00:32:41,127 --> 00:32:45,756 She's... I mean, my wife was hysterical. I couldn't understand what she was saying. 467 00:32:48,843 --> 00:32:54,515 Her shoes and stuff were, like, in here, this area. 468 00:32:56,642 --> 00:33:00,646 And they were side-by-side almost, like a foot apart. 469 00:33:01,814 --> 00:33:05,109 The way they were positioned, like, I just... 470 00:33:05,109 --> 00:33:07,945 I felt like somebody took her right out of her shoes. 471 00:33:07,945 --> 00:33:09,029 That's how I felt. 472 00:33:10,614 --> 00:33:13,826 But other people thought maybe somebody placed them there. 473 00:33:16,287 --> 00:33:18,289 New Jersey Transit came here. 474 00:33:18,289 --> 00:33:23,544 They took pictures of her shoes, and they put the shoes in a brown bag. 475 00:33:23,544 --> 00:33:26,464 They took the items in and that was the last you heard of it. 476 00:33:26,464 --> 00:33:28,340 You never heard anything else. 477 00:33:34,013 --> 00:33:35,848 They had all these items, 478 00:33:35,848 --> 00:33:39,685 but they were never sent out for any type of testing 479 00:33:41,062 --> 00:33:44,899 to see if there was any other possible DNA on them. 480 00:33:46,025 --> 00:33:48,819 Five years after their daughter was killed, 481 00:33:48,903 --> 00:33:52,740 the families had to pay to have those items tested for DNA. 482 00:33:54,116 --> 00:33:57,077 But the chain of custody has been broken on that, 483 00:33:57,161 --> 00:33:59,413 so it's not of any use at all. 484 00:34:01,832 --> 00:34:03,918 [Dianne] After we found her shoes, 485 00:34:03,918 --> 00:34:06,378 we actually got about 15 of us together, 486 00:34:06,462 --> 00:34:08,964 and we scoured that woods 487 00:34:09,048 --> 00:34:11,717 {\an8}all the way to the train tracks where she was hit, 488 00:34:11,801 --> 00:34:15,888 {\an8}looking for anything that would help to prove that she didn't do this. 489 00:34:16,764 --> 00:34:19,600 {\an8}The one thing that's still missing of my daughter's... 490 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:21,185 {\an8}[voice breaks] ...is her shorts. 491 00:34:21,727 --> 00:34:23,479 [dark music playing] 492 00:34:23,479 --> 00:34:25,898 [Dianne] To this day, those shorts are missing. 493 00:34:28,859 --> 00:34:32,947 [Paul] I asked myself, "How did the shoes get to this area?" 494 00:34:36,408 --> 00:34:40,287 It may very well be that Tiffany was the victim of foul play. 495 00:34:41,038 --> 00:34:44,708 Someone that was involved in the foul play 496 00:34:44,792 --> 00:34:50,130 picked those items up and threw them away when they were leaving the scene. 497 00:34:55,427 --> 00:34:59,265 Another theory is that Tiffany took her shoes and headband off 498 00:34:59,265 --> 00:35:03,185 where Dianne found them and walked barefoot to the tracks. 499 00:35:05,646 --> 00:35:07,690 I don't know what sense it would make 500 00:35:07,690 --> 00:35:13,612 to walk from Tiffany's house to where the shoes were found, 501 00:35:13,696 --> 00:35:16,740 and then take your shoes off and put them in the woods, 502 00:35:16,824 --> 00:35:19,243 and then walk to where the train strike happened. 503 00:35:21,370 --> 00:35:23,372 You got your shoes on. Why take 'em off? 504 00:35:29,795 --> 00:35:34,383 See how far we've gone so far on this ride down the tracks? 505 00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:39,096 You're sitting in the back. Can you feel this? 506 00:35:39,972 --> 00:35:41,640 - Feel the road surface? - [producer] Yeah. 507 00:35:41,724 --> 00:35:43,434 How you doing that in bare feet? 508 00:35:43,934 --> 00:35:46,604 This is just a railroad bed 509 00:35:47,188 --> 00:35:49,982 and has nothing but sharp rocks with edges. 510 00:35:55,112 --> 00:36:00,367 [Paul] If you look at the photographs of Tiffany's feet, 511 00:36:00,451 --> 00:36:02,620 especially her right foot, 512 00:36:03,704 --> 00:36:07,208 there are no markings whatsoever 513 00:36:07,750 --> 00:36:09,919 that you would expect to see 514 00:36:09,919 --> 00:36:12,963 if someone had walked in their bare feet, 515 00:36:13,047 --> 00:36:18,886 especially over the rocks and the glass along the tracks. 516 00:36:19,970 --> 00:36:22,431 [Dianne] If she walked on the train tracks itself, 517 00:36:22,431 --> 00:36:24,600 she would have had splinters on her feet. 518 00:36:25,309 --> 00:36:28,771 To walk for miles and have her feet completely clean 519 00:36:28,771 --> 00:36:31,398 proves to you that she did not walk. 520 00:36:34,235 --> 00:36:37,029 [Robert, Sr.] I walked that tracks after the fact, 521 00:36:37,029 --> 00:36:39,698 and I had a hard time walking on 'em with work shoes, 522 00:36:39,782 --> 00:36:43,786 and that's what makes me feel that she never ever walked there. 523 00:36:44,995 --> 00:36:46,997 [ominous music playing] 524 00:36:50,709 --> 00:36:54,505 [Louise] If someone, especially a female 6'3", 525 00:36:54,505 --> 00:36:56,465 is walking on the roadway, 526 00:36:56,465 --> 00:36:59,677 someone is going to see them, and going to notice them, 527 00:36:59,677 --> 00:37:03,681 because it's very unusual to see anyone walking on the roadway in this area. 528 00:37:04,556 --> 00:37:07,643 [Paul] If you look at the photos 529 00:37:08,310 --> 00:37:13,440 from Steve's deer cameras outside of his home, 530 00:37:14,191 --> 00:37:18,028 you will see headlights of motor vehicles 531 00:37:18,112 --> 00:37:21,991 at the same time Tiffany's walking down the driveway. 532 00:37:23,117 --> 00:37:28,080 I believe she enters a motor vehicle. 533 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:31,333 I suspect voluntarily. 534 00:37:34,253 --> 00:37:37,381 I believe she got in a car with somebody she thought she knew, 535 00:37:37,381 --> 00:37:39,258 was very comfortable with them. 536 00:37:42,177 --> 00:37:45,973 When she entered that vehicle, somebody grabbed the phone. 537 00:37:45,973 --> 00:37:47,808 And I think that phone 538 00:37:48,350 --> 00:37:51,395 was thrown out of the car 539 00:37:51,395 --> 00:37:53,188 as they were pulling away. 540 00:37:54,398 --> 00:37:58,193 [Dianne] When they took her phone, that's when I think reality hit. 541 00:37:58,277 --> 00:37:59,570 She was in trouble. 542 00:38:04,783 --> 00:38:07,244 [voice breaking] Everybody has their own scenarios 543 00:38:07,328 --> 00:38:09,204 of what happened to my daughter. 544 00:38:09,955 --> 00:38:12,499 I thought, "Well, maybe they tried to rape her, 545 00:38:12,583 --> 00:38:13,625 and she ran from them, 546 00:38:13,709 --> 00:38:16,045 and maybe she was trying to get away from them, 547 00:38:16,045 --> 00:38:18,172 and then she just couldn't run anymore." 548 00:38:18,839 --> 00:38:22,509 [crying] I truly believe that she was hanging on to this for dear life, 549 00:38:22,593 --> 00:38:25,262 trying to save herself, you know what I mean? 550 00:38:25,346 --> 00:38:27,514 And trying to keep them from taking her. 551 00:38:27,598 --> 00:38:29,600 [mysterious music playing] 552 00:38:36,023 --> 00:38:38,609 {\an8}[Robert, Sr.] Right behind us, where the tracks are, 553 00:38:38,609 --> 00:38:40,402 that's where Tiffany lost her life. 554 00:38:42,613 --> 00:38:46,950 It's really desolate back here. It's really kind of creepy or spooky. 555 00:38:48,410 --> 00:38:51,455 If you were to pull back here, you wouldn't hear anybody. 556 00:38:51,455 --> 00:38:53,540 You have the noise of the train on one side, 557 00:38:53,624 --> 00:38:57,169 and you have the noise of the pike to the right of me here. 558 00:38:59,296 --> 00:39:02,466 [Robert, Jr.] If I wanted to get rid of somebody, what a better spot to do it. 559 00:39:02,466 --> 00:39:04,760 That remote location, you could do anything you want. 560 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:07,262 There's nothing there. Nobody's gonna hear a scream. 561 00:39:07,346 --> 00:39:08,680 Nobody's gonna hear anything. 562 00:39:09,723 --> 00:39:12,309 What a perfect spot to commit a murder. 563 00:39:12,393 --> 00:39:14,395 [dark music playing] 564 00:39:18,524 --> 00:39:21,151 [Paul] If you look at the photographs 565 00:39:21,235 --> 00:39:24,947 that were taken by the New Jersey Transit Police Department, 566 00:39:25,823 --> 00:39:29,785 as well as the New Jersey State Medical Examiner's Office... 567 00:39:31,995 --> 00:39:36,125 you will see that at the point that the train and the body of Tiffany 568 00:39:36,125 --> 00:39:38,710 came in contact with each other, 569 00:39:38,794 --> 00:39:41,797 there is what looks like a large pool of blood. 570 00:39:43,799 --> 00:39:46,677 Which suggests that the body could have been laid there 571 00:39:46,677 --> 00:39:49,805 and was bleeding before the train hit the body. 572 00:39:51,181 --> 00:39:53,183 [ominous music playing] 573 00:39:55,060 --> 00:39:56,895 [Paul] They never tested anything. 574 00:39:56,979 --> 00:40:01,066 They said they had enough to conclude that it was suicide 575 00:40:01,150 --> 00:40:02,776 without doing the testing. 576 00:40:03,652 --> 00:40:05,362 So it was never determined 577 00:40:05,446 --> 00:40:08,574 if that was, in fact, Tiffany's blood on the tracks. 578 00:40:12,536 --> 00:40:16,915 The medical examiner in this report says, 579 00:40:16,999 --> 00:40:22,087 when referring to Tiffany's arms and legs, 580 00:40:22,671 --> 00:40:25,841 that they were cut from the torso. 581 00:40:25,841 --> 00:40:30,262 That word "cut" is right in their report. 582 00:40:30,262 --> 00:40:33,223 Not ripped away, but cut. 583 00:40:34,349 --> 00:40:36,101 And that says to me 584 00:40:36,185 --> 00:40:39,688 that there is a viable theory 585 00:40:39,688 --> 00:40:44,985 that she was harmed before the body was placed on the tracks. 586 00:40:46,153 --> 00:40:47,654 The arms were placed out, 587 00:40:47,738 --> 00:40:50,949 and the legs were hanging over the other track. 588 00:40:51,867 --> 00:40:54,411 [Dianne] Her feet were intact, and her hands were intact. 589 00:40:54,495 --> 00:40:55,454 What's that tell you? 590 00:40:55,454 --> 00:40:59,500 She wasn't standing on that track and hit by the train. 591 00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:01,335 She was laying there. 592 00:41:01,919 --> 00:41:03,045 They were cut off. 593 00:41:06,298 --> 00:41:09,510 [Robert, Sr.] I believe somebody laid her on the tracks, 594 00:41:09,510 --> 00:41:12,554 and, uh, she bled out there. 595 00:41:14,848 --> 00:41:16,225 {\an8}[Robert, Jr.] Seeing the location, 596 00:41:16,225 --> 00:41:19,019 {\an8}definitely she was murdered and laid on that tracks. 597 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:21,021 No doubt in my mind. 598 00:41:21,021 --> 00:41:24,775 She was laid on those tracks. That's how they got rid of her. 599 00:41:24,775 --> 00:41:26,735 And somebody's getting away with it. 600 00:41:27,778 --> 00:41:29,279 Somebody's getting away with it. 601 00:41:36,119 --> 00:41:39,331 {\an8}My name is Chuck Atkinson. I'm a private investigator. 602 00:41:39,331 --> 00:41:42,292 {\an8}I was in New Jersey State Police for 26 years. 603 00:41:42,376 --> 00:41:44,419 As a detective for 17 years. 604 00:41:44,503 --> 00:41:48,882 I've been working for Paul D'Amato since early 2008. 605 00:41:48,966 --> 00:41:50,968 [suspenseful music playing] 606 00:41:52,636 --> 00:41:55,472 Paul and the family had decided to set up a hotline, 607 00:41:55,556 --> 00:41:58,725 and they were looking for any type of anonymous tips. 608 00:41:58,809 --> 00:42:00,060 And we got a call 609 00:42:00,060 --> 00:42:03,438 from a convenience store worker 610 00:42:03,522 --> 00:42:07,776 who had overheard three employees of that convenience store 611 00:42:07,776 --> 00:42:10,529 speaking about the Valiante case. 612 00:42:11,697 --> 00:42:14,825 [Paul] I remember quite clearly 613 00:42:14,825 --> 00:42:17,828 my legal assistant telling me, "There's a gentleman, 614 00:42:17,828 --> 00:42:21,873 and he has information about Tiffany's death." 615 00:42:24,751 --> 00:42:27,921 {\an8}[on video] Sergeant Rosell's gonna be here any minute. We can get started. 616 00:42:28,005 --> 00:42:33,260 {\an8}And that particular individual was interviewed under oath. 617 00:42:33,260 --> 00:42:34,678 {\an8}Extensively. 618 00:42:34,678 --> 00:42:36,972 {\an8}[on video] Of course, I read about it in the newspaper. 619 00:42:36,972 --> 00:42:40,392 {\an8}I heard about it, you know. The kids were talking about it at work. 620 00:42:40,392 --> 00:42:43,729 {\an8}[Paul] He shared with that detective 621 00:42:43,729 --> 00:42:45,564 what he had heard. 622 00:42:45,564 --> 00:42:48,984 {\an8}I had been given some information from these guys that work for me. 623 00:42:48,984 --> 00:42:52,654 [Chuck] They were telling a story about how it had been a homicide. 624 00:42:52,738 --> 00:42:54,948 So the three subjects that he overheard 625 00:42:55,032 --> 00:42:58,201 did not have anything to do with this homicide. 626 00:42:58,285 --> 00:43:00,954 They were just relating something that they had heard. 627 00:43:02,247 --> 00:43:05,292 One of the subjects was at the uncle's party 628 00:43:05,292 --> 00:43:07,586 that Tiffany was at that night, 629 00:43:07,586 --> 00:43:10,005 and he did see Tiffany at the party. 630 00:43:11,506 --> 00:43:13,842 There were references to an argument. 631 00:43:14,426 --> 00:43:17,554 [man on video] And the argument went on, and then Tiffany left. 632 00:43:18,096 --> 00:43:21,266 {\an8}Now they told me she was picked up by somebody. 633 00:43:21,350 --> 00:43:22,768 They knew Tiffany. 634 00:43:27,439 --> 00:43:32,569 [Chuck] It was two females and a male who pick Tiffany up in a vehicle, 635 00:43:33,362 --> 00:43:36,323 taking her somewhere near the train tracks. 636 00:43:36,323 --> 00:43:40,452 Stripped her naked, held her at gunpoint, and humiliated her. 637 00:43:41,995 --> 00:43:44,498 - [man] I'm telling you third-party stuff. - [officer] Yeah, right. 638 00:43:44,498 --> 00:43:47,042 - I'm just telling you what was told to me. - [officer] Okay. 639 00:43:50,045 --> 00:43:53,048 {\an8}[Chuck] The prosecutor interviewed the three individuals 640 00:43:53,048 --> 00:43:55,342 {\an8}that were overheard at the convenience store. 641 00:43:55,342 --> 00:43:57,427 {\an8}[officer] With relation to the possible homicide, 642 00:43:57,511 --> 00:43:58,887 {\an8}did you hear anything about that? 643 00:43:58,887 --> 00:44:02,599 {\an8}Like how it went down or where that came from? 644 00:44:02,683 --> 00:44:04,643 {\an8}[man 1] No. I don't know. 645 00:44:05,352 --> 00:44:07,020 {\an8}[officer] Did you hear any other rumors? 646 00:44:07,104 --> 00:44:08,814 {\an8}- [man 2] I haven't heard anything. - Nothing. 647 00:44:08,814 --> 00:44:09,898 {\an8}[man 2] No. 648 00:44:11,733 --> 00:44:15,821 {\an8}[officer] There's rumors that you knew a lot about what happened. 649 00:44:15,821 --> 00:44:18,865 {\an8}[man 3] To be honest, that sounds completely absurd. 650 00:44:18,949 --> 00:44:22,077 {\an8}[Chuck] All three witnesses denied ever saying anything 651 00:44:22,077 --> 00:44:26,123 to the effect of what was overheard by the convenience store worker. 652 00:44:26,123 --> 00:44:29,042 {\an8}[officer] Since that night, have you heard anything about it? 653 00:44:29,126 --> 00:44:30,168 {\an8}[man 1] No, just... 654 00:44:32,129 --> 00:44:35,090 {\an8}It's just the... suicide. 655 00:44:35,090 --> 00:44:36,341 {\an8}[officer] So, there was no-- 656 00:44:36,425 --> 00:44:38,385 {\an8}It was never brought up about 657 00:44:39,177 --> 00:44:41,847 {\an8}possibly being anything other than a suicide? 658 00:44:41,847 --> 00:44:43,265 {\an8}[man 2] Uh, no. No. 659 00:44:46,226 --> 00:44:51,064 [Paul] In the reports of the interviews of certain people that knew Tiffany, 660 00:44:51,773 --> 00:44:55,610 some of them did say that she was sad, that she was depressed. 661 00:44:55,694 --> 00:44:58,196 {\an8}[woman] I don't think she was, like, very happy. 662 00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,323 {\an8}Like... I mean, like... 663 00:45:00,407 --> 00:45:03,702 {\an8}I don't think you could see it unless you were, like, really close to her. 664 00:45:03,702 --> 00:45:05,287 {\an8}-Because... - [officer] Sure. 665 00:45:05,287 --> 00:45:08,748 {\an8}[woman] ...she always was, like, so happy, and like... 666 00:45:08,832 --> 00:45:10,959 Well, like, if you really knew her, 667 00:45:10,959 --> 00:45:12,711 she just, like, I don't know. 668 00:45:12,711 --> 00:45:17,048 I just feel like she felt like she could never fit in. 669 00:45:17,549 --> 00:45:20,719 [officer] Did she ever mention anything to you before about, um... 670 00:45:20,719 --> 00:45:22,763 besides just noticing she wasn't happy, 671 00:45:22,763 --> 00:45:26,600 that she wanted to... she was thinking about harming herself at all? 672 00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:27,684 {\an8}[woman] No. 673 00:45:28,602 --> 00:45:29,603 {\an8}[officer] Um... 674 00:45:31,563 --> 00:45:33,565 [somber music playing] 675 00:45:53,543 --> 00:45:55,545 [mysterious music playing] 676 00:45:58,465 --> 00:46:01,426 {\an8}[Paul] How did Tiffany get from her home 677 00:46:01,510 --> 00:46:05,472 {\an8}to where her body came in contact with the train? 678 00:46:06,056 --> 00:46:07,307 Did she walk? 679 00:46:07,307 --> 00:46:10,268 Did someone pick her up and drive her there? 680 00:46:10,352 --> 00:46:12,896 Was her death some kind of accident 681 00:46:12,896 --> 00:46:14,648 or was it foul play? 682 00:46:14,648 --> 00:46:16,733 [mysterious music continues] 683 00:46:17,943 --> 00:46:22,072 [Paul] There are people out there, as we speak, 684 00:46:22,656 --> 00:46:25,200 that have knowledge of what happened. 685 00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:28,578 And I'm begging them to come forward 686 00:46:28,662 --> 00:46:30,288 and help this family. 687 00:46:35,001 --> 00:46:36,837 [Stephen] Before my daughter went to college, 688 00:46:36,837 --> 00:46:39,089 I promised her I'd build her a volleyball court. 689 00:46:39,089 --> 00:46:41,967 And after Tiffany's passing, I said, 690 00:46:41,967 --> 00:46:44,344 "Well, I promised it." So I built it. 691 00:46:47,764 --> 00:46:51,434 Tiffany just couldn't wait to go to college and have fun at volleyball. 692 00:46:53,603 --> 00:46:57,148 But somebody took that away from her, and it ain't fair. 693 00:46:58,358 --> 00:46:59,484 We need justice. 694 00:47:10,203 --> 00:47:12,122 [Stephen] Is it rough every day? Sure. 695 00:47:12,122 --> 00:47:13,957 Every day, it's a job to wake up. 696 00:47:13,957 --> 00:47:15,667 Every day, to go to sleep. 697 00:47:15,667 --> 00:47:19,462 But it's what I have to do until I find out who did this to our baby. 698 00:47:22,632 --> 00:47:27,137 [Dianne] This here is a cabinet of nothing but beautiful memories of Tiffany. 699 00:47:27,137 --> 00:47:28,096 And... 700 00:47:29,639 --> 00:47:32,601 friends and relatives have brought things here 701 00:47:32,601 --> 00:47:35,478 in memory of Tiffany to put in her cabinet. 702 00:47:35,562 --> 00:47:37,689 Tiffany's bracelet here. 703 00:47:38,565 --> 00:47:41,943 This was on her the night she died. 704 00:47:42,902 --> 00:47:45,196 So I wore it for a long time. 705 00:47:45,947 --> 00:47:50,911 This is Tiffany here in the solid wood urn. 706 00:47:51,703 --> 00:47:53,955 It's a prayer box. I pray every night. 707 00:47:56,207 --> 00:47:58,043 Then I put a message in there. 708 00:48:01,254 --> 00:48:03,214 "For justice for Tiffany 709 00:48:03,298 --> 00:48:06,718 and hope that the people that did this to her will come forward." 710 00:48:13,767 --> 00:48:14,768 [kisses] 711 00:48:20,982 --> 00:48:22,359 I love you, Tiffy. 712 00:48:37,123 --> 00:48:40,126 [dramatic music playing]